Society's ChildS


Handcuffs

Slavery was never abolished! It simply evolved into the prison system

Kalee Brown
Collective Evolution
Mon, 28 Nov 2016 10:18 UTC
Black inprisonment
© Collective Evolution
To many, the end of the Civil War in 1865 represented the end of slavery; at least, that's what the history books tell us. In January of 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment was passed, freeing millions of black citizens as they finally received emancipation. The Thirteenth Amendment reads: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

It is clear that a loophole exists, which allows slavery to continue within the confines of prison walls. The documentary 13th explores how slavery was never abolished, but actually shifted into the modern prison system, ultimately fuelling mass incarceration of black citizens. In fact, 1 in 3 black males will serve jail time at some point in their lives, whereas only 1 in 17 white men will. Don't let government propaganda fool you: The only reasons for mass incarceration in the U.S. are racism and profit.

Comment:

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Fire

Pipeline explosion sparks big fire near KCI Airport, no injuries


KMBC
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 06:09 UTC
Explosion
A pipeline explosion caused a large fire in Platte County Tuesday evening, but no injuries were reported.

Crews were called to the scene in the 9600 block of Mellon's Bridge Road, an isolated area near Kansas City International Airport.

The pipeline ruptured on private property about 6:30 p.m. The property owner reported the explosion and fire.
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Che Guevara

Almost a million people gather in Havana to pay respects to Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro


TASS
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 19:03 UTC
castro rally
© EPA/Ernesto Mastrascusa
About one million people gathered in the Cuban capital Havana on Wednesday night to pay their respects to Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, according to estimates by local security forces.

Formal delegations from about 50 states attend the event that started at 3:00 Moscow time outside the memorial to Cuban independence hero Jose Marti in Havana's Revolution Square. The service is led by the island nation's current leader Raul Castro.

The Russian delegation is led by State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin.

In his speech at the meeting, Volodin said that Russia and Cuba "will always be together."

"Your power and your faith have served as an inspirational example for many countries and peoples in the cause of the fight for freedom and the right to choose own path of development," Volodin told the crowd.
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Dollars

Man awarded $600k after being trapped in maximum security prison for 32 hours with no food or water


RT
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 18:55 UTC
cook county jail
© Frank Polich / Reuters
Farad Polk was awarded $600,000 after a visit to his son at the Cook County Jail turned into a weekend stay. Following directions from a guard, Polk accidentally entered a super-maximum security visitors room, where he was trapped for 32 hours.

There are a number of reasons why people spend a weekend in jail, but most of them involve a crime. Unfortunately for Polk, the only crime he committed in early July 2014 was asking a Cook County Jail guard how to get to the visitors' room, where he could see his son. Instead, he was sent to an eight-by-eight foot cell, where he was trapped for 32 hours, according to WBBM.

"They just sent me down the hall by myself and told me to go into the room," Polk told WBBM.

When the door shut behind him, he was trapped.
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Camcorder

"Sextortion" operations lead to rise in webcam blackmail cases in UK over last year


RT
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 18:44 UTC
people shadows
© Yuya Shino / Reuters
The number of 'sextortion' cases, where victims are persuaded to commit sexual acts on a webcam and then blackmailed, has doubled in a year, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Organized gangs, made up of actors in studios and money launderers, run the 'sextortion' operations. They are based all around the world and often target young British men by luring them into potentially-compromising positions.

Victims are befriended online by people using fake identities, and persuaded to perform sexual acts in front of a webcam. They are then threatened that the images will be made public if they don't pay up.

The NCA says police have had 864 reports of webcam blackmail in 2016, but it says the number is probably higher as many victims are too embarrassed to come forward.

The highest proportion of victims is aged between 21 and 30 years. Some are as young as 11.

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Black Cat

Congress passes ban of online store 'gag orders' that prevent customers from posting negative reviews


RT
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 18:27 UTC
Yelp
© Jim Young / Reuters
Dissatisfied consumers soon won't have to fear punishment from online retailers for leaving negative comments, if a newly passed law making it illegal for businesses to retaliate against unflattering reviews is signed by President Barack Obama.

Congress passed the so-called Consumer Review Fairness Act on Monday, leaving it up to President Obama to decide the bill's fate.

Should he sign the act into law, online stores and businesses will be banned from using "gag clauses" to silence consumers who leave critical feedback on products and services.

Comment: If any company requires that you agree to terms that include limiting or removing your right to make a complaint in whatever way you choose then that company ought to be viewed as possibly having significant customer service issues, in which case you might want to reconsider doing business with that company.

