Society's ChildS


Rainbow

Utah judge rescinds order that lesbian couple can't keep foster child

Ana Cabrera, Greg Botelho & Chandrika Narayan
CNN
Fri, 13 Nov 2015 21:04 UTC
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© CNN
A Utah judge who initially decided to take a baby away from her same-sex foster parents and place her in a home with heterosexual parents has changed his mind, after widespread criticism.

Juvenile Court Judge Scott Johansen rescinded his order, according to court documents obtained by CNN on Friday.

He amended Tuesday's first ruling, crossing out the line in the order that read, "The Court orders the Division to place the child with a duly married, heterosexual foster-adoptive couple within one week."

Comment:

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House

More Americans turn to squatting as the economy tanks

Mac Slavo
SHTFplan.com
Thu, 12 Nov 2015 21:17 UTC
squatting
There have always been squatters, but the trend may be rising.

And the growing clash of squatters and abandoned properties suggests a boom-bust housing disaster for the economy.

The phenomenon was notable after the 2006 housing bubble popped, and has resurfaced in strikingly similar circumstances for many struggling Americans.

News8 in Tampa reported on the caustic reaction by law enforcement to squatters it believes may be using a manual that has been published and sold on Amazon on strategies about how to squat, for those "willing to take the risk":
Crooks find empty houses all over Tampa Bay and make themselves at home. And now, 8 On Your Side uncovered training manuals on the internet. They teach how to get away with squatting.

The handbooks are brazen. A pamphlet for sale on Amazon for $61.20. An entry on Wiki-How entices tells squatters how to "take a whole house from someone if you're willing to take the risk."

It points out the best areas to squat and even advises to spruce up the home to throw off suspicious neighbors.

Comment: If your only choice is to be exposed to the elements or take shelter in a perfectly intact home, which would you choose? Expect to see more of this as the American economy goes further down the toilet.

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Fire

Report cites significant threat of explosive crude oil 'bomb trains' traveling across neglected US railways

Candice Bernd
Truthout
Fri, 13 Nov 2015 13:48 UTC
oil train derailment galena illinois
Flames and smoke can be seen at the site of an oil train's derailment near Galena, Illinois
With the White House's recent rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline, oil and gas energy analysts are already projecting a modest boost for the crude-by-rail business, despite the fact that US State Department officials indicated on November 6 that the extent to which railways may become a major form of transport for Canadian tar sands crude oil into the United States still "remains uncertain."

But according to a new report out this week from Waterkeeper Alliance, ForestEthics and Riverkeeper, since 2008, oil train traffic has increased more than 5,000 percent along routes "leading from oil fields in central Canada, the Great Plains and the Rockies to refineries and crude oil hubs along our nation's coasts." The environmental advocacy groups' report describes the significant threat posed by explosive crude oil "bomb trains" traveling across aging and neglected US rail infrastructure.

Comment: While the US infrastructure has been crumbling for decades, there may be something rather suspicious linking a few of the recent oil train derailments that bears further consideration:

Another Buffett-owned oil tanker train derails in Wisconsin one day after Obama kills Keystone XL pipeline

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Black Cat 2

Watch out for cats! Five superstitions for Friday the 13th


The Connexion
Fri, 13 Nov 2015 19:02 UTC
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It's the third and final Friday 13th of the year, but what superstitions are key to France?

1. AVOID CATS
In the past black cats were linked with witches and the devil and so it is still seen as unlucky when a black cat crosses your path in France. Records show that during the Middle Ages cats of all colours were so feared they were gathered together and burnt in villages and especially on Shrove Tuesday and the Fête de la Saint-Jean in June. Black cats in the UK, in contrast, bring good luck. The difference in outlook could be explained by the story that Napoleon saw a black cat before the battle of Waterloo, the outcome showing that it brought luck to the English and was a bad omen for the French.

2. DON'T CARRY CATS ACROSS WATER
It is unlucky to cross a stream with a cat in your arms and the death of a cat will be followed by the death of someone under the same roof.

3. LOOK OUT FOR SNEEZING CATS
On a positive note, if a cat sneezes near a bride on her wedding day the marriage will be a happy one.

4. AS FOR DOGS...
One French superstition, which many might feel difficult to avoid while walking in a town, is stepping in dog dirt. If the left foot is the unfortunate offender that is seemingly all right as it will bring you good luck, but if it is the right foot you are unlucky - in either case you have dog dirt on your shoe.

5. AND HORSES
Horseshoes above the door bring luck in France as in the UK, but many hang them with the points to the bottom, so that the luck and its protective powers will shower down on you.
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Sherlock

Mafia hitman claims in prison interview to have been part of Mafia/CIA plot to assassinate JFK

James Murray
Express UK
Sun, 08 Nov 2015 18:46 UTC
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A Mafia hitman who claims to have fired the bullet that assassinated US President John F Kennedy is due to be freed from prison after 36 years next spring.

James Files, 72, has been moved from a high-security jail to a less secure one in Illinois in preparation for his release.

His extraordinary claims in a filmed prison interview have become an internet sensation since being put on the web by Dutch film-maker Wim Dankbaar.

Now the CIA and other US secret agencies are bracing themselves for a fresh wave of conspiracy theories as Files identifies himself as the missing piece of the jigsaw in the Kennedy plot.

Controversially, he says there was collusion between the Mafia and the CIA to kill 46-year-old Kennedy, claims which could lead to him being called to give testimony on oath in Washington.

Comment: James Files' claims are hardly new. He has been saying for quite a while that he was involved in the JFK assassination. The question is whether he is speaking out to muddy the waters, or was truly involved.

