Society's ChildS


Bulb

China's nighttime light levels reveal surprising tempo of economic growth


RT
Tue, 18 Apr 2017 15:30 UTC
Beijing and Tianjin in a nighttime photograph
© earthobservatory.nasa.govBeijing and Tianjin in a nighttime photograph taken by astronauts on the International Space Station, 2010.
Official economic data from China may substantially underestimate the actual performance of the country, according to the latest report by the Massachusetts-based National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

The authors of the study used an unusual method of using satellites to track and record nighttime lights in China as an indicator of the state of the world's second-largest economy.

According to the research, the Chinese economy is performing better than official data indicates.

"We see that our methodology predicts Chinese GDP growth to have been lower than official estimates before the crisis of 2008, to have experienced a shallower decline in 2008 and a stronger recovery in 2009 and 2010, and to have stabilized at a higher level after 2011," the economists say.
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Piggy Bank

44% of Americans don't pay any federal income tax

Catey Hill
Money-ish
Tue, 18 Apr 2017 14:42 UTC
Tax day poster
Many Americans won't owe the government a dime today.

More than four in 10 American households (44.3%) — or upwards of 76 million — didn't pay any income tax to the federal government last year, according to data for 2016 from the Tax Policy Center. This year that number is expected to be roughly the same, at 43.9%.

Most of these people aren't paying income taxes because they either don't have any income that is taxable (many fall below the poverty line), or because they get enough tax breaks and don't owe the government money. Common tax breaks include the child tax credit, the earned income tax credit (EITC), and the exclusion of some or all Social Security income, explains Roberton Williams of the Tax Policy Center.
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Gold Bar

Analysts predict gold prices will continue to climb due to geopolitical tensions


RT
Wed, 19 Apr 2017 14:33 UTC
Gold bars
© Leonhard Foeger / Reuters
The price of gold has risen 12 percent this year, and the surge will only continue, according to bank Intesa Sanpaolo, marked by Bloomberg as the best forecaster for the metal last quarter. Analysts at Saxo Bank agree.

The precious metal approached $1,300 per troy ounce on Tuesday before retreating to $1,283 on Wednesday.

Intesa analyst Daniela Corsini told Bloomberg prices could fall in mid-year as the US Federal Reserve hikes interest rates, but they are likely to bounce back, reaching $1,350 an ounce at year-end.

"Markets will surely remain nervous about this uncertainty. And if economic data in the US remains strong, then gold will regain its role as an inflation hedge," she told the media.
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Handcuffs

LAPD to emphasize de-escalation in new use-of-force rules


RT
Wed, 19 Apr 2017 12:59 UTC
LAPD officer
© Kevork Djansezian / Reuters
The Los Angeles Police Department has enacted new shooting policies that call on officers to avoid resorting to deadly force by de-escalating situations with the public. Under the policies, officers could face more scrutiny over shootings.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners voted to approve policies that would amend the LAPD manual of policies and procedures by adding two sentences to the use-of-force policies.

The first change amends the preamble, adding a sentence that requires officers to "control an incident by using time, distance, communications and available resources in an effort to de-escalate the situation, whenever it is safe and reasonable to do so."
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Cookies

Russia's agriculture sector booming despite or thanks to international sanctions


RT
Wed, 19 Apr 2017 12:45 UTC
Wheat plant
© Ilya Naymushin / Reuters
There's a world of opportunities for investors in Russia's agriculture commodities market with farming in the country flourishing under international sanctions.

Following the Western penalties imposed on Russian companies in 2014 and subsequent countersanctions introduced by Moscow in response, some local officials took the opportunity to boost the development of domestic production. Many Russian enterprises managed to encourage import substitution and made exports more competitive.

Despite doubts expressed by traders and economists, that optimism has turned out to be justified on at least one economic front - agriculture and related sectors.
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Pistol

2 Venezuelan cops indicted for killing of opposition protester

Rachael Boothroyd-Rojas
Venezuela Analysis
Wed, 19 Apr 2017 11:27 UTC
Venezuela protests
Venezuela's Public Prosecution has indicted two police officers for the killing of opposition protester Daniel Queliz (20) during a demonstration in Carabobo state on April 10.

Officer Marcos Ojeda (47) was charged with premeditated murder, while fellow officer Edwin Romero (33) was indicted with accessory to murder. Both state police officials will also be prosecuted for the inappropriate use of their firearms.

