Society's ChildS


Bulb

Edmonton's mayoral candidate speaks reason!: It's time to revisit smoking ban


CBC News
Thu, 28 Sep 2017 12:04 UTC
Don Koziak
© Rick Bremness/CBCDon Koziak says it's time for Edmonton to revisit the bylaw that prohibits smoking in public places.
Edmonton mayoral candidate Don Koziak says the city should revisit the "failed experiment" to ban smoking inside public spaces.

"I think it's probably a suicidal type of position because everybody wants to be seen as righteous, but I think reasonable voters can see the benefit to a reasonable bylaw that allows for all of the citizens of Edmonton to enjoy what they want to enjoy," Koziak said in an interview Thursday.

"I think that the smoking ban was an experiment, and we've tried it, and there's still people smoking," he added. "And I find it frustrating when I see people outside in the dead of winter, trying to keep warm, because we've decided that we can't accommodate them."
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Star of David

Attacks continue on churches and mosques while Israel stands by and does nothing

Tamara Nassar
The Electronic Intifada
Fri, 29 Sep 2017 00:00 UTC
Beit Jamal
© UnknownStained glass and a statue of the Virgin Mary were among the items destroyed in the latest attack on St. Stephen's church at Beit Jamal, west of Jerusalem.
Since 2009, at least 53 churches and mosques have been vandalized in present-day Israel and the occupied West Bank. The vast majority of those cases - 45 - have been closed without any charges against perpetrators.

In all, there have been just nine indictments and seven convictions, according to Israeli government data reported by the newspaper Haaretz. Only eight of the cases remain under investigation. They were usually dismissed on the grounds of unknown perpetrators.

A lawmaker raised the matter in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, at the request of Tag Meir, an organization that monitors racially motivated crimes. According to Haaretz, public security minister Gilad Erdan wrote to the lawmaker that the attacks "were perpetrated from various motives, ranging from negligence through mental illness and, in extreme cases, incidents of arson that appear deliberate."

The newspaper noted that Erdan's assertion "seems to contradict the fact that most of the cases were closed on the grounds of 'perpetrator unknown.'" Moreover, according to Haaretz, all the cases involved arson.

Comment: This is Israel. Come to expect it. Remember: To object is anti-semitic.

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Alarm Clock

Why is the U.S. economy failing so miserably?

Paul Craig Roberts
Paul Criag Roberts
Fri, 29 Sep 2017 00:00 UTC
US economy
Do the Wall Street Journal's editorial page editors read their own newspaper?

The frontpage headline story for the Labor Day weekend was "Low Wage Growth Challenges Fed." Despite an alleged 4.4% unemployment rate, which is full employment, there is no real growth in wages. The front page story pointed out correctly that an economy alleged to be expanding at full employment, but absent any wage growth or inflation, is "a puzzle that complicates Federal Reserve policy decisions."

On the editorial page itself, under "letters to the editor," Professor Tony Lima of California State University points out what I have stressed for years: "The labor-force participation rate remains at historic lows. Much of the decrease is in the 18-34 age group, while participation rates have increased for those 55 and older." Professor Lima points out that more evidence that the American worker is not in good shape comes from the rising number of Americans who can only find part-time work, which leaves them with truncated incomes and no fringe benefits, such as health care.
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Palette

Hollywood actress Maggie Gyllenhaal normalizes pornography and sex work in Guardian interview

Jane Mulkerrins
The Guardian
Sat, 30 Sep 2017 16:07 UTC
Maggie Gyllenhaal
© Paul Schiraldi/HBOSex and the city ... Maggie Gyllenhaal as Candy in The Deuce.
Set in the grimy, trash-strewn New York of 1971, The Deuce is named after a notoriously seedy stretch of West 42nd Street that was populated by pimps and prostitutes, and home to live peep shows and porn shops. Written by David Simon, who created The Wire, and his frequent collaborator George Pelecanos, the series charts the rise of the pornography industry in New York City.

Simon has said that the show is about "the commodification of women" and from the female bar staff poured into skimpy leotards by James Franco's bar manager, Vinnie, to the violent control the pimps exert over the prostitutes they run, every woman in the show, and her sexuality, is being packaged and profited from. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Eileen "Candy" Merrell, a prostitute and single mother who rejects street-walking protocol and refuses to be controlled by a pimp, stating that "nobody makes money off my pussy but me".

Comment: Seems like nowadays, in order to have a show about "the commodification of women", excessive nudity and sex are needed. And sex sells. HBO is cashing in on the sex trade by having a show about the sex trade, all without being "pornographic" itself. How's that for normalizing?

Fifty shades of filth: The glorification and acceptance of pornography reveals society's moral bankruptcy

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Footprints

Humanitarian nightmare for over 500K Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar violence


RT
Sat, 30 Sep 2017 00:29 UTC
Rohingya refugees
© Cathal McNaughton / Reuters
Over half a million Rohingya Muslim refugees have fled the violence in Rakhine State in Myanmar to Bangladesh in the past month, placing enormous strain on aid agencies and residents across the border alike.

Over 501,800 new arrivals have been recorded at Cox Bazar, Bangladesh since the latest outbreak of violence on August 25. The mass exodus prompted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to describe it as the "world's fastest-developing refugee emergency... a humanitarian and human rights nightmare."
Rohingya refugees
© unknown

Comment: The Rohingya are pawns in the bigger game afoot -- one of several excuses for developing a military network to support the US government's pivot to Asia via pockets of instability and human suffering. The goal: proximity to China.
The 'Rohingya people' are ethnic Bengalis from Bangladesh. They do not 'belong' in Myanmar. The reason they are there is due to several factors, all of them the result of Western meddling in, and mismanagement of, South East Asia over the past 100 years. Today, the plight of these people is being exploited by jihadist groups that have historically been used as tools of Western intelligence agencies as they continue to play their centuries-old 'great game' of world domination.

