Podcast (weeklyhellscape): Play in new window | Download
Well, it’s out on the day I said it’d be, at least… today, we talk everything in the title, drone strikes in Somalia, Google invading your local news, and so much more. Stick arouynd for a bad time.
This season’s featured song is Sway, by Know Your Enemy – who graciously allowed me to use the song. It’s fucking criminal how unknown this band is. Go change that by liking their vid, subbing to their YT, and getting some merch if you really like it.
That’s right – a “New Study Claims Conspiracy Theorists More Likely to Become Criminals”, and “confirms” antisocial behavior is more likely if you buy any number of very specific things they went over.
Well it’s like Lowkey said, “I’m not anti-America, America is anti-me”. Let’s find out why today 🙂
So let’s hit the good news:
Families in Ripon breathe relief as their residents, who protested a cell tower being placed on school grounds due to cancer cases that cropped up, saw victory when it was taken down.
““It’s been a very hard battle, a very hard battle. And I’m hoping we’ve reached the end of it,” mother Kellie Prime said.
Now, these parents can breathe a sigh of relief after learning the cell tower outside of their sons’ former school, Weston Elementary, will soon be moved.
Prime and Monica Ferrulli have been fighting for this since their sons, Kyle and Mason, were diagnosed with cancer.
“Talking to specialists in the field, scientists, our own doctors,” Ferrulli explained. “All the information that we gathered indicated that that tower could be a factor in their illness.”
While there is no proof that the tower had any impact on their cancer, these moms believe it did. Especially as more students and teachers fell ill.
They say a total of eight were diagnosed in the past couple of years.
“Having so many at one school in the district, with that tower being the one thing that sets Weston apart from the other schools, it’s the only thing we had to look into,” Prime said.
After holding protests, and taking their concerns to the school board, Sprint now says it plans to move the cell tower.”
And something similar happened at a school in South Africa. Protesters gathered and threatened to camp until a tower was removed.
“After the residents objected strongly to the construction of the tower and threatened to camp at the site where the mast was erected until it is taken down, all workers and equipment were removed from the school.”
https://risingsunchatsworth.co.za/131228/protest-leads-removal-cell-mast-school/
Similarly, in Ida Grove, Iowa, residents protested water fluoridation, and since, the council has halted the process…
“In recent months, city leaders and residents debated whether fluoride in the water served as an effective means to reduce tooth decay or presented health risks to the public. About half of residents weighed in on the subject in a recent survey distributed through the city utility bills. A majority of respondents did not support continued fluoridation step, according to the city clerk’s office.
In 1971 city officials started placing hydrofluorosilicic acid, most recently in liquid drops form, in the water supply for the Ida County city of 2,142. The council voted, 3-2, to end the practice, with councilmen Scott Tomlinson, Ryan Goodman and Gregor Ernst supporting the motion and councilmen Paul Cates and Doug Clough voting against it.”
https://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/ida-grove-ends-fluoride-treatment-of-water/article_58fbaaa8-6645-58ff-8436-08319a24d2f4.html
And an Oregon bill would open gateways to marijuana being allowed into the banking sector.
The bill allows the following:
(a) To pay fees or taxes to a public body;
(b) To pay rent on property that is leased by, or on behalf of, a cannabis business;
(c) To pay a vendor that is physically located in Oregon for goods or services associated with a cannabis business; and
(d) To purchase bonds issued by a public body.
And Why is that necessary?
“Because marijuana remains illegal under federal law, cannabis businesses in states that have legalized marijuana remain effectively locked out of the banking system. If a federally chartered or insured financial institution touches marijuana money, it takes on significant legal risk. The federal government insures or charters virtually every bank in the U.S. As a result, cannabis businesses have been forced to transact almost exclusively in cash. Passage of HB3169 would bypass the federal banking system and create a limited banking alternative for the marijuana industry in Oregon.”
https://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2019/03/oregon-bill-would-create-banking-alternative-for-cannabis-industry-bypass-federal-reserve/
Speaking of weed though, another story is relatively positive, “Canadian Man Fills Potholes and Gets Weed, Coffee, Cash From Grateful Locals”. I say relatively, because obviously authorities aren’t pleased. Especially since his sign said “I filled the potholes – pay me instead of your taxes”, he’s been threatened with action and saddled with liability, should accidents occur, even though according to him, “There was one story a couple of weeks ago where a car was driving through and it nailed one of the biggest potholes here and it ripped the axle right off the car.” So clearly the accidents would’ve happened regardless.”
