Society's ChildS


Cupcake Choco

UN Report determines that US is a "shithole country"

John M. Repp
Common Dreams
Fri, 15 Jun 2018 00:00 UTC
destitude cities
© Spencer Platt/Getty Images"The symptoms of the devastating inequality here include Americans now living shorter and sicker lives than citizens of other rich democracies."
Instead of corporate media basically ignoring the UN report, there should be screaming headlines.

Philip Alston is the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. He traveled to the United States last December to some of our most destitute communities such as Skid Row in LA, poor African American areas in the Alabama, impoverished coal communities in West Virginia and to Puerto Rico. He issued his report on June 1, 2018. It should be front page news.
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Bomb

17 or more dead as blast hits Taliban-Afghan forces meeting during landmark ceasefire


RT
Sat, 16 Jun 2018 13:19 UTC
Afghan security forces
© AFPAfghan security forces
At least 17 people were killed as an explosion rocked a meeting of Taliban and Afghan security forces, gathering during an unprecedented ceasefire for the Eid holiday, in the eastern province of Nangarhar, a local official said.

Casualties include Taliban, Afghan security forces, and civilians, Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor of Nangarhar, said.

The timing of the bombing appears to be significant. On Saturday, Taliban members entered the Afghan capital, Kabul urging people to come forward and take selfies with them. The unusual move reportedly occurred elsewhere in the country, as photos and videos on social media showed Taliban fighters giving hugs to locals and Afghan forces across several provinces.

Comment: This was arranged. Suspect? Figure out who benefits.

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Star of David

Israel: Limit to helium gas supplied to Gaza Strip despite being vital to hospitals


RT
Fri, 15 Jun 2018 19:20 UTC
Palestinian balloons
© Ibraheem Abu Mustafa / ReutersPalestinians fly balloons loaded with flammable material.
Israel has limited the entry of helium gas to the Gaza Strip, citing Palestinian "terrorist elements" and claiming they use it for Molotov cocktails. However, delivery of the gas is necessary for medical purposes.

In a Tuesday announcement, Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Maj-Gen. Kamil Abu Kokun, said that if the use of helium gas for attacks does not cease, the entire supply of helium will stop and "the responsibility would fall on the Hamas terrorist group's regime."
"The Hamas terror organization does not hesitate to take extreme measures, including exploiting humanitarian means to carry out terrorist acts, despite Israel's efforts to prevent a civil deterioration in the Gaza Strip and the provision of humanitarian needs," the coordinator said in his statement, as quoted by The Times of Israel.
However, a complete halt of helium gas to the Gaza Strip could be detrimental, as the gas is vital for medical purposes including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines which use it for cooling.

Comment: The best Israel could come up with is 'Hamas' has helium balloons? Really?

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Microscope 2

Founder of Theranos, 'revolutionary' blood-test startup, charged with fraud


RT
Sat, 16 Jun 2018 01:04 UTC
Elizabeth Holmes
© Mike Blake/ReutersElizabeth Holmes
Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO of the blood-testing health technology company Theranos, and her business partner, have been indicted on charges of wire fraud and of defrauding investors, patients and doctors.

Holmes and former Theranos COO Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani were charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud, said the Acting United States Attorney Alex G. Tse in San Francisco, California.

The indictment was unsealed Friday, hours after Holmes resigned as CEO of the Palo Alto-based company. Balwani, who served as one of the company's directors, president and chief operating officer, left Theranos in 2016.

According to the indictment, Holmes and Balwani "not only defrauded investors, but also consumers who trusted and relied upon their allegedly-revolutionary blood-testing technology." The government claims the two had known that many claims about Theranos' revolutionary blood analysis technology were false.

Comment: See also:

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Stormtrooper

Cop gets swarmed by angry citizens after shooting man in the back as he flees

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Fri, 15 Jun 2018 16:15 UTC
cop bodycam video
An incident that began over an open alcohol container ended with one man in the hospital with two bullet holes in his back, a riot nearly kicking off, and a San Francisco cop under investigation.

Over the weekend, as revelers filled the area for the last game of the NBA finals, a police officer spotted a group with open containers of alcohol and targeted them for arrest or extortion. Not wanting to be arrested or extorted for drinking a can of beer in public, a man in the group, identified as 28-year-old Oliver Barcenas took off running.

