Society's ChildS


Star of David

Thousands strike to protest Israeli government's inaction over sharp increase in violence against women


The Times of Israel
Tue, 04 Dec 2018 09:13 UTC
Over 300 institutions, municipalities, schools, and groups join nationwide labor action Tuesday after 24 women murdered since the start of the year
striking protest Tel Aviv violence women
© Miriam Alster/Flash90Woman holding a sign declaring that she is striking at a protest in Tel Aviv, December 2, 2018
Thousands of women went on strike Tuesday to protest what they say is authorities' failure to stem a sharp increase in violence against women in Israel, with marches and other demonstrations planned for the day.

Tens of thousands of women were expected to skip work and join nationwide demonstrations to draw attention to domestic violence, after the suspected murders of two teen girls brought the number of women killed in past year to 24.

Hundreds of institutions, municipalities, schools, and organizations have said they will allow their employees to strike, and the government's civil service commissioner has also made concessions to allow participation in the labor action.

Demonstrators gathered at Tel Aviv's Azrieli interchange at 9:30 a.m. where they blocked the traffic, and are expected to meet at the intersection of Rokach Boulevard and the Namir highway in the north of the city at 12 p.m. Police have warned drivers to expect delays in those areas.

Comment: We are waiting for the day when thousands of Israelis with a conscience protest the sadistic cruelty and outright murder of Palestinians..but we aren't holding our breath.

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Star of David

Marc Lamont Hill's call for justice - a free Palestine 'from river to sea' - has consequences

Robert Herbst
Mondoweiss
Mon, 03 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
palestinian/flags
© Anadolu
I confess I had never heard of Marc Lamont Hill until CNN fired him for his November 28 speech at the United Nations on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People before the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP)

If truth be told, I had not heard of CEIRPP either. It was established by UN Resolution 3376 in 1975 to formulate a program to enable the Palestinian people to exercise (1) their inalienable right to self-determination, national independence and sovereignty, and (2) the right of Palestine refugees to return. So the long knives must have been out for Professor Hill (his day job is at Temple University in Philadelphia) when he agreed to fly back from a trip to Palestine and address CEIRPP in the first place, since Israel and the American Jewish establishment must consider the very existence of CEIRPP and its raison d'être to be an existential challenge to the Jewish State.

When I went to the web for the speech, I saw a young black American who knew his stuff and did not shrink from a powerful articulation of the Palestinian plight and a passionate appeal for international solidarity on their behalf. The first third of the 21 minute speech summarized the myriad ways in which Israelis have oppressed Palestinians in the 70 years since the Nakba, including "the expulsion, murder, and the permanent dislocation of more than a million Palestinians," in derogation of Universal Declaration of Human Rights - also 70 years old - which says that all people are "born free in dignity and rights."


Comment: As Israel continues to control the narrative and the consequences, there may never be a one-state or homeland guarantee in which civil rights violations and the persecution of Palestinians won't continue. The physical structuring and psychological programming fundamental to its Greater Israel Plan are advantages it cannot set aside nor want to reverse.

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No Entry

'We never sought to enter UK base, guards talked to us' - says Russian reporter accused of 'spying'


RT
Tue, 04 Dec 2018 01:37 UTC
Timur Siraziev
© RT(L) Timur Siraziev (R) UK Army special warning
A Russian journalist accused by British media of 'spying' on a UK cyberwarfare facility has told RT that his crew never intended to get inside, adding it was the base guards who actually spoke to the Russian TV crew first.

Russia's Channel 1 crew indeed visited Berkshire, where the 77th Brigade is based, to make a report about it, the channel's the UK Bureau chief Timur Siraziev told RT. However, the Russian journalists were open about their job, and never tried to snoop on the facility.

A routine episode in the work of pretty much any journalist has caught the obsessive attention of almost every major UK media outlet, after the British Army issued a special warning calling on soldiers to under no circumstances talk to Russian journalists and to immediately call the police if they see one.

The unusually harsh reaction to a simple news report quickly prompted the British media to squarely assume the Russians were "spying" on what turned out to be a secret UK military facility tasked with conducting psychological influence and information operations on the web.


Comment: Just reporting as usual, unless you happen to be a Russian journalist and stumble upon a cyber security facility.

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Footprints

The Great March of Return began 8 months ago, Palestinians vow to continue until the Gaza siege is lifted

Yumna Patel
Mondoweiss
Mon, 03 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
Palestinians gassed
© Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/ReutersMay 14, 2018: Palestinian demonstrators run for cover from Israeli fire and tear gas on Israel-Gaza border.
November 30th marked the 8 month anniversary of the Great March of Return. Every Friday since March 30th, thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have taken to the borders with Israel to demand the right of return of refugees to their ancestral homelands in present day Israel, and an end to the siege on Gaza. Israel has imposed an 11-year land, air, and sea blockade on Gaza, crippling the coastal enclave's economy.

Gazans suffer from lack of access to clean water, high unemployment rates, and electricity for only a few hours a day - contributing to growing frustrations in the coastal enclave. Despite reported efforts from political officials to bring the Great March of Return to a close, protesters maintain that they will continue demonstrating until the siege is lifted once and for all.


Comment: The five minutes of video offer a compelling touchstone to the passions, frustrations and commitment of a people demanding their rights of self-determination and equality against nearly unsurmountable circumstances.

