Parents Get $800K Over Warrantless Search and Removal of Homeschool Kids Who Were Not Vaccinated

2/7/2015

“Vaccine Gestapo” by The Refusers.

Health Impact News Editor Comments

KPCC reported this week that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will pay $800,000 to the parents of two children taken from their home by a Sheriff’s deputy and social workers with the Department of Children and Family Services, who did not obtain a warrant first.

The payment settles a civil rights lawsuit that claimed the children were wrongfully removed from the parent’s San Gabriel Valley residence four years ago. The children were returned four months later.

According to KPCC, the lawsuit states that the complaint used by DCFS centered around what the homeschooled family chose to feed their children, and for failing to vaccinate them:

Social workers with the Department of Children and Family Services claimed the parents “created a detrimental and endangering home environment” for the children by failing to provide nourishing food and immunizations.

The parents claimed in the civil rights lawsuit that the allegations used to take away their children after a warrantless entry into the hotel room were fabricated. They claim in the lawsuit that they were raising their children “in a loving, emotionally, academically, and financially supportive, intact nuclear family.”

The lawsuit also claims the deputy mocked the parents for their views on homeschooling and vaccinations:

The lawsuit describes the deputy mocking the parents for not immunizing their children based on religious beliefs and homeschooling them. It accuses him of coercing the parents into a search of their hotel room.

“You could lose your kids forever,” he allegedly threatened. (Source.)

So after losing $800,000.00 in a civil rights lawsuit, will anyone with the Sheriff’s department or DCFS be held accountable for their actions?

Apparently not:

“No employee misconduct was suspected and no systemic issues were identified,” the county counsel’s case summary said. At the same time, it said the Sheriff’s Department intends to issue a newsletter “designed to educate members of the necessity to obtain a warrant where insufficient exigency exists for warrantless action.”

Read the full story here.

source

OUR YEARLY CHECK UP: The Communist Takeover Of America – 45 Declared Goals

2/7/2015

'“We will take America without firing a shot ... we will bury you!

“We can’t expect the American people to jump from capitalism to communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving them small doses of socialism, until they awaken one day to find that they have communism.

“We do not have to invade the United States, we will destroy you from within.”

           
- Nikita Khrushchev
     

Every year we have been running this check up so we can witness together the "baby steps" leading to the demise of our great country. Grab your pen and paper and jot down examples as you read. And if your eyes aren't already open. All I ask is that you share your findings with your family and friends.  And hopefully your friends will do the same. As you can see above, Khrushchev had a long term plan to replace American capitalism with communism. As a result, the world we once knew is being destroyed from the inside.

May God Bless America and those who live each day to save her.

The Communist Takeover Of America – 45 Declared Goals

By Marion Algier – Ask Marion

In the wake of President Obama’s liberal Progressive second Inaugural speech, it is time for another look at greater underlying agendas and perhaps a time to remember that Progressivism = Socialism = Fascism = Marxism = Communism.

Ask almost anyone and you’ll hear, “Communism is dead! The Berlin wall came down, the USSR is gone, China is our trading partner, the cold war is over…” That is one of the problems with America and the western world; we live in the now and our attention span and planning is short term unlike those in movements promoting Communism, Marxism, Socialism, Fascism, Progressivism (all the same), a New World or Globalist Order or beliefs like Islam.

 


From Greg Swank – 12-4-02

Below is a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As you read this, 50 years later, you should be shocked by the events that have played themselves out. I first ran across this list 3 years ago, but was unable to attain a copy and it has bothered me ever since. Recently, Jeff Rense posted it on his site and I would like to thank him for doing so. 

Rense.com – h/t to MJ:

Communist Goals (1963) Congressional Record–Appendix, pp. A34-A35 January 10, 1963

Current Communist Goals EXTENSION OF REMARKS OF HON. A. S. HERLONG, JR. OF FLORIDA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Thursday, January 10, 1963 .