A brief foot chase ensued and during the chase, Barcenas was alleged to have taken out a .45 caliber pistol with an extended magazine. Even though video shows Barcenas was still running away when he allegedly pulled out the weapon, the officer in pursuit opened fire, shooting him in the back-twice-causing him to immediately fall to the ground.

"He had a firearm," an officer can be heard saying. "He had like a Tec-9... Dude back people up. There's a gun around here." Police say they found a .45 caliber pistol near the scene.

When bystanders saw what happened, all hell broke loose. Immediately after the shooting, an angry crowd began to gather around Barcenas who lay bleeding on the ground. They were recording with their cellphones whilst threatening and yelling at the officer.
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TV

71% of polled liberal audience prefers no peace with North Korea to seeing Trump gain credit

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Fri, 15 Jun 2018 15:17 UTC
Michelle wolf trump survey
© Netflix
A live TV poll taken on Michelle Wolf's Netflix show found that 71% of the comedian's liberal audience would rather peace with North Korea fail than see Donald Trump take credit for it.

The audience was asked, "Are you sort of hoping we don't get peace with North Korea so you wouldn't have to give Trump credit?"

Only 29% said they wanted peace with North Korea given the option.
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Megaphone

Manufacturing outrage: Image of crying, caged toddler detained by ICE was faked, child 'caged' by protestors


RT
Sat, 16 Jun 2018 12:37 UTC
anti-trump immigration protest
© David McNew / Getty Images North America / AFP
A distressing image of a crying toddler locked in a barred cage after purportedly being detained by US immigration officials has gone viral - but despite online claims, it does not actually depict what has been alleged.

The image, which shows a little boy crying in a cage as he looks out between its bars, was shared by activist journalist and undocumented migrant Jose Antonio Vargas as a comment on the Trump administration's immigration crackdown on families.


In the same thread, Vargas admitted that he came across the photo on a friend's timeline and was still looking for the original source. Nevertheless, the snap quickly went viral with Vargas' post garnering more than 23,000 retweets and many others sharing the image across their own social media accounts.

Comment: See also: Fake News: 'Caged migrant children' picture taken under Obama, not Trump

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Jet4

Pentagon finally admits Russian Mi-17 helicopters often superior to Black Hawks


Sputnik
Sat, 16 Jun 2018 14:54 UTC
black hawk helicopter
© wikipedia / USArmy.milSikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk
While the US government would seem to be the last entity likely to declare Russian military equipment superior to the Made in the USA variety, that changed recently when the Pentagon's watchdog found that Russian choppers can perform missions in Afghanistan that US-made choppers cannot.

The US Defense Department inspector general discerned that Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky Aircraft Black Hawk helicopters "are unable to accommodate some of the larger items the Mi-17 can carry, and in general it takes almost two Black Hawks to carry the load of a single Mi-17." The Mi-17, known under NATO reporting name "Hip," is sold by Rosoboronexport.
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Handcuffs

Florida police release footage of controversial arrest of black couple at Waffle House


RT
Sat, 16 Jun 2018 14:36 UTC
waffle house arrest
© Fort Walton Police / YouTube
The Waffle House chain has come under fire after a black couple were arrested for alleged theft and trespassing. The pair had disputed an overcharge on their bill, prompting the restaurant to call the police.

The dispute arose when the couple, who had ordered a meal to-go, asked why they had been charged $2.50 for an orange juice that was listed as $1 on the menu. The incident took place in May, but the police footage was only released this week, after the couple's footage circulated on Facebook.

Fort Walton Police bodycam footage shows the couple inside the restaurant in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The officer can be heard taking a tough stance with the male complainant, who says the officer will put his hands on him if he goes outside. "Oh I'm going to put my hands on you!" the officer said.
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Family

Take populism global! Italy's new prime minister shows the way for Trump

James Kirkpatrick
VDare.com
Mon, 11 Jun 2018 14:19 UTC
italy migrants new president
The Great and the Good are furious about Donald Trump's conduct at the G7 Summit, as journalists can't believe an American president had the temerity to stand up for his nation's interests at an international conference. They are especially incensed that President Trump broached re-admitting Russia into the summit, with the arch-traitor John McCain condemning the Commander-in-Chief on Twitter.

Yet for all the talk of President Trump having problems with "allies," it is the European Union that is facing rebellion within its own ranks. As President Trump recognized on his Twitter account, the new government of Italy is now one of his strongest international supporters.
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