SOTT (News) FULL 1062 by newskids Ukraine has used chemical weapons - Russian generalOn 30, November 2023Kiev might start using "biological weapons" as well, General Igor Kirillov has said... The Ukrainian military has used chemical agents to poison food on 17 occasions since the conflict escalated in February 2022, killing at least 15 people, Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov said on Tuesday. Kirillov heads the Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops of the Russian Armed Forces. He made the revelation in a speech to the 3rd Congress of Young Scientists, currently meeting in Sochi. He said: "We have confirmed that officials of the administrations of the new constituent entities of the Russian Federation were poisoned. Moreover, we found a number of chemical compounds were used that were made, in most cases, exclusively in one country." He did not specify which country it wa… Read moreVictor Davis Hanson warns America: 'Brace yourself for what's coming in 2024'On 30, November 2023Conservative historian and professor Victor Davis Hanson has released a new video and it is basically a warning for America. The essence of Hanson's message is a reminder of how far the left went to stop Trump last time and that people should be prepared for them to do anything this time. It's an ominous warning but it's important to think ahead and be mentally prepared for anything, because that's what is on the table. Real Clear Politics provides a transcript:… Read more261 North Georgia congregations leave the United Methodist ChurchOn 30, November 2023Fifty-seven area churches will leave the United Methodist Church at the end of this month. They're among 265 congregations in North Georgia and metro Atlanta that voted to disaffiliate from the denomination largely due to a split over LGBTQ issues. Members of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church ratified the disaffiliation requests of 261 of those churches on Nov. 18 during a special called session at the Classic Center in Athens. "I realize how sad this time is for many, including myself. I just hate that those who are leaving us, I will not have the opportunity to meet or to be with," said conference leader Bishop Robin Dease. Conference members did not ratify the requests of four congregations following discussion by members of the Annual Conference. Those churche… Read moreBEST OF THE WEB: The competency crisis is upon usOn 30, November 2023The glue of expertise that held our complicated social machinery together is coming apart, yet we continue to shift more and more responsibility to failing institutions. The outcome won't be pretty. Our current managerial elite predicates its rule on the notion of expertise. Americans once believed that "popular will" granted a ruling class legitimacy, but that story has been replaced with one of scientific knowledge and credentials. The modern political formula frames the world as a complex series of interconnected scientific disciplines that, if managed with a high degree of proficiency, can yield incredible material abundance and miraculous technological innovations. Competency is the key to utopia. Those who are able to obtain prestigious credentials gain the right to rule due to their… Read moreUK health boss says no proof face masks ever worked against CovidOn 30, November 2023They may have even had OPPOSITE effect on spread through 'false sense of security' There is no solid proof masks ever slowed the spread of Covid, England's former deputy chief medical officer said today. Professor Dame Jenny Harries, who now heads up the UK Health Security Agency, said the evidence that coverings reduced transmission is 'uncertain' because it is difficult to separate their effect from other Covid curbs. She also told the UK's Covid inquiry that government advice on how to make a mask using two pieces of cloth was 'ineffective'. Studies showed at least three were needed for even a small effect on the spread of viruses, Dame Jenny said. Meanwhile, she warned advice for the public to wear masks during the pandemic may even have given people a 'false sense of security' that th… Read moreThe murderous legacy of Henry KissingerOn 30, November 2023Kissinger's amoral, genocidal crimes revealed him to be a faithful representative of the US elites whom he served all his life Nothing notable distinguished the birth of Heinz Alfred Kissinger on 27 May 1923 to a German Jewish family in Furth, a city in Bavaria, who died on Wednesday at the age of 100. In 1938, when he was 15, he and his family fled Nazi Germany to New York before Kristallnacht. When the adolescent Heinz became Henry in the US, while retaining his heavy German accent, no one could have predicted that he would order the murder of hundreds of thousands of people as an adult, and become a millionaire as a result. In 1943, at the age of 20, Kissinger was drafted by the US Army. He became naturalised as a US citizen the same year. He served in the army intelligence division on… Read moreMajor earthquakes could be predicted months in advance, scientists sayOn 30, November 2023Seismologists found unique seismic signals eight months before the destructive Turkey-Syria earthquake in 2023, raising hopes for forecasting large earthquakes. Challenges persist, emphasising ongoing research and cautious optimism. Seismologists report a groundbreaking study suggesting that significant earthquakes could be predicted by identifying early warning signals several months before the event. The research, published in Nature Communications, focused on the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkey and Syria in February 2023, bringing to the fore unique seismic signals approximately eight months before the quake.