Society's ChildS


Pistol

Reports of gunman cause Community College of Philidelphia to go on lockdown


RT
Tue, 06 Oct 2015 15:26 UTC
Image
© Wikepedia
Students and faculty at Community College of Philadelphia were finding shelter over reports of a gunman on campus. The suspected gunman is in custody.

The reports surfaced on Tuesday around 10 a.m. EDT inside the school's Bonnell Building. Authorities said that a male in the building said that he was threatened by another male with a gun, according to a local ABC affiliate.

There were no shots fired or injuries.

Comment: Whether this was an 'active shooter' situation or not, this is the third school-related shooting event in two weeks.

See also:

4 California Highschool students arrested over massacre plot one day after Oregon shooting

Student reporting from scene of Oregon college massacre: 'Two shooters likely professionals with silencers'


Read More...
Airplane

Another pilot passes out: United Airlines co-pilot loses consciousness during flight to San Francisco


CBS News - San Francisco
Tue, 06 Oct 2015 18:40 UTC
Image
© MyLoupe/UIG via Getty ImagesUnited Airlines Boeing 747-400
A United Airlines co-pilot lost consciousness on a Houston-to-San Francisco flight Tuesday morning, according to a travel industry news website.

eTurboNews Group reported the United flight 1614 was diverted to Albuquerque International Sunport after the co-pilot lost consciousness mid-flight.

Word of the incident comes a day after an American Airlines pilot died during a flight from Phoenix to Boston. The co-pilot on the flight landed the plane safely in Syracuse, N.Y.

Comment: Pilot dies in mid-flight with 147 passengers, American Airlines

Read More...
House

The city where residents have been taking mentally ill people into their homes for hundreds of years

Lizzie Dearden
The Independent
Sat, 03 Oct 2015 18:19 UTC
Image
Geel residents have been taking people with mental illnesses into their homes for centuries Mike Jau
Geel has a unique model of psychiatric care dating back to the 14th Century

"Half of Geel is crazy, and the rest is half crazy," runs a joke often told about the Belgian city of Geel.

On the surface, it may seem unremarkable with its pretty market square and river views, surrounded by the Antwerp countryside.

But wandering around its plazas and cafes, visitors may notice that some of the residents seem slightly "eccentric", and with good reason.

Comment: Social giving makes us happier
Selflessness Has Neuropsychological Connection
Social isolation affects DNA

Read More...
Document

'ISIS is not Islam' - Russian university fights extremism with anti-terror textbook


RT
Tue, 06 Oct 2015 18:27 UTC
Image
© Vladimir Vyatkin / RIA Novosti
A university in Russia's Urals region has published 3,000 copies of a book detailing the deceits used by Islamic State and describing the dangers that await the possible recruits to the terrorist group. The work targets young people, Muslim clerics and civil servants in Russia.

"Without any exaggeration, the whole world is now fighting with the Islamic State. Their principles are inhumane and destructive for the very foundations of humanity. As we study Islam and Orthodox Chistianity on the Theology Department of our university we can expertly explain the processes that are now taking place in the world," the chancellor of the Urals State Mining University said in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda daily.

"The Russian President is now allocating a lot of his attention to the explanations over the issue. Our country is setting an example on how to correctly oppose extremists. These are the reasons behind our 'ISIS is not Islam' book," the rector said.

He also explained that the professors started to pay special attention to anti-ISIS propaganda after one of the university's students, 19-year old Varvara Karaulova left Russia for Turkey this summer in the hope of marrying an ISIS fighter she had met online. The girl was detained by Turkish law enforcement officers and returned to Russia, but the case gained a lot of attention in the media.
Read More...
Bullseye

Peru: Civil liberties suspended, state of emergency declared following mining protests

Heather Callaghan
Activist Post
Tue, 06 Oct 2015 18:17 UTC
Peru mine protest
© Observatory of Mining Conflict of Peru
The Peruvian government has declared a 30-day state of emergency following four deaths at a protest of the Chinese-owned Las Bambas mine project. The emergency status includes a startling suspension of civil liberties on Peruvians.

Latin Post reports:
After four people were killed amid anti-mining protests, Peruvian President Ollanta Humala declared a 30-day state of emergency in the Apurímac region on Tuesday [Sept 29].

Suspending civil liberties and authorizing military patrols, the government announced that extra troops would be sent to Apurímac "to restore internal peace."

The four protesters were shot dead during confrontations with the police. Aside from the deaths, 14 protesters were injured in demonstrations against a $7.4 billion copper mine project.
Read More...
V

Activists airdrop flyers onto NSA base appealing to conscience of agents to quit their jobs

Carey Wedler
Anti Media
Mon, 05 Oct 2015 00:00 UTC
Image
On Friday, a drone-like device dropped flyers over a key NSA intelligence facility that advised employees to quit their jobs on ethical grounds. The effort is the most recent attempt by privacy advocates to chip away at the power of the surveillance state using direct action campaigns.

Peng!, a tactical media and activist group, used a remote-controlled plane to drop flyers over a U.S. military base in Germany that serves as the NSA's European hub of signals intelligence known as the Dagger Complex. The flyers were designed by Intelexit, the specific campaign Peng! launched to encourage security agency employees to quit their jobs. A video posted to Youtube shows footage from the remote-controlled plane intercut with panoramic shots of the flying overhead.

