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Miscellaneous (News/Activism)

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  • BBC: Luxury perfumes linked to child labor

    05/28/2024 3:22:28 AM PDT · by RandFan · 12 replies
    BBC Investigation ^ | May 28 | By Ahmed ElShamy and Natasha Cox
    Children have picked ingredients used by suppliers to two major beauty companies, the BBC can reveal. A BBC investigation into last summer's perfume supply chains found jasmine used by Lancôme and Aerin Beauty's suppliers was picked by minors. All the luxury perfume brands claim to have zero tolerance on child labour. L'Oréal, Lancôme's owner, said it was committed to respecting human rights. Estée Lauder, Aerin Beauty's owner, said it had contacted its suppliers. The jasmine used in Lancôme Idôle L'Intense - and Ikat Jasmine and Limone Di Sicilia for Aerin Beauty - comes from Egypt, which produces about half the...
  • Israel's deadly attack on tent camp confirms 'there is no safety' in Gaza, survivors say

    05/27/2024 4:40:29 PM PDT · by jerod · 70 replies
    CBC News ^ | May 27, 2024 | Rhianna Schmunk
    'No matter where we go, we will die here,' Palestinian woman saysFamilies who survived a deadly Israeli airstrike on a tent camp in Rafah described a horrific scene of scorched tents and burning bodies on Sunday, as the attack brought further scrutiny to Israel's continued offensive in the city. Witnesses said people were preparing for evening prayer when the strike hit the Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood, where thousands had tried to find shelter after Israeli forces launched a ground offensive in the east of Rafah more than two weeks ago. "We were sitting safely and suddenly we find bodies thrown on...
  • What Libertarianism Gets Wrong

    05/27/2024 2:10:53 PM PDT · by TBP · 23 replies
    Discourse Magazine ^ | May 22, 2024 | Jon Gabriel
    Remember the “New Atheists”? They were a big deal 15 or so years ago, bashing irrationality and superstition in bestselling books like “The God Delusion,” “The End of Faith” and “God Is Not Great.” Some of them ultimately ended up as believers, others turned to ayahuasca, and Richard Dawkins recently admitted to being a “cultural Christian.” He still doesn't believe in the big J.C., but acknowledges his worldview was shaped in a Christian context. In a similar way, I've always been a cultural libertarian. A son of the Mountain West, my traditional conservatism is heavily dosed with a “leave me...
  • Theater apologizes to patrons following a controversial appearance by Oscar-winner Richard Dreyfuss - 12 months after he said the Academy's DEI rules made him 'want to vomit'

    05/27/2024 9:59:22 AM PDT · by raccoonradio · 43 replies
    Daily Mail ^ | 5/27/24 | Paul Farrell
    A theater in Massachusetts issued an apology to customers following an appearance by Richard Dreyfuss on Saturday night which caused many to boo the Oscar-winner while many walked out on the performance. Dreyfuss, 78, was appearing at The Cabot in Beverly, Massachusetts, for a question and answer session followed by a screening of Jaws, the mega hit which launched his career in 1975. Dreyfuss is accused of making derogatory remarks about members of the LGBTQ community, women in Hollywood as well as his collaborators. 'We deeply regret that Mr. Dreyfuss's comments during the event were not in line with the...
  • Audie Leon Murphy

    05/27/2024 9:06:44 AM PDT · by Varsity Flight · 42 replies
    Association of the United States Army ^ | Association of the United States Army
    https://www.ausa.org/audie-leon-murphy#:~:text=He%20lived%20only%20forty-six%20years%2C%20yet%20he%20made,years%20of%20schooling%20and%20was%20orphaned%20at%20sixteen. Most decorated soldier in United States History
  • ‘Exterminate the beasts’: How Israeli settlers took revenge for a murder in the West Bank

    05/26/2024 11:18:47 PM PDT · by RandFan · 53 replies
    BBC ^ | May 27 | By Joel Gunter
    At dawn on Friday 12 April, Israeli teenager Benjamin Achimeir walked out from his settler outpost in the occupied West Bank, with a flock of sheep, and disappeared. Achimeir, 14, had been living and working on a tiny farm outpost near his family's settlement, Malachei HaShalom - one of nearly 150 Israeli settlements in the West Bank regarded as illegal under international law. The young teenager was murdered that morning out on the pasture, according to Israeli police, but it would be 24 hours before his body was found At 08:30 on Saturday, Elisha Yered, a former spokesman for MP...
  • Nigel Farage called out for 'blanket accusation' as he says 'growing number' of Muslims 'loathe' British values

