The World Events Thread

[nuckin_futz]

How about some good news?

 

Robert Mugabe, former Zimbabwean leader, dies at 95

 

Top story: Mugabe, from hero to tyrant

 

Robert Mugabe, the former president of Zimbabwe, has died aged 95. The news was announced by the country’s current president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, this morning. It is believed Mugabe died in Singapore, where he had been a frequent visitor to receive medical care in recent months as his health has deteriorated. As far back as November 2018, Mnangagwa, who took over from him as president, told members of the ruling Zanu-PF party that Mugabe could no longer walk.

 

Mugabe was a hero of Zimbabwe’s independence struggle and became the country’s leader in 1978 before his decades-long rule descended into tyranny, corruption and incompetence. Though once widely celebrated for his role in fighting the white supremacist regime in his homeland, known as Rhodesia under colonial rule, Mugabe had long become a deeply divisive figure in his own country and across the continent. His final years in power were characterised by financial collapse, surges of violent intimidation and a power struggle pitting his wife Grace, 41 years younger, against Mnangagwa, his former righthand man.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/06/friday-briefing-robert-mugabe-dies-aged-95

[RUPERTKBD]

On 9/9/2019 at 2:54 PM, Jimmy McGill said:

there may well be a god, but the universe it created is indifferent.

Well, this story certainly doesn't look good on the church:

 

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/10/us/california-church-forced-labor-trafficking/index.html

 

Quote

 

A dozen leaders of a California-based ministry have been indicted by a federal grand jury, accused of forced labor of mostly homeless people, a US attorney said.

Imperial Valley Ministries leaders recruited people by promising food and shelter, and instead forced them to beg for money for nine hours a day, six days a week and to give up their welfare benefits "for the financial benefit of the church leaders," prosecutors said in a news release Tuesday that announced the indictment had been unsealed.

The ministry leaders will face charges of conspiracy, forced labor, document servitude and benefits fraud, US Attorney Robert Brewer said.

The ministry operates nondenominational churches and group homes in the United States and Mexico.

CNN reached out to Imperial Valley Ministries and officials declined to comment, saying they were on their way to court.

The defendants were arrested in El Centro and San Diego and in Brownsville, Texas. Arraignments began Tuesday.

"The indictment alleges an appalling abuse of power by church officials who preyed on vulnerable homeless people with promises of a warm bed and meals," Brewer said. "These victims were held captive, stripped of their humble financial means, their identification, their freedom and their dignity."

The indictment alleges church leaders kept victims inside group homes with deadbolt locks only they had keys to and confiscated IDs such as driver's licenses, immigration papers and passports to prevent victims from escaping.

One victim was a 17-year-old girl who escaped by breaking out of a window, Brewer said. She went to the police, he said.

"Dozens of victims have alleged the same thing -- once they were inside the group homes, the IVM had become a venture designed to keep as many as people as possible for as long as possible," Assistant US District Attorney Chris Tenorio said at a press conference Tuesday.

Victims said they were isolated and closely watched, Tenorio said. They were threatened with punishment for violating house rules, and they weren't allowed to go anywhere unattended, he said.

They were told their children would be taken away from them if they left, Brewer said.

Victims were made to turn over all their belongings, Tenorio said, and the accused church leaders took victims' benefits, such as Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards that allowed the holder to buy food. They then gave them to people not eligible for the benefits, he said.

Victims were refused basic and necessary medical attention, said Scott Brunner, special agent in charge of the FBI's San Diego field office. That included a diabetic who was refused insulin and even the food needed to control blood sugar levels, said Brewer.

Identifying labor trafficking victims is particularly challenging, Brunner said, because the victims often are isolated and work behind the scenes doing legal work, on farms, in homes, in restaurants and factories.

I would like this case to send a message to the victims," said Brewer. "That message being: We want to help you. You have to report these types of crime to law enforcement, so that we can help you."

 

 

[JM_]

1 hour ago, RUPERTKBD said:

Well, this story certainly doesn't look good on the church:

 

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/10/us/california-church-forced-labor-trafficking/index.html

 

 

ugh.  I have no issues with personal spirituality, but for some reason the more it gets "organized" the more it seems to do harm. 

[bishopshodan]

Giraffe-sized flying reptiles once soared over Alberta

https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/cryodrakon-boreas-pterosaur-alberta-1.5277614

Newly identified pterosaur species had a wingspan of 10 metres

 

 

Really cool. Cryodrakon.

Giant, flying meat eater. Just need to be able to spit fire and there we go....Dragon.

 

 

 

[bishopshodan]

I've talked about this before regarding the Vancouver port. Now a report out of Delta.

 

Interested in some organised crime operations? out of 2.5 million containers arriving yearly  at the Delta port, 0.5% of them are inspected.

 

Insane.

