Society's ChildS


Heart - Black

US makes list of top 10 most dangerous countries for women mostly due to #MeToo movement


RT
Wed, 27 Jun 2018 11:00 UTC
MeToo
© Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
The United States is the 10th most dangerous country in the world for women when it comes to the risk of sexual violence, harassment and being coerced into sex, according to a new poll of global experts.

The US was the only Western country in top ten, while the other nine countries were in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, according to the Thomson Reuters Foundation poll of 548 experts in women's issues around the world.

Reuters said the inclusion of the US in the top 10 was mostly due to the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and abuse that was sparked after a series of allegations were made against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and has dominated headlines for months. But not everyone was accepting of the US ranking, with CBS calling it a "dubious" list.

Topping the list was India, with what experts said was the highest risk of sexual violence and the threat of being forced into slave labour. Afghanistan and Syria were ranked second and third, with experts citing the high risk of rape and abuse for women in war-torn nations, followed by Somalia and Saudi Arabia.
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Blue Planet

American farmers are killing themselves in staggering numbers

Irina Ivanova
CBS News
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 05:00 UTC
Farmer dust drought
"Think about trying to live today on the income you had 15 years ago." That's how agriculture expert Chris Hurt describes the plight facing U.S. farmers today.

The unequal economy that's emerged over the past decade, combined with patchy access to health care in rural areas, have had a severe impact on the people growing America's food. Recent data shows just how much. Farmers are dying by suicide at a higher rate than any other occupational group, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The suicide rate in the field of farming, fishing and forestry is 84.5 per 100,000 people -- more than five times that of the population as a whole. That's even as the nation overall has seen an increase in suicide rates over the last 30 years.

Comment: It's a complicated picture of what's going on with American farmers. Part of the problem, certainly is that small scale farmers are being crushed by massive Big Ag giants, who drive down prices for agricultural products with which their small-scale counterparts can't compete. The move towards more and more unsustainable farming practices, including GMOs and chemical agriculture is certainly not helping.

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Dollars

Universal basic income: Benefit or burden?

Matthew Keegan
The Guardian
Wed, 27 Jun 2018 07:15 UTC
Finnish basic income
© Kimmo Brandt/EPAClients in an office of Finnish social security agency Kela, early 2017, just after the start of the nation’s now-ended basic income experiment.
Cities around the world are experimenting with basic income schemes. The benefits for residents seem obvious - but what's in it for the cities?

For the first time in many years, Lance Dingman has food in his freezer.

Dingman, from Hamilton in Ontario, Canada, lost one of his legs in 1988 as a result of a bone infection and now has a prosthetic; he has also struggled with his mental health. He used to receive a disability benefit, but the amount was so low as to leave him no way out of poverty. Today Dingman, 56, is paid C$1,900 (£1,080) per month under the city's basic income pilot project - and he says the difference is life-changing.

Comment: The idea of universal basic income is intriguing, but it seems like most of the discussion is polarized to the extremes - either it's going to save society or be its ultimate downfall. It's nice to have some cities running small-scale experiments to see how this will actually play out rather than having to rely on the word of the idealists or the doomsayers. The results of proposed societal changes such as this are unpredictable at best.

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Boat

Beware false promises: Israel proposes building goods port for Gaza in Cyprus


RT
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 21:37 UTC
Cyprus port
© Mohammed Salem / Reuters
Tel Aviv has discussed the establishment of a seaport for the Gaza Strip in Cyprus, Israeli media reports. Israel's proposal, now being considered by Nicosia, comes after it has actually maintained a blockade of Gaza for years.

The alleged 'good will' initiative is, however, far from being without conditions. The establishment of a port would take place only if the Hamas militant group, which controls Gaza, releases Israeli civilians and returns the remains of IDF soldiers.

According to Israeli media, the proposal is indeed conditional on the release of the Israeli civilian captives held by Hamas since 2014 and 2015 as well as on the return of the bodies of two Israeli soldiers, killed in 2014 during Operation Protective Edge. "We will clearly and openly put the benefits package on the table [and say], 'This is possible, this is the price. Take it or leave it'," a senior Israeli defense source told the local Hadashot TV.

Comment: Given the duplicitous nature of Israel and its historic clampdown on Gaza, it seems likely that there is more behind this agreement than meets the eye. The people of Gaza should check for crossed fingers behind the backs of the Israeli authorities before they agree to anything.

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Palette

Second Spanish church falls prey to well-intentioned but amateur restorer

Sam Jones
The Guardian
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 12:59 UTC
St. George effigy
© ArtUs Restauración PatrimonioThe St George effigy before and after restoration.

St George effigy painted in restoration compared to Ecce Homo Monkey Christ

For 500 years, the painted wooden effigy of St George that adorns a chapel in the Spanish town of Estella has been locked in a silent struggle against his old foe, the dragon.

Today, however, the saint faces a different battle thanks to a feat of restoration that has prompted comparisons with the infamous "Ecce Homo Monkey Christ" and exasperated the mayor.

Comment: Art restoration is obviously an art in and of itself and requires the careful work of professionals and experts. The fact that these restorations have been granted to amateurs is likely a reflection of the owner's valuation of the bottom line over the historic and artistic significance.

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Magnify

When it comes to protests in Iran, be very skeptical

Caitlin Johnstone
caitlinjohnstone.com
Wed, 27 Jun 2018 08:47 UTC
CIA emblem
Every few weeks I switch from being accused by pro-establishment Democrats of writing propaganda for Putin and Assad to being accused by pro-Trump Republicans of writing propaganda for the Iranian government, all because I am opposed to US-led regime change intervention in both Syria or Iran. Whichever country the US war machine is roaring loudest at on a given day, that's the country I'm writing propaganda for, because somehow the social engineers have succeeded in turning regime change interventionism in Iran vs. regime change interventionism in Syria into a partisan wedge issue.

