Society's ChildS


Stock Down

Corruption backfire: Companies have significantly lower values in areas where corruption is endemic


Phys.org
Thu, 31 Mar 2016 00:00 UTC
dollars covering face on billboard, corruption
© Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters
State-level public corruption in the United States affects firms' value and disclosure policies, according to a new study from The University of Texas at Dallas.

Dr. Steven Xiao, assistant professor of finance, and Dr. Vikram Nanda, O.P. Jindal Distinguished Chair in Finance, studied state-level corruption in the U.S. and its effect on publicly listed firms.

The study, published in the Review of Corporate Finance Studies, found that firms have significantly lower value and informational transparency when located in areas that are more corrupt.

Using the Department of Justice's data on corruption-related convictions of public officials, the researchers found that from 1990 to 2011, firm value was substantially lower in more corrupt states and federal districts.

Comment:

Read More...
Wolf

Mark of the Beast: New poll shows support for torture in US grows to 63 percent


RT
Wed, 30 Mar 2016 19:46 UTC
Torture gitmo
© Marc Serota / Reuters

Comment: If the following poll data doesn't send a chill up your spine, nothing will!


Almost two thirds of Americans believe torture is justified to extract information about terrorist attacks from suspects, according to a new poll. Just as many believe a terrorist attack on US soil is very or somewhat likely in the next six months.

The March 22-28 online poll, conducted by Reuters and Ipsos, asked if torture can be justified "against suspected terrorists to obtain information about terrorism." Some 25 percent of respondents said it was justified "often," while 38 percent said it would be justified "sometimes." Another 21 percent could justify it "rarely," while only 15 percent said torture should never be used.

Respondents identifying as Republicans backed the "often justified" option at twice the rate of Democrats, 36 percent to 18 percent, respectively. That figure was at 24 percent among the independents. Just over half of Democrats (53 percent) supported torture "often" or "sometimes," compared to 82 percent of the Republicans.

Only 4 percent of Republicans and 13 percent of independents were against torture outright, with that number rising to 21 percent among the Democrats.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Black Cat

Cop slams woman's head into ATM machine, arrests her for reporting on him

Claire Bernish
The Free Thought Project
Wed, 30 Mar 2016 00:00 UTC
Douglas Ioven philadelphia cop
An ex-transit cop has been found guilty of false imprisonment and official oppression stemming from a Christmas Day incident when he stepped on a woman's foot and refused to apologize — after cutting in line at Dunkin' Donuts in 2013. When the woman attempted to alert the officer's superiors, he slammed her head into an ATM machine — and placed her under arrest.

Douglas Ioven, a former officer with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA), cut in line on Christmas in front of Muibat Williamson, a nurse at Einstein Medical Center, who was on her way home from a night shift. When Ioven was leaving, with coffee and doughnuts in hand, he stepped on Williamson's foot.

In testimony about the 2013 row, reported philly.com, Williamson said she confronted the officer and demanded he apologize — but Ioven refused. An argument ensued, and an unnamed witness said she even inserted herself between the pair to remind them of the holiday. She overheard Ioven tell Williamson,

"Next time, move out of the way."
Read More...
Stock Down

Survey reveals nearly two-thirds of working population want to flee from Ukraine


DONi News
Thu, 31 Mar 2016 13:19 UTC
ukraine revolution
Two-thirds of efficient professionals want to leave Ukraine. This is evidenced by results of a survey conducted by the international personnel portal hh.ua, reports The Politnavigator.

In particular, a large part of office workers are inclined to move out of the country as one in six respondents said.
'IT professionals and media representatives are more focused on moving abroad than others. Those whose experience and expertise are difficult to adapt to the conditions of another country - lawyers, bankers and specialists in insurance - are less inclined to leave,' say the results of the survey.
Most of Ukrainians desiring to move live in the Ukraine-controlled part of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, as well as in Western Ukraine. Ukrainian migrants are most attracted to Western Europe. 25% of respondents expressed a desire to move there, the same number would choose Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. The rest of preferences were distributed between the CIS countries and Asia, some have selected Australia, Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Comment: Conditions will only get worse for those living under Washington's puppet regime. After all, the best Kiev has to offer is to rob the country blind, burn it to the ground, and blame Russia for the catastrophe. Leaving the country may just be the best option, if anyone can afford to do so. Also see:
These sentiments are quite understandable if we look at average incomes in Ukraine. According to official data from the finance ministry(as of March 2, 2016), the average salary in Ukraine is only 4,362 hryvnas per month (approximately 145 Euros). The minimum monthly wage is currently set at 1,378 hryvnas (46 Euros). Therefore, the vast majority of working people in Ukraine have to get by on a salary of 2,000-3,000 hryvnas (70-100 Euros) each month. And the number of employed is declining every day. In September 2015, Ukrainian Minister of Social Politics Valery Yaroshenko acknowledged that the unemployment rate had reached its highest point in the history of Ukraine as an independent country, with 23% of young Ukrainians unable to find work (in the parts of the Donetsk region that are controlled by Kiev the jobless rate does approach that of Liberia - 50%!).

Ukraine now being compared to Liberia


Read More...
People

Widespread protests and strikes hit France over unpopular labor reforms


Sputnik
Thu, 31 Mar 2016 12:12 UTC
France protests
© REUTERS/ Jean-Paul Pelissier
Massive strikes and protests over labor reforms are taking place across France on Thursday, with public transport disruptions and many schools, as well as popular tourist attractions such as the Eiffel Tower, remaining closed, local media reported.