Comment: In a career that is fraught with paranoia, secrecy, revolving doors, corruption, malfeasance, and law-breaking by any other description, dropping out and even whistle blowing requires an incredible amount of courage and fortitude. But it would probably do us well to remember that most many of the individuals who sign on to these jobs do so precisely because they fit in with the pathological culture of control, and lack the conscience to stand up to it to begin with.

See also:

Read More...
Eye 1

California mayor detained at airport by DHS, forced to give up electronics and passwords

Nathan Mattise
ars technica
Sun, 04 Oct 2015 16:26 UTC
homeland security
Stockton, California Mayor Anthony R. Silva attended a recent mayor's conference in China, but his return trip took a bit longer than usual. At the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) this week, agents with the Department of Homeland Security detained Silva and confiscated his personal cell phone among other electronics. According to comments from the mayor, that may not even be the most alarming part.

"Unfortunately, they were not willing or able to produce a search warrant or any court documents suggesting they had a legal right to take my property," Silva told SFGate. "In addition, they were persistent about requiring my passwords for all devices."

The mayor's attorney, Mark Reichel, told SFGate that Silva was not allowed to leave the airport without forfeiting his passwords. Reichel was not present for Silva's interaction with the DHS agents, either. The mayor was told he had "no right for a lawyer to be present" and that being a US citizen did not "entitle me to rights that I probably thought," according to the paper.
Read More...
Sheriff

Donut shop employee writes Black Lives Matter on cop's coffee cup, sets off local media storm


RT
Mon, 05 Oct 2015 17:04 UTC
employee blacklivesmatter police donut shop
© Mario Anzuoni / Reuters
A police officer in Providence, Rhode Island, received a coffee at Dunkin' Donuts with the message, "#blacklivesmatter" written on the cup, referring to the national movement highlighting police brutality towards people of color

An employee at Dunkin' Donuts on Atwells Avenue in Providence "was immediately rude, and didn't appear to want to serve him in Uniform," according to Providence police officer William O'Donnell, who wrote of the incident involving a fellow officer in a private Facebook post.

The incident occured on Friday. The local police union ‒ Providence Police Patrolman and Providence Fraternal Order of Police ‒ held an emergency meeting on Sunday, according to Boston.com, and released a statement "condemning the employee and the Black Lives Matter movement."

The statement went on: "Providence FOP #3 finds this action to be unacceptable and discouraging... The negativity displayed by the #Blacklivesmatter organization towards Police across this nation is creating a hostile environment that is not resolving any problems or issues, but making it worse for our communities."

Comment: This may not have been the most strategic action by a person concerned with police brutality, but it isn't hard to understand their motive:

Read More...
Alarm Clock

Understanding the sickness of the American psyche

Larry Malerba
Waking Times
Mon, 05 Oct 2015 19:54 UTC
There is a deep sickness beginning to take hold of the American psyche that threatens to undermine the already shaken stability of the lives of everyone in this country.

Image
It appears that America is coming apart at the seams. Routine school shootings, the reemergence of overt racism, anti-government paranoia on the rise, exaggerated threats of germs and terrorists lurking around every corner, government indifference to the hollowing out of the middle class, military tactics employed by officers of the peace—signs of societal disintegration are everywhere. And now we have witnessed the murder of two journalists on live TV and must endure the relentless exploitative media coverage that inevitably follows. While it is true that there always will be social unrest and all manner of cultural crises, the current state of affairs strikes many as beyond the ordinary—and I must cautiously cast my vote in agreement.

Is the sky falling? Maybe, maybe not, but there is a deep sickness beginning to take hold of the American psyche that threatens to undermine the principles that have long held the democratic experiment together. Although there are a variety of legitimate perspectives concerning this dilemma, I will propose my analysis of the psychiatric state of the American mind, an analysis that is largely colored by my vantage point as a holistic physician with a conventional medical educational background.

Comment: This very complex issue begins with each individual doing their best to take personal responsibility in seeing reality as it is. This starts with the very disturbing realization that there are those amongst us who don't think the way that we do or have the best interests of society at heart. Learning all we can about psychopathy and their antisocial tactics may help the general public to stop being at war with each other and understand who the real enemy is.

Read More...
Bandaid

The worst environmental disaster in American history only cost BP $21 billion?


Russian Times
Tue, 06 Oct 2015 16:28 UTC
Image
© © U.S. Coast Guard / ReutersFire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon, off Louisiana, in this handout photograph taken on April 21, 2010.
The US government and BP have finalized a $20.8 billion deal to settle the energy giant's 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. BP plans to stretch its payment, described as the "biggest in US history," over 15 years.

"This resolution is strong and fitting," Attorney General Loretta Lynch said. "BP is receiving the punishment it deserves while also providing critical compensation to the damage to the Gulf region."

The final agreement comes more than three months after the deal was first announced in July, but still needs to be approved by a federal court.

Comment: Mother of all gushers - BP Oil Disaster in Gulf of Mexico - A Timeline

Read More...