Society's ChildS


HAL9000

Steven Salaita loses job at University of Illinois due to criticism of Zionism and Gaza slaughter

Steven Salaita
Steven Salaita
This is deeply disturbing. The lobby never sleeps. "Another Professor Punished for anti-Israel views." Steven Salaita, an English scholar who has done excellent work for us and is the author of Israel's Dead Soul, a critique of Zionism, has reportedly lost an appointment at the University of Illinois in American Indian studies because of his criticisms of Israel.

From Inside Higher Ed, reported by Scott Jaschik:
Salaita... was to have joined the American Indian studies program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign this month. The appointment was made public, and Salaita resigned from his position as associate professor of English at Virginia Tech. But he was recently informed by Chancellor Phyllis Wise that the appointment would not go to the university's board, and that he did not have a job to come to in Illinois, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation....

Salaita did not respond to numerous calls and emails.

Ambulance

Spain to repatriate priest diagnosed with Ebola

Miguel Pajares, 75, a Spanish missionary priest working at a hospital in the West African country, will be taken to Spain by a military jet

Miguel Pajares
© EPAMiguel Pajares (R) talking to a patient in a hospital in Monrovia, Liberia
Spain has been preparing to accept Europe's first confirmed case of the Ebola virus.

A medically-equipped military jet has been sent to Liberia to repatriate Miguel Pajares, 75, a Spanish missionary priest working at a hospital in the West African country.

The priest was one of three missionaries to test positive for the virus at the San Jose de Monrovia Hospital in the Liberian capital, Monrovia.

Brother Pajares and his two fellow workers, Chantal Pascaline Mutwamene of Congo and Paciencia Melgar from Equatorial Guinea, belong to the Hospital Order of San Juan de Dios, a Catholic humanitarian group that runs hospitals around the world, and had been helping to treat patients infected with the virus.

Bullseye

The degree of ignorance about poverty is stunning, far removed from reality

Three-quarters of conservative Americans say poor people have it easy
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© PressTVToo many rich Americans have removed themselves from society so much that they no longer care to understand the poor.
The degree of ignorance about poverty is stunning, even for people far removed from the realities of an average American lifestyle. Both oilman Charles Koch and Nicole Miller CEO Bud Konheim have suggested that we should compare ourselves to poor people in China and India, and then just shut up and be happy. The Cato Institute informs Americans that "The current welfare system provides such a high level of benefits that it acts as a disincentive for work." And entrepreneur Marc Andreessen explains, rather incomprehensibly, that "Technology innovation disproportionately helps the poor more than it helps the rich, as the poor spend more of their income on products."

1. We Spend Relatively Little on Poverty Programs

The Economic Policy Institute stated, "The United States stands out as the country with the highest poverty rate and one of the lowest levels of social expenditure." It's a national disgrace that we allow just a few people to take more of the country's wealth than the millions of productive people who can't find living-wage jobs.

Just two men made more investment income in 2013 than the entire year's welfare budget (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), commonly referred to as 'welfare').

Light Saber

Human rights activist and international lawyer: U.S. police agencies use same brutal tactics that Israeli police use in Gaza

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© PressTV
Police violence in the US has been an "epidemic" throughout the country's history, with law enforcement officers using the same tactics on Americans that Israeli police use against Palestinians, an international lawyer says.

Each year in the United States, there are "thousands and thousands of cases of police brutality [and] these cases have been going on from time immemorial," Mustafa Ansari, who is also a human rights activist, told Press TV on Monday.

"The police officers and the district attorneys and judges and the criminal justice system are all in collusion to look the other way when there's instance of police brutality," Ansari said.

He noted that cases of police brutality only receive widespread attention when the evidence is irrefutable or if the incident gets caught on camera, like last month's death of Eric Garner by the hands of New York City police.


Comment: A very astute observation!

Telegenically Dead Palestinians and the Subversion of your Soul


Megaphone

Gaza Calling: All out on Saturday August 9 Day of Rage

children of Gaza
As we face the full might of Israel's military arsenal, funded and supplied by the United States and European Union, we call on civil society and people of conscience throughout the world to pressure governments to sanction Israel and implement a comprehensive arms embargo immediately.

Take to the streets on Saturday 9 August with a united demand for sanctions on Israel.

From Gaza under invasion, bombardment, and continuing siege, the horror is beyond words. Medical supplies are exhausted. The death toll has reached 1813 killed (398 children, 207 women, 74 elderly) and 9370 injured (2744 children, 1750 women, 343 elderly). Our hospitals, ambulances, and medical staff are all under attack while on duty. Doctors and paramedics are being killed while evacuating the dead. Our dead are not numbers and statistics to be recounted; they are loved ones, family and friends.

While we have to survive this onslaught, you certainly have the power to help end it the same way you helped overcome Apartheid and other crimes against humanity. Israel is only able to carry out this attack with the unwavering support of governments - this support must end.

Snakes in Suits

Hiding the truth: Wall Street regulators denying public records requests to media and Congress

wall street bull
Getting what should already be public domain information from Wall Street's regulators using the public records law known as the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has become next to impossible; and it's fueling contempt for the Obama administration.

Yesterday, a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found that a majority of Americans, 54 percent, now believe the President is unable to "lead the country and get the job done." That poll follows another one from NBC and the Wall Street Journal that was released on September 13 of last year which found that only 14 percent of Americans held a favorable view of Wall Street. Another Gallup poll released in May found that stock ownership among U.S. adults is at a 16-year low, reflecting a growing distrust of a level playing field on Wall Street after bestselling author of "Flash Boys," Michael Lewis, appeared on 60 Minutes on March 30 to detail how high frequency traders and Wall Street banks had rigged the market against the small investor.

