Society's ChildS


Bizarro Earth

Kaptur Defeats Kucinich in Ohio's 9th District Primary

Scott Bland
National Journal
Tue, 06 Mar 2012 18:20 UTC
Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, has defeated fellow Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich in the state's 9th District congressional primary.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer called the race for Kaptur near midnight. With 84 percent of precincts reporting, Kaptur led Kucinich 60 percent to 36 percent.

Kaptur and Kucinich were drawn into the same district after slow population growth forced Ohio to contract two seats in congressional redistricting last year. Kucinich ran strong in his Cuyahoga County base outside Cleveland, but Kaptur more than made up the difference around her home in Toledo and the sliver of territory between the two cities that was new to both representatives.

Kaptur's victory puts her in pole position for the top Democratic slot on the powerful House Appropriations Committee next year. She is the second-ranking Democrat on the committee now, but ranking member Norm Dicks, D-Wash., announced last week that he will retire at the end of this Congress.

The result will also end Kucinich's eight-term career in Congress. First elected in 1998, Kucinich used his time in the House to advocate liberal causes, often pushing the Democratic Party from the left on issues like health care reform and the Iraq War. But Kaptur's campaign used Kucinich's reputation as a liberal crusader against him in their merged seat race, repeating that Kucinich was a "show horse" while Kaptur more consistently brought federal money home to the district. For more, go to Hotline On Call.

Comment: They bastardize a decent, thinking human being with Liberal, Left wing.. this is a tragedy.



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Arrow Down

Wall Street's worst day of the year


MSNBC
Tue, 06 Mar 2012 15:00 UTC
Image
© Brendan Mcdermid/ReutersTraders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Stocks tumbled Tuesday, as the risk of a disorderly default in Greece and a reduced growth target in China dented recent confidence in the global economic recovery.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 204 points, marking the worst day of the year for the blue-chip index and the first decline of more than 200 points since Nov. 22.

The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's "anxiety gauge," jumped above its 50-day average for the first time since November. A dozen stocks fell for every issue that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, with bank and mining shares among the top decliners.

Equities' recent gains have been supported in part by expectations that Europe's credit crisis will be contained and China's economy will avoid a hard landing. Recent data seem to undermine these assumptions, at least in part.

"It's one of those days when we are seeing bits of negative news come into one, all at the same time," said Randy Frederick, director of trading and derivatives at the Schwab Center for Financial Research.
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Stormtrooper

8 women allege rape, harassment in U.S. military suit

Eric Tucker
Associated Press
Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:24 UTC
Washington - Eight current and former members of the U.S. military allege in a new federal lawsuit that they were raped, assaulted or harassed during their service and suffered retaliation when they reported it to their superiors.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, accuses the military of having a "high tolerance for sexual predators in their ranks" and fostering a hostile environment that discourages victims of sexual assault from coming forward and punishes them when they do. The suit claims the Defense Department has failed to take aggressive steps to confront the problem despite public statements suggesting otherwise.

The eight women include an active-duty enlisted Marine and seven others who served in the Navy and Marine Corps. Seven women allege that a comrade raped or tried to sexually assault them, including in a commanding officer's office after a pub crawl in Washington and inside a Naval Air Station barracks room in Florida. The eighth says she was harassed and threatened while deployed to Iraq, only to be told by a superior that "this happens all the time."

"There (are) no circumstances under which women who are brave enough and patriotic enough to stand up and defend this nation should have to be subjected to being called 'slut, whore, walking mattress,'" said Susan Burke, a lawyer representing the women. "This is the year 2012. This kind of conduct is not acceptable."
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Sherlock

Two Murdoch journalists in apparent suicide bids

Georgina Prodhan
Reuters
Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:41 UTC
Sun NoW Times

Two senior journalists working for Rupert Murdoch's News International have apparently attempted suicide as pressure mounts at the scandal-hit publisher of the now-defunct News of the World.

Three sources close to the company told Reuters on Tuesday the two journalists at the Sun daily appeared to have tried to take their own lives. Investigations sparked by a phone-hacking scandal continue to expose dubious practices by present and past employees.

Eleven current and former staff of the Sun, Britain's best-selling daily tabloid, have been arrested this year on suspicion of bribing police or civil servants for tip-offs.
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Bell

Rush Limbaugh could 'definitely' be sued by Fluke for slander: Lawyer

Stephen C. Webster
Raw Story
Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:15 UTC
cspan pelosi
© cspan
An attorney says that Georgetown law School student Sandra Fluke could "definitely" sue Republican talk show host Rush Limbaugh for slander because she does not fit the legal definition of a public figure. On his radio show last week, Limbaugh called Fluke a "slut," a "prostitute" and demanded that she publish "sex tapes" online in exchange for access to contraception coverage through her private insurance policy.