    05/26/2024 6:22:27 AM PDT · by RandFan · 35 replies
    Sky News ^ | May 26 | ALIX CULBERTSON
    Nigel Farage has argued on Sky News that a "growing number" of young Muslims in the UK do not subscribe to British values. The Reform UK honorary president told Sky News's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: "We have a growing number of young people in this country who do not subscribe to British values. "In fact, loathe much of what we stand for. I think we see them on the streets of London every Saturday." Asked if "we are talking about Muslims here", Mr Farage said: "We are. And I'm afraid I found some of the recent surveys saying that...
  • Rishi Sunak says he will bring back National Service if Tories win general election

    05/26/2024 1:15:35 AM PDT · by RandFan · 46 replies
    Sky News ^ | May 26 | ROB POWELL
    Rishi Sunak has said he will introduce a new form of mandatory National Service for young people if the Conservatives win the general election. In the first new policy announcement of the campaign, the prime minister has unveiled a plan that would see 18-year-olds given the choice of a full-time military placement for 12 months or a scheme to volunteer for one weekend a month for a year. The placement would be selective - with tests used to decide who is eligible - and involve working with the armed forces or in cyber defence. The volunteering option would see young...
  • Trump promises Libertarians a cabinet slot — and to free a notorious drug kingpin

    05/25/2024 11:26:03 PM PDT · by RandFan · 40 replies
    Semafor ^ | May 26 | Dave Weigel
    Donald Trump promised members of the Libertarian Party that he would “put a libertarian in my cabinet” and commute the life sentence of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, a top demand of a political movement that intends to run its own candidate against him. “On day one, we will commute the sentence,” Trump said, offering to free the creator of what was once the internet’s most infamous drug clearinghouse. “We will bring him home.” His speeches more typically include a pledge to execute drug dealers, citing China as a model. “It’s time to be winners,” said Trump, asking rhetorically if...
  • US Army Finally has 'Boots on the Ground' in Gaza in the Most Humiliating Way Possible

    05/25/2024 10:02:25 AM PDT · by chief lee runamok · 70 replies
    redstate ^ | 05/25/24 | staff
    The US floating pier allegedly used to provide relief supplies to Gaza civilians has partially washed away, and two boats used to service it have been washed ashore. According to reports, the Army was temporarily relocating the floating pier to the Israeli port of Ashdod because of heavy wave action. During the move, a segment of the pier came free, and the boats sent to retrieve it went aground,The waves carried it to the Israeli shores of Ashdod.
  • The 'America First' Right Coalesces To Change Foreign Policy

    05/25/2024 3:23:08 AM PDT · by RandFan · 16 replies
    realclearpolitics ^ | May 25 | By Jonathan Draeger
    Sen. Vance, freshman senator from Ohio, started the conference critiquing what he called the foreign policy consensus: “One of my favorite passages from the Bible is ‘by their fruits, you shall know them.’ What are the fruits of the last 40 years of American foreign policy? Of course, it's a disaster in Iraq. It's a disaster in Afghanistan and Syria. It's [a disaster] in Lebanon. On issue after issue after issue, somehow, the foreign policy consensus in this town seems to almost always be wrong.” He levied this critique against the current war in Ukraine as well, saying that his...
  • Press Release: Operation Rescue Calls for Major Investigation into Wichita Mega Abortion Clinic

    05/25/2024 2:39:43 AM PDT · by Morgana · 14 replies
    Operation Rescue ^ | May 24, 2024 | Anne Reed
    Doors of Late-Term Abortion Business Shuttered for Foreseeable Future Amid ‘Compliance Issues’ The infamous late-term abortion mill, Trust Women, in Wichita, Kansas, has halted abortions this week after a series of scandalous events. The high-volume abortion business is no stranger to sordid, illegal activity and the gruesome murder of late-term babies. Inside sources have reported that the co-executive directors and the medical director were all fired in April. The medical director was reportedly replaced with an unqualified candidate – an emergency medicine doctor of osteopathy who founded a wellness clinic specializing in erectile dysfunction treatment, weight loss, and services such...
  • Fauci ‘Could Be Indicted’ for Destruction of Records, Rand Paul Says

    05/25/2024 12:46:08 AM PDT · by RandFan · 36 replies
    Daily Signal ^ | May 25 | Fred Lucas
    Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., contends there are grounds to prosecute Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of the COVID-19 pandemic in America, based on congressional testimony from a top aide to the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “The most important knowledge that we learned is that [Dr.] David Morens, 20-year assistant to Fauci, was purposely evading FOIA, which is the law. More than that, he was also destroying evidence,” Paul told The Daily Signal, referring to the Freedom of Information Act and Morens’ testimony Wednesday before a House select subcommittee. “He was taking emails and...
  • George Floyd’s Uncle Tells How Nephew’s Death Changed His Life

