Society's ChildS


Star of David

Students forced to sign "civility" statements for walk-out protest during IDF propaganda panel

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© Tess Scheflan / ActiveStillsNortheastern students walked out of an event featuring Israeli soldiers in April.
On 7 August, students gathered at Northeastern University in Boston to demand that the administration rescind the academic probation it imposed on our campus Palestine solidarity group earlier this year.

Supported by the National Lawyers Guild, the Center for Constitutional Rights and local union and civil rights groups, the demonstrators handed out leaflets and urged the university president to "change the policy on demonstrations and remove the sanctions placed on SJP [Students for Justice in Palestine]," as reported by OpenMedia Boston

In April, Students for Justice in Palestine at Northeastern was disciplined in an arbitrary and overtly political attempt to censor our speech based on our pro-Palestinian content. Because we protested a talk given by Israeli soldiers, the university administration has subjected our group to an opaque and exaggerated disciplinary process.

On college campuses across the United States, student Palestine solidarity activists are being punished, intimidated and censored. From administrative sanction, to personal threats, to coordinated smear campaigns orchestrated by outside organizations, it is has been a trying time to be organizing around Palestine on campus.

The protest

Students for Justice in Palestine at Northeastern learned that on 8 April, a panel of active-duty Israeli soldiers was coming to our campus, in an event sponsored by Huskies for Israel, Northeastern's pro-Israel student group. The event was advertised as an opportunity to hear soldiers "present themselves openly - as Israelis, as members of the IDF, and as young adults placed in often impossibly difficult circumstances."

Based on the well-documented human rights violations committed by the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, we decided to walk out of the event in protest of their presentation. We thought this tactic struck a balance between respecting the free speech rights of the presenters and expressing our abhorrence that they were being hosted at our university.

The Northeastern administration knew of our plans to protest in advance and we agreed there would be no picket signs or vocal disruptions.

Students for Justice in Palestine members and our supporters prepared for the walk-out by taping the names of children killed by the Israeli army on our shirts. Our group of approximately 35 participants then entered the event one by one.

Once the soldiers were introduced, one member of SJP stood up and stated, "the IDF are war criminals and are not welcome on our campus," at which point almost half of the audience walked out.

We chanted "free, free Palestine," as we filed out of the room. The entire walk-out lasted thirty seconds and then the event proceeded as planned.

Students across the country have organized similar actions to challenge unconditional support for Israel's egregious policies. Just a week after our protest, students at Florida Atlantic University walked out of a presentation by Israeli soldiers ("FAU students investigated for 'disruptive behavior' during protest," FAU University Press, 1 May 2013)

These students were threatened with individual conduct violations and some were put on indefinite probation. In a stunning twist, Florida Atlantic University's administration demanded that several of the students attend a "training" program designed by the Anti-Defamation League - an Israel lobby organization that has pressured university administrations across the US to stifle Palestine solidarity activism.

Perhaps the most infamous case of a student walk-out is that of the Irvine 11 - students at the University of California at Irvine interrupted a speech by Israeli ambassador Michael Oren in 2010. The students were arrested, prosecuted and eventually convicted of "conspiracy to disrupt a public meeting" in 2011.

Handcuffs

Puyallup Police held inmate "peepshow" according to lawsuit filed in Pierce County Superior Court

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© Attorney James EganSurveillance video from the Puyallup Jail shows a female suspect changing in a holding cell. The video recorded the woman while she completely disrobed, even though she was due to be released quickly after being arrested for suspected DUI.
Puyallup police have for years been selectively videotaping and watching young women change their clothes and use the toilet while in custody, according to a lawsuit filed today in Pierce County Superior Court.

The lawsuit names as plaintiffs 11 women and one man who claim they were videotaped in various states of undress by officers in the city jail's holding cells.

Attorney James Egan said the plaintiffs were "detained for misdemeanors only to become the victims" of what he called "felony voyeurism." Egan said he began investigating the police department's booking and surveillance practices more than two years ago. He called the practice of observing detainees a "peepshow."

But Puyallup City Attorney Kevin Yamamoto claims that cameras in jail holding cells are nothing new, that all Puyallup detainees are required to change into jail clothes for mug shots and that Egan went through the jailhouse videos and "cherry-picked" for alleged victims.

According to Egan, the plaintiffs all had been detained by Puyallup police on suspicion of driving under the influence.

They were taken to the police station where several plaintiffs claim they were patted down thoroughly and in a sexual manner, according to the suit.

They then were directed into a video-monitored holding cell where they were told to strip and change into jail clothes for their mug shots, according to the lawsuit. Egan said there is no reason to require someone to change their clothes to pose for a mug shot.

Black Cat 2

A dog's donated blood saves cat's life

Rory
© Yahoo!ShineRory the cat was saved by a blood transfusion from a dog.
When Rory the cat was rushed to the veterinarian in New Zealand after eating rat poison, the doctor turned to the archenemy to save him: a dog.

Veterinarian Kate Heller didn't have cat blood available, and didn't have access to a lab to test Rory to find a match. So, she sought advice, and was told to try dog blood. Rory's owner, Kim Edwards, called a friend and asked if her 18-month-old Labrador Retriever, Macy, could donate the 120ml of blood needed for a rare interspecies transfusion - and it worked.

"It was one of those situations that it was a do-or-die. So, he would have died if we did nothing," said Heller. Within an hour, Rory was recovering, and now, three weeks later, he's feeling like himself again.

