Society's ChildS


Question

Trump says he'll combat the opioid crisis, but will his agenda make it worse?

Mike Ludwid
Truth-out
Sat, 15 Apr 2017 21:47 UTC
opioid crisis
© Stephen Crowley / The New York TimesPresident Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions during a listening session on the problems of drug addiction and overdose at the White House in Washington, DC, March 29, 2017.
Like his predecessor, President Trump has promised to take bold action to address the nation's opioid crisis and overdose epidemic, but critics say his efforts to undo President Obama's signature health care law could prevent large numbers of people with opioid use disorders from receiving treatment.

Others fear that instead of expanding community access to opioid disorder treatments, the Trump administration will push poor and marginalized people into "treatment" within the brutal confines of the prison system.

With his "law and order" approach to governing, Trump is poised to reverse federal momentum on opioids, shifting the focus from public health back to law enforcement and incarceration. What could that look like, besides more drug arrests? For starters, the man rumored to be Trump's pick for drug czar, Rep. Tom Marino of Pennsylvania, has called for placing parents facing minor drug charges in a "hospital-slash-prison."

The government reports that 435,000 people in the United States used heroin in 2014 and 1.9 million had opioid use disorders stemming from prescription painkillers, but researchers say 80 percent did not receive treatment. When treatment for opioid dependence is not available, some people turn to street drugs like heroin and fentanyl, causing rates of deadly overdoses to skyrocket. Opioid-related overdoses killed 33,000 people in 2015 alone.
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People

Berkeley cops sit in patrol car and watch as Trump supporters attacked

Kyle Olson
The American Mirror
Sun, 16 Apr 2017 13:54 UTC
cop_berkley
© Twitter
There were numerous reports from those on the scene that Berkeley police largely stayed back as Antifa agitators took pot shots at Donald Trump supporters on Saturday.

"As the violence escalated police in Berkeley stood down and retreated from the crowds," reporter Tim Pool tweeted.
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Attention

Spanish police seize synthetic drug '80 times stronger' than marijuana, detain two Brits


RT
Sun, 16 Apr 2017 13:59 UTC
Drug smuggling
© Reuters
Spanish authorities have arrested two Britons suspected of smuggling a new type of synthetic drug - said to be "80 times stronger" than regular cannabis - into the country.

The two British men, aged 36 and 37, have been arrested in connection with the new synthetic drug that was smuggled inside coffee sacks into Alicante and nearby resort towns, the Spanish publication La Informacion reported.

The drug came to Spain through the airport in Alicante camouflaged as coffee packets from Hong Kong. The special operation was launched in mid-March when a suspicious substance was detected by agents of the Civil Guard under the Analysis and Tax Investigation unit at the Alicante-Elche Airport.
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Gear

Libya: The last country the US "liberated" from an "evil" dictator is now openly trading slaves

Carey Wedler
Activist Post
Sat, 15 Apr 2017 00:00 UTC
Libya slaves
It is widely known that the U.S.-led NATO intervention to topple Libya's Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 resulted in a power vacuum that has allowed terror groups like ISIS to gain a foothold in the country.

Despite the destructive consequences of the 2011 invasion, the West is currently taking a similar trajectory with regard to Syria. Just as the Obama administration excoriated Gaddafi in 2011, highlighting his human rights abuses and insisting he must be removed from power to protect the Libyan people, the Trump administration is now pointing to the repressive policies of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and warning his regime will soon come to an end — all in the name of protecting Syrian civilians.

But as the U.S. and its allies fail to produce legal grounds for their recent air strike — let alone provide concrete evidence to back up their claims Assad was responsible for a deadly chemical attack last week — more hazards of invading foreign countries and removing their heads of state are emerging.
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Handcuffs

German Antifa protests turn violent as brawls erupt, riot police pepper spray the crowd


RT
Sun, 16 Apr 2017 11:54 UTC
Germany police riot cops protest
© Ruptly
German police used pepper spray to disperse a crowd that took part in an Antifascist Action (Antifa) protest, while a simultaneous Neo-Nazi demonstration reportedly passed through Cologne.

Two rival protests took place in Cologne on Saturday, April, 15. One was organized by the right movement Cologne for German Socialism and the other by the Antifa union Cologne North, the German RP-Online news outlet reported.

Antifa is a a far-left, anti-fascist network operating in a number of European countries, including Germany. It stands on a platform against sexism, racism, and classism and aims to "smash fascism in all its forms."

