Society's Child

In workshops, fields, some 1.6 million Egyptian children at work in arduous conditions

Khalil Hamra
Associated Press
Tue, 30 Oct 2012 23:03 UTC

© Khalil Hamra/Associated Press
An Egyptian child carries a clay roof tile in a pottery workshop in old Cairo, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012.

Cairo - It's early in the morning, and 13-year-old Ezzat is hard at work in one of Cairo's pottery workshops in an ancient part of the Egyptian capital. He sorts through the day's production. In the same area of workshops, three barefoot boys under the age of 12 carry clay pieces from inside the factory out into the sun to dry.

"I go to school, but I decided not to go today because it is time to paint the clay," said Ezzat, whose brother runs the workshop. Ezzat refused to give his last name.

The Egyptian government estimates that some 1.6 million minors work - almost 10 percent of population aged 17 or under - often in arduous conditions. Other experts put the number at nearly twice that, given that so many work in informal sectors and are difficult to track. In 2011, a U.S. Department of Labor report said Egypt had made some efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, but it said the country has not addressed gaps in legal enforcement to protect children.

Some child labor activists worry that protections for children could be loosened further under the new constitution still being written. Earlier this month, the Egyptian Coalition for Children's Rights warned that early drafts of the document did not include as firm prohibitions on child labor as past constitutions.

Fake sharks in flooded NYC and New Jersey

Sott.net
Tue, 30 Oct 2012 16:33 UTC

Those 'sharks in the streets after Hurricane Sandy' pictures that have been doing the rounds. They're faked. Be careful what you believe. Some people seem very willing to over-indulge their emotions over 'Sandy' and then soft-sell it back to themselves as showing concern or empathy for the victims. Indulging your emotions and falling for emotional hooks during a time of crisis helps no one.

GOP tool spreads false rumors and panic about Hurricane Sandy

Alternet
Tue, 30 Oct 2012 14:11 UTC

The definition of obnoxious: a right-wing Twitter troll making up lies about the impact of Hurricane Sandy.

As widespread worries over Hurricane Sandy spread among New York City residents, one obnoxious right-wing Twitter user took the opportunity to spread unsubstantiated rumours about the impact of the storm. Some of the Twitter messages went viral--and news organizations picked them up.

BuzzFeed Politics' Tumblr has collected many of the tweets from @ComfortablySmug, the Twitter account name that spread the rumours. @ComfortablySmug, according to his Twitter bio, is interested in "Finance, Gin, Politics, Books, Food, Fine Clothing, Meeting Strangers #Mitt2012." Some of the rumours he spread include: "confirmed flooding" of the New York Stock Exchange; Con Edison shutting down all the power in New York; and Governor Cuomo being trapped in Manhattan. None of the tweets were true. And one message--that subways would be shut for the remainder of the week--went viral. That message, also, wasn't true. Another message, that the New York Stock Exchange was flooded, was picked up by CNN.

But "two of his tweets garnered more than 500 retweets. One drew a rebuke from ConEd's official Twitter account," BuzzFeed's Andrew Kaczynski writes.

While Kaczynski didn't identify the user, Wonkette claims to have found out who he is: " Shashank Tripathi , who naturally is some kind of low-level staffer or volunteer at a NYC Republican Victory Center , and was spotted holding a campaign sign in November 2010 ."

Flights canceled at Japanese airport after unexploded WWII shell discovered

Junko Ogura
CNN
Tue, 30 Oct 2012 00:00 UTC

© Agence France-Presse/Jiji Press
A huge unexploded World War II bomb has been found buried near the runway of Sendai airport in Japan

Dozens of flights were canceled in and out of a northeastern Japanese city on Tuesday after construction workers came across an unexploded shell believed to be from World War II buried near a taxiway.

Airport authorities in Sendai said they had canceled all 92 flights, national and international, scheduled to use the airport Tuesday after the discovery of the shell late Monday under an unpaved area beside the taxiway.

Members of the Japanese Self Defense Force are working to remove the ordinance, which is thought to be a U.S.-made bomb dropped during World War II, the airport said, adding that officials hope flights will be able to resume Wednesday.

Baseball fans turn violent as they celebrate victory, burning a bus and smashing windows after San Francisco Giants win the World Series

Associated Press Reporter
The Daily Mail
Mon, 29 Oct 2012 16:56 UTC

Baseball fans disgraced themselves on Sunday night, celebrating victory at the ballpark with violence and drunkenness.

Thousands to the streets of San Francisco to celebrate the Giants' World Series victory, with revelers gathering on corners, in parks and at watering holes - and some turning rowdy.

Fans across the city left their televisions and rushed outside, greeting diners, bar patrons and other merrymakers Sunday night after the Giants defeated the Detroit Tigers 4-3 to sweep the Series for their second title in three years.

Some violence and vandalism was reported, with revelers setting a public transit bus on fire, flipping over a vehicle and breaking the windows of several businesses and vehicles, KTVU-TV reported.

