Society's ChildS


Star of David

Israel to legalize five West Bank outposts with settlers who committed violence against Palestinians


Mondoweiss
Sat, 03 Oct 2015 00:00 UTC
stone throwing
© www.timesofisrael.comMasked Jewish settlers, background, and Palestinians, foreground, hurl stones during clashes in the West Bank.
Plan revealed in response to Yesh Din petition to evacuate illegal outpost of Adei Ad, east of Shilo, built on private land and home to residents involved in violent acts against Palestinians — Israel intends to authorize a bloc of five West Bank outposts east of Shilo that covers six square kilometers and includes hundreds of illegal structures. The state submitted the announcement to the High Court of Justice in response a petition filed last year by the human rights group Yesh Din and the owners of the lands in question.

The petition calls for immediate evacuation of the Adei Ad outpost because it was built without any building permits on private lands, and because outpost residents have been involved in violent acts threatening local security.
Regarding claims of violence by outpost residents toward Palestinian residents, the state asserted that 36 cases were opened in 2014 in the Shilo area and the adjacent Habladim outpost for illegal political acts including attacks and causing property damage. The cases led to 11 indictments against 19 individuals. In 2015, 16 cases were opened, only two of which have led to indictments.
In its response filed Tuesday to the High Court, the state announced its intention to authorize all the Shilo region outposts. To this end, work is being carried out to verify the borders of state lands in the area referred to as "Blue line team," as a preliminary stage for authorizing the outposts.

Comment: Why not. Israel doesn't consider violence against Palestinians as a crime, nor usurping another country's property illegal.

According to Yesh Din:
These acts of violence are not isolated incidents, not are they simply acts of hate or anger. Rather this brand of violence is part of a sophisticated, wider strategy designed to assert territorial domination over Palestinians in the West Bank.
'No go zones': In one manifestation of settler violence, Palestinians often face armed settlers in areas surrounding settlements and outposts, who create effective "no go zones" which often include private Palestinian land. This ensures that the land is virtually abandoned by its fearful owners.

'Price tag' campaign: In recent years, settlers have launched their "price tag" campaign against State, in which they retaliate during attempts to dismantle outposts by carrying out violent attacks on nearby Palestinian villages, forcing authorities to divert personnel to those areas.
According to international humanitarian law, as the occupying power in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), Israel is charged with ensuring the security and safety of the residents of the OPT. Israel has neglected this obligation for decades. The IDF and police are neither prepared nor willing to provide the necessary protection to Palestinians attacked by violent settlers. Law enforcement agencies display repeated failure to conduct proper investigations of these incidents. When convictions are made, Israeli citizens involved in such violent acts are handed light sentences.

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No Entry

Police State policies in view during South Carolina flood

Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post
Mon, 05 Oct 2015 00:00 UTC
Image
© Getty Images
As the flood waters began to rise in South Carolina, so did the level of awareness that the vast majority of South Carolinians were wholly unprepared for such a disaster. But local governments have also proven themselves unprepared, poorly prioritized, and inept at dealing with the destruction left by a historic amount of rainfall over the Palmetto state.

As the flood crisis got under way, South Carolina saw its major cities inundated with so much water that city centers were unnavigable without a boat, coastal areas saw houses collapse, and both city and rural areas saw roads wash out completely. With dams bursting and bridges washing away, local governments, citizens, and emergency management personnel clearly had their hands full. Most of them, to their credit, did their jobs well enough with the resources they had.

However, as has now become typical, local governments immediately began racing the flood waters to see which could become the greatest threat to the people of South Carolina.

Comment: Authoritarian bureaucratic types seem to have a penchant for over-reacting - but little ability to exercise foresight and wisdom before problems get escalated.

For more on the event itself see:

Catastrophic flash flooding forecast for South Carolina, National Guard deployed

At least eight dead in 'historic' flash flooding in South Carolina, US

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Cheeseburger

Woman found dead 24 hours after she sat down in Hong Kong McDonald's; unaware customers just ate...

Gloria Chan
South China Morning Post
Sun, 04 Oct 2015 20:22 UTC
Image
© Frankie TsangCustomers at the Ping Shek Estate McDonald's in Kowloon Bay came and went for 24 hours before an employee realised the woman was unconscious and called police.
Social welfare groups have raised concerns about the lack of support for people living on the fringes of society

Police are trying to confirm the identity of a homeless woman who was found dead in a 24-hour McDonald's outlet at a public housing estate in Kowloon Bay yesterday morning.

The case has raised concern among social welfare groups about the lack of support for people living on the fringes of society.

