Society's ChildS


Boat

Two women's boats set sail from Barcelona in effort to break blockade in Gaza

Mavi Marmara
© Veli Sariboga/SabahMavi Marmara, with images of men who were slain aboard during 2010 mission.
Two vessels with all-female crews set sail for Gaza from Spain on Wednesday in an attempt to break the nine-year Israeli blockade on the coastal Mediterranean strip. The "Women's Boat to Gaza" is the fourth of its kind, captained by women-only, with 30 female activists and high-ranking officials aboard the Arabic-named Zaytouna ("Olive") and the Amal ("hope").

The organization said in a statement the boats are on a course to pierce Israel's maritime control over Gaza's borders, and in doing so, raise awareness of conditions inside of the Strip.

"While our focus is on opposing the blockade against the Palestinian people of Gaza, we see this in the larger context of supporting the right to freedom of movement for all Palestinians," the group said on their website. "The Occupation daily violates the rights of Palestinians to move freely around their country and to leave and return to their country, as guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

Comment: All-female flotilla tries to sail through 'criminal' Gaza blockade and raise awareness of Palestinians plight


Bad Guys

'There is no Russian nation': Ukrainian nationalist Svoboda Party try to derail Russians voting

Ukraine protesters
© Sputnik/ Alexei Vovk
Russian nationals trying to cast their votes in Sunday's general election faced obstacles in Ukraine, where nationalists attempted to block the Russian Embassy and Consulates. On the eve of the election, the embassy was attacked with fireworks.

The Russian diplomatic missions in Ukraine have been targeted with several attacks by radical nationalists over the past few years. On Sunday, while citizens living in Russia exercised their right to vote for MPs and heads of several regions, the Russian Embassy in Kiev turned into a site of violent confrontation.

Embassy security was bolstered with an additional fence and metal shutters over the windows ahead of the election. Top Ukrainian officials and nationalist politicians condemned the election because it includes Crimea, the predominantly Russian former Ukrainian region that voted to break away from Kiev after an armed coup in 2013 imposed an anti-Russia government.

Comment: The Russian elections went smoothly except for in Ukraine: Russian Voting Disruptions Abroad Only Recorded in Ukraine - Official
Ukraine was the only country where cases of Russian nationals' voting rights violations were reported, Russia's Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova said Sunday.

On Sunday, Russians voted to elect 450 members of parliament for the next five years. Late on Saturday, scuffles broke out outside the Russian Embassy in Kiev and the Russian consulate in Odesa was briefly besieged by anti-Russian radicals on Sunday.

"It appears to be the only case abroad whereby Russian nationals signaled about violations," Moskalkova said.

The commissioner added that she had sent letters regarding the situation to her Ukrainian counterpart, the UN and Council of Europe human rights commissioners and the EU representative in Russia. "[This was done] in order for the international community to give its assessment of the unprecedented incidents, committed in violation of international norms for ensuring diplomatic missions, whereby extremist groups prevented our citizens from coming to polling stations and giving their vote," she said.



People

Poll reveals only 39% of US voters believe Hillary is healthy enough to be president

Hillary Clinton
© REUTERS/ Brian Snyder
One week after collapsing at the 9/11 Memorial Ceremony it appears that Americans are unconvinced that Hillary's health problems are limited to pneumonia which may spell trouble for the candidate in November.

A new YouGov poll released this week provides troubling news on the health and well-being of the Clinton candidacy based in large part to the physical ails of Hillary herself with opinions on whether the former Secretary of State is physically able to perform the duties of the presidency hitting an all-time low.

The nationwide survey of 1000 respondents with a margin of error of 4.6% showed that only 39% of people responded that Hillary's health is "good enough" to "serve effectively as president for the next four years" suggesting that the candidate has broken through the floor on a major question of her viability.

Bullseye

Hillary Clinton's latest book 'Stronger Together' flops, is mocked by Amazon reviews and called 'ghost-written campaign drivel'

Hillary health
Folks ain't buying it this time
"What a horrible book. I got brain damage after 4 pages and lost my shoe"

With health concerns mounting, email leaks hurting, and poll numbers tumbling, Hillary Clinton has had a tough couple weeks (poor thing)... but the news just got a little worse as Hillary's newest book, "Stronger Together," which provides a policy blueprint for where she hopes to take the country if she is elected president, sold just 2,912 copies in its first week on sale, according to Nielsen BookScan.

As The New York Times reports, both Mrs. Clinton and her running mate, Senator Tim Kaine, have promoted the book on the campaign trail, but the sales figure, which tallies about 80 percent of booksellers nationwide and does not include e-books, firmly makes the book what the publishing industry would consider a flop.

Comment: Looks like Killary is getting less and less popular by the minute.


Info

Humiliating defeat: Merkel urged to get tough on immigration

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is staring into the political abyss after her party's shocking defeat at the polls in her home state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, bringing demands for her to toughen her liberal stance on immigration.

Merkel's CDU party was beaten into third place with 19 percent, overtaken by the populist right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. AfD won 20.8 percent of the vote, coming second to the SPD, which won 30.6 percent of the vote, and — although reduced — allowed it to maintain control of the state in coalition with the CDU.

