Society's ChildS


Handcuffs

Number of women, girls in prison up by more than half since 2000

Female inmate at HMP Holloway
© PA
The number of women and girls in prison around the world has jumped by more than half since the turn of the century, according to a new report.

Researchers calculate that more than 714,000 females are held in penal institutions, a 53 per cent rise on the 466,000 estimated to be behind bars in 2000.

The number includes those on remand and awaiting trial as well as inmates who have been convicted and sentenced.

By comparison, the assessment finds the number of male prisoners globally has gone up by around a fifth over the same period.

Light Sabers

Brazilian farmers sue Monsanto over GMO seed

soy harvesters
© Paulo Whitaker / Reuters
Growers in Brazil's largest soybean producing state Mato Grosso have asked a court to cancel Monsanto's Intacta GMO seed patent. They claim irregularities, including the company's alleged failure to prove it brings de facto technological innovation.

The Mato Grosso branch of Aprosoja, the association representing the growers, has filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Brasilia. The growers claim Monsanto's Intacta RR2 PRO patent "does not fully reveal the invention so as to allow, at the end of the exclusivity period, for any person to freely have access to it."

That requirement "avoids that a company controls a technology for an undetermined period of time," Aprosoja said, adding Intacta's patent protection extends through October 2022.

It cited data from consultancy Agroconsult, saying that about 53 percent of Brazil's soy area was planted with Intacta technology in the 2016/17 crop cycle. Around 40 percent of the crop is grown with Monsanto's Roundup Ready seed technology (Intacta's predecessor), and only seven percent is non-GM.

Pumpkin 2

American culture problem: Singer Mariah Carey accused of racism and sexual harassment in lawsuit

mariah carey
In a draft lawsuit, the superstar is accused of calling her former head of security a white supremacist and sexually harassing him.

Mariah Carey allegedly referred to her former head of security as a Nazi, a skinhead, a Ku Klux Klan member, and a white supremacist, according to complaints contained in a draft lawsuit reported by the website TMZ.

Lawyers for Michael Anello, who headed up Carey's security company, have prepared the papers, which also accuse Carey of exposing herself to him.

Anello says his company worked for Mariah from June 2015 to May 2017 and were not only stiffed on more than $200,000, but were also denied another promised two years of work, which would have added $511,000 to the tab.

It should be noted that the TMZ report states the suit has now been paused as the two sides presumably attempt to come to an accommodation.

Oscar

Hollywood imploding as sex scandals pile up

hollwood sign
Projects are shelved, film releases cancelled, sets shuttered, studios threatened, the Oscars rattled -- this is the chaos confronting Hollywood following sex scandals that have brought down power players like Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and Brett Ratner.

In the month since The New Yorker and The New York Times published allegations of serial predatory behavior by producer Weinstein -- some 100 women have now accused him of misconduct ranging from harassment to rape -- people who said they had been victimized have felt emboldened to voice allegations against men who had been seen as untouchable.

Spacey, a two-time Oscar winner, and Ratner, a blockbuster director, have also been accused of sexual transgressions, while other actors, managers and agents are in the hot seat as well.

Sheriff

Drug bust in Colombia nets staggering 12 tons of cocaine

colombian police
© Colombian Presidency / Reuters
Colombia is the world's largest manufacturer of cocaine but the police seizure of a staggering 12 tons (metric) of the white powder far outstrips anything cops in the South American country have ever seen.

The record find is estimated to be worth around $360 million and has been linked to Colombia's Gulf Clan, currently the most powerful cartel in the country.

Around 400 anti-narcotics officers seized the drugs in four simultaneous operations launched on farms across the country. The cocaine was discovered buried underground, covered in banana leaves.

Four people were reportedly arrested during the bust, which is the result of a three-day operation by police charged with cracking down on the production of coca (the plant from which cocaine derives).

Red Flag

Undercover testing reveals TSA screeners, equipment or procedures failed at 80% rate

TSA agent
© David McNew / Reuters
A report revealing "vulnerabilities" at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) airport checkpoints has disturbed lawmakers, who for the first time received a classified briefing from the new TSA chief.

TSA Administrator David Pekoske and members of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) appeared before the House Committee on Homeland Security Wednesday to discuss efforts to keep US transportation systems secure.

Before the public hearing, lawmakers received a classified briefing from Pekoske and DHS Inspector General John Roth, who presented the results of covert testing at airport security checkpoints.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who serves as chairman of the committee, did not go into detail about the classified meeting, but said all the lawmakers who attended found the findings "disturbing."

Attention

Moscow: Security forces storm extremist headquarters, foil attack

extremist HQ
© Ruptly
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has released a video showing the operation when members of an extremist group that planned to carry out high-profile violent acts in the Russian capital were captured. Weapons, bomb components were also found in their apartments.

The footage shows FSB Special Forces units storming apartments belonging to suspected members of an extremist group in Moscow Friday, November 3. The operation was carried out ahead of Russia's National Unity Day, when the terrorists planned to carry out their attacks, according to FSB.

Following the search and seize action Friday, the FSB announced it had "curbed the illegal activities of a covert cell of the Artpodgotovka movement in the Moscow Region."


Easter Egg 2

Progress the American way: Virginia elects its first transgender state representative

danica roem
Meet 'Danica', America's first elected transgender (male-to-female) politician
History was made in Virginia on Tuesday evening when Democrat Danica Roem defeated 13-term Republican Delegate Bob Marshall to become the nation's first openly transgender state legislator.

Marshall had run on a social conservative platform that was ardently pro-family and anti-LGBT rights. He once called himself Virginia's "chief homophobe."

In January, he proposed a "bathroom bill" that would prevent transgender individuals from using public bathrooms that conform to their preferred gender identity, according to the Independent Journal Review.

Comment: Believe it or not, there have actually been many transgender politicians in the US in the last 15 years; what has changed recently is that they're becoming more open about it. The US leads the world in this field of course.

Either voters in Virginia's 13th district themselves 'transitioned' from ultra-conservative to queer-friendly in the blink of an eye, or the result was flat-out rigged.


Pistol

US police have killed over 1,000 in 2017—including pregnant moms, innocent children, & disabled people

American cops police
Police officers in the United States have now killed more than 1,000 Americans in 2017, according to a database that has been recording deaths at the hands of police since 2013.

As of Nov. 7, the total reported by Killed By Police stands at 1,019 people. While the vast majority were killed by officer-issued firearms, several were killed by police tasers, patrol cars, and restraint or physical force.

In January, 108 people were killed by police. Muhammad Abdul Muhaymin, 43, died in the custody of police officers in Phoenix. He went into "medical distress" when multiple officers went out of their way to restrain him-even placing two sets of handcuffs on his wrists-after an individual called police because Muhaymin reportedly bumped into him in a doorway.

2 + 2 = 4

U of M Chief of Staff: College is 'not a home'!

college kids
One never knows these days what to expect out of college campuses. It seems that every time one turns around, somebody's sensitivity is being offended.

Such was the case the other week at the University of Maryland at College Park. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, college officials met to discuss 'hate symbols' and whether they should be allowed on campus. In the course of the meeting, Diane Krejsa, Deputy General Counsel and Chief of Staff at the university, stood up and made statements which many students apparently viewed in the same vein as the hate symbols being discussed. In essence, Krejsa told students it was time to grow up and stop demanding a sheltered environment: