Society's ChildS


Heart - Black

Inhuman: Kids found slashed in home fire; mom charged

Mother allegedly sliced kids' throats and started blaze; children in critical condition

A mother accused of slashing her children's throats and setting fire to the family's apartment had removed the unit's inside doorknob, sealed vents, covered sprinklers and disabled the smoke alarm, prosecutors said Monday at the woman's arraignment.

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© Aram Boghosian/The Boston GlobeTanicia Goodwin appeared in Salem District Court today where she was charged with attempted murder for allegedly slashing the throats of her two children, who were critically injured.
Tanicia Goodwin was ordered held without bail pending an appearance in court next week. A judge will then decide if she's eligible for bail on two counts of assault with intent to murder, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and arson.

The 25-year-old Goodwin didn't enter a plea.

She held her head low and didn't speak in court other than to answer in the affirmative when the judge asked if she needed a court-appointed lawyer.

Document

Encyclopedia Britannica ends its print edition after 244 years

Encyclopedia Britannica
© UnknownEncyclopedia Britannica is the longest-running manufacturer of printed encyclopedias, with its first edition printed in Scotland in 1768
As the march of the iPad and Kindle continues unabated, the oldest manufacturer of encyclopedias has become one of the first major book publishing casualties of the digital age by cutting out its entire print operation.

The Encyclopedia Britannica, which has been in continuous print since it was first published in Edinburgh in 1768, said today that it will continue with digital versions currently available online.

The final set of the 32-volume printed edition remains available for sale on the company's website for £890 ($1,400).

People

Pakistan's parliament to discuss relations with US

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© unkPakistan’s National Assembly
Pakistan's parliament is due to hold a joint session with the country's high-ranking officials in a bid to review the country's relations with the US.

The Saturday meeting will be attended by President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.

The meeting is also expected to decide on Islamabad's recent plan to reopen the NATO supply line for US-led forces stationed in neighboring Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, top Pakistani military and civilian officials convened a rare meeting in which they agreed in principle to reopen the supply line for US-led forces in Afghanistan.

People

Yemeni protesters demand trial of former president

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© unkYemeni protesters in Sana’a demand that former president Ali Abdullah Saleh be deprived of immunity and put to trial, March 14, 2012.
Tens of thousands of Yemenis have staged demonstrations across the country to call for the prosecution of the country's former ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh for ordering the crackdown on anti-government protests last year.

On Friday, protestors also demanded the dismissal of Saleh's family members and generals loyal to him who are still in high-level security and military posts, Xinhua reported.

A vast crowd of demonstrators who had gathered in a main square in the capital Sana'a chanted slogans such as "People want to prosecute the murderer, Ali Abdullah Saleh," and "We will not accept Saleh's relatives to run our national military."

"No immunity deals for murderers. We will keep raising our voices until we see Saleh behind bars and in the court," Fatima Motahar, a female protester said.

The protesters also called for the release of imprisoned demonstrators who were arrested during the revolution which erupted in early 2011.

Dollar

Spain approves oil exploration off Canary Islands

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© unk
Spain has approved an application for oil exploration by the Spanish oil and gas company Repsol YPF off the coast of the autonomous Canary Islands.

A Repsol spokesperson said on Friday the company hopes to begin drilling within two years, AFP reported.

Repsol has a 50-percent stake in the consortium exploring the area, about 70 kilometers (40 miles) off the coast near the maritime border with Morocco.

Australia's Woodside Petroleum Ltd. has a 30-percent share of the consortium, and Germany's RWE has the remaining 20 percent.

Morocco has already started drilling in the area, and Repsol must submit an environmental impact report to the Spanish government before they can begin drilling themselves.

However, the regional government of the Canary Islands opposes the oil exploration project and says it could damage the tourism industry in the archipelago, which is the second most popular tourism destination in Spain after Catalonia.

Bizarro Earth

Assailant Kills One, Injures Another in Attack on Mosque in France

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© UnknownPolice cars are seen near the mosque where a man armed with a baseball bat attacked worshippers in Arras, northern France, March 16.
At least one person has been killed and another seriously wounded during an attack by an assailant on the worshippers in a mosque in France's northern town of Arras.

The police said that the incident took place on Friday evening when a man attacked the worshippers with a baseball bat. The man was arrested later.

