Society's ChildS


Attention

Parents sentenced over neglect of child on vegan-only diet

vegan baby
© AAP Image/Hanna HigginsThe court heard that the child will need ongoing therapy.
A Sydney couple dissolved into sobs after being sentenced for the cruel malnourishment of their 20-month-old baby fed a strict vegan diet.

A Sydney couple who had their three children taken away from them when police found their 20-month-old girl was severely malnourished and suffering from rickets after being fed on a strict vegan diet have avoided jail over the neglect of their child.

Both sobbed in court as a judge slammed their behaviour as "reckless" and questioned their "untruthful" statements to authorities about their daughter's health.

At Sydney's Downing Centre court today, the couple was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment, however they will not have to spend time behind bars with the sentence in the form of an intensive correction order. Both will undertake 300 hours community service.


Comment: If you want to ruin your own health with a deficient vegan diet, be our guest. But endangering the life of children due to adherence to a ridiculous ideology should be a punishable offense. Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon Morell should be required reading for any potential parent, especially vegans.

See also:


Attention

Fracking suspended after biggest earthquake yet in Blackpool, UK

Cuadrilla
© PAOperations were paused for 18 hours from Wednesday evening while Cuadrilla monitored the site near Blackpool
Fracking has been halted at the UK's only shale gas exploration site after it triggered the largest earthquake caused by the practice to date, according to an energy firm.

Operations were paused for 18 hours from Wednesday evening while Cuadrilla monitored the site near Blackpool after a "micro seismic event" with a magnitude of 1.55.

Most people who live near the site would not have felt the movement, which a spokesman for the firm claimed would have felt similar to someone dropping a large bag of shopping on the floor.

"Minor movements of this level are to be expected and are way below anything that can cause harm or damage to anyone or their property," he added. The "integrity" of the Preston New Road site has been confirmed by regulators, he added.


Comment: If it was so normal then do they suspend operations every time someone 'drops a large bag of shopping' in the vicinity?


Comment: The 'pioneer' of the fracking industry has declared it an "unmitigated disaster"; there's irrefutable evidence of the devastation it causes to the environment; the price of shale in the markets has collapsed; there's a surplus of reliable and inexpensive gas from Russia; the quakes that are threatening the very foundations people live upon are relentless, and yet the UK government still pushes on with fracking, which tells us everything we need to know about the people running the country: Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal #26: Globalization vs Nationalism - The Hidden Causes of The Yellow Vest Protests in France


Stock Down

Japan's $1.5 trillion pension fund warns of serious global investing losses

shibuya
Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund has lost money in equities, fixed income and currency positions over the last three months.
Global markets have become so synchronised that money managers risk losing on every front, said chief investment officer Hiromichi Mizuno, of the world's largest pension fund.

Japan's US$1.5 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund lost money in equities, fixed-income and currency positions over the last three months, Mizuno said Tuesday in Sacramento, California.

"Conventional wisdom of portfolio diversification is when we lose money in equity we make a profit in fixed income," Mizuno told the board of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the largest US pension.

"But we lost in every single asset classes and lost in the currency translation as well. It never happened in the past."

Comment: The signs of a financial meltdown are everywhere. As noted in Plummeting stocks at Dow, S&P & NASDAQ, signs of 2008-style crash up ahead?
Stock fell and demands for bonds rose as the markets interpreted Treasuries rates as a signal preceding a recession [...]

Yields on 10-year Treasury bonds have just slipped below the yields for 2-year bonds, for the first time since the 2007 run-up to the Great Recession.
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Attention

Australian book about transgender kids shocks social media with its description of 'oral sex' with a six-year-old

library
A "groundbreaking" book billed as an "honest look" at the life and struggles of transgender teens has sparked outrage online over a disturbing description of "sex" with a six-year-old child.

The book titled 'Beyond Magenta' has actually been on the shelves since 2014, but gained widespread attention after some disturbing passages were highlighted by the Binary Australia website, which describes itself as seeking to "challenge the aggressive agenda to de-gender" society.

