Society's ChildS


People 2

Free period products for trans boys in UK schools is about ideology, not pupils' needs

Frank Furedi
RT
Tue, 28 Jan 2020 07:00 UTC
feminine hygiene products
© Getty Images / Science Photo Library
British schools have been urged to provide free period products to transgender boys. But is the move motivated by pupils' sanitary needs or the government's commitment to institutionalize trans ideology in the school system?

A careful reading of the recent guidance issued by the British Department of Education indicates that it is an ideological document rather than a statement on the sanitary needs of pupils. The guidance assumes that the possession of multiple genders is the norm and states that "girls, non-binary and transgender learners who have periods may all need access" to menstrual products. Policy makers are far less interested in tampons than in communicating the idea that multiple genders is the new norm in schools.

If I believed in conspiracy theories - which I don't - it would be difficult to avoid the conclusion that the institutionalization of trans culture in British schools has become a zealously promoted project. Advocates have no inhibition about imposing their views on the most private and intimate dimensions of a child's experience. They clearly recognize that they are trespassing into areas of children's lives which have little to do with their schooling and education.

Comment: See also:

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Eye 2

Insys pharmaceutical founder gets 66 months in prison for bribing doctors to overprescribe opioids after tens of thousands of deaths in US

Tyler Durden
Zerohedge
Thu, 23 Jan 2020 20:45 UTC
John Kapoor
Millions of Americans who lived through the financial crisis probably recall that not a single executive of a major investment bank was jailed in the aftermath, despite running organizations seemingly dedicated to perpetuating a criminal fraud on nearly every counterparty and client.

But when Americans look back at the opioid crisis, they'll remember that at least one executive of a major opioid manufacturer and distributor was sentenced to a fairly weighty sentence - five-and-a-half years (66 months) in federal prison - for an illegal kickback scheme that effectively involved bribing doctors to prescribe potentially lethal doses of fentanyl. That's right: Packaged under the name brand Subsys, Insys sold a painkiller made from the same ultra-powerful synthetic opioid responsible for tens of thousands of deaths across America.

According to the FT, which, in partnership with PBS's Frontline, is producing a documentary on the opioid crisis, John Kapoor, the founder of Insys, was sentenced to prison time on Thursday after being prosecuted under the RICO act - a law adopted decades ago to help the DoJ prosecute the mafia.
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Fire

'I could hear people screaming': Alabama fire chief confirms 8 deaths after fire destroys 35 boats

Donna Thornton and John Bacon
USA Today
Mon, 27 Jan 2020 08:29 UTC
35 docked vessels destroyed in fire
© AP35 docked vessels destroyed in fire
Fire raced through an Alabama dock Monday, killing at least eight people and torching dozens of boats as people leaped into the Tennessee River to escape the roaring flames.

Scottsboro Fire Chief Gene Necklaus said eight people believed to be missing were confirmed dead. He said the death toll could rise as rescuers access sunken hulls.

Thirty-five boats, houseboats and pontoon vessels burned in the fire. Some were docked for recreation, but for some the boats were their homes. Necklaus said the blaze was on the inland side of the dock, making rescues difficult.

Seven people were pulled from the water and treated for minor injuries, mainly for hypothermia from the cold water, he said. Some boats sank at the dock, he said, and some drifted from their moorings and sank.

Jackson County Chief Sheriff's Deputy Rocky Harnen said efforts to find all the boats, account for all the missing, identify those killed and notify families could take several days.

"There were numerous people rescued," Harnen said. "We're trying to get divers down here to search for possible victims."

Comment:





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Shoe

Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna among 9 dead in helicopter crash; feds search for cause - UPDATE

Richard Winton, Dan Woike, Sonali Kohli, Tania Ganguli, Ben Poston
Los Angeles Times
Sun, 26 Jan 2020 00:02 UTC
kobe bryant daughter gianna
© Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Kobe Bryant, 41, the legendary basketball star who spent 20 years with the Lakers, was killed Sunday morning when the helicopter he was traveling in crashed amid foggy conditions and burst into flames in the hills above Calabasas.

