Society's ChildS


Bad Guys

Cashless society: UK cash system on the "verge of collapse", millions in poverty are struggling to cope

In 2006, 62% of all payments in the UK were made using cash; in 2016 the proportion had fallen to 40%.
© Alamy Stock PhotoIn 2006, 62% of all payments in the UK were made using cash; in 2016 the proportion had fallen to 40%.
More than 8 million UK adults would struggle to cope in a cashless society, according to a major report which claims that the country's "cash infrastructure" is in danger of collapsing.

With Britons increasingly turning to digital payments, and bank branches and ATMs closing, the Access to Cash Review said companies and organisations providing "essential" services should be required to ensure that consumers can continue to pay by cash.

The review is funded by cash machine network Link, but is independent from it, and is chaired by the former head of the Financial Ombudsman Service Natalie Ceeney, with other members including Richard Lloyd, the former executive director of consumer group Which?.

Ceeney said that "17% of the UK population - over 8 million adults - would struggle to cope in a cashless society".


Comment: And the number of Brits falling below the poverty line is soaring.


Comment: There's no denying there are major benefits to an electronic payment system, however the removal of cash leaves everybody extremely vulnerable to the very corporations and government bodies that have time and again proven themselves untrustworthy: Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Bitcoin, Gold and the Cashless Society


Bizarro Earth

Far-right protesting military corruption clash with police in Ukraine, 'You have 7 days!' - UPDATE

Police, Far-Right Protesters Clash In Kyiv
© RFE/RL
Police and far-right demonstrators have clashed outside the presidential administration building in the Ukrainian capital and in at least one other city.

The far-right activists had gathered in Kyiv on March 9 to call for arrests of figures linked to an alleged military corruption scandal.

A media investigation last week detailed purported embezzlement schemes in Ukraine's military industry, including the involvement of a factory controlled by President Petro Poroshenko.

Video showed demonstrators trying to break through police lines, shoving officers and setting off fireworks. Police used tear gas to turn them back.

Comment: This is quite a turn of events because the far-right, neo-Nazi's, media, police and the military in Ukraine are known to be working together. It also comes on the heels of reports that an army battalion murdered its commander who manipulated them into committing war crimes all for a disgraceful publicity stunt, And so it seems, let the infighting begin: UPDATE: 11th March 2019 at 11:30

RT provides more information on the protest and most tellingly those affiliated with the 2014 coup which brought him to power were demanding the removal of those involved in the scandal within the next 7 days. However the report hints that this may be unlikely due to the close relationship Poroshenko has with those involved. It appears the fliers with the demands on featured a pig:

ukraine protest
Ukrainian radicals clash with police outside Poroshenko's office, give ultimatum to president

ukraine far right
© SputnikClashes between radicals and police outside the president's office in Kiev.
Masked men tried to storm the Ukrainian president's office, prompting police to use tear gas against them. The radicals promised to sabotage Petro Poroshenko's re-election and ramp up street violence if their demands aren't met.

Extreme nationalists were the driving force in the 2014 coup that brought Poroshenko to power in Ukraine, but now - with three weeks remaining before the vote - they may become actors in his political demise.

Several thousand masked men, dressed in the paramilitary gear affiliated with neo-Nazi vigilantes Batallion Azov, marched from Maidan (meaning 'Independence') Square in central Kiev to the presidential administration on Saturday. When in situ, they tried breaking through the police cordon to get into the building. The radicals threw stones and flares at the law enforcers, who responded with tear gas and batons to push the attackers back.


Around 700 officers had been keeping order in the center of the Ukrainian capital on the day, according to the police. The organizers of the attempted action announced that some 4,000 people took part in the protest and the Ukrainian media reckons this estimate is about right.


The protesters came from groups loyal to nationalist leader and Ukrainian parliament member Andrey Biletsky, commander of the infamous neo-Nazi Azov battalion, which took part in the fighting in Eastern Ukraine on Kiev's side; he is also the head of the far-right National Corps party.

