Society's ChildS


Bizarro Earth

Think tank survey shows 1 in 8 French women has been raped


RT
Sun, 25 Feb 2018 17:03 UTC
woman covering her eyes
© Arman Zhenikeyev / Getty Images
A shocking new survey of French women has found that roughly 12 percent of them have been raped at least once in their lifetime. Some 43 percent of respondents also said they had been sexually touched without their consent.

The study, carried out by the Paris-based think tank, Fondation Jean Jaurès, surveyed 2,167 women to assess the frequency of and attitudes towards sexual violence in the country. Alarmingly, it found more than half of participants (58 percent) have been subjected to disturbing propositions.

The study analysed various forms of sexual abuse, from pornographic messages sent via email or text, to cyber-harassment and gestures with sexual connotations. The report says it highlights "the complex, repetitive and cumulative nature of this type of violence among the women concerned".

Comment: While rape is truly an awful crime and perpetrators should absolutely be arrested and prosecuted, one should question the motivations behind this survey: Five Feminist Lies We Take For Granted

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Eye 1

'Free Speech' lawsuit launched to end Twitter's political censorship

Ian Mason
Breitbart News
Sun, 25 Feb 2018 16:05 UTC
twitter
© Сhris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg / Getty Images
A group of free-speech lawyers filed the most serious legal challenge yet to Twitter's censorship policies Tuesday in San Francisco County Superior Court, seeking a ruling preventing Twitter from banning users purely on the basis of their views and political associations.

The 29-page complaint contends that, under a California legal doctrine that recognizes some private facilities as "public forums," Twitter may not discriminate against speech on their platform based purely on viewpoint. If successful, it would be the first extension of that doctrine to internet social media platforms and could transform the way free speech is treated online. The suit became all the more relevant Wednesday as Twitter stood accused of locking out thousands of conservatives under the guise of cracking down on "Russian bots."

Comment:

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Chalkboard

Students in Louisiana thought this math symbol looked like a gun - Police were called

Scott Berson
Miami Herald
Thu, 22 Feb 2018 11:51 UTC
square root
A discussion among students at Oberlin High School in Oberlin, La., about a mathematical symbol led to a police investigation and a search of one of the student's homes, according to the Allen Parish Sheriff's Office.

On the afternoon of Feb. 20, detectives investigated a report of terroristic threats at the school, where they learned that a student had been completing a math problem that required drawing the square-root sign.

Students in the group began commenting that the symbol, which represents a number that when multiplied by itself equals another number, looked like a gun.

The square root symbol.

After several students made comments along those lines, another student said something the sheriff's office said could have sounded like a threat out of context.

Police searched the student's home, where they found no guns or any evidence that he had any access to guns. Authorities also wrote there was no evidence the student had any intent to commit harm.
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Shopping Bag

US Naval Academy students investigated for selling drugs on the dark web


RT
Sun, 25 Feb 2018 16:09 UTC
military and flag
© Matt Cashore / ReutersUnited States Naval Academy midshipmen salute during the national anthem before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Navy Midshipmen at Notre Dame Stadium, November 18, 2017.
US Navy investigators are looking into claims of a drug ring that was selling illegal substances over the dark web, including cocaine, LSD, and ketamine - a powerful sedative, local media reports.

As many as dozens of midshipmen are being investigated for an alleged drug abuse, Fox News reported. The investigation revolves around allegations of a drug ring at the US Naval Academy, the leading institution in charge of commissioning officers for the Navy and the Marine Corps.

As of Sunday, three Navy cadets were accused of selling cocaine, ketamine, which is a powerful sedative substance, and LSD to their classmates who purchased the drugs via the dark web using bitcoin, Fox said, citing several midshipmen currently enrolled at the academy.

The midshipmen estimated the number of students complicit in drug-dealing to be as high as two dozen. Last week, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) searched the rooms of suspects using drug-sniffing dogs, and discovered cocaine.

Comment: Busted! 2 US soldiers caught smuggling $12 million worth of meth into South Korea

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Cloud Lightning

North Korea slams US for sanctions and 'clouds of war' but says it is open for talks


RT
Sun, 25 Feb 2018 16:06 UTC
Moon Jae-in talks with Kim Yo Jong
© AFPSouth Korea's President Moon Jae-in talks with Kim Yo Jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister, and North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam, February 10, 2018.
Pyongyang has accused Washington of bringing "clouds of war" to the region by imposing "the largest-ever" sanctions during the Olympic Games, but says it is still open to direct talks with the US.

A statement published by state news agency KCNA hailed North Korea's leadership for their "strong determination for peace, long-awaited inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation," which began to surface during the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. The statement went on to say that Washington is violating the Korean Olympics truce and "is running amok to bring another dark cloud of confrontation and war over the Korean peninsula" by announcing new wave of sanctions against the North.

"We came to possess nuclear weapons, the treasured sword of justice, in order to defend ourselves from such threats from the United States," the statement read, adding that "we will consider any type of blockade an act of war against us."
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Bullseye

'Hate crime': Charity calls police after tutor 'misgenders' trans student

Eleanor Harding
Daily Mail
Sun, 25 Feb 2018 15:49 UTC
transgender bathroom
A charity called in police to deal with a teacher who 'misgendered' a pupil.