Mr. HERLONG. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Patricia Nordman of De Land, Fla., is an ardent and articulate opponent of communism, and until recently published the De Land Courier, which she dedicated to the purpose of alerting the public to the dangers of communism in America.

At Mrs. Nordman’s request, I include in the RECORD, under unanimous consent, the following “Current Communist Goals,” which she identifies as an excerpt from “The Naked Communist,” by Cleon Skousen:

Communist Goals:
[From "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen]


1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.
2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.
3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament [by] the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.
4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.
5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.
6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.
7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.
8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev’s promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.
9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.
10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.
11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)
12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.
13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.
14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.
15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.
16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.
17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers’ associations. Put the party line in textbooks.
18. Gain control of all student newspapers.
19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.
20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policy-making positions.
21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.
22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to “eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms.”
23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. “Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art.”
24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and free press.
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.”
27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with “social” religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not need a “religious crutch.”
28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of “separation of church and state.”
29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.
30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the “common man.”
31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the “big picture.” Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.
32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture–education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.
33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.
34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.
36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.
37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.
38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand [or treat].
39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.
40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.
41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.
42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use ["]united force["] to solve economic, political or social problems.
43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.
44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.
45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction [over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction] over nations and individuals alike.

Note by Webmaster: The Congressional Record back this far has not been digitized and posted on the Internet. It will probably be available at your nearest library that is a federal repository. Call them and ask them. Your college library is probably a repository. This is an excellent source of government records. Another source are your Congress Critters. They should be more than happy to help you in this matter. You will find the Ten Planks of the Communist Manifesto interesting at this point.
…Webmaster Forest Glen Durland found the document in the library.


Sources are listed below.

Microfilm: California State University at San Jose Clark Library, Government Floor Phone (408)924-2770 Microfilm Call Number: J 11.R5
Congressional Record, Vol. 109 88th Congress, 1st Session Appendix Pages A1-A2842 Jan. 9-May 7, 1963 Reel 12
1963 – The Year That Changed America
By Greg Swank – 12-4-2

Over the years, I have shared in debates and discussions regarding the current state of affairs in the U.S., and the changing social climate of this great nation. Since the “baby-boomer” generation, society and its culture have become noticeably different than the way it was 50 years ago. From the late 50?s to the 70?s a series of events took place contributing to the way we are currently living. However, like anything else, there has to be a starting point at which the wheels are put into motion. Sometimes it can be a single event, such as war, but more often, it is a series of events, some intentional, some planned, others unpredictable. There is always a pivotal point when things begin to change. I believe that time was 1963.

For my generation, some of the following will certainly stir old memories. If you born later, this may serve as a brief history lesson into the times your parents traveled through.

By 1963 television was the leading sources of entertainment. The public enjoyed a different type of programming back then. Lessons on life could be viewed weekly on “Leave it to Beaver” or “My Three Sons.” There were hero’s back then that never drew blood, “The Lone Ranger” and “The Adventures of Superman.” Cartoon series evolved, such as, “The Flintstones” and “The Jetsons” without messages of empowering the children, using vulgarities or demeaning parental guidance. Family’s could spend a weekend evening watching “Ed Sullivan,” “Bonanza” or “Gunsmoke.” For those who enjoyed thrill and suspense, we were blessed with “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” and the “Twilight Zone.” ‘My Favorite Martian,” “Ozzie and Harriet,” “Donna Reed” and “Sea Hunt” also kept viewers entertained weekly.

Movie theaters were not multiplex units with 15 screens, rather, one single, giant big screen with adequate sound and hard seats without springs. “Tom Jones” had won the Academy award for best picture. “How The West Was Won,” “Cleopatra,” “Lily of the Fields,” “The Great Escape,” “The Birds,” and “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” were all box office hits.

