Society's ChildS


Syringe

Indonesian religious counsel issues fatwa against measles vaccine amid outbreak

Vaccination Indonesian school
© Fachrul Reza / Global Look Press 36Vaccination in an Indonesian school, August 4, 2018
Health-conscious holidaymakers considering a trip to Bali may rethink their destination, after Indonesia's top Islamic body turned against vaccines for a virus that used to kill millions before preventive shots were introduced.

In a fatwa, or religious ruling, issued by the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI), the Measles Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine has been deemed "haram," with the organization claiming that it contains traces of pork and human cells, both banned by the Islamic faith.

However, the fatwa also states that the vaccine will continue to be allowed while a viable alternative is found.

Palette

There are too many mediocre artists

crappy art
Every now and again, a friend of mine holds a 'what's your unpopular opinion?' discussion in a club we jointly run.

Everyone takes turns to say something not so much outrageous or contrarian (debates are seldom about politics) but bitter - as in 'bitter truth'. People argue, say, that colonialism is a good idea (when done by the British, of course), or that sometimes historic buildings and artefacts are more important than people (and should by preference be preserved in wartime), or that corporal punishment is probably not such a bad idea for certain sorts of crimes (and criminals).

He imposes the Chatham House rule so people aren't set upon afterwards by mobs of offendotrons trying to get them sacked for wrongthink.

Well, I've decided to go public with one of my unpopular opinions.

Comment: This rabbit hole goes a bit deeper than what the article addresses. See:


Bad Guys

5 reasons the nightmarish Saudi-led, Western-backed war on Yemen should never be forgotten - In pictures

Mass funeral for children killed in Saudi-led coalition airstrike in Yemen
© AFPMass funeral for children killed in Saudi-led coalition airstrike in Yemen
With the death toll in the tens of thousands, millions displaced and on the brink of famine, one would think the war in Yemen should be on every front page. It's not, and here are just some of the reasons why that's wrong.

The ongoing conflict, nominally a civil war started by Houthi rebels who ousted the government, saw the Saudi-led, Western-backed coalition of Arab nations intervene in the very first days. With massive civilian casualties and a humanitarian blockade, the war has now become a catastrophe with millions of victims.

Yemen
© Khaled Abdullah / ReutersA displaced breast cancer sufferer in a shelter in Sanaa, Yemen
Still, the day-by-day nightmare of Yemen often goes overlooked in Western media in favor of stories about the supposed 'war crimes' of the Syrian government or Russia's alleged 'Novichok attack' in Salisbury. Here are five reasons why the Yemen war really matters.

Comment: See also:


Dominoes

Video shows police officer slap girl, 14, during arrest in which two officers were injured

Uk police officer slaps girl 14
© Facebook
This is the shocking moment a police officer was filmed striking a 14-year-old girl in the face during an arrest in Lancashire.

The teenager and a 52-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of assaulting police on Monday afternoon in Accrington, after two officers had to be taken to hospital after the incident.

Yet during the arrest, a male police officer from Lancashire Police could be seen hitting the girl in the face during the struggle.

Shocking footage shows the girl being referred to as a 'young woman' despite her being only 14.

A male and female officer attempt to restrain the teenager as a crowd screams 'get off her' before the male officer hits the girl.

The crowd immediately respond with one shouting 'this man's smacking up a little girl... she was smacked... you are losing your job'.

Comment: The Manchester Evening news provides a bit more detail:
"As a result of this incident, one officer sustained a bite wound to her arm and another suffered a cut to his head.

"They have both attended hospital for treatment.

"A 14-year-old girl and a 52-year-old woman have been arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer and are currently in custody.

"We understand this footage may appear concerning, however, officers are trained to use restraint techniques which may look shocking to untrained onlookers.

"A full investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident will take place in due course."

A statement on Tuesday morning added: "At around 5.45pm [on Monday], police officers were flagged down by a member of the public who reported that a large group of youths were fighting at the Market Hall on Peel Street, Accrington.

"The officers attended straight away and when they arrived, the group turned on them.

"As the officers dealt with the incident, they used reasonable force to bring the situation under control. This involved the use of an open hand strike when a 14-year-old female attempted to grab the officer's taser and radio.

"She was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer. She has been interviewed and has since been referred to the youth offending team.
This is reflective of just how much society in the UK has deteriorated that children attack police and the police resort to smacking a child in order to complete an arrest and get out of what is clearly a volatile situation: Here's another example of UK policing:




Bad Guys

Israeli Supreme Court doubles sentence of officer who murdered Palestinian teen to a whopping 18 months

Ben Deri Israeli policeman
© Photo: via Twitter
Doubling the sentence of an ex-Israeli cop who killed an unarmed Palestinian is rare, as the courts always seek to be more lenient, but 18 months in jail will hardly deter the next shooter, a Haaretz correspondent told RT.

Israel's Supreme Court on Sunday doubled the prison sentence of an Israeli police officer, Ben Deri, who was initially sentenced to nine months under a plea bargain struck with the Jerusalem District Court in April. The decision to increase Deri's sentence to 18 months was surprising, because the Israeli justice system usually looks for loopholes in lethal use of force crimes against unarmed Palestinians, a senior defense and political commentator and columnist for Haaretz, Amir Oren, told RT.