Comment: Further reading: 'Anti-fascist' protesters storm pro-Trump rally with violence, smoke bombs

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Eye 1

Report finds Berlin Christmas attacker Anis Amri 'acted on orders of top IS commander'


RT
Sun, 16 Apr 2017 11:54 UTC
Anis Amri Berlin terror attack
© Amaq News Agency / AFPAnis Amri
Anis Amri, who ploughed a truck into a crowded Berlin Christmas market killing 12 people, received orders directly from the top organizer of Islamic State's "external operations," Abu Baraa al-Iraki.

Germany's security authorities received a tip off about Amri's ties with Abu Baraa al-Iraki from the United Arab Emirates' intelligence services back in January, Der Spiegel reported.

According to the German media, the Prosecutor General and Federal Criminal Police Offices are currently investigating the report.

Comment: Further reading: How German authorities allowed well-known terror suspect Anis Amri to attack Berlin

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Star of David

LitHub editor fired, reinstated after refusing to cut paragraph on Palestine solidarity

Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss
Sun, 16 Apr 2017 11:54 UTC
Sarah Schulman
Sarah Schulman
Here is a hopeful story involving censorship of the Israel/Palestine issue in a leading New York publication. It's got some dark twists and turns; but it comes right in the end.

On Monday at the Whitney museum, Sarah Schulman read an essay called "Open Casket" about the free-speech controversy unfolding at the museum's biennial over the painting by Dana Schutz, a white artist, of the iconic 1955 photograph of Emmett Till dead and beaten in an open casket. You can read Schulman's essay here. Schulman was very critical of corporatist institutions, including museums; and said that the claim of free speech "is regularly manipulated and used as a trick to hide the deliberate power grabs of White Supremacy."
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Crusader

Rabbis write Trump to "act decisively" in response to Syria gassing attack propaganda

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz
Forward
Thu, 06 Apr 2017 00:00 UTC
Rabbis
Dear President Trump,

We write to you with angst just days before the Passover holiday when the Jews escaped the oppressive tyranny of Pharaoh in Egypt. The Assad regime in Syria appears to have conducted a nerve gas attack against Syrian civilians yesterday. At least 58 civilians have been killed in the attack, marking the worst chemical attack in Syria since the August 21, 2013 chemical massacre. We believe that a strong response from the U.S. is essential to stopping these war crimes.

This attack is a violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions prohibiting the Assad regime from using chemical weapons passed under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter. Local medical workers observed that victims were gasping for air, and video footage from the area showed dozens of dead bodies with no apparent external injuries.

Comment: That's a lot of Rabbis who, at best, seem to know nothing about what's actually going on Syria. And, at worst, are frothing at the mouth at the possibility of destroying the leadership of a country that is willing to stand up to Israel's genocidal tendencies.

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USA

Pro- and anti-Trump activists clash at rally in Berkeley


RT
Sat, 15 Apr 2017 21:43 UTC
Berkeley clashes
© Stephen Lam / ReutersBerkeley, California, US, April 15, 2017
Clashes broke out between hundreds of protesters and counter-protesters at rallies in Berkley, California, as supporters and opponents of US President Donald Trump squared off at the Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park.

At least 200 people gathered at the park where supporters of President Trump were holding a "Patriots Day" rally, US media report. The Patriot's Day rally was organized by a pro-Trump group, the Liberty Revival Alliance.

Among those taking part in the counter-demonstration were black-clad Antifa activists, while on the pro-Trump side were members of the Oath Keepers militia from Montana, as well as a group of bikers.

Comment: See also:

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Sheeple

64yo mom has twin babies taken into care - 3 years after losing custody of daughter


RT
Mon, 10 Apr 2017 13:01 UTC
twins
© Mel Yates / Getty Images
A woman who gave birth to twins at age 64 has lost custody of her children after an investigation by social services found there were "signs of lack of protection."

Mauricia Íbañez became Spain's second oldest mother when she gave birth to the twins in February after undergoing fertility treatment in America. She spent more than a month in hospital before leaving on March 26 after signing an agreement with social services to have a 24-hour support person.

After about 10 days at home it was decided that the mother was unable to care for the babies because of mental health issues. "All the reports conclude that the twins need protection in another setting," a spokesperson for social services told El Pais.

Íbañez, who is from the town of Burgos in northern Spain, went through a similar experience three years ago when her daughter was also taken away by social services. The girl, who is six years old, now lives with family in Canada.

The 64-year-old underwent fertility treatment in the US because Spanish clinics refused to provide her with the treatment due to her age.

Comment: This is unconscionable! Any doctor that would preform such a procedure despite the woman's age, being diagnosed with a paranoid personality disorder in her mid 50s, and a similar experience three years ago when her daughter was also taken away by social services, should have their license taken away.

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