Society's ChildS


Red Flag

Venezuela's economic collapse due to US sanctions leads women to work as prostitutes in Colombia to buy food

Jim Wyss
Miami Herald
Fri, 22 Sep 2017 11:03 UTC
colombian brothel
© Jim Wyss Miami HeraldAll 12 women who work at this brothel in Arauca, Colombia are from Venezuela
At a squat, concrete brothel on the muddy banks of the Arauca River, Gabriel Sánchez rattled off the previous jobs of the women who now sell their bodies at his establishment for $25 an hour.

"We've got lots of teachers, some doctors, many professional women and one petroleum engineer," he yelled over the din of vallenato music. "All of them showed up with their degrees in hand."

And all of them came from Venezuela.

As Venezuela's economy continues to collapse amid food shortages, hyperinflation and U.S. sanctions, waves of economic refugees have fled the country. Those with the means have gone to places like Miami, Santiago and Panama.
Read More...
Roses

South Wales: Mother awakes to find two of her triplet sons dead; SIDS suspected

Jeff Farrell
The Independent
Tue, 26 Sep 2017 10:34 UTC
triplets
© FacebookInvestigating police ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning as a possible cause of death after Charlie and Noah were found dead, while Ethan was unharmed.
A young mother who found two of her baby triplets dead in their cot was later reportedly heard shouting "my babies, my babies" in the street outside her house, a neighbour said.

Sarah Owens, 29, discovered her five-month old triplets Charlie and Noah were not breathing when she checked on them in their cot at their home in Wildmill, Bridgend in South Wales.

Investigating police ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning as the potential cause of death in a possible gas leak in the tragedy where the babies' brother Ethan was unharmed.

A post-mortem examination is underway, including a test to see if Charlie and Noah died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Comment: One can't help but wonder if the boys were recently vaccinated.

Read More...
Camcorder

Video camera captures another London acid attack, perpetrator seen calmly walking away (VIDEO)


RT
Wed, 27 Sep 2017 08:07 UTC
Man on camera
© Metropolitan Police
Police have released CCTV footage of a horrifying acid attack in London in a bid to find the perpetrator, who can be seen calmly walking away from the scene. The victim may lose sight in one of his eyes, officers say.

The 26-year-old victim was on a night out in Old Street, East London, when he was approached by a man outside Bounce Bar who tried to sell him and his friend nitrous oxide.

The pair refused, and heated words were exchanged. When they walked past the suspect later, at 5:25am on Sunday, September 17, he sprayed a substance at the victim. A small amount of liquid hit the other man.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Gold Seal

Best of the Web: Eva Bartlett's Syria War Diary Part II: Civilians recount horrors of rebel rule as order returns to Madaya and Al-Waer

Eva Bartlett
Mint Press News
Tue, 26 Sep 2017 19:53 UTC
syria children vegetables
© AP/Hassan AmmarSyrian children buy vegetables in the town of Madaya in the Damascus countryside, Syria, May 18, 2017
In revisiting Madaya and al-Waer after their reclamation by the Syrian army, it soon became clear from Bartlett's conversations with residents just how distorted the reporting of corporate media about their fate under "rebel" control had been.

In the last year, the Syrian cities of Aleppo and Madaya have become familiar to the international community as they have become subjects of heavy propaganda amid corporate media coverage to justify a so-called "humanitarian" war. Another area used in the war propaganda was al-Waer, a district of Homs occupied by the Western armed and financed "moderates" of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), al-Nusra (al-Qaeda in Syria), Ahrar al-Sham, and terrorists showing allegiance to Daesh (ISIS).

When I again visited Syria in June 2017, Aleppo, Madaya and al-Waer had been restored to peace, following the evacuation of these armed groups. I was able to visit these areas and speak to residents about the reality of life under the rule of these factions.

In Part I of my coverage August 2017 article focused on Aleppo and the life of civilians there under "rebel" occupation - which included many dangers, deprivations, and horrors, not the least of which was susceptibility to extra-judicial trials and executions.

Here, I look at Madaya and al-Waer, again from on the ground, to give a voice to Syrians who have been marginalized by the Western corporate media, which has instead glorified the insurgency.

Comment: Previously: Eva Bartlett's Syria War Diary: What Life Is Like Under "Moderate" Rebel Rule

Read More...
Attention

British counterterrorism laws in violation of human rights, lawyer tells RT (VIDEO)


RT
Wed, 27 Sep 2017 08:07 UTC
Muhammad Rabbani
© Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS / AFPInternational director of campaign group Cage, Muhammad Rabbani.
Indiscriminate powers for authorities to convict people under terrorism laws are in breach of human rights, a specialist lawyer has told RT.

Human rights lawyer Shoaib M Khan hit out at the "huge powers" of authorities to detain people under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which he says are being "abused."

Khan took part in a debate on RT alongside former Metropolitan Police officer Peter Kirkham just hours after the international director of human rights monitoring group CAGE was found guilty of committing terrorist offences by refusing to unlock his phone and laptop when detained at Heathrow Airport.

