__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thanks for reading Rose Rambles.org. Times are tough for all, and I ask for your support as I execute my mission of providing information you may not be able to access. If you can donate (any amount helps!), please scroll down and use the PayPal link, or this link Support Roseramblesdotorg. Your support is appreciated as we ALL learn to consistently BE in…Quantum Joy!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
- The United Nations children’s agency says its biggest concern about Gaza is about 19,000 children left orphaned or alone without any adult to care for them. This was written by the BBC which interviewed Jonathan Crick, head of communications for Unicef Palestine. “Many of these children were found under the rubble or lost their parents in the bombing of their home,” says Crick from Rafah. Others were found at Israeli checkpoints, in hospitals and on the streets. “The little ones very often cannot say their name and even the older ones are usually in shock.”
- Russian President Vladimir Putin is making preparations to visit Turkey in February and meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, where the two leaders will discuss Ukraine and other issues, the Russian state-run media outlet TASS announced on Jan. 29, citing Yuri Ushakov, an advisor to Putin. Putin’s international visits have been curtailed since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant in March 2023 for his role in the deportations of Ukrainian children. Turkey is not party to the ICC’s Rome Statute, meaning it is under no obligation to detain Putin.
- A grainy sonar image recorded by a private pilot has reinvigorated interest in one of the past century’s most alluring mysteries: What happened to Amelia Earhart when her plane vanished during her flight around the world in 1937? Tony Romeo now believes his new South Carolina-based sea exploration company captured an outline of the iconic American’s Lockheed 10-E Electra. Archaeologists and explorers are hopeful. But whether the tousled-haired pilot’s plane lies at the roughly 16,000-foot (4,800-meter) depth remains to be seen. The state-of-the-art technology is called the Hugin 6000 — a reference to its ability to break into the deepest layer of the ocean at 6,000 meters (19,700 feet).
- A Russian Il-76 cargo plane crashed on January 24 with Russian authorities saying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board. “The plane was shot down, it has already been established for certain, by an American Patriot system. This has already been established by forensics,” Putin said in a televised appearance on Wednesday. There was no immediate response from Kyiv or Washington to Putin’s remarks.
- Recall nearly one year ago, the mayor of East Palestine, Ohio, ripped President Biden a new one for traveling halfway across the world to Ukraine, where he pledged half a billion dollars to a foreign government, even as a chemical fallout from a train derailment battered residents in the small Ohio town. Shortly after the train derailment, while animals were dying and people were getting sick from the toxic fumes, millions of Americans asked: Where was Biden? ~ Tyler Durden
- UPS announced it will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to reduce office workers. It Joins Google, Amazon, and others in the shift. If only we could do the same for government. United Parcel Service UPS said it plans to shed about 12,000 jobs this year and mandated staff work from offices five days a week starting March 4. The cuts are primarily targeted at management staff as well as contract workers, UPS executives said Tuesday, adding that those jobs aren’t likely to return even when parcel volumes rebound. The company has around 85,000 workers in management. Chief Executive Carol Tomé said that the cuts are part of efforts to change how UPS works. That initiative includes using artificial intelligence and other new technologies to boost its operations, she said. The company faced contentious labor negotiations last year in which union officials said that drivers and warehouse staff believed it was unfair that office staffers could work from home during the Covid-19 pandemic and they couldn’t. ~ Mike Shedlock
- Michael Cassidy, a Christian veteran who decapitated a Satanic shrine on display in the Iowa State Capitol building, has been charged with a ‘hate crime’. Back in December, Cassidy, beheaded the caped figure placed in the building by The Satanic Temple, and threw the goat skull that was serving as its head in a bin. Cassidy was quoted as stating that he took the action to “awaken Christians to the anti-Christian acts promoted by our government.” Instead of simply charging him with misdemeanor damage to property or vandalism, the Des Moines Register reports that Polk County prosecutors charged the veteran with felony third-degree criminal mischief, arguing that the act was “in violation of individual rights” under Iowa’s hate crime statue. ~ Steve Watson
- The European Commission has proposed extending the suspension of customs duties on agricultural goods from Ukraine and Moldova for another year, Vice President Margaritis Schinas told journalists on Wednesday. The tariffs were originally dropped in 2022 in an attempt to provide support for Kiev in the wake of the Russian military operation, particularly as Ukraine was largely cut off from making shipments via its traditional Black Sea route. The current tariff-free regime expires on June 5 for Ukraine and July 24 for Moldova, while the renewal will keep it in place until June 2025. The move comes despite farmers in several EU states protesting the flooding of local markets with cheaper produce from Ukraine.
