Society's ChildS


Eye 1

Pentagon admits using military drones to spy on US citizens

spy drones USA
Under a Freedom of Information Act request, a Pentagon inspector general made public a report last week, admitting to the use of drones to spy on U.S. citizens.

The missions were non-military in nature, meaning they were used for domestic spying purposes. Naturally, the Pentagon is claiming it broke no laws in the deployment of said drones and contends that the flights were rare.

A senior policy analyst for the ACLU, Jay Stanley, said it is good news no legal violations were found, yet the technology is so advanced that it's possible laws may require revision, according to USA Today.

"Sometimes, new technology changes so rapidly that existing law no longer fit what people think are appropriate," Stanley said. "It's important to remember that the American people do find this to be a very, very sensitive topic."

"The appetite to use them (spy drones) in the domestic environment to collect airborne imagery continues to grow, as does Congressional and media interest in their deployment," stated the report, quoting a military law review article.

Comment: Orwell's black vision of total surveillance has become our reality. In 1984 he wrote "It was even conceivable that [the Thought Police] watched everybody all the time"


Heart - Black

Child abuse cases up 30% in UK, according to NSPCC

child crying
© Reuters
Reported child abuse cases in the UK have risen by over 30 percent in the last year, with an average 124 cases reported per day, new research has shown.

The figures, obtained by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) by surveying 45 police forces across the UK, include offenses such as rape, sexual assault and grooming.

"The continuing rise in reported sex offences against children is deeply worrying and shows what a rampant problem it is," NSPCC Northern Ireland chief Neil Anderson said.

"Sexual abuse can shatter a child's mental health. It can leave them anxious, depressed and even suicidal."

Comment: Indeed, we as a society need to be on the lookout for the signs of abuse and patterns of behavior that might indicate grooming. Gaining knowledge and spreading awareness of how child predators operate would go a long way towards stopping child abuse before it starts.


Clipboard

Indiana high school students revolt over moldy Michelle O meal

Moldy cream cheese
© Via Facebook/Quinesha Dayzha'Nique-Renee Pointer"This What We Get For Breakfast ‪#‎MuncieCentral‬"
A photo of cream cheese served to students at Central High School is turning stomachs online, the latest in what's now a daily trend of students posting truly disgusting school food offerings.

Isaiah York and a friend are reconsidering their school food options after they popped open an individual cream cheese at breakfast Monday and found it covered in thick green mold, The Star Press reports.

"I was a bit grossed out about it, it made me a bit uneasy," York said. "When we opened it, I was a bit in shock to be honest ... That's my first time encountering that."

The senior reported the fouled cheese to the school principal, who contacted the school's food services. The teens also posted the image to Facebook and Twitter, and it's since gone viral.

Muncie Community Schools food services director Dianna Choate said the cream cheese came from the manufacturer in individually sealed portions that were within the expiration date, and officials checked other containers and found no mold.

Regardless, cafeteria staff dumped all of the cream cheese packets and contacted the Delaware County Health Department, The Star Press reports.

"I feel it's a shame that MCS is being made out negatively for something that could occur anywhere, at any time, whether a school, business, or personal home," health department administrator Jammie Bane said.

"An incident occurring does not point to a trend, and does not point towards the schools not caring or not taking actions in an effort to ensure it doesn't occur again," Bane said. "As a matter of fact, our local schools excel at food safety."

Comment: 'Criminals get fed better': Outraged Maryland students share moldy lunches, stomach-churning food items


Horse

'That's horse hockey!': FBI can already unlock iPhone without Apple's help - Snowden

Snowden
© Vincent Kessler / ReutersFormer U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden said that the FBI's claim to need Apple to unlock the iPhone a San Bernardino shooter is a sham.

The FBI says that only Apple has the ability to crack the work phone left behind by the San Bernardino terrorists, and last month convinced a federal judge to compel the tech giant to write a custom operating system with intentionally weakened security mechanisms. Apple is refusing to do so, and said that it is willing to take the fight to the Supreme Court.

Comment: See more: The FBI looks silly now — video shows how anyone can unlock an iPhone in 45 seconds


Magnify

Families of MH17 victims frustrated by lack of details from Dutch authorities investigating crash

MH17 crash
© Maxim Zmeyev / ReutersEmergencies Ministry members walk at the site of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane crash, MH17, near the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region, July 17, 2014
Relatives of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 victims were briefed by the Dutch authorities on Monday on the course of the criminal investigation into the crash. Despite calls to disclose data, prosecutors declined to reveal any details on the ongoing probe.

"It is difficult and complicated that we cannot yet share as much information as we deal with," Fred Westerbeke, the chief Dutch prosecutor investigating the downing of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine told a press conference on Monday, adding that giving away too much information "could jeopardize the investigation."

Commenting on the much-awaited results of the probe, Westerbeke declined to announce an exact completion date, but promised to finish "as quickly as possible, if only because of the frustration among the families."

A team of 80 policemen operating in Netherlands and Ukraine are currently working on the investigation full time, said Wilbert Paulissen, the head of the Dutch National Crime Squad. In trying to explain why it has taken so much time to come to any definitive conclusions, he said that the investigation involved questioning more than one hundred witnesses and in-depth research into the capabilities of missile systems.


