Society's ChildS


Heart

Russia's Paralympic team's petition for reinstatement passes 100K mark in just 3 days


RT
Fri, 19 Aug 2016 18:21 UTC
Russian paralympians
© Hannah Peters/Getty Images
A petition to allow Russia's Paralympic team to compete in next month's games in Rio, has gathered more than 100,000 signatures in just three days. One woman who hopes to take part is Irina Vertinskaya, who explained that the Paralympics is 'her meaning in life'.

Time is running out for Russia's Paralympians. On August 8, their world turned upside down after the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) confirmed a blanket ban on Russians competing in September's event following a recommendation from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Russia's disabled athletes have public support on their side. A petition on the website Change.org has already gathered around 110,000 signatures in the space of just three days. The authors of the petition, Egor Beroev and Ksenia Alferova, are calling on the President of the IPC Philip Craven to reverse his decision and give around 270 Russian Paralympians the chance to compete on the biggest stage possible.
"We believe that the decision to ban the Paralympic sportsmen from competition and enforcing on them collective responsibility for crimes they have not committed is against the basic principles of international law and European values. This is not fair to almost all the Paralympians who are absolutely clean and were not involved in any doping scandals," the statement read.

Comment: Change.org has the petition online

Read More...
Camera

Deplorable conditions revealed in Arizona immigrant detention centers


RT
Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:55 UTC
arizona immigrants
© americanimmigrationcouncil.orgTemporary detention facility in Nogales, Arizona, in a June 2015 photo released as evidence in Doe v. Johnson
US Customs and Border Patrol has released security footage of detention facilities in southern Arizona, where immigrants have been held in overcrowded, dirty cells without bedding, adequate food and water, and even basic sanitation.

A federal judge in Tucson ordered the release of the photos in June, as evidence in the class-action lawsuit filed by several immigrant rights groups against the Department of Homeland Security, CBP's parent agency. The case is known as Doe v. Johnson.

The photos were made public Thursday by the American Immigration Council, one of the plaintiffs in the case, which called the conditions at CBP temporary detention facilities "deplorable and unconstitutional."
Read More...
Document

Calais 'Jungle' population soars to 6,901 migrants, authorities plan to tear it down


RT
Sat, 20 Aug 2016 03:20 UTC
calais jungle
© Pascal Rossignol/ReutersAn aerial view of a makeshift camp shows containers (Bottom) that have been put into place to house migrants living in what is known as the "Jungle", a sprawling camp in Calais, France
The number of residents in the Calais 'Jungle' camp has increased to a record 6,901, the maximum since its formation in April 2015, the prefecture of Pas-de- Calais announced, citing a "precise and exhaustive" census carried out by border law enforcement officials.

The new "precise and exhaustive" assessment shows a staggering increase of 53 percent in migrant numbers in just two months. The last count, conducted on June 13, showed a figure of some 4,480 people.

Meanwhile local humanitarian aid groups, L'Auberge des Migrants and Help Refugees, counted more than 9,100 people in their own census earlier this month.

Comment: The short-term plan to dismantle 'the jungle' is no solution to the overarching problem. Refugees appear to be an unsavory inconvenience to Western civilizations, as they serve as a reminder that their leaders that 'care' and 'protect' them bomb and kill innocent men, women and children. See the articles below for more information:

Read More...
Arrow Down

Disgraceful — Cop who gunned down in cold blood innocent Philando Castile is back on the job

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Thu, 18 Aug 2016 16:27 UTC
Philando Castile
Jeronimo Yanez and Philando Castile
In a blow to the family and friends of Philando Castile, the officer who is responsible for his death is returning to work.

Last month, in shocking video streamed on Facebook Live, Philando Castile, 32, is seen bleeding to death after a Minnesota police officer shot him through his driver-side car window. His girlfriend, Lavish Reynolds captured the horrific scene on her cell phone, narrating the tragic events and streaming them live on Facebook.

According to Reynolds, police pulled them over for a broken tail light and callously shot her Castile to death after he told the officers that he had a firearm and a conceal-and-carry permit. Reynold's 4-year-old daughter was reportedly sitting in the back seat when the officer fired at least four bullets into Castile's arm and chest.

Comment: See also: 46 arrested at #PhilandoCastile protest against police brutality outside residence of Minnesota governor

Read More...
Bulb

Texas non-profit program dramatically reduces the time it takes to rebuild homes destroyed by natural disasters


Science Daily
Thu, 18 Aug 2016 00:00 UTC
RAPIDPRO, disaster rebuilding
© Texas A&M UniversityA home built with input from Texas A&M researchers.
Texas legislators are investigating the benefits of RAPIDO, a pilot program developed with recommendations from Texas A&M University's Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center (HRRC), that dramatically reduces the time it takes to rebuild homes destroyed by natural disasters.

The Texas Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations is studying RAPIDO and other disaster recovery efforts in Texas to develop policy recommendations prior to the January 2017 state legislative session.