By years end, “The Beatles” had played for the British Royal Family and were laying the groundwork to conquer the U.S. the following year. Eric Clapton began his journey to fame with Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Jim McCarty and their band, “The Yardbirds.” Out on the west coast the surf was beginning to rock’n’roll with “The Beach Boys” and their first song to reach the top ten list, “Surfin’ U.S.A.”

“Joys of Jell-O” recipes for quivering florescent foodstuff hit the stores. U.S. Postal rates went up to five cents for the first ounce. AT&T introduced touch-tone telephones. The Yankees played in the World Series again; but lost to the Dodgers in four straight. The government and NASA began the Apollo program.

This is just a brief snapshot of some things that were going on back in 1963. Remember?

While some of these events played an important role in the direction of change that affect us today, many of them were lost to much greater, more political events, that I believe put everything into motion.

On January 10, 1963, the House of Representative and later the Senate began reviewing a document entitled “Communist Goals for Taking Over America.” It contained an agenda of 45 separate issues that, in hindsight was quite shocking back then and equally shocking today. Here, in part, are some key points listed in that document.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.
5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.
8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states.
11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind.
13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.
16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.
23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. “Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art.”
24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and free press.
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.”
27. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not need a “religious crutch.”
28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of “separation of church and state.”
40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.
44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.

You can see the entire list on this web page – http://www.truthtrek.net/politics/takeover.htm (no longer works as a link) 

Now, I am not saying that the U.S. is under some kind of Communist control, but what I do find frightening, is of the 45 issues listed, nearly all of them have come to pass. Remember this was in January 1963.

In 1963 the news media showed women burning their bras as the women’s liberation movement took off with the publishing of “The Feminine Mystique” by Betty Friedan. Martin Luther King was jailed in April and civil unrest was being brought to the forefront. On August 28th the media brought us live coverage of the march on Washington and Dr. Kings famous “I had a dream” speech. The Cuban missile crisis found its way in to our homes and our nation was gearing up for conflict.

By September of 1963 we had lost some very influential people, Pope John XXIII, Robert Frost, and country legend Patsy Cline, to name a few. In the early hours of November 22nd we learned of the quiet passing of C.S. Lewis and hours later we were brought to our knees when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and our nation mourned.

So you see, while long since forgotten, 1963 could very well have been, one of the most important years since our founding fathers provided us with the Constitution of the United States. Which brings me to one final and extremely important decision that was made during this most provocative year.

On June 17, 1963 the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that any Bible reciting or prayer, in public schools, was deemed unconstitutional.
While American’s have endured great prosperity over the past 40 years we have also lost our moral compass and direction. In reviewing the research, data supports 1963 as a focal point, demonstrating a downward slope in our moral and social decline through 2001.

Certainly, one would have to agree that all of these events have had a profound impact on the way our current social structure has been changed. Personally, if I had to choose one specific event that has demonstrated the demoralization of our country, it would have to be the decision of the U.S Supreme Court in June of 1963.

But there is always “hope.” As always, I welcome your comments and can easily be reached. Thanks for the response to “Daddy, What’s Fluoride?” My email is: greg@truthtrek.net

Comment – 12-7-2
From Founders’ America – foundersamerica@hotmail.com

Jeff…adding a couple of my own numbers:

__ 46. Import anti-white racists from the Third World, via an open-borders policy, then force their integration to divide and conquer white Western civilization in North America.
__ 47. Feminize and disarm both the citizenry and military; especially disarm white males.

Founders’ America
P.O. Box 71024 Richmond, Va
23255

Purchase “the Naked Communist” here – Below is a video series that a YouTube Blogger put together about the book: The Naked Communist.

  

Former KGB agent Explains Ideological Subversion and brain washing warns America “No place for future dissenters in America.”

Yuri Bezmenov is a former KGB agent and an expert on ideological subversion. He discusses the slow process of demoralization that transformed America from a conservative and mostly homogeneous country into a socially-Marxist and egalitarian one.

