Society's ChildS


Attention

Backlash as MPs vote 'that animals cannot feel pain or emotions' during Brexit debate


Evening Standard
Mon, 20 Nov 2017 17:42 UTC
cute puppy
© GettyEU bill: MPs voted against including animal sentience in the divorce bill
MPs have voted to reject the inclusion of a clause that states animals can feel emotion and pain into the EU withdrawal bill. The government faced backlash after voting to dismiss animal sentience from the Brexit bill last week.

Animal rights activists said the exclusion of the ruling, which was incorporated into EU law in 2009 via the Lisbon Treaty after years of campaigning, was "shocking".
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Attention

Nebraska regulators approve Keystone XL pipeline, despite recent oil leak that dumped 210,000 gallons of oil in South Dakota


RT
Mon, 20 Nov 2017 16:30 UTC
Nebraska pipeline
© Global Look Press
Nebraska regulators approved the Keystone XL pipeline route through the state, despite a oil leak last week that dumped 210,000 gallons of oil on arable farmland in South Dakota.

With three votes in favor and two against, the Nebraska Public Service Commission (NPSC) approved the pipeline route on Monday. The body was tasked with assessing whether the route was in the state's best interests, but could not consider the risk of spills since the project already had an environmental permit.

The NPSC has been reviewing the proposed 275-mile route of TransCanada Corp's crude oil pipeline since February.

Commissioner Crystal Rhoades, the body's sole Democrat, voted against the pipeline in part because it was not following the originally proposed route.

Comment: See also: Another major oil leak hits Keystone Pipeline, forcing its closure in S. Dakota

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Arrow Up

Sexual assaults in the German military on the rise; defense minister encourages more openness in reporting


RT
Mon, 20 Nov 2017 16:35 UTC
german soldiers
© Ina Fassbender / ReutersSoldiers of the German army Bundeswehr.
There has been a sharp rise in the number of sex offenses officially reported in the German Army, with around 190 sex-related allegations this year alone, the Defense Ministry's data shows, as cited by local media.

By mid-November, there were 11 reported rapes in the Bundeswehr, compared with five rapes reported last year, the Bild am Sonntag tabloid said.

Through the end of September 2017, there were 187 reports of sexual misconduct, which ranged from unwanted touching to rape. There were nearly 60 cases less last year. The 2017 figures also reportedly included some cases from the previous years that remained unresolved.

Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen told the newspaper that an increase in the alleged assaults is "a positive sign that supervisors and teams more frequently report the incidents." She claimed that the military in fact wants an "atmosphere of openness."

On Wednesday, Der Spiegel reported that two female soldiers, aged 18 and 22, were raped at the Toderdorf barracks in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany. The incident reportedly occurred following a party there.
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X

France: Interior minister maintains ban on Muslim groups praying in the streets


RT
Mon, 20 Nov 2017 16:25 UTC
muslim prayer
© Benoit Tessier / ReutersFILE PHOTO Muslims pray during Friday prayers in the street in front of the city hall of Clichy, near Paris.
The French authorities will prevent Muslims in a northern Paris suburb from praying in the streets, the interior minister says. Local worshippers have been protesting the recent closure of a convenient prayer room.

Gerard Collomb reiterated his opposition to prayers staged by the Union of Muslim Worship and Cultural Associations of Clichy-la-Garenne (UAMC) every Friday in the city center since March after a hall they had rented from the town was remodeled into a multimedia library under the new mayor. A dedicated worship center has been built since then, but local Muslims are unhappy about its location and size.

"They will not have prayers on the street, we will prevent street praying," Collomb told Questions Politics, while promising to find a mutually acceptable solution "in the next few weeks."

"Muslims must have a place of worship to pray," he stressed.

The bickering between the city administration and the local Muslim community has been going on since March, when police were called to expel the UAMC from the premises pursuant to a court order, reaffirmed by the Council of State in November of last year.

Comment: See also:
France closed 20 mosques and prayer halls since December for preaching radical Islam

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Eye 1

'Living on a volcano': IOC-ban of 6 Russian skiers talk about life as 'pawns in political game'


RT
Sat, 18 Nov 2017 18:44 UTC
Russian skier
© Alexander Vilf / SputnikAlexander Legkov
The Russian skiers stripped of their medals from the 2014 Sochi Olympics over doping allegations and given a lifetime ban from the Games gave RT a defiant interview, insisting on their innocence as they face potential suspension from all competition.

"Foreign officials are trying to put pressure on our country," said Alexander Legkov, who was stripped of his 50km gold and 4x10km relay silver earlier this month by the International Olympic Committee. "The athletes are pawns in this game, and easiest to punish."

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) ban of six skiers, which Russia has said it will appeal, was enacted on the basis of the report by former World Anti-Doping Agency chief Richard McLaren's investigation. It alleged that Russia's anti-doping lab regularly covered up positive tests, and that samples were systematically manipulated at Russia's home Games three years ago.

