Society's ChildS


USA

What in the world has happened to the American people?

US syria protest 800px
Like others in my generation, I remember proudly the response of the American people to the war in Vietnam. I remember the marches, the sit-ins, the protests. I remember the small Midwestern liberal arts college I first attended deciding to shut itself down as its students readied to pour into the nation's capital and I remember being tear gassed in Berkeley.

Vietnam pales in magnitude when compared with the military actions launched by the US since the turn of the century. Since 2000, US troops have fought in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria.

War, no longer an anomaly, has become common fare.

Comment: A Disturbing Truth: The Deception of Media
Whatever Happened To The Anti-War Movement?


Chart Pie

Can you say 'neo-feudalism'? 20 richest people have more wealth than half of all Americans

Trump
© AP
According to a new report by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) America's 20 wealthiest people now own more wealth than the bottom half of the American population combined. IPS calculates the top 20 in the Forbes 400 richest list own more wealth than 152 million people in 57 million households.

Beyond the top 20 the numbers get even worse. The IPS report estimates that the entire Forbes 400 Richest Americans list own more wealth than the bottom 61% of the country — 194 million people — combined. IPS can only estimate due to widespread use among the rich of offshore tax havens, which means inequality could actually be more severe.

The Forbes 400 richest Americans are not just wealthy relative to other Americans, but to people all over the world. As IPS notes, the total amount of wealth estimated to be held by the Forbes 400 is $2.34 trillion, an amount that surpasses the GDP of India with a population that exceeds 1 billion people.

Comment: Who runs the world? Solid proof that a core group of wealthy elitists is pulling the strings
They use some of it to dominate the affairs of the nations. The ultra-wealthy own virtually every major bank and every major corporation on the planet. They use a vast network of secret societies, think tanks and charitable organizations to advance their agendas and to keep their members in line. They control how we view the world through their ownership of the media and their dominance over our education system.

They fund the campaigns of most of our politicians and they exert a tremendous amount of influence over international organizations such as the United Nations, the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO. When you step back and take a look at the big picture, there is little doubt about who runs the world. It is just that most people don't want to admit the truth.



TV

Six positive signs the lame-stream media is collapsing

tv off air
There is an information awakening taking place right now, and mainstream media is being outed for what it really is: corporate and government controlled propaganda. People are turning to alternative news sources more swiftly than ever now, and as a result, the old guard of media is collapsing at free-fall speeds.

Here are 6 positive signs of the collapse of mainstream media:

1. Mainstream Media is Owned by a Handful of Corporations and the People Know It

It's no secret anymore that nearly everything we see, read, and hear comes from just a handful of mega-corporations. Thanks to the alternative media, it has become a widely known fact that just six corporations control 90% of the media we consume. These big six have the ability to make key decisions and delegate the news to their lower subsidiary companies by cutting out important stories or alternative points of view. People recognize this and are moving over to the indy media as a result.

Comment: The MSM is trivial, irrelevent, lacking in depth and critical thinking. It's high time the population seeks better alternatives.


Bomb

Market triple suicide attack leaves 30 dead, over 80 injured on Lake Chad island

Africa map
© Google maps
Some 30 people have been killed and 80 others injured as three suicide bombers attacked the island of Koulfoua on the Chadian side of Lake Chad, Reuters reports, citing security sources.

The attacks coincided with market day and the death toll may rise.

"Three suicide bombers blew themselves up in three different places at the weekly market on Loulou Fou, an island in Lake Chad," sources also told AFP.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks.

However, the the region is under a state of emergency after an attack by Boko Haram militant group killed 12 people last month.

Question

'A lot of things, quite frankly, don't add up', says San Bernardino shooters' attorney

Swat
© AP
The question of how Sayed Farook could have mutated into a human monster capable of mass murder is just one of many questions plaguing the family of the man accused of carrying out Tuesday's terrorist attack in San Bernardino. In an interview with CNN, the family's attorney describes numerous ways that the official story of that horrible crime "doesn't add up."

"There's a lot of disconnects, and there's a lot of unknowns, and a lot of things that quite frankly don't add up," insisted attorney David S. Chelsey, who represents Farooq's family when asked by CNN correspondent Chris Cuomo how the family "could explain how he went from someone they knew and loved to someone who could do something so monstrous."

Witnesses and investigators have both described a terrorist onslaught carried out with military precision by suspects who were trained and capable. Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, didn't appear to have the necessary background and skillset, according to Chelsey.

Comment: There are a lot of unanswered questions in this case.


