Society's ChildS


Eye 2

UK report: Over 3,000 Metropolitan policemen investigated for alleged 'serious', sexual' and 'non-sexual' assault; 98% remain on duty


RT
Sat, 02 May 2015 16:52 UTC
Image
© Reuters/Luke MacGregor
Over 3,000 police officers in the UK are currently under investigation for alleged assault, with only two percent suspended or put on restricted duties, according to a British media investigation.

The Independent has numbered at least 3,082 officers being investigated for alleged "serious", "sexual" and "non-sexual" assault.

The paper sent Freedom of Information requests to all 45 UK police forces, but not all of them replied, so the real number could be higher.

Of around 31,000 officers at the Metropolitan Police (MPS) - responsible for law enforcement in London - 1,218 are under investigation. Yet, only five have been suspended and another 28 placed on restricted duty.

There are 1,185 Met officers on full duty despite being under investigation regarding 714 alleged assault cases.

Despite that, the MPS spokeswoman told the Independent that the "vast majority" of the Metropolitan Police officers are carrying out their duties "with professionalism and courtesy."

"Where the conduct of staff is proven to have fallen below the standards of behavior expected, the MPS will take robust action to ensure that its staff are appropriately disciplined and that lessons are learnt," she stressed.

Ethnicity of a person filing a complainant has been recorded in 443 cases.

Comment: Cops have become such a dangerous threat to society and the system continues to protect them. Time and time again we see these conscienceless goons getting away with murder, rape, assault and the list of victims gets longer and longer...

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Cow Skull

Every day, about 150 U.S. workers are killed on the job

Jana Kasperkevic
The Guardian, UK
Wed, 29 Apr 2015 14:22 UTC
Image
© APThe fatality rate in the mining and oil and gas extraction sector in North Dakota was an alarming 84.7 per 100,000, nearly seven times the national fatality rate in this industry.
  • North Dakota is deadliest state for workers for third year running
  • Workplace violence is the second leading cause of job fatalities
About 150 US workers die every day from hazardous working conditions, according to a new report by the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions in the US.

In 2013, 4,585 US workers were killed on the job and an estimated 50,000 died from occupational diseases, found the report. Additionally, about 3.8m work-related injuries and illnesses were reported. The AFL-CIO estimates that the real number of work-related injuries is somewhere between 7.6m to 11.4m each year as many work-related injuries are not reported.

For the third year in a row, North Dakota was the deadliest state to work in the US.

"The state's job fatality rate of 14.9 per 100,000 was more than four times the national average," according to the report. North Dakota's fatality rate has more than doubled since 2007, with 56 workers killed on the job in 2013.

"The fatality rate in the mining and oil and gas extraction sector in North Dakota was an alarming 84.7 per 100,000, nearly seven times the national fatality rate of 12.4 per 100,000 in this industry; and the construction sector fatality rate in North Dakota was 44.1 per 100,000, more than four times the national fatality rate of 9.7 per 100,000 for construction."

Other deadliest states include Wyoming with 9.5 deaths for every 100,000 workers, West Virginia with 8.6, Alaska with 7.9, and New Mexico with 6.7. On the end of the spectrum are Hawaii, which has the lowest fatality rate of 1.6 deaths per 100,000 workers, Washington, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island.

Comment: The 'system' has become nothing more than a a system of exploitation and jaw dropping inequality designed to benefit those at the top of the food chain. All over the world, many hard working people are being slowly worn down by jobs that suck the life out of them. Excessive work hours, unhealthy work conditions and very little pay; thanks to the greedy 1% who see people as nothing more human capitol.

See also: Americans Are Literally Being Worked To Death

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Shopping Bag

More than 6,000 major U.S. retail stores are closing

Michael Snyder
The Economic Collapse Blog
Fri, 01 May 2015 11:48 UTC
Image
© Wealthydebates.com
If the U.S. economy really is improving, then why are big U.S. retailers permanently shutting down thousands of stores? The "retail apocalypse" that I have written about so frequently appears to be accelerating. As you will see below, major U.S. retailers have announced that they are closing more than 6,000 locations, but economic conditions in this country are still fairly stable. So if this is happening already, what are things going to look like once the next recession strikes? For a long time, I have been pointing to 2015 as a major "turning point" for the U.S. economy, and I still feel that way. And since I started The Economic Collapse Blog at the end of 2009, I have never seen as many indications that we are headed into another major economic downturn as I do right now. If retailers are closing this many stores already, what are our malls and shopping centers going to look like a few years from now?

The list below comes from information compiled by About.com, but I have only included major retailers that have announced plans to close at least 10 stores. Most of these closures will take place this year, but in some instances the closures are scheduled to be phased in over a number of years. As you can see, the number of stores that are being permanently shut down is absolutely staggering...
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Headphones

SOTT Focus: Behind the Headlines - Interview with Stefan Verstappen - Paradise Stolen

Sott Editors
Sott.net
Sun, 03 May 2015 18:00 UTC
Stefan Verstappen
This was Behind the Headlines' second interview with Canadian author, artist, and martial arts expert, Stefan Verstappen. Stefan has a professional background in communications and business management and has travelled extensively throughout East Asia, where he has studied oriental art, culture and Kung Fu.He's the author of 'The Art of Urban Survival' from which the viral YouTube video documentary 'Defense Against the Psychopath' was taken.

We previously spoke to Stefan about the video he produced on the topic of historical cycles of human civilization and the manner in which they appear to repeat. In his video, Stefan makes the case that we are currently in the final stage of our cycle of history, defined, like all others, by widespread chaos. Historically, only small groups of people survived the periods of destruction that defined the end of a cycle, and they did so by forming themselves into tight-knit communities with specific organizational structures.

More recently Stefan has produced 3 more short videos on the theme of "Paradise Stolen" where he explores the specific reasons for our current state of societal chaos, the alternatives to the way we live today, and what we can do to face the future and survive.

Following our interview with Stephen we discussed some current events including the stolen ballots in the UK general election, the Saudi bombing of Yemen with U.S. supplied cluster bombs and the possibility of infiltration and re-direction of the protests against police brutality.

Running Time: 01:54:00

Download: MP3

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Stock Down

One quarter of U.S. renters spend half of their income on housing, utilities; approximately 42 million households


RT
Fri, 01 May 2015 17:14 UTC
Image
© Reuters
For more than one in four renters in the US, housing and utility costs take up at least half of their family's income, according to a new analysis of Census data. That number is up 26 percent since the beginning of the Great Recession in 2007.

Rising rents and stagnant wages are pushing more Americans into rental agreements, according to an analysis by Enterprise Community Partners, an affordable housing advocate. More than 36 percent of Americans rent housing as compared to 31 percent before the recession began.

The analysis found:
- 11.25 million families pay at least half of income for rent;

- 6.4 million families headed by women pay at least half of income for rent;

- Low income families paying at least 50% on rent spend about 40% less on food than those with affordable rents.
The states most impacted by rising rents and stagnant wages are Florida, New Jersey, California and New York. In these states, 30 percent of renters are using at least half their income on rental housing and utilities.

The situation is nearly as dire across the nation. In Ohio, Alabama, Maine, Tennessee, Montana, and South Carolina, about 25 percent of renters dedicate half their income to rent and utilities. In fact, at least 20 percent of renters in every state, excepting Alaska, South Dakota, and Wyoming, face similar situations, according to the nonprofit's analysis of 2013 Census figures.

Comment: Under the surface, there is a lot going on in the U.S. economy and its not getting better.

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Water

Hypocrisy: Starbucks feel-good 'Ethos' water sourced from exceptional drought region

Anna Lenzer
Mother Jones
Wed, 29 Apr 2015 10:00 UTC
starbucks, california drought
© Bocman1973/Shutterstock
The coffee giant says it's solving the world's water problems—yet it's profiting off the Golden State's dwindling reserves.

Since 2005, celebrities including Matt Damon and Cameron Diaz have lent their well-hydrated faces to marketing campaigns supporting Starbucks' feel-good Ethos Water mission, which has raised an estimated $12.3 million to help people in developing countries have access to clean water. The company has attempted to "raise awareness" about our globe's water crisis by donating a small portion of proceeds from sales (5 cents from $1.95 water bottles) to water charity projects and hygiene education programs, particularly those aimed at helping children.

Seems there's something in the water, though. Mother Jones did some Internet irrigation and discovered that Ethos's world-saving bottled-water plant is located in Merced and sources its H2O just up north in Baxter, both California towns the United States Drought Monitor has deemed to be in "exceptional drought."

Just how exceptional? Merced residents aren't just restricted from watering their lawns (here's looking at you, Beverly Hills). An April plan from the State Water Resources Control Board mandated that the town must reduce its water use by 35 percent, according to The Fresno Bee, in an attempt to assuage the state's ongoing epic drought.

Merced natives have been increasingly expressing their disdain for the water bottling plant, owned and operated by the grocery store chain Safeway, that had been sourcing and sending out groundwater from the region for sales, reports the Merced Sun-Star. This plant bottles its own water, in addition to producing Ethos. But it's unclear how much water the company has been slurping down because the city holds that as classified information.

Comment: This might put a dent into Starbucks marketing ploys, but it probably won't stop these corporations who wield so much power that they are allowed to suck the life out of entire regions and countries with impunity, while millions suffer. And this continues even though California's drought is now so severe that scientists are predicting there is only one year of water left.

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Magnify

Why we should pay attention to the electricity rationing in Venezuela

Daisy Luther
Activist Post
Fri, 01 May 2015 16:14 UTC
venzuelan electricity worker
© bbc.co.uk
Denial might be a river in Venezuela.

For the past year, the government has been trying to sugar coat the economic demise of the country, and they're continuing the propaganda with the new electricity rationing program that they've instituted. If you think it's because of the socialist government's financial collapse, you're being ridiculous. It's because they care about climate change. Vice President Jorge Arreaza said so.
This is, of course, linked to global warming and the excessive industrialization of capitalism, which never stops, nor has ever stopped, for the effects that it can have on the climate, on society and on Mother Earth.
Of course it is. Only silly paranoid conspiracy theorists would say otherwise.

In case you've forgotten, there's also no food shortage and there's plenty of freedom, too.

Comment: For another real-world lesson on what happens during an economic collapse listen to the Truth Perspective's interview with Fernando Aguirre.

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Bad Guys

Moscow concerned about neo-Nazis' rise in Baltic states and Ukraine


ITAR-TASS
Sat, 02 May 2015 13:35 UTC
Image
© Alexey Nikolsky / press service of president/TASS
Russia is concerned about the failure of authorities in Baltic states and Ukraine to try to stop the spread of the neo-Nazi movement, Kremlin Chief of Staff Sergei Ivanov has said in an interview with RT.

"In Baltic states, in Ukraine now you can see openly Nazi marches. With torches, with Nazi symbols, they are open. And we are very much concerned that local governments do nothing to prevent it," Ivanov said in an interview aired on Saturday.

The rise of neo-Nazism in the world is definitely an evident threat, Ivanov said. "Well, it's different in different countries," he added. Also in Russia, the authorities know that there is some neo-Nazi movement, but it's not very popular.

"And we are very strict in both legal forms of fighting it, and also moral forms," he stressed.

Comment: Let's hope history doesn't repeat.

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Attention

UN warns 'horribly possible' more child-rape cases by peacekeepers could emerge


RT
Sat, 02 May 2015 12:58 UTC
Image
© Reuters/Luc Gnago
Following shocking revelations of child sexual abuse by French peacekeeping troops in the Central African Republic, the UN has warned that it is "horribly possible" that information about more such cases may emerge.

As the investigation continues into the alleged French crimes and troop misconduct, UN human rights spokesman, Rupert Colville admitted that "it is possible, it's horribly possible," that further inquiries will reveal more unreported instances.

The French investigation followed numerous reports of sexual exploitation and abuse of children by the French military before the establishment of MINUSCA - the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Central African Republic. The period under investigation is December 2013 through June 2014. Colville called the allegations "abhorrent" and "utterly odious."

Comment: Yup, have faith the UN bureaucracy will handle it. Not!

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Mr. Potato

Sir Branson declares legalizing drugs will save Ukrainian economy


Sputnik
Sat, 02 May 2015 12:25 UTC
Image
© Flickr/ Jarle Naustvik
British billionaire, Virgin Galactic founder and fame-seeking celebrity Sir Richard Branson suggested the Ukrainian government legalize drugs, according to The Insider.

The world has been combating drugs for more than 50 years, and Ukraine has one of the worst records in this battle, the entrepreneur told the students of a Kiev university on Friday.

Comment: Oh right, don't look at how the world banks are sucking Ukrainians dry, just legalize drugs and cause further destruction and mayhem. How about Kiev stop spending money on war?

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