Society's ChildS


Red Flag

Could the second US revolution be starting?

We Will Not Be Disarmed graphic
When the time comes to write the history of the second American revolution - or perhaps the second civil war - no one will be able to say that they didn't see it coming. It has been building day after day on our television screens: A big, sexually active, square-jawed billionaire decides a weekly TV show isn't enough to feed his ego, so he runs for the presidency, getting 24 hour coverage.

Like every media star, he plays to his strengths, leading with a stream-of-consciousness filled with the same dirty words we hear on television, encouraging his followers to attack those who disagree with his plan to 'make America great again'. Almost a century after the rest of the Western World, it is finally possible for a socialist to appear on national television, and the Sanders candidacy has allowed the American left to come out in favor of social democracy. But it has only taken a few months for Trump to push back, calling Bernie Sanders protesters 'Communists' and blaming them for the violence of his own followers, when socialists are by definition against violence, at home and abroad.

USA

The hidden fourth world in first world America

detroit housing
Before George Manuel published The Fourth World: An Indian Reality, the idea that any real differences existed among population groups in fully developed countries was still taboo. At the time, Indigenous rights were still something of a political non-issue, a blemish on a relatively clean looking statistical sheet that First World countries paid lip service to all too infrequently. Since then, an increasing amount of scholarship seeks to understand the differences between Fourth World populations living inside First World countries.

The Fourth World, basically, are populations living within a state who have little or no representation by that state. These populations, from the standpoint of the First World, are generally impoverished and would not fit the criteria for a "First World" country. They are, essentially and literally, the oppressed. It is what we see as the Third World when we are looking at Africa and South America, hidden within the First World just outside our doors. Unfortunately, the Fourth World is growing.

Comment: The US is well on its way to becoming and third world nation. Just look at the dire state of the economy.

U.S. already third world economy: American economist


Bomb

Trump supporter spends 90 days in jail and probation for plot to bomb Muslims

William Celli
William Celli
A California man accused of plotting to bomb Muslims on their way to worship accepted a plea deal that dropped the most serious charges against him.

William Celli admitted last week that he attempted to violate the free exercise of civil rights and was sentenced to 90 days in a county jail and three years of probation, reported KRON-TV.

Police arrested the 55-year-old Celli on Dec. 20, after witnesses said he yelled, "I'm going to kill you all," outside the Islamic Society of West Contra Costa County.

Detectives searched Celli's home, where they called in a bomb squad to detonate a suspicious device.

Celli posted frequently on his Facebook account, where he complained about Syrian refugees, Democrats and insufficiently conservative Republicans.

Star of David

Cognitive dissonance: Watch what happens when AIPAC attendees slam Trump's racist comments then learn they were said by Netanyahu

zionism is racism
On Monday, thousands of supporters of Israel filed into the Verizon Center in Washington, DC, to watch the Republican presidential candidates address the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the most influential arm of the Israel lobby.

The line to get in spanned an entire block and wrapped around the corner, and was the scene of confrontations between conference attendees and an assortment of protesters, some chanting against Israel, others against AIPAC and almost everyone against Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner whose big speech was just hours away.

It was the perfect opportunity to engage with Israel's most politically active supporters, so I pulled out my camera phone and began asking what they thought of Trump.

Most respondents expressed extremely negative views about the candidate, slamming his racism, xenophobia and incitement to violence.

So I decided to conduct an experiment to test for consistency by attributing racist statements made by Israeli leaders to Trump and asking respondents what they thought of such language.

Comment: What a fine example of how many so-called liberal Jews in the US simply cannot or will not see beyond their own incredibly ingrained biases and programming when it comes to being presented with any negative information regarding Israel, or its leaders. Zionists, in general, will resort to nearly any type of mental gymnastics, justifications, emotionalism, eye-rolling etc. rather than address the possibility that there is something very very wrong occurring in the imploding 'land of the chosen'.


Eye 1

With Brazil at a critical point, who has time for the Olympics?

Brazil Olympics
© AFP Photo/Yasuyoshi Chiba
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the steelworker-turned-president of a booming Brazil, broke into tears when Rio de Janeiro was named to host the 2016 Olympics.

Today, with Brazil immersed in twin political and economic crises, few seem to be thinking about the opening ceremony in Maracana Stadium in 134 days.

Current President Dilma Rousseff is fighting for her political life amid a deep recession, impeachment proceedings, mass protests and a corruption scandal in which the once high-flying Lula, her predecessor and mentor, faces charges.

The plot of the country's political thriller is moving so fast the Brazilian media have barely had time to cover preparations for South America's first Olympics, beyond an outbreak of the Zika virus, blamed for causing brain damage in unborn babies.

