Society's ChildS


Star of David

IDF kills Israeli Air Force captain in friendly fire while shooting at charging Palestinian


RT
Fri, 29 Jul 2016 15:33 UTC
idf checkpoint
© Depth Charge / YouTube
Video footage of an Israeli Air Force captain who was killed by IDF servicemen at a checkpoint in Jerusalem has been published. The soldiers were aiming at a Palestinian trespasser, fearing he may try to stab them, but fatally missed their intended target.

The incident occurred at the Gush Etzion Junction south of Jerusalem earlier this year on February 24.

Eliav Gelman, 30, who according to reports was waiting for his bus at the checkpoint, happened to be in the firing line of two law enforcement officers who were trying to shoot Palestinian Mamdouh Amro.

Amro attempted to dart in between the soldiers and the captain, as he tried to evade the gunfire. However, the gunshots missed their intended target and fatally wounded Gelman, who fell to the ground and lay motionless.


Comment: The IDF is an illegal occupying force for an apartheid regime that creates racial colonies on Palestinian land. See: How Israel's oppressive and humiliating occupation affects all aspects of Palestinian life and incites violent resistance

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USA

Number of Americans renouncing their citizenship nears record high

Rudy Takala
Washington Examiner
Fri, 29 Jul 2016 15:41 UTC
passport
A total of 508 Americans renounced their citizenship in the second quarter of the year, according to information published by the Internal Revenue Service, putting the country on track to lose at least the second highest number of citizens on record.

That brings the total number of expatriates for the year to 1,666, according to data published on Friday, just below the 1,795 who renounced during the same period in 2015. Yet because the number of expatriates tends to increase toward the end of the year, 2016 could still set another record for the number of Americans it sends packing. A total of 4,279 left over the duration of 2016, a new annual record.

Tax experts have suggested the uptick is due, in part, to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. The 2010 law was aimed at forcing nonresident citizens to report more of their income for tax collection. Expatriation increased in subsequent years, and 2015 saw a 560 percent increase in departures over the highest number seen by the Bush administration.

The Treasury Department began collecting expatriation information in 1996 as part of the Health Insurance Accountability Act. The data does not distinguish between green card and passport holders, and does not provide descriptive information beyond the names of those who have left.
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House

Homeownership rate in the U.S. continues to decline, lowest since 1965

Prashant Gopal
Bloomberg
Fri, 29 Jul 2016 15:24 UTC
US homes
The U.S. homeownership rate fell to the lowest in more than 50 years as rising prices put buying out of reach for many renters.

The share of Americans who own their homes was 62.9 percent in the second quarter, the lowest since 1965, according to a Census Bureau report Thursday. It was the second straight quarterly decrease, down from 63.5 percent in the previous three months.

The drop extends a years-long decline from the last housing boom, in part because of tight credit and a shift toward renting in the aftermath of the crash. First-time buyers have been struggling to find affordable properties as low mortgage rates and an improving job market spur competition for a tight supply of listings. Home prices rose 5.2 percent in May from a year earlier, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index of values in 20 cities released this week.
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Handcuffs

Cook County jail inmates seize housing wing, take prisoner hostage


RT
Fri, 29 Jul 2016 15:16 UTC
cook county jail
A hostage situation in the maximum-security section of Cook County Jail in Chicago, Illinois, has been resolved. One inmate was stabbed in the leg.

Two inmates have taken another prisoner hostage using "what appears to be a sharp object," according to the sheriff's department, WFLD reported.

A flash bomb was used to gain entry to the area, where the hostage was found stabbed in the leg, WLS reported. The situation was resolved, without any injury to staff.

The two inmates had seized a housing tier of the maximum-security section of the jail, Division 10, after spilling soapy water on the floor. The inmates also tore down security cameras. The housing tier reportedly holds 16 inmates.

Comment: More news from Cook County over the previous months:

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TV

Hillary Clinton turns to producer of pulpy television shows to create video of her life for DNC

Amy Chozick
The New York Times
Thu, 28 Jul 2016 00:00 UTC
Killary video
© Damon Winter/The New York TimesAttendees at the Democratic Natoional Convention watch a video of Hillary Clinton from earlier in the week.
Who did Hillary Clinton's team turn to to create the biographical story of her life? The creator of the TV show "Scandal," of course.

The TV powerhouse Shonda Rhimes, who created the ABC drama about a Washington fixer caught up in a steamy web of sex and betrayal, has made the five-minute video that will be shown on the final night of the Democratic National Convention, according to a person with direct knowledge of the convention planning who would only discuss the video on the condition of anonymity.

Ms. Rhimes has supported Mrs. Clinton throughout her campaign, having produced a television commercial for her during the Democratic primary.

The video will be centered largely on Mrs. Clinton's mother, Dorothy Rodham, who was born into poverty and neglect on the day that the United States Senate affirmed a woman's right to vote and whose story will form the emotional core of the message Mrs. Clinton hopes to impart on viewers Thursday night.

Comment: Killary: "See, I'm just like you! Even though I never had the experiences my mother had, know absolutely nothing about what it's like to live in poverty, and am a millionaire many times over - I can still identify with you. As Bill used to say, 'I feel your pain.' And please, kindly ignore the fact that I am firmly subject to the whims of Wall Street, the military-industrial-complex, Big pharma and major corporations - who all want nothing better than to strip you of your wealth, health and your very souls. Thank you for watching this message." Funny that the producer of Scandal will produce a scandal-free puff piece for Killary.