Before the clashes broke out, the radicals were gluing stickers with their demands on the riot shields and helmets of the police officers. What they want from Poroshenko is punishment for those involved in a massive fraud at UkrOboronProm, a state concern that manages the country's military-industrial complex.


A recent media report blamed the first deputy head of Ukraine's National Security Council, Oleg Gladkovsky, and his son, of using fake firms to sell spare parts to Ukrainian arms makers at up to three times the accepted prices.

"You have one week," the radicals chanted, meaning that in seven days the two must be put behind bars. If this doesn't happen, Biletsky has promised to target all of Poroshenko's campaign rallies in the run up to the election on March 31.


Poroshenko, who is running for a second term, faces a challenge given his low approval rating. A survey by pollster Sofia earlier this week revealed that he was supported by just over 13 percent of the population, trailing both of his main rivals - comedian Vladimir Zelensky (20.3 percent) and ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko (13.9 percent).

Poroshenko had already removed Gladkovsky from his position at the Security Council, but he's unlikely to take any further steps, due to the former deputy head reportedly being his closest ally and friend.


Poroshenko was not in Kiev during the assault on his office and had gone to Cherkasy, in central Ukraine, where he was to speak at a rally. There, a group of nationalists clashed with police after chanting anti-Poroshenko slogans during the event.

The president was evacuated from the rally in a car, according to witnesses. 15 officers protecting him were injured in the scuffles, the Interior Ministry said, in a statement.
RFE/RL reports that the protesters attempted to attack the Poroshenko's motorcade and that 22 police were injured. In the picture below you will see the fliers featured earlier. It looks like time is running out for Porky:
Ukrainian Police: 22 Officers Hospitalized After Clashes With Far-Right Activists
Clashes in Kyiv on March 9
Clashes in Kyiv on March 9
Police in Ukraine say that 22 officers were injured in clashes with far-right protesters who tried to attack a presidential motorcade ahead of this month's election.

Police said in a statement on March 10 that 19 officers were hospitalized the previous day in the city of Cherkasy, where supporters of the National Corps party tried to block President Petro Poroshenko's motorcade and called for arrests of figures linked to an alleged military corruption scandal.

The clashes in Cherkasy erupted after Poroshenko made a speech for the March 31 presidential polls.

Police said that two law enforcement officers were also injured in clashes with National Corps activists near the presidential offices in Kyiv, with one hospitalized.

Criminal investigations have been opened into the violence in both Kyiv and Cherkasy, about 150 kilometers southeast of the capital, police said.

After the report was broadcast on YouTube on February 25, Poroshenko announced that a probe has been launched into the allegations.



Airplane

No survivors after deadly Ethiopian Airlines plane crash

Ethiopian Airlines plane crash
None of the 157 people on board a new Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed on Sunday morning en route to Nairobi from Addis Ababa have survived, the airline said.

The aircraft, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, took off at 08:38am (05:38 GMT) and lost contact with air traffic controllers six minutes later.

It crashed near Bishoftu, southeast of the Ethiopian capital, killing all 149 passengers and eight crew members on board, Ethiopian Airlines said in a statement.

Comment: RT reports more complaints with this Boeing model:
The aircraft model has been plagued with problems. In October, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 operated by Lion Air crashed minutes after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 189 passengers and crew.

After the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced it would review Boeing's previous safety analyses of the aircraft.

Bloomberg reported in November that the plane is prone to making "abrupt dives" due to a faulty flight-monitoring system.

Two pilots unions have accused Boeing of failing to properly explain a safety feature on the 737 MAX 8 aircraft in their manuals, claiming that the oversight may be responsible for the Lion Air crash.

The company issued a safety update in November to pilots flying the 737 MAX 8, warning of a possible fault in a sensor that could send the aircraft into a violent nosedive.