One young adult interviewed for the book describes performing and "loving" oral sex from the age of six. Alarmingly, there is no immediate clarification for young readers that this is illegal and damaging behavior.
From six up, I used to kiss other guys in my neighbourhood, make out with them, and perform oral sex on them. I liked it. I used to love oral. And I touched their you-know-whats. We were really young but that's what we did.

Comment: That fact that this book has been sitting on shelves of public libraries since 2014 shows how far along society has gone in normalizing pedophilia. In a healthy society this would not be something so easily accessible, nor be called "a sorely need resource for teens." See also:


Briefcase

Nothing to see here! Epstein created $578M trust two days prior to his death

Epstein Will
© New York Post
Disgraced financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein reportedly wrote a final will just two days before killing himself in a New York jail, placing $578 million in assets into a trust, which could hinder efforts to collect damages by women he sexually abused.

Epstein named lawyers Darren K. Indyke and Richard D. Kahn the executors of his assets in the trust, which could shield them from his victims seeking damages.

The will was filed Aug. 15 with the court in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

A third person, Boris Nikolic, a biotech venture capitalist, was named as a backup executor in case one of the others couldn't or wouldn't serve. Nikolic said Monday he was "shocked" to be named in the will, according to Bloomberg."I was not consulted in these matters and I have no intent to fulfill these duties, whatsoever," Nikolic said in an emailed statement.

Epstein owned a lot of real estate, including a ranch in New Mexico, a mansion in Manhattan and a private Caribbean island. The properties are held through various entities named in the will.

According to Epstein's last will and testament, the total value of his estate is $577,672,654:
  • Cash: $56,547,773
  • Fixed Income Investments: $14,304,679
  • Equities: $112,679,138
  • Aviation Assets, Cars, Boats: $18,551,700
  • Hedge Funds and Private Equity Investments: $194,986,301
  • New York Mansion: $55,931,000
  • New Mexico Ranch: $17,246,208
  • Palm Beach Home: $12,380,209
  • Paris Property: $8,672,823
  • Great St. James Island: $22,498,600
  • Little St. James Island: $63,874,223
The $578 million doesn't include Epstein's extensive art collection, which is subject to appraisal.

Comment: More from Yahoo News (Bloomberg) 20/8/2019:
The will and assets list were first reported Monday by the New York Post. The assets listed are similar to those in Epstein's unsuccessful bail request after his July 6 arrest.

Epstein's trust, known as The 1953 Trust, remains a private document whose details won't have to be disclosed by the court. In addition to determining how his assets will be used, the executors can "litigate, defend, compromise, settle, abandon or submit to arbitration" any claims against his estate, according to the document. There's no reference to his arrest or the investigation.

Epstein's brother, Mark, is listed as his next of kin. Indyke, who had served as an attorney for Epstein, and Kahn are "investigating potential debts and claims of the estate and at this time they are unknown," according to the court petition for their appointment.

The document doesn't name the trustees for the Epstein entity.

The will was witnessed by Mariel Colon Miro, a criminal defense attorney for the law office of Michael Lambert, and Gulnora Tali, who's also an attorney with a private practice. Colon Miro and Tali didn't immediately respond to phone calls seeking comment.

And who are his will's executors?

Darren K. Indyke and Richard D. Kahn are his long-time New York-based lawyers who disbursed financial contributions to politicians' election campaigns - either directly or via charity fronts - at least a few of which were named - in court, in the days running up to his suicide - as beneficiaries of sex with Epstein's 'harem of minors'...


Star of David

'50-year-old Palestinians have never lived in freedom': Geraldo Rivera slams Israeli Ambassador for ignoring the occupation

Fox News Geraldo Rivera Palestine
Geraldo Rivera shows off his Star of David tattoo when criticizing Israel on Fox News, August 19, 2019.
Israel's denial of entry to Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar has continued to raise consciousness in the United States. Yesterday Fox News invited regular contributor Geraldo Rivera on to discuss the trip to Palestine that didn't happen, and Rivera became impassioned, slamming the Israeli ambassador Danny Danon for not acknowledging the occupation and saying that if the situation didn't involve Israel and Jews, "we would all be outraged."
It is absolutely outrageous that two sitting members of the Congress of the United States of America, a country that gives Israel over $3 billion a year in aid, were denied entry into the country. I am shocked that the ambassador did not mention 52 years of Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. These are people who are being denied their human rights. They can't freely travel. The fact that the congresswoman from Detroit could not go and visit her grandmother- I just think that if it were not Israel and it was not the Jews, if it was any other country that took this action, we would all be outraged.
(Danon was given a chance to respond and said the congresswomen had "wanted to create a provocation." And maybe you should keep your provocation in the United States, not bring it to us, he went on. Also, Israel doesn't have a viable partner to negotiate with. "American people know that... We are a peaceful nation but we live in a very tough neighborhood.")

