Society's ChildS


Bulb

Nanny state: Federal government passes law allowing students to walk to school alone

school child
© Shkljoc via Shutterstock
Relax, parents. Now you can allow your kids to walk, ride a bike, or take a bus to school, without you or your children getting arrested. The recently-signed Every Student Succeeds Act contains a section (858) that protects the rights of kids to walk or go out alone. The act was sponsored by Utah senator Mike Lee, who is a supporter of the Free Range Kids movement, and provides some hope for parents who feel that their kids should be allowed some autonomy to get by own their own.

The inclusion of a section that lets the parents choose what is appropriate is welcome. Though it doesn't replace any state or local laws, such clarification could go help curb the growing trend of cops picking up kids while they play or travel unattended. We've all read these stories, and there is a juicy selection on the Free Range Kids blog—the mother who was arrested because her eight-year old son showed some initiative and walked to school after he missed the bus. Or the story of the Meitiv family of Maryland, whose kids (age 10 and 6) were picked up by cops in three cars and detained for six hours, away from their parents. Why? They were walking home from the park. (The parents have since been cleared of all charges).

Comment: This really shows how far we've come as a nanny state that we need an act to protect something so normal, natural and necessary in developing a child's autonomy and independence. Unfortunately this federal law will not supersede state and local laws so police and child services may not play along.

Such a sad state of affairs as the US continues to slide towards complete totalitarianism.


Bad Guys

Islamic State killing Muslims: 51 killed in single day of terror attacks in Baghdad and nearby towns

An aerial view of central Baghdad
© Reuters
At least fifty one people lost their lives in a series of terrorist acts that rocked the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and two other towns on Monday. The Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) extremist group has claimed responsibility for some of the attacks.

In the predominately Shia Muslim Baghdad al-Jadida district, a group of gunmen broke into the Jawaher mall after detonating a car bomb and staging a suicide attack at the entrance. At least 18 people were killed in the assault, which also left 50 wounded, AP reported, citing Iraqi officials.

Iraqi Samarra TV has released an alleged video of the attack.

No Entry

State of Emergency: Radioactive material, byproduct of Uranium, released from massive gas blowout in LA

leaky gas well
© @latimesgraphicsApproximate location of safety valve. (not scaled to specs or shape) Source: Southern California Gas Co.
Expert: "A lot" has been detected, very dangerous
Official: "Levels can cause "significant health risks."


Robert Kennedy Jr., Jan 8, 2016: Their animals are dying... their fish are dying in their fish bowls, their dogs are dying, their cats are getting sick. And their children are getting sick — they're suffering nose bleeds, they're suffering terrible debilitating migraine headaches, asthma attacks, respiratory infections, eye infections, ear infections, stomach ailments...

The health impact — it's not just methane coming out of that hole... This is global crisis, more importantly this is a local crisis. Because not only do you have methane — you have benzene, toluene, xylene, which are carcinogenic. You have hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide — which are neurotoxic, which can injure your brain, affect memory, injure your kidneys, your liver, your other bodily organs. There's also a lot of radon gas being measured in the area. People believe — we don't know if this is true — the gas that is leaking at 2 miles deep is now coming out and pushing that radon up into people's living rooms, their bedrooms, their nurseries.


Comment: See also: Doctors: Unusual infections around massive gas blowout in LA...Leave, do it now


Sheriff

Wrongful death suit claims police put hood over inmate that caused him to asphyxiate while beating him in jail cell

Jack Marden
Jack Marden
Naked, agitated and restrained in a chair, Jack Marden pleaded with officers to remove a "spit hood" covering his face, to let him breathe.

The clash on 11 February began when the 56-year-old, locked up in Midland County jail on assault charges, became combative with sheriff's deputies following brief questioning by a pair of healthcare workers.

The workers - called in by a sheriff's deputy after an earlier dispute with Marden - asked officers to move the inmate back to his cell, at which point Marden began to act belligerently, deputies later said, complaining that "people were trying to hurt him" and "that the French government was confiscating his money".

The situation - depicted in a federal lawsuit, documents and handheld video obtained by the Guardian - continued to escalate. Concerned by his erratic action in the cell, where officers said the 205lb Marden showed signs of "superhuman strength", a deputy ordered a group of emergency response team officers to transfer him to a hospital for observation.

Within minutes, officers had entered Marden's cell and pinned him to the ground. A deputy struck him in the head, after Marden managed to "grab his testicles and squeeze", an incident report stated. As officers worked to restrain Marden, a deputy placed a spit hood over his face, the report continued, as Marden had "begun to manipulate his mouth as if he intended to spit".

Heart - Black

Sickening: 4 teens arrested over gang-rape of 18yo woman after ordering father to leave park at gunpoint

NYPD vehicle
© Stephanie Keith / Reuters
Four teenagers (ages 14, 15, 15 and 17) suspected of gang-raping a young woman at a Brooklyn playground, after ordering her father to leave by pointing a gun at him, have been taken into custody.

One other suspect remains at large. The attack took place on Thursday and locals are angered information about the incident has only just appeared. The suspects were taken into custody on Sunday.

"Why are we only just hearing about this yesterday?" Kakeshia Taylor, 27, a mother of three told the New York Times."This is breaking news. We need to know what's happening in our neighborhood."

