Society's ChildS


Propaganda

NYT whitewashes Israeli poll: Half of Israelis think Palestinians should be expelled from Israel, 80% favor preferential treatment of Jews

James J. Zogby
The Jordan Times
Mon, 14 Mar 2016 17:17 UTC
idf palestinian
© AP"I need your land, your home, and your motorcycle."

Comment: Conclusion 1: the more religious Israelis are, the more racist and radicalized they are. Conclusion 2: Israelis don't need to be religious to be racist and radicalized. Nothing really surprising there, or new, but the NYT continues to do a stellar job covering up for Islamic State's ideological blood brother, the apartheid Jewish State.


This past week, the Pew Research Centre released the results of a massive poll of Israeli public opinion — focusing on their attitude towards religion, identity, values and political issues facing their country.

In the days that followed the release, a number of articles appeared in Israel and the US commenting on the study's findings.

The strangest and most troubling of them was the piece titled "Deep Rifts Among Israeli Jews Are Found in Religion Survey", printed in the New York Times on March 8, 2016.

Written by Isabel Kershner, the article was a transparent effort to combine straight reporting with tortured apologia.

Kershner began the piece with a simple recitation of a few of the poll's findings: "A majority of Israeli Jews marry within their own religious or secular groups" and the different sub-groups "largely separate social worlds" and have "starkly contrasting positions on many public policy issues", like whether West Bank settlements contribute to Israel's security.
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Water

Let them drink arsenic: Texas still insisting tainted water is safe - report


RT
Tue, 15 Mar 2016 13:07 UTC
Tap water
© Eric Thayer / Reuters
Drinking water systems in 34 Texas communities have tested positive for excessive levels of the carcinogen arsenic for more than a decade, yet the state continues to claim there is no emergency or need for an alternative, a new report says.

Arsenic concentrations in several Texas water systems have exceeded standards set under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, which calls for arsenic in drinking water to be no more than 10 parts per billion (ppb). High arsenic levels affecting these 34 communities across the state, affecting some 51,000 people, have not been seriously addressed in at least the last decade, according to a new report ‒ "Don't Drink the Water" ‒ by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP).

In addition, 31 other communities, serving approximately 30,000 people, have been in violation of the federal arsenic standard for at least two years, according to data from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Comment: People don't just drink the water. They bathe in it, they wash their clothes and dishes in it, wash their hands with it, cook with it, etc.. This is a health hazard that needs to be resolved now, and anyone that's covered it up or tried to downplay the dangers needs to be booted out of office and thrown in prison.

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Bulb

Giving everyone a basic income might eliminate poverty and have wide ranging positive social impacts

Atif Kukaswadia
Phys.org
Wed, 16 Mar 2016 00:00 UTC
Dauphin Manitoba income experiment
© Dauphin Economic DevelopmenAn aerial view of the city of Dauphin, Man. Forty years ago, a groundbreaking experiment provided cheques to Dauphin’s poorest to raise their incomes to a liveable wage.
I imagine most of my readers have never heard of Dauphin, Manitoba. A small, farming community in Canada, Dauphin is a town that was part of an experiment back in the 1970s. The "mincome" project was launched in 1974, and offered everyone a minimum income. Unfortunately, the project was shut down in 1979 with a change in the government, and so the effects weren't long term enough. The purpose of the mincome project was to see what would happen if a "top up" was offered to everyone. Dr. Evelyn Forget has been studying records from those years, and following up on people to see how it impacted their life. Would people stop working? Would there be higher rates of employment? How would people respond?

But lets start from the top. What is a minimum income? Currently, there are two main models for a minimum income - the universal basic income (UBI), and the negative income tax (NIT). They're similar, but also slightly different in how they're implemented. A negative income tax basically gives you money to top you up to a certain among, after which point you start getting taxed. However, this has problems, such as how often would your income be evaluated? If it was only annually, then someone could be unemployed for a year or more before they receive their minimum income payments. More frequently would be better, but would also be more challenging to implement. The other alternative is a universal basic income, which gives every adult a monthly cheque regardless of income. At the end of the year, this would be included in taxable income. This is also problematic: primarily because of the high costs up front, plus the optics of giving everyone a cheque, including those who do not need it.

