Society's ChildS


Attention

Hanscom Air Force Base evacuated after truck tests positive for explosive material

soldier and dog
© Hanscom Air Force Base / Facebook
A bomb squad was called to Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Massachusetts after a rented moving truck tested positive for "potentially explosive material" during a routine vehicle inspection. The base was partially evacuated in response.

Security guards discovered the potential danger during an inspection of the Big Foot Moving and Storage 18-wheeler at the Vandenberg Gate on state Route 2A around 9am local time on Thursday morning.

A bomb-sniffing K9 zeroed in on a crate in the truck, and a swab test found "explosives residue" on the box, a source told WHDH.


Info

Why the US Congress should consider the 'Rachel Corrie Act'

Emily Henoschowitz, Tariq Abukhdair, Brian Avery, Tristan Anderson, Rachel Corrie, Orwah Hammad.
© If Americans KnewFrom top left: Emily Henoschowitz, Tariq Abukhdair, Brian Avery, Tristan Anderson, Rachel Corrie, Orwah Hammad.
Sometimes it takes a tragedy to bring about change. The story of Taylor Force is one such tragedy. A young American in the prime of his life was stabbed to death in an unnecessary, unprovoked act of terrorism while in Israel on a Vanderbilt University study program. Perhaps the only good that can come of such a dreadful event is in learning a lesson to ensure that it never happens again.

Our government wants to protect its citizens wherever they are in the world, so enacting some constructive legislation would be a smart move. Unfortunately, that's not what Congress is currently contemplating.

The U.S. Senate is debating a bill right now—the Taylor Force Act—that would prohibit foreign aid to the occupied Palestinian territories unless the Palestinian Authority ends stipends to the families of those who have been killed, injured, or imprisoned. Congressional reasoning is that the so-called "Martyrs' Fund" encourages terrorism.

Question

A hot new fashion trend? Dresses and high heels for men

men in skirts and heels
How would you feel if a man walked into a business meeting wearing a skirt and 8 inch heels? 20 years ago that would have been absolutely unthinkable, but if one American designer has his way that may soon become the norm. When I saw photos on Facebook of Thom Browne's latest line for men, I have to admit that I was floored. If you have not seen what I am talking about yet, you can do so here and here. Personally, I believe that men should dress like men and women should dress like women, but much of society is moving in the exact opposite direction.


Comment: The comments on Thom Browne's Facebook page are overwhelmingly negative. Not everyone is falling for this gender-bending drivel.


In recent years we have been hearing a lot about "gender fluidity", and this is yet another example of that phenomenon. The distinctions between men and women are being blurred, and there are many that would like to eliminate them altogether.

Given enough time, could we eventually get to the point where it is just as acceptable for men to wear skirts and heels as it is for women? Apparently Thom Browne wants us to have these kinds of conversations...

Comment: Classical image of man disappearing as fashion industry blurs line between men and women


Star of David

Why Israel has a law that empowers police to prevent certain websites from being seen by Israelis

Hasbara
The new Israeli law giving police power to block websites that purportedly publish "criminal" or "offensive" content follows a similar blockade of various websites in Palestine by the 13-year president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas - all in the name of "law and order", "peace" and "fighting terrorism".

The equation is simple and has long been propagated by Israel through its hasbara apparatus: Palestinian armed resistance to Israel's oppression equals terror. Hasbara misinformation against Palestine and Palestinians on the Internet is legitimate paid work in Israel; Palestinian outlets speaking for the Palestinian struggle for liberation are illegitimate (criminal) forms of expression and activity:
Since before the "war on terrorism" in the West even began, the very concept of terrorism has been reduced by Israeli propagandists into an arena whereby Palestinian armed resistance by individuals or Hamas or any other militant Palestinian group is automatically regarded as terror. In a catch-22, non-violent Palestinian resistance, on the other hand, is dubbed as "incitement to terror". [Source: Israel's Illegitimate Tactics Against Palestinian Armed Resistance vs. Legitimate Global Security Concerns]

Attention

'It will kill jobs': Missouri reverses minimum wage from $10 an hour to $7.50

Protesters demanding $15 minimum wage in St. Louis, Missouri
© Jeff Curry / AFP
Bucking the trend of other states to raise minimum wages to $15 an hour, Missouri's Republican Governor allowed a bill to pass into law that blocks cities and municipalities from setting their own minimum wage to keep it at the statewide standard of $7.50 an hour.