Interview conducted by Edward Griffin in 1985.



Manipulation of public opinion and media. Those who refused the influence of communism in their country, their reputation was ruined. Or they were executed. Physically. Revolution forces.

________________________________________________


Yuri Bezmenov: the useful idiots of socialism


Presented for the first subtitled in French, this interview, although dating from 1985, is a rare news. Yuri Bezmenov, ex-KGB agent spent in the West in the 1970 recounts in detail the techniques of destabilization and manipulation of public opinion.

This interview can understand why, in 2007, we still contend with a left lunar why so many teachers continue to undermine formatted generations of schoolchildren and students and why the fight against Marxist socialism, despite all the evidence its harmfulness, is always on the agenda.

Yuri Bezmenov shows how the socialist-communist bloc:
• knowingly implemented a comprehensive manipulation of public opinion and elites worldwide.
• conditioned schoolchildren and students to Western socialist ideals on at least three generations. This task was in his 85% of the activity of the KGB.
• systematically recruited all opinion leaders in the West for influence and destabilize the non-Communist world.
• conditioned and “de-moralized” (loss of value) of entire sections of society, become “useful idiots” of socialism.

In a lecture he remains traces on the Internet, Yuri Bezmenov – aka Thomas Schuman – gave further guidance on techniques designed to destabilize the western nations. Among these strategies of destabilization, he cites include:

• sabotage units of national, ethnic, racial, religious, linguistic
• ridicule of patriotism by degrading the level of a mental illness (psychotic)
• encouragement of the political turmoil in the world of work by politicizing the trade unions.

We have thus far both feet in and we have not changed the world: we’re still the heirs of the Cold War. It is now inside the tent of disease spread. And the “useful idiots” are also still active.


Soviet Subversion of the Free World Press – 1984, posted with vodpod

Video Translation here

Full Interview Below




Demoralization of America

more about “Demoralization of America,” posted with vodpod



Video: Ronald Reagan on Socialism and Liberalism


Must reads: The Naked Communist, The Coming Insurrection, The Road to Serfdom, The New Road to Serfdom, American Progressivism,Barack Obama and the Enemies Within and The Manchurian President

Obama is the master of manipulating the uninformed!!


Please educate yourself and then share what you have learned with others. Thomas Jefferson was so strong on the need for public education for all so America would have an educated populace, which is needed to maintain a republic. As Benjamin Franklin said when asked by a woman. “What have you given us, Mr. Franklin?” “A Republic, Madame,” he replied, “If you can keep it!” Unfortunately, our very lacking public education system, the mainstream media (MSM) and Hollywood have all been infiltrated by Progressives… the radical left, who are indoctrinating and manipulating the public. History repeats itself and the answers for the future lie in understanding the past.

The Communists, Marxists, Socialists, Fascists, Fabians, Progressives, leftists radicals… whatever you want to call them, have been busy working their plan(s) for years as we were manipulated into believing that the Cold War was over, that Communism was virtually dead except for 4 or 5 radical regimes and that we no longer had anything to fear from them. Now we have Marxism or Progressivism (Communism), Islam and our own dumbed down populace to fight… while globalist radicals have continued to forge ahead with their plans including their infiltration into our White House, Congress and Supreme Court, our education system, many of our churches and every media arm from entertainment to news that indoctrinate our children and the thoughts of most Americans… especially the uninformed!


hat tip: Gulag bound

GREAT NEWS: After Announcing U.S. Statehood Intent, Puerto Rico Hit by 27,000 Chikungunya Cases Since May

2/7/2015

SAN JUAN – Chikungunya fever has affected more than 27,000 people in Puerto Rico since last May and of those, 14 have died, though it has not been determined whether the virus was the direct cause of death.

According to figures released Friday by the Puerto Rico Health Department that go back to Jan. 21, a total of 27,465 cases have been recorded of infection by the virus, which is transmitted by mosquito bites and was detected in this U.S. commonwealth for the first time last May.