Canadian Man Fills Potholes and Gets Weed, Coffee, Cash From Grateful Locals
And 61% of Americans now support legal weed, according to a General Social Survey poll.
https://nordic.businessinsider.com/61-of-us-supports-legal-weed-2019-3?r=US&IR=T
And in a different sort of green, the Senate has decided not to support the Green New Deal, with Dems agreeing to a “present” vote.
https://cei.org/blog/senate-democratic-sponsors-green-new-deal-heroically-plan-vote-present
And others have pulled their support in a different way – as reported by The Free Thought Project in an article entitled, “What Good Cops Look Like: Sheriff and All Deputies Quit to Protest ‘Unconstitutional’ Jail Conditions”, the sherriff of Nowata County, Oklahoma is resigning, along with almost all staff, over underfunded, dangerous, and deadly jail conditions. The article elaborates:
“Barnett’s resignation in the face of injustice speaks volumes considering that her predecessor is likely the reason the jail is so strapped for funds in the first place. Sheriff Kenny Freeman was arrested last October for embezzlement. He was caught stealing supplies meant for schools in Nowata County. A shameful act indeed.”
Here’s a letter Sheriff Barnett gave us. @KTULNews pic.twitter.com/R6h07gpEIF
— Maureen Wurtz (@MaureenWurtzTV) March 18, 2019
And in a listener-submitted story, a judge ruled New York’s stun gun ban unconstitutional. From Central New York’s Spectrum News:
“The decision came in a lawsuit filed by Matthew Avitabile, of Schoharie County, New York, who said he wanted to buy a stun gun for self-defense in his rural upstate home.
His lawyers argued that New York’s longstanding ban on civilian ownership of stun guns violated the Second Amendment right to bear arms. U.S. District Judge David Hurd agreed.
“New York’s sweeping prohibition on the possession and use of tasers and stun guns by all citizens for all purposes, even for self-defense in one’s own home, must be declared unconstitutional,” Hurd wrote in his decision.”
@WeeklyHellscape A good news story in the world of weapons bans, a federal court ruled NY stun gun ban illegalhttps://t.co/xvJJtd1ra4
— NY Cynic (@CynicalinNY) March 27, 2019
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2019/03/23/judge-says-new-york-s-stun-gun-ban-is-unconstitutional
But that’s about it for good news. Let’s hit bad.
As reported by Michael Snyder on Activist Post, “A Bond Market Indicator That Has Predicted Every Recession In The Last 50 Years Just Got Triggered” and “Just Before The Great Recession, Mountains Of Unsold Goods Piled Up In U.S. Warehouses – And Now It Is Happening Again”.
“If the bond market is correct, the U.S. economy is definitely heading into a recession. Over the past 50 years, there have been six previous occasions when the yield on three-month Treasury bonds has risen above the yield on ten-year Treasury bonds, and in each of those instances a recession has followed. Now it has happened again, and this comes at a time when a whole host of other economic indicators are screaming that a recession is coming. Of course we have seen recession indicators triggered at other times in recent years, and the Federal Reserve was able to intervene and successfully extend this cycle on multiple occasions. But now that the global economy is clearly the weakest it has been since the last recession, have we finally reached a breaking point? Many on Wall Street are taking what happened at the end of last week extremely seriously.”
“When economic conditions initially begin to slow down, businesses continue to order goods like they normally would but those goods don’t sell as quickly as they previously did. As a result, inventory levels begin to rise, and that is precisely what is happening right now. In fact, the U.S. inventory to sales ratio has risen sharply for five months in a row. This is mirroring the pattern that we witnessed just prior to the financial crisis of 2008, and it is exactly what we would expect to see if a new recession was now beginning.
