Society's ChildS


Heart

New Year's present: Russia gives Syria airborne hospital


RT
Sat, 31 Dec 2016 17:37 UTC
mobil hospital syria
As Russia's Emergencies Ministry wraps up its medical mission in Aleppo, it is leaving behind its leftover medical equipment and medicine stockpiles as a gift from Russia to Syria. Syria now has a hospital outfitted to be airlifted to wherever needed.

The ministry dispatched the hospital and medical personnel to Syria in November as the fight for the eastern part of Aleppo turned in favor of the government forces. Over the month, it has treated over 1,500 patients, most of whom were women and children.

The hospital includes 16 medical and technical pods, as well as 22 connectors and gateway modules, which can be airlifted to a location in need of medical assistance and deployed in the required configuration. The facility can serve up to 200 patients a day and has 60 beds for inpatients.

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Health

CDC considers lowering threshold for elevated childhood blood lead levels by 30%

Joshua Schneyer and M.B. Pell
Reuters
Fri, 30 Dec 2016 12:52 UTC
lead contamination children
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering lowering its threshold for elevated childhood blood lead levels by 30 percent, a shift that could help health practitioners identify more children afflicted by the heavy metal.

Since 2012, the CDC, which sets public health standards for exposure to lead, has used a blood lead threshold of 5 micrograms per deciliter for children under age 6. While no level of lead exposure is safe for children, those who test at or above that level warrant a public health response, the agency says.

Based on new data from a national health survey, the CDC may lower its reference level to 3.5 micrograms per deciliter in the coming months, according to six people briefed by the agency. The measure will come up for discussion at a CDC meeting January 17 in Atlanta.

But the step, which has been under consideration for months, could prove controversial. One concern: Lowering the threshold could drain sparse resources from the public health response to children who need the most help - those with far higher lead levels.

The CDC did not respond to a request for comment.

Comment: Flint just the tip of the iceberg: Lead contamination widespread and severe in low-income communities

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Sheriff

Pennsylvania State Police in manhunt for armed cop killer


RT
Sat, 31 Dec 2016 17:20 UTC
Penn. State police
© Mike Segar / Reuters
Pennsylvania State Police are searching for the killer Landon Weaver, a state trooper gunned down in Hesston. The fugitive has been identified as Jason Robison, a white male, aged 32, who is considered armed and dangerous.

Police have released a photo of Robison, but say his hair may be dyed purple.
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Syringe

Philly zoo euthanizes 25yo lioness for being too old & inactive


RT
Sat, 31 Dec 2016 15:48 UTC
zenda lion
© Philadelphia Zoo
As if our favorite movie and music stars weren't enough, 2016 has managed to cram another death into its busy schedule - that of America's oldest African lion, 25-year-old Zenda, who was euthanized in the Philadelphia Zoo.
"Philadelphia Zoo announced today that Zenda, a 25-year-old female African lion, was euthanized on Thursday, December 29th due to an acute decline in her mobility and behavior," the Philadelphia Zoo said in a statement.
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Airplane

Coast Guard suspending search and rescue operations for plane that vanished over Lake Erie


RT
Sat, 31 Dec 2016 13:11 UTC
search missing plane lake erie
© Cleveland.com / YouTube
The search for a plane that vanished over Lake Erie has been shelved by the US Coast Guard. The plane was carrying six passengers, including a beverage distribution company executive, his wife and their two sons.

An aircraft headed to Ohio State University Airport on Thursday vanished over Lake Erie shortly after takeoff from Cleveland, Ohio. The Coast Guard suspended their search-and-rescue efforts Friday to allow local authorities to begin recovering the plane and victims.

John T. Fleming, CEO of the Superior Beverage Company, was piloting the plane before it indicated a rapid altitude loss and lost radar contact. The time between takeoff and air traffic control notifying the Coast Guard of the missing plane was about 30 minutes, the Associated Press reported.
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Bacon n Eggs

Michelle Obama's big failure: House Freedom Caucus wants Trump to rethink school lunches

Victor Skinner
EAG News
Tue, 27 Dec 2016 00:00 UTC
School lunch
The conservative House Freedom Caucus wants Donald Trump to "rethink" restrictions imposed on food served in public schools within the first 100 days from taking office.

The caucus posted a list of hundreds of regulations and rules the president-elect should consider eliminating or modifying after he's sworn in as the president of the United States Jan. 20, including the Healthy and Hunger Free Kids Act championed by first lady Michelle Obama.

The caucus lists the act among its "recommended list of regulations to remove" from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"The rules are hallmarks of the Obama administration, but kids aren't eating the foods, industries can't comply with the standards, and schools are wasting money," according to the document, First 100 Days: Rules, Regulations, and Executive Orders to Examine, Revoke, and Issue.

Students across the country have revolted against the first lady's effort to fight childhood obesity through government bureaucracy with parody videos online, school lunch boycotts and pictures of their gruesome, unidentifiable lunches posted online with the hashtag #ThanksMichelleObama.