… Read moreRothschild wants merger between corporations, governments and AI to "save capitalism"On 30, November 2023If you're not familiar with a little organization called the "Council For Inclusive Capitalism," don't worry, most people have never heard of it. The group was formed at the height of the covid pandemic; as fear instilled by government officials and the media propagated the news feeds, the majority of the public was rather distracted. The CIC is essentially everything that conspiracy theorists have been warning about for years packaged into a single Orwellian entity, complete with dramatic piano music and a mask of humanitarian philanthropy.… Read morePutin warns that West wants to divide and destroy RussiaOn 30, November 2023President Vladimir Putin, whose picture was shown between two giant images of an ancient Orthodox icon on Tuesday, warned the West ahead of elections in March 2024 that any foreign meddling in Russia would be considered an act of aggression. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has led to the most serious confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, prompting Putin to pivot towards China. Since the invasion, Putin has changed the narrative of the war, casting it as an existential battle between sacred Russian civilisation and an arrogant West which he says is in cultural, political and economic decline.… Read moreHenry Kissinger dead at 100: A warmonger who changed the world for worseOn 30, November 2023Henry Kissinger, an influential and controversial figure in US foreign policy for decades, has died at the age of 100. Known for his unapologetic promotion of raw American power during the Cold War, Kissinger left an indelible mark not only on US foreign policy but on global politics as a whole. The polarizing foreign policy figure, who served as secretary of state and national security advisor under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, died on Wednesday at his home in Connecticut, according to a statement from his consulting firm, Kissinger Associates. Having escaped Nazi Germany with his family in 1938, Kissinger later became a prominent political scientist and geopolitical consultant, and worked his way through the corridors of power in Washington.… Read moreAre American evangelists ready to follow the Zionists to Armageddon?On 30, November 2023For all the people who want the end of days to come sooner rather than later, just find a church where author Dr. Mike Evans speaks. He'll be the first to tell congregations of 500 or more that bombing Iran is the only way to save Israel. The former 700 Club superstar warmonger claims America can only avert Armageddon by starting it. No, really. The congregations out there seem fully ready for the "big ride" to begin. Evans' latest report in the Jerusalem Post, entitled "America needs to bomb Iran," reeks of Zionist hatred for Sunni and Shia Muslims. Evans and his benefactors make sure every good Christian is a card-carrying Arab hater, Russia hater, China hater, and bigot against everyone and everything that is not in the interest of Israel. Good Christians applaud the Zionists blasting b… Read moreEat less meat: The UN's Net Zero plan for agriculture at COP28 in DubaiOn 30, November 2023Comment: From Patrick Wood's Technocracy News and Trends: Crickets, mealworms, and cockroaches are more sustainable than cattle, pigs, and sheep. The UN claims that one-third of all global "greenhouse emissions" come from agriculture, mostly from livestock and most of that from cattle. In December 2023, The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will officially present the first Agriculture Roadmap for Net Zero By 2050. Of course, this will mean "shifting diets to reduce global production of livestock-based protein." This attack on food could cull the human population by billions. The remainder will "eat ze bugs." The world's most-developed nations will be told to curb their excessive appetite for meat as part of the first comprehensive plan to bring the global agrifood industry into l… Read moreMore than 40 inches of snow blankets the Northeast as arctic blast sweeps the USOn 30, November 2023Significant winter weather hit communities across the interior Northeast on Wednesday morning, causing at least one fatal road accident. As expected, more than 40 inches of snow fell over the past two days over parts of the Great Lakes and interior Northeast in the first significant lake-effect snow event of the season. The heaviest snowfall was recorded at Constableville, New York, where 42.7 inches landed. All lake-effect snow warnings expired at 7 a.m. Wednesday. By the afternoon, the snow was winding down across the Great Lakes, with a few flurries or light snow showers trickling across lakes into northwest Pennsylvania and western New York. Heavy snowfall is not expected through the rest of Wednesday, but 1 or 2 inches of snow will still be possible.