Society's ChildS


Red Flag

Italy decriminalizes public masturbation

italy flag
© Stefano Rellandini / ReutersCulprits will face a fine, but no prison time
Those who like to play with their sausage and meatballs in the company of others have a new Mecca after Italy's Supreme Court declared public masturbation is not a criminal offense.

The decision overruled the sentence of a 69-year-old man for "taking out his penis" and "practicing autoeroticism" outside a university in Catania. The court ruled the "act is not included in the law as a crime," according to La Republica, eliminating his three month prison sentence.

The culprit, known as "Pietro L," still faces a hefty fine of between €5,000 to €30,000, but he is free to roam and play with himself in the streets.

Last year, the Italian parliament decriminalized lurking in places frequented by young girls with the intention of masturbating in front of them, paving the way for this more recent ruling.

Pistol

Shooter dead at Texas high school, student and police officer injured

alpine high school
© Alpine School District / Facebook
A female student and a police officer were shot and injured at Alpine High School in West Texas. The shooter appears to have committed suicide, police said. All schools in the Alpine Independent School District are on "critical lockdown."

The shooter was also female, Brewster County Sheriff Ronny told Alpine Radio. Five shots were fired. The police officer was shot during a friendly fire incident, according to the Alpine Avalanche.

Authorities are now directing resources to Sul Ross State University, also in Alpine, after receiving a threat against the school, Dodson told Marfa Public Radio.

Sheriff

Violent school crime has declined by 82%, so why are police still in schools?

school police
Children across the U.S. have now returned to school. Many of these children are going to schools with sworn police officers patrolling the hallways. These officers, usually called school resource officers, are placed in schools across the country to help maintain school safety.

According to the most recent data reported by the Department of Education, police or security guards were present in 76.4 percent of U.S. public high schools in the 2009-2010 school year.

In many of these schools, police officers are being asked to deal with a range of issues that are very different from traditional policing duties, such as being a mental health counselor for a traumatized child. This is an unfair request.

Days after the recent tragedy in Dallas, for example, as he grieved for the five slain officers, Dallas Police Chief David Brown referred to this problem when he said,
"We're asking cops to do too much in this country... Every societal failure, we put it off on the cops to solve. Not enough mental health funding, let the cops handle it. ... Schools fail, let's give it to the cops. ... "
For the past decade I have been studying how we police schools and punish students. My recent book, "The Real School Safety Problem," and a growing body of other studies point to the fact that, indeed, schools ask police to do too much in schools.

Not only is it unfair to the police, it can be harmful for children.

Comment: Schools are becoming more like prisons as American kids are now subject to the same violent police behavior that plagues the rest of the criminal justice system. Children are being searched, spied on, threatened, beaten and treated like criminals for the most minor infractions making them easy targets for the private prison industry, which profits from criminalizing childish behavior.


Red Flag

Gary Johnson crushes the hopes of libertarians everywhere by asking, "What is Aleppo?"

Gary Johnson
The Libertarian candidate for president has apparently not been keeping close tabs on the Syrian civil war that has decimated the country and created hundreds of thousands of refugees. As TalkingPointsMemo details the entire conversation...
"What would you do if you were elected about Aleppo?" Mike Barnicle asked Gary Johnson on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
"About?" Johnson asked.
"Aleppo," Barnicle repeated, referring to Syria's second-largest city, which has been hit in recent weeks by a series of devastating chemical gas attacks and targeted bombing strikes on its few remaining medical facilities.
"And what is Aleppo?" Johnson asked sunnily, to the astonishment of the "Morning Joe" hosts.
"You're kidding," Barnicle said.

Comment: The 3rd party candidate issues an explanation:
Following his Aleppo flub this morning, Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson has issued a statement:
This morning, I began my day by setting aside any doubt that I'm human. Yes, I understand the dynamics of the Syrian conflict — I talk about them every day. But hit with "What about Aleppo?", I immediately was thinking about an acronym, not the Syrian conflict. I blanked. It happens, and it will happen again during the course of this campaign.Can I name every city in Syria? No. Should I have identified Aleppo? Yes. Do I understand its significance? Yes.

As Governor, there were many things I didn't know off the top of my head. But I succeeded by surrounding myself with the right people, getting to the bottom of important issues, and making principled decisions. It worked. That is what a President must do. That would begin, clearly, with daily security briefings that, to me, will be fundamental to the job of being President.
While some presidential candidates might have claimed it was a sexist question, attempted to distract from the question with ad hominem attacks, or blamed past medical problems, libertarian Gary Johnson offered a refreshingly honest statement basically saying, "sorry, I am human."



Star of David

Italian football fans boo during Israeli national anthem, give Nazi salute and taunt Jewish fans

soccer
© REUTERSIsrael-vs-Italy
The Israel Football Association has complained to the Italian Football Federation after two Italian fans were thrown out of Monday's 2018 World Cup qualifier between the national teams in Haifa for giving the Nazi salute during the Italian national anthem.

Police chose to only remove the fans and didn't arrest them. Italy supporters were also recorded booing during the Israeli national anthem 'Hatikva', with several others being seen taunting religious Jewish fans and spitting at them.

"The Israeli Football Association will send the photos to the Italian federation with which we have a warm and brave relationship so that it can find and prosecute the sickening minority that wanted to tarnish the visiting fans, their team and their country," read an IFA statement.