    05/24/2024 10:48:56 PM PDT · by RandFan · 29 replies
    Daily Beast ^ | May 25 | Tom Lawrence
    On the fourth anniversary of George Floyd’s death, his uncle Selwyn Jones tells The Daily Beast how his nephew’s brutal killing turned him into an activist.Every day, Selwyn Jones misses his nephew, George Floyd. Today marks four years since Floyd, 46, was killed in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department. In death, he has become a martyr and a symbol of the oppression and violence against Black people at the hands of law enforcement. But to his uncle, he was a big, good-natured guy who loved to laugh. That’s the person Jones misses seeing and talking to, he told...
  • RFK Jr. pointedly attacks Trump over COVID response in Libertarian Party speech

    05/24/2024 4:21:00 PM PDT · by RandFan · 81 replies
    The Hill ^ | 05/24/24 6:48 PM ET | BY CAROLINE VAKIL
    Robert F. Kennedy Jr. targeted Donald Trump over his administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, as he spoke to Libertarians during the party convention on Friday. Kennedy argued that the former president and his administration had violated people’s First Amendment rights when they instituted health guidelines to combat the coronavirus pandemic. “I think he had the right instinct when he came into office. He was initially very reluctant to impose lockdowns, but then he got rolled by his bureaucrats. He caved in, and many of our most fundamental rights disappeared practically overnight,” Kennedy said at the Libertarian National Convention in...
  • LETHALLY LEASHED China unveils robot ‘dogs of wars’ with machine guns mounted on their backs – and handlers must ‘keep them on leash’

    05/24/2024 1:14:58 PM PDT · by bitt · 54 replies
    https://www.the-sun.com ^ | 5/24/2024 | Ashley Palya
    CHINA had a test run with its newest military addition - robot dogs equipped with machine guns on their back. The machine gun robodogs are going through drills for a 15-day exercise called Golden Dragon with Chinese and Cambodian troops. Golden Dragon was held in central Kampong Chhnang Province and at sea off Preah Sihanouk Province, Agence France-Presse reported last week. The training mission consists of over 2,000 troops, 14 warships, two helicopters, and 69 armored vehicles/tanks alongside the remote-controlled four-legged robot dogs with automatic rifles. The troops are also working on live-fire, anti-terrorism, and humanitarian rescue drills are included....
  • UN's top court orders Israel to halt military operations in Rafah

    05/24/2024 6:59:33 AM PDT · by RandFan · 32 replies
    BBC ^ | May 24 | BBC
    The court's orders The ICJ has made several orders including for Israel to: • halt military operation in Rafah • open the Rafah border crossing with Egypt for the entry of humanitarian aid at scale • ensure access to Gaza for investigators and fact-finding missions • report to the court within a month on its progress in applying these measures 13-2 judgement
  • Ramaswamy endorses Rick Scott in Senate GOP leadership race

    05/24/2024 2:04:33 AM PDT · by RandFan · 7 replies
    The Hill ^ | 05/23/24 11:28 AM ET | BY ALEXANDER BOLTON
    Recent presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has endorsed Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R) as “by far the best choice” to succeed Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), a reflection of the early support Scott’s leadership bid is picking up among prominent conservatives. “Rick Scott is *BY FAR* the best choice among those running for Senate Republican Leader,” Ramaswamy, who dropped out of the White House race earlier this year, said in a post on the social platform X. “He successfully led a big business & a big state, there’s no doubt he can do this job. “He also possesses...
  • Follow-up on Steven Van Zant Article posted by NickCaraway!

    05/23/2024 11:21:40 PM PDT · by Notch · 13 replies
    Notch
    Excellent Radio 107.9 FM - KYXZ-LP - FM 107.9 - Grover Beach, CA - Listen Online https://streema.com/radios/KYXZ_LP Sent using Yandex.Browser for mobile (https://mbrowser.yandex.com) This is one of original Pirate Radio station still putting out great music. All genres, new and old. Plenty of great stuff and not overloaded with the same worn out Classics. Something for everyone. Enjoy!
  • Hike the Hundred (Santa Clara County, CA)

    05/23/2024 9:03:00 PM PDT · by ProtectOurFreedom · 8 replies
    Join us in celebrating Stevens Creek County Park’s 100th anniversary by completing the Hike the Hundred Challenge. Rack up 100 points in 100 days! There are 13 curated trails at 12 parks where participants go on a scavenger hunt for our Park's unique findings. ​​​​There are six ways to collect your points: Visiting the park (5 points) - Take a selfie in front of the park sign.Plant (2 points) - ID the plant and take of picture (careful not to touch if its poison oak or thorny!)Building (2 points) - Take a picture of the chosen building.Structure (2 points) -...