Society's ChildS


Dollar

'A new type of mafia': Rome trial begins of 46 politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen accused of systematic corruption


The Guardian
Thu, 05 Nov 2015 23:15 UTC
Rome mafi trial
© Reuters Alessandro Diddi, the lawyer of convicted murderer Salvatore Buzzi, arrives at Rome’s Palace of Justice on Thursday for the start of the trial.
Prosecutors say year-long investigation exposed how millions of euros were skimmed off city hall contracts by 'a new type of mafia'

A one-eyed former neo-fascist gangster has gone on trial alongside 45 other defendants accused of running a mafia crime ring in Rome that skimmed millions of euros off city hall contracts.

Prosecutors say a year-long investigation uncovered systematic corruption in Rome as politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen conspired with mobsters to rig public tenders on everything from creating refugee centres to rubbish collection.

Massimo Carminati, a one-time member of Rome's notorious far-right Magliana gang, and his sidekick Salvatore Buzzi, a convicted murderer, are accused of running the crime ring, which prosecutors say represented a new type of mafia in Italy.

Comment: That politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen are revealed as 'the new mafia' should come as no surprise for anyone who has been paying attention.

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Bad Guys

At least 16 reportedly dead after tailings pond dam breaks in Brazil


Stuff.co.nz
Thu, 05 Nov 2015 21:45 UTC
Dam collapse Brazil
Tailings pond dam has collapsed
Witnesses report the town of Bento Rodrigues, near Mariana, Brazil, has completely flooded

A dam in the south-eastern Brazilian town of Mariana in the state of Minas Gerais has broken, killing at least 16, according to local media.

Witnesses report the town of Bento Rodrigues, near Mariana, has been completely flooded; the town has a population of 620.


Comment: More collapses. Symbolic of our world?

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Quenelle - Golden

Hysterical society: Newborn removed because mother drank non-psychoactive marijuana tea to ease her labor pains

Carey Wedler
The Anti Media
Wed, 04 Nov 2015 19:04 UTC
Hollie Sanford and family
© Fox 8 NewsHollie Sanford and family.
A Cleveland, Ohio magistrate recently ordered a newborn baby to be confiscated from her family because her mother drank reportedly non-psychoactive marijuana tea to ease her labor pains. The decision to remove the child from her parents' home came despite the opinion of the county's child services agency that the baby should stay with her family.

Hollie Sanford and her husband Daniel welcomed their daughter, Nova, in late September; and to do so, Hollie opted to use a marijuana tea to lessen the pains of childbirth. After researching her options, she concluded the tea would be safer than other pain treatments. To be sure, use of painkillers and opiates during pregnancy has led to increased rates of withdrawal among newborns.

Comment: It's shocking that in this case Children's Services is actually displaying common sense and empathy. The magistrate, however, needs her law license suspended.

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Stormtrooper

'Disgusting' police behaviour at London student protest angers public

Ryan Ramgobin
The Independent
Thu, 05 Nov 2015 21:38 UTC
london student protest
© Sky News

The large police presence at yesterday's demonstration has been criticised by members of the public, protesters and politicians.

The student demonstration against the Government's plans to cut education grants was for the most part, peaceful non-violent protest. The most hostile behaviour came only in song-form, regarding what protesters thought of Prime Minister David Cameron and his fellow Tories. That was until the demonstration arrived outside the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Black bloc anarchists and police officers clashed outside the building, leading to a swift police presence in the area. For the majority of protesters, it was a moment of confusion - why are all these fluorescent jackets appearing and surrounding us?

Comment: For 'Black bloc anarchists' insert - 'the tried and tested tactic of inserting agent provocateurs into a protest'. A practice we see repeated again and again. Usually accompanied by the observation, as above, that the rest of said protest was "peaceful" and "non-violent". Yet always it's the minority, intent on violence, that grab the headlines - as intended.

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Airplane

One killed in small plane crash off New York City's coast

Victoria Cavaliere
Yahoo! News
Thu, 05 Nov 2015 01:36 UTC
Image
© NYPD
A small plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New York City late on Wednesday, killing at least one person, police said.

The single engine airplane went down in Breezy Point, Queens, around 7:30 p.m., New York police said.

Some of the plane's wreckage has been located and one body was pulled from the water, a police spokesman said. No further details were available.

It was unclear if there were other victims.

Search teams, including divers, were continuing "to collect & search for debris. Investigation will continue through the night," the department's Special Operations Division said on Twitter.

Several witnesses called authorities to report seeing the plane crash into the water, WABC-TV reported. The plane was registered in New Hampshire and had a flight plan to go from New Hampshire to Philadelphia, the station reported.

The Federal Aviation Administration would investigate, the agency said.
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Bizarro Earth

Police state education - cops called every 2.6 seconds

John Vibes
The Free Thought Project
Wed, 04 Nov 2015 00:00 UTC
cops in school
© cops.usdoj.govLaw enforcement, a daily occurrence in US schools.
Police presence in schools has been a topic of heavy debate in recent weeks due to a viral video that showed a police officer brutally assaulting a young girl as she sat at her desk in class. These cases are sadly common, and now seeming to take place on a daily basis all across the country.

