Society's ChildS

Eye 2

Snakes on a Train: Cobras Cause Panic in Vietnam


The Telegraph, UK
Mon, 30 May 2011 08:49 UTC
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© AlamySnake meat is considered a delicacy in Vietnam, but cobras are protected by law
Passengers on a train in Vietnam fled in terror after discovering bags of highly venemous king cobras under a seat.

Railroad official Pham Quynh says passengers were terrified when the four cloth bags containing the writhing snakes were spotted. The snakes were alive but had their mouths stitched shut.

Mr Quynh says the exact number of snakes was unclear but the bags weighed 100lbs.

Security staff removed the cobras, which were likely destined for restaurants in Hanoi. Snake meat is considered a delicacy in Vietnam, but cobras are protected by law.

Mr Quynh says the cobras were given to forest rangers after they were caught on Friday who released them into the wild on Saturday.
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Pistol

Canada: Police shoot non-lethal bullets, taser man with sword in Vancouver

Ian Bailey
The Globe and Mail
Mon, 30 May 2011 05:03 UTC
Image
© unknown
A standoff between police and a man armed with a sword at a busy downtown Vancouver intersection ended after the man was first shot with non-lethal ammunition and then tasered.

The man still tried to flee and had to be tackled before he was subdued.

Bill Wallace, visiting from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, said he saw "rubber bullets" bouncing off the ground after an officer opened fire on the man, who was standing in the shadow of Christchurch Cathedral at Burrard St. and West Georgia in the city core.

"They shot him in the legs. He went, 'Oh, oh. Then he started running and got in the middle of the street," said Mr. Wallace. He said an officer tripped the man but he ran again, and was tackled by several officers and cuffed.

As the man was taken into custody, Mr. Wallace said he was yelling, "I hate you all," to hundreds of stunned onlookers.
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Cult

Sexist French politicians 'in trouble' over treatment of women

Henry Samuel
The Telegraph, UK
Mon, 30 May 2011 16:23 UTC
Image
© AFP/Getty ImagesChantal Jouanno, the sports minister and a former French Karate champion, said she can no longer turn up to parliament in a skirt without a volley of cat calls.
France's male politicians are becoming increasingly anxious about their futures after one female minister warned half of the country's male MPs were potentially "in trouble" due to their treatment of women.

Still reeling from the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former International Monetary Fund chief, on sexual assault charges, France's political class was struck by a fresh sex scandal on Sunday with the resignation of Georges Tron, the public works minister accused of molesting two former female staff members.

The massage enthusiast's "foot fetish", which two ex-town hall employees in their thirties claim morphed into full-blown abuse, has sparked a backlash from France's embattled female politicians. They are calling for an end to the "French exception" of "everyday machismo" among male peers often bordering on harassment.
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Che Guevara

Spain M-15 revolt spills into Greece


Press TV
Mon, 30 May 2011 16:02 UTC
Image
© UnknownProtesters attend a rally in Syntagma Square, in front of the Greek Parliament.
Thousands of people have once again flocked the streets in Athens, protesting for a fifth day against their government's austerity policies, inspired by the M-15 movement in Spain.

Police estimated some 30,000 protesters to have gathered at the central Syntagma Square in the Greek capital of Athens, in the largest set of anti-government demonstrations since Wednesday.

Sunday's demonstration however, was inspired by an online campaign on various social network sites, which called for anti-government demonstrations across all of Europe, modeled by the Spanish M-15 movement, AFP reported.

Further, the online campaign called on the demonstrators to demand "real democracy."

Banners that read "poverty is the greatest abuse" were used in the demonstrations in front of the parliament building in Athens.

Other groups of protesters were beating empty pots while chanting "thieves".
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Che Guevara

Spaniards force French Embassy closure


Press TV
Mon, 30 May 2011 16:00 UTC
Image
© UnknownDemonstrators in Madrid shout slogans outside the French Embassy during a protest in support of rallies in Paris.
The French consulate in Barcelona has been forced to close its doors after about 20 protesters of the M-15 movement prevented the staff from entering the building.

The protesters said on Monday they were acting in solidarity with the French protesters people who called for an end to corruption and unemployment, and were dispersed by police from Place de la Bastille in Paris over the weekend.

Spanish protesters have been demonstrating against the government's austerity measures and growing unemployment rate since mid-May.

They have vowed to stay at Madrid's central Puerta del Sol square until the demands of the people are acknowledged.
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Che Guevara

Protesters vow to continue Madrid sit-in


Press TV
Mon, 30 May 2011 15:57 UTC
Image
© UnknownDemonstrators showing their empty palms march past Spanish riot police at the French Embassy in Madrid, during a protest in support of demonstrators in Paris, May 30, 2011.
Spain's anti-government protesters have promised to remain in Madrid's main square in protest at the country's political establishment.

Thousands of angry protesters against the government's austerity measures and growing unemployment rate raised hands on Sunday to vote for staying in the Puerta del Sol square.

