Society's ChildS


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Iowa State University blaming Russia for anti-GMO sentiment

Brandon Turbeville
Natural Blaze
Wed, 28 Feb 2018 16:18 UTC
Putin
The American mainstream corporate media has turned into a literal madhouse in the period of the last two years.

Any doubt whether or not mainstream outlets are actually propaganda outlets should have been erased around the time of the 2016 elections. Now, however, it appears that outlets are trying to see just how ridiculous their propaganda can be before the majority of people abandon them altogether.

Taking the recent Russian hysteria as an example, mainstream outlets have blamed Russia for almost everything from the election of Donald Trump, "fake news," "conspiracy theories"(which are actually mislabeled as conspiracy theories), protest movements and questions surrounding the flu vaccine.

Comment: It's official - Russia completely bans GMOs

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Black Cat

South America: Jaguars killed for fangs to supply growing Chinese medicine trade

Robin McKie
Guardian
Sun, 04 Mar 2018 16:20 UTC
jaguar
© Jalen Evans/Getty ImagesJaguar numbers have dwindled in recent years, especially in South America.


Demand from Chinese workers raises demand for skin and body parts of endangered species

Conservationists who have uncovered a growing illegal trade in jaguar fangs in South America are linking it to Chinese construction projects that could be threatening wildlife globally.

Experts say major Chinese power plant, road and rail works in developing nations are key stimulants of illicit trade in the skins, bones and horns of endangered animals.

Local people find out that Chinese construction workers have an interest in buying animal bones, horns and body parts for their supposed medical properties and an illicit trade is established. "Essentially, these projects act like giant vacuum cleaners of wildlife that suck everything back to China," a conservation researcher, Vincent Nijman, of Oxford Brookes University, said last week. "It is a real worry."
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Star of David

In calling for one state solution for Israel-Palestine, Avraham Burg is painted as 'troublemaker' at liberal NY synagogue

Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss
Wed, 28 Feb 2018 15:12 UTC
Avraham Burg
Avraham Burg
In a new book, the Israeli writer and politician Avraham Burg has come out for a one-state solution entailing federated Jewish and Palestinian political entities, and on Monday night he was hosted by the progressive New York synagogue B'nai Jeshurun and the New Israel Fund to talk about his ideas.

The most significant element of the evening was how much discomfort the two liberal sponsors had with Burg. Here is a true aristocrat of Israeli society (Burg has religious, Ashkenazi and political pedigree out the yingyang, he was an interim President of Israel) offering the most reasonable answers to Israel's problems- Palestinians are our equals, there is no such thing as a Jewish democracy- and his hosts needed to distance themselves from him.

Rabbi Roly Matalon, the guiding spirit of the synagogue, praised Burg as a great friend who has come "again and again and again" to his synagogue as a voice for peace, and given him advice over 30 years "in difficult times and in easy times and in times when I have needed to develop some vision and find some inspiration and some answers to difficult questions." Then he put a disclaimer on the talk. Burg is a troublemaker.

Comment: Burg is right: The two state solution is dead. Ideally, there would be a one state solution in which both Jews and Arab would enjoy the same rights as equal citizens, in the same way people do in several democracies around the world. But since such a state would necessarily have to be strictly separated from religious institutions in order to accommodate all faiths, Israel would have to give up being the 'Jewish nation'. And that, not even liberals and left-wingers in Israel want to know about. See:

Gaslighting for Israel: Liberal and Leftist Zionists

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X

Accused of blasphemy, tortured Pakistani Christian attempts suicide, now fighting for his life

Asad Hashim
Al Jazeera
Sat, 03 Mar 2018 16:56 UTC
lahore pakistan


A Christian resident of Lahore says he attempted suicide as interrogators forced him to perform oral sex on cousin.

Sajid Masih lies in a hospital bed, struggling to breathe, as a watchful police guard keeps a close eye on him at the Mayo Hospital, in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore.

Both of Masih's legs are in casts, and he is covered in bruises. His left eye is bloodshot, and the other appears to have sunken in, where his skull was fractured.

Hospital officials at the intensive care unit say he is still too critical to operate on, and that he will need multiple surgeries on his neck, face and legs if he is ever to recover.

Comment: The whole blasphemy thing is pretty much out of control in Pakistan. It seems a lot of the time the laws are an excuse to persecute Christians; whether by police or lynch-mob. See also:

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Arrow Up

'Untouchable' Hindu woman secures Pakistan Senate seat in historic first


RT
Sun, 04 Mar 2018 12:08 UTC
Hindu woman
© Krish Kumari / Facebook
A Hindu woman from the so-called 'untouchables' caste has been elected to Pakistan's Senate. Her successful candidacy marks the first time a Hindu woman from the Dalit caste has been voted in as a senator.

Representing the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Krishna Kumari defeated a Taliban-linked cleric during Saturday's Senate elections, securing a seat in the upper house representing Sindh province.

