Society's ChildS


Life Preserver

Free thinking needed as much as free speech

John Snobelen
Toronto Sun
Sat, 01 Jul 2017 00:00 UTC
University of Montreal student rally
© Toronto Sun filesA student rally at the University of Montreal.
There has been a lot of discussion in recent days over the issue of free speech.

The issue isn't really the ability to speak freely. Heck, lots of people seem to be able to say completely crazy stuff with impunity.

Earlier this year Syed Hassan, who apparently is a social justice activist, whipped up a Toronto crowd by screeching, "We must be the enemy that sow terror in their hearts."

At the same event Black Lives Matter co-founder Yusra Khogali called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a terrorist and a white supremacist.

As far as I know Hassan and Khogali are still free to roam the public square. Free speech seems unthreatened.
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Attention

South Africa magistrate rules 'F*ck White People' art not racist


RT
Wed, 05 Jul 2017 23:50 UTC
South African National Gallery, Cape Town
© I, PhilippN / WikipediaSouth African National Gallery, Cape Town
A Cape Town magistrate's court has ruled that an art poster with the words F*ck White People scrawled all over it is not racist or that it amounts to hate speech since it seeks to address the problems caused by a white-dominated society.

The poster, covered in the words F*ck White People, all in capital letters, along with a chair and a pair of golden shoes, is on display at the Iziko South African National Gallery as part of "The Art of Disruptions" exhibit.

The artist behind the poster, Dean Hutton, a student at the University of Cape Town, is white.
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X

Oregon becomes first US state to offer gender-neutral driver's licenses


RT
Wed, 05 Jul 2017 23:23 UTC
Oregon third gender sticker
© Terray Sylvester / Reuters
Oregon has become the first state to allow residents who don't identify as male or female to mark their gender as "not specified" on applications for learner's driving permits, identity cards and driver's licenses.

The rule went into effect on Monday and drivers now have "the option to change the sex identifier on your driver license, driver permit or identification card to M, F or X for not-specified," according to Oregon's Driver and Motor Vehicle Services (DMV) website.

The information provided to Oregon's DMV "when changing your gender designation will be kept confidential."

The change is free for those renewing their licenses, while drivers with valid licenses who want replacements will need to pay the standard fee.
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Chart Bar

Poll: French don't feel "at home" anymore - too many foreigners


RT
Wed, 05 Jul 2017 23:25 UTC
french muslims
© Benoit Tessier / ReutersMuslims pray during Friday prayers in the street in front of the city hall of Clichy, near Paris.
According to an Ipsos survey, commissioned and published by Le Monde, 65 percent of French people believe that there are "too many foreigners" in France, while 60 percent say that they "don't feel at home as they did before."

Also, over 60 percent said that migrants "in France do not make the effort to integrate," and 46 percent believe that integration isn't a complicated process.

The percentages vary depending on the political views of the respondents, with 95 percent of far-right National Front supporters saying that there are too many foreigners in France. The figure for Republicans is 83 percent (up seven percent since last year), while the left-leaning Socialists' figure is 46 percent.

Similarly, social divisions remain clear; 77 percent of laborers think that there are too many foreigners in France, compared with 46 percent of managers.

Islam also remains a hot topic for the French. Another Ipsos annual survey, 'French Fractures 2017,' indicated that 60 percent of the respondents believe Islam is incompatible "with the values of the French Republic."
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Pistol

Deadliest Chicago July 4 weekend in years: Over 100 shot despite extra police


RT
Wed, 05 Jul 2017 22:30 UTC
Chicago Police officers investigate crime scene
© AFP
Over 100 people were shot over the four-day weekend in Chicago, with a dozen killed. This is despite more than 1,000 extra officers being deployed on the streets during the holiday.

The number of shootings during the Fourth of July weekend in Chicago is usually high, but this year it skyrocketed, police data shows.

Last year, 66 people were shot, four of them killed, over what turned out to be a three-day weekend as the Fourth of July fell on a Monday.

However, the number of shootings this year is much higher than over the last four-day weekend which was in 2013. Then, 72 people were shot across the city.
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Fire

Jewish extremist convicted of arson at Christ's 'loaves & fishes' church


RT
Tue, 04 Jul 2017 17:09 UTC
Church of Loaves and Fishes
© Baz Ratner / ReutersAn Israeli police officer surveys the scene of a fire at the Church of Loaves and Fishes on the shores of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel June 18, 2015.
Israeli settler Yinon Reuveni has been convicted of an arson attack on the church where Jesus is believed to have performed the miracle of the loaves and fishes.

The Nazareth District Court found Reuveni guilty of the 2015 attack on the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes in Tabgha, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

The fire destroyed a building on the 5th century church grounds and Hebrew graffiti at the scene read: "Idols will be cast out or destroyed." A monk and a volunteer were hospitalized after suffering smoke inhalation.

