Society's ChildS


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It's an educational program! California to start issuing speeding tickets to bicyclists

bike ticket
As if threatening government force to extort money from drivers who exceed an arbitrary limit of speed on the highway is not bad enough, police in California will begin issuing tickets to speeding bicyclists as well.

Earlier this month, Marin County parks officials launched a new enforcement program to enforce an arbitrary speed limit on bicycles.

City officials refused to call it a "crackdown" on speeding bicyclists and instead opted for the Orwellian option of calling it an "educational" program.

"We want to get data, educate users and hopefully gain a useful tool," said Max Korten, assistant director of county parks. "Through the Road and Trail Management Plan there are a number of proposals to open trail alignments to bikes that have caused safety concerns among some neighbors and preserve visitors about the speed of bikes on the trails," he said. "It's important that as we consider implementing some of these proposals; we have a tool to address this potential issue."

Green Light

Red light Robin Hood arrested again; faces prison time for disabling traffic cameras

red light robin hood
© smithtown todayStephen Ruth
Last year, 42-year-old Stephen Ruth was arrested for disabling traffic cameras, and even making YouTube videos of himself in the act, showing other people how they, too, can disable traffic cameras fairly easily. As soon as the video went viral, Ruth quickly became known as the "Red Light Robin Hood" and was soon arrested by police.

In a testament to his dedication, almost 8 months later, and he's at it again, and arrested again.

Ruth, now 43, was arrested right after a CBS 2 report was published in which he admitted to disabling dozens of cameras over the weekend.

Comment: Speed cameras are a racket.


USA

Taxation is theft meme makes it to major league baseball game

taxation is theft
A viral meme campaign that has taken social media by storm got some mainstream television coverage when a man seated behind home plate at a Texas Rangers baseball game stood up to reveal a shirt bearing the words "Taxation is Theft."

The recent "taxation is theft" campaign has taken the Internet by storm, raising awareness about the concept of taxation as a form of theft.

If you are confused by the term "taxation is theft," just think of the government as people without any special privileges, as they are meant to be representatives of the people, not omnipotent beings granted special rights.

If an average person takes money from someone under the threat of force it is called robbery, but if the government does it is considered legal and moral, and is called "taxation."

Snakes in Suits

No responsibility: Gun-carrying Georgia lawmaker arrested for drunk driving with 4 teens in SUV

Rep. Tom Taylor
© house.ga.gov
Stinking of alcohol and with bloodshot eyes, a Georgia Republican legislator was arrested for speeding and driving while intoxicated with four children in his SUV. He was also carrying a gun on his hip.

"I profoundly regret this serious mistake," State Representative Tom Taylor (R-Dunwoody) said in a statement, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "There's no one to blame but me, and I greatly appreciate the professionalism of the officers involved. This was my first run-in with the law in my life, and it will also be my last."

Heart - Black

Not-so-harmless fun: Study finds violent, sexist games decrease empathy for real-life female victims

Grand Theft Auto video game
© AFP/Getty Images
A group of male high school students in Italy who played Grand Theft Auto as part of a study showed less sympathy for female victims of violence in photographs.

Violent games that let players abuse women could have real-world effects, a new study suggests, with young men who identify with the games' male protagonists ending up less likely to care about women in real life.

A team of researchers in Italy and the United States found that a group of male high schoolers in Italy who played Grand Theft Auto reported feeling less sympathy when shown photos of female victims of violence.

"One of the best predictors of aggression against girls and women is lack of empathy," reads the study, conducted by researchers from the University of Milano Bicocca in Italy and Ohio State University in the US and published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One. "The present research shows that violent-sexist video games such as GTA reduce empathy for female violence victims, at least in the short-term."

Comment: Further reading on the effects video games can have on behavior, and a closer look at real masculinity:


Cardboard Box

San Francisco: Officials force man to move out of his wooden box pod deemed illegal

Berkowitz pod
© www.dailymail.co.ukThe bedroom pod.
A man who made a wooden box his home has been forced to move out after San Francisco building officials deemed the dwelling illegal. Peter Berkowitz, an illustrator, made headlines last month with his story of living in a box paying $400 a month. The 25-year-old came up with the solution as an alternative to paying the city's sky-high rents, building the 32-square-foot pod for $1,300 in his friend's living room.

"It fits all my needs where I have a private, sound-proof place where I can keep my belongings," Berkowitz said in an interview with SFGate. "I'm saving thousands of dollars a year. It's a solution that works for me. I don't want to spend so much money on rent."

After he shared his story Berkowitz was approached by others wishing to replicate his living arrangements and announced to Hoodline plans to produce and sell these "pods."

That ambition met a hasty end, however, thanks to the city's Department of Building Inspection. Chief Housing Inspector Rosemary Bosque told Hoodline that "pods are illegal and a violation of housing, building, and fire safety codes. He would have to completely open it up or look at something different, such as a bed with a frame, with curtains, something that was open to the room. This would be the case for anywhere in the country with respect to building and inhabitability codes," Bosque said.