An advocate for minority rights, 39-year-old Kumari was born to a poor family in a remote village in southeast Pakistan. As a child, her family was held captive as bonded laborers for at least three years.
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Jet1

War porn: Pentagon faces public backlash over 'Angel of Death' AC-130 promotional video


RT
Sun, 04 Mar 2018 15:01 UTC
USAF AC-130
© USAF

When the Pentagon posted some war porn on Twitter it should have been prepared for a major backlash, especially when using the nickname 'Angel of Death,' which formerly belonged to infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele.

The tweet, posted on February 28, has garnered over 5,000 retweets and almost 14,000 likes. However, the discussion in the comments section below the tweet made for some awkward reading for the US Department of Defense's social media manager.

"Her-cu-les, Her-cu-les! You don't want to be on the receiving end of this gunship, aka the Angel of Death," the US Department of Defense tweeted. Judging by the reaction though, the vast majority of Twitter users who engaged with the post weren't feeling so gung-ho about US foreign policy and the machines used to carry it out.

Comment: The military industrial complex is in the business of selling death and destruction and with Putin's revelations of Russian advanced weapons systems, we can expect to see a good deal more 'war porn' from the West in response.

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Cut

The unintended consequences of Trump's UNRWA Palestinian budget cuts

Scott Anderson
Foreign Policy
Fri, 02 Feb 2018 14:51 UTC
Palestinian school children students Gaza Strip
© Said Khatib/AFP/Getty ImagesPalestinian schoolgirls and women attend a protest in the southern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Rafah on March 8, 2010.


By cutting aid to Palestinian refugees, the United States is undermining stability in the entire region.

When I was 19, I left the farm I grew up on in Iowa to serve in the U.S. Army, which I did proudly for 21 years. Soon after I left the military, I decided to continue public service - this time with the United Nations. For the last decade, I have worked in Gaza and the West Bank as a member of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides humanitarian and human development services to the refugees of Palestine. In both the military and in the Middle East, I have seen firsthand how instability can harm societies and cultures. It is much more cost-efficient to preempt instability than to have to address it once the situation is deteriorating; it also saves lives.

The population that UNRWA works with is highly vulnerable and dependent upon the international community to help feed their poor, educate their children, and care for their sick. One million Palestinians in Gaza alone survive on food provided by UNRWA. Our schools educate over half a million children in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank, and they have proven to be centers of excellence, consistently outperforming government schools in the region. All of our students receive education in human rights, nonviolent conflict resolution, and tolerance of differences.

Comment: The people of Gaza have been under an economic blockade and regular military attacks from Israel for several years. If they do not receive international aid, they will simply starve to death. But isn't Trump trying to please Israel after all?

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Evil Rays

'Lucky to be alive': British walker cheats death in aftermath of Storm Emma


RT
Sun, 04 Mar 2018 12:06 UTC
Electric wires
© Global Look Press
A walker in Manchester has been dubbed "the luckiest man alive" after attempting to remove a hanging branch from a live 11,000-volt power line. He escaped with nothing but a "tingle."

The unidentified man was unaware of the fact that he had cheated death by the smallest of margins as he calmly telephoned Electricity North West to inform them of the situation. The operator then immediately cut power to the line and dispatched a team of engineers to remove the danger.
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Attention

Not 'cultural amnesia': Italians will vote for Berlusconi because they agree with his proposed economic and immigration reforms

Igor Ogorodnev
RT
Sun, 04 Mar 2018 08:00 UTC
Berlusconi
© ReutersForza Italia leader Silvio Berlusconi during a joint press conference with members of his Center-Right Coalition on March 1
The prospect of Silvio Berlusconi retaking his perch at the apex of Italian politics after Sunday's election has sent incredulous foreign observers into fits of befuddled reflection. But Il Cavaliere's appeal is simple enough.

Both the fascination and momentum around the campaign undoubtedly stems from the apparent unlikeliness of the media tycoon's comeback. On May 9, 2014 Berlusconi arrived at the San Pietro care home for the elderly, to begin a year of community service following a conviction for tax fraud, spared a custodial sentence only due to his own advanced age.

Forced out from office in 2011, banned from public positions until 2019, the four-term Italian prime minister had ample time to consider that he would best be remembered as AC Milan owner and enthusiastic host of bunga-bunga parties.

Comment: 'Here I am!' Controversial Italian PM Berlusconi is making surprise political comeback

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People

93 per cent of Irish locals vote against plan to add 115 migrants to their town of 300

Virginia Hale
Breitbart
Sat, 03 Mar 2018 00:01 UTC
irish flag with shamrock
© EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
More than nine in ten residents have voted against plans to plant 115 migrants in the small town of Lisdoonvarna, local media reports.

The Irish government says there can be "no delay" in beginning to transfer the first batch of asylum seekers it intends to accommodate in a hotel in the town of just 300 people.

But in a secret ballot held at a meeting in the County Clare town on Wednesday, 197 locals voted against the plan, compared to just 15 who voted in favour, the Irish Times reports.

Owner of the King Thomond Hotel, Marcus White - who plays a key role in tourism to Lisdoonvarna - told residents of the 300-strong heritage town, home to one of Ireland's oldest folk festivals, that he would respect their wishes.
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