"When it comes down to the courts, they always find ways to pass more lenient sentences. They find mitigating circumstances. One can always find such circumstances," Oren said. "After all, this is a conscript, a soldier, who was drafted and then had to police the West Bank and encountered demonstrators. One can always find a context in which it can... be explained away."


Sheriff

Nevada cops attack & arrest man for LEGAL possession of marijuana

Nevada Cop chokehold legal marijuana
For almost three years, medical marijuana was legalized in various regions of the state of Nevada. However, recreational marijuana sales only started in specific areas of the state at the beginning of July 2017 because of a law that took effect at that time; this law renders persons that are at least 21 years old and bear valid identification legally capable of purchasing the drug in those regions for recreational purposes. However, as a recent video shared with the Free Thought Project shows, police, lots of them, are still willing to attack and assault people for having the plant.

According to the new Nevada law, pot generally can only be legally imbibed on property owned privately by residents, and it may not be imbibed in any public location on the Strip such as a bar or casino. So, when Josh Martin sat in his truck to roll a joint-on private property-he was well within his rights, according to Nevada law, to do so.

The fact that Martin was not breaking any laws, however, was of no concern to the cops who showed up and assaulted the innocent man.

As the body camera footage shows, the cop even admitted to Martin that rolling the joint in his car was not illegal.

Star of David

Ethnic cleansing: The de-Arabizing of Jerusalem

Jerusalem Old City
© Expert VagabondJerusalem's Old City
The reality is that for seven decades Israel has been engaged in the crime of ethnic cleansing. If this crime is not immediately brought to a stop, the City of Jerusalem will lose its heritage forever.

It is 2:30 p.m. on a weekday in Jerusalem's Old City, and one would expect the stores and restaurants to be open and busy. Standing near one of the first stations along the Via Dolorosa, the final path Jesus took as he carried his cross to his own crucifixion, I was looking around me and Abu-Shkri restaurant was closing, as were some of the t-shirt and souvenir stores. I turned to one of the shopkeepers and asked him why they were closing so early. "No business," he replied.

This seemed like an odd thing to say as the street was full of tourists. There were some tourists walking in groups and others walking in pairs or alone. "There are thousands of people here," I said to him. "Yes, but they don't stop to shop, not even to look or ask for prices." He was right. Not a single tourist was stopping. "Look," he continued after he noticed I continued to stand there, "if you pay attention you will see: the tour guides tell their groups not to buy from the Arabs. So there is no business."

Health

Charlie Rowley, 'Novichok victim', returns to intensive care

Salisbury hosp
© Peter Nicholls/Reuters
Charlie Rowley, a survivor of the late-March alleged nerve agent poisoning in Amesbury, has been taken back to the hospital, UK media report. The man has almost gone blind, but it's not a nerve agent symptom.

Rowley was taken back to the intensive care unit of the Salisbury Hospital on Saturday. His brother, talking to British media, said the man had blurred vision and couldn't see.

Rowley's sudden illness is unrelated to the supposed nerve agent attack he suffered weeks ago, however. The hospital staff has made no comment on Rowley's admission, but made it clear they are not treating anyone with nerve agent poisoning symptoms.

Rowley and his girlfriend Dawn Sturgess, both known drug and alcohol addicts, were first taken to the hospital in late June after suffering what British authorities said was 'Novichok poisoning' - the effects of a supposed Soviet-made nerve agent used on former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in March. Sturgess is said to have sprayed herself with the chemical from a perfume bottle they picked up in a park while out drinking.

Dollar

Ten big Silicon Valley liberal money players behind this November's U.S. midterm elections

A cheat sheet to the gusher of cash flooding the system in advance of Election Day.
Silicon Valley
Tech resistance to U.S. President Donald Trump has reached its zenith. But the universe of Democrats who are willing to cut seven-figure checks to liberal causes is still very small.

By Silicon Valley standards, the amount of money required to be a top-tier player in political fundraising is shockingly small. One million dollars in political giving - a small part of some tech billionaires' net worth - could make them revered and feared campaign donors. But we've seen little changing of the guard.

Now, there are some new, ascendant Democratic financiers in Silicon Valley. People such as venture capitalist Rob Stavis have been awakened this cycle after years of relative passivenes. And even traditional big-money givers like Chris Sacca are rethinking how they spend their money - turning to startups and nonprofits instead of the typical party-aligned establishment organizations that had a stranglehold on Democratic donorville.

Handcuffs

Animal Farm: Three Pennsylvania men facing thousands of charges of having sex with horses, cows, goat, dogs

Matthew Brubaker
Matthew Brubaker, 32, was one of three men discovered living on the remote Pennsylvania property with the abused animals
A group of men were arrested on suspicion of having sex with at least 12 farm animals after a tip off to police led to a raid.

Three men are being held by Pennsylvania state police who served a search warrant at a rural home in the small town of Munson, Clearfield County which is 130 miles north east of Pittsburgh.

Terry Wallace, 40, Matthew Brubaker, 32, and Marc Measnikoff, 34, face more than 1,000 charges each after what is thought to be five years of abuse of the animals.

District attorney Bill Shaw told them the charges so far are part of an ongoing investigation into the abuse of animals.

He told them: "This is an unpleasant topic, but the facts are that we received a report of folks having sexual intercourse with animals, farm animals."

The men are accused of having sexual relations with at least nine female horses, a cow, a goat, and dogs, at a property on Mouse Road.

Police also recovered several semi-automatic weapons at the home.

Comment: "The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which." --George Orwell