Society's ChildS


People 2

White, working-class Americans suffering from 'diseases of despair'

princeton researchers
© Yana Paskova/For The Washington PostPrinceton economists Angus Deaton and Anne Case continue to report on sickness and early death among white, middle-aged, working-class Americans.
Sickness and early death in the white working class could be rooted in poor job prospects for less-educated young people as they first enter the labor market, a situation that compounds over time through family dysfunction, social isolation, addiction, obesity and other pathologies, according to a study published Thursday by two prominent economists.

Anne Case and Angus Deaton garnered national headlines in 2015 when they reported that the death rate of midlife non-Hispanic white Americans had risen steadily since 1999 in contrast with the death rates of blacks, Hispanics and Europeans. Their new study extends the data by two years and shows that whatever is driving the mortality spike is not easing up.

The two Princeton professors say the trend affects whites of both sexes and is happening nearly everywhere in the country. Education level is significant: People with a college degree report better health and happiness than those with only some college, who in turn are doing much better than those who never went.

Comment: See also:


Pistol

Mass shooting in France leave several wounded

French police
© Reuters/Philippe WojazerFrench police.
The shooter or shooters may currently be at large. The incident occurred close to a train station in the city of Lille, near the Belgian border.

Part of the city of Lille is currently on lock down, local media outlets reported. The incident began at the Porte d'Arras metro stop near the southern part of the city, the Daily Mail reports.

Several people have been injured, including a 14 year-old boy. It is not clear whether any casualties have been suffered.

Alarm Clock

500 kids have gone missing in DC in 2017 — sex trafficking fears have officials asking FBI for help

child_trafficing
© The Free Thought project
A total of 501 juveniles have been reported missing in D.C. since the beginning of the year. This startling number has forced the hands of several officials who've written a letter to call on special help from the Justice Department in investigating the matter.

The letter, obtained by the Associated Press, asked FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to "devote the resources necessary to determine whether these developments are an anomaly or whether they are indicative of an underlying trend that must be addressed." It was signed by Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond (D-La) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, who represents D.C. in Congress.

"Ten children of color went missing in our nation's capital in a period of two weeks and at first garnered very little media attention. That's deeply disturbing," Richmond's letter said.

Heart

British Muslims initiate fundraising campaign for London attack victims raising £12,000 in less than one day

 muslim fundraiser london attack victims
© launchgood.com
A Muslim initiative to fundraise for the family of killed PC Keith Palmer raised over £12,000 (US$15,000) in less than one day.

The campaign starter and communications expert, Muddassar Ahmed, witnessed the terrorist attack and found himself inside the Westminster lockdown in the hours that followed.

"I have been in touch with networks within British Muslim communities and can assure you that we all stand with fellow Londoners during these difficult times and want to extend our support by raising funds to help with the immediate, short-term needs of the families of Keith Palmer, the other victims and their families," Ahmed wrote on the fundraising page.

Star of David

Richard Gere in Hebron reflects: 'It's exactly like what the Old South was in America'

Richard Gere
© Haaretz
While Richard Gere was in Israel and the occupied West Bank promoting his film "Norman," he was recorded in an unguarded moment wandering the desolate streets of Hebron's Old City. A dumbfounded Gere is near at a loss for words in the clip, which aired on Israel's Channel 2 network.

Not a Palestinian in sight. Soldiers and settlers roam comparatively carefree. The roads are too quiet. All of the shops are shuttered. Gere is stunned:
"This is the thing that's flipping me out right now," Gere stammers to his Hebron guides, activists with the Israeli human rights group Breaking the Silence, former soldiers that now advocate against Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territory, "Of everything we've seen for two days, the people we've talked to, it's...I mean...I'm...I'm touched by that, I know that story. But this is really bizarre."
"This is genuinely strange," Gere adds, before telling his guides, Hebron is like the Jim Crow South:
"It's the dead city, but who owns the city? And their [the settlers] feeling of 'I'm protected, I can do whatever I want,' and that sense of where the boundaries are. I mean it's like...it's exactly like what the what the Old South was in America. Blacks knew where they could go, they could drink from that fountain, they couldn't go over there, they couldn't eat in that place. It was well understood. You didn't cross it or you'd get your head beat in or lynched," Gere said.

Comment: Sometimes it takes seeing with your own eyes and being a part of the experience to have it register. You have to be receptive to what is.


Attention

7-year-old suicide bomber caught in full Eden Hazard Chelsea kit

A brave soldier calms the boy before disarming the killer device
© LIVELEAKA brave soldier calms the boy before disarming the killer device
The boy, thought to be around six or seven years old, stands bewildered as an army bomb expert carefully cuts through the device's trigger and releases him.

It is thought the child was part of a group who had fled from the besieged ISIS-held city of Mosul, in northern Iraq.

The clip, uploaded to video-sharing site LiveLeak, claims the boy to be the youngest ever suicide bomber - although that has not been verified.


Speaking to the camera, the soldier explains that the boy, thought to be called Uday, says he was sent by his uncle with instructions to target "the army".

At one point, the boy flinches during the tense disarmament but the soldier reasurres him, saying: "Don't be afraid."

Pistol

Former Russian lawmaker shot dead in central Kiev, Poroshenko claims 'Putin did it'

body of Denis Voronenkov
© Stringer / Reuters The body of Denis Voronenkov, former Russian State Duma lawmaker, is seen in central Kiev, Ukraine March 23, 2017.
Former Russian lawmaker Denis Voronenkov has been shot and killed in central Kiev, Ukrainian police have said.