Despite its flaws, the 737 MAX still remains a popular choice for airlines. An estimated 200 Boeing aircraft currently ferrying passengers around the world are at risk of experiencing similar deadly malfunctions, Elmar Giemulla, a leading German expert in air and traffic law, told RT in November.



Bad Guys

YouTube deletes Middle East Observer after almost 10 years online

YouTube account deleted
After almost 10 years online, over 250 videos, almost 13,000 subscribers, and about 8 million total video views, YouTube has terminated the Middle East Observer (MEO) channel on its platform.

Although perhaps MEO became best known for its video translations of regional political actors such as Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, its work was certainly not limited to that. Middle East Observer sought to provide its viewers with reliable English translations on politics, religion, and culture from the Middle East more broadly, with a particular focus on media from key states such as Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The termination of MEO's channel came after several months of seemingly routine 'violation' emails sent to us by YouTube, the taking down of various videos of ours (most of which were uploaded several years ago) and the imposition of 'channel strikes' accompanied by emails about how we could better uphold its rather vague and in many ways hegemonic 'Community Guidelines'. We gradually realised that no matter what measures we took, it would not satisfy YouTube's 'Guidelines', as the platform's architecture and policies increasingly moved towards the censorship of alternative news and views.

Dollar

A case for capitalism

woman iphone tablet shopping
At dinner not long ago my daughter and I had a standoff. She refused to eat something-a calzone in this case-because it looked "gross." I failed to convince her what was actually in the calzone until finally I cut it in half and into a triangle so it looked just like pizza. Once she learned what was in it she loved it.

I recalled this calzone a few weeks later when I got into a heated discussion with a friend. He is convinced that capitalism is the source of all of America's problems. As the discussion progressed, it became clear to me that the source of our disagreement was definitional: we didn't have an agreed-upon understanding of what capitalism is-or, in other words, what's "in it."

Perhaps this kind of disagreement isn't surprising given that only 22 states require high school students to take a class in economics to graduate, less than 50 percent of high school students have any exposure to economics, and only three percent of colleges require an economics class (!). So I decided to compile my thoughts about what's really "in" capitalism. I came up with three tenets that break capitalism down into something more digestible and debatable, each of which I'll discuss further in what follows:

Airplane

Ethiopian Airlines brand new Boeing 737 MAX crashes on way to Kenya with 157 people on board - UPDATE

An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX
© BoeingFILE PHOTO: An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX
Months after a deadly crash in Indonesia involving the same model, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 has crashed on its way to Nairobi, Kenya, carrying 149 passengers and eight crew members, minutes after take-off.

Operated by Ethiopian Airlines, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 was on a routine flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to the Kenyan capital. The airline confirmed that there were no survivors.

The Ethiopian prime minister's office was the first to comment on the crash, tweeting that the government "would like to express its deepest condolences to the families of those that have lost their loved ones on Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 on regular scheduled flight to Nairobi, Kenya this morning."

The Boeing aircraft was reportedly brand new and had been delivered to the airline just four months ago.

The aircraft model has been plagued with problems. In October, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 operated by Lion Air crashed minutes after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 189 passengers and crew.


After the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced it would review Boeing's previous safety analyses of the aircraft.

Comment:

Update: The Guardian on 11th March reports:
Ethiopian Airlines have joined carriers in China and the Cayman Islands that have suspended the use of Boeing 737 Max 8 jets in the wake of a crash that killed all 157 people.

On Sunday, Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302, on its way to Nairobi from Addis Ababa, crashed six minutes after take-off. It ploughed into a field near Tulu Fara village outside the town of Bishoftu, some 60km (40 miles) southeast of the Ethiopian capital.

The disaster was the second involving the new aircraft in the last four months. In October, a Lion Air plane crashed into the sea off the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, killing all 189 onboard.

"Following the tragic accident of ET 302 ... Ethiopian Airlines has decided to ground all B-737-8 MAX fleet effective yesterday, March 10, until further notice," the state-owned carrier said in a statement released on Twitter on Monday.