Comment: If parasitic psychopaths weren't running the world and therefore guaranteeing the impoverishment of the masses while insuring that those at the top retain all the wealth, there might be more communities able to implement such projects and they could ultimately pave the way for a new social order.

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Cowboy Hat

Get outta Dodge! 1 in 4 Americans contemplating leaving the US if Trump is elected


RT
Wed, 16 Mar 2016 15:40 UTC
trump
© Chris Keane / Reuters
Twenty-eight percent of US citizens plan on moving to another country if Donald Trump is elected president in November, a new poll reveals. However, as data on previous mass exodus threats show, it's unlikely many of them will follow through.

Every fourth person from almost 2,000 registered voters questioned in the Morning Consult/Vox poll conducted March 10-13, said they would "likely" consider leaving the US for good for a "country, such as Canada" if the flamboyant Republican candidate were to be sworn into office at the White House.

Fifteen percent of those who are contemplating the radical way out, fearing imminent changes for the worse under a Trump presidency, report that they are "very likely" to relocate to another country.

Following Super Tuesday's tremendous success in early March, when Trump beat Texas Senator Ted Cruz by claiming seven states compared to three from his next-closest challenger, searches on Google for 'how can I move to Canada' had spiked 350 percent, according to Simon Rogers, the company's data editor.
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Laptop

Anonymous declares war on Donald Trump - promises to dismantle 'hateful' campaign

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Tue, 15 Mar 2016 14:49 UTC
Anonymous and Trump
© Screenshot via YouTube/Anonymous
In December, shortly after Trumps comments about banning Muslims and "shutting down part of the Internet," Anonymous released a statement, decrying his tyrannical statements and declared #OpTrump.

While there have been some small cyber attacks launched against the billionaire presidential candidate since this 'declaration,' none have been so significant until earlier this month. On March 5, the hacktivist collective released Trump's voicemail messages showing how the liberal media is supporting his campaign.

The move to hack the voicemail of Trump was bombshell. And now, Anonymous has vowed to relaunch cyber-operations against the US presidential candidate starting April 1.
"Dear Donald Trump, we have been watching you for a long time and what we see is deeply disturbing. Your inconsistent and hateful campaign has not only shocked the United States of America [but] you have shocked the entire planet with your appalling actions and ideas. You say what your audience wants to hear but in reality you don't stand for anything except for your personal greed and power," the video states.
The video is a call to arms for hacktivists worldwide to join together and "dismantle his campaign."
"We need you to shut down his websites, to research and expose what he doesn't want the public to know. We need to dismantle his campaign and sabotage his brand. We are encouraging every able person with a computer to participate in this operation. This is not a warning, this is a declaration of total war. Donald Trump - it is too late to expect us."
Anonymous has listed the targets of their attack online, as well as the resources necessary to carry out them out.


Comment: Courting the media: Anonymous hacked messages from Trump shows cozy relationship with MSNBC

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Heart - Black

Child abuse survivors launch report demanding redress from N. Ireland Executive


RT
Wed, 16 Mar 2016 14:07 UTC
crying child
© Reuters
Survivors of historic child abuse at residential institutions have launched a report urging Stormont to provide redress for the physical, sexual and emotional abuse they suffered in children's homes across Northern Ireland.

Victims gathered outside the parliament buildings on Tuesday to launch the report, which calls on the Executive for reparations, counseling services, and a full apology for the abuse.

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Dollar

Russia continues to regain foreign investor interest


RT
Tue, 15 Mar 2016 12:50 UTC
Moskva-City
© Grigory Dukor / ReutersA view shows the Kremlin wall, with the Moscow International Business Center also known as "Moskva-City" seen in the background, in Moscow, Russia.
Foreign portfolio investments in Russian assets are on the rise for a second week in a row, Russia's business magazine Expert cited Emerging Portfolio Fund Research.

According to the magazine, Russian assets are a leading investment even among other developing economies. In the week ending March 9, Russia's equity funds have attracted $177.5 million in foreign investment.

Last time Russia saw such an influx was a year ago at the conclusion of the Minsk agreements [Ukraine ceasefire deal - Ed.], Expert wrote, citing Sberbank CIB.

"It seems that foreign investors believe in further growth of oil prices or at least that they will not fall again, despite the fact that prices have risen nearly 50 percent from their January lows," said the business magazine.