"We have started something in Sol, we have started to spread to the rest of the world, so this is not the time to stop it," a protest spokesman in the encampment said on Monday.

Spain's M-15 movement has inspired other European countries as well.

Hundreds of Parisians on Sunday took part in a protest rally at the Bastille Square, calling for a popular democratic uprising among Europeans, while some 20,000 Greek protesters gathered near the parliament building in Athens with the same call.
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Che Guevara

French protesters urge Paris to 'wake up'


Press TV
Mon, 30 May 2011 15:36 UTC
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© UnknownFrench police forces face protesters during a demonstration in front of the Bastille opera in Paris on May 29, 2011.
French protesters gathered in Paris and rallied against their government, as they modeled Spain's M-15 movement, with banners calling for Paris to wake up!

About 1,000 protesters gathered on Sunday in Bastille square in Paris according to the French police and demonstrated against the country's rising unemployment level and corruption, AFP reported.

The demonstration was modeled after the M-15 movement in Spain that has witnessed 2 weeks of violent clashes between security forces and protesters.

The protesters, unfolded giant banners that read; "Real democracy now" and "Paris, wake up", on the steps of the Opera House in Bastille square.

The Bastille square is known as the place where the French Revolution began.

"There has to be a change in the economic structures to improve the sharing of world resources, because if we continue like this, in unfairness and misery, it could end up badly," said protester Chantal Piganau.
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Nuke

German Nuclear Shutdown Sets Global Example: Merkel


Raw Story
Mon, 30 May 2011 13:40 UTC
nuke caption
© n/a
Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany could serve as a global trailblazer with its decision Monday to phase out nuclear power by 2022 in favour of renewable energy sources.

Merkel said the "fundamental" rethink of energy policy in the world's number four economy, which was prompted by the disaster in March at Japan's Fukushima plant, opened up new opportunities for business as well as climate protection.

"We believe we as a country can be a trailblazer for a new age of renewable energy sources," she told reporters.

"We can be the first major industrialised country that achieves the transition to renewable energy with all the opportunities -- for exports, development, technology, jobs -- it carries with it."
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Pills

Pharma Fearmongering?: Hospitals hunt substitutes as drug shortages rise

Lauren Neergaard
Associated Press
Mon, 30 May 2011 11:35 UTC
Image
© Unknown
Washington - A growing shortage of medications for a host of illnesses - from cancer to cystic fibrosis to cardiac arrest - has hospitals scrambling for substitutes to avoid patient harm, and sometimes even delaying treatment.

"It's just a matter of time now before we call for a drug that we need to save a patient's life and we find out there isn't any," says Dr. Eric Lavonas of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

The problem of scarce supplies or even completely unavailable medications isn't a new one but it's getting markedly worse. The number listed in short supply has tripled over the past five years, to a record 211 medications last year. While some of those have been resolved, another 89 drug shortages have occurred in the first three months of this year, according to the University of Utah's Drug Information Service. It tracks shortages for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

The vast majority involve injectable medications used mostly by medical centers - in emergency rooms, ICUs and cancer wards. Particular shortages can last for weeks or for many months, and there aren't always good alternatives. Nor is it just a U.S. problem, as other countries report some of the same supply disruptions.

Comment: Seems as an appropriate time to remind/share information about nutrition as any:


Please, take care of yourselves. The "get sick" industry is certainly not going to, though they'll be glad to lighten your wallet.

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USA

Police State Porn: US police release video of SWAT raid on Iraq War vet shot 70 times


UK Daily Mail
Fri, 27 May 2011 12:12 UTC

A U.S. Marine who was killed when he was gunned down in his home near Tucson, Arizona, never fired on the SWAT team that stormed his house firing 70 times in a hail of bullets, a report has revealed.

The revelation came as dramatic footage of the shooting was released, showing the armed team pounding down the door of Jose Guerena's home and opening fire.

The father-of-two, who had served twice in Iraq, died on May 5 after the SWAT team descended on his home believing it was one of four houses associated with a drug smuggling operation.

The Tucson SWAT team responsible for the May 5 house shooting defended its actions, saying the team was conducting a multi-house drug investigation based on a search warrant when they saw Mr Guerena aiming an assault rifle at them.

At first, the SWAT team had said Mr Guerena fired first, but then they retracted that statement, saying he had left the safety on.

SWAT team lawyer Mike Storie claimed weapons and body armour were found in the home, as well as a photo of Jesus Malverde, who Mr Storie called a 'patron saint drug runner'.

In a statement, the sheriff's office criticised those questioning the team, saying, 'It is unacceptable and irresponsible to couch those questions with implications of secrecy and a cover up, not to mention questioning the legality of actions that could not have been taken without the approval of an impartial judge'.

On the night of the raid, Ms Guerena said her husband was asleep, after having worked a night shift at the Asarco copper mine. She said she then saw the armed SWAT team outside her youngest son's bedroom window.
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