Society's ChildS


Light Sabers

On eve of elite sporting event, hundreds of thousands stage anti-regime rallies in Bahrain


Press TV
Sat, 05 Apr 2014 03:13 UTC
Bahraini protesters
© UnknownBahraini protesters stage a demo near the capital Manama on April 4, 2014.

Tens of thousands of Bahraini protesters have staged an anti-regime demonstration ahead of a Formula One Grand Prix to be held in the Persian Gulf country.

On Friday, around 200,000 men and women marched along 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) on a highway west of the capital Manama.

The demonstration had been organized by al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, the country's main opposition party.

The protesters, who were carrying national flags and posters, chanted pro-democracy slogans and called for the release of prisoners jailed during regime crackdown on protests.
"The people demand democracy and reject tyranny," a poster read in Arabic and English.
Anti-regime protesters have held similar rallies every year since 2011. They say the Formula One governing body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), should cancel the event in Bahrain over the ongoing crackdown by the Al Khalifa regime against peaceful protests.

Rights activists also say that the Formula One event is used as a political tool by Manama to make the world believe that the situation in the country is normal.
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Light Saber

Desmond Tutu: US lawmakers must end efforts to curb free speech on Palestine

Desmond Tutu
Press TV
Sat, 05 Apr 2014 03:05 UTC
Desmond Tutu
© UnknownArchbishop Desmond Tutu
I am writing today to express grave concern about a wave of legislative measures in the United States aimed at punishing and intimidating those who speak their conscience and challenge the human rights violations endured by the Palestinian people.

In legislatures in Maryland, New York, Illinois, Florida, and even the United States Congress, bills have been proposed that would either bar funding to academic associations or seek to malign those who have taken a stand against the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

These legislative efforts are in response to a growing international initiative, the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, of which I have long been a supporter. The BDS movement emanates from a call for justice put out by the Palestinian people themselves. It is a Palestinian-led, international nonviolent movement that seeks to force the Israeli government to comply with international law in respect to its treatment of the Palestinian people.
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2 + 2 = 4

Why pro-lifers kill

William Saletan
Slate.com
Fri, 04 Apr 2014 19:48 UTC
Image
© Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesGov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 6, 2014, wants to outlaw abortion but legalize the death penalty for rape.
The death-penalty drug fight has engulfed a third state. First it was Texas. Then Oklahoma. Now Louisiana.

On Thursday a panel of federal judges refused Louisiana's request to conceal its execution drug formula and drug supplier from inmates the state was preparing to kill. On Friday night the Louisiana Department of Corrections gave in. It will accept the court's ruling.
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Camcorder

Drone weighing 375 pounds crashes near elementary school, Pennsylvania


breitbart.com
Fri, 04 Apr 2014 15:09 UTC
Image
© Les Stewart — Lebanon Daily NewsGuardsmen pick up pieces of an unmanned aerial vehicle that crashed Thursday in front of Lickdale Elementary School. The Army National Guard was conducting training when the craft crashed.
A drone manned by the Pennsylvania Army National Guard crashed near Lickdale elementary school yesterday afternoon.

"The aerial vehicle, controlled by a remote operator, was part of a training exercise at Fort Indiantown Gap, said Maj. Ed Shenk, public affairs officer for the Pennsylvania National Guard" reported Lebanon Daily News.

Following the drone's "hard landing" it was run over by a "civilian vehicle" and the remains were gathered up by National Guard. "The vehicle, known as the RQ-7 Shadow, weighs 375 pounds, is approximately 11 feet long and has a wing span of 14 feet, Shenk said."

The cause of the crash was unknown and under investigation.

Source: Lebanon Daily News
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Quenelle

Common Core stance gets mom suspended from her child's school - threatened with arrest‏

Mike Opelka
The Blaze
Fri, 04 Apr 2014 10:28 UTC
Image
© news10.net
A school in Sacramento, California, has suspended a mom over her stance against Common Core.

You read that correctly, the Mark Twain School in Sacramento has told the mother of a 12-year-old student that she has been suspended for two weeks. Police in Sacramento served the 14-day suspension to Katherine Duran in her home following a disagreement with the school over the soon-to-be enacted Common Core standards.
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2 + 2 = 4

Extraordinary violence in Philadelphia high school - 'it's our new normal'

Kristen A. Graham and Dylan Purcell
Philly.com
Fri, 04 Apr 2014 13:08 UTC
Image
© TwitterBartram staffer Alphonso Stevenson was knocked unconscious by a student at the school on March 21. This image was posted on Twitter that day.
Trouble persists at Bartram High.

