All posts tagged: spark

South Korean Defense Chief Sent Drones To Pyongyang To Spark Retaliation, Justify Martial Law: Lawmakers

South Korean Defense Chief Sent Drones To Pyongyang To Spark Retaliation, Justify Martial Law: Lawmakers

Published by skeptic

Former South Korean former defense chief Kim Yong-hyun ordered a swarm of drones to North Korea’s capital with hopes of provoking an attack that could be used to justify a declaration of martial law by President Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korean legislators have alleged. Meanwhile, ahead of an expected weekend impeachment vote, Yoon used an address to the nation to promise that he would fight “until the very last minute” against being removed from power.   Kim was arrested on Tuesday for his alleged role in aiding Yoon’s attempt to impose military rule, suspend civil liberties and remove checks and balances — and attempted suicide shortly after midnight on Wednesday. Previous reports pointed to Kim’s deployment of troops to prevent lawmakers from convening after Yoon’s shocking Dec. 3 declaration of martial law. If true, the sensational new allegation from Park Beom-kye of the opposition Democratic Party suggests an entirely different layer of dangerous complicity.      Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun has been accused of sending drones to North Korea’s capital to provoke a response that could be used …

Home schooling proposals spark ‘abuser’s charter’ warning

Home schooling proposals spark ‘abuser’s charter’ warning

Published by skeptic

Proposals requiring families of children subject to protection enquiries to get council consent for home education risk creating an “abuser’s charter”, the government has been warned. Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, announced this week that she would legislate for new powers and protections for children in the social care system. Under one proposal, families of children subject to child protection enquiries or plans will need local authority consent to withdraw their children to educate them at home. The law would also give councils the power to require children already in home education to attend school if they become subject to an enquiry or plan. Bridget Phillipson Child protection enquiries are made when councils have “reasonable cause to suspect that a child who lives, or is found, in their area is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm”. A child protection plan sets out the action that needs to be taken to keep the child safe. ‘Abuser’s charter’ warning Wendy Charles-Warner, of home education campaign group Education Otherwise, said it was “perfectly reasonable” to require …

Matthew McConaughey and wife Camila Alves spark fan reaction in latest daring photos

Matthew McConaughey and wife Camila Alves spark fan reaction in latest daring photos

Published by skeptic

Matthew McConaughey and his wife, Camila Alves, left fans both surprised and amused when they took to Instagram on Tuesday to promote their tequila brand, Pantalones Organic Tequila, in a particularly cheeky way—by posing without pants.  The couple, who are known for their playful sense of humor, didn’t hold back as they embraced the theme of their brand in a literal and attention-grabbing manner. The 54-year-old star, who recently shared his secret to maintaining his luscious locks, opted for a bold approach to marketing. You may also likeMatthew McConaughey reveals bizarre family tradition In the Instagram post, Matthew can be seen sporting a blue button-up shirt, sturdy work boots, protective eyewear, and a backward cap, all while baring his bottom as he mows the lawn.  His wife, Camila, 41, matched her husband’s style with a denim button-up, work boots, and a cap, but it was her playful glance back at Matthew’s derrière that really stole the show. To keep things modest, the couple’s bottoms were tastefully censored. © InstagramMatthew and Camila’s latest photos spark fan …

Caring and Co-Presencing: Reflections and Insights from the Humanist Spark Summit

Caring and Co-Presencing: Reflections and Insights from the Humanist Spark Summit

Published by skeptic

What emerges when we center relationships, envision collectively, and leverage institutional resources in solidarity? #HumanistSpark Several generations converged at the Kindling the Humanist Spark Summit, which took place August 2 – 5 at Tufts University. Under the coordination of Anthony Cruz Pantojas, Evan Clark, and Srishti Hukku, the retreat-style gathering was structured in ways that promoted co-generative envisioning, mutual consent, and healthy boundaries. The ethos of the summit aimed to model trust, vulnerability, and accountability as bonds between participants deepened. This cohort from across the United States and Canada engaged in interdisciplinary theories, methodologies, and practices of humanism and freethinking, and their significance in everyday life. The plenary speaker was Greg Epstein, Humanist Chaplain at Harvard and MIT who spoke about the evolution of his own humanism, higher education chaplaincy, the important role mentorship played in his life and the need for young humanist leaders to impact their communities and the secular/humanist world for the better. He exhorted the cohort to understand the historical present, and continue working towards new frontiers of knowledge, technologies, and …

Leeds council conducting ‘urgent review’ of ‘family matter’ that appeared to spark riots as home secretary condemns ‘audacious criminality’ | UK News

Leeds council conducting ‘urgent review’ of ‘family matter’ that appeared to spark riots as home secretary condemns ‘audacious criminality’ | UK News

Published by Sam

Leeds City Council has said it is conducting an “urgent review” of a “family matter” that sparked rioting in the Harehills area. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper condemned the scenes of violence that were shared widely on social media on Thursday evening. She warned that perpetrators of the “audacious criminality” would “face the full force of the law”. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:30 Home secretary: Leeds riots ‘unacceptable’ On Friday, representatives of the Roma community met with Leeds City Council to “express concerns about a family matter” that took place on 18 July. Previously, police said officers had been called out around 5pm on Thursday “after social workers reported being met with hostility when dealing with a child protection matter”. They said responding officers were attacked, and helped social staff withdraw “to a place of safety”. Image: Vehicles were set on fire and a police car was overturned. Pic: PA Following this, disorder escalated into the riots and violence that left a bus burning and a police car flipped over. …

