Society's ChildS


Smiley

Danish TV Host Mocks Obama for His Rhetoric


The weekly standard
Fri, 23 Mar 2012 21:47 UTC
"Maybe the copy key got stuck on the presidential speechwriter's keyboard."

Thomas Buch-Andersen, host of the Danish TV show Detektor, mocked President Obama's political rhetoric in a recent episode. "Obama used a metaphor from boxing to explain Denmark's role in the world," says Buch-Andersen, introducing the segment.

He then roles the tape. "That's fairly typical of the way that Danes have punched above their weight in international affairs," President Obama says at a press availability in the Oval Office with Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt of Denmark.

"It's nice to be praised," Buch-Andersen remarks. "We punch harder than our weight class would suggest. But how much should we read into his words? According to Obama, are we doing any better than, say, the Norwegians?"
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Heart - Black

Zimbabwe probes Trump brothers' hunting trip

Gillian Gotora
The Washington Pst
Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:00 UTC
Zimbabwean conservationists said Friday they are investigating the legality of a hunting spree in the country by the heirs to U.S. magnate Donald Trump's fortune after photos showed up online of the brothers posing with dead game animals.

The independent Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said that Trump's sons Donald Jr. and Eric killed an elephant, an endangered leopard, a buffalo, a crocodile and other "big game" animals on a 2011 trip arranged by a South African safari firm that is not registered in Zimbabwe.

Photographs of the brothers - one with the slain leopard and another showing one brother holding up an elephant's severed tail in one hand and a knife in the other - have been were withdrawn from at least one website after a flurry of protests.

Animal protection groups were outraged how "rich people" had boasted about their "shocking and unethical" behavior, the trust said.

Johnny Rodrigues, the head of the conservationists' alliance, said investigators are sifting through records on whether license and trophy fees were paid and if the South African firm had been cleared by Zimbabwe wildlife authorities to operate in the northwestern province near Victoria Falls
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Document

US Federal Government consider closing some courtrooms

Jeannie Nuss
Associated Press
Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00 UTC
Little Rock, Arkansas, US: The federal government is considering closing dozens of courtrooms, many of which are located in small, rural communities, as part of an effort to cut costs.

Documents obtained by The Associated Press show 60 federal court facilities in 29 states could be on the chopping block. Most of the courtrooms are in buildings that house other federal agencies including post offices and many are located in remote areas. Critics say closing them could make it more difficult for people to get to court proceedings.

Six of the 60 court sites that could be closed are located in Arkansas. Texas and Georgia each have five sites on the list of possible closures. Officials are even considering shuttering the location where judges hold federal court in Alaska's capital city, Juneau.
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2 + 2 = 4

More Trayvon Martin Walkouts at Miami Schools

Brian Hamacher and Lisa Orkin Emmanuel
NBC News, Miami
Fri, 23 Mar 2012 08:41 UTC
Students at several Miami high schools stage walkouts for slain teen
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© NBC NewsStudents in Cutler Bay in south Miami-Dade County formed a TM in support of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old who was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford.

Hundreds of students at several South Florida high schools staged walkouts Friday morning in a massive protest against the lack of an arrest in the Trayvon Martin shooting.

Students from Miami Central, Miami Edison, Miami Norland, American Senior, William H. Turner High and Southridge High in Miami and Blanche Ely High School in Broward held walkouts.

Click here for a complete list of Miami-Dade County schools that held walkouts.

Meanwhile, the walkouts got some star power when LeBron James tweeted out a photo of the Miami Heat wearing hoodies.

At Miami Central and Turner, students were seen pouring out of the school buildings and into the streets just after 9 a.m.
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Mr. Potato

Geraldo Rivera Blames Trayvon Martin's Death on His Hoodie

Nina Mandell
New York Daily News
Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:51 UTC

Geraldo Rivera thinks Trayvon Martin should have examined his clothing choices before heading out for a bag of Skittles and an iced tea.

In an appearance on Fox & Friends on Friday, the Fox News contributor said that George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watchman who shot and killed the unarmed 17-year-old, was only partially to blame for the tragic incident.

"I believe that George Zimmerman, the overzealous neighborhood watch captain, should be investigated to the fullest extent of the law and if he is criminally liable, he should be prosecuted," he said. "But I am urging the parents of black and Latino youngsters particularly to not let their children go out wearing hoodies. I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin's death as George Zimmerman was."

The hoodies have become a symbol of protest in Trayvon's death, and was the inspiration for one in New York City, the One Million Hoodie March.

But Rivera said that the hoodies have become a symbol of crime and spark a reflexive action in people.
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Info

George Zimmerman's father: My son is not racist, did not confront Trayvon Martin

Rene Stutzman
Orlando Sentinel
Thu, 15 Mar 2012 09:42 UTC
Trayvon martin and George Zimmerman
Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman
The Sanford Neighborhood Watch volunteer who shot and killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager, did not instigate the encounter but has received death threats and moved out of his home, his father told the Orlando Sentinel on Thursday.

