Society's ChildS


Light Sabers

DAPL to start flowing oil Thursday despite possible violations


RT
Thu, 01 Jun 2017 15:38 UTC
dapl protesters
© Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
The Dakota Access Pipeline long protested by groups of Native Americans and environmentalists begins carrying oil Thursday. There may be an ebb in the oil flow, however, as the pipeline company faces scrutiny over how it cleared its construction path.

Three state regulators that make up the North Dakota Public Service Commission decided on Wednesday to hold hearings in July or August on back-to-back days, in order to determine if Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners improperly removed trees and shrubbery along its Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) path, according to the Associated Press.

The meeting came one day before the DAPL is expected to begin moving oil from North Dakota into South Dakota, Iowa and ultimately Illinois for distribution. The company behind the $3.8 billion project maintains it broke no rules during construction.

While no Native artifacts have been reported damaged, the commission holds that Energy Transfer Partners should have come to it first before constructing around artifacts, as mandated. The commission also cited a third-party inspector that found ETP removed too many shrubs and trees along 380 miles of the pipeline in North Dakota.

ETP, which believes its clearance from the State Historic Preservation Office was enough, could be fined tens of thousands of dollars or appeal a punishment in state court, AP reported. ETP also claims to have a plan to replace every removed tree with two new ones, or about 94,000 of them.
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Heart - Black

Racism on display: Noose found in DC African American museum & N-word scrawled on celebrity LA home


RT
Thu, 01 Jun 2017 15:02 UTC
Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture
© Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
A noose was found at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, on the same day that a spray-painted racial slur was seen on the home of NBA star LeBron James in Los Angeles.

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) reported that a noose was found by tourists visiting the segregation section of the museum on Wednesday.

Park Police removed the noose within three hours and reopened the exhibit gallery, officials with the Smithsonian said. An investigation into the incident is ongoing, but the Smithsonian has assured the public that the museum is safe.

NMAAHC founding director Lonnie Bunch released a statement via Twitter late Wednesday, calling the incident "a painful reminder of the challenges that African Americans continue to face."

"The noose has long represented a deplorable act of cowardice and depravity - a symbol of extreme violence for African Americans," Bunch said. "This was a horrible act but it is a stark reminder of why our work is so important."
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Arrow Up

Homeless population in LA jumped over 20% in 1 year


RT
Thu, 01 Jun 2017 14:38 UTC
homeless men
© Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
The homeless population in Los Angeles County, California went up 23 percent in 2017, quadrupling last year's percentage increase. The fastest growing demographics were young people, Hispanics and military veterans.

An annual report on homelessness was released by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) on Wednesday, showing a sharp rise in the homeless population across nearly every statistical category in Los Angeles County. The total number of people experiencing homelessness on a given night reached 57,794, a 23 percent increase from 2016, according to the report

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn called the report "shocking."

"Even as work is being done to get thousands of people off the street and into housing, more and more people are becoming homeless. It is clear that if we are going to end the homeless crisis, we need to stem the overwhelming tide of people falling into homelessness," Hahn said in a statement.
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Laptop

Chechen prosecutors ask court to outlaw internet sites with insulting material, such as Charlie Hebdo cartoons


RT
Thu, 01 Jun 2017 13:50 UTC
Grozny protests
© Said Tzarnaev / SputnikBelievers during a protest rally held in Grozny against publications of Prophet Mohammad caricatures.
Prosecutors in the Chechen Republic have asked a Grozny court to block access to online material deemed insulting to religion, such as provocative cartoons often featured in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

In its address to the Leninsky District Court of the Chechen capital, the Prosecutor's Office said it had monitored internet sites and found reposts of cartoons from Charlie Hebdo.

"The abovementioned fact was the reason for us to file a lawsuit to the Leninsky District Court in Grozny seeking to limit the access to materials that pursue the objectives of insulting [religious] believers' feelings and the dissemination of which could become a prerequisite for instigation of ethnic, racial or religious hatred or strife," the message reads.

Russian law allows certain web pages to be taken offline if they are deemed extremist, although this requires a formal court warrant. Sources banned over child pornography, suicide instructions, or those promoting drugs can be shut down before the start of the trial, but must be brought back online if the court does not confirm the grounds for the ban.
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Beer

Muslim robe-wearing man stabs customer leaving Paris supermarket (VIDEO)


RT
Thu, 01 Jun 2017 13:25 UTC
Screenshot from the Le point video
Screenshot from the Le point video
A man with a knife concealed in a traditional loose-fitting Muslim robe has attacked a customer carrying a pack of beer in a Paris supermarket, local media reports.

The incident took place at a Monoprix supermarket in the 13th district of Paris on Tuesday evening, Le Point newspaper reported, releasing a video of the attack.