Comment: See also: US puppet agency WADA declares Russian anti-doping org 'non-compliant' - Russian sports minister calls decision 'politicized'

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Airplane

Dashcam video captures light plane crashing on Florida highway


RT
Mon, 20 Nov 2017 16:19 UTC
plane crash
© Global Look PressInvestigators with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office talk at the scene of a small plane crash in Clearwater.
A light plane has crashed as the pilot attempted to make an emergency landing on a highway in Florida. The dramatic incident was captured by a sheriff's dashcam.

The aircraft suffered engine trouble while in the air and tried to make an emergency landing on Keene Road in the city of Clearwater in Pinellas County, Florida, on Sunday morning. Luckily, both the pilot, 61-year-old Marc Allen Benedict, and the passenger, 55-year-old Gregory Guinee, escaped injury in the accident, according to Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

The video shows the single-engine aircraft approaching dangerously low above the ground before crashing onto the street
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2 + 2 = 4

Are schools pushing porn? Calls for sex education to get more graphic and "keep up-to-date with trends in sexual lifestyles"


RT
Mon, 20 Nov 2017 11:49 UTC
high heels
© Reuters/ Fabrizio BenschHardcore porn at school? Calls for sex education to get more graphic
Porn is watched so regularly, sex education may need to change, according to researchers
The internet has given teenagers access to so much porn, fetish and experimental sex that schools may have to get a lot more graphic when addressing classes, a study has found.

Teenagers are becoming more adventurous and are moving away from 'traditional' intercourse, according to researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine(LSHTM) and University College London. By monitoring sexual habits, the team found the number of 16-24s moving away from traditional sexual intercourse had doubled. Access to porn online was blamed as one of the problems.

Comment: Some relevant questions might be, why are schools responsible for teaching sexual education at all? Why not let parents parent?

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2 + 2 = 4

Controversy sparks after Wilfrid Laurier TA shows Jordan Peterson video


The Cord
Mon, 20 Nov 2017 15:34 UTC
empty seats in auditorium
© Madeline McInnis
Lindsay Shepherd, a graduate student at Wilfrid Laurier University, as well as a teaching assistant in a first-year Canadian Communication in Context class, recently sparked a controversial discussion after showing her class a video clip of Jordan Peterson.

Jordan Peterson, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto, who has frequently publicized his views which criticize the use of gender-neutral pronouns such "they," "zie" and "zher," as well as his beliefs of the apparent dangers surrounding Bill C-16, which is now law as this past June.

Comment: Thought police crackdown: University teaching assistant labeled as 'transphobic' for showing a Jordan Peterson video in class

Here are excerpts from secretly recorded meeting between Wilfrid Laurier University grad student and faculty via Global News CA:



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Megaphone

Dozens of 'free speech' activists met by hundreds of counter-protesters in Boston


RT
Mon, 20 Nov 2017 13:52 UTC
free speech protesters
© Scott Eisen / AFPParticipants of a "free speech" event march from the Boston Common back to their vehicles on November 18, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts
A "free speech" rally took place on Boston Common on Saturday under heavy police scrutiny. As with an earlier rally in August, those in attendance were heavily outnumbered by counter-protesters, including black-and-red clad "antifa."

The Rally for the Republic, organized on Facebook by the groups Resist Marxism and Boston Free Speech, was denied a permit by the city's authorities but went ahead anyway under police supervision. A relatively small group of several dozen protesters were met on Boston Common by a much larger group of counter-demonstrators, where a number of minor tussles broke out between the two sides. One man carrying a Gadsden flag - a rattlesnake on a yellow background and a "don't tread on me" slogan - was set upon by a group of counter-protesters, prompting police to intervene. The rally then moved to the Parkman Bandstand, where officers searched people for weapons.

Comment: If these counter-protesters really want to fight fascism and racism, then they should start with changing themselves: Wolf Spotting: Why Antifa Is a Problem

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Blackbox

Gideon Levy: Have Israelis forgotten how to be Jews?

Gideon Levy
Information Clearing House
Sun, 19 Nov 2017 12:00 UTC
Gideon Levy Visit Palestine
© Franz KrauszGideon Levy in 2014
What if Labor Party leader Avi Gabbay is right and we really have forgotten how to be Jews? Would that be so terrible? Maybe it would even be better?

Gabbay directed the worst possible accusation against his own political camp: We have forgotten our Jewish identity, which is maybe even worse than forgetting how to be Zionists. It's the end of the world. But you can be a great person and even an outstanding Israeli while forgetting a little Jewish identity.

When no one has any idea what's the significance of being a Jew in the Israel of 2017, just which "Jewish values" is Gabbay is talking about? (It's doubtful he knows.) What's so essential to remember and what can't we forget? Such a discussion is meaningless.
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