Society's ChildS


Dollars

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


RT
Sun, 06 Mar 2016 10:36 UTC
Trump MSNBC
© Scott Morgan / Reuters U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (centre L) talks to host Joe Scarborough during an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe cable television show at Java Joe's CoffeeHouse in Des Moines, Iowa.
The hacktivist group Anonymous is believed to have hacked Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's voicemail and leaked messages from 2012, which appear to show how the liberal media in the US is supporting the billionaire.

Gawker published recordings, which were hacked by Anonymous and which contain 21 messages from MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, and Tamron Hall. The media outlet said it was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the messages, though they do appear to be genuine.

In one message, Scarborough can be heard saying: "We are so, so grateful for everything, Donald, and we just want to call you and tell you how much it means to us." The journalists were believed to be thanking Trump for making a series of charitable donations.

It would also appear that Scarborough confirmed that the messages were genuine after a series of tweets.
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Pistol

Shooter on the loose after critically wounding Church's Chicken employee in a table cleaning dispute


RT
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 15:51 UTC
Church's Chicken
© wikipedia.org / Reuters
An irritated customer at a restaurant in North Philadelphia has shot and critically wounded a man at Church's Chicken, after one of the staff members reportedly refused to stop cleaning tables next to him. Police are hunting for the suspect who fled the scene.

The shooting took place at a Church's Chicken restaurant in the 3,600 block of North Broad Street, 6abc reported. The suspect, described as a black male, 5 feet 7 inches in height, was eating his dinner while an employee of the restaurant was cleaning tables nearby.
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Eye 1

The FBI wants students and teachers to keep an eye out for telltale signs of terrorism


RT
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 15:36 UTC
FBI person
© Chip East / Reuters
High school students and teachers across the US are being encouraged to watch their peers for any telltale signs that might indicate they are about to commit an act of terror.

In an advice booklet entitled 'Preventing Violent Extremism in Schools', the FBI says students are "ideal targets" for terrorist recruiters aiming to carry out violent attacks on US soil.

While not as blatant as the 'Red Scare' US loyalty review boards or the neighborly snooping fueled by McCarthyism in the 1950s, the 28-page intelligence pamphlet does suggest young US citizens keep a close eye on one another's activities - even to the extent of monitoring student artwork and essays.

Comment: See also:

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Bad Guys

Society unhinged: America's loss of empathy

David Noise
Psychology Today
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 00:00 UTC
trump
© Gage Skidmore
Here's a sobering thought for the idealists among us: Even if we someday achieve a truly fair and just society, that society will nevertheless be inhabited by the same species that produced the Holocaust. "Humans are capable of many things," as author Noam Chomsky once told me. "Some of them are horrible, some are wonderful."

Knowing that the human animal's behavioral capacities cover a spectrum from the horrific to the kindhearted, it seems obvious that our challenge going forward is to create social structures that lead to the more desirable outcomes. There's plenty of room for debate over details, but the basic framework of where we want to go shouldn't be very controversial: general prosperity, a healthy and educated population, a government free of corruption and responsive to human needs, a sustainable natural environment, and a safe and free social environment.

Most would agree that the political realm is an important component in achieving such a society, but if that's so we should be concerned about the state of affairs in America today. That is, the country's political dynamics—the interactions between candidates, the policy proposals being considered, and even the conduct of ordinary citizens—increasingly reflect a complete lack of human empathy, a view toward others that is willfully insensitive, if not outright contemptuous. The objective observer is left wondering whether the United States, politically and as a society, is sliding toward ominous realms on that aforementioned spectrum of potential behaviors.

Comment: This complete lack of empathy and moral decay are among the many signs that the US empire may be nearing its demise. It's probably a good time to consider a model for a better world that could flourish in the wake of this global reset:

Post imperialism: A Template for a New Social Order

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Nuke

Explosions and fire shutdown nuclear reactor in South Carolina


RT
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 01:25 UTC
Oconee Nuclear Station
© Wikimedia CommonsAerial view of the Duke Power Company's Oconee Nuclear Station at Seneca, South Carolina. Circa 1974.
One of the reactors at the Oconee Nuclear Station has been shut down after a series of explosions and a fire damaged a transformed on site. The operator declared the incident "unusual" but emphasized there was no threat of radiation release.

Emergency crews deployed at the scene have managed to contain the fire, and will remain at the scene to assist crews. Oconee Nuclear Station is a nuclear power plant located on Lake Keowee near Seneca, South Carolina.

"Unit #1 was shut down as a precaution," Oconee County Emergency Management said in a statement. "There is NO POTENTIAL FOR RELEASE."

The plant operator Duke Energy said that while "Unit 1 has been safely shutdown" the remaining "Units 2 and 3 continue to operate safely."
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Quenelle

Media silent as thousands protest in London against Turkish war on Kurds


RT
Sun, 06 Mar 2016 22:53 UTC
British protests turkish war kurds
© Telgraf London / YouTube
Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Britain's capital to express their indignation with the Ankara's military operation against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which heaps suffering on the Kurdish minority both in Turkey and beyond its borders.

The protest, organized by an activist group known as Stop War on Kurds, took place in central London on Sunday. People gathered at BBC Broadcasting House and then left for Trafalgar Square to start the rally.

The crowd was a mixture of both Kurds and non-Kurdish supporters.

Comment: The Kurdish issue: Turkey is screwed, and it's all America's fault

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Stormtrooper

Peaceful black students forced to leave Donald Drumpf rally at Valdosta University

Rod Webber
DailyKOS
Wed, 02 Mar 2016 23:02 UTC
voldosta
The students of Valdosta State University tell the real story of what happened at the Donald Drumpf rally on February 29th.

The students:

Khalian Brawder
Sierra Cooper
Tremaine Genias
Kaerra Houston
Breanna Johnson
Kayla Lindsey
Jasmin Martin
Mia Rawls
Brittany Roark
Tatum Schindler
Cara Smith

(Listed alphabetically)

Comment: Not protesting, not making any sort of obvious disruption. Donald Drumpf came to their university to have a rally and these students had purchased tickets. All they did was attend, dressed in all black and they were escorted out while undergoing heavy harassment. They were asked to move at first, and then they were told they had to go. The police escorted them out, threatening to arrest two of the girls who asked why they had to leave. Yet another example of how Donald Drumpf is promoting hate and racism in the 21st century.

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Padlock

Chinese woman dies while trapped in apartment elevator a month after power was cut off


RT
Sun, 06 Mar 2016 17:45 UTC
Elevator
© Mike Quinn / Wikipedia
An investigation is underway in the Chinese city of Xi'an to determine how maintenance staff at a residential apartment complex failed to locate a woman who died while trapped in an elevator for a month.

Markings on the inside of the carriage suggest the woman had tried desperately to escape or to alert any passersby to her situation.

Power to the elevator had been cut off by maintenance staff at the high rise apartment building.

Workers made the grim discovery on March 1, in an elevator that had been out of action since late January. Inside they found the remains of a 43-year-old woman, who is believed to have starved to death.
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TV

Really? That much? Fox News only tells the truth 22% of the time

Kit O'Connell
Mint Press News
Fri, 04 Mar 2016 20:56 UTC
Megyn Kelly
© AP Photo/Carlos OsorioModerator Megyn Kelly speaks before a Republican presidential primary debate at Fox Theatre, Thursday, March 3, 2016, in Detroit.
Less than half the "facts" broadcast on Fox News are even partially true, according to an ongoing analysis by an independent fact-checking project.

Some recent lies told by on-air personalities and guests seem designed to stoke fears over the safety of refugees living in the United States and to spread untruths about American support for gun control laws.

Punditfact, a joint project by the Tampa Bay Times and media analysts from Politifact, offers "scorecards" on the accuracy of the TV networks and major TV personalities.

Last updated in January, the Punditfact scorecard for Fox News shows that just 10 percent of statements made on the network have been "True" and another 12 percent "Mostly True" since the project began in 2014. Even generously including the 19 percent of statements deemed "Half True" reveals that just 41 percent of Fox News statements can be deemed "true" to some degree.

Comment: All the network news shows suffer from 'pants on fire' syndrome. When it comes to mainstream news sources, journalism is dead. A Fox News insider had this to say:
Asked what most viewers and observers of Fox News would be surprised to learn about the controversial cable channel, a former insider from the world of Rupert Murdoch was quick with a response: "I don't think people would believe it's as concocted as it is; that stuff is just made up."

Indeed, a former Fox News employee who recently agreed to talk with Media Matters confirmed what critics have been saying for years about Murdoch's cable channel. Namely, that Fox News is run as a purely partisan operation, virtually every news story is actively spun by the staff, its primary goal is to prop up Republicans and knock down Democrats, and that staffers at Fox News routinely operate without the slightest regard for fairness or fact checking.


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Cell Phone

Court rules police use of stingray technology unconstitutional

Claire Bernish
The Free Thought Project
Sun, 06 Mar 2016 19:26 UTC
stingray cellphone
Thanks to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, the warrantless use of cell-site simulators, known as Stingrays, is now considered a violation of the Fourth Amendment.

"Police should now be on notice," said staff attorney Nate Wessler of the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, as The Intercept reported. "Accurately explain your surveillance activities to a judge and get a warrant, or risk your evidence being thrown out."

This potentially precedent-setting decision upheld an earlier ruling by Baltimore Circuit Judge Kendra Ausby. According to The Intercept, "the trial court had suppressed evidence obtained by the warrantless use of a Stingray — the first time any court in the nation had done so."

Comment: Will other law enforcement agencies stop using this technology?

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