According to figures released by the U.S. Department of Justice, 76% of all high schools in the country have police officers working on the campus all day, and teachers are calling them in for the most trivial disciplinary problems. According to statistics released by the U.S. Department of Education and published by NBC News, in the 2011-2012 school year, teachers called the cops on students a total of 31,961 times in the state of California alone, leading to 6,341 arrests.

With 175 8-hour-long school days, that means that every 2.6 seconds a cop is called!

At one California school district, in particular, East Side Union High School District in San Jose, police were called on students 1,745 times during the 2011-2012 school year. This one school called the police on students more than ten times a day! East Side Union Superintendent Chris Funk admitted that his staff relies way too heavily on the police presence at the school. "I think that we had a practice here where we were relying too much on having the officer do the facilitation and the legwork versus the administration doing the legwork," Funk said.


Comment: Does the presence of law enforcement solve problems and make the educational experience better? Or, does this approach stifle responsibility, solution-making, respect and cooperation? Has the police force become the administrator's personal "baby-sitter/bouncer" and what does that say about the future of education and community life? If the US is already a police state, there is no impetus for personal growth, nor the opportunity to learn from mistakes, nor the goals to self-organize and determine one's civic environment. Dead ends and robot people, the wave of the future.

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Gold Coins

India wants households to turn over their gold


RT
Thu, 05 Nov 2015 10:13 UTC
Image
© Arko Datta / Reuters
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a program to lure tons of gold from households into the country's banking system. The program consists of three schemes; a gold monetization scheme, gold sovereign bonds and Indian gold coin.

The gold monetization scheme aims to unlock about 20,000 tons of gold worth over $800 billion lying idle in homes and temples. Under the plan, banks will collect gold for up to 15 years and pay 2.25-2.50 percent interest per year. This is higher than previous rates of around one percent. The government hopes that higher interest rates will help in mobilizing the gold as previous attempts have been unsuccessful.

Comment: Read more:

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V

Remember, Remember the 5th of November: 2015 Million Mask March


RT
Thu, 05 Nov 2015 11:20 UTC
Image
© Jonathan Alcorn / Reuters
Anonymous-inspired activists are taking to the streets across the globe as the Million Mask March circles the world. Hiding behind symbolic Anonymous masks, the demonstrators are protesting censorship, government corruption, and police brutality.

05 November 2015

15:54 GMT

In Amsterdam, protesters were joined by several policemen who are guiding them through the city. After a break for coffee, snacks and a group photo, the rally is moving towards Rembrandtplein square.
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V

Guy Fawkes day: Anonymous prepares for global day of action as Million Mask March sweeps globe


RT
Thu, 05 Nov 2015 16:29 UTC
Image
© Marko Djurica / Reuters
Tens of thousands of activists disguised as Guy Fawkes are expected to the flood streets of over 671 cities as the Anonymous-led Million Mask March sweeps the globe. The hacktivist group and its followers will protest censorship, corruption, war and poverty.

For the fourth year in a row the "Anonymous army," as the group likes to call its activists, will rise up and take part in rallies and protests from Sydney to Los Angeles and Johannesburg to London.

Hiding their faces behind stylized 'Anonymous' masks popularized by the "V for Vendetta" movie, they will come forward to make their voices heard.

The Million Mask March is also about letting "various governments" know that "the free flow of information" will never be stopped.

"We now face a dilemma unfamiliar to any previous human civilization, we face this dilemma not simply as a community, nor a nation; rather collectively as a planet. We have something no previous generation has ever had, the internet," Anonymous said in its 2015 promo video for the Million Mask March.


Comment: The words of V in V For Vendetta have never been more prescient than it today's global political climate. The American political elite use the same tactics as the 'Norsefire' politicians in the movie use. But as he says, we are responsible for enacting change:



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Red Flag

Hysteria: 7-year-old boy suspended from school for pretending to shoot an imaginary bow and arrow

Matt Agorist
Free Thought Project
Tue, 03 Nov 2015 15:54 UTC
Image
In what can be described as a decision made in a society driven by fear, a 7-year-old boy was suspended from school for three days for pretending to shoot an imaginary bow and arrow.

The boy, who returned to school today after receiving his punishment, formed an imaginary bow and arrow and 'shot' it at his friend. The two boys were engaged in a 'dangerous' game of Power Rangers when they were spotted by the teachers who saw something and said something.

According to WLWT, the boy's parents, Matthew and Martha Miele, told WLWT their son was playing a game of Power Rangers at recess on Thursday when it happened.

"I think he's a good principal. I just think a bad decision was made," Matthew Miele said of Principal Joe Crachiolo, who handed down the steep

"I didn't really understand. I had him (the principal) on the phone for a good amount of time so he could really explain to me what he was trying to tell me," Martha Miele said. "My question to him was 'Is this really necessary? Does this really need to be a three-day suspension under the circumstances that he was playing and he's 6 years old?'"
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