It is hard to even predict who will be president of Brazil when the Olympic flame is lit in the legendary Maracana on August 5.

Robot

Mirroring our hateful society, Microsoft's new Twitter-bot goes full-on Nazi in a matter of 24 hours

tay tweet
Anytime there's a new development in robotics or artificial intelligence, popular culture almost instantly regurgitates the Skynet Terminator narrative. To wit, when Anti-Media reported on a new robot getting pushed around by its handlers, even we couldn't resist alluding to the coming robot apocalypse. The machine uprising is so ingrained in our psyche that we may actually manufacture the very nightmare we fear.

The newest chapter in the uncanny valley of relationships between humans and robots involves a chatterbot, an AI speech program, whose substrate of choice (or Microsoft's choice) is social media. Its name is Tay, a Twitter bot owned and developed by Microsoft. The purpose of Tay is to foster "conversational understanding." Unfortunately, this understanding quickly turned into trolling, and within 24 hours Tay went full Nazi, spewing racist, anti-semitic and misogynistic tweets.

Newspaper

Hawaii passes resolution moving towards decriminalization of all drugs

hawaii coastline
Following Portugal's model, Hawai'i could become the first state in the U.S. to decriminalize all drugs — including cocaine and even heroin.

"[D]espite a longstanding policy that enforces illicit drug prohibition and imposes some of the world's harshest penalties for drug possession and sales, illicit drug use in the United States has been increasing," states a resolution that passed, amended by the Hawai'i House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

Now that it's been approved, the study's findings will be due later this year,"no later than 20 days prior" to the convening of the legislature's 2017 session.

Comment: The War on Drugs is an abject failure and has left ruined lives and broken families in its wake. Don't double down if a policy is ineffective. Try something new.

Ten Years Ago Portugal Legalized All Drugs -- What Happened Next?


Cell Phone

Dumb law: "Burner phones" may require verifiable ID if California bill passes

Mobile phones
© Paulo Whitaker / Reuters
Burner phones, beloved by criminals and TV writers everywhere, could be a thing of the past if a new bill by California lawmakers passes.

The proposed law would require prepaid phone customers to register their personal details before purchasing a burner phone or SIM card.

The Closing of Prepaid Mobile Device Security Gap bill, introduced by Jonestown massacre survivor State Rep Jackie Speier, could make it harder for those hoping to communicate anonymously.

Retailers would be required to verify those details at purchase and keep a record of the details gathered.

Comment: A ridiculous piece of legislation, and it'll prove to be mostly ineffective. Anyone can buy a phone and resell it in a multitude of ways (including Craigslist, eBay, local newspaper, swap shops, etc) and sign up for service online with no ID verification required. All a person usually needs to sign up for phone service online is a working phone, an email address, and a credit card or debit card. Furthermore, most phones support WiFi, so nothing stops people from buying a used phone and using in WiFi-only mode with a variety of openly available instant messaging, chat, and voice chat phone apps in conjunction with open public WiFi hotspots.


No Entry

U.K.: City council launches campaign to stop people giving to the homeless; backlash ensues

begging sign nottingham
A local city council in the U.K. is facing severe backlash as a result of a vile campaign demonizing homelessness. Nottinghamshire City Council's #givesmart campaign was launched in March, with the aim of urging the public not to give money to people begging on the streets. Concerned that money given to those begging is used to feed addictions, the council claims to have launched the campaign to encourage the public to give their cash to homeless charities, instead.

Nottingham's council implemented the campaign by displaying a number of large posters throughout the city that contain bigoted and hateful slogans. Claiming "beggars are not what they seem," they portray a young man in a hat and photographs of cans of 'strong' lager. They contain slogans stating, "Begging: Watch Your Money Go To A Fraud," or "Begging: Watch your money go up in smoke," and even "Begging funds the misuse of drugs."

Comment: Looks like Nottingham took a page out of the Dallas P.D.'s playbook with the same result. Newsflash: Normal people react to the sight of people struggling!

Dallas PD warns people against giving money to the homeless; tactic backfires tremendously


Pistol

NYPD cop kills excited family pet in cold blood as child watches

cops_dogs
© petadviser.com
Excited by activity outside the apartment, Spike rushed out, wagging his tail eagerly to greet whoever stood on the other side of the door — and was promptly executed by an NYPD officer wielding his gun.

Graphic video of the February 13th slaughter of Yvonne Rosado's beloved pit bull has now been released — and it is nothing short of outrageous.

"He was a big Snuffleupagus — a gentle giant," Rosado described Spike to the New York Daily News. "He was a member of the family ... He would wag his tail, letting everyone know he was friendly."

Immediately before the inexplicable shooting, Rosado had been dancing with her dog — a weekly ritual in which Spike stood on his hind legs so she could hold his paws.