The woman, aged around 50 to 60 years, was found slumped over her table in a quiet corner, 24 hours after she entered the restaurant at Ping Shek Estate, while other customers were unaware what had happened.

She was 1.6 metres tall, with short black hair and wearing black-rimmed glasses. She was dressed in a gray long-sleeved overcoat, white t-shirt and black trousers, and wore slippers. Although she had a bag and a wallet on her, she had no identification documents.

It is believed she was a street-sleeper who regularly spent her nights in McDonald's.

At around 8:30am yesterday, a McDonald's employee called police after finding the woman unconscious and cold at her table. She was confirmed dead at the scene.

According to police, there was nothing suspicious about her death upon initial investigation.
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Arrow Down

Fourth turning: Crisis of trust - Part 3

Jim Quinn
Burning Platform
Sun, 27 Sep 2015 00:00 UTC
Fall 2015 US economy

Comment: It is hard to find a more damning outline of what is happening in the United States economic and financial systems than what is outlined in the article.The picture above alone speaks volumes about where things are heading. At some point the relative stability being maintained is going to crack and with it the facade of economic recovery built on lies and manipulation. It is sure to get bumpy when things come to a head, so if possible prepare now both mentally and materially.

Also, continue to a comment at the end of the article for thoughts on the possible connection of the Strauss - Howe generational theory and Fourth Turnings to psychopathy and what role Vladimir Putin may play in what may turn out to be a Fourth Turning of the whole world.


In Part 1 of this article I discussed the catalyst spark which ignited this Fourth Turning and the seemingly delayed regeneracy. In Part 2 I pondered possible Grey Champion prophet generation leaders who could arise during the regeneracy. In Part 3 I will focus on the economic channel of distress which is likely to be the primary driving force in the next phase of this Crisis.

There are very few people left on this earth who lived through the last Fourth Turning (1929 - 1946). The passing of older generations is a key component in the recurring cycles which propel the world through the seemingly chaotic episodes that paint portraits on the canvas of history. The current alignment of generations is driving this Crisis and will continue to give impetus to the future direction of this Fourth Turning. The alignment during a Fourth Turning is always the same: Old Artists (Silent) die, Prophets (Boomers) enter elderhood, Nomads (Gen X) enter midlife, Heroes (Millennials) enter young adulthood—and a new generation of child Artists (Gen Y) is born. This is an era in which America's institutional life is torn down and rebuilt from the ground up—always in response to a perceived threat to the nation's very survival.

For those who understand the theory, there is the potential for impatience and anticipating dire circumstances before the mood of the country turns in response to the 2nd or 3rd perilous incident after the initial catalyst. Neil Howe anticipates the climax of this Crisis arriving in the 2022 to 2025 time frame, with the final resolution happening between 2026 and 2029. Any acceleration in these time frames would likely be catastrophic, bloody, and possibly tragic for mankind. As presented by Strauss and Howe, this Crisis will continue to be driven by the core elements of debt, civic decay, and global disorder, with the volcanic eruption traveling along channels of distress and aggravating problems ignored, neglected, or denied for the last thirty years. Let's examine the channels of distress which will surely sway the direction of this Crisis.

Comment: Strauss - Howe generational theory and Fourth Turnings is interesting to consider in light of the research done on the role of psychopathology in driving the ups and downs societies and the world has experienced. A specific excerpt from Political Ponerology (A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes) by Andrew M. Lobaczewski helps explain the mechanism behind what Strauss and Howe uncovered with their generational theory and cycling in society:
From time immemorial, man has dreamed of a life in which his efforts to accumulate benefits can be punctuated by rest during which time he enjoys those benefits. He learned how to domesticate animals in order to accumulate more benefits, and when that no longer met his needs, he learned to enslave other human beings simply because he was more powerful and could do it.

Dreams of a happy life of 'more accumulated benefits' to be enjoyed, and more leisure time in which to enjoy them, thus gave rise to force over others, a force which depraves the mind of its user. That is why man's dreams of happiness have not come true throughout history: the hedonistic view of 'happiness' contains the seeds of misery. Hedonism, the pursuit of the accumulation of benefits for the sole purpose of self-enjoyment, feeds the eternal cycle where good times lead to bad times.

