killaphill
killaphill's JournalThis Has Been the Best Year Ever
If you’re depressed by the state of the world, let me toss out an idea: In the long arc of human history, 2019 has been the best year ever.
The bad things that you fret about are true. But it’s also true that since modern humans emerged about 200,000 years ago, 2019 was probably the year in which children were least likely to die, adults were least likely to be illiterate and people were least likely to suffer excruciating and disfiguring diseases.
Every single day in recent years, another 325,000 people got their first access to electricity. Each day, more than 200,000 got piped water for the first time. And some 650,000 went online for the first time, every single day.
Perhaps the greatest calamity for anyone is to lose a child. That used to be common: Historically, almost half of all humans died in childhood. As recently as 1950, 27 percent of all children still died by age 15. Now that figure has dropped to about 4 percent.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/28/opinion/sunday/2019-best-year-poverty.html#commentsContainer
Too bad that, given the impending global catastrophes to be wrought from climate change, this temporary blip is unsustainable.
BREAKING: Antifa protests in London following Conservative landslide win
Source: Post Millenial
“Tory scum off our streets, Nazi scum off our streets!” shouted left-wing protesters in central London.
Around a thousand demonstrators, many masked and holding antifa symbols, poured onto the streets of the British capital to protest the U.K.’s election results. The Conservatives won in a landslide election the day before, likely guaranteeing Britain’s withdrawal from the EU at the end of next month.
The British capital descended into chaos as the Met Police struggled to contain protesters connected to antifa, socialist and communist groups. They had shut down the streets in and around Westminster. They demanded a “revolution” and the ousting of the Conservatives.
Protesters disobeyed police orders and shoved officers who attempted to block them from certain routes. At one point, officers brandished batons at the crowd to get them to comply.
Read more: https://www.thepostmillennial.com/breaking-antifa-protests-in-london-following-conservative-landslide-win/
Democrats and the Trump administration reach a tentative North American trade deal
Source: CNBC
House Democrats and the Trump administration have reached a tentative deal on replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement after months of deliberations, sources told CNBC.
If the White House sends ratifying legislation to Congress by Dec. 15 to kick off the approval process, the Democratic-held House could vote on ratifying the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement by Dec. 18, the sources said.
Earlier Monday, a senior Democratic aide said the sides had nothing to announce yet. The Trump administration delivered proposed changes to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office on Saturday, and House leaders were still studying it.
The White House has pushed for USMCA’s approval in Congress before the end of the year as President Donald Trump seeks an economic and political win before the 2020 election. Democrats, who have sought tougher enforcement of labor rules to ensure U.S. companies do not move jobs to Mexico, have tried to show they can legislate even as they move forward with an impeachment inquiry against Trump.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/09/house-democrats-and-trump-administration-close-in-on-usmca-trade-deal.html
Not sure what to think about this..... Why should we be agreeing on ANYTHING with Trump while he's being impeached?
Beacon High School Is Half White. That's Why Students Walked Out.
Source: New York Times
Roughly 300 students walked out of Beacon on Monday to protest its high-stakes admissions process, which they said has exacerbated segregation in the nation’s largest school system.
The protest at Beacon, one of New York City’s most selective public schools, illustrates the widening scope of the push for school integration. It has shifted away from the narrow issue of how few black and Hispanic students are admitted to the city’s eight specialized high schools, including Stuyvesant.
Beacon’s student population is about half white, a striking anomaly in a public school system that is nearly 70 percent black and Hispanic. Beacon is not a specialized high school — it has no admissions test — but its highly competitive admissions process requires students to assemble a portfolio of middle school work, admissions essays and high standardized test scores and grades. It is one of the most selective schools in New York: Last year, there were over 5,800 applications for 360 ninth-grade seats.
Beacon has a higher percentage of black and Hispanic students than Stuyvesant — about 32 percent compared to 4 percent at the specialized school — but also a higher percentage of white students, fewer Asian students and a lower percentage of students living in poverty. The school’s parent-teacher organization raised over $685,000 for the school last year, according to data released on Monday.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/02/nyregion/nyc-beacon-high-school-walkout.html
These kids are heroes in my estimation. I've never understood the logic of "selective" public schools. They just seem to be another way to segregate, and appear to do that quite well, even in a place as supposedly progressive as NYC. Mayor DeBlassio has recommended the city eliminate academic screens for middle school admissions, and I think thats a fantastic first start.
Qantas offers to help cabin crew sue will.i.am over racism claim
Qantas says it is willing to help one of its cabin crew members take defamation action against pop star will.i.am if he does not retract his accusation she racially discriminated against him.
The Black Eyed Peas frontman published a photo and full name of the Qantas cabin crew member on Twitter to his 12.8 million followers on Saturday and accused her of being a "#RacistFlightattendant" following a dispute about stowing his laptop prior to a flight landing in Sydney.