"The first indications I have is that it is the act of a person who had a psychiatric history," French Interior Minister Claude Gueant told AFP, condemning the attack as an act of "incredible brutality".

Network

Iran Cyber Defense Headquarters Makes Local Mail Servers

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© Unknown
Iran's cyber defense headquarters has succeeded in making internal mail servers which would enable Iranian organizations and bodies to use local email addresses.

"One of the most important problems in the cyber arena in Iran is that many individuals and even university professors are using email services like Gmail and Yahoo and have no local email," head of the headquarters Saeed Rahimi said.

"Technical infrastructures have been built in the country and mail servers have been made at the cyber defense headquarters to manage Iranian emails," he added.

Pistol

Toulouse shooting: four killed outside Jewish school

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Ozar Hatorah school, Toulouse
Security tightened at all Jewish schools in the country after gunman opened fire outside Ozar Hatorah school, Toulouse

At least three people have died, including two children, in a shooting outside a Jewish school in the French city of Toulouse on Monday morning, French media have reported.

One witness indicated that a gunman opened fire outside a private Jewish secondary school in the southern French city before fleeing on the back of a black scooter.

Five people were injured in the attack, which occurred as students were arriving for morning classes at the Ozar Hatorah school, a city official told Reuters.

Interior minister Claude Gueant broke off a visit in northeastern France to head for Toulouse, the police source said. French media reported that security was being tightened at all Jewish schools in the country.

Comment: Four children are now confirmed dead, including the school principal's daughter.

According to Le Monde, the names of the two soldiers shot dead in Montauban on Thursday are Mohamed Legouad and Abel Chenoulf, and the name of the soldier shot dead in Toulouse eight days ago is Imad Ibn-Ziaten.


Attention

Scientist Says Flawed Science of GMOs Jeopardizing Future Generations

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© The Organic & Non GMO Report
Don Huber, emeritus professor of plant pathologiy at Purdue University, gave a two-and-a-half hour indictment of glyphosate herbicide and genetically modified crops at the Acres USA conference in December.

Dr. Huber detailed the negative impacts of glyphosate and GM crops on plants, soils, and the environment and animal and human health. He called glyphosate the "most abused chemical in the history of agriculture" and described GM crops as a "failed system."

Glyphosate's negative impacts on plants

Huber first detailed the negative impacts of glyphosate on crops, soils, and the environment based on papers that he and other scientists, such as Robert Kremer, a microbiologist with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, have published.

Huber said glyphosate makes plants more susceptible to diseases, increases the virulence of soil-borne disease organisms, and immobilizes plant nutrients such as manganese. It is also toxic to beneficial soil organisms and accumulates in the soil.

Comment: Watch the following interview with Dr. Huber for more information about the negative effects of glyphosate and GM crops:

The Hidden Epidemic Destroying Your Gut Flora
Dr. Huber's research, which spans over 55 years, has been devoted to looking at how the agricultural system can be managed for more effective crop production, better disease control, improved nutrition, and safety. The introduction of genetically engineered crops has dramatically affected and changed all agricultural components:
  • The plants
  • The physical environment
  • The dynamics of the biological environment, and
  • Pests and diseases (plant-, animal-, and human diseases)
In this interview, Dr. Huber reveals a number of shocking facts that need to become common knowledge in order to stop this catastrophic alteration and destruction of our environment, our food supply, and ultimately, our own biology.



Alarm Clock

Federal Jobless Aid Ending for 80,000 South Carolina Residents

Columbia - Extended federal unemployment benefits are being phased out for almost 86,000 jobless workers in South Carolina despite the state's high 9.3 percent jobless rate.

About 6,500 people will lose extended unemployment benefits starting in April. The remaining 79,000 jobless South Carolinians who now are getting extended jobless benefits will lose them at the end of the year, the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce said Thursday.

Starting in January, workers who lose their jobs in South Carolina will qualify only for 20 weeks of unemployment checks. During the worst of the Great Recession, workers could get up to 79 additional weeks of jobless checks - for a total of 99 weeks of benefits - while they searched for a job.

The state's falling unemployment rate triggered the loss of extended benefits. Jobless workers in seven other states also lose their extended benefits.