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Light Sabers

MIT student challenges Monsanto to prove there are safety standards for GMOs


RT
Fri, 13 Nov 2015 17:34 UTC
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© James Akena / Reuters
One of the world's largest GMO producers has been challenged by an MIT graduate who claims there are absolutely no GMO safety assessment standards. He earlier alleged that GMO-engineered plants accumulate high levels of formaldehyde.

Livingston (New Jersey) High School Hall of Fame member, Dr. V A Shiva Ayyadurai threw down the gauntlet to the Monsanto Company, claiming it would be next to impossible for the agro-giant to disprove his claim that safety assessment standards for genetically-modified organisms (GMO) are nonexistent.

"If Monsanto can disprove the fact that there are no safety assessment standards for GMOs, the conclusion of our fourth paper, then I will give them my $10 million building," Ayyadurai, also a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate, told Patch.
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Boat

Who has deported more people than any other US president? Obama


Press TV
Fri, 13 Nov 2015 01:32 UTC
Obama Trump
© www.westernjournalism.com
President Barack Obama has "humanely" deported more immigrants than any US president in history, according to American writer and political activist Mickey Z.

The author of Occupy This Book and Occupy These Photos made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Friday while commenting on a statement by Obama who has denounced Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's plan to use a "deportation force" to deport millions of undocumented immigrants as unrealistic.

"The notion that we're gonna deport 11, 12 million people from this country — first of all, I have no idea where Mr. Trump thinks the money's gonna come from," Obama said on Thursday in an interview with ABC News. "It would cost us hundreds of billions of dollars to execute that."


Comment: A really good guess or he knows this personally because it has already been spent.


"Imagine the images on the screen flashed around the world as we were dragging parents away from their children, and putting them in what, detention centers, and then systematically sending them out," he said."Nobody thinks that that is realistic. But more importantly, that's not who we are as Americans."

Commenting to Press TV, Mickey Z. said, "What's most fascinating to me is the psychological manipulation at play here, because facts don't matter. We're trained to not bother ourselves with how much Trump's alleged plan might cost and to ignore the reality that Obama has 'humanely' deported more human beings than any US president in history," he added.

Comment: The devil you know...isn't much better than the one you don't!

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Sheriff

Texas cops respond to suicide attempt by county deputy by killing him

David Edwards
Raw Story
Thu, 12 Nov 2015 09:35 UTC
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© screen grab/KGNSCesar Cuellar
The mother of a Texas deputy said this week that Laredo police officers did not have a good reason to shoot and kill her son after they showed up at his apartment to respond to an attempted suicide.

The Laredo Morning Times reported on Monday that two female officers responded to a suicide attempt at around 11 a.m. The department said that the officers opened fire after "repeated commands to the individual who was armed with a handgun." The man was identified as 25-year-old Cesar Cuellar, a Webb County sheriff's deputy.

Cuellar's mother later told KGNS that officers overreacted. "Don't shoot, don't shoot, don't shoot, please, please, please. It's my son," the mother recalled telling the officers, according to a translation provided by the station. "Both of them were pointing at him. My son was like this with the gun pointed down, not saying a word. He was surprised, he was frozen. He didn't say a word. They had scared him."

"They shot him, they shot him once and then it took a while and after another boom again. It wasn't continuous but my son never lifted his gun. Never," she insisted. "They shot him without having to, not one reason." The woman said that her son would not have justice until the Laredo officers had their "guns and badges taken away."

In a statement, Laredo Police Chief Raymond Garner promised that there would be a full investigation into the case. "The Laredo Police Department respectfully sends the family, friends and colleagues of Mr. Cesar Cuellar Jr it's most sincerest condolences," Garner said. "The Laredo Police Department is committed to conducting a thorough investigation into this case."


Comment: People are 55 times more likely to be killed by a police officer than a terrorist

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Dollars

How nonprofit hospitals scam the under and uninsured

Lena H. Sun
Washington Post
Fri, 13 Nov 2015 15:37 UTC
hospital
A lot of people who don't have health insurance worry about getting hit with huge bills if they go to the hospital. Most consumers probably don't realize that many hospitals are supposed to let you know if you qualify for free or reduced-price care--and charge you fairly, even if you don't have insurance.

But a recent study found that less than half of nonprofit hospitals surveyed were telling patients they could be eligible for charity care.

There are nearly 3,000 community hospitals in the United States that qualify for tax-free nonprofit status. In return for that tax break—worth $25 billion in 2011 —hospitals are supposed tell the Internal Revenue Service each year how much care they write off for those who can't pay.

Under the Affordable Care Act, hospitals are supposed to follow several rules, which take full effect next year.

Comment:

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Heart

Colorado to vote on single-payer state health-care system

David Olinger
Denver Post
Mon, 09 Nov 2015 14:49 UTC
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Colorado state Senator Dr. Irene Aguilar, right, who is a physician at Denver Health, helps deliver more than 156,000 signatures to put the ColoradoCare health care question on the 2016 ballot,
Colorado voters will decide next year whether this state should be the first to pay for comprehensive health care for residents.

Proponents of a single-payer state system gathered enough signatures to put ColoradoCare on the ballot, the secretary of state's office announced Monday.

They needed 98,492 valid signatures to put a state-governed health care system to a vote. After reviewing a 5 percent sample of the 158,831 signatures submitted, the secretary of state projected that the valid total would be 110 percent of the number required — and certified that Initiative 20, the "State Health Care System," will be on the 2016 ballot.

Residents would choose their own health care providers, but ColoradoCare would pay the bills.
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