In a series of tweets on Saturday, will.i.am said the cabin crew member was "beyond rude" and that she "singled every person of [colour in] the flight and gave them a hard time.. and went to the extreme of calling the police on me when I did nothing wrong".
Responding to criticism on social media that he should not have publicly named the employee, will.i.am said that he would also be named and shamed if he was rude to a fan or a journalist. "This is what Twitter is for... we are supposed to call out wrongdoings so we can have a safer more compassionate world," he said.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/qantas-offers-to-help-cabin-crew-sue-will-i-am-over-racism-claim-20191118-p53bod.html
In this modern world, racist behaviour can now be pointed out world wide. A lesson a particular flight attendant has just learned. I do hope she has learned a lesson from this.
Jeffrey Epstein: ABC stopped report 'amid Palace threats'
Leaked footage shows a US TV anchor complaining that editors "quashed" a story about paedophile Jeffrey Epstein due to pressure from the Royal Family.
ABC's Amy Robach is seen in the clip griping that her interview with an alleged victim of Epstein and Prince Andrew never made it to air.
"The Palace found out," she says, "and threatened us a million different ways."
In the video, Ms Robach vents frustration that her 2015 interview with Virginia Giuffre - formerly Virginia Roberts - was never broadcast.
https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-us-canada-50296742?__twitter_impression=true
Protesters Rally in Wake of Confrontations Between NYPD Officers and Civilians
Protesters rallied in Downtown Brooklyn Friday evening against what they say is police brutality from the NYPD in the wake of two confrontations caught on video between officers and civilians in the last week.They're pushing for an end to the MTA's fare evasion campaign, which places several hundred additional police officers in the subway system.
"We see people in poverty increasing every single day, struggling to make ends meet. People working two, three jobs, barely keeping a roof over their head. And what's the city's response? Hire more cops. Beat people up who can't afford to pay the fare," said one protester.
"I understand that there are fares, but people are really struggling, and I think that the response has been really egregious and violent," said another. "The people who are inflicting violence on marginalized communities should really be held accountable."
https://www.ny1.com/nyc/brooklyn/news/2019/11/02/protesters-rally-against-what-they-say-is-police-brutality-by-nypd
So with all the problems going on in this world, the NYPD has decided to start beating up POC because they avoid a whole $2.75 subway fare. I expect this type of behavior from the NYPD when, for instance, Giuliani was mayor. Curious why De Blasio is allowing it.
A crack down on fare evasion? Really? Is this what the NYPD should be wasting taxpayer dollars on?
Clinton Advisor Philippe Reines: Hillary Has Not Closed The Door On 2020
Longtime Clinton advisor and political operative Philippe Reines said 2016 Democratic party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has not ruled out a run for president in 2020. In an interview with FNC's Tucker Carlson on Thursday, Reines said if Clinton thought she had the best odds to beat Trump she would think about it long and hard.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/10/23/clinton_advisor_philippe_reines_hillary_has_not_closed_the_door_on_2020.html
Got to say... I'm thrilled by this development. Should Secretary Clinton throw her hat into the ring, I will donate, and switch over my support.
Postal worker refuses to deliver mail at man's house, finding his Halloween decorations offensive
Source: KCRA NBC
BRENTWOOD, N.Y. (Video from WCBS via CNN) — A postal worker in New York has refused to deliver mail at a man's house after he put up Halloween decorations that he deemed offensive.
The postal worker, who is African American, took offense to a skeleton hanging by a noose near Richard Beatty's front door, WCBS reported.
"It's not meant to be racist. It's not to meant to offend anybody," Beatty told the TV station. "It's here to be scary."
"I don't think the post office, of all people, should be the ones telling me what I can and can't do on my own property," Beatty said.
Read more: https://www.kcra.com/article/postal-worker-finds-mans-halloween-decorations-offensive/29520799?fbclid=IwAR1pL616HDw3mJtSAstl3H2KZcSjPuAgl8Fo0vWeg8ldIasrX790-C96X4g#
School Security Officer Fired for Repeating Racial Slur Aimed at Him
A high school security officer in Wisconsin said an unruly student called him a racial slur several times last week, but when he tried to explain to the student why the epithet was offensive, it cost him his job.
The security officer, Marlon Anderson, said that he told the student to stop calling him a “n****r” during an Oct. 9 exchange at West High School in Madison. Both Mr. Anderson and the student are black.
Less than a week later, school officials terminated Mr. Anderson’s employment, citing a zero-tolerance policy on the use of derogatory language by staff members.
Now, students and residents are rallying around Mr. Anderson, 48, who is fighting to get his job back. He said in an interview on Thursday night that the policy was flawed because it failed to put his use of the slur in its proper context.
A high school security officer in Wisconsin said an unruly student called him a racial slur several times last week, but when he tried to explain to the student why the epithet was offensive, it cost him his job.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/us/wisconsin-security-guard-fired-n-word.html
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Member since: Thu Jun 27, 2019, 05:41 PMNumber of posts: 212
