Society's ChildS


Biohazard

Staff demand answers as mystery & anger grow over mass toxic metal poisoning at Russian factory


RT
Mon, 05 Mar 2018 22:24 UTC
iv set up hospital medicine
© Varvara Gert'e / Sputnik
More than 20 employees of a Russian aircraft factory have been poisoned with the potentially deadly metal thallium. Symptoms range from vomiting to hair loss to paralysis, and no one knows where the toxin came from.

"That's all that has been left," a woman named Inna says on camera as she combs her balding head, with a pile of hair lying on the floor. She lost all of her hair in 12 days, Mash Telegram-channel reported.

The woman is one of more than 20 staff of the Beriev Aircraft Company in the southern city of Taganrog, whose health began rapidly deteriorating at the end of last year. In November, a leading engineer at the factory, Konstantin Kolesnikov, felt a sharp pain in his stomach, and later he could hardly move by himself.
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Handcuffs

DACA protesters arrested as demonstrators blocked roadways around US Capitol


RT
Mon, 05 Mar 2018 20:32 UTC
DACA supporters
© Lucy Nicholson / ReutersDACA supporters protest in California on January 22, 2018.
Large protests marked the date that the Trump administration was set to end the DACA program. In Washington, DC, protesters blocked roads around the US Capitol and several demonstrators were arrested.

Protesters swarmed around Capitol Hill on Monday, demanding Congress to pass legislation to protect immigrants who were brought into the US illegally as children. The executive policy, called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, was enacted by former President Barack Obama in 2012 and revoked by President Donald Trump's administration in September 2017. March 5 was the deadline for Congress to come up with a legislative solution. That has yet to happen.
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Dollar

What has capitalism ever done for human society?

Nicola Wright
Quillette
Thu, 01 Mar 2018 20:05 UTC
city view upside down lens
When bemoaning the evils of capitalism, often from the soapbox of internet-connected smartphones or laptops, opponents of the free market are wont to wax lyrical about increasing income inequality. The rich are richer than ever before, because they hog obscene amounts of wealth that could be put to better use by plebs who are slaves to 'the man,' oppressed under the obligation that they toil endlessly for their wage. Like Reggie in Monty Python's The Life of Brian, they demand to know: "What has capitalism ever done for us?"


In the mouth of the anti-capitalist activist, 'capitalism' has become a dirty word. It conjures images of bloated, greedy, rich one-percenters reclining behind piles of cash as they exploit their low paid workers, hoarding profits borne of the ethic of consumerism, which manifests itself in millions of brainwashed souls mindlessly handing over their meagre earnings for the instant gratification that comes from buying the next unneeded gizmo.

Comment: The author outlines a system which would work well if inhabited only by people of conscience. Entrepreneurs would make products or render services of quality with honestly claimed merits, treat their employees well and pay them fairly for their contribution to the success of the enterprise. No government intervention required. One cheating psychopath in the bunch spoils it for everyone. Then comes the clamoring for government intervention, the lobbying to sway rulings in favor of of the corporations and every abuse that follows.

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Eye 2

Transgender dragon lady who identifies as a reptile hopes 'its' extreme body mutilation provides hope for the downtrodden

Tyler O'Neil
PJ Media
Fri, 02 Mar 2018 21:29 UTC
EvaTiamat Baphomet Medusa Richard Hernandez
Instagram screenshot of transgender dragon lady EvaTiamat Baphomet Medusa, born "Richard Hernandez."
A 55-year-old dragon lady born "Richard Hernandez" has spent around $60,000 to transform into a transgender dragon lady, "Eva Tiamat Baphomet Medusa." This self-mutilated person has insisted that people refer to it not as "he" or even "she," but as "it." In a recent interview, it revealed why it made this decision: it was determined "not to die a human" after being diagnosed with HIV in 1997.