In recent weeks, I have been sharing number after number that indicates that a serious economic slowdown is upon us, and many believe that what is coming will eventually be even worse than what we experienced in 2008.”
FedEx Is Talking As If A Global Recession Has Already Begun – And The Numbers Back That Up
Also from Activist Post, this time Brandon Smith, “The Federal Reserve’s Controlled Demolition Of The Economy Is Almost Complete”.
“For many months now the Fed has stated that the US economy is “strong” and “in recovery” despite the evidence at hand. In March, they did not reverse tightening; they only admitted in an indirect way that the economy is not in recovery. They have until September to finish using QT for a controlled demolition of the Everything Bubble. This is more than enough time.
As noted in recent articles, US housing, autos, credit, retail, and even employment are faltering, while prices in most necessities remain high or are climbing. All that is left is for stock markets to follow the fundamental indicators down (as they usually do). This trend started at the same time as the Fed’s tightening began. All that was needed to set the avalanche in motion were moderate rate hikes and asset cuts.
The timing of the current crash is perfect for the banking elites for a number of reasons. Most importantly, they now have a scapegoat to pin the crash on in the form of “populist movements”.”
The Federal Reserve’s Controlled Demolition Of The Economy Is Almost Complete
And as published by Reveal, Oil Execs are “giddy” that a guy they’re tied to was appointed by Trump, as recently revealed by a secret recording.
“Gathered for a private meeting at a beachside Ritz–Carlton in Southern California, the oil executives were celebrating a colleague’s sudden rise. David Bernhardt, their former lawyer, had been appointed by President Donald Trump to the powerful No. 2 spot at the Department of the Interior.
Just five months into the Trump era, the energy developers who make up the Independent Petroleum Association of America, or IPAA, already had watched the new president order a sweeping overhaul of environmental regulations that were cutting into their bottom lines – rules concerning smog, hydraulic fracturing and endangered species protection.
Dan Naatz, the association’s political director, told the audience of about 100 executives that Bernhardt’s new role meant their priorities would be heard at the highest levels of the department.
“We know him very well, and we have direct access to him, have conversations with him about issues ranging from federal land access to endangered species, to a lot of issues,” Naatz said, according to an hourlong recording of the June 2017 event in Laguna Niguel provided to Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting.”
Recording reveals oil industry execs laughing at Trump access
And speaking of gas, Germany sold out the EU and the internet at large, for an oil pipeline. TechDirt reports:
“In the hours leading up to the vote in the EU Parliament on the EU Copyright Directive, the German publication FAZ (which has been generally supportive of the Directive) has released quite a bombshell (in German), suggesting that the reason Germany caved to France on its terrible demands concerning copyright was in order to get France’s approval of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia.
If you don’t recall, the German delegation had actually pushed back on the more extreme versions of Article 13 — and, in particular, had demanded that a final version have a clear carve-out for smaller companies, so as not to have them forced out of business by the onerous demands of the law. However, after some back and forth, Germany caved in to France’s demands, with many left scratching their heads as to why. However, some noted the “coincidence” in timing, that right after this, France also withdrew its objections to the pipeline which is very controversial in the EU (and the US, which is threatening sanctions).”
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20190325/14404641865/new-report-germany-caved-to-france-copyright-deal-russian-oil.shtml
And speaking of Article 13, this piece from EFF is what can be known about its passage, and some interesting and relevant info surrounding it. Like how the German government, who sold out for Russian gas, accused protesters of Article 11 and 13 of being paid off.
“The rhetoric in Germany in the last few days was not much better. German politicians claimed with straight faces that the tech companies had paid this weekend’s protestors to march on the streets. Meanwhile, the Christian Democratic Union, Angela Merkel’s party, whose own Axel Voss as the ringleader for the Directive, put out a policy proposal that suggested it could implement Article 13 not with filters, but with a blanket licensing regime. Legal experts have already said that these licenses won’t comply with Article 13’s stringent requirements – but it’s going to be hard for the CDU to walk back from that commitment now.
