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Federal lawsuit filed in high school hazing scandal, claiming coaches and administration knew about abuse


KENS 5 San Antonio
Wed, 12 Apr 2017 17:16 UTC
La Vernia high school
The parents of a La Vernia rape victim filed a federal lawsuit seeking monetary damages after 10 students were arrested in connection with widespread hazing accusations at the high school, according to the family's attorney.

The complaint was filed in the Western District of Texas Thursday "seeking injunctive relief and monetary damages arising from their son's sodomization as part of a team 'initiation' ritual, allegedly known about by administrators and coaches in the La Vernia Independent School District."

The lawsuit seeks damages for civil rights violations.

Specific allegations included in the lawsuit are as follows:

"The subject hazing rituals and traditions are a form of bullying and have been part of the culture of the School's football team for at least a decade, according to news accounts, and possibly longer.

The teams' coaches have sanctioned these rituals, while other school officials, including La Vernia ISD and the School's principal, athletic director, and coaches, turned a blind eye toward the abuse, even after the abuse was reported to them.

Comment: More tales of hazing from around the USA:

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Rainbow

Dutch parliament votes to punish schools that refuse to teach LGBT awareness


RT
Thu, 13 Apr 2017 17:00 UTC
gay pride flag
© Andrea Comas / Reuters
An overwhelming majority of MPs in the Netherlands' lower house of parliament have voted in support of a motion which would allow schools to be punished if they refuse to teach LGBT awareness, according to local media.

Most MPs in the Tweede Kamer supported the motion in a Tuesday vote, according to Dutch news outlet NOS.

The proposal was put forth by Socialist Party (SP) parliamentarian Jasper van Dijk, who wants schools to be fined or face administrative action if they consistently refuse to teach their students about sexual diversity.

Van Dijk, who says that providing children with LGBT education contributes to the fight against discrimination, tweeted about the motion's success following the vote.
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Info

Saudi banks, bin Laden companies sued by US insurers over 9/11 terror attacks


RT
Fri, 14 Apr 2017 17:10 UTC
9/11 destruction and US flag
© Peter Morgan / Reuters
Two Saudi banks, along with businesses related to the family of Osama bin Laden face more than $4 billion in lawsuits over the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. Reuters reports the plaintiffs are more than two dozen US insurers.

The defendants are the Al Rajhi Bank, National Commercial Bank, aviation contractor Dallah Avco, the Mohamed Binladin Co, the Muslim World League and others.

They are accused of having "aided and abetted" terror by doing a variety of "activities in support of Al-Qaeda" in the years before the attacks.

"But for the assistance provided by defendants," the lawsuit says, "Al-Qaeda could not have successfully planned, coordinated, and carried out the September 11th attacks, which were a foreseeable and intended result of their material support and sponsorship of Al-Qaeda."
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Red Flag

Toxic Masculinity? The trend that blames boys for being born male

Nicole Russell
The Federalist
Fri, 14 Apr 2017 16:41 UTC
toxic masculinity
© The Daily Star
Healthy masculinity is exactly what our young boys need to be taught right now, not embarrassment at the way they are made.

The term "toxic masculinity" is en vogue now, from college campuses to Playboy. But the term implies there's a problem with masculinity, and teaching our boys and men that their innate wiring is wrong, stupid, and even toxic creates far worse problems. If anything, society doesn't need less toxic masculinity, we need more men embracing their natural masculinity.

The latest in the explorations and denigrations of toxic masculinity is the University of Regina, a school in Canada. They're hosting a program called "Man Up Against Violence," which asks male students to sit in a Catholic-style confessional booth and confess their sin of "hypermasculinity."

What's that? You weren't aware masculinity, hyper or otherwise, was a problem? Well, universities want guys to own it and apologize for it—not just inwardly, but outwardly too. After a female colleague wrote about toxic masculinity, New Zealand's Martin Van Beynen observed, "Toxic masculinity is the new male burden." He is also trying to figure out what it means.

Comment: Colleges across US taking steps to purge male students of "toxic masculinity"
At a mandatory freshmen orientation training at Gettysburg College in August, male students had to watch a documentary which stated in part that the "three most destructive words" a boy can hear growing up is "be a man." The freshmen also went through breakout sessions in which they were told mass shooting sprees are rooted in toxic masculinity.

The "Thrive" club, part of the Claremont colleges consortium which meets as a "safe space" to talk about mental health, advertises that "masculinity can be extremely toxic to our mental health, both to the people who are pressured to preform it and the people who are inevitably influenced by it."

The group refuses to disclose the contents of its discussions due to "confidentiality concerns," but students who attended one of the sessions reported that there was "a common consensus that masculinity is harmful both to those who express it and those affected by it," the Claremont Independent reported.


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Sheriff

Killer cop who murdered 6 y.o. boy had a history of 'satisfying his sexual desires' while on duty

Jack Burns
The Free Thought Project
Thu, 13 Apr 2017 16:54 UTC
Officer Norris Greenhouse, jeremy mardis
The officer-involved wounding of Christopher Few and the murder of his son Jeremy Mardis has taken a perverse and bizarre turn, if prosecutors of former Marksville, Lousiana Police Officer Norris Greenhouse, Jr. are to be believed. Marksville law enforcement officer, Derrick Stafford, was recently convicted of manslaughter and attempted manslaughter in the shooting that led to Mardis' death, and Few's close brush with death. Now it's Greenhouse's turn to be tried for second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.

