Society's ChildS


Snakes in Suits

Like putting lipstick on a pig: Bayer considering changing Monsanto name because of bad reputation


RT
Tue, 20 Sep 2016 17:00 UTC
monsanto protest brazil
© Paulo Whitaker / ReutersA woman reacts to an activist carrying a box with a transgenic symbol during a protest against Monsanto in Brazil
German pharmaceuticals giant Bayer, which last week agreed to acquire GMO maker Monsanto, may get rid of the US company's brand name to improve the firm's reputation.

A Bloomberg article titled, 'Heroin, Nazis, and Agent Orange: Inside the $66 Billion Merger of the Year,' didn't help.

People familiar with internal discussions at Bayer said the aspirin inventor is considering the name change to avoid sullying its reputation. They also said no decision has been made yet, and Bayer's managers could have some time to think it over.

Following the purchase agreement, Bayer CEO Werner Baumann said there's an opportunity for the companies to jointly "get beyond this image and reputation thing" by building on the trust Bayer enjoys in Europe. In May the drug maker was named the world's most reputable pharmaceutical brand by the Reputation Institute.

The $66 billion acquisition deal, which is now being closely scrutinized by antitrust regulators, is expected to be completed by the end of 2017. If the deal goes through it will make Bayer the world's biggest seed and pesticide producer.

Comment: See also:

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Health

Russian health minister performs first aid, saves woman's life on New York-bound flight


RT
Tue, 20 Sep 2016 14:47 UTC
Veronica Skvortsova, Russian health minister
© RTVeronica Skvortsova, Russian health minister, on New York-bound plane where she saved the life of a woman who suffered a stroke.
An airplane en route from Moscow to New York was forced to land in St. Petersburg after one of the passengers suffered a stroke. The woman was aided by the Russian health minister, who happened to be on the same flight.

The Aeroflot Boeing 777 flight landed in St. Petersburg, northern Russia, around 12pm Moscow time after one of the passengers suffered a stroke. Russia's health minister, Veronika Skvortsova, performed first aid on the woman, possibly saving the passenger's life, before the airport medical crew arrived.

RT staff, traveling to New York for the Emmy Awards, were also on board. Here's how RT's deputy chief editor, Elizaveta Brodskaya, described the incident:

"We saw that a woman sitting next to us became ill. She turned very pale and passed out. The staff asked the passengers if there was a doctor on the plane who could help with first aid. For a good half an hour the minister and her team were busy helping the patient. They brought a suitcase with equipment. Skvortsova listened to the patient with a stethoscope and checked her pulse before moving on to first aid treatment."

Comment: Russia's health minister, Veronika Skvortsova is truly worthy of being at the Head of the Health Ministry.

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Arrow Down

Wearing headscarf lowers women's chances for employment in Germany


RT
Tue, 20 Sep 2016 15:25 UTC
woman scarf
© www.istockphoto.com
Wearing a headscarf lowers the chances of getting a job for women in Germany, a new study has revealed. A woman with the same skills set as others but wearing a headscarf in her CV picture was four times less likely to be invited to interviews, it was found.

Researchers from the Institute for the Study of Labor, an independent economic research institute headquartered in Bonn, Germany, examined the employment chances of females with backgrounds from Muslim countries, focusing on women wearing headscarves.

The researchers sent out some 1,500 applications for office worker positions, such as secretaries and accountants. They invented two fictional female characters, 'Meryem Öztürk' and 'Sandra Bauer', both 27, but created two CVs for Meryem Öztürk - one with her wearing a Muslim headscarf and another without it. The same woman posed for all three CVs, as the picture below shows.
3 women
© www.spiegel.deSandra Bauer • Meryem Öztürk • Meryem Öztürk
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Camcorder

Pokemon Go player's assault in Central Park captured on live streaming video


Fox5
Tue, 20 Sep 2016 08:18 UTC
Pokemon Go attack in Central Park
© Fox5A man playing Pokemon Go in Central Park early Sunday morning was punched in the face and mugged, and it was all captured on live streaming video.
A man playing Pokemon Go in Central Park early Sunday morning was punched in the face and mugged, and it was all captured on live streaming video.

The 43-year-old who uses the handle 'RickeyBot' was reportedly holding multiple cell phones as he walked along Central Park South and Sixth Ave. at about 2 a.m. Suddenly, you can see the man get punched in the jaw.

Police are trying to track down the attacker. Based on various social media posts, 'RickeyBot' believes he may have been targeted.

The victim is reportedly recovering from a bruised jaw.

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Red Flag

Violence in Congo: Nearly 50 killed and police officer burned alive during anti-govt protests


RT
Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:51 UTC
Congolese opposition
© Kenny Katombe / ReutersCongolese opposition supporters chant slogans during a march to press President Joseph Kabila to step down in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa, September 19, 2016.
Between 17 and 50 people have been killed in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, after thousands-strong protests against President Joseph Kabila turned violent.

The demonstration against Kabila on Monday attracted thousands of protestors, but clashes with the police and security forces broke out shortly after they began.

NGOs and the opposition have accused police of using tear gas to disperse demonstrators before opening fire with live ammunition. As the situation escalated, protestors burned cars and set up barricades in the streets.

Police officers also fell victim to the violence, with Reuters reporting that one was set on fire by an angry mob in retaliation for the shooting. The attack was later confirmed by Interior Minister Evariste Boshab.

