Society's ChildS


Dollar

George Zimmerman files $100M lawsuit against Trayvon Martin's family and Florida prosecutors

Christina Carrega
ABC News
Thu, 05 Dec 2019 18:03 UTC
george zimmerman
© Pool/Getty ImagesGeorge Zimmerman waits for his defense counsel to arrive in Seminole circuit court, on the 11th day of his murder trial in the 2012 death of Trayvon Martin, June 24, 2013 in Sanford, Fla.
George Zimmerman, the Sanford, Florida, neighborhood watch volunteer who was acquitted of the murder of Trayvon Martin in 2012, and his lawyer have filed a $100 million lawsuit against prosecutors, Martin's family, their attorney and a book publisher over allegations that one of the trial's key witnesses was "an imposter."

Zimmerman's civil attorney Larry Klayman filed the multi-million lawsuit in Polk County Circuit Court in Florida.

Klayman alleges in the 36-page lawsuit, where Zimmerman is the sole plaintiff, that Martin's parents Sybrina Ford and Tracy Martin as well as their attorney Ben Crump falsely inserted Rachel Jeantel into the case after the Sanford Police Department closed the investigation in March 2012 as "self-defense."

The lawsuit claims then 18-year-old Jeantel was "an imposter and fake witness" and the catalyst to get Zimmerman arrested and charged with the murder of Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman was cleared of all charges after the weeks-long televised trial.

"Defendants, each and every one of them, as individuals and through their employment and agencies, have worked in concert to deprive Zimmerman of his constitutional and other related legal rights," according to the lawsuit.

Trayvon Martin was walking back to his father's house on Feb. 26, 2012, after purchasing Skittles and a beverage from a nearby 7-Eleven. The now 36-year-old Zimmerman, who is half white and Hispanic, testified at the murder trial that he was suspicious of 17-year-old Martin, who was walking in the Twin Lakes community wearing a hoodie and talking on a cellphone. Trayvon Martin was unarmed.

Jeantel testified during the June 2013 trial that she was on the phone with Trayvon Martin and he "complained" that "a man looked creepy" was watching him.
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Hourglass

Suggestion of Death: Cancer takes toll as new Roundup trials near

Carey Gillam
EcoWatch
Tue, 05 Nov 2019 15:34 UTC
cancer
© Josh Edelson/ Getty ImagesAn American flag waves in the wind at the Phillip Burton Federal Building in San Francisco, California on May 17 where a trial against Monsanto took place. Alva and Alberta Pilliod, were awarded more than $2 billion in damages in their lawsuit against Monsanto, though the judge in the case lowered the damage award to $87 million.
For the last five years, Chris Stevick has helped his wife Elaine in her battle against a vicious type of cancer that the couple believes was caused by Elaine's repeated use of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide around a California property the couple owned. Now the roles are reversed as Elaine must help Chris face his own cancer.

Chris Stevick, who often mixed Roundup for his wife and tested the sprayer used to dispense the weed killer, was diagnosed last month with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Unlike Elaine's aggressive type of NHL known as central nervous system lymphoma, Chris's cancer is a type that tends to grow slowly. He was diagnosed after a physical examination showed abnormalities in his blood and prompted further tests.

Comment: Read more from Carey Gillam about the RoundUp cancer connection: In addition to cancer, Roundup is linked to a host of other diseases and illnesses.

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Fire

Two die, one injured in Lagos pipeline explosion

Deji Lambo
PunchNG
Thu, 05 Dec 2019 12:00 UTC
nigeria explosion
© Deji LamboEmergency workers attending to one of the two bodies currently recovered at the scene of Egbe-Idimu, Lagos, explosion.
Two yet-to-be-identified persons lost their lives on Thursday during the fire incident that razed some parts of the Egbe-Idimu Local Council Development Area of Lagos State.

Another yet-to-be-identified victim, who was said to have sustained "70 degree burns," was taken to the Igando General Hospital, where doctors are reportedly battling to save his life.