The protests are against a bill that would relax France's labor laws, permitting employees to work much more than the current statutory 35-hour week, imposing a cap on damages in cases of unfair dismissal as well as removing barriers to firing employees on economic grounds.
Read More...
People

Polls show majority of Europeans want a say in who joins the EU


Sputnik
Thu, 31 Mar 2016 10:52 UTC
European Union flag
© AP Photo/ Yorgos Karahalis

Comment: Europeans hopefully remember just how much respect the EU's technocrats have for referendums. Remember how Germany crushed Greece, or how UK's ruling elites rigged the Scottish referendum? The elite have already responded to the fact that the Dutch plan to vote 'no' on Ukraine's EU membership by having the Hague "reconsider" its position. While Europeans want democracy, remember that it's hypocrisy and tyranny that rule the day.


According to Sputnik.Polls, the majority of Italians (66%), Germans (63%) and the French (63%) want to be involved in decisions regarding the conclusion of EU association agreements* with other countries through national referendums.

The survey was conducted by the opinion poll companies Populus and Ifop for Sputnik News Agency and Radio.

A referendum on the EU-Ukraine association agreement will take place in the Netherlands on April 6.

According to Sputnik.Polls, Italians are most enthusiastic about holding referendums on such deals with other countries. Sixty-six percent of Italians would like to hold a referendum before concluding an association agreement with any new country.
Read More...
Black Magic

Creepiest airport in the world - Denver International Airport

Eli Orzessek
New Zealand Herald
Thu, 31 Mar 2016 01:56 UTC
Blue Mustang
© Eric Golub/FlickrAn ominous bucking horse greets visitors to Denver International Airport.
With apocalyptic murals, a terrifying giant horse statue and curiously laid-out runways, Denver International Airport has been the subject of many conspiracy theories since it opened in 1995.

Located 25 miles outside of Denver, the airport is enormous - it's twice the size of Manhattan and reportedly went $2 billion over budget.
Gargoyle
© K W Reinsch/FlickrA gargoyle in a suitcase at Denver International Airport.
Before its construction, Denver already had an airport, Stapleton, which added fuel to beliefs that it was constructed to hide a large underground bunker, presumably reserved for members of the Illuminati.
Read More...
Pistol

Israeli medic: "He's not dead, shoot him in the head"


IMEMC News & Agencies
Mon, 28 Mar 2016 10:17 UTC
Psychopathic Israeli medic
After Thursday's execution of a wounded young Palestinian man and his friend (who bled to death), was captured on tape, many details started emerging, including the involvement of an Israeli military medic in the crime.

In one of the videos that captured this extrajudicial assassination of the already seriously wounded, completely incapacitated Palestinian, the sound of an Israeli colonialist settler, who is also a medic and a cameraman, could be heard saying, "He is not dead... shoot him in the head."

The second video shows an Israeli soldier executing the wounded Palestinian, Abdul-Fattah Sharif, with a gunshot to the head, after conspiring with an Israeli colonialist settler to drive his van forward to block surveillance cameras and prevent onlookers from documenting the crime. The soldiers and settler did not see the Palestinian who was filming from an upstairs window.

The Israeli medics did not attempt any first aid on the two Palestinians, leaving one of them to bleed to death and executing the other.

Issa Amro, the coordinator of the Youth against Settlements Coalition, said what happened "is clear proof that the Israeli soldiers and the medics conspire and cooperate in executing the Palestinians."
Read More...
Bad Guys

Man killed by Arizona cop was obviously compliant and offered no resistance

Andy Cush
Gawker
Thu, 31 Mar 2016 00:00 UTC
daniel shaver
Daniel Shaver, 26, a traveling businessman and father-of-two from Granbury, Texas, was fatally shot by a police officer on January 18 inside the La Quinta Inn in Mesa, Arizona. He is pictured here with his daughters Natalie, 6, and Emery, 3
Moments before a Mesa, Arizona, police officer killed Daniel Shaver with five shots from an AR-15, Shaver was on all fours, pleading with officers not to shoot him, according to a newly released police report from the incident.

Shaver, a twenty-six-year-old from Texas, was killed on January 18. Philip Brailsford, the two-year Mesa Police Department officer who allegedly killed him, was fired from the department and charged with second-degree murder.

Shaver was staying at a Mesa La Quinta Inn on a work-related trip when he was killed, according to a local ABC affiliate. The police report (viewable in full here) alleges that officers received a call about a man pointing a rifle out Shaver's fifth-floor hotel window.

Comment: The knee-jerk reactions of cops who are killing people and their pets has become frighteningly common in the US police state. The only thing uncommon about this tragic incident is that the officer responsible is actually being charged with murder - most of them walk away with barely a hand-slap.

Sott Exclusive: Police are the new gestapo, able to brutalize, steal and murder on a whim, and get away with it

Read More...
Arrow Up

California's plan to raise minimum wage to $15 clears key hurdle

Sharon Bernstein
Yahoo News
Thu, 31 Mar 2016 00:29 UTC
CA minimum wage
© REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/FilesFast-food workers and their supporters join a nationwide protest for higher wages and union rights in Los Angeles, California, United States, in this file photo taken November 10, 2015.
A plan to raise California's minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022 cleared its first legislative hurdle on Wednesday, putting the state on track to become the first in the nation to commit to such a large pay hike for the working poor.

The measure, incorporating a deal Governor Jerry Brown reached with labor leaders and fellow Democrats in the Legislature, was approved on a party-line vote of 12-7 by the Assembly Appropriations Committee, where a previous version of the bill had stalled last summer.

One Democrat, Tom Daly, joined six Republicans in opposing the measure, which now advances to the full Assembly for action as early as this week. It would then return to the Senate for a final vote.

If enacted, the bill would put California, home to one of the world's biggest economies, in the vanguard of a growing number of U.S. states and cities that have moved in recent years to surpass the federal minimum wage, which has remained at $7.25 an hour since 2009.
Read More...