… Read moreMore than 30 dead pilot whales found on Tasmania's east coastOn 30, November 2023Chris Theobald has had many close encounters with wildlife around the world. But the nature guide's latest interaction on Tasmania's east coast has left him devastated. He along with two of his colleagues had travelled by boat to Bryans Beach, not far from the popular tourist destination of Wineglass Bay. It was there they came across more than two dozen pilot whales lying in the shallows on Wednesday morning. All of them were dead. "It was pretty heart-wrenching," Mr Theobald said.… Read moreBLM leader endorses Trump for presidentOn 30, November 2023Donald Trump broadened his coalition of support this month, earning the endorsement of a Black Lives Matter leader. Mark Fisher, who co-founded BLM Rhode Island, expressed his support for the former president, arguing that the Democrats could no longer be trusted to have the black community's interests at heart.… Read moreDownpour causes flash floods in Jurong West, Singapore - 4 inches of rain in just 75 minutesOn 30, November 2023Several roads in the Jurong West area were flooded on the afternoon of Nov 28 following heavy rainfall over western Singapore. National water agency PUB said on Facebook the same evening that a flash flood had occurred in Boon Lay Way at 3.42pm. It subsided within 20 minutes. In a separate alert on Telegram earlier in the afternoon, it said the flash flood affected two of the three lanes there. PUB said on Facebook that its quick response teams were on site to help the public. It added that it had issued flood risk alerts for six locations. Videos posted on Facebook show the water level in Boon Lay Avenue near River Valley High School almost reaching the height of seats at a bus stop, with vehicles travelling slowly along that road.… Read moreArdent Health Services hit with ransomware attack, forcing hospitals in multiple states to divert ambulancesOn 30, November 2023Hospitals in multiple states have been forced to divert ambulances and reschedule some elective patient procedures after U.S. hospital owner Ardent Health Services was hit with a ransomware attack. On Thanksgiving, Nashville-based Ardent Health Services became aware of an information technology cybersecurity incident, which has since been determined to be a ransomware attack, the company wrote in a statement posted to its website. "The Ardent technology team immediately began working to understand the event, safeguard data and regain functionality. As a result, Ardent proactively took its network offline, suspending all user access to its information technology applications, including corporate servers, Epic software, internet and clinical programs," the company wrote.… Read moreNetanyahu facing internal pressure to end cease-fire, resume war against HamasOn 30, November 2023The US is pushing Netanyahu to accept an extended truce. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing pressure from within his government to end the cease-fire with Hamas and resume the military campaign in Gaza. Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir issued an ultimatum to Netanyahu on social media on Wednesday, saying the current coalition government would dissolve if the war against Hamas is halted. Officials from the U.S., Israel and Qatar are in negotiations regarding a second extension of the cease-fire with Hamas.… Read moreAOC's right, NYC is unaffordable — thanks to her and her fellow DemsOn 30, November 2023For once, AOC is right: "They can't afford to live here anymore," she said Monday of working-class Gothamites. The thing is, it's the policies that she and her progressive allies want more of that have made the city so expensive. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who represents parts of the Bronx and Queens, is, after all, a Democratic Socialist. Look at what occasioned the digital town hall where she spoke: recently announced cuts across city agencies. Why are these needed? To pay for the migrants AOC and her ilk demand we admit in infinite numbers, and house and feed forever at a cost of more than $12 billion through fiscal 2025 (and that's a conservative estimate). What about housing? A recent survey shows a third of New Yorkers are paying over half their income for rent.