Comment: A little more context to account for the violence:
Many Congolese believe that the Congolese government of President Joseph Kabila is complicit in Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's attempts to annex portions of eastern Congo, and that Kabila needs Kagame and Museveni's support to cling to power beyond presidential term limits. They point to new massacres in Beni that occurred shortly after recent meetings between the three presidents.


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Sheriff

ACLU suing Connecticut police after they accidentally record themselves conspiring to fabricate charges against a protester

Jay Stanley
ACLU
Tue, 20 Sep 2016 16:18 UTC
connecticut police
The ACLU of Connecticut is suing state police for fabricating retaliatory criminal charges against a protester after troopers were recorded discussing how to trump up charges against him. In what seems like an unlikely stroke of cosmic karma, the recording came about after a camera belonging to the protester, Michael Picard, was illegally seized by a trooper who didn't know that it was recording and carried it back to his patrol car, where it then captured the troopers' plotting.

"Let's give him something," one trooper declared. Another suggested, "we can hit him with creating a public disturbance." "Gotta cover our ass," remarked a third.

ACLU affiliates around the country have done a lot of cases defending the right to record in public places, but this case (press release,complaint) is particularly striking. I spoke to ACLU of Connecticut Legal Director Dan Barrett, and he told me about how the incident came about:
Our client is a guy who is very concerned with privacy, and who protests DUI checkpoints around the capital region here in Hartford, Connecticut. He feels they're both unconstitutional and a waste of money. He has done public records investigations, for example, and recently found that for every two man hours put into a check point, it yields just one minor traffic citation—almost always for defective equipment. He was well known to the police, who also knew that he is a peaceful privacy and open-carry gun rights activist.

Comment: If anyone thinks this is a rare case of cops creating criminal charges out of thin air, think again:

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USA

Hands up, don't shoot: Police dashcam shows Tulsa officers murdering unarmed black man because his vehicle stalled (VIDEO)

Aaron Morrison
Mic
Mon, 19 Sep 2016 15:56 UTC
Terence Crutcher
© Twitter/Shaun King
Police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, released video and audio clips Monday from the fatal shooting of Terence Crutcher, a stranded and unarmed black motorist. The clips, captured from multiple angles on Friday, show the 40-year-old Crutcher with his hands up before he is stunned with a stungun and then shot by Tulsa officers.

Authorities gathered local community leaders — including pastors, state lawmakers and members of Crutcher's family — at Tulsa Police headquarters on Sunday to preview the clips, Ray Owens, a pastor at Metropolitan Baptist Church, said in a phone interview. He was among the 30 people present for the viewing.

"My impression is that the video I saw is among the worst that we have seen nationally," Owens said. "The man who was shot was walking away from police with his hands in the air. That, to me, suggests that he did not present a threat."

(Editor's note: This video contains disturbing footage. View with discretion.)

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Star of David

Israeli forces kill Palestinian teen after attempted stabbing of Israeli soldier


RT
Tue, 20 Sep 2016 15:40 UTC
IDF west bank
Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian teenager who tried to stab a soldier at checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, the army has confirmed. The attempted stabbing is the latest in a recent spate of attacks against Israeli soldiers.

The incident occurred at the entrance to Bani Na'im, a village west of Hebron. The area has been security by Israeli forces in recent months, following earlier attacks by Palestinians.

According to the army, the attacker approached the checkpoint with a knife, attempting to stab an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldier.
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Dollars

Journalist who was fired from BBC for not prioritizing birth of Prince George awarded over £50,000 in damages


RT
Tue, 20 Sep 2016 15:28 UTC
prince george
© Stefan Wermuth / Reuters
A BBC journalist who was allegedly fired in large part for prioritizing a report on the anniversary of violence in Sri Lanka over the birth of Prince George has received £51,428 in compensation after suing the news outlet for unfair dismissal.

Chandana Keerthi Bandara, 57, was in charge of overseeing the publishing of stories on July 23, 2013 - the day after Prince George was born. However, he said he chose not to prioritize the royal birth, partially because it clashed with the anniversary of Black July - a wave of anti-Tamil violence which led to hundreds of deaths in Sri Lanka in 1983.

Although Bandara reportedly resisted pressure from BBC management to cover the story on Prince George, he eventually gave in, the tribunal heard. The article was published online at 12:08 p.m.

Bandara, who had worked for the BBC for 18 years, went through disciplinary proceedings and was found guilty of gross misconduct and given a written warning, The Telegraph reported.
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War Whore

New plan to build trust: Chicago police to undergo de-escalation training, expand bodycam use


RT
Tue, 20 Sep 2016 03:29 UTC
Chicago cops
© Jim Young / Reuters
Along with an $8 million plan to add more body cameras, Chicago Police Department Superintendent Eddie Johnson wants to teach officers to de-escalate conflicts. These moves come as the department is under federal investigation.

In a news conference Monday, Johnson told reporters that about 12,500 police officers will report to the Chicago Police Academy to receive a two-day training in de-escalation techniques. The training was developed with both policing experts as well as mental health experts.

Johnson hopes that this announcement will begin to rebuild the department's relationship with the community, telling the press, "That's how we build trust."

"By letting the public know we are doing everything we can to resolve conflicts peacefully," he added.

Comment: See also:

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