Society's ChildS


Water

Cincinnati residents warned about city's lead pipes, but don't worry, it's still safe to drink the water

Cassius Kamarampi
Era of Wisdom
Fri, 08 Apr 2016 18:11 UTC
tainted water
Cincinnati city officials sent out letters to 16,000 residents this week, informing them that much of the city's water transporting pipes are still made of lead.

The message is kind of contradictory, admitting the pipes are problematic, while assuring residents that it's safe because they have a "successful lead corrosion control program."

According to Cincinnati.com:
City leaders here in Cincinnati don't want citizens to panic. Greater Cincinnati Water Works closely monitors its water and has never had a lead violation, according to officials. Cincinnati has had a successful lead corrosion control program that has protected customers for years.

But the pipes' mere existence can cause a threat, officials confirm.

Comment: If so much money wasn't spent on needless wars, perhaps the US could afford to update its infrastructure. Lead contamination is an issue all over the US.

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Red Flag

Signs of societal decline: New Jersey high school students caught playing 'Jews vs. Nazis' drinking game


RT
Fri, 08 Apr 2016 17:29 UTC
Holocaust Pong
© Jamaica Ponder/Snapchat
A group of New Jersey high school students is in hot water with their school and the public after a photograph of them playing a drinking game revolving around the Holocaust surfaced online.

The photograph was originally shared on Snapchat, but Princeton High School student Jamaica Ponder, 17, snagged the image of her fellow schoolmates before it disappeared and posted it online alongside a blog post about the game.

The photo itself shows multiple male students engaged in a game that wraps beer pong in World War II trappings and sets up a scenario of Jews versus Nazis. The team representing Jews creates a formation of cups shaped like the Star of David, while the Nazi team creates a swastika.

Comment: That such a game exists is utterly appalling, and that high school students decided to share such insensitive antics on social media is shocking. The downward spiral American society into new depths of moral depravity should astound, amaze, and disgust anyone with a functioning conscience. It doesn't matter who gets voted in as president, there is no hope left for America.

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Heart - Black

LA's newest law: Homeless can only own a trashcan's worth of belongings

Brianna Acuesta
True Activist
Fri, 08 Apr 2016 17:56 UTC
trash digger
© empire news
As though homeless people don't already own so few possessions, the city of Los Angeles just passed a law saying that the amount of things a homeless person can own must fit inside of a trashcan. They even have size dimensions for the trashcan, noting that the items must fit in a 60-gallon trashcan and the lid must close over it.

The new law allows police to even confiscate tents that are still standing on public property during daylight hours. Taking away a homeless person's shelter is not constructive, and in fact only makes them feel less secure in a time when they need a solid foundation to get back on their feet.

This law is in response to LA's homeless epidemic, which has been on the rise recently, with an increase in 20% over just the last two years.

Comment: Homelessness is not an insoluble problem

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Laptop

Hackers post personal information of 50 million Turkish citizens online


RT
Mon, 04 Apr 2016 17:24 UTC
hackers
© Kacper Pempel / Reuters
A database reportedly containing the personal information of nearly 50 million Turkish citizens, including that of the country's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was posted online by a hacking group.

The database, which comprises 49,611,709 documents, was posted on the website of an Icelandic group that specializes in divulging leaks on Monday.

Hacktivists claim the leaked information uploaded in the 6.6 GB file includes the first and last names, parents' names, national ID number, gender, place of birth, date of birth, full address, current city and district of those in the database.

The attack seems to be politically motivated. "Who would have imagined that backwards ideologies, cronyism and rising religious extremism in Turkey would lead to a crumbling and vulnerable technical infrastructure?" the hackers wrote on the database's front page, which features Erdogan's profile.
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Hardhat

Energy bridge to Crimea to be finished ahead of schedule


RT
Fri, 08 Apr 2016 15:20 UTC
power lines
© Sergey Malgavko / Reuters
The energy needs of Crimea will almost completely be met when the next thread of the energy bridge is operational in a few days time, says Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich.

"An extra thread of the power linkup with Crimea will start working in the near future," said Dvorkovich on Friday, stressing that stable electricity supplies for the peninsula was the key task for the Energy Ministry.

The minister pointed out the energy bridge connecting Russia's Unified Energy System and the Crimean power grid is ahead of schedule.

Crimea was completely blacked out on the night of November 22, 2015, when all four power lines to the peninsula were blown up in Ukraine. Since then, Crimea has been suffering constant blackouts.

The situation improved with the opening of the first thread of the energy bridge from the Krasnodar region across the Kerch Strait on December 2. After two weeks, the second thread started working, increasing the capacity to 400 MW.