… Read moreThe biggest takeaways from Tucker on UFOsOn 30, November 2023Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson released an episode Tuesday focused on the government's investigations into unidentified flying objects ... and it was one for the history books. This was Carlson's 42nd episode since launching his own show, and he held nothing back. Aliens are real, we know their tech is not of human origin, so why is the government hiding the truth from us? Especially when we already know and have accepted that we're not alone in the universe? To answer these questions, Carlson turned to Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett, who confirmed the "coordinated effort" to hide UFO information from the public for at least the last 80 years, possibly more. But what else did we learn from this highly insightful conversation on one of the weirdest aspects of our current rea… Read moreBEST OF THE WEB: Elon Musk apologizes for antisemitic tweet but tells advertisers 'go f**k yourself'On 30, November 2023Elon Musk, in his first interview with mainstream media since his antisemitic post on X earlier this month, apologized Wednesday for what he called his "dumbest" ever social media post. But he lashed out at advertisers leaving his platform because of rising antisemitism on X. "I don't want them to advertise," he said at the New York Times DealBook Summit in New York. "If someone is going to blackmail me with advertising or money go f**k yourself. Go. F**k. Yourself," he said. "Is that clear? Hey Bob, if you're in the audience, that's how I feel" he added, referring to Disney CEO Bob Iger, who spoke earlier at the summit on Wednesday. Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Musk's remarks. Musk made the remarks as the X CEO, Linda Yaccarino, sat in the audience. Yacca… Read moreSOTT FOCUS: Israel and the Kennedy AssassinationsOn 30, November 2023[I researched this piece and wrote much of it many months ago as I wrote a piece about JFK having tried to stop Israel from getting nuclear weapons. I'd hoped to find time to investigate things further before the Nov. 22 "anniversary" of the assassination of JFK. But particularly with Israel's assault on the Palestinians in Gaza, I've not found the time to dig deeper. But that assault, the under-covered role of Israel's nukes, the power of the pro-Israeli lobby and the disconnect between the US public and the government in the current slaughter makes this piece all the more relevant, so I'm sharing what I have.] If I had a dime for every time I heard someone say that JFK (reportedly) saying he wanted to shatter the CIA into a thousand pieces led to his assassination I'd be a very wealthy m… Read moreHow your DNA is being used against youOn 30, November 2023"Just by breathing, you're discarding DNA in a way that can be traced back to you." ~ Anna This morning I read about a horse escaping on a Boeing 747 mid-flight. The plane was already 30 minutes into its flight to Belgium when its unusual cargo broke free of its constraints and that was it — complete chaos at 30,000 feet. "There's no issue with flying," the pilot could be heard saying, "but we need to go back to New York as we can't resecure the horse." Apparently, animals escaping on planes isn't all that unusual. Last month, an otter and a rat caused mayhem on a flight from Thailand to Taiwan. Earlier this month, a young bear managed to escape on a flight from Baghdad to Dubai. Animals don't belong on airplanes. They don't feel at home high in the sky, it's unnatural. They have to be hea… Read moreI became convinced lockdown was needed for "man-made" virus due to information from "friends outside Government", Michael Gove tells Covid inquiryOn 30, November 2023The Government was not prepared for a man-made virus and should have been quicker and firmer in its response, Michael Gove told the Covid Inquiry today. The Minister for the Cabinet Office during the pandemic added that his view on the need for lockdowns changed at the end of February 2020 due to information supplied by "friends outside Government". His comments provide new support for the theory that Western Governments imposed lockdowns during March 2020 because its key decision-makers were convinced that the virus was man-made and possibly an escaped bioweapon. Mr. Gove said he initially shared Boris Johnson's concerns about "overreacting" and the economic consequences. At the very end of February, I was inclined to give substantial weight to the Prime Minister's concerns. It was only i… Read moreHenry Kissinger, American diplomat and Nobel winner, dead at 100On 30, November 2023Henry Kissinger, a controversial Nobel Peace Prize winner and diplomatic powerhouse whose service under two presidents left an indelible mark on U.S. foreign policy, died on Wednesday at age 100, according to his geopolitical consulting firm Kissinger Associates Inc. Kissinger died at his home in Connecticut, Kissinger Associates said. Kissinger had been active past his centenary, attending meetings in the White House, publishing a book on leadership styles, and testifying before a Senate committee about the nuclear threat posed by North Korea. In July 2023 he made a surprise visit to Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. In the 1970s, he had a hand in many of the epoch-changing global events of the decade while serving as secretary of state under Republican President Richard Nixon… Read moreEarly humans in the Paleolithic Age: More than just game on the menuOn 30, November 2023A study of the dietary habits and hunting strategies of early humans in the Middle Paleolithic. In a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers from the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (SHEP) at the University of Tübingen show that early humans of the Middle