A brawl erupted in the school cafeteria this week, with teenagers punching and stomping on one another and on school police. Students set off firecrackers inside the building. And the student who last month knocked a staffer unconscious was back in the halls of the Southwest Philadelphia school.

"It's normal for Bartram," said one teacher, insisting on anonymity. "It's our new normal."

Two weeks after "conflict resolution specialist" Alphonso Stevenson suffered a fractured skull and other injuries at the hands of a 17-year-old student, Philadelphia School District officials have sent a team to assess conditions inside the school, and added veteran troubleshooter Ozzie Wright as coprincipal. They have also reacted with dismay to what a spokesman called a "shocking" video of the cafeteria brawl.

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V

'Austerity kills!' In dozens of Spanish cities, thousands stage anti-govt protests


RT
Fri, 04 Apr 2014 13:33 UTC
Image
© Reuters/Sergio PerezA placard held by a protester is seen during a demonstration against European and Spanish austerity measures in Madrid April 3, 2014.
Thousands of people in dozens of Spanish cities have taken to the streets to voice their discontent with harsh government policies and the EU's plans for further austerity cuts which they claim are destroying their country.

The residents in over 50 Spanish cities, including the capital, Madrid, have taken part in the anti-government protests on Thursday, reported the local press.

The demonstrators were holding banners saying "Rise up European peoples" and "No social cuts, no pensions of misery."

Among those who rallied were also the employees of the local Coca-Cola factory in Spain, which is threatened with closure. "Don't drink Coca Cola" said their banners.

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Light Sabers

Brussels police clash with austerity protesters using tear gas, stun grenades and water cannons


RT
Fri, 04 Apr 2014 14:07 UTC
Image
© Reuters/Francis LenoirDemonstrators clash with riot police officers during a European trade union protest against austerity measures, in central Brussels April 4, 2014.
Brussels police used tear gas and water cannon in clashes with protesters, as thousands gathered at a trade union rally against austerity. Violence in the area where many government offices are situated caused a lockdown at the US embassy.

Around 25,000 people, according to Brussels police spokeswoman, Ilse Van de Keere, marched against austerity and unemployment. They were faced with a heavy-handed police response.

Initially, the trade unions expected to see 40,000 demonstrators on the streets of Brussels.

Some demonstrators threw oranges and cobblestones at police. Violent clashes also took place near the US embassy.

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Magnify

Controlling the lens: The media war being fought over Ukraine between the Western bloc and Russia

Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya
Global Research
Fri, 14 Mar 2014 08:10 UTC
Mainstream media
© Unknown

Governments and major corporations control or, at least, try to manipulate public opinion and discursive processes through mass media communication. They also wage information wars through the use of mass media communication. Like other geopolitical events, this is the case concerning the Ukrainian anti-government protests and the proceeding February 2014 coup in Kiev. This information war is a contest where the international news networks and major newspapers act as armies, the weapons being used are the media, and the frontline is the interactive space known as the public sphere. Radio frequencies, air waves, satellite feeds, social media, cellular or mobile phone uploads, communication networks, and the internet are all part of the war.

What is an Information War?

Different technologies and modes of communication are used to enforce certain themes in the conflict. Language, selective words, particular expressions, specific pictures, multimedia presentations, and communication are all the ammunition for the war.

The aims of information warfare are to use discourse to influence populations across the world and to establish a total monopoly on the flow of information, the perceptions of audiences, and the discursive processes shaping the modern world. At its basis power and relationships are being realized through mass media communication.
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Heart - Black

Sacramento dog torturer faces 16 years in prison

Allison Geller
Opposing Views
Thu, 03 Apr 2014 13:10 UTC
bubba pit bull
Robert Lee Brian of Sacramento, Calif., faces 16 years in prison for torturing and killing dogs after neighbors testified to the sickening abuse the man inflicted on his pets.

Brian, who has a long criminal history, was convicted by a jury Friday of felony animal cruelty, according to Sacramento County Deputy District Attorney Hilary Bagley-Franzoia. During the week-long trial, Brian testified that he had chronically abused his pit bull terrier. Brian hurt and mistreated the animal, punching, hitting, and choking it, as well as denying it food and water.

The lawyer said the dog, called Bubba, is alive but lost vision in its right eye.
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