Society's ChildS


Eye 2

'Gravely ill' Alabama teen hospitalized after being kept in basement for two years by adoptive parents


RT
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 22:26 UTC
Cynthia and Richard Kelly
© Shelby County Jail Cynthia and Richard Kelly.
A 14-year-old Alabama boy is on the brink of death after spending two years in "forced isolation." His adoptive parents severely malnourished him to the point that he weighed only 55 pounds, leading neighbors to believe he was less than 10 years old.

The teen was admitted to an Alabama children's hospital on Sunday, his physical shape shocking doctors. Brought by his adoptive parents, Richard and Cynthia Kelly, ages 56 and 47, the boy was in critical condition, diagnosed with chronic malnourishment, dehydration, acute respiratory distress, shock, hypothermia and hypothyroid.

"The child remains gravely ill at this time and faces a long, difficult recovery and uncertain prognosis,'' Helena police chief Pete Folmar told reporters Tuesday. He described the teenager as "challenged in some way."

Police started looking into the boy's case after the hospital reported admitting the boy Sunday.
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Syringe

WADA pleased with Russia's anti-doping efforts, yet to sanction other violators


RT
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 21:04 UTC
WADA
© Marc Braibant / Reuters
The president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Sir Craig Reedie, has said he is pleased with Russia's work in the struggle against doping.

Speaking at a General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in Doha, Reedie said: "I believe that it is especially important, that the current work which is carried out by WADA with the authorities in Russia, aimed at working with RUSADA and solve the problem of anti-doping.

"An independent public anti-doping commission has been set up in Russia under the auspices of [Russian senior member of the International Olympic Committee] Vitali Smirnov. WADA employed two independent experts, who have already been working in Moscow for a couple of months in an attempt to rebuild RUSADA, so that it fully works in harmony with the demands of WADA, working with federal and international federations. We believe, that it is a positive step forward," he added.


Comment: There are only two decisions WADA can make in order to "fix" the system fairly. Either eliminate the granting of "therapeutic exemptions", or start granting them to all nations' athletes with equal frequency. Legal doping is still doping.


Comment: Russia responded to the scandal the only way they could: responsibly. But that doesn't change the fact that the entire doping/anti-doping system is totally irresponsible. Further reading:

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Star

70% of U.S. citizens polled do not believe the news media is honest or truthful

Alex Christoforou
The Duran
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 09:28 UTC
Honest journalism protester
© teaparty.org
People didn't believe the nonsense that the media were politically neutral

These latest figures on how American voters viewed the media during the election period should come as no surprise.

The Media Research Center (MRC) announced its findings of a new post-election poll on what voters thought about the news media's influence on the 2016 US presidential race.

The MRC/YouGov poll was conducted on November 9 and 10.

Key findings:
- 7 in 10 (69%) voters do not believe the news media are honest and truthful.

- 8 in 10 (78%) of voters believe the news coverage of the presidential campaign was biased, with nearly a 3-to-1 majority believing the media were for Clinton (59%) vs. for Trump (21%).

- Even 1/3 (32%) of Clinton voters believe the media was "pro-Clinton."

- 8% of Trump voters said they would have voted for Clinton if they had believed what the media were saying about Trump.

- 97% of voters said they did not let the media's bias influence their vote.
Maybe the media's bias for Hillary pi$$ed people off, and thus spurred on voters to pull the lever for Trump.
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Handcuffs

'Not justified': Cop who shot Philando Castile in cold blood charged with manslaughter


RT
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 19:19 UTC
Philando Castile shooting
© Right Now News/YouTube
A police officer in Minnesota who shot and killed Philando Castile, during a routine traffic stop, was charged with second-degree manslaughter. Castille's girlfriend went on Facebook Live following the incident.

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi made the announcement during a Wednesday morning press conference that officer Jeronimo Yanez will face three charges for shooting and killing Philando Castile on July 6.

Choi said he concluded that "use of deadly force by Officer Yanez was not justified."

Castile, who hailed from Falcon Heights, Minnesota, succumbed to his wounds at Hennepin County Medical Center on July 6, where he was taken after being shot by a traffic police officer. Castile was driving with his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, when they were pulled over for a broken tail light.

The officer, who stood by the driver's window with his gun ready, panicked and shot Castile in the chest several times. Reynolds' four-year-old daughter was in the backseat of the car.

Comment: Minnesota woman live-streams aftermath of boyfriend's shooting by police during traffic stop

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Cell Phone

Walmart employees told not to use app to understand company labor rules, legal rights


RT
Tue, 15 Nov 2016 21:51 UTC
Checkout
© CNN Money
OUR Walmart, a worker-led activist group, has devised a new app, now available for Android smartphones, that uses artificial intelligence to help workers understand company policies and legal rights. Walmart has told workers to not download the app. The app, WorkIt, was released Monday to offer advice to Walmart workers on a host of issues, according to OUR Walmart.

OUR Walmart is a labor group, but not a union, as Walmart does not offer collective bargaining rights, which has thousands of paying members and has organized Black Friday protests at Walmart locations nationwide.