During good times, people lose sight of the need for thinking, introspection, knowledge of others, and an understanding of life. When things are 'good,' people ask themselves whether it is worth it to ponder human nature and flaws in the personality (one's own, or that of another). In good times, entire generations can grow up with no understanding of the creative meaning of suffering since they have never experienced it themselves. When all the joys of life are there for the taking, mental effort to understand science and the laws of nature - to acquire knowledge that may not be directly related to accumulating stuff - seems like pointless labor. Being 'healthy minded,' and positive - a good sport with never a discouraging word - is seen as a good thing, and anyone who predicts dire consequences as the result of such insouciance is labeled a wet-blanket or a killjoy.

Perception of the truth about reality, especially a real understanding of human nature in all its ranges and permutations, ceases to be a virtue to be acquired. Thoughtful doubters are 'meddlers' who can't leave well enough alone. 'Don't fix it if it ain't broke.' This attitude leads to an impoverishment of psychological knowledge including the capacity to differentiate the properties of human nature and personality, and the ability to mold healthy minds creatively.

The cult of power thus supplants the mental and moral values so essential for maintaining peace by peaceful means. A nation's enrichment or involution as regards its psychological world-view could be considered an indicator of whether its future be good or bad.

During good times, the search for the meaning of life, the truth of our reality, becomes uncomfortable because it reveals inconvenient factors. Unconscious elimination of data which are, or appear to be, inexpedient, begins to be habitual, a custom accepted by entire societies. The result is that any thought processes based on such truncated information cannot bring correct conclusions. This then leads to substitution of convenient lies to the self to replace uncomfortable truths thereby approaching the boundaries of phenomena which should be viewed as psychopathological.
In such a situation as described above, in 'good times' where the majority of people lose the ability or caring to correctly weigh situations and the psychology of others objectively, the stage is set for psychopaths to infiltrate and degrade society. When this is allowed to happen, society degrades until a crisis point where normal people are then forced to learn the hard way a correct psychological world view. With this new psychological world view, the stage is set for drastic changes to be made, psychopaths to be removed from power and for the cycle as described with generational theory to start anew.

What also needs to be considered is the possibility of the entire world experiencing a Fourth Turning. The world in the last 60 years has become interconnected and interdependent like never before in recorded history. Perhaps when the crisis phase truly hits it will be a fully worldwide phenomenon. In part 2 of the series (linked above), the author describes who in the United States might be the 'Grey Champion' to lead the United States during the upcoming crisis. If the crisis is seen as worldwide and as a worldwide phenomenon due to the world being interconnected, perhaps one individual will play the role of 'Grey Champion' for the entire world. If you are following recent news, then only one name sticks out as a possibility - Vladimir Putin. As we write, it looks as though Russia and Putin are set to change the face of the Middle East. Putin has used truth and logic to justify the recent actions in Syria and accomplish what looks to be the beginning stages of a sea change in the worldwide public's perception of reality.

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Fire

Explosion injures seven at chemical plant in Shangyu City, China


NDTV
Mon, 05 Oct 2015 21:14 UTC
Image
© Metrovartha.com
Seven workers were injured today in an explosion at a chemical plant in China's Zhejiang Province, officials said; just weeks after massive blasts in the northern port city of Tianjin killed 173 people.

The blast occurred this morning at Zhejiang Hongxiang Chemical Co Ltd, in Shangyu City, the local authorities said.

Two of the injured are in a serious condition, they said.

About 70 firefighters and 22 fire engines were rushed to put out the blaze and prevent the flames from reaching a nearby warehouse containing 50 tonnes of inflammable chemicals, including sodium chlorate.

The disaster sparked widespread outrage over alleged safety violations and fears of pollutants contaminating the air and water.

Several cases of explosions in chemical plants have been reported in recent months in China including the massive explosions at a warehouse in Tianjin where highly toxic chemicals including stockpiles of cyanide were stored.

Over 170 people were killed while hundreds others were injured in the Tianjin blasts which took place in August. Another explosion at a chemical plant in Shandong killed one person and injured nine in the same month.

Comment:

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Airplane

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

Matt Hosford and Meghan Keneally
ABC News
Mon, 05 Oct 2015 18:40 UTC
Image
© AFP/Getty Images
An American Airlines pilot died mid-flight after experiencing a medical emergency this morning, airline officials said.

The pilot, whose name and age were not released, was flying from Boston to Phoenix when the plane was forced to land in Syracuse, New York.

There were 147 passengers on board with five crew members, including the pilot. An airline spokesperson confirmed the incident to ABC News and said it is "incredibly saddened" and is focusing on taking care of the family members and crew involved.
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Quenelle

Fed-up Air France workers storm meeting, rip shirts off executives planning to cut 2,900 jobs

Andy Cush
The Gawker
Mon, 05 Oct 2015 17:43 UTC
air france executive attacked
Assistant director of long-haul flights Pierre Plissonnier
Enraged about a plan that would eliminate thousands of jobs from the company, Air France workers stormed a meeting between executives and union representatives today, tearing shirts from the backs of two managers, who eventually fled the meeting under a police escort.