"My big thing though was I didn't want to die in this world looking like a human," Medusa told the Wizard of Odd TV. "As much awesomeness and goodness there is in humans, compared to other species they are the most destructive and hateful. I decided at that time, that it was time for a change in my life, so I wanted to look like something that wasn't human."

Comment: What hope is there to be gained from someone who has given up on trying to become a better human being and seeks instead to be more animal? There's nothing inspirational about cutting off your body parts, mutilating your tongue, and branding your body. You don't become something more by becoming something less. Furthermore, inspiration is provided by people who rise up to challenges, who face the world and come out on the other side as better people. It doesn't take a whole lot of moral fortitude to abuse your body and reject the world around you.

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Megaphone

Protesters convene at 2018 AIPAC conference in Washington, demand event be shut down

Ali Younes
Al Jazeera
Sun, 04 Mar 2018 00:00 UTC
Protesters AIPAC Conference
Protesters Gather at Start of 2018 AIPAC Conference
About 500 protesters gathered on Sunday at the start of the AIPAC conference demanding the week-long event be shut down.

AIPAC, which runs from Sunday through Tuesday in Washington DC, is an influential political conference that brings pro-Israel lobbyists and US lawmakers together to discuss future US policy on Israel.

"Hey hey, ho ho, AIPAC has got to go," the mostly young and energetic protesters shouted while banging on barriers separating them from the entrance of convention centre where the event is taking place.

"Palestine will be free from the river to the sea," they chanted.

Comment: In addition to the Palestinians themselves, many are now coming to understand just how brutal Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank is, and how dire a humanitarian crises now exists for millions of Palestinians.

Listen to Norman Finkelstein author of Gaza: An Inquest into its Martyrdom lay it out in no uncertain terms:



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Arrow Down

New Jersey taxpayers shell out $250K in restitution after police savagely beat innocent man, fabricate story to cover their actions

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Mon, 05 Mar 2018 00:00 UTC
new jersey police brutality Jerome Wright
Jerome Wright, 57, was accused of a minor traffic violation and subsequently stopped by an unmarked police car. Seconds later, he would find himself doused with pepper spray, thrown to the ground, kicked in the head, and savagely beaten with a flashlight. The attack was so excessive and brutal that the New Jersey taxpayers were forced to shell out $250,000 to pay for it.

A key component of the lawsuit was a video taken by a nearby resident. Had it not been for the video, the court would've believed the police officers when they said Wright charged them and was a threat. The video also showed police kicking, stomping, and smashing Wright's head in with a flashlight-a fact conveniently left out of the official report.

According to the lawsuit, which was settled in October, police used excessive force - including chemical spray, kicks, punches - then "fabricated" a police report in an effort to "cover up" their actions.
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Syringe

Doping allegations persist against UK cyclist Bradley Wiggins


RT
Mon, 05 Mar 2018 16:09 UTC
Bradley Wiggins
© Eric Feferberg / AFPBradley Wiggins
Team Sky and 2012 Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins have been accused of abusing the Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) program which allows athletes to take banned substances to treat medical ailments.

A report published by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee on Sunday claims that Team Sky allowed its members to use the TUE-authorized steroid triamcinolone before and during the 2012 Tour de France to improve cyclists' "power-to-weight ratio ahead of the race" rather than treating medical needs.

"From the evidence that has been received by the committee, we believe that this powerful corticosteroid [triamcinolone] was being used to prepare Bradley Wiggins, and possibly other riders supporting him, for the Tour de France," the report states.

"The purpose of this was not to treat medical need, but to improve his [Wiggins'] power-to-weight ratio ahead of the race. The application for the TUE for the Triamcinolone for Bradley Wiggins, ahead of the 2012 Tour de France, also meant that he benefited from the performance-enhancing properties of this drug during the race.

"We believe that drugs were being used by Team Sky, within the WADA rules, to enhance the performance of riders, and not just to treat medical need."

