Society's ChildS


Mr. Potato

Seattle school cancels Halloween parade because it 'marginalizes students of color'

Jessica Chasmar
Fox News
Wed, 13 Oct 2021 18:54 UTC
Halloween house
A Seattle elementary school canceled its annual Halloween parade this year, saying it "marginalizes students of color who do not celebrate the holiday."


Comment: No one cares. Not even the "students of color" who do not celebrate the holiday. And if any do care about something so unimportant, they should get over it and let every else have fun.


The decision to cancel the Pumpkin Parade, where students can dress up in Halloween costumes, came from the Racial Equity Team at Benjamin Franklin Day Elementary School after five years of discussion, the school district said.


Comment: Of course it would be a "racial equity team" and not a normal person.


"There are numerous community and neighborhood events where students and families who wish to can celebrate Halloween," a Seattle Public Schools spokeswoman said in a statement provided to KTTH Radio talk show host Jason Rantz. "Historically, the Pumpkin Parade marginalizes students of color who do not celebrate the holiday. Specifically, these students have requested to be isolated on campus while the event took place.


Comment: Don't trust anyone who unironically uses the words "historically" and "marginalize" in the same sentence.


"In alliance with SPS's unwavering commitment to students of color, specifically African American males, the staff is committed to supplanting the Pumpkin Parade with more inclusive and educational opportunities during the school day," the statement continued, adding that the decision had nothing to do with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.


Comment: Unwavering commitment = self-righteous egotism.


School principal Stanley Jaskot confirmed that the parade was cancelled.
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Pirates

US Navy will boot & deny benefits to sailors who refuse Covid vaccine

Breck Dumas
Fox News
Fri, 15 Oct 2021 22:08 UTC
Navy
© Kevin Dietsch/GettyWASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 17: Members of the Navy Ceremonial Guard stand for the national anthem during a ceremony for National POW/MIA Recognition Day, at the U.S. Navy Memorial on September 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. The ceremony honored all military personnel who were prisoners of war or who are still missing in action.
The U.S. Navy announced Thursday that it is preparing to discharge sailors who refuse vaccination for COVID-19 as mandated by the Pentagon, and the service members who get the boot over their noncompliance run the risk of losing some veterans benefits.

The Navy sent out a press release noting that Nov. 14 is the deadline for active-duty sailors to get either their second shot of a two-dose vaccine or the single shot of a one-dose vaccine. Reservists have until Dec. 14.

Comment: The US military experimenting on its soldiers, and its citizens, is nothing new:

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Newspaper

Best of the Web: UK MP David Amess dies after being stabbed at constituency meeting in a church, suspect arrested

Peter Walker
The Guardian
Fri, 15 Oct 2021 15:42 UTC
amess
FILE PHOTO: Man arrested on suspicion of murder after Conservative MP attacked during regular surgery in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex
The Conservative MP Sir David Amess has died after he was stabbed several times during a surgery at his constituency in Essex, police have said.

Amess, 69, an MP since 1983 who had represented Southend West in Essex since 1997, was attacked at a church in Leigh-on-Sea. He is the second MP to be killed in just over five years, after the murder of Jo Cox.

Essex police said a 25-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of murder. Officers were called to the scene at about 12.05pm on Friday, the force said, to reports that Amess had been stabbed, confirming he was the victim.

Comment: See also: And check out SOTT radio's: UPDATE: British police have officially declared the murder a terrorist incident with a "potential motivation linked to Islamist extremism." After killing Amess, the 25-year-old British-Somali man sat down and waited patiently for police to arrive. He stabbed Amess up to 17 times.

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Fire

Taiwan fire: At least 46 killed and dozens injured as blaze engulfs apartment building

Samuel Osborne
Sky News
Thu, 14 Oct 2021 19:49 UTC
Flames engulf the residential tower in Kaohsiung, in southern Taiwan.
© APFlames engulf the residential tower in Kaohsiung, in southern Taiwan.
At least 46 people have been killed and dozens injured after a fire broke out in a 13-storey residential building in southern Taiwan.

The "extremely fierce" blaze erupted at around 3am and destroyed several floors of the tower in the city of Kaohsiung.

The fire was extinguished around dawn and firefighters were still going through the building, Kaohsiung fire chief Lee Ching-hsiu said, adding that the number of dead could rise.

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Pistol

Best of the Web: Oh great, they're putting guns on robodogs now

Caitlin Johnstone
RT
Thu, 14 Oct 2021 10:29 UTC
SPUR robot
© Instagram/swordinternationalThe Special Purpose Unmanned Rifle, or SPUR, is seen at the annual convention for the Association of the US Army in Washington, DC.
So, hey, they've started mounting sniper rifles on robodogs, which is great news for anyone who was hoping they'd start mounting sniper rifles on robodogs.

At an exhibit booth in the Association of the United States Army's annual meeting and exhibition, Ghost Robotics (the military-friendly competitor to the better-known Boston Dynamics) proudly showed off a weapon that is designed to attach to its quadruped bots made by a company called SWORD Defense Systems.

Comment: Machines with license to kill have no accountability. The public is at the mercy of the programmers.

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X

Suicide killed more than twice as many US soldiers in three months than COVID has since the pandemic began

Shawn Fleetwood
The Federalist
Wed, 13 Oct 2021 00:00 UTC
Marine ptsd
© VA Wikimedia CommonsBattling PTSD
More soldiers in the U.S. military's active-duty, National Guard, and reserve forces died from suicide in the second quarter of this year than soldiers in the entire U.S. military died from the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, a new Pentagon report shows.

