Society's ChildS


Star of David

Dershowitz blames 15-year old victim in child trafficking case; a 'prostitute' who 'made her own decisions'

Phillip Weiss
Mondo Weiss
Thu, 19 Feb 2015 21:26 UTC
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© Sun Sentinel
We have picked up news about the sexual allegations against Alan Dershowitz because Dershowitz is such an outspoken defender of Israel and the matter has inevitably affected his influence in the foreign-policy arena. And Dershowitz will surely always get a forum, this piece on the case in the Harvard Law Record that came out yesterday, titled "Harvard Law Professor Blames Victim in Child Trafficking Case," is another sign that the Harvard Law professor emeritus is being criticized in venues that he might once have considered home turf.

An excerpt from the article by Kerry Richards and Anna Joseph:
Dershowitz denies abusing the child trafficking victim; yet instead of acknowledging the gravity of the crime and showing compassion - even while denying involvement - Dershowitz's response has been shockingly vicious and sexist. In a recent interview, Dershowitz said his accuser was "a prostitute," and questioned her fitness as a mother. He went on to admit he had no qualms about calling a 15-year-old girl a prostitute, claiming "[s]he was not victimized ... she made her own decisions in life." Those are decisions that the law says no 15-year-old is old enough to make. One day after that interview, 38 Harvard Law School professors joined the many well-connected people who have tried to protect Dershowitz and [convicted sex offender Jeffrey] Epstein, releasing an open letter lauding Dershowitz's "courage."

Where is the focus on the plaintiff's courage? On her horrifying experience, and on the experiences of the millions of other minors bought and sold for sex each year? When rape victims do come forward, where is the focus on ensuring we don't re-victimize them in the media?

Brutalized by Epstein, betrayed by federal prosecutors who refused to pursue justice, Jane Doe #3 was then publicly shamed by Dershowitz. Shaming rape and human trafficking victims compounds injustice, violating those who report and discouraging others from doing so.
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Eye 2

Outrage over plans to pay Turkish men 'prostitute allowance'


Sputnik
Fri, 20 Feb 2015 19:06 UTC
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© AFP
An attorney in Turkey has caused widespread outrage after suggesting single men should be given a government pension to pay for sex with prostitutes.

Yazuv Balkan put forward the plans to pay single men a 'sexual necessity credit' of 75 Turkish lira (£19) per week as part of an attempt to curb the levels of rape and violence against women in Turkey.
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Comment: Some twisted psychopathic thinking here!

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Galaxy

Professor Stephen Hawking believes we should explore space as 'life insurance' for the human race

Jonathan O'Callaghan
Daily Mail
Thu, 19 Feb 2015 18:14 UTC
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Professor Stephen Hawking believes the future of the human race depends on our abilities to explore space.

During a tour of London's Science Museum, the 73-year-old said that landing on the moon gave us new perspectives of life on Earth, and this outlook must develop if we are to survive.

He also said aggression should be weeded out of the human race and replaced by empathy to avoid a major nuclear war ending civilisation as we know it.

Professor Hawking made the comments while escorting an American visitor around the museum as part of a 'Guest of Honour' prize.

Comment: Moving to another planet will not help us learn to overcome the psychopathic nature of society but only bring it along with us.

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Star of David

Students allege "travesty of justice" as Ohio university muzzles debate on Israel divestment

Nora Barrows-Friedman
The Electronic Intifada
Thu, 19 Feb 2015 02:35 UTC
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After several hours of debate on Tuesday night, the student government at the University of Toledo in Ohio shut down a hearing on a resolution to divest from firms abetting Israel's crimes.

Just before the vote was to take place by the student senate, the university's Student Judicial Council, part of the student government, announced that it had ruled a resolution calling for divestment "unconstitutional" on the grounds that it was "discriminatory" and "one-sided." The ruling allowed no recourse or debate and the entire vote was then scrapped.


Comment: That's democracy for you!


As The Electronic Intifada reported, the university administration had insisted that discussions relating to the resolution be conducted in a secretive manner.

Comment: Any criticism or opposition "of that shitty little country", as French diplomat Daniel Bernard called it, will be met with dirty tricks.

