Topic: What's in the News? 2.0

[Lustful Bride]

Data Leak reveals China's disgusting camp practices.

[Lustful Bride]

I almost want to say this article feels abit too alarmist, but I really don't know enough to really judge it. Still it is always a band thing when drug dealers feel bold enough to gun down pubic defenders in broad daylight.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-dutch-are-waking-up-to-discover-they-live-in-a-narco-state/ar-BBXhSTe?ocid=spartanntp

[Lustful Bride]

Italian police foil a Nazi plot.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/italian-police-uncover-nazi-plot-as-19-arrested-and-weapons-seized/ar-BBXu4Aq?ocid=spartanntp

[Deamonbane]

Brazil's president accuses actor DiCaprio of financing Amazon fires, offers no evidence

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-environment-dicaprio/brazils-president-accuses-actor-dicaprio-of-paying-to-burn-the-amazon-offers-no-evidence-idUSKBN1Y32HD

[TheGlyphstone]

Brazil's president [LITERALLY ANYTHING HE SAYS OR DOES], offers no evidence

Pretty much sums Bolsanaro up. Man's a nutcase.

[Callie Del Noire]

Pretty much sums Bolsanaro up. Man's a nutcase.

We live in a glass house.. we can’t throw rocks at other leaders when we have our own nutcase

[Oniya]

We live in a glass house.. we can’t throw rocks at other leaders when we have our own nutcase

I think we're allowed to sympathize, though.  I'm feeling bad for both Brazil and the UK right now.

[Callie Del Noire]

It still confuses me that we are led by short sighted idiots and obstructionist/opportunists who can’t see past their own lifetime.

[gaggedLouise]

This is for Lusty: man sets up a gun trap meant to fire whenever someone enters by the main door of his home, then gets shot as he walks in the door.  And there were more traps he had arranged around his place... 

It's like a weird parody of that scene at the end of The Big Sleep, where the kingpin has told his men to "fire at the first people walking out of the door onto the porch" and thinks it's going to be Sam Spade, but Spade turns the tables and forces him to walk out the door instead... 

https://news.sky.com/story/man-killed-by-own-gun-booby-trap-in-maine-11875326

[Markus]

Well that's a darn shame.

Jewish graves defaced with Nazi swastikas

[Lustful Bride]

This is for Lusty: man sets up a gun trap meant to fire whenever someone enters by the main door of his home, then gets shot as he walks in the door.  And there were more traps he had arranged around his place... 

https://news.sky.com/story/man-killed-by-own-gun-booby-trap-in-maine-11875326

……..That level of lethal stupidity is a very rare thing.

Well that's a darn shame.

Jewish graves defaced with Nazi swastikas

Its a tragedy. Those people should be allowed to rest in peace. :(

[Beorning]

Here's the news item that, lately, is one of the top political subjects here in Poland: the problem with Marian Banaś.

Who's Marian Banaś? Alright, brace yourself.

Marian Banaś is a long-time associate of the current ruling party, PiS. He's not technically a member, but he was involved with them for years. During the last four years, he was a deputy Minister of Finances, then a chief of a government branch created to deal with tax frauds and, then, a Minister of Finances.

Eventually, around August or September, PiS voted him in as the chief of Supreme Audit Office (NIK). This is a hugely important function, as NIK is an institution authorized to audit all kinds of things, including the government itself. The chief of NIK is elected for a term of 6 years and is almost-impossible to remove once voted in, even by the ruling party. So, you'd really like to have an honest, law-abiding person there...

The problem? Even before Banaś was voted in as the chief of NIK, it was known that he might be problematic, as it was known that his personal finances were being scrutinized by the main anti-corruption agency, CBA. The opposition protested putting Banaś into this position for that reason - because, seriously, why would you give the leadership of NIK to someone who might have corruption problems himself? But, of course, PiS ignored all the criticism and voted Banaś in.

And then, there came a bombshell.

Shortly after Banaś' promotion, TVN24 (the biggest Polish independent news stations) aired an investigation report that revealed that Banaś is leasing a building he owns to a criminal. And that said criminal is, apparently, using the building to run a brothel - which Banaś must've known about... The report also gave additional proof to the accusations that there's something shady about Banaś' personal finances.

In the furor that followed, even more dirt was revealed - with Banaś himself admitting he might've been doing rather... unethical things to decreases his taxes. Remember, this guy was a Minister of Finances and, also, used to be responsible for fighting tax fraud...

Initially, PiS defended Banaś rather furiously, claiming the accusations were slander by "the tax-evasion mafia" and that Banaś is a "crystal-clear" and fully honest. Eventually, even they had to admit that the weight of accusations was so big that they cannot defend the guy anymore.

The problem? Nobody knows how to remove him from office now!  Because a chief of NIK has so many legal safeguards he basically cannot be removed, if he doesn't resign himself...

According to some news reports, it seems like PiS is currently involved in putting a pressure on Banaś to resign. The pressure apparently included... getting his son fired from a job... Yes, the government basically tried to blackmail Banaś with "Resign or we're ruin your family"...

This is... insane. 

https://www.tvn24.pl/tvn24-news-in-english,157,m/poland-chief-auditor-under-scrutiny-over-his-assets-issues-statement,990618.html

[Sara Nilsson]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nearly-700-000-will-lose-food-stamps-usda-work-requirement-n1095726?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma

New rules will cost about 700.000 people their food stamps. Because:

“We’re taking action to reform our SNAP program in order to restore the dignity of work to a sizable segment of our population and be respectful of the taxpayers who fund the program,” Perdue said. “Americans are generous people who believe it is their responsibility to help their fellow citizens when they encounter a difficult stretch. That’s the commitment behind SNAP, but, like other welfare programs, it was never intended to be a way of life.”

