Society's ChildS


Snakes in Suits

Sick and Heartless Iowa politician, Shannon Lundgren, calls for women who miscarry after 20 weeks to carry dead fetuses to full term

Mike Moffitt
San Francisco Chronicle
Sat, 01 Apr 2017 21:38 UTC
Shannon Lundgren
Iowa Rep. Shannon Lundgren
An Iowa state representative is under fire after saying women who miscarry after 20 weeks of pregnancy should be forced to carry their dead fetuses to term.

During a hearing Wednesday of Senate File 471, which would clear the way for a state ban on abortions after the 20-week mark, Republican Rep. Shannon Lundgren — the manager of 471 — faced a question from fellow Rep. John Forbes, a Democrat.

Noting that he has a daughter who is 20 weeks pregnant, Forbes asked that under the bill, would his daughter have to carry her child to term even if a doctor told her there was no longer a heartbeat.

"Is that good medicine?" Forbes wondered.

Lundgren's response:

"This bill wasn't written for the intent to protect or govern on the side of the woman. It was written to save babies' lives, giving the choice and being the voice of those babies...that don't have one. I understand what you're saying—this fetus, this baby, is not alive. I would concur that in that instance, if your daughter's life is not in danger, that yes, she would have to carry that baby."
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Sheriff

To protect and serve: Woman who was told to stop calling police killed in AK-47 massacre


Sputnik
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 13:56 UTC
police line
© Fotolia/ Dominik Herz
Police in Florida told a local woman to stop calling emergency services, and hours later she and one of her sons were dead, shot by a violent boyfriend with an assault rifle.

According to reports, Latina Herring and her eight-year-old son were shot and killed, and four others were wounded last week, after Herring's boyfriend fired an AK-47 assault rifle at them.

Herring is reported to have called the 911 emergency hotline several times on March 27, according to Rawstory.com, claiming that her boyfriend was drunk and displaying erratic behavior, making false accusations and displaying rage-based emotions.

In a recording of the calls, an officer is heard assuring Herring that, "We're going to handle it," before telling her, "Just stop calling 911 and making accusations that you don't know about."
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Star of David

Together, we prevail: Message from BDS activist undergoing Israeli interrogation

Omar Barghouti
Mondoweiss
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 13:35 UTC
Omar Barghouti
Omar Barghouti
Dear friends and colleagues,

Finally, I was allowed to access my email account after 12 days of being banned from doing so during the most intense phase of the ongoing interrogation I am subjected to by the Israeli authorities.

The BNC statement on this issue accurately sums up this latest chapter in the Israeli regime's war on the BDS movement.

Due to a gag order, I am not allowed to delve into any facts about the case. I am thus denied the ability to even refute the vicious lies published by Israel's regime against me. I am in no hurry to do so, though, as their main objective — attempting to tarnish my reputation and, by extension, hurting the BDS movement — has clearly failed.
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Life Preserver

Evil Russians? Red Cross praises Russia's 'great humanitarian work' in Syria


Sputnik
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 13:35 UTC
Russia aid Syria Aleppo Red Cross
© Ministry of defence of the Russian Federation
The International Committee of the Red Cross president praised Russia's efforts in restoring peace in Syria and said that the establishment of safety zones should be discussed with Moscow.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) appreciates Russia's humanitarian work in Syria and greatly values the help it has provided to the aid charity, ICRC President Peter Maurer told Sputnik.

"We do appreciate the very close contacts we do have with Russia in Syria. They are extremely helpful to the work of ICRC. We appreciate all the work that Russia is doing on a large scale of issues and our delegation in Syria as well as the Russian embassy keeps close contact to see how we can coordinate, reinforce, what we can do together in the humanitarian response," Maurer said.

Comment: Further reading: Russian soldiers give much-needed hope to war orphans in Aleppo

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Heart - Black

Thugs who tortured pensioners with boiling water arrested in Heathrow


RT
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 13:14 UTC
Kacey Adams
© Kent Police / YouTube
The moment police boarded a plane to arrest two "barbaric" burglars who poured boiling water over an elderly couple after breaking into their home has been caught on camera.

Footage shows police boarding the plane as it arrived at Heathrow Airport to arrest Daniel Wallace, 33, and Kacey Adams, 34, as they returned from a spending spree in Dubai after their £50,000 (US$62,200) raid.

Their luggage was found to contain more than £18,000 of luxury goods.

