Society's ChildS

Water

Health officials blasted at congressional hearing over handling of Flint water crisis

congressional hearing
Anger ran hot and fingers of blame were pointed every which way at the first congressional hearing about the water disaster in Flint, Michigan. Health officials faced withering criticism, while the committee vowed to "hunt down" missing witnesses.

"This is a failing at every level. The public has a right to be outraged and it must be fixed," thundered the chairman of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee, Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) in his opening remarks.

"This is the United States of America - this isn't supposed to happen here," Chaffetz said. "We are not some Third World country."


Comment: Unfortunately there are plenty of cities across the US that have been deprived of needs for so long by psychopaths in power that they are more like Third World countries than First World.


Flint's water supply became contaminated by dangerously high levels of lead following the decision to use Flint River as the source, instead of paying nearby Detroit for properly purified water. The switch took place in early 2014. Sorting out who was responsible for the decision, however, proved as contentious as establishing who among the relevant state and federal officials knew about the lead problem, and when.

Attention

Court clears way for revival of Dow's Enlist Duo - A worrisome weedkiller

Dow chemical
© reuters.com
A federal appellate court decision this week handed a victory to Dow Chemical Co.'s efforts to revive a World War II-era weedkiller and brought the next generation of genetically modified crops closer to America's dinner tables.

In a case that has seen one surprising twist after another, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's request to vacate its own scientists' 2014 approval of the Dow weedkiller known as Enlist Duo. The three-sentence order did not elaborate on the judges' reasoning.

Dow genetically engineered corn and soybeans so they are immune to Enlist Duo โ€” a mix of glyphosate, the nation's most popular weedkiller, and 2,4-D, a 1940s herbicide linked to cancer and other health problems. The new chemical will give farmers a one-two punch to wipe out field-choking weeds that have become impervious to glyphosate, which also has been linked to cancer.

Comment: Senior scientist at the National Resources Defense Council, Sylvia Fallon, has a lot of faith in the EPA. How many times does the EPA have to 'fully evaluate' the effects of Enlist Duo? They already gave it a green light, failing humans and the planet! It's basically a component of the toxic Agent Orange herbicide used during the Vietnam War, which has been linked to numerous health issues including increased risks of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Parkinson's and immune system problems. Not to mention the EPA intentionally "fudged the numbers" to make poisonous DOW chemical appear safe.

So Fallon believes that the agency is going to get it right?! It would be wise to wake up to the reality that there is and has been surging hubris at the Environmental Protection Agency for decades! And when it comes to 'protecting' anything...it's the chemical industries profits first.


Bad Guys

German gov't: Around 5,000 refugee kids missing in Germany, police say some could be victims of crime

refugee child
© Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters
The German government says nearly 5,000 child and teenage asylum seekers have gone missing from refugee homes since the start of 2016. Police believe that figures could be distorted but have not ruled out that some might have been the victims of crime.

A spokesman for the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) told the German newspaper Frankfurter Rundsch that a total of 4,749 unaccompanied children and teenagers had been reported missing since entering the country, The Local reported.

Around 10 percent of those who have disappeared are under the age of 13 and 4,387 were between the ages of 14 and 17.

Speaking to The Local, the BKA said that some of the children will turn up again, and that the figures could be misleading if a child has been reported missing at a number of different locations. However, the organization did not rule out that some of the minors could have been the victims of crime.

Heinz Hilgers, the president of the German Child Protection Agency said that lone children could be "easy targets" for criminal gangs.

Comment: Under cover of war, mass migrations, etc. the most atrocious crimes known to us are made even easier to perpetrate by the intra-species and human-looking predator, the psychopath. And now, with the world becoming ever more chaotic - thanks to psychopaths in positions of power - things have just become that much easier for those who predate on the most innocent and vulnerable; our children.

The following are only two very recent stories that speak to this evil:


Eye 2

Prosecutor says of psychopathic child sex abuser Matthew David Graham: He had a video that was 'one of worst things you could see'

Matthew David Graham
Matthew David Graham, 22, was described as so depraved that even other paedophiles did not like him โ€˜because of his crueltyโ€™
A prosecutor has described a video used by vile child sex abuser Matthew David Graham, showing an assault on an 18-month-old girl, as 'one of worst things you could see'.