For more, see Sott Focus: The Rohingya 'Crisis': U.S. Legacy and Current Policy in Southeast Asia


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Chart Pie

First general opinion poll in years reveals Syrians' feelings toward war, Assad

Sophie Mangal
Global Research
Sat, 30 Sep 2017 16:59 UTC
October 2011 – Tens of thousands of Syrians have rallied in central Damascus in show of support for President Bashar al-Assad
© Al JazeeraOctober 2011 – Tens of thousands of Syrians have rallied in central Damascus in show of support for President Bashar al-Assad.
There has been a general public opinion poll conducted by independent sociologists and political scientists from all around the world in war-torn Syria. The citizens of the state shared their views on the main events and situation now taking place in the country, their attitude towards other countries acting actively on the fate of the country and also called the main problems of the state.

This analysis led to the identification of the population of Syria's relationship to the conflict with the participation of various parties, as well as to find out at last where the truth that the media usually publish lies and how big is the falsehood.

It is noticed that the survey was conducted in all the Syrian provinces including those under pressure of war.

According to preliminary data, 97% of respondents believe that the country is currently suffering from the crisis caused by corruption, internal weakness of the state and the collusion of other countries against Syria, consequences of which fuel and enhance a humanitarian catastrophe in the entire Middle East.
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Stop

Black NHL star shamed by Yahoo for not protesting national anthem

John Nolte
Breitbart
Thu, 28 Sep 2017 16:50 UTC
subban
© AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
Whether it is gay marriage, transgenderism, health care, or the these appalling national anthem protests, phase one of the left's fascist propaganda campaign always begins in this way... Hey, just let us do our thing. We are not bothering you. No one is hurting you. We are just expressing ourselves. What do you care? Let us live our lives.

Again and again, though, history informs us that this is nothing more than a ruse, a con, a hustle, a lie - because it never, ever ends there.

Nope, before you know it, the whole idea of live and let live is no longer good enough for the left; before you know it, these worms turn and all of a sudden we are being put out of business for not participating in gay marriages, our daughters are forced to pee next to mentally ill men wearing a skirt, the government is mandating us to buy overpriced health insurance, and sportswriters are shaming and bullying black athletes who refuse to disrespect the American flag.

Yes, that is now happening.

Comment: Breitbart is obviously a partisan source. The U.S. is - or should be - a free country. If players want to protest by taking a knee during the anthem and not violating their conscience, that is their right. They may get fired or face other consequences, but it's still their choice. That said, it is rather amusing to see those who support the players turn on those players like Subban who are taking their own stand by refusing to take the knee. Borg mentality wins the day.

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People 2

Why gender neutral option on California state IDs is a good thing: Gender isn't the government's business

Elizabeth Nolan Brown
reason.com
Thu, 28 Sep 2017 16:08 UTC
transgender gender neutral bathroom sign
© Jonathan Drake / Reuters
California is poised to become the second American state to allow for a gender category "X" on state-issued documents such as driver's licenses. (Oregon became the first this past June.) The California change - which would go further than Oregon's by allowing "X" instead of "M" or "F" on birth certificates and other forms of official ID, not just licenses - was approved by the state legislature and now awaits the governor's approval.

The new non-binary category is being heralded - and slammed - as part of the growing U.S. movement for transgender rights and the recognition that many people don't fit comfortably into the gender roles and traits typically assigned to their sex. The latter has given rise to the growth of gender-neutral pronouns (they, ze) and self-descriptions (genderfluid, genderqueer, non-binary) among Americans, especially younger ones.

Libertarians - even those just fine with the gender binary and their place in it - should celebrate the change. It allows people more choice about how to define themselves in a way that is noncoercive and decreases government control.

Comment: What do you think? Contentious ideological institution of gender pseudo-science, or boon for libertarian privacy rights? If it's the latter, you can bet that transgender activists will not be pleased about the cisgenders hijacking their gender-neutral X designation!

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Tornado1

Puerto Ricans could face 6 months without power

Haley Zaremba
Oilprice.com
Thu, 28 Sep 2017 15:53 UTC
Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria
© Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters
After Puerto Rico was pummeled by Hurricane Maria last week, a Category 4 hurricane with 150 mph winds, the island has been left in shambles. After suffering widespread power outages thanks to Irma, one million Puerto Ricans were left without electricity. 60,000 still hadn't gotten power when Maria brought a total, island-wide power outage and severe shortages in food, water, and other supplies.

As of today there's still no power on the island except for a handful of generators powering high-priority buildings like select hospitals, and the island likely won't return to full power for another half a year. This also means that there are next to zero working cell phone towers and no reception anywhere on the island.
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Life Preserver

Pentagon sending more troops and equipment to manage relief efforts in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico

Ellen Mitchell
The Hill
Fri, 29 Sep 2017 18:27 UTC
puerto rico
© AP
The Defense Department has not sent enough troops and vehicles to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico but will soon send more, according to the three-star general newly in charge of coordinating the military response.

Army Lt. Gen. Jeff Buchanan said Friday morning that the Pentagon has 10,000 people helping with the response after Hurricanes Irma and Maria ripped through Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier this month.

"We're certainly bringing in more [troops]," Buchanan said on CNN's "New Day."

"For example, on the military side, we're bringing in both Air Force, Navy, and Army medical capabilities in addition to aircraft, more helicopters. ... [But] it's not enough, and we're bringing more in."


Comment:

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