Society's ChildS


Star of David

Sarah Silverman attacked for saying 'Jews must stand up to Israeli wrongdoing'


RT
Tue, 20 Feb 2018 12:34 UTC
Sarah Silverman
© Alberto E. Rodriguez / AFPSarah Silverman
Jewish-American actress and comedian Sarah Silverman is facing an avalanche of criticism and praise online after saying that Jews should denounce the Israeli government for its wrongdoing.

Silverman took to Twitter to show her support for detained Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi, who is facing up to 10 years in prison after slapping an Israeli soldier.

"Jews have to stand up EVEN when - ESPECIALLY when - the wrongdoing is BY Jews/the Israeli government,"Silverman said, adding a link to an Amnesty International campaign calling for Tamimi's release.

Comment: Further reading: The IDF vs The Teenage Girl: Palestinian Activist Ahed Tamimi Arrested For Slapping Soldiers Who Shot Boy
Since 2000, at least 8,000 Palestinian children as young as 12 have been arrested and prosecuted by the Israeli military. The Israeli military detention system is notorious for the ill-treatment of children.The extent to which Shin Bet interrogators practice torture has been described as 'institutional'. In its 2016 report, Amnesty International found that Israeli forces and Shin Bet personnel had "tortured and otherwise ill-treated Palestinian detainees, including children, particularly during arrest and interrogation", with methods such as "beating with batons, slapping, throttling, prolonged shackling, stress positions, sleep deprivation and threats".


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Card - VISA

Cashless society: More payments made by card as cash use declines in UK

Kate Lyons
The Guardian
Mon, 19 Feb 2018 14:00 UTC
In 2006, 62% of all payments in the UK were made using cash; in 2016 the proportion had fallen to 40%.
© Alamy Stock PhotoIn 2006, 62% of all payments in the UK were made using cash; in 2016 the proportion had fallen to 40%.
Britain will move beyond "peak cash" this year, according to data gathered by the Guardian that suggests notes and coins are rapidly being supplanted as the favoured payment method, particularly in cities.

Debit cards are set to overtake cash as the most frequently used payment method in the UK later this year, according to UK Finance, which represents leading finance and banking firms.

The volume of cash removed from cash machines (ATMs) is falling fast, while other data shows customers are eschewing cash for cards - even for small purchases such as a coffee or a beer.

Comment: The freedom to choose whether you will pay by cash or by card is a welcome one for many, but the established powers are working towards a cashless society which would give them to total control and surveillance over your transactions. And in our corrupted society where banks and governments have proven themselves untrustworthy, this is a disturbing prospect;. See:

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Blackbox

Goldie Hawn says her horrible sexual harassment experience will 'top all of them'


The Telegraph
Tue, 13 Feb 2018 10:59 UTC
Goldie Hawn
Goldie Hawn in April 2017
Goldie Hawn has spoken about her experiences of sexual harassment while trying to make her way into showbusiness.

Hawn, 72, was speaking to US network CNBC and said that sexual harassment has "been there forever", explaining that she "had some horrible experiences as a young dancer in New York City. I mean I'll top all of them."

The First Wives Club star said that she was lucky that her circumstances were tempered by her upbringing: "I had a very strong mom, a very strong dad and I had a lot of resilience and I really knew who I was," she said, "and you know the answer was always no I'll never get a job like that. A lot of girls don't."

Comment: Better to wait for the facts before commenting on this one. For now, her declarations are mere suggestions.

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Snakes in Suits

A letter to the boys & young men of America.

J. Ishiro Finney
jishirofinney.com
Sat, 17 Feb 2018 08:49 UTC
Breaking News School Shooting
© unknown
A response to the mass shooting in Florida.

The bodies aren't even cold yet and already you are being blamed.

Yes you.

All of you.

The boys and young men who will grow up to become one half of America's future.

Once again, due to society's failure to raise you, to teach you, to properly guide you on your path to manhood, your mere existence is being held responsible for seventeen more deaths—this time in Florida, and once again, at a school. The headlines of the last few days say it all:
"Guns don't kill people; men and boys kill people, experts say"
-USA TODAY

"Michael Ian Black reacts to Florida shooting: Boys are broken"
-New York Daily News

"How Gun Violence And Toxic Masculinity Are Linked, In 8 Tweets"
-The Huffington Post

"Toxic white masculinity: The killer that haunts American life"
-Salon

"Toxic Masculinity Is Killing Us"
-The Boston Globe

"Toxic Masculinity Is Killing Us"
-Harpers Bazaar

"Don't Blame Mental Illness for Mass Shootings; Blame Men"
-Politico
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Cult

Six arrested in Paragonah, Utah child sex crime sting

John W. Yelland
KUTV
Mon, 19 Feb 2018 19:59 UTC
arrest_utah
© Photo courtesy of Iron County JailSix arrested in Paragonah child sex trafficking sting.
Six men were arrested in Paragonah as a result of a child sex crime sting. The suspects had made arrangements to have sex with 13-year-old girls.

The joint criminal operation was conducted by Parowan authorities alongside authorities from Iron, Garfield and Beaver counties, and others.

The joint operation used a confidential informant to place an ad on websites known to produce child trafficking activities and child predators. The ad used in the sting had a picture of two young girls, with a phone number and a link to other sites.

The suspects all traveled to Paragonah, where they met with a confidential informant and agreed to have sex with one or more 13-year-old girls.

