Society's ChildS


People

Best of the Web: Occupy The World! To the Barricades Comrades?

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© Image of the DayA vintage poster from 1911 printed by the Industrial Worker, an American socialist publication:
Four years ago in a Ministry of Defence Review, the Whitehall Mandarins, more astutely than any so-called Lefty, determined the following:
"The Middle Class Proletariat - The middle classes could become a revolutionary class, taking the role envisaged for the proletariat by Marx. The globalization of labour markets and reducing levels of national welfare provision and employment could reduce peoples' attachment to particular states. The growing gap between themselves and a small number of highly visible super-rich individuals might fuel disillusion with meritocracy, while the growing urban under-classes are likely to pose an increasing threat to social order and stability, as the burden of acquired debt and the failure of pension provision begins to bite. Faced by these twin challenges, the world's middle-classes might unite, using access to knowledge, resources and skills to shape transnational processes in their own class interest." - 'UK Ministry of Defence report, The DCDC Global Strategic Trends Programme 2007-2036' (Third Edition) p.96, March 2007
Yeah, I know, I'm always using this quote (I first used it four years ago) but it illustrates the great intellectual divide between the political class and the citizens they rule, including our Left, now made so apparent by what the pundits are now calling the 'Occupy The World' (OTW) movement. It seems that only our very own ruling class foresaw OTW.

Attention

US: Suicidal Thoughts Highest in Utah, National Survey Finds

Depression
© stockxpertA new study of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in U.S. adults finds suicidal thoughts are the highest in Utah, and attempts are highest in Rhode Island. The study also found new trends in suicidal thoughts and behaviors, thoughts and suicidal planning are highest in the Midwest.

While someone commits suicide in the United States every 15 minutes, many more think about it or even attempt to take their own lives, according to a new study showing that residents of Utah have the highest rates of such thoughts while suicide attempts are highest in Rhode Island.

A study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looked at data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2008 through 2009. Results showed that serious thoughts of suicide range from about 1 in 50 adults in Georgia (2.1 percent) to 1 in 15 in Utah (6.8 percent).

"Suicide is a tragedy for individuals, families and communities. This report highlights that we have opportunities to intervene before someone dies by suicide. We can identify risks and take action before a suicide attempt takes place," said Thomas M. Frieden, CDC director. "Most people are uncomfortable talking about suicide, but this is not a problem to shroud in secrecy. We need to work together to raise awareness about suicide and learn more about interventions that work to prevent this public health problem."

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US: Mystery remains as animals slaughtered in Ohio

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© Tony Dejak/APA sign warning motorists that exotic animals are on the loose rests on I-70 Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011, near Zanesville, Ohio. Owner Terry Thompson left the cages open and gates unsecured before committing suicide. 48 animals had been gunned down including lions, tigers, bear, and other animals. A wolf and a monkey were still on the loose as of Wednesday mid-afternoon.
When the killing ended, the exotic carnage was scattered across the countryside around this town in south-central Ohio.

Eighteen Bengal tigers and 17 lions. Six black bears, two grizzlies, three mountain lions and a baboon. Two wolves.

In all, 56 beasts were set free Tuesday by owner Terry Thompson, who then killed himself. Nearly all of the animals died.

"It's like Noah's Ark, like, wrecking right here in Zanesville, Ohio," said Jack Hanna, former director of the Columbus Zoo.

Radar

This One Could Take Them All Down

Chris Hedges: "What happens is in all of these movements ... the foot soldiers of the elite -- the blue uniformed police, the mechanisms of control -- finally don't want to impede the movement and at that point the power elite is left defenseless ... the only thing I can say having been in the middle of similar movements is that this one is real, and this one could take them all down ... I can guarantee you that huge segments of those blue uniformed police sympathize with everything that you're doing." -- Pulitzer Prize winner Chris Hedges brings his 20 years of experience as a war correspondent, having covered movements and revolutions throughout the the world, to the discussion.

Dollar

The End Of Free Trade Is The Only Way Out Of This Depression

Right from the very beginning there was only one possible outcome if free trade ever took hold in America. Industrial and economic collapse. Ross Perot knew it and tried to warn everybody. Very few listened. What is going on in America today, the factory closures, the unemployment, the debt, the experiment with globalism could not have come out any other way. Economic ruin was predestined right from day one when America signed on to NAFTA, GATT, the WTO and a raft of other free trade deals that have been signed in the last 20 to 25 years.

A national economy is very much like what the American family farm was at the turn of the 20th century. On the family farm mom, pop and the kids worked all year to produce as much as they possibly could to provide for their own needs for the upcoming year. Pop worked the fields and raised his livestock. Mom canned vegetables, cured meat, spun yarn and made candles. The boys chopped wood and helped pop where they were needed. The girls knitted socks, milked the cows and fed the pigs. Everyone did their part to produce the maximum amount of manufactured goods and agricultural produce they could.

Pills

Connecticut, US: Mom Pleads Guilty to Feeding Kids Beer, Cocaine

A Connecticut mother has pleaded guilty to charges that she forced her 4-year-old son to drink beer and gave her 10-month-old daughter beer and cocaine.

The Connecticut Post reports Juliette Dunn, of Bridgeport, pleaded guilty Wednesday to risk of injury to a child under the Alford Doctrine, where the defendant doesn't agree to the facts but agrees the state has enough evidence to win a conviction.

