Thirty Years After Tiananmen…
June 3rd, 2019Via: Reuters:
Three decades after China’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, increased government suppression of rights activism has pushed the demonstrators’ original goals further away than ever.
In April 1989, weeks before Chinese leaders ordered a military assault to clear the protesters from central Beijing, tens of thousands of students got behind seven key demands – including a free press and freedom of speech, disclosure of leaders’ assets and freedom to demonstrate.
With the demands embodied in a 10-metre (33 ft) high “Goddess of Democracy” sculpture modeled on the Statue of Liberty and printed on thousands of leaflets, the students defied Beijing’s declaration of martial law in calling for reforms to a government rife with corruption and a country shaken by growing inequality.
But rights advocates say the ruling Communist Party, which on Tuesday faces the highly sensitive June 4 anniversary of Chinese troops opening fire on their own people, has in the past 10 years suppressed a civil society nurtured by years of economic development.
“It is much, much worse than 1989,” Shao Jiang, one of the student leaders instrumental in crafting the list of demands, told Reuters from London, where he lives in exile.
More Americans Working in Their 70s
June 3rd, 2019Via: Quartz:
Katharine Abraham, an economics professor at the University of Maryland, was chatting with her hairdresser one night about retirement plans. The economist said she plans to continue working because she wants to and has no plans for retiring. The hairdresser agreed but for different reasons: She needs the money.
Both scenarios are contributing to a big increase in the number of people in the US working into their 70s. Over the past 20 years, the share of Americans working in their 70s has risen from less than 10% to nearly 15%, according to US Census bureau data.
U.S. Forces Blow Up Three Oil Tankers In Syria Enforcing Oil Embargo
June 2nd, 2019Via: OilPrice:
US-led forces have blown up three oil tankers in Syria as the United States increases its pressure on Syria by thwarting the oil trade between the PKK/YPG and the Assad regime, according to local sources quoted by several media sources.
The strike was carried about by coalition planes, which hit three oil tankers, leaving four dead. The coalition has not yet made a statement about the attack. In the area controlled by Assad, oil consumption stands at around 136,000 bpd. Production, meanwhile, is only 24,000 barrels per day. This means that the regime must import significant volumes of crude oil at an estimated expense of more than $2 billion per year.
The attack comes a couple weeks after the EU extended its sanctions on the Assad regime for one year after the Syrian regime upped the ante in repressing the Syrian people, bringing the Syrian crisis to a boiling point.
Pentagon: “Mr. Elizondo Had No Responsibilities with Regard to the AATIP Program While He Worked in the Office of Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence”
June 2nd, 2019Via: The Intercept:
There is no discernible evidence that he ever worked for a government UFO program, much less led one.
Yes, AATIP existed, and it “did pursue research and investigation into unidentified aerial phenomena,” Pentagon spokesperson Christopher Sherwood told me. However, he added: “Mr. Elizondo had no responsibilities with regard to the AATIP program while he worked in OUSDI [the Office of Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence], up until the time he resigned effective 10/4/2017.”
That directly contradicts an email sent by a spokesperson for To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science, a UFO research and entertainment company that Elizondo joined after he left the Defense Department.
Deloitte: Net Worth of Average 18 to 35-Year-Old Has Plummeted 34 Percent Since 1996
June 1st, 2019Via: The Hill:
The net worth of the average 18- to 35-year-old has plummeted 34 percent since 1996, according to new study from accounting group Deloitte.
Despite stereotypes that millennials overspend on entertainment and dining out, the Deloitte study found that the generation is paying more for education, food, transportation and other basic needs, while their incomes have stayed steady.
The group’s average net worth is now below $8,000, putting today’s millennials in a worse financial position than previous generations.
Televangelist on Needing to Use Three Private Jets: “It’s a Biblical Thing”
June 1st, 2019If you don’t believe in the Devil, you might after watching this.
Via: Daily Mail:
Televangelist Kenneth Copeland has appeared in a bizarre interview where he defends using three private jets to travel the world after previously claiming he didn’t want to fly commercial with ‘demons’.
The 82-year-old’s chat with Inside Edition features him angrily pointing and staring the interviewer in one of the instances where he flares up after being confronted about his lavish lifestyle.
But at other moments Copeland has a cheerful demeanor and deflects questions by complimenting her on her eyes, praying for her, and even kissing her hand.
Lisa Guerrero caught up with Copeland – estimated to be worth $760million in October 2018 – after he last year purchased a $3million Gulfstream V private jet from producer and actor Tyler Perry.
U.S. Preparing Antitrust Probe of Google
May 31st, 2019Via: AFP:
The US Department of Justice is preparing an antitrust investigation of Internet titan Google, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
The Journal cited unnamed sources close to the matter as saying the department would look into Google practices related to web search and other businesses.
Justice department officials share antitrust oversight with the Federal Trade Commission, which conducted a wide-ranging investigation of its own into Alphabet-owned Google that ended in 2013 with no action taken.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A new investigation would come as backlash grows against major tech companies that dominate key segments of the online economy.
Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has argued that big firms such as Facebook, Google and Apple should be broken up through antitrust enforcement.
Alphabet’s profit in the first three months of this year sagged under the weight of a hefty antitrust fine in the European Union.
Julian Assange Shows Psychological Torture Symptoms, Says UN Expert
May 31st, 2019Via: Guardian:
Julian Assange is showing all the symptoms associated with prolonged exposure to psychological torture and should not be extradited to the US, according to a senior UN expert who visited him in prison.
Nils Melzer, UN’s special rapporteur on torture, is expected to make his appeal to the UK government on Friday. It comes after Assange, the co-founder of WikiLeaks, was said by his lawyers to be too ill to appear by video link for the latest court hearing of the case on Thursday.
Trump to Punish Mexico for Illegal Immigration with Tariffs
May 30th, 2019Via: Reuters:
President Donald Trump, incensed by a surge of illegal immigrants across the southern border, vowed on Thursday to impose a tariff on all goods coming from Mexico, starting at 5% and ratcheting higher until the flow of people ceases.
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Higher tariffs will start at 5% on June 10 and increase monthly until reaching 25% on Oct. 1, unless Mexico takes immediate action, he said.
“If the illegal migration crisis is alleviated through effective actions taken by Mexico, to be determined in our sole discretion and judgment, the tariffs will be removed,” Trump said.
Google to Restrict Modern Ad Blocking Chrome Extensions to Enterprise Users
May 29th, 2019Via: 9to5Google:
Back in January, Google announced a proposed change to Chrome’s extensions system, called Manifest V3, that would stop current ad blockers from working efficiently. In a response to the overwhelming negative feedback, Google is standing firm on Chrome’s ad blocking changes, sharing that current ad blocking capabilities will be restricted to enterprise users.
