Society's Child

Portugal is confronting its role in the slave trade with a planned monument sparking fierce debate over race and history

Paul Ames
Politico
Tue, 06 Feb 2018 04:01 UTC

Over five centuries after it launched the Atlantic slave trade, Portugal is preparing to build a memorial to the millions of Africans its ships carried into bondage.

Citizens of Lisbon voted in December for the monument to be built on a quayside where slave ships once unloaded. Yet although the memorial has broad support, a divisive debate has ignited over how Portugal faces up to its colonial past and multiracial present.

"Doing this will be really good for our city," said Beatriz Gomes Dias, president of Djass, an association of Afro-Portuguese citizens that launched the memorial plan.

"People really got behind the project, there was a recognition that something like this is needed," said Gomes Dias. "Many people told us this is important to bring justice to Portugal's history here in Lisbon, which is a cosmopolitan and diverse capital with such a strong African presence."

However, some fear that history risks being hijacked by politics.

"I think it's a good idea, but those behind this monument want to perpetuate a particular vision which, up to a certain point, is a myth," said historian João Pedro Marques.

Big military spendings make us broke, not safe

Miriam Pemberton
Other Words
Wed, 31 Jan 2018 13:30 UTC

Backing down from nuclear war would make us a lot safer than piling more money into the Pentagon.

We're all tense. Hearing about our fellow citizens in Hawaii scrambling around, looking for a place to hide from a nuclear bomb, will do that to you. So will contests between two unstable world leaders over the size of their nuclear buttons.

Now, some politicians say they'll protect us by adding massive amounts to the Pentagon budget. This seems like a no-brainer: feel threatened, give more money to the military. But it isn't.

Practically everyone from the president on down, though, seems to take it as a given. "In confronting these horrible dangers," Donald Trump said during his State of the Union, "I'm calling on Congress" to "fully fund our great military."

The president and his party are now looking to add somewhere between $30 and $70 billion more in military spending to their budget for next year - on top of the increases for this year. Democrats seem willing to go along, with a few caveats.

BBC correspondent was detained for 17 hours in Indonesia over disputed tweet

Andreas Harsono
Human Rights Watch
Wed, 07 Feb 2018 12:20 UTC

© 2018 Antara Foto/M Agung Rajasa/via Reuters
Indonesian soldiers along with a local resident unload food and medical aid in Ewer, Asmat District, in the remote region of Papua, Indonesia January 29, 2018 in this photo taken by Antara Foto.

Authorities Restrict Independent Journalism in Papua

Last week, Indonesian authorities arrested a BBC correspondent for tweets she made while reporting from Papua. The journalist, Rebecca Henschke, was questioned for a total of 17 hours by immigration and military officials before being freed.

Henschke, based in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, went to Papua to report on both the measles outbreak, which has killed roughly 100 indigenous Papuan children, and on how logging and deforestation have destroyed forests where the staple food, sago palm, grows, leading Papuans to eat more instant noodles and cookies. She had a travel permit, a requirement for foreign journalists traveling to Papua.

She was arrested the day she arrived, February 1, after tweeting a photo of supplies on a river dock, writing, "aid coming in for severely malnourished children in Papua - instant noodles, super sweet soft drinks, and biscuits." Another tweet said, "Children in hospital eating chocolate biscuits and that's it."

Comment: It wouldn't be the first time that the BBC was caught misrepresenting the facts - if that is what actually happened. But even if so, it was an extreme reaction to detain someone for a tweet - an official response would have sufficed!

Cops sneak up on tattoo shop owner, beat him without mercy (VIDEO)

Jack Burns
The Free Thought Project
Thu, 08 Feb 2018 12:24 UTC

Three Colorado cops beat a cigar smoking tattoo shop owner unprovoked and without mercy. Now the man is suing and will likely win now that video backs up his story.

A Colorado man is suing Sgt. Steven Holton and Detective Ben Russell of the Westminster Police Department and North Metro Drug Task Force for excessive use of force he and his attorneys say caused lasting painful injuries.

Since 1988, David Martinez has been the owner of Davian's Tattoo: Body Tattoo and Piercing and has been in business. Martinez claims he was beaten last summer without provocation by Holton and Russell and now has the video to prove it.

European women fight back with anti-migrant violence campaign video

Voice of Europe
Thu, 08 Feb 2018 12:24 UTC

The campaign that was launched by German women against migrant violence is becoming very successful. Its video has over 1.5 million views and women from all over Europe are using the 120db hashtag.

The 120 decibel (120db) movement is named after the noise level of the "rape alarms" some women in Germany carry in their handbags. Its campaign was launched last week by a group of women who are increasingly worried about migrant violence and sexual assaults.

Comment: Further reading:

ISIS video shows jihadists waiting in French countryside to attack "Paris before Rome"

Bridget Johnson
PJ Media
Wed, 07 Feb 2018 12:28 UTC

The pro-ISIS group that last month depicted the invasion of Washington this week declared "Paris before Rome," depicting a terrorist invasion that began with cells in the countryside outside Paris before attacking the city.

Al-Abd al-Faqir Media released what they called "a cinematic film about the invasion of the Islamic State of the capital of degeneracy ... in the near future, inshallah."

The video opened with a man visiting an ISIS social media account on a computer and a recording of deceased ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani: "The time is now -- we want Paris before Rome and before al-Andalus, after we make your lives miserable and bomb your White House and Big Ben and Eiffel Tower." Sacking Rome has been a cornerstone of ISIS theology since the beginning of the caliphate.