Of those cases, just 4,274 samples have been tested by laboratories of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, in Atlanta.

No cases have yet been detected of people infected by the chikungunya virus and dengue fever at the same time.

Authorities said that 14 fatalities on the island since May tested positive for the chikungunya virus, though they could not say that the deaths were directly related to that infection.

Chikungunya virus is relatively new in the Americas – the first case was detected just over a year ago – and since then it has spread rapidly.

Symptoms of the virus, whose incubation period is from three to seven days, include fever, skin rash and sharp pain in the joints, head and muscles, and very rarely is it fatal, usually for people already suffering from serious health problems.

Compared with dengue, the chikungunya infection normally causes more intense pain to the joints and tendons, the beginning of the fever is more pronounced but has a shorter duration, and rarely is serious hemorrhaging observed.

Though the symptoms tend to diminish after seven to 10 days, the pain and stiffness in the joints can persist for several months.

source

Enviro-Mentals In The News: Greenpeace Activist in Nazca Lines Case Banned from Leaving Argentina

2/7/2015

BUENOS AIRES – An Argentine judge has banned a Greenpeace activist who is wanted by Peru for participating in a protest that damaged the ancient Nazca Lines in December from leaving the country.

Argentine Greenpeace activist Mauro Fernandez, against whom an international arrest warrant was issued in January, “surrendered voluntarily to the Argentine court,” said Greenpeace Argentina in a statement on Thursday.

Although Judge Sebastian Casanello exempted Fernandez from imprisonment, he ordered the activist to not remain outside his home for more than 24 hours and forbade him from leaving the country.

“Fernandez has already handed in his written statement to the Peruvian prosecution with his personal details and a description of his role in the activity that Greenpeace carried out,” the environmental organization said.

It added that Fernandez “has apologized to the Peruvian people and is willing to cooperate with the authorities.”

Early on Dec. 8, a group of Greenpeace activists entered the prohibited grounds of the ancient archaeological site Nazca Lines in southern Peru and walked to the hummingbird geoglyph where they placed a giant banner directed at political leaders participating in the Lima Climate Change Conference.

source

IMMIGRATION UPDATE: Court system, lawyers get last laugh.. and lotsa $$$ to go with it!

2/7/2015

Highlight: Ungrateful illegal mommies worry about being deported and separated from their anchor babies. Here's a newsflash: hundreds, if not thousands of Americans are sent to prison each day for committing crimes, ultimately they too are separated from their kids too. Quit bitching and just be glad you have the freedom you also don't deserve. 

Frustration of Undocumented Immigrants Grows as U.S. Courts Cancel Hearings

LOS ANGELES – The priority given by the Justice Department to children of Central American families who entered the U.S. in 2014 has meant that the hearings of almost 500,000 undocumented immigrants have been suspended indefinitely, as occurred with Ricardo Perez Luna, whose day in the Los Angeles Immigration Court was canceled.

“It’s been a long wait. It’s not fair that after all this effort, and I was finally on the point of getting my residence permit, they don’t even tell me when I’ll get to see the judge,” Perez, a native of Oaxaca, Mexico, told Efe.

The immigrant had a hearing scheduled for Jan. 28, the date when the judge was to award him his permanent residence, but his hopes vanished when he was notified that his hearing was canceled, as has happened to thousands of undocumented immigrants in recent days.

“The saddest thing is that there’s no date, I don’t know if it’s going to be months, a year, two...we don’t know what’s going to happen,” a frustrated Perez said.

For Fernando Romo, the attorney representing Perez, this case is a perfect example of the damage caused by congestion in the nation’s 230 immigration courts.

“It was a mere formality – my client had complied with all the requisites and only needed the judge’s approval. Ten minutes, that’s all we needed,” he said.

Perez entered the United States without papers in 2002, and, after investing more than $22,000 in representation and processing fees, the Mexican hoped to get his residence permit at last, but now he could be left waiting until the year 2019.