Speaking to Philidelphia Daily News on Monday, attorney Max Kennerly with The Beasley Firm said, "His statements implied facts about somebody's sex life, that she was promiscuous and trading sex for money." Kennerly added that Limbaugh's "false statements of fact" could lead to his downfall and financial penalties for Clear Channel Communications, which broadcasts his show.

Update: Kennerly has also published an essay explaining his rationale for advocating a slander suit against Limbaugh. Read it here.
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Eye 1

Single parents labelled "a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect" by Republican bill

Stephen C. Webster
Raw Story
Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:51 UTC
single mom
© shutterstock
A Wisconsin Republican has introduced a bill to the state Senate that would force the state's Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board to print literature that calls unmarried parents "a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect."

The directives put forth in S.B. 507 would see the state board creating educational materials that condemn "nonmarital parenthood." Associated third party groups that receive state grants would also be required to include that message in their own literature.

Those materials, along with pamphlets issued by third party groups that receive state grants, would also be required to "emphasize the role of fathers" in safeguarding a child's well being.

The requirement is a bit startling, especially to single parents who ended their marriage to prevent child abuse or neglect. And that's not a small group of people either: 31 percent of Wisconsin parents are single, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The bill's author, state Sen. Glenn Grothman (R), did not respond to a request for comment.

(H/T: RH Reality Check)
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Footprints

Push To Label Genetically Modified Food Gains Traction

Georgina Gustin
stltoday.com
Sat, 03 Mar 2012 20:35 UTC
Image
© stltoday.comA freezer full of plant tissue cultures in petri dishes, at Monsanto, will soon spawn a new generation of plants genetically altered to resist certain pests in this 1996 file photo.
Thousands of products in the typical American grocery store, from cereals to corn chips, contain genetically modified ingredients. But the average shopper wouldn't know it from their labels.

Many companies in the food and biotechnology industry, including Creve Coeur-based Monsanto Co., want to keep it that way. But they'll have to fend off a growing push for labels on genetically modified products that's gaining traction in Washington and state capitals.

At least 18 states are now considering laws that would make the labels mandatory, including Illinois and California, the country's biggest market. Earlier this year, pro-labeling advocates marched from New York to Washington. Late last fall, about 500 groups, including some of the country's biggest consumer organizations, banded together as the Just Label It campaign. Also last fall, the Washington-based Center for Food Safety filed a petition with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, calling for the agency to require labels. As of this week, the petition had 850,000 signatures of support, the most ever for a federal food petition.
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Umbrella

Latest floods set to sting Victorians - more insurance premium rises


HeraldSun.com.au
Tue, 06 Mar 2012 13:02 UTC
Victorian households should steel themselves for more insurance premium rises following the latest round of devastating floods, a top economist warns.

Country towns worst hit by the latest crisis were also likely to be hit with council rate increases to cover huge rebuilding costs, AMP Capital's Dr Shane Oliver said.

Farmers and local communities are bracing for further crop losses and financial devastation after a $6 billion hit to the national economy caused by previous disasters, including Victorian and Queensland floods and Cyclone Yasi.

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People

Afghan Child Hunger Among Worst in World


Agence France Presse
Tue, 06 Mar 2012 08:41 UTC
Afghan boys beg for food
© AFPAfghan boys beg for food with a plastic fork near the village of Jano Khevl in the province of Paktika in 2011.
Children in Afghanistan suffer one of the highest levels of chronic malnutrition in the world, a report said Monday, despite billions of dollars in aid that have poured into the war-torn country.

More than half of Afghan children under the age of five are chronically malnourished, according to the joint report by the World Bank and the government.

"Because of the ongoing conflict, foreign assistance has disproportionally gone to the provinces where concentration of troops and fighting has been heaviest," said acting World Bank country director Josephine Bassinette.

"But the analysis in this report shows that poverty and food insecurity rates are actually higher in the more peaceful provinces," she said, pressing for better targeting of aid to ensure it reaches the poorest people.

"It is shocking to learn that children are amongst the most vulnerable segment of the Afghan population, and their lives that could be saved are at risk," said Economy Minister Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal.
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Heart - Black

The Senator: Sara Barnes Charged With Setting Fire That Destroyed 3,500-Year-Old Florida Cypress Tree


Huffington Post
Sun, 04 Mar 2012 21:07 UTC
Sara Barnes

A 26-year-old Orlando-area woman has been charged with setting the January fire that burned and destroyed 'The Senator', one of the world's oldest pond cypress trees and a beloved local attraction.

Investigators said tips to a crime hotline led them to Sara Barnes, who allegedly took photos of the fire she started inside the popular 118-foot-high hollow tree and uploaded them to her laptop, reports WKMG. According to WESH, Barnes told police she regularly visited the spot in Longwood's Big Tree Park to use drugs, and lit a fire the night of January 16 in order to see better.

"She did not call the Fire Department or 911 to report the fire," Florida Department of Agriculture spokesman Sterling Ivey told the Orlando Sentinel. "It's a great fuel source. Unfortunately."
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