Society's ChildS


Red Flag

Record number of South Sudanese face critical lack of food

Sam Mednick
Associated Press
Fri, 14 Jun 2019 16:36 UTC
food rations
© AP Photo/Sam Mednick
A record number of people in South Sudan face a critical lack of food. A new report by the government and the United Nations says almost seven million people, or more than 60% of the population, are at risk.

The report released Friday says almost two million people are near starvation nine months after a peace deal ended a five-year civil war. The report stops short of declaring a famine.

The deteriorating situation is attributed to food shortages exacerbated by delayed rainfall, South Sudan's economic crisis and years of strain from a conflict that killed almost 400,000 people.

Some South Sudanese, including children, have told The Associated Press they eat only once a day.
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Red Flag

Canadian man sentenced to prison for defending himself in his home from intruder trying to kill him

Riley Laychuk
CBC News
Fri, 07 Jun 2019 16:26 UTC
courthouse
© Riley Laychuk/CBC
A Manitoba judge says a man was justified in trying to defend himself from a late-night intruder, but sentenced him to jail time for killing the intruder when he took that defence too far.

Dakota Pratt, 28, was sentenced on Thursday to five years in prison, after a jury at Brandon's Court of Queen's Bench found him guilty in April of manslaughter in the attack that killed Vincent Bunn.

Court heard Bunn, 21, entered Pratt's home on the Birdtail Sioux First Nation, about 115 kilometres northwest of Brandon, Man., in the early morning of Sept. 2, 2016.

Pratt, who was asleep in a basement bedroom, awoke to a "feeling of being stabbed" in the head, court heard. He got up and found a knife-wielding intruder in his room and - not knowing who the person was - chased him into the hallway.
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Eye 1

Eighth US tourist mysteriously dies in Dominican Republic

Whitney Tipton
The Daily Caller
Fri, 14 Jun 2019 10:35 UTC
resort
An eighth U.S. tourist died in the Dominican Republic under mysterious circumstances.

Leyla Cox, 53, of New Brighton, New York, was found dead reportedly of a heart attack in her hotel room in June, according to her son William Cox, the Staten Island Advance reported.

"I am overwhelmed and confused and in shock," William Cox, 25, told the news outlet Thursday. "I have a right to be suspicious."

Leyla Cox joins a growing list of U.S. tourists who have died in the Dominican Republic under similar circumstances over the past year. She was vacationing alone, according to her son, having arrived on June 5 to celebrate her 53rd birthday. It is not known what hotel resort she was staying in.

Comment: See also: What in the world is going on in the Dominican Republic? (Update)

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Tornado1

Riots erupt in Memphis, Tennessee after US Marshals kill man during attempted arrest

Phil Helsel
NBC News
Thu, 13 Jun 2019 18:03 UTC
Memphis shooting riot Brandon Webber
© Jim Weber / APPolice retreat under a cloud of tear gas as protesters disperse from the scene of a standoff Wednesday in Memphis.
Several law enforcement officers in Memphis were injured during a protest that began after federal authorities killed a man they were attempting to arrest Wednesday, officials said.

A driver wanted on multiple felony warrants attempted to ram law enforcement vehicles when officers with a regional U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force attempted to arrest him in Memphis' Frayser community at about 7 p.m., Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Keli McAlister said.

The man then got out of the vehicle with a weapon, according to McAlister.

"The officers fired, striking and killing the individual," she said. No officers were injured in the incident, she said.

The man was later identified as Brandon Webber, 20, state law enforcement officials told NBC affiliate WMC-TV.

Comment: See also: Riot in Memphis: US Marshalls shoot dead wanted suspect, sparking riot - Police officers injured

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Newspaper

Assange case proved US press 'doesn't believe in free speech'


RT
Fri, 14 Jun 2019 10:13 UTC
Protest
© Reuters / Henry NichollsPeople protest outside the court, where Julian Assange was sentenced, in London. May 1, 2019.
American journalists "go out of their way to disparage" Julian Assange of WikiLeaks because he makes them ashamed of their own failure to challenge the "eternal war footing" of the US, human rights professor Dan Kovalik told RT.

"I don't believe that the press in this country believes in free speech. This is one of the most compliant presses in the world, especially when it comes to foreign policy," Kovalik said on Thursday. "They are unquestioning of the US' eternal war footing and that is exactly what Assange has challenged and that is why they have taken great umbrage at Assange."

Pointing out that the American press was responsible for spreading the "weapons of mass destruction" and Gulf of Tonkin disinformation that served as pretexts for wars in Iraq and Vietnam, he added that Assange's own willingness to "challenge those types of lies" makes US journalists "ashamed," so they attack him at every opportunity.
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Attention

'This is about shutting down dissent' - John Pilger on Assange US extradition case


RT
Fri, 14 Jun 2019 12:41 UTC
Pilger and Assange
© Global Look Press/ZUMAPRESS.com/Sang Tan
The attempt to extradite WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange from the UK to the US is not only about locking up the Australian, but about "shutting down dissent" and "investigative journalism," claims journalist John Pilger.