Comment: More on Bradley Wiggins' triamcinolone doping:

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Music

Germany's national anthem may soon get gender-neutral lyrics


RT
Mon, 05 Mar 2018 15:59 UTC
German national anthem
© Tobias SchwarzSoccer fans sing the national anthem.
Germany might not be the "Fatherland" for much longer, as the country's equality boss reportedly wants to tweak the national anthem by removing any male-specific language in the pursuit of gender neutrality.

The equality commissioner at the Family Ministry, Kristin Rose-Moehring, has called for the lyrics of Germany's national anthem to become more inclusive, German media reported Sunday, citing her letter sent to the ministry employees. Rose-Moehring reportedly wants to replace 'Vaterland' (Fatherland) with 'Heimatland' (Homeland), and replace the line 'brotherly with heart and hand' to 'courageous with heart and hand.'

"Why don't we change our national anthem, the Deutschlandlied?" the commissioner reportedly wrote. "It wouldn't hurt, would it? And it fits with the new federal ministry for interior, construction and homeland." The proposal came as the Social Democrats members announced they backed the coalition with Angela Merkel's CDU party, clearing the way for a new government.

In the meantime, rewording the lyrics didn't seem like an urgent task to some politicians. "I could think of other topics that would be more important to women than changing the national anthem," the CDU leader in Rhineland-Palatinate, Julia Klockner, tweeted.
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Arrow Down

As consumers revolt against factory farming, poultry industry pushes for laws forcing stores to carry their products

Glen Greenwald and Leighton Akio Woodhouse
The Intercept
Fri, 02 Mar 2018 15:08 UTC
industrial chicken farm
© Mercy for AnimalsChickens stand in their cages at a large industrial egg production farm in Pennsylvania. About 96 percent of eggs sold in the United States come from hens who live in the so-called battery cages from the day they’re born until their egg-laying days end 18 to 24 months later.

This article includes graphic images some readers may find disturbing.

Over the last decade, thanks to a cascade of undercover exposés of factory farms and slaughterhouses by animal rights activists, it has become increasingly difficult to ignore the horrors of industrial animal agriculture. Though it has received less attention than than the systematic torture of pigs and cows, perhaps no part of animal agriculture is more heinous than egg production, an industry in which hens are confined to excruciatingly small cages for the entirety of their tortured lives. As the Humane Society put it after an extensive investigation into the indescribable cruelties of this industry, "Perhaps the most abused farm animals, nearly 280 million laying hens in the United States are confined in barren wire battery cages so restrictive the birds can't even spread their wings."

As consumers have awoken to the barbaric conditions of the egg industry, they have begun to turn toward incrementally more humane alternatives, such as cage-free eggs, as well as truly humane options, such as eggs from pasture-raised hens at places like Vital Farms.

The market, as they say, is speaking. As Americans become more educated about the morally repellent practices of this industry, they are increasingly refusing to reward barbaric practices by buying eggs that are the byproduct of industrial torture.

Comment: See also:

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No Entry

Social Justice in STEM courses: College physics 101 course requires 'Decolonization' project

Chris Rossi
Campus Reform
Mon, 05 Mar 2018 14:36 UTC
pomona college engraving
Students enrolled in a physics course at Pomona College were required to complete a project addressing issues such as "implicit bias" and "microaggressions."

Last fall semester, students in Pomona College's Foundations of Modern Physics (PHYS101 PO) class were required to complete a "Decolonizing Physics" project as a part of their physics coursework.

Taught by Professor Janice Hudgings, Foundations of Modern Physics is a mandatory course for all students majoring in physics or astronomy. The Pomona College course catalog describes the class as an "introduction to wave mechanics, spectra and structure of atoms, molecules and solids, nuclear physics, and particle physics."

Comment: For awhile there, it seemed like the STEM fields were safe from the social justice agenda, but clearly things are changing rapidly. The social justice ideology is spreading like a cancer through academics at a break-neck pace, and apparently even the scientific and mathematically minded can't resist.

See also:

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