Russia plans to finish the second power bridge by the end of next month, which will ensure Crimea won't need electricity from Ukraine.

Last week, Ukraine's Ukrenergo said three power lines from Ukraine to Crimea have been rebuilt, and Kiev is ready to renew supplies in a matter of hours. Crimea's First Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Sheremet said the peninsula no longer needs Ukrainian energy, as Kiev authorities have proven themselves as unreliable partners.
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Heart - Black

English council plans to fine homeless £50 for begging in the streets


RT
Fri, 08 Apr 2016 14:58 UTC
homeless
© Suzanne Plunkett / Reuters
A council in Britain is preparing to begin fining homeless people £50 (US$70.50) if they are caught begging for money in the streets, it has emerged.

Worthing Council is expected to approve the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) later this month, which will allow it to target beggars on the street. It will also introduce laws to stop drinking and camping in the town center.

The move has been called "disgusting" by local activists, who think it will unfairly penalize homeless people.

PSPO legislation was initially rolled out in 2014, commonly known as 'ASBOs for public spaces'. They allow councils to ban a usually legal action in a specific area.


More than 5,000 people have signed a petition against the PSPO.

Comment: Homelessness is not an insoluble problem

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Colosseum

Ancient Syrian and Iraqi artifacts smuggled by Daesh are sold in Turkey


Sputnik
Mon, 04 Apr 2016 16:07 UTC
Syrian artifacts smuggling
© Sputnik/ Mikhail Voskrenskiy
Vitaly Churkin, Russia's permanent representative to the UN, stated that Daesh terrorists are smuggling stolen cultural heritage artifacts through the Turkish city of Gaziantep, where the stolen goods are sold at illegal auctions and then distributed through a network of antique shops and at the local market.

The Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh) jihadist group generates up to $200 million in annual profits from around 100,000 cultural objects it controls in Iraq and Syria selling them through the Turkish city of Gaziantep, the Russian permanent representative to the UN said in a letter to the UN Security Council presidency.

"The main centre for the smuggling of cultural heritage items is the Turkish city of Gaziantep, where the stolen goods are sold at illegal auctions and then through a network of antique shops and at the local market," Vitaly Churkin's letter states.

The letter asserts that artifacts including jewelry and coins are delivered by Turkish transport companies, sold in shops opened on the Turkish-Syrian border, and then arrive in Izmir, Mersin and Antalya where documents are forged to hide their origins.
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Bullseye

Former Mayor of London tells RT, 'Cameron shouldn't just resign... he should be sent to prison!' (video)


RT
Fri, 08 Apr 2016 14:52 UTC
Ken Livingstone
© Andrew Winning / ReutersKen Livingstone
Prime Minister David Cameron should be sent to prison for profiting from shares in his father's offshore investment fund, former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has told RT.

Livingstone said the Panama Papers scandal is "incredibly damaging" for the PM.

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Ambulance

Axe wielding woman shot dead by Tennessee police after being served eviction notice


RT Police Wire / YouTube
Fri, 08 Apr 2016 15:48 UTC
police shoot woman
© Police Wire / YouTube
Distressing footage has been released by US police showing the moment a Tennessee officer fatally shoots a woman wielding an axe.

Gallatin Police Department says it has made the video public in the interests of transparency, after the serving of an eviction notice ended in bloodshed.

On Wednesday, Laronda Sweatt was served an eviction warrant by Sumner County Sheriff's Office at her home, where police say she threatened law enforcement with an axe and stabbed a deputy.

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Eye 1

Facebook 'context collapse': Users sharing more news, less personal information

Sarah Frier
Bloomberg News
Fri, 08 Apr 2016 15:32 UTC
Facebook
© Joey deVillaFacebook logo explained
  • Staff said to call lack of intimate sharing 'context collapse'
  • Facebook tries prompting more personal types of posting
Facebook Inc. is working to combat a decline in people sharing original, personal content, the fuel that helps power the money machine at the heart of its social network, according to people familiar with the matter.

Overall sharing has remained "strong," according to Facebook. However, people have been less willing to post updates about their lives as their lists of friends grow, the people said.

Instead, Facebook's 1.6 billion users are posting more news and information from other websites. As Facebook ages, users may have more than a decade's worth of acquaintances added as friends. People may not always feel comfortable checking into a local bar or sharing an anecdote from their lives, knowing these updates may not be relevant to all their connections.

According to one of the people familiar with the situation, Facebook employees working on the problem have a term for this decline in intimacy: "context collapse." Personal sharing has shifted to smaller audiences on Snapchat, Facebook's Instagram and other messaging services.

Comment: Spreading vital information about the world is a much better use of social media than sharing a picture of one's last restaurant meal.

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