The footage shows a man with a pack of beer exiting the supermarket when he is confronted by a man with knife. The weapon was allegedly hidden inside the attacker's djellaba, a Muslim long loose-fitting robe worn usually in Maghreb region of North Africa, the paper reported.
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People 2

'They used to lead camels': Saudi prince declares support for right of women to drive


RT
Thu, 01 Jun 2017 13:08 UTC
woman driving Saudi Arabia
A Saudi prince has declared his support for women driving cars, arguing that females used to lead their own camels in the past. He also noted that women are the "bases of society" in Saudi Arabia and "hold a significant place in Islamic civilization."

"The ban on women driving has been imposed on us, and women in the past used to lead their own camels. Women need to be empowered, because they represent more than half of the society and they are highly dependable," Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah said in an interview with Riyadh-based Rotana Khalijia TV, as cited by Gulf News newspaper.

According to Faisal Bin Abdullah, who served as Saudi Arabia's Education Minister from 2009 to 2013, the changes are "inevitable."

"Change, in all cases, must start from within, and women need to prove their success and their positive influence on society," he said.

Comment: Saudi Arabia: the most backwards nation on the UN Human Rights Council.

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Handcuffs

Paris café owner convicted for selling CCTV footage of terror attack to Daily Mail


RT
Thu, 01 Jun 2017 11:28 UTC
Dimitri Mohamadi Casa Nostra Paris Care CCTV footage
© Jacques Demarthon / ReutersDimitri Mohamadi, owner of the "Casa Nostra" restaurant, in court last month
The proprietor of the Casa Nostra restaurant in Paris has been fined and ordered to pay compensation to five victims featured in a CCTV video he sold without consent of the café being shot at in November 2015 during the terror attacks that killed 130.

Dimitri Mohamadi was found guilty of "disclosing video images to an unauthorized person" and illegally installing a video surveillance system. He was fined €10,000, his two intermediaries involved in selling the footage €5,000 and €1,500, and all three have been told to pay damages of €6,000 to the five victims.

"I felt a deep anguish, it was a terrible shock, to relive the attack in a brutal, intense and unexpected way," Quentin, one of the people on the CCTV tapes, told the court in Paris last month. "I would have liked not to see these images in this very vulnerable, post-traumatic period. Afterward, I became obsessed, and watched it dozens and dozens of times."

Comment: Clearly European and US officials would rather not have footage of terror attacks released. The reality on the ground often differs from the 'official version' concocted in the media.

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Network

'As young as possible': Norwegians order child abuse on demand from Philippines


Sputnik
Thu, 01 Jun 2017 11:15 UTC
Last year, Norway made headlines with its major crackdown against child abuse dubbed Operation Dark Room. In recent months, the investigation has grown to involve more suspects and cases. Norwegian police are particularly worried about child abuse happening abroad.

child holding teddy bear
© CCO / Pixabay
So far, the Norwegian police have revealed at least 300 cases where children were grossly abused and exploited. In several cases the police have been investigating, small children in the Philippines were sexually abused in front of camera on order from Norway. The assaults were streamed online, and Norwegians paid to watch the abuse. The price for such a grim spectacle varied between $20 and $50, the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet revealed.

Comment:

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Dollar

City Council of Oakland, California pays nearly $1mn to 19yo woman over police sex assault scandal


RT
Wed, 31 May 2017 23:43 UTC
Oakland City Council
Jasmine Abuslin will receive close to $1 million from the city of Oakland after claiming multiple cops sexually assaulted her, including when she was underage. The 19-year-old may file similar claims against several other Bay Area police departments.

Abuslin's $989,000 settlement from the city of Oakland, California, came after a Tuesday night meeting of the city council stretched into the wee hours of Wednesday, as council members voted in favor of the amount 7-to-1 at 2am, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"The settlement occurred with no admission of liability, but obviously, if you pay $1 million, you figure you got some responsibility," Abuslin's attorney, John Burris, said in a statement.

Abuslin is a former prostitute who was allegedly "passed around" for sex by up to a dozen Oakland police officers, some of whom purportedly had oral sexual relations with her when she was underage. She has claimed that eventually approximately 30 police officers from departments around the Bay Area had sexual relations with her or sexually assaulted her.

Comment: See also: Another suit alleges Baylor football players gang-raped female student, called it 'bonding ritual'

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Family

Homelessness crisis in LA County, California increased over 20% in 1 year


RT
Thu, 01 Jun 2017 00:34 UTC
Homelessness
© Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
The homeless population in Los Angeles County, California went up 23 percent in 2017, quadrupling last year's percentage increase. The fastest growing demographics were young people, Hispanics and military veterans.

An annual report on homelessness was released by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) on Wednesday, showing a sharp rise in the homeless population across nearly every statistical category in Los Angeles County. The total number of people experiencing homelessness on a given night reached 57,794, a 23 percent increase from 2016, according to the report

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn called the report "shocking."

"Even as work is being done to get thousands of people off the street and into housing, more and more people are becoming homeless. It is clear that if we are going to end the homeless crisis, we need to stem the overwhelming tide of people falling into homelessness," Hahn said in a statement.

Comment: See also: "Tableau of squalor and suffering": San Diego faces a severe homelessness crisis

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