 

https://globalnews.ca/news/5892137/deltaport-no-police/?utm_expid=.kz0UD5JkQOCo6yMqxGqECg.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

Deltaport’s lack of police means less than 1 per cent of containers get checked, officials say

 

 

[bishopshodan]

Come on Alberta.

 

Calgary doesn't have room for their kids while Edmonton doesn't have room for their dead.

 

Over-enrolled southeast Calgary high school holds classes in hallways

https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/over-enrolled-southeast-calgary-high-school-holds-classes-in-hallways-1.4588991

There are so many students at a southeast Calgary high school that some classes are being held in hallways and the school foyer.

 

Storage of bodies in rented trailer leads to probe of medical examiner's space shortage

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/bodies-stored-rented-trailer-medical-examiner-1.5278243

Alberta Justice has launched an investigation after CBC News recorded video of a funeral home employee dragging a dead person in a body bag from a refrigerated trailer rented by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to address a shortage of body storage.

[CBH1926]

On 9/12/2019 at 2:44 PM, bishopshodan said:

Giraffe-sized flying reptiles once soared over Alberta

https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/cryodrakon-boreas-pterosaur-alberta-1.5277614

Newly identified pterosaur species had a wingspan of 10 metres

 

 

Really cool. Cryodrakon.

Giant, flying meat eater. Just need to be able to spit fire and there we go....Dragon.

 

 

 

Nowadays they have been replaced by gargantuan lifted pickup trucks guzzling diesel.

Edited September 15, 2019 by CBH1926

[CBH1926]

This should help ease tensions between Iran and USA.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/14/business/saudi-oil-output-impacted-drone-attack/index.html

[riffraff]

1 hour ago, CBH1926 said:

Nowadays they have been replaced by gargantuan lifted pickup trucks guzzling diesel.

Even my 11 year old can spot an Alberta truck before even seeing a plate.

 

Dodge Pickup.  Check

 

lifted.  Check

 

road flattened mudders with no dirt on them.  Check

 

loud exhausts.  Check

 

 

 

[mdehaan]

16 hours ago, CBH1926 said:

This should help ease tensions between Iran and USA.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/14/business/saudi-oil-output-impacted-drone-attack/index.html

False Flag?

 

On the anniversary of Lehmann Bros bankruptcy.

[CBH1926]

18 hours ago, riffraff said:

Even my 11 year old can spot an Alberta truck before even seeing a plate.

 

Dodge Pickup.  Check

 

lifted.  Check

 

road flattened mudders with no dirt on them.  Check

 

loud exhausts.  Check

 

 

 

Lifted pickup trucks have become more common by me as well.

I am not sure why, we have no oil fields, it’s flat as a pancake and it the last 25 years I would rarely see any.

[Lancaster]

22 hours ago, CBH1926 said:

This should help ease tensions between Iran and USA.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/14/business/saudi-oil-output-impacted-drone-attack/index.html

50% of Saudi's production, 5% of the world's total.  Surprisingly small considering the amount of clout they pull.  

 

This should be a good time for Canada to capitalize since who knows how long it will take before production gets back to normal.  And probably a good chance a similar occurrence may happen again.  This could be a great opportunity for seizing more market share by Canadian producers.  

Or at the very least, stop Eastern Canada from importing oil from SA.  

[Alflives]

7 minutes ago, Lancaster said:

50% of Saudi's production, 5% of the world's total.  Surprisingly small considering the amount of clout they pull.  

 

This should be a good time for Canada to capitalize since who knows how long it will take before production gets back to normal.  And probably a good chance a similar occurrence may happen again.  This could be a great opportunity for seizing more market share by Canadian producers.  

Or at the very least, stop Eastern Canada from importing oil from SA.  

If only we had a pipeline to from the Tar Sands to Rupert, so we could actually ship our oil.  

[CBH1926]

34 minutes ago, Lancaster said:

50% of Saudi's production, 5% of the world's total.  Surprisingly small considering the amount of clout they pull.  

 

This should be a good time for Canada to capitalize since who knows how long it will take before production gets back to normal.  And probably a good chance a similar occurrence may happen again.  This could be a great opportunity for seizing more market share by Canadian producers.  

Or at the very least, stop Eastern Canada from importing oil from SA.  

It’s crazy that Canada does not capitalize on its oil riches. 

Instead you are dependent on importing and refining from other countries.

USA has become largest oil producer in the world, the sooner we cut ties with Saudi barbarians the better.

[RUPERTKBD]

This is disturbing:

 

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/its-been-a-roller-coaster-sask-nurse-prepares-for-appeal-after-dollar26k-penalty-over-facebook-post/ar-AAHn97P?li=AAggXBV

Quote

It's been a tough four years for Carolyn Strom.

In 2016, the Prince Albert, Sask., nurse was found guilty of professional misconduct by the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association after a 2015 post she made on Facebook, criticizing the health care her grandfather received.