The PUNCH gathered that the three victims were having a bath in a stream in the area to cleanse themselves spiritually when the fire started and subsequently burned two of them to death.

According to residents in the area, the pastor conducting the spiritual cleansing, upon sighting the fire, ran away and abandoned the victims.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

Rape survivor set on fire by gang of men in India

Hannah Ellis-Petersen
The Guardian
Thu, 05 Dec 2019 12:57 UTC
Women activists
© Manish Swarup/APWomen activists hold banners and participate in a protest demanding justice in the case of a veterinarian who was allegedly gang-raped and killed last week, in New Delhi.
An Indian woman has been set on fire on her way to a court hearing to testify against two men who had allegedly raped her.

The 23-year-old is in a critical condition in hospital with 70 per cent burns after she was set upon by five men in the city of Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. They dragged her to a field, doused her with petrol and set her alight.

It is the latest in a series of brutal attacks against women in India which have caused a wave of outrage across the country. Last week, a 26-year-old veterinary doctor in Hyderabad was gang-raped, then asphyxiated to death and her body burned and dumped. Days later, in the state of Bihar, a teenager was allegedly gang-raped and killed before her body was set on fire. In response, thousands have taken to the streets in protest this week, demanding better protection of women.

In Thursday's assault, two of the attackers were said by police to be the same men the victim filed rape charges against in March. The young woman was on her way to a hearing to testify against her alleged rapists when the five men grabbed her by the railway station. One of the accused was out on bail while the other had been on the run from police.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

Spanish explosives experts defuse grenade at Madrid center for minors

Juan José Mateo, Manuel Viejo & Óscar López-Fonseca
El País
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 15:14 UTC
explosive device
Image of the device that was defused at the center.
A team of explosives experts on Wednesday safely destroyed a training grenade after the weapon was thrown over the wall of a center for minors in the Hortaleza district of Madrid.

According to police sources, the device was military grade, and placed inside a plastic bag. "These artifacts carry a small explosive charge... but they do carry one," the same sources said. The migrant center has been the target of a number of attacks, the most serious of which was an attempt by 30 youths to enter the premises on October 30.

According to sources at the center, a security guard "found a grenade inside a trash can on the basketball court" at 11am on Wednesday. "The police were called in, and they stopped anyone from coming in or leaving." Images to which EL PAÍS has had access show an area inside the center that had been cordoned off.

The center while the explosives experts were at work.

By 12.15pm, the explosives experts had safely destroyed the device, having concluded that it was a type of grenade used by the Spanish army.

Comment: See also:

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Hearts

To give something for nothing — The importance of mindful volunteering

Chuck Lanigan
Quillette
Fri, 06 Dec 2019 00:02 UTC
volunteers
Every day we receive fresh solicitations requesting our time, our money, and our attention to various causes. It is not enough simply to live our lives, we must somehow justify our existence beyond earning a living and paying our taxes. According to a VolunteerHub estimate, one out of four people in the U.S. volunteer their time and effort with an average value of $24.14 per hour. The average is 22-23 percent in Europe and 19 percent in Australia. The site states that volunteering improves health and chances of gaining employment by 27 percent. So it is not an entirely selfless act.

I come not to praise volunteering but to consider its benefits and our motivations; to reflect on my experience that has led me to question what we are giving and what we are getting as volunteers. Such an assessment becomes more urgent as groups and individuals face decisions about where to invest limited resources in resolving crises such as global warming and inequities of wealth, freedom, and opportunity.
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Fire

At least 6 people killed after pipeline explodes setting off multiple firestorms in Nigeria


RT
Thu, 05 Dec 2019 11:52 UTC
pipeline explosions lagos
The explosion and subsequent firestorm was reportedly caused by people interfering with a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation pipeline that runs through the area.
At least six people, including two children, have reportedly died after a pipeline exploded in the Ipaja area of Lagos, Nigeria early Thursday morning. Authorities are on the scene attempting to bring multiple fires under control.