Comment: No matter how much one slavishly declares love for Israel, criticism of the apartheid state is taboo.


Light Saber

Huawei outlines its battle plan to survive US trade war

Huawei
To say that 2019 has been rough for Huawei would be the understatement of the century. The first half of the year saw the company hit with privacy concern after privacy concern, ultimately resulting in a trade ban from the United States. The U.S. government recently gave Huawei a 90-day extension that allows it to continue trading with U.S. companies, but once those 90 days are up, Huawei's future continues to be uncertain.

In light of all this, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei recently sent out a memo to his employees to outline the company's "battle plan" as it gets ready to fight through its impending "live-or-die" moment.

The letter reads:
The company is facing a live-or-die moment. If you cannot do the job, then make way for our tank to roll; And if you want to come on the battlefield, you can tie a rope around the 'tank' to pull it along, everyone needs this sort of determination!

Comment:


Attention

Pay rates for bosses at top firms drop - still more than 100 times average salary

The London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange
Bosses at Britain's biggest firms are taking home smaller pay packages on average, but their remuneration still massively outstrips that of the average worker, new research has shown.

Chief executives at FTSE 100 companies were paid £3.46 million in 2018 on a median basis, down 13% compared with £3.97 million the previous year, according to the latest CIPD and High Pay Centre analysis.

This means CEO pay is round 117 times that of the average UK full-time worker, who makes £29,574 per year.

Eye 1

Best of the Web: New 'cultural norm': Child sex-trafficking more common in US than people realize, government dedicates few resources to combat it

child abuse
© Tinnakorn jorruang, Shutterstock
Anti-trafficking activist Jaco Booyens said President Donald Trump has done more to fight child sex-trafficking than any other world leader, but the United States has a long way to go in protecting American youth.

Sex-trafficking has been a major issue recently as financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged with sex-trafficking and conspiracy, died Saturday in his Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial. Alleged victims are coming out with their stories and lawsuits against his estate.

Booyens is the founder of SHAREtogether, a non-profit that fights child sex-trafficking around the world. He is also the president and CEO of film company After Eden Pictures, and director of the movie "8 Days," which tells the story of a young girl who fell victim to trafficking. Booyens has been part of the effort to conquer sex-trafficking since 2001, he said.

Comment: It's an outright crime that governmental resources aren't seriously dedicated to fighting against child sex trafficking. It's indicative of the types of people who occupy seats of power. Sexual predation is indeed much, much worse than most people realize. See Anna Salter's work here and here to get an idea of just how bad it is.


Arrow Down

School forced black student to 'Sharpie in' his haircut: lawsuit

black student sharpie haircut
© Facebook
Another black student has been humiliated by school faculty over hair.

Pearland Independent School District in Texas is being hit with a lawsuit by parents Dante Trice and Angela Washington, who say faculty at Berry Miller Junior High School disciplined their son, J.T., by using a black Sharpie marker to color in the boy's fade haircut, which staffers allege violates the school's dress code.

According to the suit, the 13-year-old got a "fade haircut with a design line" on April 16, featuring a track — like an artificial hair part — resembling the letter M.

"The haircut did not depict anything violent, gang-related, obscene or otherwise offensive or inappropriate in any manner. J.T. did not believe the haircut violated any school policy," the suit stated, according to NBC News.


Comment: We're living in an age where teachers act just as cruel as some of the children in their charge. That said, the callous and inappropriate punishment doesn't automatically translate into racism. These school officials would likely do better with basic discipline training and relationship building over 'discrimination training' to know what to do and when it should be applied.