"There was an exchange of fire in front of the entrance to the Premier-Palace Hotel about 40 minutes ago. One man was killed and two other persons were injured. The identity of the killed man has been established. He is a Russian politician, a former State Duma member. Yes, I can confirm that he is Denis Voronenkov," the head of Kiev police, Andrey Krishchenko, said, as cited by TASS.

Krishchenko said the assailant injured Voronenkov's bodyguard, who fired at him in return.

"[The suspect] is under police protection, he is being given priority medical assistance at a hospital," Krishchenko told reporters.

Comment: Moscow is shocked by a brazen murder in Kiev of former Russian State Duma member Denis Voronenkov that has all signs of a staged incident, Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters.
"We are shocked by reports on the brazen murder of former State Duma deputy Denis Voronenkov today in downtown Kiev," Zakharova said.

According to the Russian diplomat, there have been no impartial investigations into many high-profile cases in Ukraine.

"The response of Kiev and the global media, who put the blame of Russia within an hour after the murder, leaves no room for an impartial investigation," the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman added. "Such statements made in the first minutes following this tragedy indicate the true goals of the Ukrainian state. The state is either interested in the investigation and does everything possible to facilitate it or it stirs up hysteria around this bloody crime."
Update (Mar. 24): The Ukrainian Interior Ministry has confirmed the identity of the suspected gunman in the assassination in Kyiv on March 23 of a former Russian lawmaker who fled last year to Ukraine.
A ministry spokesman told RFE/RL that the man seen shooting ex-Duma Deputy Denis Voronenkov and a bodyguard in security-camera footage of the incident is 28-year-old, Crimean-born Ukrainian national Pavlo Parshov.

Parshov died in a hospital of bullet wounds suffered when the wounded bodyguard returned fire after the suspect shot Voronenkov multiple times in the head on a downtown sidewalk.
...

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry's website lists Parshov as a fugitive wanted in the southeastern Dnipro region for allegedly creating fake businesses and laundering money. A mugshot accompanying the entry shows a man with dark eyes, short dark hair, and a trimmed beard. It states his birthdate as July 28, 1988.
Apparent CCTV footage capturing the moment former Russian lawmaker Denis Voronenkov was shot and killed in central Kiev, with his bodyguard injured, has emerged online.
In the video, a man in casual clothes and wearing a hood is seen walking fast, approaching Voronenkov and his bodyguard in the street from behind. When he catches up with the men, he is seen taking out a gun.


The man in darker clothes - the former Russian politician Voronenkov - faces the attacker and then immediately falls to the ground. The camera also captures a girl walking past with her back to the murder scene. She then starts running, apparently scared by gunshots.

The man in lighter clothes - Voronenkov's bodyguard - is seen throwing himself at the assailant. However, he can also be seen falling to the ground, while the attacker ensures that Voronenkov is dead.

The attacker then tries to flee and turns the corner, out of sight of the video, but the bodyguard is seen firing at him. Seemingly injured and in pain, the bodyguard then checks on Voronenkov, while vehicles drive past, none of them stopping.



Shopping Bag

North Korea seeking foreign investment to start casino cruise

North Korean Special Economic Zone
© Carlos Barria / Reuters A woman prepares a red carpet for the departure ceremony of a cruise ship in the North Korean Special Economic Zone of Rason City.
Unabashed by international sanctions, cash-strapped North Korea is calling for foreign businesses to invest in an international cruise ship in a bid to boost tourism.

According to the proposal listed on the Mount Kumgang region website, the country needs $20 million to buy the 30,000-ton Royale Star, a Soviet-era cruise ship capable of carrying 1,000 passengers.

The liner can operate a casino business, even though gambling remains strictly prohibited in the country. It is currently docked at Kosong Port near Mount Kumgang and travels to Southeast Asia and Vladivostok in Russia.

"We are trying to diversify international tourism at the world-renowned Mount Kumgang by using cruise ship services," said the proposal, which noted that "a variety of facilities" will be available for passengers.

Comment: Maybe the casino magnate Trump can give North Korea some pointers.


Heart - Black

Nursing home employee arrested after filming senior residents having sex, posted video online

Alexis Williams
Alexis Williams
A nursing home employee in Florida is in police custody on Wednesday after detectives say she filmed two senior residents having sex without their knowledge or consent and shared the video with her followers on Snapchat in August.

The victims, who haven't been identified are an 81-year-old woman and a 59-year-old man.

Authorities have identified the suspect as 20-year-old Alexis Williams, an employee at the Bristol Court Assisted Living Facility on 3479 54th Avenue North in unincorporated St. Petersburg.

Star of David

19yo US-Israeli citizen arrested for global wave of bomb threats against Jewish centers

U.S.-Israeli teen (2ndL) arrested in Israel
© Baz Ratner / Reuters U.S.-Israeli teen (2ndL) arrested in Israel on suspicion of making bomb threats against Jewish community centers in the United States, Australia and New Zealand over the past three months.
A 19-year-old US-Israeli citizen has been arrested in southern Israel on suspicion of carrying out a wave of telephone bomb threats targeting Jewish centers and communities around the world.

The months-long, multi-agency investigation led Israel Police's International Crime Investigations Unit to the city of Ashkelon, where the suspect and his father were arrested, and a search of their home was conducted on Thursday, local media reports.

"This specific investigation was complex in terms of the suspect and its nature," Micky Rosenfeld, foreign press spokesman for the Israel Police, told the Jerusalem Post.

"There was a significant breakthrough in the investigation which led us to make the arrest of the suspect who lives in Southern Israel."

"He was the main suspect behind the numerous amount of threats which were made to different Jewish communities and organizations around the world," Rosenfeld added.

Comment: Some of this freak's handiwork?