Italian Football Federation President Carlo Tavecchio called the Israeli ambassador to Italy, Francesco Maria Talo, to condemn the incident, saying that he hopes "the relevant authorities can determine as soon as possible what happened and identify those responsible." Italy won the match 3-1.

Hearts

Palestinian students create solar-powered car to combat Israeli fuel blockade

solar car
© alazhar.edu.ps
Israel's continued blockade of Palestinian territory along the Gaza Strip has not only infringed on residents' human rights, but also choked the area of essential resources such as fuel.

Authorities in Jerusalem control much of Palestine's energy sources and supplies through its Israel Electric Corporation, as well as heavily restricting imports.

Two students from the Islamic Al Azhar University in the center of Gaza are seeking to swerve the energy limitations that have dogged the area for many years by creating a solar-powered vehicle on a shoestring budget.

Working with the institute's Mechatronics Engineering Department, Khalid al-Bardawil and Jamal al-Miqaty have created a single-seater vehicle that runs off solar panels on its roof.

Snakes in Suits

Rabbi and Orthodox Jew arrested for 'chilling plot' to kidnap and murder man who wouldn't grant wife a divorce

Divorce papers
A rabbi and another Orthodox Jewish man have been arrested in New York for an alleged plot to kidnap and murder a man whose wife wanted to divorce him, according to federal officials.

Israeli-based Aharon Goldberg, 55, and Shimen Liebowitz, 25, were arrested in Central Valley, New York, while meeting to discuss the plot on Tuesday, according to a statement from the office of Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara.

The plan involved recruiting an individual identified as "CS" to commit the crimes against the victim. However, CS contacted the FBI with the plot in July, and soon began recording the men's conversations.

"The defendants are charged with a chilling plot to kidnap and murder the intended victim. Over a period of months, the Complaint alleges, they met repeatedly to plan the kidnapping and to pay more than $55,000 to an individual they believed would carry it out," Bharara said.

Comment: And to think, all this in order to fulfill the Hebrew Scriptures' so-called "ethical" rules...
  • Ultra-orthodox London Jews raise £1 million to go after "evil" secular parents



TV

Reporters awkwardly cut live feed of car chase after cops murder suspect on live TV

phoenix police chase
Do we not have judges and juries anymore? Are police the entire "justice system" now? With "justice" being served out of the barrel of a gun?

Via RT:
An armed robbery in Phoenix, Arizona has ended with police fatally shooting a suspect on live television.

In the aftermath of a raid on a Credit Union West branch on Tuesday, a number of local TV stations, including NBC 12 News and Fox 10 Phoenix, were broadcasting dramatic live footage of the chase when the disturbing events unfolded.

Video of the moment police used deadly force has now emerged online. It shows officers in three unmarked SUVs carrying out what is known as a 'PIT maneuver' - or precision immobilization technique - to ensnare the getaway vehicle.

People

Segregation or sanctuary? Black-only university housing draws criticism

College housing graphic
Some are calling it segregation and a step backwards, while others say it's a boost for the black student population. At Cal State Los Angeles, a new housing program opens up dorms for black students who want to be separated from the rest of the campus.

The housing option is generating criticism on social media. The campus is setting aside 20 spots in their 192 unit dorm complex for African-American students and others who share similar interests or concerns.

A similar housing option is available at UC Davis.

"I think we should support different communities wanting to be together, but there shouldn't be specific White or Black or Asian dormitories," says UC Davis student Teresa Chylkova.

Comment: More from The College Fix:
The arrangement comes roughly nine months after the university's Black Student Union issued a set of demands in response to what its members contend are frequent "racist attacks" on campus, such as "racially insensitive remarks" and "microaggressions" by professors and students. One demand was for a "CSLA housing space delegated for Black students."

Cal State LA joins UConn, UC Davis and Berkeley in offering segregated housing dedicated to black students. While these housing options are technically open to all students, they're billed and used as arrangements in which black students can live with one another.

Meanwhile, at Cal State LA, campus leaders took down much of the online information on the new housing that it posted in late July. And university housing officials and other campus officials rebuffed requests by The College Fix for more details.

If campus leaders are proud of the new housing, they appear disinclined to talk about it.

CSULA's Housing Services page offers one paragraph on the new black living-learning community, calling it an effort to "enhance the residential experience for students who are a part of or interested in issues of concern to the black community living on campus by offering the opportunity to connect with faculty and peers, and engage in programs that focus on academic success, cultural awareness, and civic engagement."

In addition to the Black Student Union's housing demand, the group also demanded a $30 million dollar scholarship endowment to aid black students, three new black faculty counselors, a new anti-discrimination policy and cultural competency course for faculty and students, and finally, a meeting with the president for them to discuss the "fulfillment and implementation of each demand."



Brick Wall

Segregation or integration? Danish school says 'ethnic quota' in classes helps locals stay

school segragation
© STX / HF / IB World School / FacebookLangkaer Gymnasium
A school in Denmark has been criticized for limiting the number of students from ethnic minorities in several classes. According to the headmaster, while the benchmark would select "Danish-sounding" names, the policy actually aims at better integration.

The controversial measure was introduced in Langkær upper secondary school near Aarhus, the second-largest city in Denmark.

The first-year students in the school were organized into seven classes. Three of the classes had special quotas - 50 percent of students should be of Danish background and 50 percent could be ethnic minorities. The four other classes consist solely of students with immigrant backgrounds.