Queliz was shot in the neck as he participated in an opposition protest against the government outside Los Parques apartment blocks in Valencia, Carabobo state. He was later taken to a hospital but pronounced dead on arrival.

Comment: Further reading: War in the streets: Venezuela's opposition 'activists' confess to getting paid for violent protests

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Bad Guys

Institutional child sex trafficking: Army general and former Dyncorp VP charged with multiple counts of rape

Jay Syrmopoulos
The Free Thought Project
Tue, 18 Apr 2017 00:00 UTC
army officer pedophile
Washington, D.C. - A retired Army general, who after leaving the military, worked as VP for embattled DynaCorp International for three years - the private military contractor at the heart of numerous international child sex scandals - has been charged with multiple counts of rape for the alleged assault of at least one minor three decades ago.

Maj. Gen. James Grazioplene faces six charges for alleged rapes that happened in 1983 and 1989, according to an announcement made by the Army last Friday. He faces life and prison and the loss of his pension if convicted of the charges. As a retired officer, Grazioplene is subject to military law under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and will face an Article 32 hearing to determine if he will face a court martial.

Details surrounding the case remain scarce, as the Army released no other information as to what precipitated Grazioplene being charged three decades after the alleged sexual assault.

Comment: On Dyncorp's website they claim to "serve, care, empower and do the right thing". These are simply words that appeal to the public's desire for moral organisations that help humanity in times of dire straits. In reality there are more nefarious and inhumane activities going on, that take advantage of the very people most in need. For further reading about the initial scandal that rocked Dyncorp and the ongoing #pedogate story, see the articles below:

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Info

Former President George H.W. Bush hospitalized again


Sputnik
Tue, 18 Apr 2017 23:15 UTC
George H.W. Bush
© AP Photo/ Gerry Broome
Former US President George H.W. Bush has been admitted to a hospital in Houston, Texas due to a case of pneumonia, his office said in a press release.

"President George H.W. Bush was admitted to Houston Methodist Hospital on Friday for observation due to persistent cough that prevented him from getting proper rest. It was subsequently determined he had a mild case of pneumonia, which was treated and has been resolved," the release stated on Tuesday.

Bush is being held for further observation while he gains strength, the release added.

In January, Bush was treated for pneumonia at the same hospital.
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Handcuffs

Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya arrested in London after defaulting on loans worth more than a billion dollars


RT
Tue, 18 Apr 2017 21:49 UTC
Vijay Mallya arrested London unpaid debts
© Ahmad Masood / Reuters Force India team principal Vijay Mallya.
The Indian Formula 1 tycoon Vijay Mallya was arrested by British police on behalf of authorities in India who want to prosecute the businessman over accusations of unpaid loans worth more than a billion dollars.

Mallya was arrested at a central London police station by officers from the Metropolitan Police's Extradition Unit Tuesday morning "on behalf of the Indian authorities in relation to accusations of fraud," according a police statement.

At a preliminary hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court later on Tuesday, Mallya was released on conditional bail, with the case adjourned until May 17.
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Magnify

Massachusetts may dismiss largest number of drug-related convictions in US history after state chemist falsified evidence


RT
Tue, 18 Apr 2017 20:16 UTC
Annie Dookhan falsified drug evidence massachusetts
© Jessica Rinaldi / Reuters Annie Dookhan, a former chemist at the Hinton State Laboratory Institute
Massachusetts may be facing the largest mass dismissal of criminal convictions in US history. Around 20,000 drug-related convictions are expected to be overturned. The cases all involve a former state chemist who falsified evidence.

Tuesday is the deadline for district attorneys in Massachusetts to tell the state's Supreme Judicial Court which of the estimated 24,000 or so tainted cases could be ordered back to trial with evidence that was not handled by former state drug lab chemist Annie Dookhan, who was found to have tampered with or falsified evidence related to thousands of drug cases.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts believes around 20,000 of those cases will be thrown out, an amount that would be unparalleled in the US. The ACLU, the Massachusetts public defender's office and private attorneys have worked on the dismissals for more than four years since revelations of Dookhan's actions.

Comment: Prison industrial complex: Falsified or tainted evidence leads to thousands of wrongful convictions
Over the past decade, crime lab scandals have plagued at least 20 states, as well as the FBI. We know that one of the unintended consequences of the war on drugs has been a rush to prosecute and convict and that crime labs have not operated with sufficient independence from prosecutors' offices in many instances. Their mistakes ruin lives. Years of deliberate falsification have ruined thousands of lives.


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