The case, presented by prosecutor Krista Brekweg, was named as one of the most distressing ever to come before the court.

The video description was contained in a statement made after Graham pleaded guilty to 13 child pornography and sex offences on Wednesday in the Victorian County Court, The Herald Sun reports.

Judge Michael Tinney only reluctantly agreed to view edited images and video. One video as evidence was titled 'Daisy's Destruction'.

Graham was allegedly so cruel even other paedophiles could not stand him, the court reportedly heard.


Comment: What an absurd thing to include in this article. Who gives a hoot what other pedophiles think?! As though what they do in person, or virtually, doesn't in some way contribute to the same abhorrent and psychopathic behavior!


Graham pleaded guilty in September to setting up child pornography websites on the 'dark web'.

When Graham was 18, he was on the cusp of graduating from Epping Secondary College, in Melbourne's north, and lived a quiet life with his parents in the neighbouring suburb of South Morang.

But behind closed doors he was leading a very different life. Under the name 'Lux', he controlled a network of concealed 'dark web' websites and forums used by paedophiles, The Age reported.

Comment: For those creatures out there who are not yet behind prison walls - bring on the comets!!!


Hiliter

Reversal of fortune: Poet sentenced to beheading has reprieve - 8 years, 800 lashes...in 50 installments

Ashraf
© news.artnet.comAshraf Fayadh, poet
A poet sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for abandoning his Muslim faith has had his sentence of beheading commuted - but must still face 800 lashes and eight years in jail. Ashraf Fayadh was detained by the country's religious police in 2013 in Abha, southwest Saudi Arabia, and rearrested and tried in early 2014. His conviction was based on evidence from a witness who claimed to have heard him cursing God, Islam's Prophet Mohammad and Saudi Arabia. Other evidence which led to the barbaric sentence was found in the contents of a poetry book the 35-year-old Palestinian refugee had written years earlier.

The new ruling, posted by Fayadh's lawyer on his Twitter account, said the court has decided to 'go back on the previous death sentence' but confirmed the charges that prompted the death penalty. 'The accused is sentenced to a punishment of eight years in jail and 800 lashes divided into installments, 50 lashes for each installment,' the ruling stated, according to the Twitter posting.

A spokesman for Saudi Arabia's justice ministry could not immediately be reached for comment. A lower court had previously sentenced Fayadh to four years in prison and 800 lashes. The case went to the Saudi appeals court and was then returned to the lower court, where a different judge last November 17 increased the sentence to death. The second judge ruled defence witnesses who had challenged the prosecution witness' testimony ineligible.

Comment: Finally, poetic justice? See also:


Laptop

Windows 10 will now try to install automatically even if you don't want it

Windows 10 Logo
© MicrosoftThe default desktop background for Windows 10, known as "the Hero image".
Windows 10 is now a "recommended" update in Windows Update for computers running Windows 7 and 8.1. This means the new operating system may try to install itself automatically in a move that will further annoy users who don't want to upgrade.

Microsoft first announced its plans to promote Windows 10 to a recommended update last October. Because Windows Update's default - and most secure - settings automatically install updates listed as recommended, the first steps of the Windows 10 installation process may now complete without user intervention on Windows 7 and 8.1 computers.

The user will still be shown a final warning that the update is about to be installed and can opt-out at this stage. The new method of delivering Windows 10 is different to that used in the past as Microsoft has abandoned its old reservations model in a bid to get as many people as possible running the new OS.

Microsoft said the move will "help" its customers to migrate to the new operating system. A spokesperson told ZDNet: "As we shared in late October on the Windows Blog, we are committed to making it easy for our Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 customers to upgrade to Windows 10. We updated the upgrade experience today to help our customers, who previously reserved their upgrade, schedule a time for their upgrade to take place."

Airplane

Man sucked out of plane in midair after loud bang and fire leaves hole in fuselage

hole in plane
© APThe plane operated by Daallo Airlines sits on the runway in Mogadishu. A gaping hole in the commercial airliner forced it to make an emergency landing in Somalia's capital.
A commercial airliner has made an emergency landing at Mogadishu's international airport after passengers heard a loud bang and a fire broke out on board, leaving a gaping hole in the fuselage.

