Welcome to Sott.net
Sun, 01 Oct 2023
The World for People who Think

Society's Child
Map

Arrow Up

Actor Jackie Chan calls U.S. 'most corrupt' country in the world


Agence France-Presse
Sat, 12 Jan 2013 12:01 UTC
Jackie Chan
© Agence France-Presse
Hong Kong action hero Jackie Chan has once again provoked criticism, this time from an American blogger, after suggesting on Chinese television that the US is the "most corrupt" country in the world.

"When you talk about corruption - the whole world, is there corruption in the United States? The most corrupt in the world!" the Rush Hour star, who has made headlines recently for his controversial views, told Phoenix TV last month.

Chan reaffirmed his view after the show's host questioned him - "Of course! Where did the great breakdown come from? The world, the United States started it," Chan said, referring to the financial crisis and gesticulating as he spoke.

His comments were rebuked Thursday by Max Fisher, a foreign affairs blogger for the Washington Post, who called them "anti-American" rhetoric that was rooted in China's insecurity.
      Read More...
People

Czechs head to polls for first ever direct presidential election


The Telegraph
Sat, 12 Jan 2013 06:47 UTC
Austerity-weary Czechs are due to begin voting in the country's first-ever direct presidential election, as it turns the page on a decade under staunch eurosceptic Vaclav Klaus.
Czech election
© AP
Presidential candidates (L-R): Zuzana Roithova, Jan Fischer, Jana Bobosikova, Tatana Fischerova, Premysl Sobotka, Milos Zeman, Vladimir Franz, Jiri Dientsbier and Karel Schwarzenberg attend a television debate in Prague, Czech Republic
Polling stations open at 1300 GMT on Friday and close at 2100 GMT, then reopen at 0700 GMT before voting winds down at 1300 GMT on Saturday.

Two ex-prime ministers, both former Communists, are tipped as favourites to top a list of nine first-round candidates - including an artist tattooed from head to toe - and enter a run-off slated for January 25-26.

While polls suggest straight-talking left-winger Milos Zeman is the strongest candidate for the presidency of the EU state of 10.5 million, he is unlikely to score the simple majority needed to clinch a first-round victory.

Surveys show he is likely to face mild-mannered centre-right Jan Fischer in round two.

The winner will step into the shoes of two-term president Mr Klaus, who was elected by lawmakers, just like his predecessor Vaclav Havel, the Czech Republic's first president.
      Read More...
Bad Guys

Deaf man stabbed after sign language mistaken for gang signs

Chris Lavender
Gaston Gazette
Fri, 11 Jan 2013 19:09 UTC
Image
© mug shot via Burlington police
A Burlington man was charged early Thursday with stabbing a deaf man after an altercation sparked by a misunderstanding over sign language, police said.

The incident occurred at around 5:10 p.m. Wednesday on East Morehead Street. Burlington police received a call for help at Maple Avenue and Miller Street from Burlington Fire Department personnel who were on the scene. The victim was transported toAlamance Regional Medical Center and then transferred to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill for multiple stab wounds. At the time police issued a press release Thursday, the victim was listed in stable condition.

Witnesses told officers that the victim, Terrance Ervin Daniels, 45, of 921 Graham St., had been in an altercation with another man onEast Morehead Street. Police said Daniels then walked over to the intersection of Maple Avenue and Miller Street, where emergency personnel found him injured in the grass.
      Read More...
No Entry

Porn film makers sue over Los Angeles condom law


Raw Story
Fri, 11 Jan 2013 19:06 UTC
Image
US porn filmmakers sued Los Angeles County on Friday over a new law requiring adult movie actors to wear condoms on set, arguing that it is unconstitutional.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court by porn giant Vivid Entertainment, Califa Productions and actors Kayden Kross and Logan Pierce against so-called Measure B, voted into force in November.

They claim the porn film industry already regulates itself sufficiently to protect actors against AIDS/HIV and other diseases. It also violates the First Amendment right to free expression, they say.

"Overturning this law is something I feel very passionate about," said Steven Hirsch, founder of LA-based Vivid Entertainment. "I believe the industry's current testing system works well."
      Read More...
Crusader

Woman convicted of child pornography linked to anti-gay group

Samantha Kimmey
Raw Story
Fri, 11 Jan 2013 19:04 UTC
Image
A woman will receive at least 25 years in prison after being convicted of videotaping two men having sex with her 14-year-old daughter, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
      Read More...
Pistol

State suspends gun permit for CEO who said he would 'start killing people' over gun control

Samantha Kimmey
Raw Story
Fri, 11 Jan 2013 19:01 UTC
Image
The CEO of a weapons and tactical training company has had his gun permit suspended by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security after he published a video on YouTube in which he threatened to "start killing people" if President Obama pushes forward with increased gun control, reported News Channel 5.

