Society's ChildS


Rose

Lauren Bacall dies at 89

Bacall
© Associated PressMs. Bacall's first son, Stephen H. Bogart (named after Bogart's character in "To Have and Have Not"), was born in 1949. Here, the family in 1951 on a deck of the French liner Il de France in New York City following their arrival from Europe.
Lauren Bacall, the actress whose provocative glamour elevated her to stardom in Hollywood's golden age and whose lasting mystique put her on a plateau in American culture that few stars reach, died on Tuesday in New York. She was 89.

Her death was confirmed by her son Stephen Bogart. "Her life speaks for itself," Mr. Bogart said. "She lived a wonderful life, a magical life."

With an insinuating pose and a seductive, throaty voice - her simplest remark sounded like a jungle mating call, one critic said - Ms. Bacall shot to fame in 1944 with her first movie, Howard Hawks's adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway novel To Have and Have Not, playing opposite Humphrey Bogart, who became her lover on the set and later her husband.

It was a smashing debut sealed with a handful of lines now engraved in Hollywood history.

"You know you don't have to act with me, Steve," her character says to Bogart's in the movie's most memorable scene. "You don't have to say anything, and you don't have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow."

Hearts

Utterly heartbroken: Robin Williams' wife Susan Schneider pays touching tribute to 'my husband and my best friend'

Robin Williams
© FayesVision/WENN.comThe couple - seen here in August 2010 - were heading towards their third wedding anniversary on October 23
On Monday, August 11 the world lost one of its greatest entertainers.

But as everyone reacted with words of sorrow and tears to the sudden and shocking passing of Robin Williams, no-one was more devastated by the tragic passing of the Oscar-winning actor than his beloved wife, Susan Schneider.

The graphic designer, who had been married to the Good Will Hunting star since October 23, 2011, was left reeling at the loss of her 'husband and best friend', who was found deceased in his home in California of an apparent suicide.

Somehow finding the strength and the words to express her grief, Susan released a statement to The New York Times' Dave Itzkoff.

'This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one if its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. I am utterly heartbroken,' she began.

Pirates

Will the Ebola hysteria be used to put people into detention camps?

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Now even the mainstream media is admitting that during an Ebola panic "people could be detained for long periods, merely on a suspicion they might have been exposed to some pathogen." As you will read about below, federal law contains some very vague provisions which could be used to indefinitely quarantine large numbers of Americans in the event of a significant Ebola outbreak in the United States. So where would all of those people be put? Certainly they would not be mixed in with prison populations, and our hospitals would only be able to handle a very limited number of Ebola patients. Once our medical facilities are overwhelmed, it is inevitable that those that have Ebola or that are suspected of having Ebola would be housed in temporary holding centers, tent cities, sports stadiums, old military bases and FEMA camps. Of course strict measures would be taken to ensure that the quarantine is not broken. So no matter what official name is given to these facilities, they would in essence be prison camps. No unauthorized personnel would be going in or out. And since the federal government already has the power to round up and detain anyone "reasonably believed to be infected with a communicable disease", the potential for abuse is staggering.

Radar

FAA issues a no-fly zone over Ferguson, Missouri due to protests

On Tuesday, a freelance journalist noticed that a no-fly zone had been issued over Ferguson, Missouri, the site of the recent protests over police violence.

Residents have taken to the streets to express their anger at the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old shot dead by a police officer there. Witnesses allege that Brown was innocent and doing nothing but jaywalking, while police officials have stayed vague on the topic. In recent days, the protests have become violent, with police officers using rubber bullets and tear gas to quell unrest.

The reason listed on the Federal Aviation Commission's website for the no-fly zone over the city is "TO PROVIDE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES."
Ferguson no fly zone

Comment: For more on the Michael Brown murder see:


Gingerbread

Absurd Japanese sex dolls reflect the current state of humanity

A Japanese company claims to have reached the next level in developing the most genuine looking sex doll which comes complete with realistic feeling skin and authentic looking eyes.

Orient Industry say their new range of dolls, made from high quality silicon, are so realistic there is very little to distinguish them from a real girlfriend at first glance.

The dolls, which are non inflatable, are sold under the name 'Dutch Wives', a Japanese term for a sex doll, and adverts in the media boast that anyone who buys one will never want a real girlfriend again.
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© Unknown"The perfect artificial girlfriend"
No spirit, no substance, but damn she's hot!
And the company behind the dolls are putting their success down to their realistic looking skin and eyes.

Comment: One can scarcely imagine the feeling of hollow self loathing after spending a night with one of these!


Quenelle

No dissent allowed: Two members of College Democrats of America forced to resign after criticizing Israel's assault on Gaza

Gaza grief
© Ali Jadallah / APA images“Collateral damage”: the family of the four Baker boys, gunned down mercilessly by Israel on a Gaza beach 16 July, mourn their loss. One young Democrat claimed Hamas forced Israel to kill them.
The College Democrats of America (CDA), the youth wing of the Democratic National Committee, forced two of its members to resign from leadership positions following a right-wing smear campaign this week.