Paleolithic had a more varied diet than previously assumed. The analysis of a site in the Zagros Mountains in Iran reveals that around 81,000 to 45,000 years ago, the local hominins hunted ungulates as well as tortoises and carnivores. Birds may also have been on the menu. As early as the Upper Paleolithic, the earliest period of the Paleolithic, the ancestors of modern humans effectively hunted small and large mammals. "According to various studies, the hominins of the subsequent Middle… Read moreThe magician's hat, and the great simulacrum of palliative balmOn 29, November 2023The present hostage exchange is centred on Gaza. However, Israel has three fronts of hot conflict open. The Magician steps onto the stage, his black cloak swirling about him. Centre stage, he flourishes his hat: It is empty. He punches it lightly to demonstrate its solidity. The Magician then picks up certain objects and places them into his hat. Into it goes Ansar Allah's seizure of an Israeli-owned vessel (the situation is being 'monitored'); into it goes the Iraqi strikes on U.S. bases (barely noticed by the main-stream media); into it too go the 1,000 missiles fired into northern Israel by Hizbullah; into it goes the hot war in the West Bank. The Magician turns to the audience - the hat is empty. But the audience knows those objects have a physical reality, but somehow they are magical… Read moreScott Ritter: The end of US nuclear superiorityOn 29, November 2023As Russia modernizes its nuclear arsenal it is no longer interested in trying to patch up an arms control relationship with the U.S. based on the legacy of the Cold War. On Nov. 1, the U.S. Air Force was forced to explosively "terminate" the flight test of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). This meant blowing it up in the air after it exhibited unspecified in-flight anomalies to engineers monitoring its progress. The test launch, carried out by the U.S. Air Force's Global Strike Command, is, according to the Air Force, "part of routine and periodic activities intended to demonstrate that the United States' nuclear deterrent is safe, secure, reliable, and effective to deter 21st century threats and reassure our allies." The U.S. Air Force maintains some 400 Minuteman… Read moreNot only can Trump win, right now he's the favorite to winOn 29, November 2023There's a strange disjunction in the discourse about the 2024 elections. On the one hand, when presented with the proposition "Trump can win," people will nod their heads sagely and say something along the lines of: "Of course he can; only a fool would believe to the contrary." At the same time, whenever polling emerges showing that Donald Trump is performing well in 2024 matchups, a deluge of panicked articles, tweets (or is it "X"s?), social media posts, and the like emerge, reassuring readers that polls aren't predictive and providing a variety of reasons that things will improve for President Biden. As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. Elections analysts seem to know that they are obliged to mouth the words that Trump can win, but deep down, they don't believe them. The… Read moreIsrael must face international court - ErdoganOn 29, November 2023The military's attacks in Gaza are "unlawful," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres... Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Israel to be brought to an international court over its actions in Gaza amid the continued escalation between West Jerusalem and Hamas. The Israeli military continues to violate international law in full view of the international community, he told UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in a phone call on Tuesday. The two officials spoke ahead of the UN Security Council meeting on Gaza scheduled for Wednesday. The conversation was focused on solutions to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave and ways to achieve "lasting peace" in the region, the Turkish president's office said in a statem… Read moreThis simple move by China could demolish the EU's aggressive agendaOn 29, November 2023Visa-free travel may not seem like a big deal, but it throws a spanner in the works of the rhetoric about a "closed" and "bad-for-business" Beijing... Last week, Beijing announced that the citizens of six EU countries - Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal - will be allowed to visit China for a 15-day period visa-free, allowing them to bypass the cumbersome process of attaining a Chinese tourist visa. The announcement comes about a week ahead of the upcoming China-EU summit, which will bring European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel to Beijing. Recently, von der Leyen has been engaging in increasingly hawkish rhetoric pertaining to Beijing, including making a number of complaints about what she refers to as "Chin… Read moreIsraeli tank gunner reveals orders to fire indiscriminately into kibbutz — reportOn 29, November 2023New disclosures add to the growing body of evidence indicating many Israelis who died on October 7 were killed by the Israeli military. Meanwhile, the Israeli government has muzzled captives freed from Gaza to prevent further damage to the