James Yeager, who heads the Tennessee-based company Tactical Response, issued a video Thursday in which he said, "I was mad when I said it" and "probably allowed my mouth to overrun my logic" but does not retract his statements. He admits he cut his controversial video by eliminating the part where he says he will "start killing people." He claims he does not "condone anybody doing anything rash" or "committing any kind of felonies, up to and including aggravated assaults and murders, unless its necessary. Right now, it's not necessary."

In addition, more videos of Yeager are on YouTube.

He published a video on Oct. 30, 2012 titled, "Who is James Yeager?" which appears to be a advertisement for his company.

In it, he says, "If the world collapses, not only am I going to survive, I'm going to be the fucking king."

"I'm James Yeager, and I'm prepared for everything," he says while holding a large gun.
      Read More...
USA

Teacher could be fired for stomping on U.S. flag

Natasha Lennard
Salon
Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:50 UTC
Image
Scott Compton wanted to teach the difference between symbols and objects -- a lesson lost on his school district.

A South Carolina English teacher may lose his job for stomping on an American flag during a class demonstration. Scott Compton was attempting to illustrate to his students that the flag was a symbol and also that the physical flag is just piece of cloth - a point likely lost on the class now that Compton has been suspended for treating the "piece of cloth" as such.
      Read More...
Pills

New York City emergency rooms to restrict painkiller prescriptions

Hunter Stuart
Huffington Post
Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:45 UTC
Image

New guidelines introduced Jan. 10, 2012 by Mayor Bloomberg will restrict painkiller prescriptions from New York's public emergency rooms.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg is again pushing new regulations aimed at making New Yorkers healthier. This time, he's calling for restrictions on the amount of prescription painkillers emergency rooms can give patients.

All New York City's public hospitals will adopt new guidelines that forbid emergency room doctors to give out more than three days' worth of opioid painkillers to patients, or to refill lost or stolen prescriptions for such painkillers. The measure also forbids ER doctors to prescribe long-acting opioids like methadone or extended-release oxycodone.

The new voluntary guidelines were explained in a statement released by the Mayor's office on Thursday, and at a press conference held by the Mayor that same day at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens.

The new guidelines are designed to reduce the number of painkillers in circulation and to cut down on abuse, says the statement. In addition, Bloomberg cited a need to reduce crimes associated with opioid abuse, such as Medicare fraud and holdups at pharmacies.
      Read More...
Red Flag

Texas dad arrested, accused of causing security panic at school

Christina Ng
ABC News
Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:23 UTC
Image
© Image credit: Collin County Jail
A Texas dad terrified his child's elementary school when he decided to conduct a "rogue" security drill to see how the school would respond in the event of an emergency, according to the school district.

Ron Miller, 44, entered the office of the Celina Elementary School at 7:50 a.m. on Wednesday, according to police, where he "conducted his own drill to test the school's response to an active shooter situation."

"Although Miller did not display a weapon, the statements and actions of Miller were aggressive and created panic and fear among the school's staff," the Celina Police Department said in a news release.

Police rushed to the school. Miller was arrested later in the day.
      Read More...
Coffee

Seattle woman will eat food only from Starbucks for a year

Linda Thomas
mynorthwest.com
Fri, 11 Jan 2013 17:55 UTC
Image
© Photo courtesy Beautiful Existence
A Seattle woman says she'll only consume food from Starbucks for all of 2013, though friends and family tell her it's going to "cost a lot of money" and she's "going to gain weight."
"That's going to cost a lot of money." "You're going to gain weight."

Those are the reactions a Seattle woman gets when she tells friends about her plan for the year.

Beautiful Existence, her legal name, is only going to eat food and drink beverages from Starbucks for all of 2013.

"I've been going in and getting their nutrition by the cup charts for all their serving sizes," she says. "I'm already getting a feel for what to eat - the plain nut pack as a snack because it only has 190 calories, compared to the piece of pumpkin bread."

Lucky for her, Starbucks bought a tea business and a juice company last year, so Beautiful will also purchase food from Evolution Fresh and Tazo Tea.
      Read More...
Revolt! T-shirts