Society's ChildS

Smoking

Flashback France to become priciest country in Europe for smokers

Brian Love
Reuters
Thu, 06 Jul 2017 06:42 UTC
Woman smoking in Paris
© Reuters/Christian Hartmann
France will raise the price of cigarettes to 10 euros ($11.35) a pack within three years, the health minister said on Thursday, confirming a strategy that will push tobacco costs to among the highest in Europe.

At present, a packet of 20 cigarettes costs roughly 7 euros ($7.95) in France, well below the roughly 10 euros charged in Britain and Ireland.

"France is one of the slowest learners in the world on smoking," the minister, Agnes Buzyn, said. "Big price rises will be needed to have an impact on public health."

Buzyn told RTL radio station that smoking rates in Britain had dropped from around 30 percent to 20 percent over the past decade as the government pursued a policy of hefty price hikes, while the smoking rate was still around 30 percent in France.

The new government of centrist President Emmanuel Macron has announced several high-profile healthcare targets including the extension of compulsory vaccination, fuller public cover of the costs of dental care and eye glasses, and tobacco tax hikes.
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Info

'Call them terrorists': Far-right should be treated the same as religious extremists


RT
Wed, 06 Sep 2017 19:59 UTC
Far-right protesters
© Barcroft Media / Getty Images
Far-right extremists should be branded "terrorists" in the same way as religious extremists, Hanif Qadir, the author of Preventing and Countering Extremism and Terrorist Recruitment has told RT.

His comments follow the arrest of a number of serving British Army soldiers on suspicion of terrorism offenses linked to the banned neo-Nazi group National Action.

The far-right organization, which was set up in 2014 and had branches across the UK, was proscribed in 2016 by Home Secretary Amber Rudd amid claims it was "concerned with terrorism." It was the first of the kind to be banned since World War II.

Qadir says allegations of soldiers being involved in extremist activity has put society on a "heightened alert," and he hit out at the government and mainstream media for treating far-right extremism differently from religious fundamentalism.
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People 2

'My daughter has a gender!': Parents outraged after school introduces gender neutral uniforms


RT
Wed, 06 Sep 2017 19:35 UTC
school uniforms
© Getty Images
An East Sussex school has banned skirts in order to make its uniform gender neutral, accommodating transgender students.

Priory School, a mixed co-ed institution in Lewes with more than 1,100 pupils on the register, has ordered all new Year 7 pupils to wear gray trousers instead of gray skirts. Students in Year 8 to Year 11 are welcome to adopt the new uniform.

Head teacher Tony Smith brought in the rule following complaints from parents about "short skirts" and to make the uniform gender neutral for transgender students.

"Pupils have been saying why do boys have to wear ties and girl's don't, and girls have different uniform to boys. So we decided to have the same uniform for everybody from Year 7," he said, according to Metro.

"Another issue that we have is a small, but increasing number of transgender students, and therefore having the same uniform is important for them."

A number of parents reportedly feel angry that trousers have been enforced at the school, which is rated 'good' by Ofsted and was attended by 'Good Morning Britain' host Piers Morgan.

Comment: Will this madness ever end?

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People

Hundreds scuffle with police over THAAD deployment in South Korea


RT
Wed, 06 Sep 2017 19:33 UTC
South Korean THAAD protesters
© ๋‰ด์Šค๋ฏผ / YouTube
Residents of the South Korean province of Gyeongsangbuk-do have taken to the streets objecting to the local installation of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. Hundreds of protesters confronted police, the Yonhap news agency reports.

Nearly 400 people showed up in front of the community's administrative building to protest the deployment of the advanced US missile defense system. The standoff occurred near the future site of the rocket launchers at the US base in Seongju, some 300 kilometers (135 miles) southeast of the capital.

Injuries have been reported among the residents, as police officers tried to scatter the crowd. The protesters reportedly tried to break into the administration building.
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Handcuffs

Temple University murder suspect used Lyft car to transfer victim's body to his grandmother's house

Chris Palmer & Julie Shaw
The Inquirer
Tue, 05 Sep 2017 19:27 UTC
Jenna Burleigh, Joshua Hupperterz
© Philadephia Police DepartmentJoshua Hupperterz is charged with murder in the slaying of Jenna Burleigh.
The man charged with killing Temple University student Jenna Burleigh in his North Philadelphia apartment last week placed her remains in a container that was taken to his mother's Jenkintown home, where he later put it into a Lyft car and rode more than 100 miles to his grandmother's house in northeastern Pennsylvania, according to a police source.

Joshua Hupperterz, 29, a former Temple student, is charged in Burleigh's killing. The investigation is continuing days after his arrest Saturday.

Friends and supporters of Burleigh's continued Tuesday to mourn her death. Several students left notes at a makeshift vigil site on campus. Organizer Salvatore Mirando, 21, a senior theater major from Staten Island, N.Y., said he believed it was important for the school community to have a space to remember Burleigh, 22.

"A lot of people were asking to do something for her," said Mirando, who did not know Burleigh but lit four candles, placed a bouquet of a dozen carnations, and wrote two notes on loose-leaf paper and taped them to the bottom of an owl statue in Founders Garden.
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Books

University offers 30 week program to train campus-based social justice warriors

Toni Airaksinen
Campus Reform
Wed, 06 Sep 2017 18:49 UTC
diversity hands
Grand Valley State University now offers a 30-week program for students looking to "advance the work of racial justice, advocacy, and inclusion" on campus.