Comment: Last time it was the Minsk agreements, this time it's the Syrian ceasefire. Interesting how promoting peace around the world seems to attract investors.

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Apple Green

Italy to adopt food waste laws that encourage donations and save €12 billion annually


RT
Wed, 16 Mar 2016 12:58 UTC
produce stand
© Alessandro Garofalo / Reuters
Italy could become next in line after France in the EU to force supermarkets and restaurants to abide by new laws to combat food waste. Businesses throwing away unsold food costs the economy €12 billion a year.

Having passed the lower house on Monday, the bill is currently being discussed by the Senate. The document has received widespread bipartisan support and is a collection of 17 articles involving both food regulations and fiscal matters.

Every year Italy wastes an estimated 5.1 million tons of food, a sizeable part of which is still fit for consumption. Currently there are several saving-oriented schemes being operated by non-profits Food Bank and Last Minute Market.

If the bill passes the final hurdle, Italy will become the next EU nation after France which decided to adopt the approach in February, albeit with a difference: while the French seek to punish supermarkets and restaurants who throw away unsold food with a hefty fine of €75,000, the Italians are adopting a reward-based approach.

"Punishing wasters is not so helpful: this is all about encouraging donations," Democratic Party MP Mario Chiara told La Republica. "It should be understood that recovered food isn't waste but the extension of good food. And this law makes it clear, because it is based on the concept of gift."
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Hearts

'Everything is great': Crimea celebrates 2 years since historic referendum to rejoin Russia


RT
Wed, 16 Mar 2016 13:10 UTC
Crimea referendum celebrations
Celebration in Simferopol’s Lenin Square following the Crimean secession vote in March 2014.
Two years ago an overwhelming majority of Crimeans voted in favor of reuniting with Russia - a move that was met by Western condemnation and sanctions. While the sanctions persist, attitudes towards the people's choice are changing.

Crimea's population refused to recognize the new government in Kiev, which came to power on February 21, 2014, viewing it as illegitimate. The citizens of the autonomous republic, home to an ethnic majority Russian population, feared the coup-imposed leadership wouldn't represent their interests and respect their rights and choices.

Crimea and Sevastopol, a city with a special status on the peninsula, voted for independence from Ukraine and to rejoin Russia in a referendum on March 16, 2014. The decision was supported by more than 1.2 million people, or roughly 97 percent of voters with an 83-percent turnout.
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Pocket Knife

Fed wildlife officials to clear-cut endangered spotted owls' habitat for salvage logging, many will die

Claire Bernish
Free Thought Project
Sun, 13 Mar 2016 00:00 UTC
spotted owl
© www.flickr.comSpotted owl, endangered species in Klamath National Forest, a trade off for salvage logging.
Up to 103 northern spotted owls — a species listed as threatened — may be killed in the Klamath National Forest for the sake of timber sales, thanks to federal wildlife officials.

In the summer of 2014, lightning fires affected 6,800 acres of forest, allowing the area to recover after years of fire suppression, while also increasing prey species for the owl. But the Westside Fire Recovery Project would allow the area to be clear-cut — ostensibly for ecological purposes. "Natural fires restored the forest after decades of fire suppression and gave spotted owls a kitchen full of food," explained Jay Lininger, a Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) senior scientist. "Owls can thrive with fire, but they cannot survive clear-cutting after fire."

An opinion written by the Yreka Fish and Wildlife Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in February claims the logging could "incidentally take" 74 adult owls and between 12 and 29 juveniles, though it would not affect the species as a whole.

However, over 70 percent of the land slated for logging "overlaps Late-Successional Reserves designated by the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan to secure old-growth forest habitat for crashing spotted owl populations and prevent their extinction," reported CBD.

Northern spotted owls have been sharply declining across their entire range at an annual rate of 4 percent between 1985 and 2013, according to a recent study. The Klamath Mountains — including a portion of the area to be clear-cut — are believed to be ideal for recovery of the species in the Cascades and Coast ranges. "Clear-cut logging at that scale in occupied habitat is a major setback for spotted owl recovery," said Lininger.

Comment: Can't we do better than this? Up to 57 established owl nesting grounds are on the chopping block. When left to bureaucracy or business, who gives a 'hoot.'

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