Ambulance

Huge gas explosion in Seattle levels two buildings and blows out windows half a block away

firefighter
© Jonathan Alcorn / Reuters
Nine firefighters were hurt after a natural gas explosion leveled two buildings in a Seattle neighborhood. The explosion could be heard for miles from the site of the blast.

The explosion occurred around 1:45am Pacific time on Wednesday morning in the northern Greenwood neighborhood after fire crews responded to calls of a natural gas leak made 40 minutes earlier. The Seattle Fire Department said that eight firefighters and a battalion chief were taken to the hospital after sustaining minor injuries from a "massive explosion."

The department said that 67 firefighters, commanders and medics were at the scene. Puget Sound Energy spokesperson Andy Wappler said that it shut down control valves that feed gas to the area where the explosion happened. He said there was no reason to believe there were other leaks to worry about, KING reported.

Pirates

Denver police using assets stolen from citizens to pay for public outreach campaign

civil asset forfeiture
A couple of years ago, the Denver Police Department (DPD) was under fire for a spate of excessive force complaints. They wanted to change their image, so they began a massive public relations campaign, ramping up spending from $599 in 2011 to $136,783 in 2013.

The "media affairs unit" is made up of very well-paid employees who push their message in social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Last year the DPD spent $450,000 on six employees in the media team, which is far more than six cops on the beat would make.

However, an investigation by Denver7 ABC found that the DPD has been using funds derived from civil asset forfeiture to pay for much of this propaganda campaign. This may constitute a violation of policy, as those funds are only supposed to be used for equipment and training.
"According to the report more than $120,000 from that fund was used to buy equipment for DPD's media relations unit, including an Apple desktop editing system, a MacBook Pro computer and even spent $22,000 developing an app for iPhone and Android."
That's not all. They spent $2,460 to pay for entries into a local Emmy competition. The funds for this bizarre act were requested under "police training," even though there were no seminars or instructional time.

Comment:


Eye 1

FBI orders teachers to report students who question the government

FBI spying
© inthesetimes.com
New federal guidelines have just been introduced across the country, and what they mandate is quite disturbing to civil libertarians. The FBI has now instructed high schools across the nation to report students who in any way criticize government policies and what the report phrases as "western corruption."

The FBI is interested in determining - as part of some warped "pre-crime" program - who might become potential future terrorists.

The FBI warns in the report that that "anarchist extremists" are no different that ISIS terrorists.

They further caution teachers against young people who are poor, as well as immigrants and others who travel to "suspicious" countries. These, they explain, are teens who are more likely to commit terrorism.

Dollars

Sad state of affairs: College students resorting to prostitution to cover tuition

college students
© AFP Photo / Timothy A. Clary
There's no doubt that the cost of college is one of the biggest issues in America today. Hell, it practically fueled the Occupy movement in 2011, and it has helped propel Bernie Sanders to the national spotlight. You may not agree with either of those movements, but they do reveal how much anger and frustration there is over the cost of tuition.

This is no small matter. We have an entire generation of young adults who followed the rules, and it practically ruined their lives. They were told that going to college was the only way they would amount to anything, so they did what was expected of them. And all they have to show for it is their parent's basement and a mountain of debt that can't be paid off or excused. Financially speaking, we have a lost generation on our hands that is pretty much screwed for life.

Comment: Sugar babies: Female college students are literally selling themselves to cover rising tuition costs


Star

U.S. study: Russia tops the list with highest number of female business leaders

Business woman
© IFC
Russia tops the list of countries with the highest number of female board members, says a new report by a US-based audit firm. While Baltic states show similar stats, in G7 countries some 40 percent of businesses have no women in senior positions at all.

The new report titled Women in Business was published by the firm Grant Thornton on Tuesday. It conducted its research by carrying out surveys at over 5,000 businesses in 36 countries.

In Russia, 45 percent of senior management positions are held by women, according to the report. Japan ranks lowest with only 7 percent of business executive roles held by females.

On a global scale, women are said to hold only a quarter of senior management positions. The issue of male-domination in senior management has long been on the minds of companies.

"Companies across developed nations have talked the talk on diversity in leadership for long enough," Francesca Lagerberg, a global leader for tax services at Grant Thornton International, said in a statement. "It's time to put their promises into practice and deliver results," she added.

In the US and UK, the percentage of senior positions held by women stands at 23 and 21 percent, respectively. "This poor performance seems to be at least partly a result of entrenched societal norms. In the UK and US in particular, there are still plentiful examples of a 'command and control' approach to leadership, which is not necessarily attractive to women," Francesca Lagerberg said.

The percentage of businesses today that do not have any women in senior management at all stands at 33 percent, compared to 32 percent in 2015. Unlike Eastern European countries (such as Estonia, Latvia and Poland), in which over a third of senior positions are held by women, G7 members (Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Japan, Britain and the United States) had no women in senior roles in 39 percent of the cases surveyed.

Comment: Everything Americans think they know about Russia is wrong