"Although we don't yet know the cause of the accident, we have to decide to ground the particular fleet as an extra safety precaution," said the airline, which is Africa's largest.

The move came after China's aviation authorities ordered the country's airlines to ground their Boeing 737 Max 8 jets.

The cause of the crash is unknown, but Cayman Airlines also suspended operations of its two Boeing 737 Max 8 planes while investigations continued.

Emergency workers work amid debris at the crash site of Ethiopia Airlines
© MICHAEL TEWELDE | AFP | Getty ImagesEmergency workers work amid debris at the crash site of Ethiopia Airlines near Bishoftu, a town some 60 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on March 10, 2019.
The civil aviation administration of China (CAAC) issued a notice on Monday at 9am local time ordering domestic airlines to suspend the commercial operation of the Boeing 737- Max 8 aircraft before 6pm.

Referring to the Boeing 737 Max 8 as a Boeing 737-8, the CAAC said it made the decision "in view of the fact that the two air crashes were newly delivered Boeing 737-8 aircraft" and had "certain similarities."

The regulator said the grounding of the planes was "in line with our principle of zero tolerance for safety hazards and strict control of safety risks". The CAAC said it would be contacting US aviation authorities and Boeing before restoring flights of the aircraft.

Roughly 60 of the Boeing 737 Max 8 planes have been delivered to about a dozen Chinese airlines since the new craft was released. Chinese carriers make up about 20% of deliveries of the model through January, according to Bloomberg. On Monday, two Chinese airlines told the Guardian they had begun using Boeing 737-800 aircraft instead of the Max 8.

Cayman Airways, which also flies the Boeing 737 Max 8 craft, also announced it would ground the planes while the investigation into the crash was ongoing. Cayman Airways president and chief executive Fabian Whorms said the airline was "putting the safety of our passengers and crew first".

More than 300 Boeing 737-MAX planes are in operation and more than 5,000 have been ordered worldwide since 2017.

In Britain, the holiday operator Tui Airways ordered 32 Max aircraft as part of a major fleet overhaul and took delivery of its first Max 8 in December. Tui was the first UK-registered airline to receive one of the new Boeing aircraft and plans to roll out its orders over the next five years.

Based at Manchester Airport, the planes are due to ferry passengers to a range of holiday destinations from the north-west. The carrier's German parent company is reported to have bought 54 Max 8s.

Several airlines told the Guardian they did not intend to ground their flights, including Fiji Airways, which said it had "full confidence in the airworthiness of our fleet."

BOC Aviation, an aircraft leasing company based in Singapore, which has five Boeing Max 8, 9 and 10 aircraft in service with lessees and another 90 on order said they had "no intention of grounding aircraft at this stage or changing our aircraft orders. The data available is limited and we can't speculate on [what] might have been the cause of the crash."

Singapore Airlines, which has five Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft in the fleet of its regional airline SilkAir and another 31 on firm order for SilkAir, said it had not grounded the aircraft and was "continuing to monitor the situation closely".

Other airlines that have ordered the Boeing 737 Max 8 planes, but are yet to receive delivery of them, including Virgin Australia and Air Niugini, said they had no plans to alter their order and that it was "too early" to comment at this stage.

A spokesperson for Korean Air, which has ordered 30 of the aircraft, told the Guardian: "Korean Air is monitoring the situation closely, and for now we do not have any changes in our existing orders for Boeing 737 Max 8s."

Boeing said on Sunday that it was cancelling an event in Seattle to showcase its new 777X airliner scheduled for Wednesday.

On Sunday, an official at the Indonesian ombudsman's office and aviation expert, Alvin Lie, told the Jakarta Post that the Indonesian government should ground all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft that were in operation. Indonesia has two airlines that use the planes - Garuda Airlines and Lion Air.