George Zimmerman, 28, has not been arrested, something that has put him and the Sanford Police Department at the center of a firestorm. Critics say Trayvon, who was visiting family from his home in Miami, was a victim of racial profiling.

Zimmerman's father, 64-year-old Robert Zimmerman of Lake Mary, delivered a one-page letter to the Sentinel on Thursday, saying that the depiction of his son in the media has been cruel and misleading.

George Zimmerman is Hispanic and grew up in a multiracial family, the statement says.

"He would be the last to discriminate for any reason whatsoever ...," the letter says. "The media portrayal of George as a racist could not be further from the truth."

The letter does not provide details about what happened Feb. 26 on a walkway in the gated community where George Zimmerman lives and where Trayvon was visiting. But it does challenge one basic assumption of the family's lawyers: that Zimmerman's intent when he got out of his sport utility vehicle was to confront Trayvon after calling police to report a suspicious person.
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Info

Farrakhan Tweets: 'Where There Is No Justice, There Will Be No Peace...Law of Retaliation May...Be Applied'

Billy Hallowell
The Blaze
Thu, 22 Mar 2012 01:25 UTC
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan has been among the vocal voices weighing in on calls for justice for Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old who was gunned down last month while walking home in Sanford, Florida. On Wednesday, a march was held in New York City in support of the teen's family, as federal and local authorities launch investigations into how the incident unfolded and why the state's "stand your ground" law applied to the shooter in this case.

On Twitter yesterday and today, Farrakhan sent some curious tweets regarding peace, justice and retaliation that could be interpreted as a veiled threat.
Louis Farrakhan
© The Detroit News/Clarence Tabb, Jr.Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, Leader, Nation of Islam is seen during his speech.Rosa Parks Funeral at Greater Grace Temple Church.Detroit, Mi, November 2, 2005, Detroit, MI.

"Where there is no justice, there will be no peace. Soon the law of retaliation may very well be applied," Farrakhan wrote, including the hashtag #Trayvon to clarify the subject of his angst. "Let us see what kind of justice will come for his bereaved family and our bereaved community," he said in the previous social media message:
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© Twitter
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Pistol

As Santorum Fires Gun, Woman Shouts 'Pretend It's Obama'

Arlette Saenz
ABC News
Fri, 23 Mar 2012 11:09 UTC

US: West Monroe, Louisiana - At a campaign stop at a firing range, while Rick Santorum was firing off some rounds, a woman shouted, "pretend it's Obama."

Santorum, who was far from the woman, couldn't hear the comment as he proceeded with his target practice. Neither could his staffers.

But the yell - the identity of the yeller is not clear, although the words were clearly audible - was in close proximity to journalists traveling with the candidate.
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Black Cat

SPCA Says 15 Cats Found Mutilated in British Columbia City Since June


The Canadian Press
Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:00 UTC
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© Gerry Kahrmann/PNG/The ProvinceMarcie Moriarty of the B.C. SPCA said they are investigating after as many as 15 cats were found mutilated and killed in the Maple Ridge area over the past several months.
Canada: Maple Ridge - The SPCA in British Columbia is asking for public to find out who is behind "a disturbing series" of incidents in which 15 cats have been found mutilated in the Maple Ridge area.

The society says the incidents began in June 2011 and the most recent was on almost two weeks ago on March 11 when a black and white cat as found almost completely severed in half.

SPCA spokeswoman Marcie Moriarty says in many of the cases, cats were found severed almost perfectly in half by a sharp object.

She says the actions appear to be deliberate and the society is anxious to find whoever is responsible for the mutilations.

Moriarty says the BC SPCA and the Ridge Meadows RCMP have been working together on this file for several months but have been unable to locate a suspect.

She says the society is asking for the public's help before more innocent animals are killed.

"It is sickening that anyone would do this and once again we urge anyone with information to please call us so that we can put a stop to this cruel behaviour," said Moriarty.
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Che Guevara

Thousands of Students March in Montreal Against Tuition-Fee Hikes


The Toronto Star
Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00 UTC
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© The Canadian Press/Paul ChiassonA masked student confronts a police officer as they try to block the access to the Port of Montreal during a demonstration against tuition hikes in Montreal on Thursday.
Canada, Montreal - Several thousand students are marching through the streets of Montreal in the biggest protest yet against proposed tuition hikes in Quebec.

The chanting, placard-waving throng is snaking its way along downtown streets and is headed for Old Montreal.

There are no immediate reports of any incidents.

The protest comes two days after the provincial budget and a blunt refusal by Premier Jean Charest's government to back down on the hikes.

The province is nearly doubling tuition fees over five years, to about $3,800. It will reach its target with a series of $325-a-year increases. However, the tuition fees in the province will still be among the lowest in Canada even after the hikes.

Students have been staging almost daily protests for the last several weeks and blocked a major commuter bridge on Tuesday. Police have also ramped up tactics and have used chemical sprays against the demonstrators.

The government has toughened its own tone lately.
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