RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/September 2019

September 2019
The Senate confirms long time corporate lawyer and labor enemy to be the Secretary of Labor. What was that about draining the swamp again? Noted "socialist" Elon Musk has been found guilty of violating labor laws by preventing workers from organizing. In the race to win the coveted "Scrooge Award" for 2019 Bakersfield, California is considering jailing its homeless population for misdemeanor drug and trespassing offenses, since we all know that broken windows policing works. In other words, "fuck the poors." Stare into the face of one of your distant ancestors, as we have reconstructed what Denisovans looked like based off of DNA evidence Income inequality in the US the worst it's been in 50 years, says Census Bureau. Speaker Nancy Pelosi opens a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump over the Ukraine scandal Karl Meunter, a former SS soldier convicted of helping perpetrate a massacre in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, has died at 96. Unsurprisingly, it turns out that his experiences in the SS still shaped his views, as Herr Meunter was a Holocaust denier and was involved in far-right organizations. The remains of Francisco Franco [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49807372 will be moved out of a huge mausoleum that's become a shrine for the far-right and into a regular grave. And he will still be dead.] Suspending Parliament was unlawful, the Supreme Court rules. This year's roster for the Traditional Britain Group's conference will include Rebel Media journalist Katie Hopkins, Metapedia admin Gregory Lauder-Frost, Holocaust denier Ingrid Carlqvist, and via internet-link to evade a Home Office Ban, Robert Spencer. Trial to begin for cop who murdered black man in his own home A "grassroots" anti-Amazon non-profit group called Free and Fair Markets Initiative (link), has turned out to be an astroturf organisation sponsored by Walmart, Oracle and shopping mall operator, Simon Malls. [https://americanmilitarynews.com/2019/09/colt-is-ending-production-of-ar-15s/ Colt, the gun manufacturer of the infamous AR-15 has said it is stopping production of the gun. This is ironically due to lack of demand and falling interest by civilians.] Co$ faces accusation of child sexual abuse. New study suggests the mysterious "Havana syndrome" which affected US and Canadian diplomats in Cuba may have been caused by pesticides used against mosquitos. The Washington Post reports that Trump made a promise to a foreign leader so troubled, that a US intelligence official that it prompted a whistleblower complaint to The Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It has now been reported it could involve Ukraine, and involved links over a partisan political mission to dig for dirt against Joe Biden. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49738381 Near total ban on e-cigarettes in India. It's now illegal to sell, distribute, advertise, make, import and export them. Whether or not it's still legal to use them if you can somehow manage to get hold of them is unclear.] Indonesia prepares to outlaw consensual sex outside marriage, a move which could threaten millions with imprisonment. On the other the country is planning to raise the marriage age for women to 19. Bolivia is fighting wildfires that are almost as large as Brazil's. This problem is being exacerbated by Evo Morales' poor environmental protection policies, which are about as awful as Bolsonaro's. More GOP family values - Pennsylvania State Senator Michael Folmer charged, after he uploaded child porn to Tumblr. Shades of 2020? Despite not having the numbers, Netanyahu refuses to concede, blames the "biased" media and says Israel needs a Zionist government. (ALS), a disease with mostly poorly understood causes, may possibly be caused by toxins associated with green algae blooms Explosion at a Russian lab storing viruses such as smallpox and ebola. North Carolina sheriff allegedly planned to murder deputy who had tape of said sheriff uttering "racially offensive" comments. (Non-paywalled version.) New York state’s attorney general has subpoenaed eight years of Trump’s personal and corporate tax returns from a local accounting firm, in relation to payments made to Stormy Daniels. To try to stop children from vaping, sweet flavored e-cigarettes will be banned from sale in New York state. The maker of the infamous opioid Oxycontin, Purdue Pharma, has filed for bankruptcy protection. Trump somehow managed to find someone worse than Bolton to serve as acting national security adviser. In the rural town of, the populist-right Sweden Democrat-leading local council has banned the council from flying the rainbow pride flag over its property. The founder and former leader of the far-right Front Nationale, Jean-Marie Le Pen has been charged with embezzlement of EU funds of €9 million by claiming FN staff were non-partisan parliamentary assistants. 2019 Ig Nobel prizes go to research on French postmen's testicles, how much saliva a 5-year-old produces, which itches are nicest to scratch, and other important topics. The centre-right Moderates are proposing in their October party conference to allow the alcohol monopoly to open on Sundays. Currently, opening hours are regulated by law to 10 am to 7 pm weekdays & 10am to 3pm on Saturdays and that's it. Water found in the atmosphere of newly discovered exoplanet, a new study finds. [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/10/us/florida-psychic-fraud.html Fake psychic - Is there any other kind? - in Florida got over half a million dollars out of a medical student to lift a fake curse]; she has been jailed for 40 months and ordered to pay $1.6m (New York Times; or Houston Chronicle) The hellish life aboard high seas trawling vessels revealed in Guardian exposé. The government has been forced by parliament to reveal a précis regarding the “planning assumptions” over a no-deal Brexit, which is called Operation Yellowhammer. The