Society's ChildS


Red Flag

Clean water crisis threatens the United States

Sarah Ferris & Peter Sullivan
The Hill
Mon, 25 Apr 2016 19:57 UTC
water crisis
© getty images
The United States is on the verge of a national crisis that could mean the end of clean, cheap water.

Hundreds of cities and towns are at risk of sudden and severe shortages, either because available water is not safe to drink or because there simply isn't enough of it.

The situation has grown so dire the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence now ranks water scarcity as a major threat to national security alongside terrorism.

The problem is being felt most acutely in the West, where drought conditions and increased water use have helped turn lush agricultural areas to dust.

Comment: The following article was published back in 2010! 10 Reasons Our Fresh Water Supply is in Deep Trouble. Over the last 6 years the situation has only gotten worse:

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Pistol

Stupid selfies!: Indian teen shoots himself in head taking selfie with gun


Yahoo! News
Sun, 01 May 2016 00:00 UTC
Selfie
© AFP Photo/Indranil MukherjeeIn January 2016, police in the western city of Mumbai moved to crack down on dangerous selfies after a man drowned trying to save a girl who fell into the sea while snapping one
An Indian teenager accidently shot himself in the head with his father's gun while trying to take a "selfie" photograph, police said Sunday, the latest in a series of such accidents.

The 15-year-old is being treated in hospital at Pathankot in Punjab state and is expected to survive, said the city's deputy police superintendent, Manoj Kumar.

The accident happened on Friday evening when the schoolboy was playing at home with the licensed revolver which is normally kept in a wardrobe, Kumar told AFP.
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Arrow Up

Serbs protest election results, call for recount


RT
Sun, 01 May 2016 19:49 UTC
serbia protest
© Alexa Stankovic / AFPProtestors wave Serbian flags in front of the Electoral Commission in downtown Belgrade on April 30, 2016 during a protest organised by Serbian main opposition parties against alleged electoral "fraud" at last weekend polls.
Hundreds of opposition protesters have blocked the main streets in the Serbian capital of Belgrade, accusing the government of fraud in the last week's parliamentary elections and demanding a recount and the resignation of the electoral commission.

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucić, who aims at taking Serbia into the European Union, secured 48.24 percent of the vote in Sunday's elections, which is a minor variation on his 2014 performance. However, the number of parliamentary seats which his Progressive Party received this year has decreased since more parties managed to cross the five percent threshold.

The Democratic Party of Serbia and ultra-nationalist alliance Dveri (DSS/Dveri) failed to get the number of votes needed for parliamentary representation after a recount of about two percent of votes.

Comment: The Serbs have an opportunity, if they organize. Further reading:
The Balkan anti-unipolar movement: How to use color revolution technology against its architects

As for the Serbs, they've been lulled into a state of complacency by Vucic's lies and the pro-government talking points of the unipolar-controlled mass media, but once they finally awake, there's no doubt that they'll spring into action just as passionately as the Macedonians have and finally take the firm stand against NATO that the rest of the world knows they're more than capable of mustering.


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Apple Red

Iran to replace all Turkish food imports to Russia


Real Iran
Sat, 30 Apr 2016 19:13 UTC
spices
On Thursday 28 April, Russia reported that it had received reassurances from Iran over the country's ability to replace Turkey in terms of food imports.

"Iran solemnly promises: we'll replace the whole of Turkey in the deliveries of perishable goods to Russia," said Russia's Federal Customs Service Chief Andrei Belyaninov.

Belyaninov suggested that this will be part of a new arrangement between Iran and Russia that would in a later stage entail the opening of a green corridor between the two countries.

Comment: Russia to ban agricultural imports from Turkey

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Pirates

Punjab, Pakistan: Poisoned sweets death toll climbs to 33


Yahoo! News
Sun, 01 May 2016 18:29 UTC
poisoned sweets
© AFP Photo/Arif AliPolice investigator Haji Mohammad Akhtar told AFP that two sweet shop owners and one worker who were arrested after the incident in Punjab province would be brought before a court on Monday
Some 33 people including five children have now died in central Pakistan after eating sweets accidentally tainted with insecticide, officials said Sunday.

