Society's ChildS


Stormtrooper

Weapons companies making money by "taking over" (militarizing) British schools

Andrew Smith
openDemocracy
Tue, 02 Jun 2015 15:45 UTC
bae protest england schools
© Demotix/Peter MarshallA 12 foot effigy of the BAE chairman at the 'people's jury' protest outside the BAE AGM.
Europe's largest arms manufacturer, BAE Systems, has applied to sponsor the failing Furness Academy. The reason is profit.

Corporations have already established a growing foothold in many UK schools, but the idea of Europe's biggest arms company running a school still seems like something out of an Orwellian nightmare.

However, it may be about to happen in Barrow, Cumbria, where BAE Systems is on the verge of taking over Furness Academy. The proposal is currently going through due diligence before being opened to a consultation with stakeholders, parents and staff, where it is expected to be supported. If it is agreed, BAE will become the school's sole sponsor later this year. They will also take responsibility for the 'strategic direction' of the school.

Education isn't just about grades, it's also about promoting values, informing perspectives and expanding minds. Could a weapons manufacturer ever act in the best interests of school children? How can a company that profits from international hostility ever be trusted to teach about areas like conflict resolution or the human cost of war?

BAE has a shameful, inglorious history of corruption and deals with dictators. It has been the subject of investigations across a number of countries and was fined $400 million in the US for bribery. It has also sold weapons to human rights abusers and dubious regimes across the world, including Saudi Arabia,Libya, Bahrain and Egypt.

Despite all of the ramifications for education, the move has been welcomed by local MP John Woodcock, who greeted it as a "really exciting" development. Furness Academy's acting head called it "a fantastic opportunity."

Comment: The US is also prey to this disturbing trend. The attraction is the same: lack of opportunities for work leads to the preying on young people to join the military.

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Footprints

Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby seeks to keep Freddie Gray autopsy report secret


RT
Fri, 05 Jun 2015 15:23 UTC
Image
© Reuters / Adrees LatifBaltimore state attorney Marilyn Mosby.
Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby wants to block the release of the autopsy report and other "sensitive" documents in the upcoming trial of six police officers accused of Freddie Gray's death in custody.

Mosby told The Baltimore Sun that prosecutors "have a duty to ensure a fair and impartial process for all parties involved" and "will not be baited into litigating this case through the media."

Attorneys for the police officers oppose the "gag order," saying that the move suggests the state is trying to hide something in the autopsy report. Furthermore, they point to the fact that Mosby herself made a big show of announcing the charges to the media.

"Mrs. Mosby is the one who did an announcement discussing what she said the evidence was in a nationally televised speech," Ivan Bates, attorney for Sergeant Alicia White, told the Sun. "Now that it is time to turn over the evidence, to ask for a protective order is beyond disingenuous."

"It's as if she wants to do everything to make sure our clients do not get a fair trial," Bates added.

Mosby charged Lieutenant Brian Rice, Sergeant White, and officers Caesar Goodson Jr, William Porter, Edward Nero, and Garrett Miller with crimes and misdemeanors ranging from misconduct to "depraved-heart murder" on May 1.
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V

'End extreme inequality': Thousands hit streets of Germany ahead of G7 summit


RT
Fri, 05 Jun 2015 19:05 UTC

Thousands of demonstrators flocked to the streets of Germany on Thursday ahead of the G7 summit in Bavaria. The main rally took place in Munich, with participants accusing world leaders of failing to act on major global issues.

The demonstrators had a long list of complaints and demands for G7 leaders, ranging from poverty reduction to climate change and rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean.

"The G7 politics means neo-liberal economic policies, war and militarization, exploitation, poverty and hunger, environmental degradation, and [shutting out] refugees," the group Stop G7 Elmau 2015 wrote on its website.

Protesters marched through Munich while carrying signs reading: "The world is not a commodity," and "Stop TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership)."

Some wore masks depicted the faces of G7 leaders while holding an "Even it up - Time to end extreme inequality" banner.

A giant pesticide bottle was also part of the demonstration, protesting against Monsanto - the controversial agrichemical company known for its genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

On the forefront of the protesters' agenda was the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a trade deal which is currently under negotiation between Europe and the US.


Comment: The TTP and TTIP trade agreements: "A dystopian future in which corporations rather than elected governments call the shots"


Protests against the deal come as little surprise, despite it having Chancellor Angela Merkel's support. A recent survey found that around 43 percent of Germans believe the deal would be bad for the country, Deutsche Welle reported.

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Heart - Black

6-year-old invited sexual abuse, says Buenos Aires judge

Justin King
AntiMedia
Thu, 04 Jun 2015 04:33 UTC
judge
© Huffington Post
Judges Horacio Piombo and Ramón Sal Llargués of the Chamber of Criminal Cassation of Buenos Aires stunned the world when they reduced the sentence of a child molester because the child "displayed a homosexual orientation and was accustomed to being sexually abused."