The school's Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) office is currently seeking applicants for its OMA ambassador program to "work towards social justice" while advocating for "social change."

"Ambassadors are student leaders who help to advance the work of racial justice, advocacy, and inclusion." Tweet This

Successful applicants must commit to the position for an entire academic year, a total of 30-weeks, with nine weeks of "leadership development" focusing on "advocating towards social change," while participating in "activities that will enhance their experience and knowledge on racial and social justice issues."

After successful completion of their training, OMA ambassadors will be dispatched to conduct "racial justice outreach" across campus, including facilitating workshops for peers and tabling to raise awareness for the OMA.

Comment: Considering that the majority of Americans, including minorities, report they do not face discrimination this program will likely lead to more students embracing a victim mindset.

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Red Flag

Five nurses at Denver hospital suspended after viewing deceased body to look at man's genitals


Denver Post
Tue, 05 Sep 2017 18:36 UTC
toe tag
Five nurses at Denver Health Medical Center were suspended for three weeks after they inappropriately viewed a deceased patient's body and talked about it, a hospital spokesman confirmed to Denver7 Investigates Tuesday.

A tip to Denver7 said the nurses disciplined admired the size of the deceased patient's genitals and at one point opened a body bag to view parts of the body. A hospital spokesman confirmed details of the incident.

A different nurse heard one of the disciplined nurses make a comment in May that the nurse felt was inappropriate and reported it to hospital staff, Denver Health Medical Center spokesman Josh Rasmussen said.
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Red Flag

Charlottesville city council votes to remove statue of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson from Emancipation Park

ALEX JOHNSON and DANIELLA SILVA
NBC News
Wed, 06 Sep 2017 17:45 UTC
stonewall jackson statue covered
© Mark Wilson / Getty ImagesThe statue of Stonewall Jackson is covered by a black tarpaulin in Justice Park in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Aug. 23.
The City Council in Charlottesville, Virginia, voted Tuesday night to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson from a park after a public hearing punctuated by protests and chants of "Let her speak."

By voice vote, the council voted after 11 p.m. ET to ask a design firm to redesign Emancipation Park, where the Jackson statue stands - effectively ordering its removal once all court cases are resolved.

The vote would also expedite the relocation of a statue of another Confederate general, Robert E. Lee, that was at the center of a white nationalist demonstration in mid-August that led to the death of a woman after a car plowed into a group of anti-protesters.

The vote proceeded without incident - a sharp contrast from the public hearing earlier in the evening, when the council cut off a woman who was seeking to speak about the resolution during other business.
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Arrow Up

Good riddance: Madonna keeps her promise, leaves US for Portugal

Matt
The Political Insider
Tue, 05 Sep 2017 20:49 UTC
madonna
© Shannon Stapleton / Reuters
Remember the laundry list of Hollywood celebrities who threatened to leave the country in the event of a Donald Trump presidency? Among those on the list were Samuel L. Jackson, Lena Dunham, Cher, Miley Cyrus, Amy Schumer, Chelsea Handler, among countless others. It's questionable what they were thinking, because, quite frankly, their empty threats were among the top reasons to vote for Trump.

While I voted for the man on policy (the wall, lower taxes, fighting illegal immigration, etc.), surely a "Deport Lena Dunham" bill would be a popular policy. It was painfully obvious at the time, but no celebrities followed through on their hyperbolic threat to leave. For as much as they'll mock the "Make America Great Again" slogan, America has always been great for them, and they know that, just like you and I, there's no where else they could live better.

That was until this week. While speaking at the Women's March, Madonna infamously informed the crowd that she fantasizes about blowing up the White House. Thankfully, she'll be no place close to the White House. The star singer just announced she left the U.S. for Lisbon, Portugal. Check out her Instagram announcement:

Comment: Still waiting for Samuel Jackson, Lena Dunham, Cher, Miley Cyrus, Amy Schumer, Chelsea Handler and the rest to leave....

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Heart - Black

4 California sheriff's deputies accused of 'sadistic and terrorizing acts' against prisoners

Sam Levin
The Guardian
Tue, 05 Sep 2017 17:25 UTC
prison bars
© Stephen Lam / Reuters/Reuters
Four California sheriff's deputies have been accused of "sadistic and terrorizing acts" against inmates, including encouraging prisoners to throw urine and feces at each other, laughing at an assault victim seeking help, strangling an inmate into unconsciousness and intimidating witnesses.

The felony assault charges against four Alameda County deputies, accused of victimizing eight prisoners, have provided a window into the violent abuse and misconduct that prisoners' rights activists say is still commonplace in some jails across the country, including in progressive regions that have pledged reforms.

Deputies Justin Linn and Erik McDermott are facing charges of assault, witness intimidation and conspiracy to obstruct justice for their actions at Santa Rita jail, a major county correctional facility for parts of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California, including the city of Oakland.

One victim woke up one morning in November to an inmate throwing urine on him after Linn opened a cell door to facilitate the attack, according to the charges. When the victim pressed an emergency call button to seek aid, "Linn responded to his cell and laughed at him when he made the report," prosecutors wrote.
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