The mass poisoning occurred in the Karor Lal Esan area of Punjab province last month.

"The death toll from poisonous sweets has risen to 33 and 13 other victims are still in hospital," district police chief Muhammad Ali Zia told AFP.

Local resident Umar Hayat bought the baked confectionery on April 17 to distribute among friends and family to celebrate the birth of his grandson.

But their jubilation was short-lived when ten people died on the same day.
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Camcorder

Dashcam video reveals New Jersey cop brake-checking a motorist

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Sun, 01 May 2016 17:27 UTC
clifton plice
© youtube/Omar B
A New Jersey cop was caught on the private dashcam of a citizen conducting a dangerous and unethical practice of 'brake checking' to extract revenue from citizens.

In the video, which was posted to YouTube, a man is doing nothing wrong as he's driving down the road behind a police officer. All of the sudden, the officer slams on his brakes in an apparent attempt to cause an accident. Had the driver not been paying attention, he would have hit the officer, who was unlawfully obstructing the flow of traffic.

Instead of apologizing to the driver for nearly causing an accident, this power tripping cop began to harass and extort him.

The New Jersey police department would not give up the name of the officer. However, public records identify him as Juan Velez, who has been working with the Clifton Police Department since 2005 and makes a whopping annual salary of $119,558.

Comment: This officer should be given a citation for reckless driving and fired for being a jerk.

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Attention

Washington, D.C.: Train derails and leaks sodium hydroxide

Dennis Foley
Washington Top News
Sun, 01 May 2016 16:53 UTC
train derailment
© NBC4
A CSX freight train derailed near the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station Sunday morning, leaving several cars overturned and a hazardous leak coming from at least one car, according to city officials.

Upwards of 10 cars derailed from a train bound for Hamlet, North Carolina, from Cumberland, Maryland, about 6:40 a.m.

The leak of sodium hydroxide, described as coming from one full tank car, was finally "plugged," and emergency responders, including hazmat crews, had moved on to the clean-up phase, officials said during a 10:45 a.m. press conference.

"CSX operations and hazardous materials personnel are working with first responders on the derailment this morning in Washington D.C." CSX said in a statement. "The safety of the community, first responders and CSX's employees is our highest priority."
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Handcuffs

Colorado woman who cut baby from womb of stranger given life sentence


RT
Sun, 01 May 2016 03:39 UTC
Catrece Dynel Lane
© Longmont Police Dept / ReutersCatrece Dynel Lane is shown in this booking photo provided by the Longmont Police Department near Denver, Colorado March 19, 2015.
The Colorado woman who lured an expectant mother to her home under the false pretense of giving her free maternity and baby clothes, only to cut her baby from her womb, has been sentenced to 100 years in prison.

Dynel Lane, 35, was given the lifelong sentence Friday for attacking and butchering Michelle Wilkins, 27, and killing her unborn baby girl in March 2015.
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Arrow Down

The pathology of America's entitled upper middle class

Charles Hugh Smith
Of Two Minds
Tue, 26 Apr 2016 00:00 UTC
upper middle class

The upper middle class is well and truly doomed by self-delusion and the pathology of entitlement.

Two recent articles describe America's entitled (and doomed) upper middle class: the top 5% of households with incomes above $206,500 annually and individuals with incomes of $160,000 or higher annually. (source: Historical Income Tables: Households Census.gov)

The first describes how businesses are responding to the new Gilded Age in which spending by the top 5% has pulled away from the stagnating bottom 95%:
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Pistol

11yo Alabama boy shoots intruder, mocks him for 'crying like a baby'


RT
Sat, 30 Apr 2016 15:31 UTC
taladega, al boy
© WVTM 13 News / YouTube Chris Gaither
An 11-year-old boy from Talladega, Alabama, boasted about shooting at a fleeing burglar 12 times and mocked the man (whom he had wounded in the leg) for "crying like a baby".

Chris Gaither told WVTM news he was home alone Wednesday morning when he heard an intruder breaking into his house.
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