official narrative. Firsthand testimony by admittedly inexperienced Israeli tank operators reveals orders to open fire upon Israeli communities when Palestinian militants breached the fences encircling Gaza on October 7. A glowing profile of an all-female tank company by Israel's N12 News network contains admissions by the 20-year-old captain — identified only as 'Karni' — that she was ordered by a "panicked" soldier to open fire on homes in the Holit kibbutz whether they contained civilians or not. Ten Israelis were killed in Holit on October 7; no chil… Read moreFlorida high school principal, other top officials reassigned for allegedly allowing trans student to play on girls volleyball teamOn 29, November 2023Top officials at a Florida high school, including the principal, have been reassigned as a county investigation looks to find whether they allowed a transgender athlete to play on the school's girls' volleyball team — a violation of Florida law. Monarch High School principal James Cecil, assistant principal Kenneth May, athletic director Dione Hester and volleyball coach Jessica Norton were moved to "non-school sites" on Monday, according to 7 News Miami. Additionally, Alex Burgess, a temporary athletic coach at the school, was told his services were paused until further notice. The probe was launched to determine whether a biological male, who is transitioning or has transitioned into a female, was allowed to play for the team, sources told the outlet.… Read moreWestern education systems degrading - PutinOn 29, November 2023Schools and universities in the West have abandoned the liberal arts in favor of gender studies and other "pseudosciences," Russian President Vladimir Putin remarked in a speech on Tuesday. "In the West, they are now practicing not only the policy of 'cancel culture', but also the actual abolition of liberal arts education," Putin told a gathering of the World Russian People's Council in Sochi. "As a result, both [Western] culture and education are becoming primitive," he continued. "Many classical subjects are simply thrown out of Western curricula, replaced by some kind of gender and similar sciences - pseudosciences, of course." The phenomenon highlighted by Putin has also been extensively condemned by Western conservatives, who have decried attempts by left-wing academics to cancel the… Read moreLacking integrity and holiday spirit: White House Christmas tree toppled by windOn 29, November 2023A giant gust of wind reportedly toppled the U.S. National Christmas tree on Tuesday, just days before its scheduled lighting ceremony with President Joe Biden. Reports showed that a giant crane had been employed to put the toppled tree back into its upright position. Typically, the trees are in the ground but, according to @rawsalerts, they had to be cut down this year due to a fungal outbreak. "The National Christmas Tree, where President Joe Biden was scheduled to deliver the Christmas tree lighting, has been toppled over after a significant gust of wind occurred, according to the National Park Service," said @rawsalerts on X. "The incident on the White House Ellipse, and crews are actively working to carefully lift and secure the tree back into place. The National Park Service is curren… Read moreCanadian journalist hires law firm after being denied access to UAP sighting files at nuclear power facilitiesOn 29, November 2023Senior military and intelligence personnel have consistently reported the presence of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) in proximity to locations linked to nuclear power, weaponry, and technology across the United States for the past 75 years. However, the U.S. is not the only country in which unknown aerial objects have been observed, and sometimes close to sites of national security significance. "Canadians report seeing UFOs in the sky at a rate of 3 times a day," says Chris Rutkowski, a Canadian ufologist and media expert. "There are about 1,000 UFO reports filed in Canada every year, and the number remains high." However, amidst this extensive reporting of the phenomena, another question arises: where are the official Canadian records involving UAP observed near nuclear power facili… Read moreNo surprise: Woke books bought for huge advances by 'inexperienced' editors hired post-George Floyd have floppedOn 29, November 2023Woke books that were bought for huge advances by 'inexperienced' editors have flopped commercially, insiders say. 'Ideological fanatics' allowing their politics to dictate professional decisions have seen profits slump, according to industry experts. Among the works responsible for huge losses is the once hotly anticipated memoir by the actor Elliot Page about his journey transitioning. 'Pageboy' received a $3 million advance but has sold just 68,000 copies.… Read moreAstronomers spot rare six-planet system that orbit star 'in sync'On 29, November 2023For planet-hunting astronomers, finding a star system with six planets is rare enough, but one system recently spotted 100 light-years away has six planets that orbit in lock-step with one another. The six planets orbit a star designed HD110067, which from the perspective of an Earth observer sits in the constellation Coma Berenices. It was first spotted as a potential planet-possessing star in 2020, when NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) detected a distinct dip in its brightness - a telltale sign that a planet had passed in front of the star. Once scientists combined the TESS data with that from the European Space Agency's CHaracterizing ExOPlanet Satellite (Cheops) telescope, they discovered that HD110067 was quite the gem. Their work was published on Wednesday in Natur… Read moreAustralia apologizes to pharma victimsOn 29, November 2023Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has offered a national apology to victims of thalidomide, the morning sickness drug that caused birth defects in around 100,000 babies worldwide. The apology marks the first time that the Australian government has acknowledged a role in the scandal. "To the survivors - we apologize for the pain thalidomide has inflicted on each and every one of you each and every day. We are sorry. We are more sorry than we can say," Albanese addressed a group of survivors in parliament on Wednesday. "This apology takes in one of the darkest chapters in Australia's medical history," he stated.… Read moreUK to advise that schoolboys be allowed dress as girls - The TimesOn 29, November 2023UK school pupils should be able to wear uniforms of the opposite sex and choose another pronoun or name, according to upcoming official guidance, the Times reported on Monday. The newspaper said the document is expected to be released by the British government next week. It will reportedly recommend that children be permitted to "socially transition with the consent of their parents" but only "in limited circumstances." There will be an effective "presumption against" doing so, the Times said, citing a government source.… Read moreNo chance for renewal of nuclear accord with US - MoscowOn 29, November 2023The breakdown in the relationship with the US makes contacts even on an issue as vital as the strategic balance of power nearly impossible, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has told the Izvestia newspaper. The last surviving bilateral nuclear arms reduction treaty is likely to expire, leading to a possible arms race, he predicted in an interview published on Wednesday. New START, the latest iteration of a series of agreements that limited Moscow's and Washington's nuclear arsenals, was last renewed 'as is' in January 2021, days after Joe Biden was inaugurated as US president. Moscow suspended its participation in the agreement in February, citing US involvement in the Ukraine conflict and Kiev's attacks on Russian air bases hosting strategic bombers. At this point, there is "… Read moreUK has lost track of 17,000 unregistered migrantsOn 29, November 2023Rishi Sunak has been accused of losing control of the UK's borders after the Home Office admitted that it does not know the whereabouts of 17,000 people whose asylum claims have been withdrawn. Amid a stalled Rwanda deportation scheme and rising costs for housing people seeking refuge in hotels, senior civil servants in the department were told by the Conservative MP and deputy party chair Lee Anderson they "hadn't got a clue" after failing to provide answers on people seeking refuge in the UK or foreign offender removals. His comments emerged an hour before the prime minister was accused by the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, of facing an "open revolt" from the Tories after "losing control of the borders".… Read moreInvestigation accuses Instagram's algorithm of catering to adults that could have sordid interest in kidsOn 29, November 2023Instagram's algorithm serves videos to adults who might have a prurient interest in children, according to investigation Instagram's algorithm serves videos to adults who they think might have a prurient interest in children, according to an investigation conducted by the Wall Street Journal. The social media app, which is owned by Meta, has an algorithm that shows users Reels, or short videos on topics that they have shown an interest in, most often topics like sports, fashion, comedy or cooking. But, the Journal looked at what the algorithm would recommend to accounts that only follow pages featuring teen and preteen influencers, such as gymnasts and cheerleaders, and found that the social media platform "served jarring doses of salacious content to those test accounts, including risqué… Read morePentagon struggling to pay for Middle East buildupOn 29, November 2023The US military has to make do with a stopgap budget that freezes defense funding at the previous year's levels The Pentagon is scrambling to find money to pay for a military buildup in the Middle East amid the Hamas-Israel conflict due to gridlock in the US Congress, which has so far been unable to approve full defense funding, Politico reported on Tuesday. The US Department of Defense, along with many other federal agencies, is now operating under a stopgap funding bill which was signed by US President Joe Biden earlier this month to avert a potential government shutdown. The measure, which did not satisfy Biden's request for additional money for Israel and Ukraine, also freezes other types of defense spending at the previous year's levels.