Society's ChildS


Red Flag

Clueless scholar makes 'moral case' for letting people decide their own age

Edyta Wolk
The College Fix
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 20:07 UTC
birthday cake
© NSC Photography / Shutterstock.com
Says recognition of 'trans-ageism' would prevent 'severe discrimination'

A recent article published in The Journal of Medical Ethics by a Finnish bioethicist made a moral case for the legal change of a person's age to correspond with that person's "experienced age."

The piece, by Joona Räsänen of the University of Oslo in Norway, titled "A Moral Case for Legal Age Change," concludes that there are three scenarios when a change to one's legal age should be allowed: When "the person genuinely feels his age differs significantly from his chronological age," when "the person's biological age is recognized to be significantly different from his chronological age," and when "age change would likely prevent, stop or reduce ageism, discrimination due to age, he would otherwise face."

Räsänen differentiates between "chronological" age, or how long the person has actually lived; "biological age," or the state of one's body; and "emotional" age, the age as which one identifies.
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Vader

UN human rights chief decries US choking of Venezuela as Trump mulls imposing 'toughest' sanctions


RT
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 19:59 UTC
hands off venezuela
© Reuters / Joshua Roberts
US economic pressure only contributes to Venezuela's woes and will likely further affect the people's "basic rights," the UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, has warned, as the US threatens even tougher sanctions.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has stepped up her criticism of the US policies against crisis-ridden Venezuela, saying that Washington's approach only makes the situation there worse. Bachelet in particular expressed her concern over the sanctions targeting Venezuela's oil trade, as these "may contribute to aggravating the economic crisis" and have "repercussions on people's basic rights and wellbeing."

It is not the first time the UN human rights chief has scolded Washington over its pressure against the Latin American country, which suffers from hyperinflation and other economic problems. On March 6, Bachelet said that the sanctions had fueled the crisis, which had reached an "alarming" state.
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Dollars

Google slapped with another EU antitrust fine; grand total now over $9.3B

Cale Guthrie Weissman
Fast Company
Wed, 20 Mar 2019 07:37 UTC
Google bldg
© palinchakjr/iStock/alexxx1981
This morning, the European Union slapped Google with a €1.5 billion fine, which comes to a little over $1.7 billion. This latest fine was over its antitrust practices with its advertising business.

Essentially, for years Google didn't allow its AdSense customers to feature rival search engines on their sites. Over the years, the company eased up on these rules, but European officials still decided the practice amounted to illegal behavior. This may be an especially tough blow for Google, since AdSense's contribution to the company's overall revenue has been steadily decreasing over the last six-plus years, according to Bloomberg.

This is the latest of many European fines Google has been hit with over its advertising practices. The EU levied both a €4.3 billion and €2.4 billion fine, over its mobile advertising business and e-commerce search results. This latest decision brings the bill to €8.2 billion, or a little over $9.3 billion. Google has been appealing both previous rulings.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

Birmingham, UK: Four mosques attacked with sledgehammers


RT
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 10:58 UTC
Birmingham Mosques attack
© Twitter/Cllr Majid Mahmood
Mosques have been targeted in overnight attacks in Birmingham, police have confirmed. Counter-terrorism officers are investigating the incidents, but no motive has been attributed.

An initial attack was reported at a mosque on Birchfield Road 2.32am local time and, as officers were responding, additional reports were received of a man smashing windows at another mosque on Slade Road at approximately 3.14am local time.

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Red Flag

Social services threaten to take autistic boy into care after his parents refuse to let doctors give him powerful sex-change drugs

Sanchez Manning and Holly Bancroft
The Daily Mail
Sat, 16 Mar 2019 18:01 UTC
sitting alone
The parents of an autistic teenage boy were warned he would be taken into care after they objected to him being given powerful hormone drugs to help him change sex.

Doctors at an NHS clinic had recommended he be given puberty-blockers - which delay adolescence - after the youngster declared he believed he was female.

But his mother and father, fearing the potential side-effects of the drugs, stopped him going to the clinic. And they suspected his abrupt decision to change sex was a result of his autism.

After the boy told the school he had been barred from treatment, a teacher told his parents that they should find alternative accommodation for their son or else he would be put into temporary foster care. And the school reported the couple to children's services for being 'emotionally abusive' to their son by not supporting his wish to change gender.
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Attention

Rape case sparks violent protests and anti-migrant fury in Siberian city


RT
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 17:31 UTC
yakutsk crowd
© Facebook / Aysen NikolayevGovernor Aysen Nikolayev addresses a crowd in Yakutsk, Russia, after a migrant was accused of raping a local woman.
Angry residents held sporadic rallies and trashed migrant-operated shops in Siberia after a man from Central Asia allegedly raped a local woman. The high-profile case prompted authorities to vow crack down on illegal immigration.

Over the past few days, residents of Yakutsk in eastern Russia attacked and harassed migrants from Central Asia. They also targeted migrant-owned businesses.

Young men barged into food booths and demanded that foreigners leave, police said.