Basically, we are doing this so people will get jobs.

But we are doing nothing to help them get those jobs. Because.. well fuck the poor.

The USDA said that this was an extension of President Donald Trump’s April 2018 executive order, called “Reducing Poverty in America by Promoting Opportunity and Economic Mobility,” that aimed to create more work programs and limit public assistance.

Removing something the very poorest need isn't helping them stop being poor. You are just giving them the stick and no carrot. Very very very very VERY few just mooch of the SNAP program with no interest in getting a job. This whole.. oh people on wellfare are just lazy is so infuriating. I was on Swedish wellfare for a while during my transition because no one would hire a guy in a dress. And the vast majority I met wanted a job, searched desperately for a job and took any shit job they could find.

[TheGlyphstone]

Silly news, but apparently the colors red and blue are sufficiently 'triggering' that Mattel decided UNO needs a 'non-partisan' special edition update.

https://www.mattelgames.com/en-us/uno-nonpartisan

[Callie Del Noire]

Silly news, but apparently the colors red and blue are sufficiently 'triggering' that Mattel decided UNO needs a 'non-partisan' special edition update.

https://www.mattelgames.com/en-us/uno-nonpartisan

That is reeeduntulous... seriously..

 Maybe they are trying to get attention?

[legomaster00156]

That is reeeduntulous... seriously..

 Maybe they are trying to get attention?

Yes. This is clearly a marketing ploy.

[Skynet]

Silly news, but apparently the colors red and blue are sufficiently 'triggering' that Mattel decided UNO needs a 'non-partisan' special edition update.

https://www.mattelgames.com/en-us/uno-nonpartisan

I saw the phrase get mentioned in some news articles (notably right-wing rags like the New York Post and such), although the Mattel page didn't use "triggered" as far as I can tell.

If they did use the phrase elsewhere, you can't really play the 'no politics' card when you then use 'triggering' in a derisive way which primarily meant to poke fun at PTSD survivors and leftists.

[Bly]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nearly-700-000-will-lose-food-stamps-usda-work-requirement-n1095726?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma

New rules will cost about 700.000 people their food stamps. Because:

Basically, we are doing this so people will get jobs.

But we are doing nothing to help them get those jobs. Because.. well fuck the poor.

Removing something the very poorest need isn't helping them stop being poor. You are just giving them the stick and no carrot. Very very very very VERY few just mooch of the SNAP program with no interest in getting a job. This whole.. oh people on wellfare are just lazy is so infuriating. I was on Swedish wellfare for a while during my transition because no one would hire a guy in a dress. And the vast majority I met wanted a job, searched desperately for a job and took any shit job they could find.

I agree with you so much. This news is terribly depressing and shows just how out of touch some people are with what it means to live in poverty or be part of the month-to-month pay of the lower working classes. 

If anything, where I live, people are more likely to be able to get jobs when they have food stamps. Denying them food stamps causes them to put whatever little monetary resources they have for job hunting towards groceries instead. :/

[Oniya]

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20191205/emergency-crews-investigating-manrsquos-report-of-burns-from-small-nuclear-reactor-in-northwest-side-garage

The man told bomb squad, arson fire investigators and medics that he sustained “radio frequency burns” while working on a “quantum physics generator” in his garage, said Battalion Chief Steve Martin, the Columbus Division of Fire spokesman.

I have so many questions.  O_O

[TheGlyphstone]

I agree with you so much. This news is terribly depressing and shows just how out of touch some people are with what it means to live in poverty or be part of the month-to-month pay of the lower working classes. 

If anything, where I live, people are more likely to be able to get jobs when they have food stamps. Denying them food stamps causes them to put whatever little monetary resources they have for job hunting towards groceries instead. :/

Bill O'Reilly did famously say that you didnt count as poor if you owned a refrigerator. That's the mindset all too many people have still.

[Missy]

Bill O'Reilly did famously say that you didnt count as poor if you owned a refrigerator. That's the mindset all too many people have still.

I don't own a refrigerator (my landlord owns a bunch of them), where's my money Bill, you dumbass!

[TheGlyphstone]

I don't own a refrigerator (my landlord owns a bunch of them), where's my money Bill, you dumbass!

He spent it paying off all those women he kept harassing.

[Skynet]

High-up military figures in the US misled the public and their own troops about making progress in the War in Afghanistan. They deliberately hid evidence of the war becoming unwinnable, while also over-emphasizing any positive news they could find.

The Washington Post dropped a bombshell report based on FOIA requests of nearly two decades' worth of articles and material. In addition to the many lives lost, we lost nearly one trillion dollars on this war alone.

The ironic part about this is while it's not talked about as much, the massive mineral wealth lying beneath Afghanistan's soil is a practical resource target for US companies to exploit. But that trillion dollars' worth would only have us break even, making this war a total waste.

Another thing I haven't seen much talked about either is that in Bob Woordward's book Fear even the Trump White House he and Pence were asking what the hell we were doing. Not only in many cases did military brass not have an answer, they even admitted that they intended to be in Afghanistan for the next 30 to 50 years in the belief that if they didn't have a constant military presence then terrorism would grow out of control. Nevermind the fact that a lot of our own policies serve as prime recruitment material what with all the civilians we're bombing from drones.

[Oniya]

'Graveyard of Empires' seems like it should be a tell, ne?

[Callie Del Noire]

'Graveyard of Empires' seems like it should be a tell, ne?

I mean... folks back to Alexander have gotten run thru the blender there.. you’d think they’d learn