One man was sucked out of the plane and two people were slightly injured. The remaining 74 passengers and crew of the Airbus A321 were evacuated after the plane made a safe landing on Tuesday afternoon, Somali aviation official Ali Mohamoud said on Wednesday.

Mohamed Hassan, a police officer in nearby Balad town, said residents had found a dead body of an old man who they believed had fallen from the Airbus A321.

Local authorities in the Balcad area, about 30 kilometres north of Mogadishu, confirmed the body of the man, believed to have been sucked out of the plane, was found in the area.


Comment: Mainstream media reports are going right to the narrative of a bomber on board the plane causing the explosion, but if so the bomber built a rather inefficient bomb. It would seem that if one wanted to bomb a plane, they would build a bomb strong enough to crash the plane, not just blow a hole in the fuselage. So, the next question is whether the hole was truly caused by an explosion inside the plane or by an external source. Don't expect the media to look for answers though, suicide bomber fits right in with scaring the populace and providing more reason for stricter security.


Snakes in Suits

Remorseless judge gets probation for shocking defendant with 50K volts of electricity in court session

judge nalley
A man representing himself in a Maryland court was shocked with 50,000 volts of electricity by the judge because he continued to speak when the judge ordered him to stop.

Judge Robert Nalley pleaded guilty on Monday to depriving the defendant of his civil rights.

The charge stems from an encounter between the judge and victim Delvon King in July of 2014, when King was appearing before Judge Nalley to face gun charges. King had a shocker anklet attached to him, which was supposed to be used in case of an emergency situation, or if King were to attempt to escape or hurt anyone.

In the court, King attempted to make his case but was constantly interrupted by the judge who repeatedly told him to be quiet. When King continued to make his case to the court, Judge Nalley told the court deputy "Mr Sheriff, do it... use it," at which point 50,000 volts of electricity were sent through King's body, causing him to scream in pain. The court transcript read, "DEFENDANT SCREAMS."

King later described the situation to reporters, saying that he experienced "Excruciating pain then, and a burning sensation."

Comment: Another perfect example of the systemic corruption within America's 'justice' system. The wealthy and influential receive merely a slap on the wrist for their crimes, no matter how heinous, while the poor are incarcerated and often abused for the most minor offenses.


2 + 2 = 4

Vietnam: Portents and the death of Cu Rua

Hanoi's famous turtle dies at a most inauspicious time.

Turtle Tower
© Bradley Audrey Ralph / Shutterstock.comTurtle Tower on Hoan Kiem.
Hanoi's famous turtle Cu Rua in central Hoan Kiem Lake has died, two days before the 12th General Party Congress officially began. Some see this as a portent, given that the creature was known for appearing at auspicious times such as Hanoi's 2010 millennial celebrations.

Its carcass was found by authorities Tuesday and taken to Ngoc Son temple on the lake before being removed. Cu Rua will be embalmed and put on display at the National Museum of Natural History according to Vietnamese media.

Eye 2

Cops tase cleaning woman at empty school after mistaking her for burglar, then charge her with evading arrest

Ooltewah Middle School
© Allison Carter /Times Free PressOoltewah Middle School
Two Tennessee cops are being criticized for excessive force for Tasering a 36-year-old middle school cleaning woman after they confronted her at night in the otherwise empty school.

Juana Raymundo, originally from Guatemala, has been charged with evading arrest after she ran from the police who thought she was a burglar โ€” despite seeing her cleaning supplies in the hallway โ€” reports the Times Free Press.

According to the police report, Sgt. Jamie Heath and Officer Brian Desmond entered Ooltewah Middle School at 8:30 in the evening earlier this month after noticing a door to the school was left open.

Inspecting the school with their guns drawn, they spotted the cleaning supplies in the hall way before encountering an empty-handed Raymundo who appeared, "nervous and somewhat reserved."


Comment: Who could blame this woman for being nervous when she encountered police with their guns drawn in an empty school? There isn't even a good reason to draw their weapons. Just because a door was open doesn't mean they have to draw their weapons. Did they even identify themselves as police to the woman? Police have lost all sense of control.