The Directive is written so that any owner of copyrighted material can demand satisfaction from an Internet service, and we’ve already seen that the rightsholders are by no means united on what Big Tech should be doing. Whatever Internet companies and organizations do to comply with twenty-seven or more national laws – from dropping links to European news sites entirely, to upping their already over-sensitive filtering systems, or seeking to strike deals with key media conglomerates – will be challenged by one rightsholder faction or another.”
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/03/eus-parliament-signs-disastrous-internet-law-what-happens-next
All the while, the internet of things is being forced everywhere, like this article I wrote on how a family with medical problems is possibly at threat because of a smart meter which will be forcibly installed five feet away from where someone with a metal knee works all day.
Family Says They’re Being FORCED Onto Smart Meter, Despite Medical Concerns
And speaking of force, Chelsea Manning has now spent 17 days in solitary, for 22 hours a day, as of the 25th. She’s back in jail for refusing Grand Jury testimony over Julian Assange.
“Torture, Plain and Simple”: Manning’s Supporters Demand Her Release From Solitary Confinement
All of this takes place while numbers tell us a sobering truth. “We Have Spent $32 Million Per Hour on War Since 2001”
Meanwhile, in France, the military has been authorized to use deadly force if they feel threatened by Yellow Vests.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-03-22/open-fire-french-military-authorized-use-deadly-force-yellow-vests-if-lives
And Soros is getting involved in the final throes of a long-running takeover of Thailand. This article from New Eastern Outlook goes into detail on the regime change efforts.
https://journal-neo.org/2019/03/20/us-and-soros-take-stab-at-thai-elections/
And reported by MintPressNews, historically large Yemeni protests rally against the criminal Saudi government.
“Massive demonstrations took place across Yemen’s major cities on Tuesday to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the Saudi-led war on the country. The war ostensibly began on March 26, 2015, when Saudi Arabia, backed by the U.S. and other regional allies, launched a large-scale attack on Yemen under the pretext of reinstating ousted former president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. The war’s real purpose was to defeat the Houthi Ansar Allah movement, which gained popular support following the Arab Spring and has grown even more powerful since the Saudi war began.”
Historically Huge Anti-Saudi Rallies Across Yemen on War’s Fourth Anniversary
And Amnesty International has revealed 14 civilian casualties from US led bombings and airstrikes… in Somalia.
“The report shows the U.S. military has tripled the annual rate of drone strikes in Somalia since April 2017. The number of strikes in 2018 was higher than strikes taking place in Libya and Yemen combined. Despite the increase in strikes, the U.S. military continues to claim that no civilians have died. The Amnesty International report investigates five incidents in Lower Shabelle, Somalia, in which 14 civilians were killed and eight injured. Amnesty International states that the report is the result of interviews, satellite imagery analysis, corroborating the information through a variety of open-source investigation techniques, and speaking to doctors.”
US Killed at Least 14 Civilians in a Country Most Americans Don’t Know the US is Bombing
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/03/graphic-novel-zero-civilian-casualties-the-hidden-us-war-in-somalia/
And Venezuela had a massive power outage when Russian troops showed up. From ZeroHedge…
“Less than one day after two Russian Air Force planes landed in Venezuela carrying nearly 100 troops and a Russian defense official, a new power outage was detected across the country at 1pm local time, affecting 57% of the country, according to Netblocks – which detects power outage based on internet outages.”
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-03-25/venezuela-plunged-darkness-hours-after-russian-troops-arrive
All the while Google is going to launch local news startups in three American cities. Since digital news has usurped the media market, Google is choosing places hit hard by this change for their initiative. Like trauma bonding. Yay. Also, “If the initiative is successful, Google will expand it to still more cities.”
Welcome to Google being your window to everything… even your local perspective. And just in time for…
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-03-26/google-finance-local-news-startups-3-mid-sized-american-cities
… scientists to teach AI robots to evolve and reproduce…
… and for them to learn AI can learn to hate you on its own. “No human input is required.”
And MassPrivateI, who I discussed posts from last week, posts about how Detroit is becoming another city with Chinese-style surveillance, akin to Watch_Dogs CTos.