The explosion and subsequent firestorm was reportedly caused by people interfering with a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline that runs through the area, according to eyewitnesses. Two suspects have reportedly been arrested in connection with the incident.

Comment: As noted, Nigeria's oil infrastructure has been a target of militants in past years:

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NPC

Extinction Rebellion brutally mocked after 'bee' activists glue themselves to Liberal Democrat's electric bus


RT
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 13:51 UTC
Extinction Rebellion
© Reuters / Hannah McKayAn Extinction Rebellion activist is seen glued to the windscreen of Liberal Democrats' campaign bus.
Extinction Rebellion (XR) climate change activists dressed up as bees and glued themselves to the Liberal Democrats' election bus - which happens to be electric - leading to ridicule and a flurry of bee-based puns on Twitter.

Some of XR's activists were seen targeting the party's 'battle bus' on Friday in Streatham, south London. They prevented the vehicle from moving by supergluing their hands to the windscreen while donning colorful bee costumes, in protest over the Lib Dems' carbon neutral target of 2045, insisting it needs to be 2025.


Comment: Why Extinction Rebellion seems so nuts
This is the thing I find most fascinating about Extinction Rebellion: its very name is a lie. Those two words themselves are untrue. Humankind does not face extinction, and all reasonable people know this. We know that there is nothing in the IPCC reports - which themselves are often over-the-top - to justify XR's harebrained claims that we have 12 years to save the planet, and if we fail billions of people will die. They've just made this up.

As for the second word - 'rebellion' - this is a lie, too. Extinction Rebellion is not a rebellion. Rather, its ideology and misanthropy are entirely in keeping with the outlook of mainstream politics and popular culture.
More on XR:

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Stormtrooper

Ukrainian neo-Nazi 'tourists' spotted amid Hong Kong protests


RT
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 00:00 UTC
Uki Nazi's in HongKong
© Facebook / Free Hong Kong Center
A group of Ukrainian far-right activists traveled to Hong Kong to check out violent anti-government protests. They claimed it was merely a tourist trip, and that they were not neo-Nazis. Facts tell otherwise.

The group of muscled and heavily-tattooed young men from Ukraine descended last week upon the streets of the autonomous Chinese territory, gripped by chaotic protests for months. The 'tourists' were eager to see the sights - barricades and burning things - as well as watch the show, as in the clashes between protesters and police.

Then they shared their experience online, posting photos with local protesters and footage of the carnage. Here's a video from one of them - Serhii Filimonov, also known under nickname 'Son of Perun' - dubbed "Hong Kong gave us a family welcome."

Comment: See also:

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USA

Avoiding a civil war in America: Decentralization, nullification, secession

Ryan McMaken
Mises Institute
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 00:00 UTC
tattered flag
It's becoming more and more apparent that the United States will not be going back to "business as usual" after Donald Trump leaves office, and it is easy to imagine that the anti-Trump parties will use their return to power as an opportunity to settle scores against the hated rubes and "deplorables" who dared attempt to oppose their betters in Washington, DC, California, and New York.

This ongoing conflict may manifest itself in the culture war through further attacks on people who take religious faith seriously, and on those who hold any social views unpopular among degreed people from major urban centers. The First Amendment will be imperiled like never before with both religious freedom and freedom of speech regarded as vehicles of "hate." Certainly, the Second Amendment will hang by a thread.

But even more dangerous will be the deep state's return to a vaunted position of enjoying a near-total absence of opposition from elected officials in the civilian government. The FBI and CIA will go to even greater lengths to ensure the voters are never again "allowed" to elect anyone who doesn't receive the explicit imprimatur of the American intelligence "community." The Fourth Amendment will be banished so that the NSA and its friends can spy on every American with impunity. The FBI and CIA will more freely combine the use of surveillance and media leaks to destroy adversaries.

Comment: See also:

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