His daughter Gianna, 13, was also on board, NBA authorities confirmed.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said nine people were on the copter — a pilot and eight passengers. He would not confirm who had died until all the next of kin have been notified, he said. The L.A. County coroner's office said Sunday night that the recovery effort is expected to take several days because of the condition of the crash site and its remote location. Officials have shut down roads leading to the site because of a throng of visitors trying to get there.

Comment: UPDATE 1/27/20

Sputnik reports that the pilot was warned that he was 'too low' moments before the crash and could not be guided by the control tower through the fog:
Details of a helicopter crash that killed basketball superstar Kobe Bryant have emerged with one report saying the pilot was told by an air traffic controller that he was "too low" moments before the crash. The statement was not a warning of an upcoming threat, but that the helicopter couldn't be tracked by radar, meaning Burbank Airport control tower couldn't guide the pilot through the thick fog the helicopter was flying in.

Residents of Calabasas where the helicopter came down told the media they heard a helicopter that was flying too low. "I was sitting on my couch when I heard it go over our roof. I thought to myself, 'Wow they're flying really low today.' It must've been about 100 feet above our roof by the way the house was shaking. [..]

Investigators said the helicopter has a black box, which will likely shed light on what happened Sunday morning. Flight data showed that the pilot apparently got in trouble when the aircraft was over the LA Zoo, where it circled for 15 minutes. The pilot contacted Burbank Airport when he turned to a mountainous area. Several minutes later the helicopter hit the hillside at 1,700 feet.


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Bomb

Hospital bomb may be linked to Hong Kong protesters who warned 'more to come' unless borders closed amid virus outbreak

Tony Cheung and Christy Leung
South China Morning Post
Mon, 27 Jan 2020 11:37 UTC
Explosion Caritas Medical Centre Hong Kong
© SCMPThe explosion at Caritas Medical Centre damaged toilet facilities on Monday.
Hong Kong police are investigating whether a bomb explosion at a public hospital on Monday is linked to anti-government protest violence, according to sources, suspecting the home-made device may have been detonated to pressure the government into closing the city's borders with mainland China in response to the deadly new coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.

The incident occurred after a warning two weeks ago by Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu, who said there were "high risks of home-made bombs", following similar cases police have uncovered in recent months.

In the latest case, nobody was injured when the device went off in a men's toilet cubicle at Caritas Medical Centre in Cheung Sha Wan at about 2.30am, a spokesman for the public hospital in Kowloon said.

Comment:

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Light Saber

Yellow Vest demonstrators from across Europe gather at Belmarsh Prison to protest Assange detention


RT
Sun, 26 Jan 2020 00:17 UTC
Protests Assange Belmarsh Yellow vest
A group of protesters, clad in the yellow vests popularized by French demonstrators, have gathered at Belmarsh Prison to protest the detention of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Assange has been held at the prison since April.

Wrapped up against the murky British January weather, demonstrators assembled outside Belmarsh on Saturday, calling on UK authorities not to extradite Assange to the US, where he faces nearly two centuries in prison.


Comment: Sputnik adds that hundreds of protesters have traveled from France, Belgium and Germany. Interviews and live feeds from Assange supporters in Mexico and Australia also were shown at the rally.
A spokeswoman from the Committe to Defend Julian Assange said that the rallies were special because of the Yellow Vests travelling "in large numbers all the way from France".

"They've shown people in this country and in Europe what it is to have a struggle", she said.

The Yellow Vests had "continuously" supported Mr Assange because his case was "absolutely critical for the defence of democratic rights", the spokeswoman added. [..]

She added that unless other journalists and parliamentarians "who have been entirely silent on his case" supported Julian Assange, it would be difficult to secure his freedom.


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MIB

Russia detains Japanese citizen in Vladivostok on suspicion of spying - Foreign ministry


RT
Mon, 27 Jan 2020 12:46 UTC
japan russia flag
© Getty Images / Oleksii Liskonih
A Japanese citizen has been detained in Vladivostok while trying to obtain classified material about Russia's military capabilities, officials have confirmed. He has since left the country.