document revealed that the authorities believe that there will be riots, price hikes, border delays and food shortages. (Copy of it here) Scottish appeal court rules that Boris Johnson's of the UK Parliament was unlawful. The challenge, along with two others from England and Northern Ireland, go before the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on 17 September. BuzzFeed UK News has exclusively reported that the Johnson government is planning to use sensitive government data analytics from users of government websites. Leaked documents show the prime minister's chief adviser Dominic Cummings emailed senior officials instructing them: "We must get this stuff finalised ASAP". Such data was used by Cambridge Analytica in the Brexit targeting Governor Gavin Newsom signs Senate Bill 276, which cracks down on fraudulent medical exemptions for vaccinations. Predictably enough, anti-vaxxers are throwing massive temper tantrums and pity parties. Benjamin Netanyahu has made an election promise to formally name his penis after Donald Trump annex the Jordan Valley into Israel, which make up a third of Palestine's West Bank and contains the holy city of Jericho. Trump fires John Bolton. It turns into a "You can't fire me, I quit" Twitter war. It's come out that US intelligence services were forced to extract one of their highest-level spies from Russia in 2017 over fears that President Trump may have mishandled and leaked classified information during his private meetings with Lavrov and Putin. According to an expose in Politico, Jerry Falwell, Jr.'s leadership of Liberty University is monumentally corrupt, the school serving primarily as a vehicle to enrich the Falwell family and their cronies through crooked loans and real estate ventures. A culture of fear prevents anybody from speaking out lest they get sacked. Salacious details of Jerry Jr.'s sex life are also included, including him accidentally sending several people a photo of his wife Becki in a French maid costume, as well as his attempts to influence the politics in Lynchburg, Virginia. A NIRA mortar was discovered outside a police station over the weekend, and a completed bomb stored in a car has spawned an 80-man operation in Derry. The Work & Pensions Secretary, Amber Rudd has quit her role and has left the Conservative whip, over the way the government has treated the rebel twenty-one Conservative MPs over the recent Brexit bill. Johnson has been warned by legal experts that he could be jailed for contempt of court if he refuses to seek another Brexit extension, as the law prohibiting a no-deal Brexit was ready for Royal Assent on Monday. ICE agent opens fire on immigrants outside of a grocery store. Pentagon pulls funds for military schools and daycares to pay for Trump's border wall The House Oversight Committee is investigating suspicious re-fuelling stops at Glasgow Prestwick airport by the U.S. military, due to the billeting of personnel at the nearby Trump Turnberry. According to The Washington Post, the Trump administration is withdrawing a military grant of $250 million to Ukraine, in an attempt to meddle in the 2020 presidency by pushing Kyiv to dig the dirt on Joe Biden. Madagascar is also destroying its forests at a worrying rate, threatening numerous rare species with extinction. Robert Mugabe dies at a hospital in Singapore. [https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-49495145 New Zealand scientists found no traces of plesiosaur, shark or catfish DNA in water samples from Loch Ness. They do, however, say that the Loch Ness monster could be a giant eel.] Germany reports that over 600 "politically motivated right-wing crimes" against refugees, asylum-seekers, and aid organizations took place during the first half of 2019. Boris Johnson's brother has announced his resignation as MP and junior business minister, saying he was "torn between family loyalty and the national interest". Italy's new coalition government swears in, seeks to bolster EU ties. Hurricane Dorian ravages Bahamas, leaving 20 people dead. Meanwhile, Trump may have committed a federal offense by showing an errant weather trajectory of the hurricane. Latest documents in Epstein case contain the names of over 1000 potential suspects. Bangladesh bans mobile phones for 1 million Rohingya refugees fled from Myammar. Haggard's Law strikes again - McKrae Game, the founder of conversion therapy group Hope for Wholeness leaves the closet, begs forgiveness. The second largest grocer in the U.S., Kroger has said it is prohibiting customers from openly carrying firearms in any of its stores, even in open-carry states. Churchill's grandson among the MPs to be expelled from Conservative Party for defying Johnson on the recent 'no deal' Brexit vote. The Hungarian Academy of Sciences appeals to the nation's constitutional court as Orbán's government seeks to seize control of the institution's research bodies. [https://www.npr.org/2019/09/04/757413730/hong-kong-government-withdraws-extradition-bill-a-key-demand-of-protesters Hong Kong's governor has officially withdrawn her proposed extradition bill that would have seen criminals sent to the mainland for trial. This was a key demand from the protesters.] Walmart will stop selling handgun ammunition as well as ammunition used in assault-style rifles. They will continue selling ammos for deer rifles and shotguns. Walmart has about 20% share in ammunition market. The Ukrainian parliament has passed a constitutional amendment which from next year, abolishes MPs’ immunity from prosecution. So in future they may be arrested for crimes while they are MPs, including importantly corruption. The Indonesian government has banned protests and speeches promoting separatism in resource-rich Papua, amidst civil unrest and internet blackout. Israel using DNA tests to "prove" so-called "Jewishness", a fact that has more than a few unsettled, to say the least. Due to by the MP Philip Lee to the Lib Dems, the current Conservative Johnson government has lost its majority of the House of Commons.