… Read moreIsraeli shipping firm forced to take route with double journey time after repeated attacks on vesselsOn 29, November 2023ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE: ZIM) announced today that it is implementing temporary proactive measures to ensure the safety of its crews, vessels, and customers' cargo by rerouting some of its vessels due to the threat to safe transit of global trade in the Arabian and Red Seas, The Israeli shipping line says that as a result of these measures, longer transit times in the relevant ZIM services are anticipated, though every effort is being made to minimize disruptions. ZIM reaffirmed its, "Continued commitment to serve the East Mediterranean and Israeli ports. Operations to and from these ports will be maintained with the highest regard for safety protocols which are essential to safeguarding the interests of all stakeholders."… Read moreNational Railroad Museum supports Satanic Temple's entry in Festival of Trees displayOn 29, November 2023It's a holiday tree strung with messages that empower young readers, support the disenfranchised and advocate for equality. It just happens to center a humanoid goat instead of a manger. The Satanic Temple of Wisconsin is one of 66 organizations participating in the Festival of Trees event at the National Railroad Museum, 2285 S. Broadway, said CEO Jacqueline Frank. The group's tree, festooned with red lights and adorned with pentacle baubles and upside-down crosses, was one of 60 with no explicit Christian overtones. "We have six Christian-related groups that have trees up this year, but it's mostly businesses and nonprofit organizations," Frank said. "We have everything from a tree with hardware on it, a tea tree, we have a Lego tree. It's a lot of different organizations promoting their… Read moreWebb captures a prominent new star in PerseusOn 29, November 2023This new Picture of the Month from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope reveals intricate details of the Herbig Haro object 797 (HH 797). Herbig-Haro objects are luminous regions surrounding newborn stars (known as protostars), and are formed when stellar winds or jets of gas spewing from these newborn stars form shockwaves colliding with nearby gas and dust at high speeds. HH 797, which dominates the lower half of this image, is located close to the young open star cluster IC 348, which is located near the eastern edge of the Perseus dark cloud complex. The bright infrared objects in the upper portion of the image are thought to host two further protostars. This image was captured with Webb's Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam). Infrared imaging is powerful in studying newborn stars and… Read moreWestern nations request meetings with Russia at OSCE, agree to open sanctioned-airspace for Lavrov to travelOn 29, November 2023Russia said on Monday there would be no meeting between Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at an OSCE meeting in North Macedonia this week. Lavrov had said earlier he would join the foreign ministers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which includes Canada and the United States, in Skopje if Bulgaria opened its air space for him. He said some Western countries had requested meetings with him. Since President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine in February 2022, the West has sought to isolate Russia, and face-to-face meetings between senior ministers have been rare.… Read moreBEST OF THE WEB: Why are "THEY" trying to injure or kill me?On 29, November 2023Although this is a very sharp and harsh question to headline any article, it is a question that has to be asked. Why are most (if not all) of our trusted institutions colluding to kill or injure us? Why? For the average person who lives inside our very cozy media and government illusion, it's often a question that their minds won't even allow them to ponder. The average person's fear of reality ends up being a maximum-security psychic prison in most cases. This same fear inhibits the average person from processing what's obviously happening in our world today. The fear I allude to, which inhibits many people from coming into full contact with their very harsh and painful reality, has to do with a massive Grand Canyon sized contradiction gap between what the general public was taught (by co… Read moreThe crash will be spectacularOn 29, November 2023"Interest on the federal debt is now so immense that it's consuming 40% of all personal income taxes... If federal finances continue on their current path, we are only a few years from the entirety of income taxes being needed to finance the debt..." The government collects $2.6 trillion of individual taxes at the point of a gun and threat of prison. Meanwhile they still operate at an annual deficit of $2 trillion. And this is before interest on the national debt starts to really skyrocket. Our Troll Secretary of the Treasury Yellen had the opportunity to lock in trillions of our national debt for 30 years at 2% rates, but purposely kept rolling it on a short-term basis.… Read more