The suspected spy was arrested on Saturday while trying to obtain secrets about what military assets Moscow has in the Far East, the Russian foreign ministry said. The Japanese national, who was in Russia on a journalism-related visa, was instructed to leave the country within 72 hours. He obliged and departed on Sunday.

"The Japanese diplomats accredited in Russia have been issued with a note of protest, stating that such activities are not acceptable," the ministry cautioned.

Comment: See also: Roscosmos engineers to develop a jamming mechanism to blind foreign spy satellites over Russia

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Star of David

Halevi: The left has 'weaponized' Holocaust against Israel

Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss
Sat, 25 Jan 2020 00:00 UTC
YossiKleinHalevi
© Ilir BajraktariIsraeli author Yossi Klein Halevi
On Thursday, Yossi Klein Halevi, the author and Israel advocate, said that the left has "weaponized" the Holocaust against Israel. Speaking on i24 News on the 75th anniversary of the Auschwitz liberation, he said that he "frequently" hears leftwingers saying of Israel, "How can you do the same thing to Palestinians" that was done to Jews during the Holocaust.

I have never heard this charge from the left in the context of European genocide. Many critics of Israel have said that Israelis have internalized the Nazi trauma by making Palestinians into Jews, and therefore subhuman. Many on the left say that Israeli actions mimic certain Nazi persecutions of Jews; I and others have compared the Gaza blockade to the Warsaw Ghetto. But Auschwitz and the extermination? I haven't heard any rational person argue that Israel is doing the same thing to Palestinians.

Halevi is sounding the new ban on any criticism of Israel the invokes the Holocaust. Such criticism is automatically deemed antisemitic under the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition that has now been widely adopted in the west.

Right on time: a BBC reporter is being smeared as an antisemite for criticizing Israel for overplaying the victim card.

Comment: See also: Netanyahu exploits Holocaust to brutalize Palestinians

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Car Black

Islamabad: One dead in traffic crash involving US Embassy vehicle


thenews.com.pk
Sun, 26 Jan 2020 00:00 UTC
Islamabad crash
© The News/via Geo News
A United States Embassy vehicle was involved in a traffic crash on Sunday here at the federal capital's Faisal Avenue Chowk that left one person dead, police said.

According to the police, one of the cars involved in the crash belongs to the United States Embassy in Islamabad. The embassy car's driver was arrested and a first information report (FIR) registered at the Margalla police station.

A spokesperson for Islamabad Police said the driver is a Pakistani citizen. Action would be taken against the suspect in accordance with the law, they added.

While the deceased was not identified as of reporting time, they added, the body was shifted to a nearby hospital.
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Light Saber

Canceled! Retired professor sues for reinstatement on Quora after being banned for affirming 'Palestine'

Benay Blend
Mondoweiss
Mon, 27 Jan 2020 20:05 UTC
rima najjar quora banned israel palestine
© FacebookRima Najjar
On December 31, 2019, attorneys for Rima Najjar, a retired professor of English literature at Al-Quds University, filed a suit against the question-answer website Quora in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California, arguing the site had unlawfully banned her from posting and moderating a forum. The row centers around the use of the word "Palestine" and "Zionist," the latter of which Quora said constituted "hate speech."

Najjar joined Quora in 2016 and leading up to her ban she was one of the most viewed contributors writing about Palestinians and Zionism. According to the complaint, filed by Daniel Siegel of Siegel, Yee, Brunner, and Mehta, and Rima Kapitan, of Kapitan Law Office, Quora repeatedly subjected Najjar to several temporary bans and "collapsed" or withdrew her answers from the main list of answers to a question, before implementing a permanent ban. The temporary bans followed complaints from other users.

Initially, Najjar attempted to resolve the matter directly with Quora, but to no avail.

Comment: Professor Najjar's experience is far from unique:

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