Titled "The Department of Defense (DoD) Quarterly Suicide Report (QSR)," the document reveals that from April 1 to June 30, a total of 139 troops took their lives, with 99 classified as "active component," 14 as "reserve" members, and 26 as National Guard. Broken down among service branches, the active component deaths include 60 from the Army, eight from the Marine Corps, 17 from the Navy, and 14 from the Air Force.

Comment: The rise in military suicides is a harbinger for the nation as the quality of life around us deteriorates on many fronts. To make matters worse there is no scientific nor moral justification for the Biden administration's military vaccination mandate, including threats and repercussions to those who do not bend over to the jab. Biden may be the commander-in-chief, but his position demands more than knee-jerk decisions. There are many unsavory issues for this nation to consider - and do so post-haste.

See also:

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Cardboard Box

#EmptyShelvesJoe trending on Twitter amid Biden's supply chain crisis

Tamar Lapin
Fox News
Fri, 15 Oct 2021 00:00 UTC
Biden Grocery store
© Travis Long/AP/Joe Raedle/Getty Images/KJNUS President Joe Biden • Bare shelves
The hashtag #EmptyShelvesJoe shot to the top of the trending topics on Twitter Thursday amid the supply chain crisis threatening the nation's economy and holiday shopping.

Social media users employed the tagline to rip President Biden for empty shelves and skyrocketing prices caused by a backlog of shipping containers waiting to dock at California ports.

One Twitter user wrote:
"Just went food shopping...again...thanks #EmptyShelvesJoe I really love having to go every day now in order to find what used to take one trip."
Another Twitter user posted:

"I'm pretty sure @JoeBiden and the Democrats in DC are eating just fine and are having no issues getting what they need. The rest of us lowly Americans who actually go to the grocery stores, not so much. #EmptyShelvesJoe."

Comment: For fun and jollies:
For a case in point, see also:

Costco limits purchases of toilet paper, paper towels and bottled water amid inflation, supply-chain issues

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Footprints

More than 10,000 John Deere workers on strike after failed UAW deal

Corky Siemaszko
NBC News
Thu, 14 Oct 2021 07:21 UTC
John Deere on strike
© APJohn Deere workers go on strike
More than 10,000 John Deere workers were on the picket line Thursday after their union was unable to hammer out a new contract with management of the tractor company.

Workers at 14 Deere & Co. locations made good on their vow to go on strike at the stroke of midnight after "the company failed to present an agreement that met our members' demands and needs," The United Auto Workers union said in statement. "Our members at John Deere strike for the ability to earn a decent living, retire with dignity and establish fair work rules," said Chuck Browning, vice president and director of the UAW's Agricultural Implement Department.

Union workers overwhelmingly rejected a contract offer this week that would have delivered 5 percent raises to some workers and 6 percent to others.

Now, the UAW said, workers will picket Deere around the clock until the two sides reach a contract. The union will provide members $275 a week in strike pay until the standoff is over.

This is the first major strike in 35 years at John Deere, which is known for its iconic green and yellow farm equipment. And workers, many of whom have been toiling extra hours for months because of pandemic-related worker shortages, say they are fed up.

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Arrow Up

CDC reports record high 12-month drug overdose death toll


Medical X Press
Thu, 14 Oct 2021 00:00 UTC
guy overdose
© unknown
Drug overdose deaths in the United States hit a new record for the 12-month period ending March 2021, new government data shows.

A record high 96,779 drug overdose deaths occurred between March 2020 and March 2021, representing a 29.6% rise, new statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics found. The numbers are provisional, and the CDC's estimate for predicted deaths totals more than 99,000 from March 2020 to March 2021, CNN reported.

Regina LaBelle, acting director of the Executive Office of the President Office of National Drug Control Policy, said in a statement:
"It is important to remember that behind these devastating numbers are families, friends, and community members who are grieving the loss of loved ones."
The state with the largest increase in overdose deaths (85.1%) during that time was Vermont. Opioids accounted for the highest number of overdose deaths, followed by synthetic opioids, excluding methadone, which was linked to the lowest number of overdose deaths.

Three states saw their number of overdose deaths decline from March 2020 to March 2021: New Hampshire, New Jersey and South Dakota. South Dakota's reported overdose deaths declined by 16.3%, the highest of any state.

Comment: See also:

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Clipboard

Facebook's secret blacklist is a powerful tool for moderating thought, free speech and projecting US foreign policy globally

Norman Lewis
RT
Thu, 14 Oct 2021 11:45 UTC
Facebook/WHouse
© Dailymotion/Wikipedia/KJN
Despite the appearance of conflict between Facebook and the US government, there is an insidious, censorious division of labour between the company and the State Department, enabling both to evade public accountability.

The publication by The Intercept of Facebook's secret blacklist of 'Dangerous Individuals and Organisations' (DIO) it does not allow on its platform - from white supremacists, hate groups, militarised social movements, and alleged terrorists - provides a glimpse into how the social media network moderates content that it asserts could lead to violence offline.

There are two worrying dimensions to this latest revelation. The first is that the list, particularly regarding the terrorism category, is drawn mainly from a sanctions list maintained by the Treasury Department and created by George W. Bush in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001.

These restrictions can be traced back to 2012, when in the face of growing alarm in Congress and the United Nations about online terrorist recruiting, Facebook added to its 'Community Standards' a ban on "organisations with a record of terrorist or violent criminal activity." Initially, this was modest. But today, this has morphed into what's known as the DIO policy. This restricts what Facebook's 2.9 billion active global users (not just US citizens) can say about an enormous and ever-growing roster of entities it and the US State Department deem to be beyond the pale.

Facebook is effectively projecting US foreign policy globally. And if that's not worrying enough, this legitimises its growing power to police global free speech - an ability that has no limits because it is beyond public accountability.

Comment: See also:

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