“Thousands of people are affected, not only those who were about to obtain their residence permit, but also those whose cases were still up in the air. They could even lose their eligibility,” Romo said.

Maria Angela Caceres applied for the cancellation of her deportation order so she could take care of her son, who suffers from a congenital disorder, and had a hearing set for Feb. 17, but that too was canceled this week.

“God gave me two children – the eldest, a girl, whom I brought with me from Mexico, and my little boy, who depends on me for everything. I’m asking the judge to let me stay with my son and daughter because it would not be right to separate us,” Caceres said.

In California alone there are more than 85,000 people waiting for hearings by an immigration judge, of whom more than 50,000 are in Los Angeles. After California, Texas has 70,099 cases pending, New York has 58,818, Florida 21,862 and New Jersey 19,828.

The wait for a hearing in the Los Angeles Immigration Court takes almost 800 days, though in courts like those in Otay Mesa, near the U.S.-Mexico border, immigrants have had to wait as long as 6,056 days.

source

Sending your 9 year old wife to school is "not an option." Mohammad would be so proud.

2/7/2015

 Women’s Role Is Limited to Staying Home, IS Followers Say

BEIRUT – The “fundamental function” of a woman is to stay at home with her husband and children, according to the followers of the Islamic State jihadist group, who also believe that girls can be legitimately wed at the age of nine.

These ideas were described in a document entitled “Women of the Islamic State: Manifesto and Case Study,” released by the all-women al-Khanssaa Brigade, which included a disclaimer informing that it was not an official IS statement.

There is little data available about the women who make up the al-Khanssaa Brigade. Information on this group is based on what can be gleaned from message exchanges between members through social networking websites or from this manifesto.

The IS’ propaganda presents a fictitious image of harmony to attract females to join the “Caliphate.”

Reality, however, shows that the jihadists exercise brutal practices in the territories under their control, such as stoning women for committing adultery and sexually enslaving their Christian and Yazidi women prisoners.

In the manifesto, a number of guidelines regarding women’s role in society are laid out.

For example, the document dictates that women are allowed to receive limited education for the sole purpose of raising their children, who must be groomed in the study of Islamic Shari’a law.

The text declares that girls between the ages of seven and nine should attend classes on Islamic law, the Quran, mathematics and general knowledge.

Between the ages of 12 and 13, their studies should focus more on religion, with a special emphasis on Islamic laws related to marriage and divorce, besides other subjects such as cooking.

The manifesto added that women should not work, except in some specific cases, such as the fields of medicine and education or the carrying out of Jihad (holy war) if their country is attacked by an enemy and the number of male combatants proves insufficient to defeat said foe.

The document painted a poetic picture of the fulfilling life awaiting those who migrate to areas under the IS’ control, such as Al Raqqa, the organization’s main stronghold in Syria.

However, it seems that this description does not correspond with reality, according to the testimonies by several women, who had allegedly traveled to join IS in Syria and Iraq, published on Twitter.

Their tweets often speak of the loss of their husbands on the battlefield and the difficulties they faced after migrating to the Islamic State’s so-called “Caliphate.”

A suspected female jihadist, identified as Um Leith, wrote on a Tumblr blog that it had been difficult to give up a life of comfort and renounce her family in her country of origin, adding that one of the worst moments for a migrant is calling her parents for the first time after crossing the borders.

Although there are several women on Twitter who encourage migration to IS-controlled areas, examples abound of women identifying themselves as “reverse migrants” on social networking websites.

Very little details are known about the reasons that forced them to return to their countries of origin after having migrated to Syria and Iraq.