A companion, 33-year-old Lisa Jefferson, pleaded guilty to the same charges.

Police say officers were waved down in June by a neighbor who complained that a woman was feeding children beer at a playground.

The Post reported that at the time of the incident, police had spotted the pair sitting in folding chairs as the children played. Police noted an empty beer bottle near the 4-year-old. Additionally, the Post report said, police said a baby bottle near the child was filled with a beverage believed to contain alcohol.

Wall Street

Turkey sends 10,000 elite forces after Kurdish militants

Offensive on border of Iraq follows insurgents' deadliest one-day attacks against Turkish military since mid-1990s

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© Associated PressSoldiers carry a coffin containing the body of a Turkish soldier, one of 24 killed a day ago by Kurdish rebels at the border with Iraq, in eastern city of Van, Turkey on Thursday.
Ankara, Turkey - About 10,000 elite Turkish soldiers were taking part in a ground offensive against Kurdish rebels in southeastern Turkey and across the border in Iraq on Thursday, making it the nation's largest attack on the insurgents in more than three years, the military said.

The offensive began Wednesday after Kurdish rebels carried out raids near the Turkey-Iraq border that killed 24 Turkish soldiers and wounded 18, the insurgents' deadliest one-day attacks against the military since the mid-1990s.

The military said in a statement Thursday that 22 battalions, or about 10,000 soldiers, were taking part in the offensive in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq, but it did not say how many were in each country.

NTV television said most of the troops were believed to be in Iraq.

It was Turkey's largest such offensive since February 2008, when thousands of ground forces staged a weeklong offensive into Iraq on snow-covered mountains.

Propaganda

Libyan Dictator Moammar Gadhafi Is Dead, Rebels Claim

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© ReutersLibyans celebrate at Martyrs square in Tripoli October 20, 2011 after hearing the news that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed in Sirte.
Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, the most wanted man in the world, has been killed, the country's rebel government claimed today.

The flamboyant tyrant who terrorized his country and much of the world during his 42 years of despotic rule was cornered by insurgents in the town of Sirte, where Gadhafi had been born and a stronghold of his supporters.

The National Transition Council said that its fighters found and shot Gadhafi in Sirte, which finally fell to the rebels today after weeks of tough fighting.

Word of Gadhafi's death triggered celebrations in the streets of Tripoli with insurgent fighters waving their weapons and dancing jubilantly.

The White House and NATO said they were unable to confirm reports of his death.

Gadhafi had been on the run for weeks after being chased out of the capital Tripoli by NATO bombers and rebel troops.

Comment: The headline leading to the link said this: Libyan officials say the former dictator was captured and shot in a battle for his hometown.

I wonder why, if they had captured him, they decided to kill him? Is it because he could embarrass so many world leaders in their rolls to undermine his country and rob it of its resources?

7:45 AM PST Here is a screen grab:
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© Reuters/Yahoo

7:59 AM PST Now the Yahoo main page says this:
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© Reuters/Yahoo



Che Guevara

Poll: Vast majority of Americans support Occupy Wall Street, tax on rich

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© Chet SusslinThe Occupy Wall Street movement that started in New York City spread to Freedom Plaza in Washington D.C.
At a time when protests have erupted across the country over a growing inequality of wealth and Congress is considering measures to impose a surtax on those earning more than $1 million annually, the public seems to be in a populist mood - one that's tempered by skepticism about Washington's ability to do anything about the grim economy.

A new survey shows that Americans overwhelmingly support the self-styled Occupy Wall Street protests that not only have disrupted life in Lower Manhattan but also in Washington and cities and towns across the U.S. and in other nations. Some 59 percent of adults either completely agree or mostly agree with the protesters, while 31 percent mostly disagree or completely disagree; 10 percent of those surveyed didn't know or refused to answer.

What's more, many people are paying attention to the rallies. Almost two-thirds of respondents - 65 percent - said they've heard "a lot" or "some" about the rallies, while 35 percent have said they've heard or seen "not too much" or "nothing at all" about the demonstrations.

Alarm Clock

US: New York - In Her Own Words: Naomi Wolf's Arrest At Occupy Wall Street

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© Mike ShaneNaomi Wolf is arrested during the Occupy Wall Street protest in New York.
Arresting a middle-aged writer in an evening gown for peaceable conduct is a far cry from when America was a free republic

Last night I was arrested in my home town, outside an event to which I had been invited, for standing lawfully on the sidewalk in an evening gown.

Let me explain; my partner and I were attending an event for the Huffington Post, for which I often write: Game Changers 2011, in a venue space on Hudson Street. As we entered the space, we saw that about 200 Occupy Wall Street protesters were peacefully assembled and were chanting. They wanted to address Governor Andrew Cuomo, who was going to be arriving at the event. They were using a technique that has become known as "the human mic" - by which the crowd laboriously repeats every word the speaker says - since they had been told that using real megaphones was illegal.

In my book Give Me Liberty, a blueprint for how to open up a closing civil society, I have a chapter on permits - which is a crucial subject to understand for anyone involved in protest in the US. In 70s America, protest used to be very effective, but in subsequent decades municipalities have sneakily created a web of "overpermiticisation" - requirements that were designed to stifle freedom of assembly and the right to petition government for redress of grievances, both of which are part of our first amendment. One of these made-up permit requirements, which are not transparent or accountable, is the megaphone restriction.