Couldn't possibly just be that I know the US intelligence community lies constantly about such things.


Today there are reports being triumphantly bandied about by neoconservative pundits everywhere (often hilariously using pictures of the MEK terror cult) that some Iranian protesters have been recorded chanting "Death to Palestine" and "Death to the dictator" and carrying signs which admonish the Iranian government to pull its troops out of Syria. All of which just so happen to play nicely into the pro-regime change narratives of America's defense and intelligence agencies.

Comment: See also:

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Cow

Vegan compassion: Citing 'anti-meat' sentiment, French butchers seek police protection

Alissa J. Rubin
WRAL.com
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 17:57 UTC
French Butcher Boucherie
© Boucherie du Bac, Paris
French butchers say they've had enough. Not only must they confront media coverage of the "vegan way of life," now they say they are under assault.

After a series of small but unprecedented incidents, the butchers federation says its members need protection from militants who have broken windows, thrown fake blood and sprayed graffiti on their shops. In a letter to the French Interior Ministry, the butchers wrote that "physical, verbal, and moral violence" against them was "neither more nor less than a form of terrorism."

The letter may be a touch hyperbolic - and French vegan organizations are quick to defend their movement as nonviolent - but it has struck a chord with many French who dislike being told what they should eat.

Comment: The rise in extremist vegan violence seems to mirror the rise in SJW activism in general, as lefties are becoming more and more emboldened to take their cause to more extreme levels. They seem to be blind to the fact that their activism completely counters their stated objectives. It's unlikely that they're winning any converts, but the damage being done is certainly making society the opposite of a "safe space".

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Clock

Did the US Securities and Exchange Commission just try to kill internet legend and crypto currency advocate John Mcafee?

Ollie Leech
Cryptovest
Sat, 23 Jun 2018 00:00 UTC
John Mcafee
John Mcafee
John Mcafee takes to Twitter after being hospitalised for 3 days, claiming his 'enemies managed to spike something [he] ingested'.

John Mcafee tweet
After falling unusually silent on Twitter over the last 3 days, many crypto fans were beginning to wonder where the King of Crypto had gone. In the last hour however, the unthinkable has occurred which has shocked the crypto community. The cybersecurity magnate returned to Twitter tell his followers that an attempt had been made on his life this week, leaving him in a critical condition in the Vidant Medical Center in North Carolina since Wednesday.

According to his post, it appears that 'his' enemies had poisoned something he had consumed which left John Mcafee unconscious for 2 days while Doctors desperately tried to save his life.

Comment: Mcafee is certainly outspoken about a good number of things. Looks as though he's likely made more than a few enemies in 'high places':

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Evil Rays

Pro-Trump conspiracy-spinner "QAnon" calls for readers to promote regime change in Iran

Whitney Webb
Mint Press News
Mon, 25 Jun 2018 00:00 UTC
chess game
A QAnon meme posted on the 8chan forum.
Among the figures who have been promoted by QAnon as heroes resisting the "deep state" include Blackwater founder Erik Prince, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former Mayor of New York City turned Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

As Henry Kissinger predicted soon after the 2016 election, Donald Trump's "transition from being a campaigner to being a national strategist" has been seamless. Much like the change Barack Obama underwent in 2008, where "anti-establishment" campaign rhetoric and promises became a thing of the past and a "status quo" neoliberal/neoconservative agenda was adopted in its place, Trump's transition has led to a resurgence of power and influence among Washington's most notorious neoconservatives and a continuation of many of the policies that he had once railed against.

Trump's decision to assume the mantle of George W. Bush should have angered his base, as his promises to "drain the swamp" of the nation's capital ring ever-hollow amid the ascension of the worst of Washington's cesspool to powerful positions in the Trump administration. However, such anger among Trump's base has failed to materialize en masse. Instead, the anger has largely been diverted and redirected, thanks to an internet phenomenon known simply as "QAnon."


Comment: While Trump sometimes takes steps that are decidedly consistent with Neocons and the Deep State, to say that he has assumed the mantle of George W. Bush is quite over the top.


Comment: See also:

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Pumpkin 2

Peter Fonda goes unhinged: Rants inciting comments about ICE agents, Trump gov - and gets declared a "domestic terrorist" by the Border Patrol Union

Thomas Madison
Powdered Wig Society
Fri, 22 Jun 2018 00:00 UTC
Peter Fonda
Either Peter Fonda only posts to Twitter when he is drunk or he is a complete imbecile. Or both.

After calling for criminal physical assaults against Barron Trump, Sarah Sanders, and DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, the kid brother of the most notorious traitor since the Rosenbergs incited, via Twitter, his fellow America-hating vermin to harass and "scare the shit out of" the children of Border Patrol agents, who were none too happy with Fonda's inciteful suggestion.

So, in response, the National Border Patrol Council, the Border Patrol's official labor union, has declared Peter Fonda a domestic terrorist and published the following blistering report....

Once again, we have a deranged liberal "star" born with a silver spoon in his mouth who thinks play-acting as a "tough guy" in a movie equates to being a tough guy in real life. This guy is the lowest of the low!

Comment: Fonda isn't the only denizen of Hollywood to rant something stupid in public recently...

Hollywood elite cheer as has-been actor Robert De Niro delivers sophisticated anti-Trump speech at some awards ceremony

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