Comment: Army recruiter among 6 arrested in soliciting a minor sting

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Pistol

At least 20 students told police about receiving death threats from Nikolas Cruz - police did nothing

Rachel Blevins
The Free Thought Project
Mon, 19 Feb 2018 02:03 UTC
nikolas cruz florida school shooting
© The Free Thought ProjectNikolas Cruz social media posts
As new information surfaces surrounding the mass shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last week, it is becoming even more apparent that law enforcement blatantly ignored a number of warning signs about the suspected gunman, which included 20 calls to police detailing death threats and violent behavior.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel admitted that there were at least "20 calls for services in the last few years" regarding Nikolas Cruz, who is now accused of entering the school he was expelled from and opening fire on his former classmates and teachers. Israel said that given the latest allegations against Cruz, the department now plans to review the reports they have received in the past.

Comment:

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Star of David

Israel's right wing has never told the truth: Without lies the country could not exist

Gideon Levy
KBnews
Tue, 20 Feb 2018 01:43 UTC
Netanyahu Levin
© Torner AppelbaumBenjamin Netanyahu and Yariv Levin
Jerusalem is united, there's no occupation, the settlements are legal - all lies. That's why the right finds nothing wrong with Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a loyal representative of the latest on Israel's right wing. The right never eschewed lying and so it doesn't understand what all the fuss is about. Even when Education Minister Naftali Bennett dared preach to Netanyahu, he was sanctimonious about it; he too knows that lying is the language of his camp. It's in its DNA, part of its life cycle. Without it, it wouldn't exist.

After all, for the sake of the Land of Israel one is permitted to lie - and steal, too. And for the sake of other matters. And so the Israeli right never stopped lying; that's why it finds nothing wrong with Netanyahu.

The Israeli right has someone to learn from; there's nothing like the American right wing when it comes to lies. Guns everywhere are portrayed as the protection of individual rights, health insurance for everyone is considered a violation of rights, and neoliberal economic policies are said to be an example for the entire society.
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Star of David

Interview: Avner Gvaryahu, director of Breaking the Silence - 'I helped entrench the occupation'


Middle East Monitor
Sat, 17 Feb 2018 00:02 UTC
Avner Gvaryahu IDF Breaking the Silence
© Louise GreenAvner Gvaryahu, Executive Director of Breaking the Silence
A former Israeli soldier has said that it is the responsibility of Israeli citizens to call for an end to the occupation in order to put an end to the suffering of the Palestinians.

During an interview with BBC HARDtalk last week, Avner Gvaryahu, executive director of Breaking the Silence, spoke about the organisation's mission to collect testimonies from Israeli soldiers who witnessed the crimes of the military against the Palestinian people.

A former paratrooper in the army, he spoke of his personal experience as a soldier and the operations he was made to carry out.

"I was the sergeant of a snipers team and one of the routine missions we carried out in Nablus, in Jenin or the surrounding areas of those two cities, was a mission that we call a Straw Widow; you would take over a Palestinian home. Every house in the West Bank actually has a number, each and every house has a number, so we would open up the maps and look at the specific house that looked into the right place that we had to enter, and after we would verify that the house has the best parameters, windows and geographical area, we made sure that the people in the house were innocent. So we would enter a house of an innocent Palestinian home in the middle of the night," he explained.

Avner Gvaryahu, Breaking the Silence's executive director interviews to BBC HARDtalk with Stephen Sackur.

Comment:

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Padlock

Iraqi court sentences German teen 'jihadi bride' to six years in jail


RT
Sun, 18 Feb 2018 21:28 UTC
Handcuffs
© Getty Images/Kazuhiro Nakamura/AFLO
An Iraqi court has sentenced German teenager Linda Wenzel, dubbed a "jihadi bride", to six years in prison for her affiliation with Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), German media has reported.

Wenzel was given a five-year sentence for being a member of IS and another year for crossing into Iraq illegally, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported on Sunday, citing judicial sources. Her hearing at the Palace of Justice in Baghdad was closed off to the public due to her age, but representatives from the German embassy were present at the trial.

Originally from Pulsnitz, a town near Dresden in eastern Germany, Wenzel converted to Islam in 2016. After meeting extremists online at the age of 15, Wenzel ran away from home and made her way into Iraq through Turkey and Syria. There, she reportedly married a Chechen fighter, who was later killed.

After being captured in Mosul last year, Wenzel made headlines across the world when footage emerged that showed her terrified and in tears as she was dragged along by Iraqi troops. But the teenager was just one of many women from Europe and elsewhere who traveled to the Middle East to become jihadi brides.

Since her capture, Wenzel has expressed regret for her actions. "I want to go home to my family," she told reporters. "I want to get out of the war, away from the weapons, the noise. I don't know how I came up with such a dumb idea. I've completely ruined my life."
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Pistol

Man found not guilty in killing a police officer, acted in self defense

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Sun, 18 Feb 2018 00:00 UTC
Ray Shelter
© tribdem.comRay Shetler
In an extremely rare move, a jury has returned a verdict of not guilty in the trial of a man who killed a St. Clair Township police officer as he responded to a domestic violence call in November of 2015.

After six days of testimony and more than 20 hours of jury deliberations, Ray Shetler Jr. was found not guilty of murder Friday in the fatal shooting of St. Clair Township Police Officer Lloyd Reed, according to Trib Live. Shelter was facing the death penalty for killing the officer before he was found not guilty of first and third-degree murder.

As Trib Live reports:
Shetler, 33, of New Florence, jumped up and hugged his defense attorney as the verdict was announced. His family members, seated just one row in front of Reed's family, let out an audible gasp.

"You were in the courtroom, you saw him hugging me, thanking me for saving his life," said defense attorney Marc Daffner.

The jury found Shetler guilty of two lesser charges in connection with stealing a truck as he attempted to flee the scene of the shooting in New Florence and swam across the Conemaugh River.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio ordered Shetler remain in jail until he is able to post $100,000 bail that continues keeps him in custody for the theft and receiving stolen property convictions.

The judge said Shetler could be sentenced up to seven years in prison.
While there have been a few cases of people being found not guilty of killing police officers, this case stands out for several reasons.
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