In a Texas Senate hearing on post-disaster housing recovery held last year, a San Benito resident, Amita Melendez, testified that her mother, who had tried for years to rebuild her home that was badly damaged by Hurricane Dolly in 2008, was able to move into a modern, customized home within six months of entering the RAPIDO program.

The program is managed by buildingcommunityWORKSHOP, a Texas-based, nonprofit organization that employs design to improve community livability and viability. The group was founded by Brent Brown '91, who earned bachelor of environmental design and master of architecture degrees at Texas A&M.

In developing recommendations for RAPIDO, HRRC researchers reviewed 40 reports detailing obstacles and challenges faced by homeowners trying to rebuild in the wake of Gulf and Atlantic coast hurricanes between 2005-2015.

Comment: As the unprecedented number of natural disasters continues to increase, such programs could be lifesaving if more states would embrace such measures rather than placing further obstacles in the path of those trying to rebuild their lives.

Read More...
Attention

US submarine and support boat wreck in the Pacific Ocean


RT
Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:21 UTC
USS Louisiana
© WikipediaUSS Louisiana
The US Navy has confirmed that a ballistic missile submarine collided with a support vessel off the coast of Washington State in the Pacific Ocean. No casualties have been reported, while an investigation is currently underway.

The collision of the USS Louisiana and the offshore support vessel took place in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which separates Washington State from Victoria Island, Canada, on August 18. The incident was reported on the US Submarine Force Pacific's website a day later.

An investigation is underway into why the submarine and the US Navy Offshore Support Vessel collided, while a damage assessment is being carried out.
Read More...
Eye 1

Italian imam posts photo of nuns on beach to discuss burqini ban then gets FB account blocked


RT
Sat, 20 Aug 2016 15:53 UTC
Nuns on Italian beach sunset
© Reuters
The imam of Florence has posted a picture of habit-wearing nuns splashing along the seashore on Facebook, calling for dialogue about burqini bans... but got his account blocked instead.

The post by Izzedin Elzir got some 2,700 shares, and came in response to the French southern cities - like Cannes and Nice - prohibiting the wearing of burqinis on the beach.

The day after the imam published his post, he awoke to find his account blocked.

"It's incomprehensible. I have to send them an ID document to reactivate it. They wanted to make sure it's my account - it's a very strange procedure," the indignant imam told La Repubblica.

Comment: First burqa ban, now burkini ban: Why Europe prohibits full-body swimsuits for Muslim women

Read More...
Pistol

Autopsy reveals Milwaukee man, whose death sparked riots, shot in chest and arm


RT
Sat, 20 Aug 2016 15:51 UTC
Milwaukee riots aftermath
© Aaron P. Bernstein / Reuters
The Milwaukee County medical examiner confirmed that the black man fatally shot by police was hit once in the chest and once in the arm, confirming the police account. Sylville K. Smith's death sparked a week-end of riots in the Wisconsin city.

Word of Smith's shooting sparked violence last Saturday, which lasted for two nights and prompted the authorities to mobilize the National Guard.

There were allegations Smith was shot in the back. Police said that Smith had fled a traffic stop, was armed with a handgun, and had turned toward an officer when he was shot.

Comment: With an attitude like Milwaukee Sheriff declares Black Lives Matter subversive and 'will join ISIS' is it any wonder the riots occurred?

Read More...
Sheriff

Milwaukee: Tensions mount between black sheriff and white police chief

Jaweed Kaleem
Los Angeles Times
Fri, 19 Aug 2016 15:46 UTC
Sheriff David Clarke
© Dominick Reuter / AFP/Getty ImagesMilwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke was one of the few black speakers at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July.
As riots raged in Milwaukee, the county sheriff took to Twitter.

"Black LIES matter," David Clarke wrote to his quarter-million followers, ridiculing the Black Lives Matter movement.

The protesters, he tweeted later, were part of a "culturally dysfunctional underclass" and were responding to "inane provocation."

His taunts stood in sharp contrast to the message being sent out by the Milwaukee police chief. Speaking on local television, Edward Flynn laid out the facts of the shooting that had ignited the unrest, then said he was heading to a meeting with local black pastors to plead for their help.

Comment: A tale of two cops: One expresses empathy and understanding, the other expresses derision and employs strategies of tension. Judge them not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Read More...
Cow Skull

12 year old Trophy hunter who poses with carcasses comes under social media fire


RT
Sat, 20 Aug 2016 15:30 UTC
Aryanna Gourdin
© Aryanna Gourdin - Braids and Bows / Facebook
A young girl and her father from Utah are experiencing a severe backlash online for posing with carcasses of wild animals they have hunted down and killed.

Unlike most 12-year-old girls, Aryanna Gourdin has logged a series of big game kills, many of which she has apparently carried out using her trusty bow with pink arrows. The young markswoman has even traveled to Africa with her father Eli Gourdin, also an avid hunter, to pursue the interest.

"It's something that I cherish and I enjoy. I want other people to see what I have been able to experience," she told ABC News.
Read More...