Sentenced to life in prison on Monday, Adams and Wallace broke into their victims' home in Halstead, Kent, last April. The pair tied up John Buswell, 66, and his wife Janis, 64, with cable ties before repeatedly assaulting them and demanding money.
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Handcuffs

Price-gouging: Maker of EpiPen hit with fraud & racketeering lawsuit


RT
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 12:46 UTC
EpiPen
© Joe Raedle / AFP
A group of EpiPen purchasers have hit drug maker Mylan with a class-action lawsuit, claiming the company engaged in illegal price fixing to inflate the price of its allergy treatment over a decade by 574 percent.

According to the complaint filed in Washington state on Monday, Mylan acquired the rights to market and distribute EpiPen in 2007, and increased the list price 17 times, from $90.28 to $608.62, causing some patients to resort to carrying expired EpiPens, or to use syringes to manually inject epinephrine.

Plaintiffs argued the skyrocketing list price for the EpiPen was the result of Mylan's behind the scenes payments of rebates to pharmacy benefit managers - CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and Optum Rx - which handle prescription drug benefit programs of insurance plans.
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Sheriff

Supreme Court unanimously rules for court flexibility in mandatory minimum sentences


RT
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 12:16 UTC
Supreme Court of the United States
© wikipedia.orgSupreme Court of the United States
The US Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that courts have the discretion to decide whether a defendant has already been given a mandatory sentence for one crime when considering an appropriate sentence for another charge.

"Sentencing courts have long enjoyed discretion in the sort of information they may consider when setting an appropriate sentence," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts, deliveringthe court's opinion in Dean v United States on Monday. "This durable tradition remains, even as federal laws have required sentencing courts to evaluate certain factors when exercising their discretion."

The government had argued courts should calculate the appropriate term of imprisonment for each defendant and disregard whatever sentences already faced on other counts.
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Dollar

Critics upset after Trump donates salary to National Park Service


RT
Mon, 03 Apr 2017 00:09 UTC
Yosemite National Park, California
© Robert Galbraith / ReutersYosemite National Park, California
President Donald Trump has donated over $78,000 - his entire first-quarter salary - to the National Park Service, leaving his critics spluttering about broken promises and the cost of security for his residences in New York and Florida.

Trump, who was a billionaire real-estate tycoon before running for president, initially tried to decline a salary altogether, but it turned out he was legally required to take one. He then said he would donate all of it to a charity, and even invited reporters to give suggestions.

On Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters that "every penny" Trump was paid between January 20 and the end of March will be handed over to the NPS.
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Info

Iran reportedly frees imprisoned American on bail after hunger strike


RT
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 10:41 UTC
Gholamrez
© BringRobinHome / YouTube Gholamrez "Robin" Shahini.
An Iranian-American serving an 18-year prison sentence after being detained by Iranian authorities for "collaboration with a hostile government" has been released after a hunger strike with other imprisoned dual nationals, a human rights group says.

Gholamrez "Robin" Shahini was released from an Iranian prison on bail of 2 billion rials (about $62,000), AP reported citing Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran.

It is unclear if Shahini will be able to leave the country. Iranian officials and state media have not commented on Shahini receiving bail, AP reported, nor did US officials comment on the matter.

"Shahini's release on bail is good news as his prosecution did not produce any credible evidence justifying charges against him," Ghaemi told AP. "He is an innocent man who appeared to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and his detention and prosecution was motivated by his dual nationality more than anything else."
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Chart Bar

From February to March, 54% drop in refugees arriving in the U.S.

Patrick Goodenough
CNS News
Mon, 03 Apr 2017 04:29 UTC
Refugee tents
© CNS News
The number of refugees admitted to the United States dropped in March to its lowest monthly tally of the current fiscal year, even as the implementation of President Trump's latest immigration executive order continues to be held up by federal courts.

In a continuing declining trend, 2,070 refugees arrived during March, an approximately 54.79 percent drop from the 4,579 recorded in February, according to State Department Refugee Processing Center data.

The number has steadily declined in FY 2017, from 9,945 refugees admitted to the U.S. last October, to 8,355 in November, 7,371 in December and 6,777 in January.
Refugee chart
© CNS News
Of the 2,070 refugees resettled in March, the largest contingents came from Somalia (335), Syria (282), Burma (278), Iraq (192), Democratic Republic of Congo (184), Ukraine (167) and Iran (101).

After an initial executive order ran into legal roadblocks, Trump issued a revised one on March 6 that once again sought to block all refugees from entering the country for 120 days. It dropped the original's provision placing an indefinite ban on the admission of refugees from Syria, however.
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