In a recent court filing, Greenhouse was accused by prosecutors of having a habit of abusing the authority implicit in his badge to "satisfy his sexual desires." According to the Associated Press, "The Avoyelles Parish Sheriff's Office fired Norris Greenhouse Jr. for "abandoning his job" after the mother of a 14-year-old girl complained in 2012 that she found him lying on a sofa with her daughter while he was dressed in his sheriff's office uniform, prosecutors said in Friday's filing."

As the Free Thought Project previously reported, Greenhouse had a history with Few's then-fiancé. Now, prosecutors also agree and have alleged Greenhouse had previously made "sexual advances" towards his ex-fiancé, Megan Dixon. So, it's now becoming clear why Few may have fled from police in November of 2015. Greenhouse may have wanted him dead so he could have his way with Dixon.
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Heart

Bake bread not war: Russian military helps Syrians restore local Aleppo bakery (VIDEO)


RT
Fri, 14 Apr 2017 14:28 UTC
Baking bread
© Ruptly
In Aleppo, where relentless fighting between the Syrian Army and Islamist militants ended only two months ago, the Russian military has helped local authorities restore a large bakery, setting hopes for a slow but steady recovery for the war-ravaged city.

Until recently, most Aleppo residents have been heavily dependent on food deliveries provided by aid organizations and Russian military's reconciliation mission to Syria. With food and water supplies still scarce, there are many civilians who rely on humanitarian assistance coming from outside.

Local authorities, assisted by the Russian military, are now restoring a large bakery in the Kadi Askar district, previously held by a mishmash of different Islamist groups, including Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and Al-Nusra Front.

The bakery, filmed by RT's Ruptly video news agency, was deliberately destroyed by militants, said Omar Azet, head of Kadi Askar district. Fortunately, its baking machines - said to be able to produce up to 40 tons of bread per day - were brought back to operation, but much effort will be needed to refurbish the whole interior.

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Attention

After 1500 deaths, the Golden Gate Bridge will be getting a suicide net


CBS SF Bay Area
Thu, 13 Apr 2017 16:44 UTC
golden gate bridge
Work officially began Thursday on a net under the Golden Gate Bridge intended to prevent and deter the dozens of suicides that take place at the iconic landmark each year.

More than 1,500 people are thought to have died there over the bridge's 80-year lifespan.

The stainless steel net, located about 20 feet below the bridge's sidewalk, will span 1.7 miles of roadway on each side of the bridge and extend 20 feet out over the water.

It will be built over a period of four years, at a cost of just over $200 million drawn from a mix of federal, state and local sources.

At a ceremony today to mark the start of the project, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that during the long process of obtaining the funding for the project, people would ask her, "isn't that a lot of money for a net?"

"And we would say no, it's not a lot of money for a life, for all of these lives," Pelosi said.
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Info

Support for Chavismo climbs in Venezuela

Rachael Boothroyd-Rojas
Venezuelanalysis.com
Thu, 13 Apr 2017 16:35 UTC
Nicolas Maduro
Support for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and the allied leftist coalition, the Great Patriotic Pole (GPP), has risen to 35% - up from 27% in January - according to a new poll.

Carried out by independent think tank Hinterlaces, the survey shows that the ruling Chavista parties - which share the same voting ticket - continue to be Venezuela's most popular electoral option despite an ongoing economic crisis.

Additionally, the poll puts support for the entirety of Venezuela's opposition parties six points below at 29%, which includes 7% for Democratic Action, 7% for the Popular Will party, 6% for the Justice First party, and 6% for the opposition MUD coalition as a whole.

Nonetheless, a significant 36% of Venezuelans interviewed did not sympathize with any national party.
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Flashlight

Kremlin calls for investigation into alleged violations of gays' civil rights in Chechnya


TASS
Fri, 14 Apr 2017 15:23 UTC
The Kremlin spokesman noted that he doesn't know about any petitions or complaints by members of sexual minorities about this to any law enforcement agencies

Grozny, Chechnya
© Valery Matytsin/TASS
Grozny, Chechnya
Claims that the rights of gay men in Chechnya have been violated should be thoroughly investigated, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

"We don't know about any petitions or complaints by members of sexual minorities about this to any law enforcement agencies," Peskov noted. "Maybe I'm wrong and maybe there have been such petitions."
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Pistol

Scotland Yard reports large spikes in gun, knife violence as young Britons think it's 'cool' to carry weapons


RT
Thu, 13 Apr 2017 15:11 UTC
scotland yard
© Andrew Winning / Reuters
The Metropolitan Police registered a significant spike in knife and gun offences, while detection rates are falling across every category of crime.

An annual report published by Scotland Yard revealed a 42 percent increase in gun violence as well as a 24 percent rise in knife offences compared to the previous year.

In the 2016/2017 financial year, there were 12,074 knife crimes as well as 306 gun offences in London alone.

A major contributing factor is an emerging gun and knife culture amongst young Britons, who reportedly think it's "cool" to carry a weapon.
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