Muhammad Rabbani was found guilty of willfully obstructing a police search at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday.
Read More...
Alarm Clock

British politician told a party conference that prostitution could be suggested as a career choice to pupils

Jonathon Van Maren
The Bridgehead
Wed, 27 Sep 2017 02:08 UTC
doll in window
Stories like this one in the Daily Mail are precisely why secular progressives should not be trusted with our children:

A Liberal Democrat councillor has told a party conference that schools could suggest prostitution as a career to pupils. Dennis Parsons, who is chairman of the Cheltenham Liberal Democrats, made the comment during a special session on sex work. The retired civil servant said school career officers are currently not allowed to mention prostitution as a potential line of work, but added: 'Why shouldn't they?'

Mr Parsons also compared prostitution with accountancy when discussing how to combat the stigma attached to sex work. Lib Dem leader Tim Farron distanced himself from his remarks, but revealed he will not 'slap down' Mr Parsons for making the statement as people should be allowed to say 'shocking things'. Mr Parsons, a married father-of-five, said: 'The fact that we are asking "should we seek to prevent people entering sex work?" is part of the problem.
Read More...
Arrow Down

New study presents disturbing map of economically 'distressed' communities in United States

Pam Martens and Russ Martens
Wall Street on Parade
Wed, 27 Sep 2017 01:35 UTC
economic distress congressional districts
© Economic Innovation GroupDistressed Congressional Districts in United States (Dark Red)
A new study backs up a theory that many Americans have long suspected: the U.S. is no longer the land of opportunity, despite what national statistics would have us believe. Rather, America is now narrowly constrained to zip codes of opportunity.

The new research comes from the Economic Innovation Group (EIG), a bipartisan public policy organization funded by successful tech entrepreneurs. The study provides detailed data on the economically distressed communities that have fundamentally changed the economic landscape of America. The authors write:
"A remarkably small proportion of places fuel national increases in jobs and businesses in today's economy. High growth in these local economic powerhouses buoys national numbers while obscuring stagnant or declining economic activity in other parts of the country. EIG's prior work shows that this trend represents a fundamental shift in the geography of economic growth in the United States. Geographic disparities have, of course, always existed in this country, but the prospects of different communities used to rise or fall together to a far greater extent than they do today. Now, national statistics are often far removed from the experience of the typical American community."
Read More...
Umbrella

Puerto Rico requests federal help to recover from Hurricane Maria


RT
Tue, 26 Sep 2017 04:23 UTC
puerto rico
© Reuters Staff / ReutersA flooded street is seen in the Juana Matos neighborhood in Catano municipality after Hurricane Maria.
Food, water and medical aid are "top priorities" for Puerto Rico after a Category 4 storm lashed the island, but the US territory also needs to deal with crushing debt and collapsed infrastructure, said President Donald Trump.

In a series of tweets on Monday evening, Trump said that Puerto Rico's debt to Wall Street and the banks "must be dealt with" as the island continues to fight for federal funding after Hurricane Maria. Most of the island is without power, entire communities are flooded, and tens of thousands of residents were told to evacuate as several dams could fail at any moment.
Read More...
Family

Study finds millennials the most narcissistic generation

Jessica Brown
indy 100
Tue, 21 Feb 2017 17:13 UTC
selfie
© UNSPLASH
We might not agree on phone etiquette, or what to put on the radio - but there's one thing older and younger generations agree on.

Millennials (born between 1980 and 1994) are the most narcissistic - according to a study that consulted both millennials and their grandparents' generations,

But there is one thing they disagree on: the extent of their narcissism. Older generations think millennials' narcissism goes beyond what millennials themselves will admit.

Joshua Grubbs, a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at Case Western Reserve University, asked millennials and adults 60 years and older to rank generations on their narcissism.

Comment: More quotes from Grubbs:
People in the study rejected the idea that they were arrogant, excessively self-centred and vain:
"Millennials generally object when the 'narcissistic' label is applied to them - it feels like a putdown. The only people that found the label acceptable were people who are actually narcissistic - and research shows there are very few of them."
Instead, millennials tend to think of themselves as 'individualistic'. Individualism is a trait highly valued by millennials. Mr Grubbs said:
"This research doesn't mean every single millennial is narcissistic. But on the whole, people of my generation probably are more narcissistic than in past generations.
[...]
Still, millennials experience more anger, frustration and sadness over the label than other generations. Even if they agree with it to some extent, it still bothers them."
Mr Grubbs said:
"This is the first generation where there's such a prevalent exposure to the message (that) they're narcissistic, mainly through the Internet. We'd like to know, over time, what effect that has. This is the first step.
Yet see this, too: Shock findings! Millennials are not as selfish as you might think when it comes to jobs

Read More...
Handcuffs

Russian colonel arrested for unprecedented bribes of $6.4 million


RT
Tue, 26 Sep 2017 20:31 UTC
rubles rublos
© Sputnik/ Ilya Pitalev
Russian law enforcement services have arrested an army colonel for allegedly receiving $6.4 million in bribes, local media report, adding that this may be the biggest bribery case ever recorded in the defense ministry.

The case concerns Defense Ministry Col. Alexander Vakulin who was working as head of the food supply management department of the defense ministry, Kommersant newspaper reported.

The 46-year-old colonel reportedly received 368 million rubles ($6.4 million) for securing numerous contracts between the ministry and "loyal" commercial organizations supplying mobile field kitchens, bakeries, cisterns, and other special equipment for the ministry's needs.
Read More...