They were branded anti-Semites after expressing anger at Israel's assault on Gaza in a heated social media exchange.

Christopher Woodside, a twenty-year-old student at Catholic University of America, says he was fired 6 August from his position as Communications Director with the DC Federation for College Democrats, CDA's Washington DC branch.

Woodside told The Electronic Intifada he was "told we would never receive donations because I made the organization seem radical." He added, "while I was officially asked to resign by the state level at DC College Dems, it was highly suggested their request for me to leave was from being pressured at the national college Dems level."

Sherlock

FBI opens civil rights investigation into shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown by police

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© Scott Olson / Getty Images / AFPWith their hands raised, residents gather at a police line as the neighborhood is locked down following skirmishes on August 11, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri.
The FBI has opened a civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting death of an unarmed black teenager by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer. Meanwhile, officials have rescinded a plan to reveal the shooting officer's identity, according to reports.

Residents of Ferguson clashed with law enforcement for the second successive night, as protests over the shooting of Michael Brown, 18, ended Monday with riot-gear-clad officers firing tear gas to disperse demonstrators.

More than 50 people have been arrested in protests following the Saturday shooting. Police officials claim Brown was shot after a struggle over a gun with a municipal police officer in a squad car. Witnesses, though, say the unarmed Brown had his hands raised when the police officer approached with his weapon drawn and fired repeatedly.

Light Sabers

Majority of voters in Britain believe Israel is using disproportionate violence in Gaza

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© AFP Photo / Roberto SchmidtA Palestinian woman sits on August 11, 2014 with two boys at the edge of a crater left where her home used to be and which was completely demolished by an Israeli airstrike in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip.
A majority of British voters believe that Israel is using disproportionate violence in the Gaza conflict, and 41 percent say their opinion of Israel has dropped, according to a new poll.

The Guardian/ICM poll, which was published Tuesday, found that due to its military operation in Gaza, Israel's standing in the UK has significantly worsened. The poll found that 52 percent of voters believe that Israel acted disproportionately when it launched airstrikes against the Gaza Strip.

By contrast, 19 percent of respondents thought Israel had acted proportionately in retaliating to Hamas rocket fire with air and artillery strikes, while 29 percent did not know.

According to the poll, 41 percent of voters say their opinion of Israel has worsened during the recent conflict and 48 percent still think the same way about Israel. Only 2 percent reported that their opinion of Israel has actually improved.

Heart - Black

UK prisons like death traps, government policy the cause for rising suicide rates sez Chief Inspector

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© Reuters / Paul HackettStaff shortages and overcrowding in Britain’s prisons are so serious, they are fuelling a rise in suicides amongst UK inmates, the Chief Inspector of Prisons warns.
Staff shortages and acute overcrowding in Britain's prisons are so serious they are fuelling a rise in suicides amongst UK inmates, the Chief Inspector of Prisons warns.

Chief Inspector Nick Hardwick told the Independent on Tuesday it was simply "not credible" for the coalition government to refute a direct link between mounting pressures on Britain's prison system and a dramatic increase in suicides.

Hardwick's intervention compounds heated criticism which has been directed at the UK's Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, over his mishandling of the prison system, amid accusations that jails throughout Britain have evolved into "death traps" as a result of stark budgetary cuts.

Commenting on the crisis, Hardwick said that self-inflicted prison deaths were "not acceptable in a civilized country," and warned if UK ministers wanted the population in British jails to rise, concrete"resources to deal with that rise" must be employed.

Camera

Journalist organizations express concern over missing Russian photographer in Ukraine

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© RIA NovostiRossiya Segodnya special photojournalist Andrei Stenin. Photo by Damir Bulatov. Archive photo.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) voiced concern over the safety of Russian photographer Andrey Stenin, who has been missing for almost a week after reportedly being detained in E. Ukraine.

"We join our Russian affiliate, the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ), to express our serious concern for the well-being of our colleague Andrei Stenin," said IFJ President Jim Boumelha, according to the organization's statement.

"If he has been detained in Ukraine then we appeal for whoever is holding him to release him immediately. He is a journalist, not a soldier, and as such is entitled to move freely and report the truth without the threat of intimidation, violence or detention," Bourmelha stressed.

Stenin, an experienced war photo-correspondent and employee of major news agency Rossiya Segodnya (Ria Novosti), was declared missing almost a week ago. Stenin was in the country working on a photo assignment.

The journalist is believed to have been with self-defense forces before he disappeared. An anonymous source in Donetsk told Ria Novosti that Stenin had been abducted by Ukrainian security forces.