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People

'They are undesirable & they must feel it': Denmark planning to send unwanted refugees to remote island


RT
Tue, 04 Dec 2018 15:13 UTC
Lindholm Island
© Google MapsLindholm Island
Denmark will send rejected asylum seekers to live on a remote island. Located in the freezing Baltic Sea, the island is currently home to animal research laboratories and crematoria.

"If you are unwanted in Danish society, you should not be a nuisance to ordinary Danes," immigration minister Inger Støjberg wrote in a Facebook post on Friday. "They are undesirable in Denmark and they must feel it!"

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Binoculars

Topsy turvy world: Britain's top cop wants public to protect police

Neil Murphy
UK Mirror
Tue, 04 Dec 2018 18:00 UTC
cressida dick
Met Police chief Cressida Dick has urged members of the public to "get involved" if they see officers being attacked in the street.

She said it was "absolutely awful" that bystanders filmed attacks on officers and uploaded them to the internet without intervening.

The Met Commissioner was speaking on Nick Ferrari LBC radio show today and asked people to do more to help police officers in need.

Her plea came after a video of a police officer being assaulted with a flying kick was captured on a mobile phone and then circulated on social media.

She said: "What we seem to be seeing now is not only police officers being assaulted, but sometimes crowds gathering and then some people filming, laughing, joking."

Comment: Talk about missing the point. If civilians have to protect the police from attackers, and not the other way around, something is really wrong. Maybe this has something to do with it:


And this:




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Apple Red

Fraternities and sororities sue Harvard for discouraging same-sex clubs


NBC
Mon, 03 Dec 2018 17:22 UTC
harvard
© Darren McCollester / Getty Images
Several national fraternities and sororities sued Harvard University on Monday over a 2016 rule that discourages students from joining single-gender social clubs, marking the first legal challenge to the school's policy.

Two fraternities and two sororities filed a lawsuit in Boston's federal court, while another sorority separately sued the school in Massachusetts state court. Both cases argue that the school's policy discriminates against students based on their sex and spreads negative stereotypes about students who join all-male or all-female organizations.


Comment: Grievance politics are a knife that cuts both ways. Ironically, the policies set up to combat "isms" often embody those isms better than whatever it is they are trying to fight. Affirmative action is actually racist. Title IX rape tribunals are actually sexist.


Harvard officials did not immediately provide comment on the suits.

Starting with last year's freshman class, Harvard students who are members of single-gender clubs are barred from leading campus groups or becoming captains of sports teams. The school also refuses to endorse the students for prestigious fellowships, including the Rhodes and Marshall scholarships.

Comment: See also:

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Crusader

Landmark case: Tribunal to decide if veganism a 'philosophical belief' akin to 'religion' after sacked vegan claims discrimination

Clive Coleman
BBC
Mon, 03 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
Jordi Casamitjana veganism lawsuite
The League Against Cruel Sports said: 'Mr Casamitjana was dismissed from his position because of gross misconduct. He is seeking to use his veganism as the reason for his dismissal. We emphatically reject this claim.'
A tribunal is to be asked to decide whether veganism is a "philosophical belief" akin to a religion, in a landmark legal action.

Jordi Casamitjana says he was sacked by the League Against Cruel Sports after disclosing it invested pension funds in firms involved in animal testing.

He claims he was discriminated against, and the tribunal will now decide if veganism should be protected in law.

The League Against Cruel Sports says he was dismissed for gross misconduct.

It denies the sacking was because of his veganism.

Mr Casamitjana says he is an "ethical" vegan.

"Some people only eat a vegan diet but they don't care about the environment or the animals, they only care about their health," he told the BBC.

"I care about the animals and the environment and my health and everything.

"That's why I use this term 'ethical veganism' because for me veganism is a belief and affects every single aspect of my life."

Comment: Predictably, the Twitterverse erupts:









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Heart - Black

Infirm woman left alone to languish in wheelchair after flight at O'Hare cancelled

Jeremy Ross
CBS Chicago
Sat, 01 Dec 2018 20:42 UTC
Olimpia Warsaw
Olimpia Warsaw flew into Chicago to attend a relative's funeral. The 67-year-old made it to O'Hare, but family member Julian Coltea can't say the same for her luggage.

"She had to miss the first part of his funeral because she had to get clothes," Coltea said.

Warsaw has Parkinson's and diabetes and has trouble walking.

Claude Coltea said Friday after his father's funeral, his mom was set to return to Detroit. He would catch his flight shortly after.

"I walked with her all the way to her gate," he said. "I confirmed with the gate agent that the flight was on time. Everything was ok. She said, 'Yup, all's fine. We'll take good care of your mom'."

But, it turns out, Warsaw's flight was canceled.
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NPC

End racism..but bashing white people is A-ok: California university hosts 'critical look at whiteness' forum

Drew Dan Voorhis
The College Fix
Mon, 03 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
CalState whiteness forum
The Christian cartoon "VeggieTales" is racist because the villains are vegetables of color. The NFL is racist since most players are black and most coaches and owners are white. White women advance white supremacy when they support President Donald Trump.

These are some of the arguments made by students at a "Whiteness Forum" held at Cal State San Marcos on Thursday that aimed to take a "critical look at whiteness," according to organizers.

The two-hour event took place in a large multipurpose room, with more than a dozen poster board projects lined up in a circle around the room for viewers to review.

The forum is a result of Professor Dreama Moon's Communications 454 class titled "The Communication of Whiteness," with the annual event serving as a showcase of students' final projects for the class.
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