Five young men, one of them armed, approached the father and daughter at Brooklyn's Osborn Playground at around 9:10pm on Thursday, according to the police report. The play area, where the two were drinking beer, is a notoriously dangerous place at night

"One of them put a gun in my face, telling me to run, and all of them had their way with her," the father told WABC.

Magnify

Analysis of 22 separate studies finds connections between watching porn and sexual aggression

porn computer
© Shutterstock
A meta analysis of 22 separate studies from seven countries claims to have found a tie between pornography consumption and sexual aggression, yielding significant associations between smut and both verbal and physical aggression.

The study results, which were published in an article in the Journal of Communication, titled, "A Meta-Analysis of Pornography Consumption and Actual Acts of Sexual Aggression in General Population Studies," are certain to add to the debate over the negative impact of porn.

"Consumption was associated with sexual aggression in the United States and internationally, among males and females, and in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies," reads the abstract. "Associations were stronger for verbal than physical sexual aggression, although both were significant. The general pattern of results suggested that violent content may be an exacerbating factor."

The study proclaims that the cumulative data make it clear that, on average, "individuals who consume pornography more frequently are more likely to hold attitudes conducive to sexual aggression and engage in actual acts of sexual aggression than individuals who do not consume pornography or who consume pornography less frequently," according to the Christian Post.

Camcorder

No witnesses allowed! Arizona Senator introduces bill that would effectively criminalize filming the police

Senator John Kavanagh
Senator John Kavanagh
Last week, Arizona State Senator John Kavanagh introduced Senate Bill 1054, which would make it effectively illegal to film police. Under the terms of the bill, filming police would only be legal under very specific circumstances, and would require citizens to stop filming if a police officer orders them to.

The bill also specifies that it would be illegal to film a police officer from a distance of less than 20 feet. These requirements give police the power to easily prevent people from filming them if they are engaging in activities that they don't want reaching the public.

If a police officer wants someone to stop filming them, all that they have to do is tell the person to stop, or chase after the person and reach an area within 20 feet of them. At that point, it would be illegal for the person to continue filming, and it would also be illegal for them to put more distance between themselves and the officer, because they could be charged with "resisting arrest" or a similar infraction. The 20-foot distance may be specified, but it is more or less irrelevant because there is a clause in the bill that allows an officer to "determine" if the person should stop filming.

Comment: The need for secrecy and keeping their dirty deeds in the dark is a hallmark of psychopathic organizations. They will fight for their perceived right to continue preying on the public.


Dollars

Iran: Government bill demands compensation from US

Iranian Parliament
© IRNAIranian parliament in session.
  • Restitution for CIA-led 1953 coup
  • Compensation for 223K dead and 600K injured, US-Iraq/Iran war 1980-86
  • Damages for US support of terrorist groups and hijacked flights
  • Compensation for sanctions, Central Bank of Iran's unrepatriated frozen assets
  • US complicit in Saudi killings of Iranian pilgrims 1987, recent Hajj stampede
Iranian lawmakers have submitted a bill, demanding compensation from the US after recent measures taken in the United States to appropriate frozen Iranian assets, an MP says. The bill, signed by 203 lawmakers, was handed over with a single urgency status to the parliament's presiding board on Monday for examination, MP Ibrahim Karkhaneh said. "After examination at the specialized commission, the bill will be presented to Majlis for voting," the Fars news agency quoted him as saying.

"The bill on receiving compensation and damages from the US government was prepared after recent anti-Iranian measures taken by the American administration and congress," he added. The US Supreme Court is reportedly considering a case filed by over 1,300 Americans pressing to receive billions of dollars of the Iranian money in awarded damages over two bombings in Beirut and Saudi Arabia in 1983 and 1996.The Obama administration has reportedly urged the court not to overturn the decisions of US circuit and appeals courts to award the plaintiffs.

Comment: Compensation for war activities - an interesting idea if they can make it stick and get repayment. What are the odds...


Bizarro Earth

More German unrest: Unknown men attack immigrants in downtown Cologne

German protests
© Wolfgang Rattay / Reuters
Unknown assailants attacked and injured several immigrants in two districts of Cologne on Sunday evening. One of the attacks took place near the city train station, where mass assaults on women happened on New Year's Eve.

The first attack took place at around 6.40pm, when some 20 unidentified men assaulted six Pakistanis near Cologne train station. Two of them were injured and taken to hospital. They were later released, according to the police.

About 20 minutes later, five people assaulted and injured a 39-year-old Syrian in a different location.

It is as yet unclear whether the two assaults were coordinated, German media report. Before the attacks, a group of local football fans and doormen was said to have discussed going on a "manhunt" in a closed Facebook group, according to the British Express newspaper.

Attention

'Canada cut in half': New bridge splits closing country's only east-west highway

Bridge splits Canada Nipigon
© Google maps
The only road connecting Eastern and Western Canada has been shut after a newly-constructed bridge on Ontario's Nipigon River split apart. Police have been redirecting people to take an alternate route through the US.

The Ontario provincial police tweeted the following message this morning.


It also told CBC News the closure could last "possibly days," as engineers work to determine the cause of the split, which saw the west side of the bridge pull away from the support connecting it to the river bank. One of the halves now protrudes by 60 centimeters.