Comment: The less-than-appetizing school breakfast is the latest in a long line of disgusting and inedible school meals served to students following restrictions on calories, fat, sugar, sodium and other aspects of school meals imposed by the federal government at the urging of first lady Michelle Obama in 2012. See also: Unbelievable: Hawaii school defends Michelle Obama poverty breakfast because it 'meets federal guidelines'

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Map

In the shadows of Silicon Valley more than one-third of schoolchildren are homeless

Alastair Gee
The Guardian
Wed, 28 Dec 2016 15:39 UTC
homeless
© Alastair Gee for the GuardianIn most places, the Chavez family would be an exception – but in the school district that includes East Palo Alto, their plight is not uncommon.
Tech economy is drawing new inhabitants and businesses but is contributing to dislocation, leaving families, teachers and even principals with housing woes.

Every night for the past year or so, Adriana and Omar Chavez have slept in an RV parked in East Palo Alto, a downtrodden community in Silicon Valley.

On a recent morning before sunrise, they emerged on to the empty street. Omar showed his phone to his wife: 7.07am. "Shall I wake up the girls?" he said, his breath visible in the freezing air.

He headed inside to rouse their three daughters, huddled together in the low-ceilinged bed just above the driver's cab, and ready them for school.

In most places, the Chavez family would be an exception. But in the school district that includes East Palo Alto, located amid the extraordinary wealth generated by the tech industry, their plight is not uncommon.
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Heart - Black

The spirit of giving: Lonely homeless man 'froze to death' as families watch New Year pantomime

Anthony Bond
The Mirror
Sat, 31 Dec 2016 15:19 UTC
A homeless man has been found dead near this theatre in Chatham.
© Google MapsA homeless man has been found dead near this theatre in Chatham.
Police were called to Solomons Road in Chatham, Kent, in sub-zero temperatures at 3.20am yesterday when the man, known locally as Greg, was discovered.

He had been sleeping rough with a group of three friends near the Central Theatre where TV Dancing on Ice star and Olympic gold medallist Robin Cousins was starring in Jack and the Beanstalk.

The tragedy comes less than a week after another homeless man, Michael McCluskey, was found dead a few minutes' walk away in Chatham High Street on Christmas Eve.
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Sheeple

Precious snowflake syndrome: The most ridiculous college protests of 2016

Karin Agness
Forbes
Fri, 30 Dec 2016 15:05 UTC
collage protests
© AFP /Getty ImagesUniversity of California Los Angeles students march through campus on November 10, 2016 in Los Angeles, California, during a 'Love Trumps Hate' rally in reaction to President-elect Donald Trump's victory in the presidential elections.
As we close the book on 2016, it's time to look back on the year on American college campuses. It was another year filled with protests, many fueled by Republican Donald Trump's victory. Here are the top ten most ridiculous college protests of 2016:

Cornell Students Hold A Post-election "Cry in"

Cornellians held a "cry in" over hot chocolate to "mourn" Trump's victory on campus. The Cornell Daily Sun reports that students, "sat in a circle to share stories and console each other, organizers encouraging attendees to gather closer together and 'include each other.'" Additionally, students signed posters in protest.

UT Austin Students Organize "Cocks Not Glocks" Protest

On the first day of classes at the University of Texas at Austin, students picked up and strapped on dildos to protest Texas's new "campus carry" law permitting licensed gun owners to carry concealed handguns on campus. More than 5,000 dildos, which were donated by sex shops, were distributed over five days.

UMass Students Hold A "Shit-in"

For a week, students at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst planned a "shit-in," occupying restrooms to demand more gender-neutral facilities. The "shit-in" sign up google form gave protesters the option of sitting alone or "with other sitters" and the choice of a "'Men's' rooms" or "'Women's' rooms."

Comment: The Health & Wellness Show: Precious Snowflake Syndrome: Cry ins, safe spaces and microaggressions

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Birthday Cake

Trump inauguration cuts way down on pomp, circumstance - wants administration to get right to work

Matthew Boyle
Breitbart
Thu, 29 Dec 2016 15:20 UTC
Trump Inauguration
© breitbart News
President-elect Donald J. Trump's inauguration will have less official celebration throughout the day and evening so he can focus on getting right to work on behalf of the American people, officials involved in the planning process tell Breitbart News. The inauguration itself will be less focused on the donor class and ritzy Washington insiders as in years past and more focused on the regular working class people across the country for whom Trump has become the champion.

"The inauguration and inaugural is a representation of the president-elect and a representation of the vice president-elect," Boris Epshteyn, the director of communications for the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC), told Breitbart News in an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the PIC's offices in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

"What does that mean? It's all about the people," Epshteyn said. "It's not about any one celebrity or any one entertainer or about any of those folks sipping champagne and cocktails somewhere in the Hamptons or in Beverly Hills. It's about the American people. We're so proud of the amount of support and outreach we've received from all over the country. This inaugural will represent the people. That's one, and two it's about getting to work right away."

So, logistically, what does this all mean? Specifically, Epshteyn says, Trump will only have three official inaugural balls as compared with 10 separate balls for Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration.

"There will be three balls instead of 10, as there were in 2009 with President Obama because this president—Donald J. Trump—is all about getting to work and making sure Americans are safe in their homes, safe in their jobs," Epshteyn said. "Look at the news that just came out this week: 8,000 jobs being brought to America between Sprint and OneWeb."
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