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Stormtrooper

Out of control: No charges for cops who broke into innocent man's home while he slept and shot him 16 times

Matt Agorist
Free Thought Project
Thu, 19 Feb 2015 17:25 UTC
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Dustin Theoharis shot 16 times by police.
Dustin Theoharis was asleep in his bed when a Department of Corrections officer, and King County Sherriff's deputy rushed into his house on February 11, 2012. The two cops busted into his bedroom and began to unload their pistols on this unarmed man.

It is estimated that the two officers fired over 20 rounds of which 16 landed in Mr. Theoharis. According to Theoharis's attorney, Erik Heipt, "Theoharis suffered "a broken shoulder, 2 broken arms, broken legs, he had a compression fracture to his spine, damage to his liver and spleen."

To add insult to attempted murder, Theoharis was not the guy the police were after. According to King 5 News Seattle, the King County Sheriff's deputy and Washington Department of Corrections officer who shot him were at the house to arrest a man who'd violated his parole.
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Stock Up

Last year's huge coal ash spill in North Carolina may cost Duke Energy $100M or the cost of a permit


RT
Thu, 19 Feb 2015 02:04 UTC
toxic ash spill
© thinkprogress.orgCoal ash spill sends toxic waste downstream for 70 miles.
Duke Energy, the largest utility company in the United States, has set aside $100 million in order to settle a federal grand jury investigation into last year's huge coal ash spill in North Carolina.

The electric utility made the announcement in its earnings report on Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles Times. A federal grand jury has been looking into the way Duke Energy manages the disposal and storage of the waste created at its coal-fired power plants ever since the coal ash spill occurred in February 2014.
The spill, which unloaded up to 39,000 tons of coal ash and some 27 million gallons of coal ash slurry into the Dan River, was the third-largest coal ash spill in US history.

Comment: In a SOTT article from last year, estimates of 50,000 to 82,000 tons of coal ash and up to 27M gallons of water were released from the 27-acre storage pond. Danville, Virginia, takes its water from the Dan River only 6 miles downstream of the pond. With 14 coal-fired plants in N. Carolina, Duke dumps its toxic metals into landfills, storage ponds or old mines - all subject to bursting dams and other environmental hazards.


"The company expects a proposed agreement could be reached and filed in the next several days for consideration by the court," Duke Energy said in its earnings report. "If approved, the proposed agreement would resolve the ongoing grand jury investigation of the company's coal ash basin management."
Coal ash is waste left after burning coal that contains arsenic, mercury, lead, and over a dozen other heavy metals, many of which are toxic.
Duke protestors
© www.myfoxcarolinas.comProtesting Duke's illegal chemical dumping.
While Duke is currently involved in settlement negotiations, it's unclear what charges the grand jury is considering, and US Attorney Thomas Walker has declined to discuss the issue. Even if Duke resolves the issue, it's still facing charges from North Carolina's Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and activist groups for potentially violating state laws by contaminating groundwater.

Comment: How nice. Retroactive pollution amnesty. Well, there is some mighty fine leaky thinking going on here! It would be a travesty to allow the company to "Duke it out" with a slap on the wrist and the cost of a permit. Obviously this does NOTHING to solve the problem, stop the leaks or rectify the ongoing damage to humanity and the environment. It is looking like Duke is part of the good-ol'-boys club after all. Justice? My Ash!

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Info

A portrait of Iran's supreme leader where Saddam Hussein's statue once stood in Baghdad

Liz Sly
The Washington Post
Tue, 17 Feb 2015 23:54 UTC
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© Liz Sly/ The Washington PostA billboard depicting the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was erected recently on the edge of Baghdad’s Firdaus Square.
Perhaps nothing illuminates more starkly the transformation underway in Iraq than the billboard depicting the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini erected recently on the edge of Baghdad's Firdaus Square. The portrait obscures the view of the plinth where a giant statue of Saddam Hussein once stood, until U.S. Marines pulled it down in 2003.

The 2003 event was a profoundly symbolic moment that seemed to capture the swift triumph of American troops over Hussein's crumbling army. It also signaled the start of Iraq's steady drift into the orbit of Iranian influence, a trend that has accelerated dramatically since the surge into northern Iraq by the Islamic State last summer.

Comment: Just goes to show how popular the US is in Iraq.