"They came here and threatened us with a gun. They said: 'Shut everything down and go home. You won't live here anymore,'" one man told RT.

There were rumors of some people being hospitalized and even killed but the police denied that such incidents happened. Officers were also deployed to safeguard a mosque after a fired-up crowd held a protest outside its entrance.

The wave of anti-migrant anger was sparked by a recent case of a local woman abducted and raped. Though a suspect was quickly caught and pleaded guilty, locals became outraged after the media learned that he was a migrant from Kyrgyzstan. This was later confirmed by the governor.

Comment: That such sentiments appear even in Russia - a relatively successful multiethnic state, if there ever was one - should perhaps be taken as an indication that sound immigration policies are a must and multiculturalism isn't the panacea that progressives tout it to be. To ignore those who have problems with illegal immigration and dismiss them as simply 'racist' will only cause more division and discontent. At the very least, it's impractical.

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Network

Building bridges: Last steel beam linking Russia-China railway bridge connected


RT
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 17:51 UTC
bridge
© pexels.com
The first cross-border railway bridge between China and Russia over the Amur River has been connected from both sides. The bridge, which will be operational this year, is expected to take bilateral trade to new highs.

The 2,209-meter-long (1.4 miles) structure links Russia's Far East with China's northernmost Heilongjiang province. The full completion of the cross-border bridge (railway and highway parts) is scheduled for July.

"On the morning of March 20, the last steel beam was built in, with Russia completing construction works from its part. This means the first railway bridge between the two countries is generally successfully connected," Heilongjiang province's administration said in a statement.

The completion of the bridge will end the history when the Chinese and Russian borders did not have a cross-river railway bridge, said Li Huachao, a chief engineer of China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group.
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Heart - Black

US figure skater 'deliberately slashes Korean rival with blade' at world champs


RT
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 17:44 UTC
Lim Eun-soo and Mariah Bell
© AFP / Martin BUREAU | Global Look Press / Naoki MoritaLim Eun-soo and Mariah Bell
The World Figure Skating Championships in Japan has been rocked by claims that US star Mariah Bell deliberately injured rival and training partner Lim Eun-soo of South Korea during a practice session.

The controversial incident took place on Wednesday during the official rehearsal of the ladies' short program. Bell, 22, who was scheduled to skate right after Lim, 16, approached her Korean counterpart and allegedly cut her left leg with a skate blade.

Lim was forced to leave the rink to receive emergency treatment from medical staff following the controversial episode, which could have led to her withdrawal from the tournament.

Comment: The American figure skater's coach came to her defense, saying:
"There has never been any confrontation between them at training sessions. And by the way, look at Mariah! Do you think this girl could offend anybody? I can't even imagine who decided to write such kind of things about her."
Apparently the coach thinks that someone's size has anything to do with their ability to be cruel. It does not. Someone is not automatically friendly solely due to being petite. That is just lazy and poor logic.

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Marijuana

US presidential candidates joke about their drug-use while thousands face life-changing arrests over weed


RT
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 17:38 UTC
marijuana protest
© Reuters/Yuri Gripas/File Photo
Ahead of the 2020 election cycle, politicians are pulling out all the stops to seem relatable to voters, including joking about smoking weed. However, not everyone is laughing.

The millions of kids who had to complete the government-funded Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program might be surprised to learn that even former presidents and presidential hopefuls apparently think drugs can help you "fit in" after all. Even conservative candidate Jeb Bush tried to score some cool-points by saying he "openly admits" to smoking weed, although he immediately lost them by adding "my mom's not happy that I did."

Nonetheless, with nearly 700,000 marijuana-related arrests recorded in 2017, some feel these politicians are clearly demonstrating a two-tiered system of justice. While the rich and powerful can openly brag about using illegal drugs, many Americans' lives and careers are ruined forever after being arrested for marijuana use. Watch RT's report.

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Light Saber

Palestinians to challenge Israel's illegal settlement project by suing Airbnb in US court

Mairav Zonszein
The Nation
Mon, 18 Mar 2019 15:04 UTC
airbnb Israel settlements
Israeli settlement in the West Bank looms over two Palestinian villages; Airbnb; Gilad Erdan.
The challenge comes in response to a case filed by Israeli settlers against Airbnb.

Randa Wahbe is a United States citizen with West Bank residency who is studying for a PhD in anthropology at Harvard University. Over the years, the 31-year-old Palestinian-American has used Airbnb, the online vacation rental platform, to travel in Miami, Denver, Istanbul, and Tunisia. Despite the site's promise of "healthy travel that is local, authentic, diverse, inclusive and sustainable," however, Wahbe says she cannot utilize its services in large swaths of her family's own back yard: the West Bank occupied by Israeli settlers.

That's because Palestinian residents of the West Bank, even those with an American passport, are barred from living in or even visiting Israeli settlements unless they acquire a permit from Israeli authorities. Under Israel's system of military control and segregation, Wahbe does not have the ability to "live like a local" in parts of the very region she is from, or in the city of Jerusalem, where her father's family is from.
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