Speaking outside Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Friday following the decision to open a new, full US extradition hearing in February 2020, Pilger insisted that the motivation of the American authorities in pursuing Assange was clear to see.
... [It] is quite clear that on a wider level this is an attempt to shut down WikiLeaks and put Assange away, but it's also about shutting down dissent. It's mainly about shutting down investigative journalism.

Comment: See also:

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Bullseye

'Assange extradition should be warning to liberals who believe in American democracy' - Zizek


RT
Fri, 14 Jun 2019 12:24 UTC
zizek
© REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo and Wikipedia
The UK's decision to extradite WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange to the US should be taken as a warning to all liberals who still have any faith in 'American liberal democracy,' says cultural philosopher Slavoj Zizek.

The Slovenian sociologist told RT that signing of the extradition order is just one of two recent events that really worry him. The other "ominous" event was the Ecuadorian government's invitation to US authorities to take possession of Assange's property from its London embassy when he was taken to prison, including book manuscripts, computers and other personal possessions.

"The nightmare is that the accuser was directly invited to take possession of all these documents. This breaks even the elementary the norms of legality," Zizek explained.

"The message is, 'Yes, we will be brutal beyond measure.'"
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NPC

California plan to give free health care to illegal immigrants an 'unsustainable financial burden'

Tammy Bruce
Washington Times
Fri, 14 Jun 2019 10:06 UTC
California Governor Gavin Newsom
© AP Photo/Jeff ChiuGov. Gavin Newsom speaks during the 2019 California Democratic Party State Organizing Convention in San Francisco, Saturday, June 1, 2019.
The health and welfare of Californians and the undocumented immigrants who flocked to that state are now under direct attack by a state bureaucracy that sees people only as disposable pieces on a political chessboard.

California is on the verge of becoming the first state in the country to give free health care to adult illegal immigrants. Using the state Medi-Cal program, which offers free or low-cost health coverage for those with limited incomes, the state estimates this will provide free health care to what they believe is 100,000 illegal immigrants between the ages of 19 and 25 years old.

A Washington Examiner editorial noted, "California wants to look after its people, so it keeps expanding its social safety net. It also wants to welcome all comers and so embraces illegal immigrants and protects them in sanctuary cities. To see how this is working out, visit Skid Row in L.A. or neighborhoods in San Francisco or elsewhere where homeless camps are spreading. ... Just as California lacks enough homes to house its inhabitants, so it also lacks enough doctors to care for them. The additional budget bloat on health care will worsen that shortage."
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Heart - Black

#CreepyPornLawyer Avenatti is now being sued for allegedly siphoning paraplegic's $4 million settlement

Jonathan Stempel
Reuters
Fri, 14 Jun 2019 00:00 UTC
avenatti
© Reuters /Carlo Allegri/FileLawyer Michael Avenatti speaks as he departs federal court in the Manhattan borough of New York, New York, U.S., May 28, 2019.
Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who represented porn star Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against U.S. President Donald Trump, has been sued by a paraplegic former client who accused him of siphoning away a $4 million settlement he had won.

Geoffrey Johnson is seeking at least $9.5 million, plus punitive damages, from Avenatti and several former colleagues in his civil lawsuit filed with the Orange County Superior Court in California.

"I never thought I would get victimized by my own attorney," Johnson, who uses a wheelchair, said at a press conference on Thursday. "I wish he had just given me my money."

Johnson's claims are also part of federal prosecutors' criminal case against Avenatti, who has pleaded not guilty to wire fraud, bank fraud, extortion and other charges, including defrauding other clients, in California and New York.
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Quenelle

California high school valedictorian thanks 'alcoholic teacher' and negligent counselor for teaching to 'fend for herself'

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Thu, 13 Jun 2019 21:03 UTC
San Ysidro High School senior Nataly Buhr
San Ysidro High School senior Nataly Buhr
A California valedictorian went off script during her commencement address, slamming an alcoholic teacher who was 'escorted out of school' and a guidance counselor who she thanked for 'letting me fend for myself' due to being 'always unavailable to my parents and I despite appointments.'

San Ysidro High School senior Nataly Buhr opened her June 6 speech in typical fashion - thanking her parents for their "endless love," acknowledging the memories shared with her friends, and mentioning a handful of teachers for being 'invested in the students.'

Then, Buhr went scorched earth.

Comment: Good for Ms. Buhr. It was hard-won, but she's got a head start in making a success of herself both in self-reliance and speaking her mind.

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