She was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and $25,000 to cover the cost of the tribunal.

"It's been a roller-coaster," said Strom. "It's been really stressful. I didn't ever imagine that it would go on this long."

On Tuesday, Strom will be at the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal to fight the association's decision, as well as a Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench decision that ruled against her last year.

The professional charges stemmed from a February 2015 Facebook post where Strom criticized the care her grandfather received while receiving palliative care at St. Joseph's Integrated Health Centre in the town of Macklin, Sask., about 225 kilometres west of Saskatoon.

"It is evident that not everyone is 'up to speed' on how to approach end of life care ... or how to help maintain an aging senior's dignity (among other things!)," read part of the Facebook post.

"To those who made Grandpa's last year's less than desirable, please do better next time!"

Some of the nurses in the hospital felt Strom's post was a personal attack, and complained. The SRNA ruled the post brought the nursing profession into disrepute and violated its social media policy.

Strom refused to drop the case and held to it as a matter of principle. She was ordered to write an essay explaining what she did wrong, and refused to do so.

She believes her case has had a chilling effect on other nurses speaking out across the province.

"My fear is that things aren't getting reported. Things aren't changing," she said. 

"People are afraid to to address concerns, and that's not helping anybody, especially the people with family members that are in hospital."

 

More in the link, but essentially what they're saying here is "Don't criticize, or we'll ruin you financially"....

 

Hopefully, the Appellate Court rules in her favor.

[JM_]

23 minutes ago, RUPERTKBD said:

This is disturbing:

 

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/its-been-a-roller-coaster-sask-nurse-prepares-for-appeal-after-dollar26k-penalty-over-facebook-post/ar-AAHn97P?li=AAggXBV

More in the link, but essentially what they're saying here is "Don't criticize, or we'll ruin you financially"....

 

Hopefully, the Appellate Court rules in her favor.

man thats stiff. I can understand a professional organization needing to keep members from going off in public, but 25k? 

[Sean Monahan]

Don’t think it’s suitable for this thread but wasn’t sure where else to put it. Kaillie Humphries is a nut. 

 

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.thestar.com/amp/sports/amateur/opinion/2019/09/17/bobsled-champion-kaillie-humphries-has-almost-nowhere-to-turn-after-courtroom-power-play-hits-the-wall.html

 

True to her nature, Kaillie Humphries tried. She made it clear at the 2018 Olympics that she was not happy with Canada’s bobsled program. Later that year, she filed a harassment claim against her coach. This year, she filed a lawsuit in the hopes of forcing an exit from Canada to compete for the United States. The lawsuit wasn’t even the equivalent of a bobsled crashing; it was like trying to drive a bobsled on a highway. Still, the three-time Olympic medallist gave it a go. As someone who knows her well once said, she sees almost everyone as competition.

And today Kaillie Humphries should be looking around at piles of ash and wondering, at age 34, if she has run out of bridges to burn.

[Gnarcore]

On 9/15/2019 at 7:27 PM, Alflives said:

If only we had a pipeline to from the Tar Sands to Rupert, so we could actually ship our oil.  

If only we had a pipepline from our oil to our refineries out east....  that is the pipeline that makes sense. 

[RUPERTKBD]

9 hours ago, Sean Monahan said:

Don’t think it’s suitable for this thread but wasn’t sure where else to put it. Kaillie Humphries is a nut. 

 

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.thestar.com/amp/sports/amateur/opinion/2019/09/17/bobsled-champion-kaillie-humphries-has-almost-nowhere-to-turn-after-courtroom-power-play-hits-the-wall.html

 

True to her nature, Kaillie Humphries tried. She made it clear at the 2018 Olympics that she was not happy with Canada’s bobsled program. Later that year, she filed a harassment claim against her coach. This year, she filed a lawsuit in the hopes of forcing an exit from Canada to compete for the United States. The lawsuit wasn’t even the equivalent of a bobsled crashing; it was like trying to drive a bobsled on a highway. Still, the three-time Olympic medallist gave it a go. As someone who knows her well once said, she sees almost everyone as competition.

And today Kaillie Humphries should be looking around at piles of ash and wondering, at age 34, if she has run out of bridges to burn.

I've been (sort of) following this story for a week or so, but one thing confuses me:

 

I thought you couldn't compete for a different country once you're represented one country internationally....

[Lancaster]

2 hours ago, RUPERTKBD said:

I've been (sort of) following this story for a week or so, but one thing confuses me:

 

I thought you couldn't compete for a different country once you're represented one country internationally....

Maybe there's a statute of limitation?

 

I do remember some female wrestler or something for China (or was it Mongolia) that competed in the Olympics during her younger days, but competed for Canada after like 20 years after back during 2008.  

 

Or maybe I'm really mis-remembering..... 

Edited September 18, 2019 by Lancaster