"It's not just a matter of high rents and a matter of how people are coping with rents in San Francisco; there are fire safety realities," said the department's legislative and public affairs manager William Strawn.

Berkowitz has now left his plywood home, according to Hoodline, and faces finding alternative accommodation in a city where the median rent has reached $4,400 per month, according to data from Zillow.com.


Comment: $12.50/square foot and no bathroom...deal or no deal?


Heart - Black

Insurance companies seeking large premium increases as they threaten to drop out of Obamacare exchange

obamacare
Health insurance companies are amplifying their warnings about the financial sustainability of the ObamaCare marketplaces as they seek approval for premium increases next year.

Insurers say they are losing money on their ObamaCare plans at a rapid rate, and some have begun to talk about dropping out of the marketplaces altogether.

"Something has to give," said Larry Levitt, an expert on the health law at the Kaiser Family Foundation. "Either insurers will drop out or insurers will raise premiums."

While analysts expect the market to stabilize once premiums rise and more young, healthy people sign up, some observers have not ruled out the possibility of a collapse of the market, known in insurance parlance as a "death spiral."

In the short term, there is a growing likelihood that insurers will push for substantial premium increases, creating a political problem for Democrats in an election year.

Insurers have been pounding the drum about problems with ObamaCare pricing.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association released a widely publicized report last month that said new enrollees under ObamaCare had 22 percent higher medical costs than people who received coverage from employers.

And a report from McKinsey & Company found that in the individual market, which includes the ObamaCare marketplaces, insurers lost money in 41 states in 2014, and were only profitable in 9 states.

Comment: It appears that the insurance industry hopes to make substantial premium increases an annual event: Obamacare backfires: Insurance companies seek to hike up premiums in 2016


Arrow Up

Workers in over 300 U.S. cities marching for a living wage

$15 wage protests
© UPI/Barcroft MediaNew York is where the Fight for $15 started, and New York is now the site of a monumental victory that now extends beyond fast-food cooks and cashiers.’
Billboards in Times Square shone bright on Thursday morning as hundreds of workers huddled in front of a nearby McDonald's. The early hour of 6am was not enough to dim the joyous feel of this gathering, taking place just weeks after California and New York became the first states to raise their minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022.

The fight, however, is far from over, say workers whose goal is to secure a $15 minimum wage for all Americans. On Thursday, workers in more than 300 cities across the US were expected to protest to demand a rise in the minimum wage and the right to unionize, which they hope will lead to better working conditions.

The protest is being billed by organizers as the largest one to date, yet the crowd that gathered in Times Square was about half as large as last year's day of action in Brooklyn.

One of the workers joining the crowd in Times Square was Naquasia LeGrand, who works as a manager at a McDonald's in North Carolina. When she started working, she was paid $7.25 an hour. She was recently promoted to a manager and saw her pay go up to $8 an hour, then to $8.15 an hour. Yet still, she says, "it's not enough to make ends meet. I am still $400 short at the end of the month."

Comment: The idea that humans deserve to be treated equitably and with respect, and that excessive wealth inequality ultimately leads to the destruction of nations does not seem to concern America's oligarchy who are incapable of empathy. If they had any shred of compassion, we would not be witnessing this situation where so many people are living on the edge of despair.


Heart - Black

Rising malnutrition & death linked to low wages, welfare cuts in Britain

child starving
© Stefano Rellandini / Reuters
Foodbank use has risen to record highs in the UK, with over a million three-day emergency food supplies being handed out by the Trussell Trust charity last year. Government figures also indicate a shocking rise in deaths linked to malnutrition.

The charity's latest figures point to delays and changes to benefits as the biggest causes of foodbank use by those relying on its 424 centers across the UK.

Low incomes, insecure work, high living costs and problems accessing in-work benefits are all leading to a rise in working people being referred to food charities, according to the Trussell Trust's latest data.

Care professionals such as doctors, teachers and social workers identify people in crisis and issue them with foodbank vouchers for non-perishable food, which is donated to centers across the country by members of the public.

David McAuley, Chief Executive of the Trussell Trust, insisted the situation "must not become the new normal."

Comment: See also: Cameron must go: Wayne Madsen reports at least £2 million, not £30,000 in Cameron's offshore account


Cross

The dark side of religious exemption: Christian daycare workers allowed to beat children with impunity

christian abuse
Religion enjoys many exceptions from the rules and regulations of government. Ministerial institutions have always been free from the burden of federal taxes, and don't have to abide by laws such as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Even the war on drugs does not wholly apply, as certified religious entities can use "controlled substances" such as hallucinogens during ceremony.

However, the Center for Investigative Reporting revealed a dark side to the practice of religious exemption. Disturbing patterns of child abuse were found in states that apply this favoritism to day care centers.

Comment: It's not just Christian daycare facilities doling out beatings. Secular schools engage in the same behavior.