Society's ChildS


Info

Puerto Rican mayor reveals truth behind San Juan mayor's politically motivated attack on Trump

San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz
© Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesA Puerto Rican mayor is directly refuting the claims of San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, who has openly criticized the federal government for allegedly not providing enough help after Hurricane Maria devastated the island.
The mayor of a city that directly borders San Juan, Puerto Rico, is casting doubt on the claims of San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, who directly criticized Trump's administration on Friday for not efficiently helping the island after a powerful hurricane devastated it.

What did Yulín Cruz allege?

Yulín Cruz, a Democrat, has alleged in numerous interviews that the federal government has not done enough to support Puerto Rico in the wake of the hurricane. She even claimed that "we are going to see is something close to a genocide" if Trump and government agencies didn't do more to help.

What others say?

However, many other top Puerto Rican politicians, including Gov. Ricardo Rossello, have been very complimentary of the government's efforts to provide aid. One mayor in particular, Guaynabo's Angel Perez, is speaking out directly against Yulín Cruz and her claims that the government isn't doing enough to help.

Red Flag

Negligence or useful 'accident'? Latest depot fire destroyed more ammo than Ukraine military has used during its three-year civil war

explosion ukraine military depot sept 2017
© ReutersMassive explosions and a blaze at a military ammunition depot in central Ukraine forced authorities to evacuate 24,000 people and close airspace over the region
Officials have calculated that last week's massive fire at an ammunition depot in central Ukraine has caused $800 million in damage, destroying over a quarter more ammo than Kiev has used over the course of its three-year war with independence supporters in eastern Ukraine.

According to Ukrainian television network TSN, the fire, which ignited last Tuesday at the Kalinovka base in Vinnitsa region, resulted in the loss of about 32,000 metric tons of ammunition (about 25% more than the estimated 24,000 tons used so far in the Ukrainian military's operations in the Donbass), and forced authorities to close 50 km-worth of airspace around the base.

More importantly, the network explained that the vast arsenal at the base was one of many left behind by the Soviet army as it withdrew from Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The vast arsenal there was placed in temporary storage facilities, often in areas not properly cleared for weapons storage.


Comment: Thousands forced to flee, airspace closed after munitions warehouse explodes in central Ukraine - UPDATE


Eye 1

The New Establishment and the battle for the future

Apple Facebook Uber google
© Tamara Shopsi
Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, and Facebook have remade the economy in their image. So what happens if they turn on each other?

It was getting close to midnight at the Slanted Door, Charles Phan's renowned Vietnamese restaurant in the Ferry Building, overlooking San Francisco Bay. Outside, Teslas and Priuses were making their way along I-80, over the bridge toward Oakland and Berkeley; a few lights from the tankers, trawling the waters past Yerba Buena Island, flickered like fireflies. A cold early-October breeze rippled the waves.

C.E.O.'s are an early-waking group, and inside the restaurant only a few stragglers remained from the speakers' dinner of Vanity Fair's third annual New Establishment Summit. Bob Iger and Richard Plepler had left at least an hour earlier. Sarah Jessica Parker and Jony Ive were gone, too. Meanwhile, the restaurant staff was carefully bustling around the sleek, modernist dining room, whisking away wineglasses and stacking empty dessert plates after another busy night in America's idea capital.

Sheriff

Research shows crime is actually reduced when proactive policing is curtailed

police state
Current US police practices INCREASE crime
It may seem counter-intuitive to some, but a new scientific research study suggests that crime can be reduced by cutting back on proactive policing. In other words, getting rid of modern-day policing policies and community-based policing may, in fact, reduce crime altogether.

The results of the research study were published in the journal Nature, and is titled, "Evidence that curtailing proactive policing can reduce major crime". The problem being studied was whether or not "high rates of police stops, criminal summonses, and aggressive low-level arrests reduce serious crime."

The researchers acknowledge law enforcement agencies will deploy their human resources (officers) to areas where crime is to be expected which provokes a response by the community to either comply with the law or execute their plans to commit crimes, often as a result of the police presence in the community.

Comment: Bureaucrats with weapons: Are police really necessary?


Book

Evergreen College sanctions 80 snowflake students and issues a guide on how to deal with free speech like an adult

evergreen college
Evergreen State College doled out punishments to 80 students they say were involved in an incident last spring that led to a schoolwide shutdown and a million dollar legal settlement.