Angela Merkel
© REUTERS/ WOLFGANG RATTAYFrauke Petry, chairwoman of the anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany (AfD), and AfD leader Joerg Meuthen sing at the end of the second day of the AfD congress in Stuttgart, Germany, May 1, 2016.
The defeat immediately brought calls for her to get tough on immigration, which has become the number one political issue, causing many Germans to move their support to nationalist parties, such as the AfD.

Comment: See also: Merkel CDU party beaten into third place by anti-migrant AfD in local election

Update: Merkel's CDU party set to lose seats in Berlin state vote - Exit poll
Germany's center-left Social Democrats (SPD) are leading in the election to the Berlin state parliament with 23 percent, while Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is in for a big loss, an early exit poll showed Sunday.

The poll, conducted by Infratest dimap for national broadcaster ARD, predicted that support for Merkel's party dropped to 18 percent from 23.3 percent five years ago.

The third place is expected to go to either the far-left Linke (Left) party or the Greens who are both tied at 16.5 percent. The anti-migrant Alteranative fuer Deutschland (AfD) is projected to come fourth with 11.5 percent.

The turnout reached 53.1 percent as of 4 p.m. local time (14:00 GMT), exceeding by 7.1 percent the attendance registered during the previous state election five years ago, according to the electoral committee.

On Sunday, Berliners were electing 149 members to the state parliament. The election comes just two weeks after the AfD pushed the Christian Democrats into third place in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania.



Heart

Local Illinois businessman spends $15K posting bail for people accused of minor offenses

willie wilson
This week, local businessman Willie Wilson is going to the Cook County Jail with $15,000 to bail out inmates with misdemeanor charges.

"I'm not doing this for political reasons. These are people who are in jail because they can't come up with $100 or $200 in bail bond money. These aren't serious criminals — it's folks who got caught with a small bag of marijuana or who were hungry and stole some food from the store," Wilson said.

Surprisingly, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is actually supporting Wilson's plan.

Working with Wilson, the Sheriff has provided him with a list of the inmates who have the best chance of success on the outside.

"If I let you sit there you don't have a chance to get a good education, get a job, or start your life over," Wilson said.

Comment: The number of people incarcerated in the U.S. has soared in the past few decades and many are there because they have not been convicted of a crime but are too poor to post bail while their cases are processed. The overwhelming majority are in for nonviolent infractions, such as traffic, property, drug or public order infractions because keeping the jails full is profitable - jails and prisons provide many jobs to local, state and federal officials.


Info

Estimated 10,000 refugees will die this year - IOM analyst

Refugees
© Charles Platiau / Reuters
Migrant deaths are due to set a new record this year, with 10,000 deaths projected, according to forecasts by the International Organization for Migration. This comes amid realizations that a concerted global response to the issue is required.

The statistics are likely to cast a dark shadow over the two upcoming summits in New York this week. On Monday, the UN General Assembly will discuss the ongoing refugee crisis caused by worldwide fighting. On Tuesday, US President Barack Obama will invite world leaders to discuss raising the bar on refugee spending and rolling out new policies.

Fighting and various crises displaced some 65 million people in 2015. Of those, 21.3 million were forced to flee their countries, making them international refugees.

Cell Phone

FAA officially bans 'exploding' Samsung phones on flights

Samsung  Galaxy Note7
© Jung Yeon-JE / AFP
The US Federal Aviation Administration has issued new guidance against the recalled Samsung's flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphone: The agency officially considers the device unsafe to be turned on during flights - even packed in checked-in luggage.

"Following a Consumer Product Safety Commission recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, the FAA is issuing general guidance to airlines about the rules for carrying recalled or defective lithium devices on board aircraft as cargo or in carry-on luggage,"the FAA said in a statement.

It also stressed that "passengers may not turn on or charge the devices when they carry them on board a plane," adding that "passengers must also protect the devices from accidental activation, including disabling any features that may turn on the device, such as alarm clocks."

Pirates

Cops raid pot farms for profit - ignoring sex trafficking and slavery

pot sex trafficking
Here at The Free Thought Project, we have documented numerous examples of how government's war on drugs ruins the lives of innocent people and fuels the phenomenon called "policing for profit."

In an investigative report by Shoshana Walter published at Reveal, we see the saddening, infuriating way in which these two products of the drug war come together in the Emerald Triangle, three counties in northern California that represent the largest cannabis-producing region in the U.S.

The good old days of the 60s - where hippies came to escape society and grow cannabis for a west coast population steeped in peace, love and mind expansion - have taken a turn for the worse.

Boat

At least 12 dead as Thai boat capsizes, dozens missing

Thai Tourist boat
© Christine MaguireTourist boat in Thailand
At least 12 people have died and many are missing after a boat capsized in Thailand's Ayutthaya province on Sunday.

The incident took place in the Chao Phraya River near the Wat Sanam Chai temple.

Seven women, four men and one child were among the dead, and at least 37 passengers were injured. Rescue workers continue to search for survivors, Reuters reports.