- ‘You become a traitor and a bad Jew’: Israeli anti-war activists speak to RT about their country’s actions. So far, over 26,000 Palestinians have died in the relentless Israeli shelling. Thousands more have been injured. Israel is facing strong international pressure to end the war, but officials in Jerusalem are refusing to budge, while a recent poll indicated that 87% of Israeli Jews support the operation and want it to continue. Yet, there are also those who refuse to follow the majority view. RT spoke to two representatives of the so-called anti-war bloc, which is calling for an end to Israel’s occupation. Gaia Dan is a 23-year-old Jewish student originally from Haifa in northern Israel. Dr. Salim Abbas is an Arab geologist. Both are concerned about the route Israel is taking, and have been resorting to demonstrations to change the reality.
- “Lenin developed Marxism as a revolutionary principle,” said Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister (CM) of the southern Indian state of Kerala. “His extraordinary intelligence, fearless revolutionary spirit and exceptional leadership qualities gave spirit and direction to the Russian revolution.” The communist parties in India have lost power in West Bengal and will not return for the foreseeable future. The Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), CPI-M, in Kerala remains; though skeptics might say the political parties survive even if the ideology’s true spirit and essence are missing. And one of the stalwarts who kept the party alive despite the collapse of the Soviet Union was Venthalathara Sankaran Achuthanandan aka VS, who turned 100 last October.
- Russia is certain that no one will manage to completely destroy the foundation of Russian-Italian relations despite the current freeze in the areas of bilateral interaction, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova has told a news briefing. “Through the fault of the Italian side practically all areas of bilateral interaction have been frozen. The well-established institutional mechanisms have been completely suspended. Nevertheless, we are certain that no one will be able to destroy without a trace, to cancel, to rearrange the solid foundation of Russian-Italian relations, which are based on mutual interest and sympathy of the peoples for each other,” Zakharova said. Moscow firmly believes that Italy’s abandonment of its anti-Russian policy and the gradual restoration of pragmatic and mutually respectful cooperation will indeed meet bilateral interests.
- Chinese criminal law is severe, with many crimes punishable by death. It was revised in 2011. Although the number of crimes punishable by death has been reduced, this has not had a significant impact on the number of death sentences and executions. Execution of death sentences shall be announced to the public, but shall not be held in public. The execution van, also called a mobile execution unit, was developed by the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and was first used in 1997. The van allows death sentences to be carried out without moving the prisoner to an execution ground. Developed by Jinguan Auto, which also makes bullet-proof limousines for the new rich in this vast country of 1.3 billion people, the vans appear unremarkable. They cost £60,000, can reach top speeds of 80mph and look like a police vehicle on patrol. Inside, however, the ‘death vans’ look more like operating theatres. Officials say the vehicles are a ‘civilised alternative’ to the traditional single shot to the head, ending the life of the condemned quickly, clinically and safely – proving that China ‘promotes human rights now,’ says Kang Zhongwen, designer of the ‘death van’. The shootings -sometimes done in groups – have seen countless cases of prisoners failing to die instantly and writhing in agony on the ground. The soldiers carrying out the shooting complain that they are splashed with Aids-contaminated blood. After the shooting, relatives are often presented with the bullet hacked from the condemned’s body – and forced to pay the price of the ammunition. Inside each ‘death van’ there is a dedicated team of doctors to ‘harvest’ the organs of the deceased. Laws introduced in 2006 make it an offence to remove the organs of people against their will, and banned those under 18 from selling their organs. But, tellingly, the law does not cover prisoners.
- A Chinese couple have been executed after the father killed his two toddlers by throwing them off a balcony because his new girlfriend saw them as a ‘burden on their future together’. Father Zhang Bo and his girlfriend Ye Chengchen were previously found responsible for the fatal falls of the two children from the 15th floor of a residential tower in southwest China’s Chongqing. Zhang, who was the father of the two children, had begun an affair with Ye, who was initially unaware he was married and had children. Zhang wanted to marry her, but she refused since she already had children and so did her parents.
- With NASA’s pioneering Mars helicopter Ingenuity grounded forever after a hard landing, the time has come to mourn the first flying machine every to soar on another world and you can watch it live online today (Jan. 31). NASA holded a livestream at 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT) in Jan. 31 to honor the achievements and legacy of Ingenuity, which ended its mission last week after suffering rotor damage during its 72nd flight on Jan. 18. The livestream was webcast live on NASA’s YouTube channel and on Space.com.
- The team behind the Starlab private space station project announced today (Jan. 31) that it has selected SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket to get its outpost off the ground. “SpaceX’s history of success and reliability led our team to select Starship to orbit Starlab,” Dylan Taylor, chairman and CEO of Voyager Space, said in a statement. “SpaceX is the unmatched leader for high-cadence launches, and we are proud Starlab will be launched to orbit in a single flight by Starship.”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Rose Rambles... 