The bill will affect those minimum wage workers in St. Louis who are currently making $10 an hour after winning a two-year legal fight against business groups who challenged a 2015 city ordinance authorizing an increase.

Under that city law, the wage was set to rise again in January to $11 an hour, then increase annually with inflation.

"It will kill jobs," Missouri Governor Eric Greitens said of the increase, according to the St. Louis Dispatch. "And despite what you hear from liberals, it will take money out of people's pockets."

Attention

Teenage Ukrainian beauty queen broadcasts death on Instagram during drunk-driving livestream

ukraine car crash
A Ukrainian beauty queen livestreamed the crash that killed her and her friend while the pair of them were drinking alcohol in the car.

Sofia Magerko, who won a beauty contest in her home city of Izyum, was vlogging on a live Instagram feed while her friend Dasha Medvedeva was driving at high speeds before they smashed head-on into a lamp-post.

The pair were both heavily intoxicated and drinking from wine bottles in the video.

The women were seen saying "Hi boys" to the camera and laughing and joking about how much they "enjoyed life" seconds before the crash in Izyum.

The screen goes black at the moment of impact but the sound of the crash can still be clearly heard, the Daily Mail reported.

Comment: A tragic symbol not only for Ukraine as a country, but for most of the Western world: driving drunk into almost certain destruction...


Padlock

'Jihadist jails' set up within three British prisons to isolate extremists

'Jihadist jails'
© David Goddard / Getty Images
Three British prisons will soon feature special "jihadi jails" in an effort to stem radicalization in confinement.

Among the first inmates to be transferred into the isolated areas are Lee Rigby's killer Michael Adebolajo, and infamous hate preacher Anjem Choudary.

Another 26 Islamic extremists are to be placed in the "separation centers."

Over 4,500 frontline officers have also been trained in the latest counterterrorism techniques and placed in HMP Frankland, County Durham, and two other prisons yet to be confirmed.

Info

Norwegian Refugee Council: Over 30,000 Gaza residents remain displaced after 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict

Mohhamed Keferna
© AP Photo/ Adel HanaMohhamed Keferna, 14, sits on a couch in his family's building that was damaged by Israeli strikes during last summer's Israel-Hamas war, in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 30, 2015
As many as 35,000 Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip continue to live in displacement from their homes, three years since the end of the Israel — Gaza conflict, with 11,000 residencies totally destroyed during the war, the Norwegian Refugee Council said in a press release on Thursday.
"Three years on, 35,000 people remain displaced and the Gazan society is at the brink of collapse as the severe power shortages have all but ground Gaza to a halt," the press release read.
In recent months, the situation in Gaza has become critical due to lack of fuel for generators for hospitals, water treatment plants as well as power cuts, according to the press release.
"Three years after the war in 2014, Gaza citizens continue to live in displacement. Of 11,000 homes totally destroyed during the war, a little over one third have been rebuilt. Many families continue to live in tents," the press release specified.
The press statement stressed that humanitarian assistance to the region is limited by "the siege" imposed by Israel and therefore is not enough to help people escape aid dependency.

Info

Interior minister reveals double murder of Austrian couple was by 'radicalized Muslim'

Austria police
© John MacDougall / AFP
A Tunisian man who admitted to killing an elderly couple in Austria turned out to be a "radicalized Muslim," the interior minister says. The murders could mark the first Islamist attack in Austria.
"It turns out that the suspect is obviously a radicalized Muslim who has murdered two people," Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka said at a press conference on Wednesday, as cited by ORF radio, Reuters reports. "For this reason I am talking about a murder case which clearly has an Islamist background."
Last week a Tunisian immigrant turned himself in to police, confessing he had killed a married couple in the city of Linz. An 85-year-old woman had her throat slit with a knife, while her husband, 87, was stabbed and beaten to death. The alleged perpetrator, named as Mohammed H. by local media, also set fire to the couple's house.

Passport

Philippines police official proposes Muslim-only ID cards to tackle extremism

Marawi
© Ferdinandh Cabrera / AFP
A Filipino official has called for Muslim-only ID cards to be rolled out as the state continues its battle against Islamic State-linked militants in the south of the island nation.

The call to introduce the cards was made by Central Luzon Police Superintendent Aaron Aquino during a meeting of Central Luzon police, military, political leaders and about 200 Muslim religious and community leaders on Tuesday, reports Manila-based local news network Rappler.
"This is just for the identification of every individual, of every Muslim. If we have the ID system, we will know who the residents are and who the visitors are in a place," Aquino said, as cited by SunStar.