Mario Tolosa was the child's soccer coach when he raped the child. He had been sentenced to six years, but the judges cut that sentence almost in half because Tolosa couldn't be held responsible for "the warped sexual development of the minor child." The six-year-old was called a cross-dresser by the judges before they went on to say:

"it is clear that the child's sexual choice—despite his young age and in light of the considerable testimony of those close to him—had already been made."
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Quenelle

Lawyer fights against Harper's C-51 Bill, a "fascist and dictatorial piece of legislation"

Tyee staff
The Tyee
Thu, 04 Jun 2015 00:00 UTC
Constitutional lawyer Rocco Galati Plans to challenge Bill C-51 in Federal court - video thumbnail
© Unknown
Constitutional lawyer Rocco Galati did not thank people for attending a rally opposing Bill C-51, saying instead that it is every Canadians' duty to fight against what he called a "fascist and dictatorial piece of legislation."

The Toronto lawyer, who previously launched cases against Marc Nadon's Supreme Court appointment and recent changes to the Citizenship Act, vowed to fight the Anti-Terrorism Act on constitutional grounds.

Several hundred people attended the rally in Toronto on May 30. Galati listed five ways in which he says the bill infringes on Canadians' constitutional rights, and called for citizens to withhold their votes to parties and politicians that have supported it.

"We at the Constitutional Rights Centre will challenge the constitutionality of this bill and encourage other organizations to do the same," Galati said.



Comment: Galati's other recent challenges are related to the lawsuit against the Bank of Canada which was hijacked from the Canadian people.

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Stormtrooper

Cop runs over bicyclist during high speed chase


Counter Current
Thu, 04 Jun 2015 16:33 UTC
bike_police_chase
© Unkown
Officials near the city of Philadelphia say they are investigating an officer who ran over a bicyclist during a high speed police chase.

Officials say they are trying to determine what happened, but local media sources have already begun spinning the story to favor the officer involved.

The local media has more information than the police have given out to everyone, but numerous sources have already begun conjecture about the collision happening "after" the police chase. We asked the Delaware Sheriff's department and the Chester Police if they had made any such claim, and they told us they had not.

Right now, they say they have turned the investigation over to the Delaware County District Attorney's Office. They tell us that this is the normal procedure in any police related fatality case.

The community and the victim's family say they want answers now. Specifically, they want to know how the officer could have possibly been justified in running over the suspect, identified as 24-year-old Sherman Byrd.

This all happened at around 8:30 Wednesday night, after a 55-year-old woman reported having her cell phone stolen.

Sheriff's deputies were nearby. They said they saw a suspect on bike who looked like the man the victim had reported.

They claim they are confident Byrd was the culprit, but they have no other evidence than their hunch and the fact that he had a weapon. Byrd's family say it is ridiculous to imagine he would have robbed anyone.
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Black Magic

'Black magic' fears as whole animal skin is found in London park

Alexandra Rucki
London Evening Standard
Wed, 03 Jun 2015 10:02 UTC
Mysterious skin
© FacebookMysterious skin: the grim discovery was made by Clissold Park users.
Authorities are investigating after a mysterious animal skin with flesh still attached was discovered in an east London park.

The grim discovery was made by users of Clissold Park, in Stoke Newington, who were concerned the flesh belonged to one of the goats kept in an enclosure inside the park.

Josey Wales uploaded images of the flesh to Facebook with the message: "What appears to me skinned goat found in Clissold Park - has been there for a few days apparently.

"This is not a goat skin rug - there is flesh still attached to it.

"Have any goats been stolen locally or [in] the surrounding areas?"
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Apple Red

Hunger Free Schools Act of 2015 to allow for free meals to all students in Baltimore

Sebastian Murdock
The Huffington Post
Wed, 03 Jun 2015 18:08 UTC
Image
© USDA
Baltimore children attending public schools won't have to go another day in class hungry thanks to a new state program.

On Tuesday, Maryland State Delegate Keith Haynes (D) spoke at Beechfield Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore to give the good news, the Baltimore Sun reported. Haynes is the chief sponsor of The Hunger Free Schools Act of 2015, a state law that allows any school and school district with at least 40 percent of its population considered low-income to offer free meals to all its students.

That number means every single school in Baltimore is eligible, Haynes told The Huffington Post.

Comment: It's long past time school systems started taking an active role in helping feed the growing number of hungry children in America. Now if only they would stop punishing those that are taking active steps ahead of the curve, and made such a program national policy.

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Megaphone

Russell Brand: Why does America really care about FIFA?

Russell Brand
The Trews
Wed, 03 Jun 2015 17:33 UTC
Image
In the latest episode of The Trews, Russell Brand points out the hypocrisy of the U.S.-led attack on FIFA in relation to the ongoing corruption in the Western financial sector.

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Eggs Fried

Egg shortage in America as bird flu has killed 45 MILLION chickens and turkeys

Michael Snyder
End of the American Dream
Wed, 03 Jun 2015 15:30 UTC
Image
Did you know that 25 percent of all egg production in the United States has already been taken offline due to the bird flu crisis? You aren't hearing much about this in the mainstream media, but at this point bird flu has claimed the lives of 45 million chickens and turkeys in America. When I wrote about this a month ago, the number of dead birds was sitting at about 20 million. In just 30 days, the death toll has risen by an astounding 20 million. This is a major crisis and it is already causing egg shortages around the country, and yet very few people seem alarmed about this? Why is that?

And it isn't just one strain of the bird flu virus that we are talking about. Right now, there are two strains which are spreading like wildfire.

Comment: For more info:

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