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Family

South Florida family's missing dog found three years later -- in New Jersey

Brett Clarkson
Sun Sentinel
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 17:29 UTC
missing dog found in New Jersey
Bill Gerstein of Delray Beach and Bella
Missing dog reunited with owners after three years

Bill Gerstein couldn't believe it. Words he never thought he'd read were right there on his phone: Bella has been found.

Nearly three years after disappearing outside Gerstein's law office in Fort Lauderdale, the family's Maltese-Pomeranian mix was in an animal shelter in Paterson, New Jersey — about 1,200 miles from home. The shelter, which had checked Bella's microchip, sent him pictures. She looked ratty, her coat was in rough shape, but it was her. Gerstein got on a plane that day.

"It was jubilant for us to finally get her back," Gerstein, 45, said Tuesday, as Bella scampered about the living room, still getting acquainted with the family's other two inseparable dogs, Maya and Lily, two Cavapoos who became new additions while Bella was still missing. Bella occasionally growls and bares her teeth at Maya, who tends to avoid eye contact with Bella.

"I didn't have any realistic hope of seeing her again," Gerstein said. "The possibilities were endless: She could've been killed, she could've wandered into a swamp near our office."

Fortunately, Bella didn't wander into a swamp, but how she got to New Jersey is a mystery. Gerstein, whose immigration law office is near Commercial Boulevard and NW 31st Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, regularly brought Bella to work, and that's where she was last seen.

Comment: As heart-warming a story as this is, it's still a plug for microchips. How long before the push starts for microchipping children?

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Cow

California aims to regulate cow flatulence to slow global warming

Terrence Chea
Fox 5
Tue, 29 Nov 2016 17:28 UTC
cows in a field
California is taking its fight against global warming to the farm.

The nation's leading agricultural state is now targeting greenhouse gases produced by dairy cows and other livestock.

Despite strong opposition from farmers, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation in September that for the first time regulates heat-trapping gases from livestock operations and landfills.

Cattle and other farm animals are major sources of methane, a greenhouse gas many times more potent than carbon dioxide as a heat-trapping gas. Methane is released when they belch, pass gas and make manure.

"If we can reduce emissions of methane, we can really help to slow global warming," said Ryan McCarthy, a science adviser for the California Air Resources Board, which is drawing up rules to implement the new law.

Livestock are responsible for 14.5 percent of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, with beef and dairy production accounting for the bulk of it, according to a 2013 United Nations report.
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Life Preserver

Escape from East Aleppo - tears, hugs and smiles

Vanessa Beeley
21st Century Wire
Tue, 29 Nov 2016 16:36 UTC
aleppo civilians
Civilians leaving beseiged Aleppo.
The momentum has shifted in Aleppo this week as the Syrian Army begin to advance, steadily driving out Western and Gulf-backed terrorist fighters under the command of Al Nusra Front - from their occupied enclaves in Eastern Aleppo. 21WIRE will post continuous ALEPPO UPDATES as we receive information...

21st Century Wire says...

These images and videos will never see the light of day in the corporate media editing rooms because they expose their almost six year narrative on Syria as one of the most criminal propaganda projects ever deployed against a sovereign nation, its people, its state and its national army.

The prolonged dehumanization of the majority of the Syrian people, the exploitation of their children as cynical props to further the NATO & Gulf state geo-political objectives in the region, the overt and covert endorsement of NATO State-proxy terrorism, the tacit endorsement of economic terrorism via the illegal US/EU sanctions against Syria, all amount to crimes against Humanity and the Syrian people.
aleppo children
Aleppo children
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2 + 2 = 4

Council of Europe says Dutch anti-terror laws violate terror suspects' human rights


RT
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:40 UTC
ISIS militants
© AFP
Dutch bills that could curtail the freedom of movement of terrorist suspects and strip them of their Dutch citizenship for joining terrorist organizations may violate human rights, the Council of Europe said, while asking the Netherlands for clarification.

In a letter to the Dutch government, the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, Nils Muiznieks, expressed concern about three legislative proposals passed this year by Holland's lower house parliament, the Tweede Kamer, warning that they may violate international human rights treaties.

Included in the legislation under scrutiny is the Temporary Administrative Measures Bill, which would allow restrictions to be placed on a suspect's freedom of movement and private and family life, the Council wrote in a statement.

Comment: If they're dual citizens, and they are proven to be members of terrorist organizations, then the law should be clearly written, and they should either be charged with a crime or sent back to the other country in which they are citizens. But Muiznieks is right about the danger of vague laws of this sort. Once they're on the books, it is a downward slope to disaster.

See also: Dutch MPs vote to ban burqas from being worn in public places

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