Showing a map of France, the group showed a rendering of a drone approaching Paris from the southwest, "type: al-Burraq," which is a drone used by the Pakistani Air Force, "belonging to the caliphate army - location: the western countryside of Paris."

Comment: We wonder if this laughably absurd video is intended more for those Muslims who are gullible enough to take it seriously and do something stupid or for the Western masses to remember to be very afraid.

It's funny how drones now feature in terrorist propaganda videos, especially considering the recent incident of a swarm of drones attacking Russian bases in Syria:

Pew Research: Five facts about the religious lives of African Americans

David Masci
Pew Research
Wed, 07 Feb 2018 00:01 UTC

Religion, particularly Christianity, has played an outsize role in African American history. While most Africans brought to the New World to be slaves were not Christians when they arrived, many of them and their descendants embraced Christianity, finding comfort in the Biblical message of spiritual equality and deliverance. In post-Civil War America, a burgeoning black church played a key role strengthening African American communities and in providing key support to the civil rights movement.

For Black History Month, here are five facts about the religious lives of African Americans.

Canada's gender-neutral pronoun bill should be a warning for Americans

Jordan Peterson
The Hill
Tue, 18 Oct 2016 00:00 UTC

Two weeks ago I posted three YouTube videos about legislative threats to Canadian freedom of speech. I singled out Canada's Federal Bill C-16, which adds legal protection for "gender identity" and "gender expression" to the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal code.

I noted that the policy statements surrounding similar legislation - most particularly those on the Ontario Human Rights Commission website - were dangerously vague and ill-formulated. I also indicated my refusal to apply what are now known as "preferred" pronouns to people who do not fit easily into traditional gender categories (although I am willing to call someone "he" or "she" in accordance with their manner of self-presentation).

The trade in dog meat South Korea doesn't want Olympics tourists to see

Nick Fagge
Daily Mail
Tue, 06 Feb 2018 22:18 UTC

© Roland Hoskins
Dogs and even puppies are sold openly for food in Moran market, Seongnam, the country's largest open-air dog market, near Seoul, which has survived an animal rights campaign to shut it before the Winter Olympics - and claims by the local authorities to have closed it

These are the images South Korean Olympics organizers do not want you to see - dogs being slaughtered and sold for food just 70 miles from where the Games begin on Friday.

Dogs and even puppies are sold openly for food in Moran market, Seongnam, the country's largest open-air dog market - contradicting claims made last year by local authorities that it was closing.

Up to 80,000 dogs are sold and slaughtered at the market each year, to be made into a soup which folklore claims boosts the eater's sex drive.

Comment: First off, the conditions described in the article are tantamount to animal abuse, and it should be outlawed to keep any animals in those conditions. But when it comes to the practice of eating dogs things become a little morally ambiguous. Is it that different from eating pigs? On the one hand, dogs have been the companions of humans for millennia. But piggies seem to have a similar disposition to human companionship. If the only reason to eat dog is the silly superstition about sexual virility, or if its just a leftover from times of scarcity, then there's really no reason to keep the practice. Overall, it seems like there is just something inherently wrong about eating dogs (and cats, for that matter).

See also:

Norovirus outbreak at 2018 Olympic Games: Number of people with vomit illness symptoms grows

Rachel Axon
USA Today
Wed, 07 Feb 2018 06:49 UTC

Korean officials on Wednesday confirmed additional cases of norovirus at the Pyeongchang Olympics, bringing the total of people infected to 86.

The Korean Centre for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed an additional 54 cases after announcing 32 on Tuesday.

The disease is considered highly contagious and typically includes symptoms of diarrhea, stomach pain, vomiting and nausea.

"The peak season for norovirus is January and February so unfortunately we're in a bad time of year where outbreaks occur," said Kim Hyunjun, director of the Korean CDC.

Comment: Rather ironic that the Olympic committee, which clearly caught the "anti-Russian bug", has their event plagued by a viral outbreak. While 28 of the Russian athletes who were banned from competing have been cleared due to "insufficient evidence" of wrongdoing, 11 bans still remain.

More on the Olympics:

Designer Federica Cavenati, who was known to friends as Kikka, has very sadly passed away, aged just 28, after a short and sudden illness Another...

HashAttack2

Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to the USA via Sweden where he faced sex offence allegations for which...

JTF Truth

i can imagine a future msnbc commercial airing between cnn's propaganda blurbs: "drones....coming to a neighbourhood near you.... ...this...

life

What an evil person. Pure lies, sticking to the script so she doesn't incur the wrath of her minders. It is time for the human race to stand up.

tekdude

Somewhat misleading to call this a "new water source". It has long been known that the the deeper aquifers contain water that predates atomic...

Rhansen

Society's Child

Portugal is confronting its role in the slave trade with a planned monument sparking fierce debate over race and history

Big military spendings make us broke, not safe

BBC correspondent was detained for 17 hours in Indonesia over disputed tweet

Cops sneak up on tattoo shop owner, beat him without mercy (VIDEO)

European women fight back with anti-migrant violence campaign video

ISIS video shows jihadists waiting in French countryside to attack "Paris before Rome"

Pew Research: Five facts about the religious lives of African Americans

Canada's gender-neutral pronoun bill should be a warning for Americans

The trade in dog meat South Korea doesn't want Olympics tourists to see

Norovirus outbreak at 2018 Olympic Games: Number of people with vomit illness symptoms grows

Latest News

Picture of the Day

Quote of the Day

Recent Comments

Quantum Quirk

Contact Us