Air France executives put forth a plan to cut 2,900 jobs at the meeting after workers refused an earlier, "less radical" proposal, Reuters reports. According to the Wall Street Journal, the airline will offer some sort of compensation to employees who leave voluntarily, but "would fire workers if its enticement plan doesn't convince enough to leave."

Air France CEO Frederic Gagey managed to escape the meeting before workers interrupted it carrying banners and flags, but labor relations chief Xavier Broseta and assistant director of long-haul flights Pierre Plissonnier did not.

The Agency France-Presse captured several dramatic photos of their escape.

Truth be told, the David Byrne after a really intense Talking Heads show look is sort of working for Pilssonnier.

It is unclear when talks between the parties will resume.

Comment: Are tumbrels to the guillotine far off?

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Black Cat 2

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


RT
Mon, 05 Oct 2015 04:07 UTC
Image
© Jim Young / Reuters
Four students have been plotting to "shoot and kill as many people as possible" at their high school in Tuolumne, California, according to authorities. Police arrested the suspects just a day after a mass shooting at an Oregon college left nine people dead.

The arrests of the students from Summerville High School, in Tuolumne, California, were made Friday after the investigators discovered a "detailed" plan of a school-shooting massacre. All suspects were apprehended at their homes on suspicion of conspiracy to commit an assault with deadly weapons.

Comment: Coming at almost literally the same time and region of the US as the Umpqua Community College shooting in Oregon last week, one has to wonder if there are similar 'forces at work' between the two...

See also:

Another mass shooting just in time to distract US from Putin's truth-telling

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

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Attention

Amtrak passenger train derails in Vermont


RT
Mon, 05 Oct 2015 16:55 UTC
amtrak derails vermont
At least 4 people injured when Amtrak train derails in Vermont
A southbound Amtrak passenger train has derailed in Northfield, Vermont, Amtrak confirmed on Monday morning.

Police and emergency crews are responding to the scene.

Spokesperson Lt. Dana Huoppi of the Montpelier Fire Department said they had reports of four people being injured so far. There have been no reported deaths, according to Huoppi, as cited by NBC.

The train was the Vermonter, which runs between St. Albans, Vermont and Washington, D.C. daily. It is the only Amtrak service that runs on the track, according to NBC.

The train is popular this time of the year with tourists who go to watch foliage in the state. CNN says there were 98 people on board.

Amtrak reported that the train struck rocks on the track near the town of Roxbury around 10:30 a.m. ET.

Comment: The American railway system has been a death-trap for decades. It's fortunate there were no fatalities in this case.

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Sheriff

Cop facing felony charges after brutally beating unarmed Oklahoma man with butt of shotgun

Tom Boggioni
Raw Story
Mon, 05 Oct 2015 09:13 UTC
Image
© Dashcam screengrabOwasso Police Lt. Michael Dwain Denton striking suspect with shotgun butt.
An Oklahoma cop has been charged with felony assault after beating a suspect with the butt of a shotgun while other officers held him down, Tulsa World is reporting.

Owasso Police Lt. Michael Dwain Denton, 49, has been suspended and faces assault and battery with a deadly weapon and reckless conduct with a firearm following a high speed car chase on June 14, caught on a police cruiser dash cam.

In the video, officers can be seen warily approaching a truck driven by a suspect identified as Cody Matthews.

With fellow officers aiming their weapons at the truck, one officer breaks the driver-side window using his baton. Denton can then be seen entering the picture and using the barrel of his shotgun to strike Matthews in the face before officers drag the man out of the vehicle.

As Mathews is dragged to the ground by multiple officers, Denton once again can be seen standing above the prone Mathews and using the butt end of his shotgun to repeatedly strike Mathews, as well as one of his fellow officers.

According to prosecutors, Denton demonstrated a "conscious disregard" for the safety of other law enforcement officers and created a "situation of unreasonable risk" for his fellow officers and Mathews by using the shotgun.

"Essentially, striking anybody in the head with a hard object is considered deadly force. And you can only use deadly force in a circumstance where it's justified," explained Kevin Buchanan, district attorney for Nowata and Washington counties. Equally concerning to Buchanan was Denton shoving the barrel of the gun — approximately nine times - into Mathews' truck.

Comment: It is refreshing to see someone hold these violent 'public servants' accountable.

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