The OUR Walmart organization teamed up with software development company Quadrant 2 to develop WorkIt. The app uses IBM's Watson artificial intelligence bot to answer concerns or questions of employee, who are only identified on the app by their username and store position. Watson accesses a database built by Walmart workers to address user questions. When Watson cannot answer one of about 200 queries, "there is a peer network of experts that will interact with the users," Jason Van Anden, founder of Quadrant 2, told the Wall Street Journal. Watson then has the ability to learn how to answer certain questions from the peer experts.

For its part, Walmart has already addressed store managers about the app, warning that OUR Walmart is "increasingly trying to get our associates to turn over personal information to the union by using deceptive and slick looking social media and mobile apps," according to a document reported by the WSJ.
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Heart - Black

Mother dies in Michigan jail after calls for help allegedly ignored


RT
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 18:21 UTC
Canadian jail
© Unknown
A mother who was to spend 30 days in Macomb County, Michigan jail for failing to pay child support died in her cell 12 days into her confinement suffering from a virus and failing to get proper medical help. Videotaped statements from witnesses about Jennifer Meyers' death allege prison guards ignored the woman's constant pleas for help. Her death follows a similar death at the jail two years ago.

Jennifer Meyers was found dead in her cell on day 12 of her 30-day sentencing, allegedly from a virus which progressively worsened during her incarceration. Inmates said despite her constant pleas for help, Meyer went from sweating to being too sick to get off of her cot in just days.

The statements were part of a civil lawsuit into the death of the 37-year-old mother on July 7, 2013. Even though she complained of pain, neither the Sheriff's Department guards nor the privately contracted medical staff allowed her medical assistance.
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Wolf

'Puppycide': 2 Detroit cops kill 100 dogs throughout combined careers


RT
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 08:11 UTC
Detroit police
© Rebecca Cook / Reuters
Harrowing reports filed by the Detroit Police Department have revealed that police killed 25 dogs last year and at least 21 this year. The records also identified two officers that have killed more than 100 dogs throughout their combined careers.

The 'destruction of animal' reports, obtained by Reason, provide evidence of what critics are calling 'puppycide.' They reveal that at least 46 dogs were killed in 2015 and the first eight months of 2016 - despite just one officer being bitten by a dog during that period, according to the records.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

Two freight trains collide, derail in Florida, injuring two crew members

David Ingram
Reuters
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 13:05 UTC
CSX train derailment Citra Florida
© Marion County Fire Rescue/REUTERSTwo derailed CSX trains and 20 overturned rail cars are seen in a handout picture from the Marion County Fire Rescue taken in Citra, Florida, U.S. November 16, 2016.
Two CSX Corp (CSX.O) trains collided and derailed in central Florida early on Wednesday, injuring two crew members, the company said.

One freight train carrying non-hazardous phosphate rock while the second train loaded with coal collided in Citra, Florida, about 4:15 a.m. (0915 GMT), CSX said.

The cause of the collision was under investigation and the two CSX crew members were being treated for minor injuries, the company said.

Twenty rail cars overturned, the Marion County Sheriff's Office said, though CSX was unable to confirm the number.
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Attention

Propaganda alert! US officials hype non-specific holiday terror attack warning

Brian Ross Aaron Ketersky, Josh Margolin & Lee Ferran
ABC News
Tue, 15 Nov 2016 15:35 UTC
nypd security
© Scott Roth/Invision/AP Photo
U.S. officials issued a somber warning today that the coming holiday season could mean "opportunities for violent extremists" to strike, especially as terror groups are squeezed abroad.

"Though we know of no intelligence that is both specific and credible at this time of a plot by terrorist organizations to attack the homeland, the reality is terrorist-inspired individuals have conducted, or attempted to conduct, attacks in the United States," reads a bulletin posted online today by the Department of Homeland Security.

The warning said terrorists could attempt to target "public events and places where people congregate."

The bulletin came days after an ISIS magazine called on the terrorist group's followers to use vehicles to attack popular outdoor attractions, like a New York parade.

"It is very difficult to protect events like large gatherings such as parades from these types of attacks using vehicles, and we saw that last summer in Nice," said Matt Olsen, former director of the National Counterterrorism Center and current ABC News consultant.
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Shopping Bag

BYOB: California becomes the first state to ban plastic bags

Amanda Froelich
True Activist
Fri, 11 Nov 2016 14:59 UTC
plastic bag
© magazine.promomarketing.com
25 million single-use plastic bags are discarded every day in California. This new law aims to benefit the environment and all wildlife.

In July of 2015, Hawaii made headlines when it completely banned the use of plastic bags at a county level. Now, California in the news because it has accomplished similar, but at a state level.

The California Plastic Bag Veto Referendum (Proposition 67) was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown in 2014, but was put on hold until it was approved by voters. Though the out-of-state plastic bag industry invested $6 to campaign against Proposition 67, it narrowly passed with a margin of 51.97% to 48.03% on November 8th. Now, California is the first state in the union to completely ban the sale of plastic bags.

It's worth noting that while the plastic bag ban passed, Proposition 65, which proposed an environmental fund created with the proceeds from a 10-cent fee on the sale of cloth or other alternative bags, was defeated.

Californians Against Waste (CAW) campaign co-chair, Mark Murray, said:
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