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Bell

Chelsea Manning faces indefinite solitary confinement after suicide attempt


RT
Fri, 29 Jul 2016 04:34 UTC
Chelsea Manning
© Jim Tanner/Reuters
Whistleblower Chelsea Manning, who is serving a 35-year sentence for disclosing US secrets, is now being investigated on charges related to her July 5 suicide attempt at Fort Leavenworth prison. If convicted, she faces indefinite solitary confinement.

On Thursday, Manning received an Army charge sheet informing her that she is under investigation for "resisting the forcecell move team," "prohibited property," and "conduct which threatens [life]," the document released by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reads.

Manning was rushed to the hospital on July 5, following a suicide attempt. The following week, Manning confirmed through an attorney statement that she had attempted to end her own life.

Comment: The quote below is from Joe Quinn's article- Bradley Manning - Theft or War Crimes?
"There are laws in place that made it impossible for Manning to bring this evidence and these charges to public attention without officially committing a crime. This in itself is a crime against truth, justice and liberty."


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Heart - Black

Couple furious after cops go to wrong house and shoot their dog, ridicule them for grieving

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Thu, 28 Jul 2016 13:40 UTC
Dog shot by police
It is an undisputed fact — cops shoot dogs. What's more, cops often respond to the wrong address to serve a warrant or to investigate a complaint, and end up shooting an entirely innocent person's dog. On Tuesday, officers with the Vallejo Police Department went to an innocent couple's home and shot their dog right in front of them.

Officers were not only unapologetic after putting two rounds in Samantha Melo and her boyfriend Manuel Trujillo's beloved dog Rambo, but they ridiculed the couple for grieving.

Around 6:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, Melo and Trujillo were outside with Rambo when three officers approached the house. Curious as to who was in his front yard, Rambo rounded the corner of their home to investigate. When he turned the corner, one of the officers shot him, twice.

"All I remember [Trujillo] saying is, 'No, no, no, don't shoot. He's a good dog'," Melo said.

"By the time I turned the corner, they already shot," Trujillo said.
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Camcorder

$10 million suit filed against New York City by man who filmed fatal arrest of Eric Garner


RT
Thu, 28 Jul 2016 13:18 UTC
filmer eric Garner death sues
© Peter Eliscu / YouTubeRamsey Orta
Ramsey Orta, the man who filmed the fatal arrest of Eric Garner, is suing New York city for $10 million, arguing this own arrest was a "retaliation" for the Garner video. Orta is soon to be sentenced on drug charges and gun possession.

The man who videoed the NYPD's fatal arrest of Eric Garner, which led to national outrage and nationwide protests over police brutality, is suing the city for $10 million. Ramsey Orta argues his own arrest was "retaliation" for making the Garner video.

"He feels he was unjustly singled out for arrest because he took that film of his friend getting arrested. The police have gone out of their way to follow him and arrest every change they get," Orta's lawyer, Andrew Plasse, told the New York Daily News.

Two weeks after he filmed New York City police killing Garner by putting him in a chokehold, Orta, 26, was arrested on charges of possessing a .25 caliber Norton semiautomatic handgun. Six months later, he was charged with selling $40 worth of heroin to an undercover cop.

The lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court argues that those arrests were unwarranted.

The video, which was first posted on the New York Daily News website, shows police officer Daniel Pantaleo of the New York Police Department putting Garner in a banned chokehold, despite the suspect's plea of "I can't breathe." That video caused a national outcry over police brutality that led to nationwide protests and contributed to the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement.
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Camcorder

Disturbing body cam shows cop execute Native American woman for holding haircut scissors: Another Cop found 'not guilty'

Matt Agorist
Free Thought Project
Thu, 28 Jul 2016 02:07 UTC
Natives lives matter
In March, police officer Austin Shipley responded to a call about a woman acting irregularly in a store. Within minutes of his arrival, he would kill 27-year-old Native American woman Loreal Tsingine.

Last week, conveniently before they released the body camera footage, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery issued a statement excusing Officer Shipley and said he would not pursue criminal charges against him because he was protecting himself and another officer who felt "threatened" by the 100 lb woman.

"After a careful review of the facts surrounding the case, including available video evidence and witness statements from all involved, my office found no evidence of criminal conduct on the part of Officer Shipley," Montgomery's statement said.
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Star of David

"Is it anti-Semitic to criticize and boycott Israel?" asks Yakov Rabkin

Yakov Rabkin
The Pluto Press Blog
Wed, 20 Jul 2016 00:00 UTC
What is modern israel
© Pluto press
In this essay Yakov Rabkin takes on the question that's affected, most recently, the Labour Party in Britain. Here for the Pluto Blog he develops the history and contemporary resonance of that ever-controversial subject, Zionism.

Comment: In short, pointing out a nation's crimes against humanity is not anti-semitic, it's calling out the psychopaths for their behavior and the population they govern for being complicit and/or ignorant to the antics of their government. As an article linked below points out the blurring of the lines between Jewishness and Zionism allows Israel to continue their killing spree and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, and globally instills their status as the victim. See below for more information:

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