Mermaids, which supports children who believe they were born in the wrong body, said the teacher had committed a 'hate crime' because he did not address the child using his new gender.

The youngster, who had switched from female to male, wanted staff and pupils at his school to accept his new identity.

Under the Equality Act, schools have a duty to accommodate transgender pupils and make sure they do not suffer upset or bullying. According to Mermaids the teacher often failed to use the correct gender pronouns for the boy - he, him and his. The charity said the reminders of his past as a girl had caused the boy to become depressed.

Volunteers from Mermaids intervened on behalf of the boy, and when the teacher refused to accept their point of view, they called police. Susie Green, who heads the charity, told the Times Educational Supplement the tough action was necessary to protect the boy's mental health. She said: 'We had to get the police involved because a young student was being regularly misgendered by his tutor. The tutor dismissed it until he was informed that it counted as a hate crime.
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Map

Syria: The UNSC mandated ceasefire will not hold


Moon Of Alabama
Sun, 25 Feb 2018 15:54 UTC
Map of Battle for East Ghouta, Syria 2018
Last night the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2401 demanding a 30 day ceasefire in all of Syria. The text of the adopted resolution does not seem to be available yet. A copy of the original draft resolution is here. The Russian government had offered several amendments to it. It demanded that the U.S. side guarantees that the enemies of the Syrian state would stick to such a ceasefire.

The resolution was initiated by Sweden and Kuwait on behalf of the U.S. It follows after preparation by the Syrian army to liberate the east-Ghouta area next to the capital Damascus had reached a critical point. East-Ghouta is occupied by several terrorist groups including al-Qaeda and militant Salafist groups. Together they have for years been sponsored to harass the 7 million inhabitants of the capital with random mortar and missile attacks. The U.S. initiated a propaganda campaign to "save Ghouta" because it wants to keep the threat from Ghouta towards the Syrian capital alive.

The ceasefire does not apply to Al-Qaeda, ISIS and associated terrorist groups. The war against them will continue. In east-Ghouta al-Qaeda (HTS) is allied with Failaq al-Rahman.
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TV

Florida shooting survivor Colton Haab doubles down on claim that CNN's entire town hall was scripted

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Fri, 23 Feb 2018 14:44 UTC
Colton Haab on Tucker Carlson
© Fox News
The latest embarrassing blow to CNN's (already tattered) credibility emerged last night when Colton Haab, the student who first exposed CNN for pushing him to ask a scripted question during Wednesday night's town hall, appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight to offer even more shocking details about CNN's conduct.

Yesterday, we noted that Haab, a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student and shooting survivor, had come forward to say he decided not to attend Wednesday night's CNN town hall after CNN producers gave him a pre-scripted question for him to ask.

But Haab told Carlson that the producers didn't just want him to ask one scripted question: They essentially rewrote a list of questions and political points that he wanted to make at the town hall, prompting him to back away from the town hall. Haab told Carlson he shared with CNN what he wanted to say, but a producer named Carrie Stevenson ultimately rejected it, and instead after several conversations "scripted" a question for him.
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Rose

UK: Couple charged over alleged hit and run deaths of brothers aged 2 and 6

Nicola Harley
The Telegraph
Sat, 24 Feb 2018 15:43 UTC
Casper Corey Platt-May boys killed hit-and-run
© PATwo-year-old Casper Platt-May (left) and his six year old brother Corey Platt-May who were killed in a hit-and-run collision in Coventry.
Two people have been charged with causing the death of a toddler and his six-year-old brother in an alleged hit and run as they walked home from the park with their mother.

The brothers were crossing a road with their mother when they were struck by a car which allegedly failed to stop in Coventry.

Police have charged Robert Brown, 53, and Gwendoline Harrison, 41, with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

The pair appeared at Coventry Magistrates' Court on Saturday and were remanded into custody.
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Dollar

Saudis ready to swing oil market into deficit to raise price

Irina Slav
OilPrice
Wed, 21 Feb 2018 15:44 UTC
Saudi Arabia oil refinery
Saudi Arabia is undergoing a truly seismic shift in its economy, politics, and society, all thanks to the oil price crash of 2014. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, commonly referred to as MBS, would likely not have had the opportunity to initiate the sweeping changes envisaged in Vision 2030 had it not been for the price collapse. Now, Riyadh needs oil prices to rise as high as possible for the plan to succeed - and is even ready to tip the market into a deficit to that end.

Saudi Arabia used to be OPEC's most influential price dove, according to Bloomberg's Grant Smith. Now, the kingdom has adopted a markedly different approach. Saudi Arabia is now focused on pushing prices as high as it can for a very simple reason: Aramco's IPO.

There are more than enough doubts surrounding the listing of the world's largest oil company. There's no certainty about the location of its international listing, and some observers have even argued that Riyadh might opt for a private placement instead so as to ensure the entire 5 percent that is set to be offered will find a buyer.

Comment: And there is another 'fly in the ointment': American Energy Dominance And The Rise of The Petro-Yuan

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