Comment: A sign of the underlying stress and tension that has built up in American Society. If this is the response to victory, just imagine the social fallout when things really start going south.

37 years on, landmines still killing and maiming Vietnamese civilians

Simon Speakman Cordall
The Guardian
Tue, 18 Sep 2012 07:30 UTC

© Simon Cordall
Duong Ba Tien with the unexploded bomb he found while tending his family's water buffalo in Quang Tri province, central Vietnam.
37 years on, unexploded bombs continue to ruin lives in the former wartime frontline regions of Vietnam

Somewhere in the centre of Vietnam, roughly halfway between Hanoi and Saigon, lies the small province of Quang Tri. Palm trees line its white-sand beaches, water buffaloes lounge in its many ponds and farmers bring harvests home in ox-drawn carts.

It was here, at around 10am on one sweltering hot morning in 1988, as Nguyen Dinh Thu was hoeing the small piece of land his parents had given him, that he struck the unexploded US military bomb that had lain undisturbed there for 15 years. Nguyen had no knowledge of this, or the 11 other bombs that were later dug up from the ground on which he'd been standing.

Horrifying brain scans that show the real impact of love

Daily Mail
Mon, 29 Oct 2012 06:31 UTC

According to neurologists the sizeable difference between these two brains has one primary cause - the way were treated by their mothers

These images are brain scans of a two three-year-old children

Brain on the left is considerably larger, has fewer spots and less dark areas, compared to the one on the right

You comfort them over a skinned knee in the playground, and coax them to sleep with a soothing lullaby.

But being a nurturing mother is not just about emotional care - it pays dividends by determining the size of your child's brain, scientists say.

Both of these images are brain scans of a two three-year-old children, but the brain on the left is considerably larger, has fewer spots and less dark areas, compared to the one on the right.

According to neurologists this sizeable difference has one primary cause - the way each child was treated by their mothers.

The child with the larger and more fully developed brain was looked after by its mother - she was constantly responsive to her baby, reported The Sunday Telegraph.

Comment: And so we see a very direct result of the psychopathologisation of society. Through the spread of psychopathic ideology, people become "ponerized", i.e., they develop psychopathic traits without being clinical psychopaths themselves. This pathology is then spread to the next generation, and on it goes, unto the eventual collapse and destruction of human society.

Stop supporting psychopaths in power and stop accepting and adopting psychopathic ideals.

UK police arrest Gary Glitter

Sylvia Hui
Yahoo! News
Sun, 28 Oct 2012 00:00 UTC

© Associated Press/Alastair Grant
In this Jan, 11, 2000 file photo, British performer Gary Glitter, during a press conference in London. Police investigating the sex abuse scandal surrounding late BBC children's television host Jimmy Savile have arrested pop star Gary Glitter in connection with the case, British media said Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012.

London - Police investigating child sex abuse allegations against the late BBC television host Jimmy Savile arrested former glam rock star and convicted sex offender Gary Glitter on Sunday, British media reported, raising further questions about whether Savile was at the center of a broader pedophile ring.

Police would not directly identify the suspect arrested Sunday, but media including the BBC and Press Association reported he was the 68-year-old Glitter.

The musician, whose real name is Paul Gadd, made it big with the crowd-pleasing hit "Rock & Roll (Part 2)," a mostly instrumental anthem that has been a staple at American sporting events, thanks to its catchy "hey" chorus. But he fell into disgrace after being convicted on child abuse charges in Vietnam.

Sunday's arrest was the first in a widening scandal over Savile's alleged sex crimes. Hundreds of potential victims have come forward since police began the investigation into sex abuse allegations against Savile, a much-loved children's TV presenter and disc jockey who died at the age of 84 last year.

Most have alleged abuse by Savile, but some said they were abused by Savile and others. Most claimed they were assaulted in their early teens.

The scandal has raised questions about whether the BBC, the publicly funded and trusted broadcaster, had ignored crimes it suspected over several decades. Its executives have apologized and vowed to uncover the true scale of the alleged abuse.

"No Monti Day": Tens of thousands protest against austerity in Rome

Reuters
Sat, 27 Oct 2012 16:47 UTC

Tens of thousands of people marched through Rome in a "No Monti Day" on Saturday, some throwing eggs and spraying graffiti to protest against austerity measures introduced by Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti's government.

Anti-austerity protesters urge Spain government to resign in Madrid rally

Agence France-Presse
Sat, 27 Oct 2012 16:19 UTC

"If you want to win... fight without rest."

Thousands of anti-austerity demonstrators marched in the Spanish capital Saturday calling for the conservative government to resign because of its severe budget cuts.

"They don't represent us", "More education fewer police", demonstrators shouted as dozens of police vehicles followed the march to near the parliament building which was cordoned off.

A large banner read "No to the debt budget".

Demonstrators held a minute's silence, sitting down and holding their arms up in the air before they shouted "resign" with their fists clenched.