The Lion Air flight plunged into the sea off the coast of West Java 13 minutes after takeoff in October killing all 189 on board. The crash was the worst aviation disaster in Indonesia in more than two decades.

"The ministry should be ready to temporarily ground all Boeing 737 MAX 8 that are still operating in Indonesia in order to prevent more accidents," Alvin told the Jakarta Post.

The victims of the Ethiopia Airlines flight came from at least 32 different countries. The largest number were from Kenya.

In a statement, the airline said it would conduct a forensic investigation in conjunction with officials from Boeing, the Ethiopian civil aviation authority, the Ethiopian transport authority and other international bodies.



Gear

Citgo seeks 1.2 billion loan as US sanctions cripple its Venezuelan parent company

oil pipes oil refinery
Citgo Petroleum Corp. is looking to get a $1.2 billion loan to fund its daily operations as U.S. sanctions cripple its parent company, state oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela SA.

The Houston-based refiner hired Houlihan Lokey to find lenders to help it refinance bank credit lines maturing this year, a slide deck seen by Bloomberg shows. The deal launched this week and is expected to close on March 22, according to the presentation, which was given to investors by Curtis Rowe, Citgo's vice president of finance.

The five-year term loan B may pay a coupon of between 4.5 and 5.5 percentage points above the Libor rate and could be issued at 99 cents on the dollar, according to the presentation. Proceeds will be used for "general working capital requirements" and to "provide ongoing liquidity," the slides show.

Megaphone

Presstitutes turn a blind eye to UN report refuting neocon narrative on Venezuela

Alfred Maurice de Zayas
© @PartidoPSUVAlfred de Zayas, an independent specialist of the United Nations
Washington and the convict appointed to overthrow Venezuela continue the lies

Don't you think something is fishy when the presstitutes orchestrate a fake news "humanitarian crisis" in Venezuela, but totally ignore the real humanitarian crises in Yemen and Gaza?

Don't you think something is really very rotten when the expert, Alfred Maurice de Zayas, sent by the UN to Venezuela to evaluate the situation finds no interest by any Western media or any Western government in his report?

Don't you think it is a bit much for Washington to steal $21 billion of Venezuela's money, impose sanctions in an effort to destabilize the country and to drive the Venezuelan government to its knees, blame Venezuelan socialism (essentially nationalization of the oil company) for bringing "starvation to the people," and offer a measly $21 million in "humanitarian aid."

Comment: Links thoughtfully provided by Paul Craig Roberts:


Bullseye

First WaPo, now CNN will be sued by Nick Sandmann's lawyer for over $250 million dollars

Lin Wood Nick Sandmann Covington  Catholic
Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann hired bulldog litigator L. Lin Wood to sue the media for defaming him.
CNN is likely to be hit with a massive lawsuit worth more than $250 million over alleged "vicious" and "direct attacks" on Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann, his lawyer has told Fox News.

Lawyer L. Lin Wood discussed his decision to sue CNN for its reporting and coverage of his client during an interview that will air on Fox News Channel's "Life, Liberty & Levin" on Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.

"CNN was probably more vicious in its direct attacks on Nicholas than The Washington Post. And CNN goes into millions of individuals' homes," Wood told Fox News host and best-selling author Mark Levin.
CNN couldn't resist the idea that here's a guy with a young boy, that Make America Great Again cap on. So they go after him

- Lin Wood, attorney
"They really went after Nicholas with the idea that he was part of a mob that was attacking the Black Hebrew Israelites, yelling racist slurs at the Black Hebrew Israelites. Totally false.

Fire

Bus explodes in central Stockholm after accident

Bus explodes
Plumes of thick black smoke have been spotted above central Stockholm as a bus exploded and went up in flames after reportedly slamming into an entrance to a tunnel.

The explosion occurred on Sunday morning at the Klarat tunnel, after the bus reportedly struck its top. Witnesses say the inferno started when a gas tank located on top of the bus exploded due to the impact.