Based on the information about living conditions in the “Caliphate,” it becomes hard to imagine the kinds of exploitation they were subjected to at the hands of the Islamic State.

source

Adopt a Lamppost, an Initiative Illuminating Slums in Nairobi

2/7/2015

NAIROBI – After darkness falls in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, walking through the city’s most-populated (and impoverished) neighborhoods, in which electricity is still a luxury, becomes a dangerous activity, as the cover of darkness provides the perfect opportunity for thieves and rapists to assault the locals.

Simple things such as installing electric lampposts could change the lives of millions of people living in Nairobi’s slums, but the financial challenges Kenya faces are keeping most of the population immersed in darkness once the sun sets.

Thus, one can observe banners with the slogan “Adopt me” hanging from the few lampposts that are scattered through the African city, as part of a campaign to finance lighting projects in exchange for making advertising space available for big businesses.

Efforts have been building thanks to Kenyan activist Esther Passaris, who leads the “Adopt a lamppost” initiative, started ten years ago, convincing Kenyan businessmen to invest in lighting and improve security in the capital’s streets.

Passaris has been working for years with local authorities to install and maintain thousands of lampposts in the city, financed through profits derived from billboard ads.

The initiative has been met with considerable success, being currently supported by major banks and airline companies; although much remains to be done since large swaths of Nairobi still become engulfed by darkness after 6 p.m.

The Kenyan activist concentrates her efforts on slums where 3.5 million people live, representing 60 percent of Nairobi’s total population. The largest slum is Kibera, Africa’s biggest shanty town, located just five kilometers away from downtown Nairobi.

Passaris, 48, supervises the installation of seven new 30-meter-high electric poles that will illuminate an area of approximately 90,000 square meters, providing light to more than 7,500 houses in the neighborhood.

Each one of these poles will cost around 3.3 million shillings ($40,000), since all of the materials are imported from South Africa, as they are not manufactured locally, the activist told Efe.

These seven new posts will join the 14 that this campaign has previously installed in several neighborhoods in recent years, significantly improving residents’ lives.

Locals are aware of the change that the new poles represent. Many of them approach to observe workers installing the lampposts with curiosity and enthusiasm.

Passaris said, with a hint of pride: “Now, even at night, life goes on in Kibera. Children are able to stay on the street doing their homework. It’s wonderful.”

“Like in most of Nairobi’s slums without electricity, some residents are forced to open holes in their roofs to allow a beam of light from the high poles to enter their homes at night,” she added.

In 2002, Passaris launched the project following the footsteps of another initiative in the urban area of Soweto, located in the South African city of Johannesburg. That year she decided to travel to Soweto to meet and learn from the project’s organizers.

Passaris began to direct revenue stemming from advertisement campaigns to aid in the development of her native city, which was witnessing a high crime rate due to many reasons, including the lack of street lighting.

Slums, in particular, have a high rate of rape crimes, as many women are sexually assaulted when they leave their homes at night to use public bathrooms, since their homes generally do not possess any toilets.

The lack of street lighting in these neighborhoods allows rapists and criminals to become more active and commit crimes with impunity.

“With light, people can feel safe on the streets. Without it, it is impossible,” architect Charles Newman told Efe.

Newman works for an NGO called the Kounkuey Design Initiative, which operates in Kounkuey, a neighborhood which lacks basic needs such as drinking water and drainage. He believes that street lighting will help reduce skyrocketing crime rates.

He also highlighted that the Kenyan government is aware of the problem, and is providing its support to projects aiming to improve safety in the capital’s slums.

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No Rats or Bats on the New Year’s Menu, Chinese Government Says

2/7/2015

BEIJING – With just a few days to go before the Chinese New Year, which people celebrate with an abundance of food and merrymaking, China’s government has launched a campaign to prevent virus infections caused by eating “strange food” such as rats, snakes and bats.

Authorities in charge of food safety urged citizens on Friday not to consume “wild animals,” and above all, not to “go over the top,” as it is common for people in certain parts of the country to come up with astonishing dishes, using animals not commonly found on the dinner table.