Against that backdrop, one would think that Wall Street regulators would be going out of their way to court public trust by courteously responding to public records requests with meaningful, responsive documents. But just the opposite is happening.

Bizarro Earth

Real bad idea: Ebola victims dumped on streets of Monrovia by relatives

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The lifeless body of a man lies unattended on the street in Liberia.
Relatives of Ebola victims in Liberia defied government orders and dumped infected bodies in the streets as West African governments struggled to enforce tough measures to curb an outbreak of the virus that has killed 887 people.

In Nigeria, which recorded its first death from Ebola in late July, authorities in Lagos said eight people who came in contact with the deceased US citizen Patrick Sawyer were showing signs of the deadly disease.

The outbreak was detected in March in the remote forest regions of Guinea, where the death toll is rising. In neighbouring Sierra Leone and Liberia, where the outbreak is now spreading fastest, authorities deployed troops to quarantine the border areas where 70 per cent of cases have been detected.

Those three countries announced a raft of tough measures last week to contain the disease, shutting schools and imposing quarantines on victim's homes, amid fears the incurable virus would overrun healthcare systems in one of the world's poorest regions.

Comment: Should go without saying that exposing diseased dead bodies, especially ebola stricken ones, to the public space is an extremely bad idea. The oversight is even worse if the virus really is airborne: Ebola - What you're not being told.

For a dietary approach to strengthening the immune system, consider the Ketogenic Diet and its many benefits, as well as the relaxation program Éiriú Eolas, which includes simple breathing exercises to ease life's stresses.


Ambulance

Ebola outbreak madness! Armed Liberians poison wells killing villagers under pretext of epidemic

unicef liberia
© reutersA UNICEF worker speaks with drivers of motorcycle taxis about the symptoms of Ebola virus disease (EVD) and best practices to help prevent its spread, in the city of Voinjama, in Lofa County, Liberia
Armed men have allegedly poisoned wells in Liberia's New Georgia in order to kill the residents under the pretext of Ebola outbreak.

The water from the wells and pumps has been used by thousands of people in the area.

At least 16 people are suspected to be dead because of well-poisoning in the Margibi community.

It is still unclear what the exact motive of the culprits was. Witnesses have reported sighting armed men introducing suspected poisonous substances using syringes.

The villagers reported the incident to the police and investigators are said to be looking into the matter.

Quenelle

People Power! Michigan community rebels against expansion, militarization of police

michigan police
© Bill Pugliano / Getty Images / AFPMichigan State Police
After acquiring some military hardware, one local Michigan police chief's plan to also add more than 30 non-certified officers to the force has residents in Barry Township clamoring for an investigation - and, in some cases, his job.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the township's police chief Victor Pierce is under fire for what some in the area characterize as increased use of force by law enforcement, as well as for a proposal that would add more officers than are necessary to keep track of a population of 3,900.

Pierce is looking to add 34 individuals to the police reserve force in Barry Township - a significant increase over the four full-time officers currently employed. What's more, these reserve officers are not certified - the department has already been warned that the officers need training and only deployed for special events.

Comment: To those who hold the illusionary belief that the militarization of police forces is for their own protection... think again!


Water

Toledo area, Ohio on third day of drink and swim water ban

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Toxic algae bloom in Lake Erie, 2011.
The aquapocalypse in Toledo, Ohio is now entering its third day after citizens in the greater Toledo area woke up to a stark reality on Saturday morning when city officials had issued an unprecedented, region wide water advisory warning people not to drink or boil local tap water due to toxic contamination. It is further recommended that young children and the elderly not bathe in the water. Samples at the Collins Park treatment plant, that services nearly 500,000 residents in NW Ohio and SE Michigan, have tested above safe drinking standards for microcystin and test results continue to show dangerous levels. A state of emergency has been declared by the state of Ohio.

A giant Toxic Algae bloom, of the type that has been plaguing Lake Erie for a decade, has for the first time overwhelmed the local water treatment plant at Collins Park and forced city officials to take this step to protect the health and safety of citizens. Years of hand wringing, millions of dollars in research grants, and lip service by the inept political caste on the causes and intensification of the blooms has done nothing to improve the situation.

The massive and recurring Toxic Algae Blooms on Lake Erie are a man made disaster. A combination of factory/industrial farming, sewage, storm water runoff and industrial pollution are to blame. The massive coal burners, nuke plants and tar sands refineries along the lake use millions of gallons of lake water and create large heat zones from thermal pollution where water temperatures are much warmer. The heat zone created by the thermal pollution along the lake, which includes the Monroe Power plant, the second largest coal burner in North America, was pinpointed in satellite imagery taken in 2011 as the spawning zone of that years algae bloom.

Comment: An element which both Environmentalists at large and Environmental Services don't take into account, is the radical electric component in climate change. How our Sun's reduced activity probably has a profound effect on Earth's surface-core E-field, 'loosening' the core's usual adherence to the surface, causing Earth to open up. Explaining for example the last decades rise in seismic activity, like with; quakes, volcanoes, sinkholes and Subterranean out-gassing events, likely to also be connected here.

Of course it seems industrial pollution plays a key role in this story, yet current earth changes indicates something much larger than any anthropocentric environmental effort can fix. For clues, read:

Earth Changes and the Human Cosmic Connection: The Secret History of the World - Book 3