"He is not out fetching the newspaper or peeing on power poles or barking yet!" laughed Edwards. "He is just the normal cat that we have - playful, friendly." - Watch it at New Zealand's 3 News

People 2

Forget sleep walking - now people are texting in the night: Rise in number of people who use their phone while asleep

  • A U.S. sleep expert has said an increasing number of people have started to use their phone and send text messages while they are asleep
  • Sleep texters often have no recollection of sending the messages when they wake up the next morning
  • Dr Werber warned the practice prevents people from getting enough deep sleep that helps the brain perform higher functions
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Lots of people send texts just before they go to sleep, but a U.S. sleep expert has said an increasing number of people have started to use their phone and send messages while they are asleep. Dr Werber warned the practice prevents people from getting enough deep sleep that helps the brain perform higher functions
Many people rely on their smartphone throughout the day to surf the web, check their email and send messages to friends. But what about during the night?

A sleep expert has said an increasing number of people have started to use their phone and send text messages while they are asleep and often don't remember writing them.

Dr Josh Werber warned sleep texting could have embarrassing consequences as well as leading to health problems as people are not getting enough quality sleep.

Dollars

France: Income tax bills will rise for many

Money
© n/a
Income tax bills will be dropping into letterboxes in the next few days and they will contain an unpleasant surprise for millions of taxpayers.

The avis d'impôt sur le revenu for 2012 will see an increase for many, due to the freezing of inflation-linked income limits, and families could also see a rise in tax due to changes in the quotient familial.

For 50,000 higher earners, a new tax band for those earning more than €150,000 per "part" will also mean a rise in tax.

Some observers say that 15 million people will face rises, but Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault says it will be much less.

Attention

Self-employed, small businesses under attack in France

Business Minister Sylvia Pinel
© Ygor75/Wikimedia CommonsBusiness Minister Sylvia Pinel
A new draft law will force auto-entrepreneurs to leave the popular simplified business regime if they earn more than the minimum wage two years running.

Business Minister Sylvia Pinel aims to please the artisan lobby with her proposals, which are expected to drop the upper limit for the regime from €32,600 for services to €19,000 and from €81,500 to €47,500 for sales businesses. Bodies representing artisans, especially in the building trades, have long claimed that auto-entrepreneurs cause "unfair competition".

While these precise figures - mentioned by the minister in June - have been left out of the draft law, which has now been officially presented to the cabinet, Ms Pinel said the levels will correspond to the "Smic" minimum wage (on which the above figures were based).
The final figures will be fixed later by decree after a parliamentary working group, headed by Socialist Laurent Grandguillaume, holds further discussions on the regime, starting this month.

Document

Report on France: School teaches sexism

school
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A report by school inspectors has highlighted that schools continue to enforce stereotypes and inequality between the sexes.

The report by the l'inspection générale de l'éducation nationale highlights attitudes such as:

- Choosing girls to look after the class while the teacher is briefly absent because they are more responsible.

- Giving preferential treatment to boys because they are supposed to struggle more at school

- Marking boys in terms of cognitive ability, while marking girls on the basis of positive attitude.

Over half of girls pass through to terminale (ages 17+), without repeating a year, compared to 40% of boys. However girls are much less likely to pursue sciences, compared to their counterparts in Asia and the Middle East.

Question

Three mysterious explosions so far in August 20 2013: New Jersey, Louisiana and Oklahoma

And they are talking about accidents?!?

Mysterious Explosion at New Jersey Navy station explosion - 8 hurt (ABC Local)

MIDDLETOWN (WABC) - At least eight sailors were injured after an explosion and fire at the Naval Weapons Station Earle in Middletown, New Jersey, Tuesday morning.


Naval officials confirm that some kind of explosion happened during maintenance work on a 35-foot utility vessel in one of the buildings along the waterfront around 9 a.m.

Comment: Earth is always moving!

The question is, what new factors have entered the solar system to cause all this mayhem at U.S. industrial factories and power plants?


Arrow Down

50,000 abandoned dogs roaming streets of Detroit in packs

Stray Dogs
© Associated PressThousands of stray dogs, including the one in this image, are reportedly roaming the streets of Detroit.
Packs of wild, abandoned dogs are roaming the streets of Detroit, leaving city officials overwhelmed at the prospect of handing an issue that raises both animal rights and safety concerns.

"It was almost post-apocalyptic, where there are no businesses, nothing except people in houses and dogs running around," the Humane Society of the United States director Amanda Arrington told Bloomberg News about a recent visit to Detroit. "The suffering of animals goes hand in hand with the suffering of people."

Bloomberg reports that packs of the dogs have been spotted in groups as large as 20. In one case, Detroit police officer Lapez Moore said the city's animal-control unit recently found several of the dogs inside a flooded basement where thieves had torn out the building's water pipes.

"The dogs were having a pool party," Moore said. "We went in and fished them out."

But the reality of the situation is more dire than an impromptu animal pool party. Local shelters say they are forced to euthanize about 70 percent of the dogs that are brought it, and their facilities are overwhelmed by the sheer amount of abandoned and stray animals.

Megaphone

50 years after 'I have a dream' the struggle continues


It's been 50 years since iconic civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream Speech." Although a lot of progress has been made, the struggle continues. Linda So reports.

Comment: To watch recordings of Martin Luther King's speeches and understand who killed him and why, watch the unique historical documentary Evidence of Revision.