In the southern Canton province, for example, people savor preparations made from snakes and rats, which is why the authorities are urging everyone, particularly old people, children and pregnant women, to abstain from what it calls strange dishes.

The government has announced the start of inspections around the country, in an attempt to reduce diseases caused by eating such food during the New Year festival, also known as Spring Festival in China, which falls on Feb. 19 this year.

During this year’s festivities, the Chinese will see off the Year of the Horse and welcome the Year of the Sheep, as every year is represented by a different animal.

The government’s concern over the issue is not unwarranted, since a 2013 study by the Chinese Academy of Sciences revealed that the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS virus that caused a pandemic in 2002 blamed for 800 deaths in China, came from a local species of bat.

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Oh look! AG Kane asks Pa. Supreme Court to end grand jury case against her

2/7/2015

Surprised? Well her knight in democrat honor governor is finally here to rescue her sorry ass. After all, the second day he was in office, her charges were put on hold. Yes even after her second excuse not to testify in front of a Grand Jury because of a 1AM car accident there was still plenty of damning evidence. Anyone want to guess the outcome of her request? Remember, this was all predicted here months ago!

AP

Attorney General Kathleen Kane speaks during a news conference Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, in Philadelphia.

HARRISBURG — Attorney General Kathleen Kane asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday to kill a grand jury presentment that recommended criminal charges against her because she contends a county judge illegally appointed a special prosecutor who directed the case.

Montgomery County Judge William Carpenter appointed prosecutor Thomas Carluccio to oversee the grand jury investigating whether Kane leaked grand jury material protected by secrecy laws. The grand jury recommended charges against Kane, including perjury and obstruction.

Kane's Washington-based lawyer, Lanny Davis, said documents publicly released indicate the grand jury did not suggest a contempt of court charge. Experts say it is typically a charge for leaking confidential grand jury material, though it can apply to other offenses against the court. Contempt can be a criminal charge or civil penalty.

The presentment remains sealed.

“You have to wonder what is motivating this pseudo-legal effort to take down Kathleen Kane,” Davis said.

Neither Carpenter nor Carluccio could be reached for comment.

Carpenter last month referred the case to Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman to determine whether to file criminal charges. The Supreme Court stopped any action until it hears arguments next month in Philadelphia.

Kane's New York City lawyer Gerald Shargel filed a motion saying Carpenter had “no legal authority” to appoint a special prosecutor in May to investigate whether Kane leaked information to a Philadelphia newspaper in an effort to embarrass a former prosecutor from her office with whom she was feuding.

The court documents do not name the prosecutor. Kane has publicly sparred with former Chief Deputy Attorney General Frank Fina, who works for the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office.

When he appointed Carluccio, the judge said he did so with authority under the Pennsylvania Investigating Grand Jury Act of 1978, procedural rules, and “relevant case law.” Carpenter notified former Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille of the appointment and asked Castille to tell him “if I am in error.”

Castille said publicly before he retired that the court had authority to protect the secrecy of grand juries and that the attorney general could not investigate herself.

Shargel argued that “no current valid statute exists” in Pennsylvania to support Carpenter's appointment. An independent counsel law expired in 2003.

“It's quite disappointing a judge who is supposed to enforce the law ignores the law,” Davis said.

Kane is the first woman and Democrat to hold the elected office of attorney general.

Davis has noted that those directing and supervising the grand jury are Republicans and has implied that “angry men” are out to get Kane. He has said a court order prevents him from naming them.

Last month, Davis said those who shared pornographic emails during the administrations of former attorneys general were “embarrassed and angry” that Kane revealed some of their names when newspapers sought the emails under the state open records law.

Kane testified before the grand jury and told reporters she acknowledged authorizing the release of a 2014 case file in the investigation of a Philadelphia political activist who was never charged with a crime. Kane said she did not consider the information to be grand jury material.

Kane told the grand jury she did not OK the release of a 2009 grand jury memorandum from the case “and, indeed, had never seen it.”

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