They've also issued a handbook to students explaining, in great detail, how to handle the concept of "free speech" and what students should do if they encounter an opposing viewpoint (hint: it's not riot until the school shuts down and harass a professor and his wife out of their jobs).

Evergreen is facing both a budget and an enrollment crisis since students attacked Professor Bret Weinstein last May, alleging that he was "racist" for choosing not to participate in an event designed to show the impact of minority students on campus - but would have required all white students and faculty to stay home. Students became so enraged at the incident that they seized control of campus facilities, driving off campus safety officers and forcing the school to shut down for several days.

Black Cat

CBS fires its special counsel who said that Vegas victims didn't deserve sympathy - because country music fans often are 'Republican gun toters'

CBS VP fired
CBS has parted ways with one of the company's top lawyers after she said she was "not even sympathetic" to victims of the Las Vegas shooting because "country music fans often are Republican," when discussing the mass shooting that unfolded in Las Vegas late Sunday night.

Monday night she issued a statement of apology.

Hayley Geftman-Gold, the network's now-former vice president and senior counsel, said, "Earlier today I posted an indefensible post in a Facebook discussion thread concerning the tragic Las Vegas shooting, a statement I sincerely regret. I am deeply sorry for diminishing the significance of every life affected by Stephen Paddock's terrorism last night and for the pain my words have inflicted on the loved ones of the victims. My shameful comments do not reflect the beliefs of my former employer, colleagues, family, and friends. Nor do they reflect my actual beliefs - this senseless violence warrants the deepest empathy. I understand and accept all consequences that my words have incurred."

Airplane

UK's Monarch Airlines goes bust, leaving holidaymakers stranded

cancelled flights
Departure boards at Luton airport showed cancelled Monarch flights
Monarch Airlines has ceased trading and all its future flights and holidays have been cancelled, affecting hundreds of thousands of customers.

About 860,000 people have lost bookings and more than 30 planes will be sent by the Civil Aviation Authority to return 110,000 holidaymakers who are overseas.

Monarch employs about 2,100 people and reported a £291m loss last year.

Terror attacks in Tunisia and Egypt, increased competition, and the weak pound have been blamed for its demise.

Theresa May's official spokesman said the prime minister "feels hugely sorry" for those affected by a "very distressing situation".

Hourglass

Rock legend Tom Petty dies of heart attack at 66

Tom Petty
© Rick Diamond / AFPTom Petty
The manager of Tom Petty has confirmed that the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer died after being rushed to hospital having suffered a heart attack Monday night. The statement follows hours of media speculation, which led to unverified reports, family responses and retractions.

"On behalf of the Tom Petty family we are devastated to announce the untimely death of our father, husband, brother, leader and friend Tom Petty," the singer's long-time manager Tony Dimitriades said in a statement, issued late Monday.

The manager said 66-year-old Petty "suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu in the early hours of this morning and was taken to UCLA Medical Center but could not be revived."

The rocker passed away at 8:40pm PT [3:40am GMT] "surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends," the statement reads.

Comment: Godspeed Tom Petty. Your soul is Free Fallin' now:




Heart - Black

Investigation reveals patients in mental hospitals around Norway given electroshock therapy without consent

doctor
© Jochen Sand / Global Look Press
At least forty patients in mental hospitals around Norway have been given electroshock treatment without their consent and despite objections from the country's Civil Ombudsman, a local media investigation has claimed.

Reporters from the Verdens Gang (VG) newspaper examined figures from the Norwegian Health Ministry from 2014 to 2016, and found that at least forty patients had been given electric shocks 166 times without their consent.

Electroshock therapy, also known as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), is known to be an effective treatment for some serious mental health conditions including major depression, mania and catatonia. However, it can also cause seizures and memory loss.

Under normal circumstances, ECT is only given to patients who've consented to the procedure, though Norwegian doctors are allowed to authorize it themselves if they feel it is a last resort to save a person's life.

Eye 2

Saudi headchoppers condemned after killing spree, 100 people beheaded for 2017

Saudi headchopper
A Saudi Arabian executioner shows off his sword.
A Saudi Arabian citizen has been executed in Riyadh, bringing the total number of the people beheaded by the kingdom since the beginning of the year to 100.

According to the SPA, the man was executed over the murder of another Saudi citizen on Monday. Amnesty International has slammed what it refers to as Saudi Arabia's "execution spree."

"This sets the country firmly on track to remain one of the most prolific executioners on the planet," said Amnesty's Lynn Maalouf.