Arrow Down

Elderly in UK forced to choose between bare necessities of food or heat

poverty UK
© Egor Eryomov / Sputnik
This winter over 750,000 elderly people in Britain are being forced to choose between the bare necessities - food or heat, according to a new report released by a support charity.

While the better off are making Christmas gift decisions, 752,000 elderly people in Britain have to choose between eating or staying warm in the 2015 winter season, the Independent Age charity found.

The report also found that 43 percent of elderly people had gone to bed early to keep warm at least once, with an estimated 890,000 of them doing this often or even every day.

There are 11.4 million people aged 65 and over in the UK, according to the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS). Independent Age said that 36 percent of them do not heat their homes adequately in winter because of worries about paying fuel bills, while 13 percent have resorted to going to a library, a shopping center or using public transport just to stay warm in winter.

Comment: No one should have to make such choices, particularly in a country with a combined household wealth of £9.1 trillion. The UK'S richest 20 percent have more than one hundred times the wealth of the poorest 20 percent. An analysis from Lloyds Bank Private Banking revealed that if the combined household wealth was evenly distributed, each family in Britain would have an annual income of £326,414. This speaks volumes about the psychopathic elite and their utter contempt for the most vulnerable in society. Consider that there is always enough money to fund wars and ramp up the security state, yet social services are generally the first to receive cuts when the elites deem it time for more austerity.


Arrow Up

Tribunal to be held in The Hague to evaluate environmental and health allegations against Monsanto

Monsanto danger poison
© Unknown
A global group of professionals, scientists and environmentalists - the Monsanto Tribunal - are preparing a trial for the GMO seed giant in The Hague. They say the crowdfunded action, determined to charge Monsanto with "ecocide," is more than a symbolic move.

The Monsanto Tribunal's goal is to research and evaluate all of the allegations made against Monsanto in connection to all the damages its products have caused to human health and the environment. It is scheduled to be held at The Hague from October 12 to 16 in 2016. The trial will wrap up on next year's World Food Day.

One of the main goals the broad group of signees [ABOUT US] wants the tribunal to achieve is establishing "ecocide" as a crime. "Recognizing ecocide as a crime is the only way to guarantee the right of humans to a healthy environment and the right of nature to be protected," The International Monsanto Tribunal says on its website.

Comment: Slowly but steadily concerned groups have been making headway in their fight to stop Monsanto's path of destruction. Considering the enormity of the financial and political power that Monsanto enjoys, this tribunal may do little more than spotlight their crimes, but hopefully the increased awareness may embolden more people to bring down this pathological corporation.


Bomb

'Imminent security threat' against US consulate in Istanbul

The U.S. consulate building in Istanbul, Turkey
© Yagiz Karahan / ReutersThe U.S. consulate building is pictured after an attack in Istanbul, Turkey.
US authorities have warned of an imminent security threat to the American consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul, urging to avoid the area.

"Due to information about an imminent security threat against the US Consulate compound, the US Consulate General Istanbul advises all US citizens to avoid the US Consulate today," Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) wrote on its website.


Fire

Reports of 32 workers killed in Azeri oil rig fire in Caspian Sea

Caspian Sea oil rig fire
© Archie Goodwin / YouTube
A major fire has broken out on an offshore oil platform in Azerbaijan's waters. While no official casualty count was immediately available, an independent report indicated that the disaster claimed 32 lives.

The ongoing rescue operation is hampered by stormy weather with waves rising up to 11 meters high, Trend news website reported.

The fire started overnight at a rig at the Gunashli field southeast of Neft Daşları (Oil Rocks) settlement. It was caused by strong winds that damaged a gas pipeline on the platform, the Azeri state energy company SOCAR said.

Heart

Most Russians want Putin to remain president after 2018 - poll

putin
© Alexei Druzhinin / Sputnik
Two-thirds of Russian citizens say that after 2018 they would like to see Vladimir Putin or his personally proposed successor as president after the elections. Less than 20 percent of Russians say that the nation should choose someone with a different approach.

According to a poll conducted by the independent agency Levada Center in late November, 57 percent of respondents would prefer to see Putin reelected as president in 2018. Eleven more percent said that the incumbent president should be replaced by someone he himself proposes as his successor.

Eighteen percent said that they would prefer another person as president who would suggest a different political course, while 14 percent of responders said it was too difficult for them to answer the question at the moment.

In the same poll, 48 percent of Russians said that currently no politician in the country could effectively replace Putin, while 33 percent said that the replacement could be found once the need arises and 6 percent answered that they already know a perfect candidate. Twelve percent of respondents said they found the question too complex to answer.