“The screens on the front wall are feeds from Project Green Light locations and dumping cameras. One analyst scrolled through Twitter and other social media to check for any threats or mentions of crime.”
https://massprivatei.blogspot.com/2019/03/detroit-to-become-americas-second.html
ANd while that happens, a county in New York has banned all kids not vaccinated for measles from ANY public place.
A County In New York Has Completely Banned All Unvaccinated Children From All Public Places
Expanded to its potential, this proves stably a point I’ve made countless times, that we live on a prison planet, and our homes are tantamount to jail cells with yard time for the compliant.
So what do police look like in this police state? Well Karle Robinson, handcuffed and held at gunpoint, for moving into a home he bought, might be able to tell you.
“The 61-year-old retired military veteran told his story to The Star Wednesday in his home as he watched body camera video from the first Tonganoxie police officer he encountered on August 19.
The fact that the officer was curious, even a little suspicious, made sense to Robinson. The hour of day was odd. And Robinson was standing over a large TV in front of a house.
But Robinson told the officer that he was a new homeowner, moving in. He had identification and there was paperwork proving his new ownership inside. They could go in together and look, and maybe hoist this TV inside on the way.
“I need you to put your hands on the side of the house . . .”
The police officer’s voice came through on the body camera as Robinson watched. He watched himself wearily complying with the white police officer’s commands, submitting to handcuffs in front of the new home — his first as a homeowner — a city guy finally living out in the country as he’d dreamed of for so long.
“Place your hands on top of your head for me . . .”
Then his arms were drawn down and back one at a time and the cuffs snapped closed.”
https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article219422675.html
ACLU Steps In After Video Showed What ‘Moving While Black’ Looks Like
Similarly, a family had their home wrecked by cops, and a birthday party ruined, over a “mistake”.
“When Samari Boswell, 7, was celebrating her younger brother, TJ Broswell’s 4th birthday last month, she never expected to see 17 heavily armed cops come smashing through her door. However, thanks to a severe case of police incompetence, that is exactly what happened. And now, a family is left traumatized and frightened of the very people they are told are there to protect them.”
“According to the family, the warrant wasn’t shown to them until after the entire family had been terrorized, their apartment trashed and their TV smashed on the ground. The officers even smashed the 4-year-old’s cake and threw it on the floor.”
WATCH: 17 Cops Raid 4yo Boy’s Birthday Party ‘by Mistake,’ Terrorize Family, Destroy Their Home
And another cop fired because he literally fed a homeless man a shit sandwich, has his job back.
Cop Fired for Feeding Homeless Man a Literal ‘Sh*t Sandwich’ Gets His Job Back
But that’s the stuff with limited injury. A naked man was walking away from cops, when they tased him in the back and unleashed a dog on him, causing severe damage.
WATCH: Cops Taser Naked Man in His Back as He Walks Away, Falsely Claim He ‘Advanced’ At Them
Another man was beaten in the face by a cop over words he used. The cop also sold drugs, stolen from crime scenes, and both the recorder and the brutal officer were later arrested.
Cops Film Themselves Viciously Beating Suicidal Hospital Patient for Their Own Pleasure
Other cops got months of paid leave even though video showed them torturing someone while they were handcuffed.
And others beat the fuck out of an unresponsive 16 year old kid for joyriding.
Still solo on this, except my awesome patrons, and shows like this take days of research and many hours to put together solo. I don’t have a staff to feed, but I need to eat. If you want to support articles like this, feel free to help with a monthly or one time donation… as yet, I have not profited from this site. Hell, I haven’t even gotten half minimum wage, and most days, I get zero dollars. You can help change that.
Please consider donating on Venmo or PayPal. And if you really appreciated it, and want to help me make more of these more regularly, consider supporting me on BitBacker, SubscribeStar, or Patreon. Without your support, I can’t eat, much less make content.
If there’s a way you want to support me that I don’t list as of yet, let me know, and I’ll likely be more than happy to accomodate. But thank you so much if you decide to. I want this to be my job, and you could bring me one step closer. Also, consider subbing to my newsletter for a weekly update as to happenings. Also, feel free to subscribe on one of the platforms not-too-statist to have me.