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Black Magic

Report: 'Astonishing' rise in demand for exorcisms causes overlooking of mental health and psychiatric issues

Olivia Rudgard
The Telegraph
Tue, 04 Jul 2017 00:00 UTC
Exorcism
© Sony PicturesFilms including the Exorcism of Emily Rose have portrayed exorcism in the media
An "astonishing" rise in harmful Christian exorcisms is being partly driven by migrant communities, a think tank has warned.

A report by Theos, a think tank focusing on religion, found that experts were concerned that the "booming industry" in exorcisms was putting Christians' mental health at risk.

The report, which examines the relationship between Christianity and mental health, said: "Exorcisms are now a booming industry in the UK, with a number of interviewees noting the astonishing increase in demand - often, as one noted, in defiance of any actual rules or procedures put in place by any church."
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Books

Women's Studies and the rise of the social justice warrior

Joyous Goddess
Global Freedom Movement
Wed, 05 Jul 2017 21:14 UTC
feminists
Women's studies.

I'm unsure what feelings and images those two words conjure deep in your being?

For me, it's the power, strength, and sacredness of the feminine; the creation of balanced and beautiful relationships with men and women; sacred union; conscious birth, mothering, grand-mothering; the menstrual cycle; fertility; study of archetypes and Goddesses; the tales and practices of our ancestors; the seasons; the elements; nutrition and herbal medicine; stages of life such as maiden, mother, crone; death and rebirth; and the protection of our precious Earth.

That's what the study of women means to me. It speaks to our innateness, our deep-seated capacity for creation. It's powerful, magical, and mysterious — just like we are.

It's an understatement to say I was shocked to discover what modern day Women's Studies (also known as Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, or Social Justice Studies) courses verily teach. I had journeyed for six months, searching for sisters yearning to share openly about the intrinsic nature of women, the beauty of our strength, the potency of healing as a collective. I found a sprinkling of precious diamonds who I now hold close, but mostly I found overwhelming anger, a victim mentality, and buzzwords — lots of buzzwords.

Comment: Post-nihilism, a template for where we are heading:
One way to deal with differences is to perceive them as complementary and integrate the best of both sides: thesis (one side of the argument), antithesis (the other side of the argument), and synthesis (which transcends the apparent opposition and brings us closer to truth). That's the principle of dialectics made famous by Socrates and Plato. Disagreements are resolved through rational discussion, and ultimately, the search for truth.

The same applies at a collective level. All great achievements of humanity - cathedrals, medicine, space exploration - were the result of successful cooperation between individuals with complementary talents.

The other way of addressing difference is through opposition and division, which inevitably leads to a world dominated by mistrust, hate, conflicts and wars. A world dominated not by equality of rights, but by sameness: an army of clones incubated in their narcissistic bubbles.


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MIB

Co-founder of first 'liberal mosque' in Berlin under 24-hour protection after receiving hundreds of death threats


RT
Wed, 05 Jul 2017 20:36 UTC
Seyran Ates
© Irish TimesGerman-Turkish lawyer, author and activist Seyran Ates (standing) prepares the prayer
A co-founder of Berlin's first 'liberal mosque', which has allowed both men and women, including members of the LGBT community, to pray together since opening last month, has been placed under 24-hour protection after receiving hundreds of death threats.

Speaking to RT, Seyran Ates, a women's rights activist and lawyer who is one of the unusual prayer site's seven founders, said she is not surprised by the reaction, as she is the "heart" of a movement that is infringing on patriarchal values.
"I expected such a reaction. I expected that not everyone would like it. In general, of course, I knew that men wouldn't give up the patriarchate so easily, because these are the patriarchal structures that we are attacking," Ates told RT.

"At the moment I've only got threats, because I'm the theorist and, so to speak, the heart of the movement. But this is a movement and people should know that," she went on, adding that, even if someone manages to silence her, the movement will continue on, as many people around the world already "have mobilized."
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Bullseye

National disgrace and outrage: Amish farmer gets six years in prison for improperly labeling herbal health products


The Anti-Media
Mon, 03 Jul 2017 13:44 UTC
FDA big pharma
Kentucky — "I am not a creation of state/government, as such I am not within its jurisdiction."

Those words were written by Samuel Girod in a document filed in a Kentucky federal court in June. Girod is an Amish farmer who was convicted in March of selling herbal health products that, as reported by the Lexington Herald-Leader on Friday, "were not adequately labeled as required by federal law."

According to the government, the Amish man broke the law by growing, processing, and bringing to market his own herbal supplements without FDA approval. US News reported that Girod manufactured salves and skin treatments, one of which the FDA claims could be harmful to the skin. He also claimed one extract could help cure cancer, which the FDA disputed. In 2013, Giron ignored orders from the FDA to stop selling his products.

Nevertheless, he rejected the notion that he deserved six years in prison for being at odds with the federal agency (which, itself, approves numerous dangerous drugs).
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