Thirteen arrested after fireworks from yacht spark forest fire on Greek island | Greece

Thirteen arrested after fireworks from yacht spark forest fire on Greek island | Greece

Published by skeptic

Greek authorities arrested 13 people on Saturday after fireworks launched from a yacht set off a forest fire on an island near Athens as the country confronts a new season of deadly summer fires. The mayor of the island of Hydra expressed “outrage” after the fire was started late on Friday and vowed legal action against those responsible. Dozens of wildfires in Greece this week have left at least one person dead. The latest blaze was “caused by fireworks launched from a boat and burned the only pine forest on the island in a place that is difficult to access and has no road”, Hydra’s firefighting team said on Facebook. Thirteen people accused of involvement in the fireworks have been arrested after a fire service inquiry and will be presented before a prosecutor on Sunday, said a fire service statement. No details on the suspects were given. Greece has toughened its penalties for arson, with perpetrators now facing up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to 200,000 euros (£169,000). On top of …

Felony charges against top Gascón advisor spark confusion, criticism

Felony charges against top Gascón advisor spark confusion, criticism

Published by skeptic

When one of Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón’s top advisors was charged with 11 felonies last month, his critics were quick to pounce. Though Gascón himself has not been charged with any wrongdoing, the case against Assistant Dist. Atty. Diana Teran has set off the latest in a seemingly endless wave of controversies for the embattled progressive as he seeks a second term. Teran is accused of improperly downloading confidential police records in 2018 — while she was the constitutional policing advisor to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department — and then making improper use of that data when she joined the D.A.’s office in 2021. The D.A.’s detractors have described the charges as further evidence of Gascón’s mismanagement of the nation’s largest prosecutor’s office, arguing Teran was one of many outside hires he should not have made. Gascón’s November election opponent, Nathan Hochman, pointed to the charges as an indictment of Gascón’s decision-making and questioned if the D.A. “blessed” the alleged misconduct. Gascón’s allies and some legal experts, however, have cried foul, questioning …

Adrian Newey exit could spark Red Bull exodus, predicts McLaren chief | Red Bull

Adrian Newey exit could spark Red Bull exodus, predicts McLaren chief | Red Bull

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The McLaren team principal, Zak Brown, has said Adrian Newey’s departure from Red Bull has ­instigated a spate of applications from Red Bull personnel to join McLaren and that the British designer may be only the first domino to fall in an exodus he has precipitated. Newey, the most successful car designer of the modern era, announced on Wednesday he was ­leaving Red Bull after almost two decades with the team. On ­Thursday Red Bull’s world champion driver Max Verstappen ­said he would prefer that Newey was not going and that he had played an­ ­integral part in Red Bull’s success since the engineer joined the team in 2006, a year after they were formed. Newey has reportedly been disquieted by the furore that has ­surrounded Red Bull since the team principal, Christian Horner, was accused of inappropriate ­behaviour by a female employee, a grievance that has since been dismissed but has been appealed against by the claimant. Before this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, Brown suggested these circumstances would not have sat well with Newey, and …

Meghan and Harry’s sit down with Charles may spark apology from King, says Piers | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV

Meghan and Harry’s sit down with Charles may spark apology from King, says Piers | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV

Published by skeptic

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle “shouldn’t be using their titles”, claims Piers Morgan. Although no longer senior royals after stepping back from duties in 2020, the couple were stripped of using their HRH title by the Royal Family – but still occasionally go by their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles. When Harry’s father Charles became King, the couple’s two children became Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet of Sussex. The Uncensored presenter, 59, discussed the royal couple’s recent rebrand and suggested Charles should soon sit down with them about dropping the Sussex title, which could result in an apology from him, but as the King is currently “distracted” following his recent health woes Piers’ claim is unlikely to take place. “They shouldn’t be using the titles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex bestowed on them by the monarchy,” he explained on The Megyn Kelly Show. “I hope that King Charles – who is massively distracted by his illness – will at some stage have that conversation and say, ‘You can’t keep the titles. I’m …

Doomsday warning as terrifying China and Russia move could spark WW3 | World | News

Doomsday warning as terrifying China and Russia move could spark WW3 | World | News

Published by skeptic

World War 3 could erupt if Russia and China cede control of their nuclear weapons to artificial intelligence, a top US official has warned. Paul Dean from the US State Department said the United States, Britain and France have all committed to humans retaining total control of their nukes, urging Moscow and Beijing to follow suit. Mr Dean, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability, said in remarks quoted by Reuters: “We would welcome a similar statement by China and the Russian Federation. “We think it is an extremely important norm of responsible behaviour and we think it is something that would be very welcome in a P5 context.” P5 is a shorthand term used to refer to the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council: the US, Russia, China, Britain and France. Officials from more than 100 countries met to discuss AI and its use in militarised systems at a conference in Vienna on Monday (April 29). Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg made a reference to …