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Ambulance

16 killed in Haitian Carnival electrocution accident


New York Post
Tue, 17 Feb 2015 00:00 UTC
electrocution
© www.dailymail.co.ukElectric Shock: The moment a performer on top of a float at the Haiti arrival got caught by an overhead power line as the parade passed through the streets of Port-au-Prince in the early hours of the morning
At least 16 people were killed early Tuesday in the Haitian capital after a man on top of a musical group's Carnival float was shocked by high-voltage wires above the street, setting off a panic in which dozens of people were trampled, officials said. The accident occurred as thousands of people filled the streets of downtown Port-au-Prince for the raucous annual celebration.

Video from the scene showed sparks coursing from the wire after a singer from the Haitian hip-hop group Barikad Crew was jolted by the overhead power line as the float passed beneath it. The cable appeared to have shocked several others as well.

Prime Minister Evans Paul said 16 people were confirmed dead and 78 were injured. His statement conflicted with earlier reports on the number of casualties. Nadia Lochard, a coordinator for the Department of Civil Protection, had said at least 20 people were killed.


Comment: Seems like this tragedy could have been prevented or avoided. Odd that a similar tragedy happened in a Carnival parade on the same day in Rio de Janeiro.

Three Brazilian revelers died after being electrocuted early on Tuesday while standing atop a Carnival float that hit a power line, officials said. The Light power company confirmed the deaths that happened during a Carnival celebration in Nova Iguacu, a city of 800,000 people on the northern outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. Firefighters said at least one other person was taken to hospital and three others were aided on the scene. None appear to have life-threatening injuries. Police are investigating the incident. During Brazil's 2011 Carnival, 16 people were killed at a packed street party in Minas Gerais state when a power line fell atop the crowd.

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Sheriff

Blue privilege: Cop accused of molesting 3 kids pleads down charges - no jail time

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Wed, 18 Feb 2015 20:47 UTC
Dale Couch
Officer Dale Couch was accused of molesting three kids and threatening them if they ever spoke up. He's now free to carry out those threats because he was a cop.
A former Manatee County Sheriff's Lieutenant escapes jail time for his sadistic and sickening acts against three children, after pleading to a lesser charge. In May of 2013 Dale Couch was arrested after children told authorities what Couch had done to them. He was charged two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child under age 12 and a third charge of lewd and lascivious molestation against a 12-year-old child.

According to reports, initially, the 12-year-old girl said Couch had inappropriately touched her once.

"She said that while he was over her (in her bed) yelling and cussing at her, he grabbed her breasts with his hands," according to the arrest report.

Then in March, the counselor came forward to report additional allegations. The girl had stated that Couch had also inappropriately touched her private areas on multiple other occasions while she sat on his lap. The 9-year-old victim had reported similar allegations, with a third child also interviewed who reportedly witnessed such instances on multiple occasions.

According to the 12-year-old girl, she did not want to disclose anything because she was terrified that Couch "would do more than he was already doing."

The Harold-Tribune reported that when Couch first heard of the allegations he became so enraged that he punched a door in his home, knocking it completely off the hinges. Both of the victims were present during this display.

Comment: Sickening. The inmates are running the asylum.

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Arrow Down

Louisiana student brutally beaten by police then charged for police battery for raising a hand to defend himself


Sputnik
Thu, 19 Feb 2015 19:02 UTC
Brady Becker
Brady Becker was beaten almost unconscious by police.
A Louisiana high school student was beaten up so badly by a cop that the local police department took the highly unusual step of telling the teenager's family to please go ahead and file a complaint.

It all happened last Friday night when 17-year-old Brady Becker was with some friends at the mall in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie.

Apparently some words were exchanged with a group of Jefferson Parish Sheriff deputies, and several of the teens took off, but Becker was grabbed by a deputy, thrown to the ground and beaten up.

The whole thing was captured on video and it shows the deputy holding Becker by the throat with one arm and using the other arm to hold the teen down on the ground. Becker's hand went up to defend himself, and the deputy punches him at least four times in the face.

Comment: It sounds encouraging that the department has recommended that the family file a complaint. However, considering how often police officers are acquitted of wrongdoing, even when it is fairly obvious there was little or no provocation for their brutal actions, one wonders if the police department is quite confident that very little will result from such an 'investigation'.

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