Gaza Is Becoming a 'Graveyard for Children', Says António Guterres

Nov 6, 2023 | The UN secretary general has warned that 'no one is safe' in Gaza as he reiterated his urgent call for a humanitarian ceasefire. He said Gaza was 'becoming a graveyard for children' with hundreds of boys and girls reportedly killed or injured every day. Israeli ground operations and bombardments are hitting civilians, hospitals, refugee camps, mosques, churches and UN facilities including shelters, Guterres said. He said the situation in Gaza was 'more than a humanitarian crisis, it is a crisis of humanity'.

Read the GUARDIAN article here.

Gaza’s Children Face Catastrophe as Death Toll Nears 4,000, UN Warns

THE OBSERVER: Israeli bombs hit school being used as a shelter while warning comes that children form 40% of fatalities

The UN has warned of a “catastrophic” situation for children in Gaza, as Israeli bombs hit a school being used as a shelter and landed outside a hospital, and Israel came under mounting pressure over the civilian suffering caused by its campaign.

More than 40% of the dead in Gaza after nearly four weeks of war were children, the UN said, with 3,900 reported child victims, and another 1,250 missing and presumed buried under bombed buildings. With little rescue machinery, and hospitals overcrowded and running out of supplies, the chances of survival for those trapped in rubble are painfully low.

“Women, children and newborns in Gaza are disproportionately bearing the burden” of a month of fighting in the tiny territory, agencies supporting children, women, health services and Palestinian refugees said in a joint statement. » | Emma Graham-Harrison and Jason Burke in Jerusalem | Sunday, November 5, 2023

Ministers Face Pressure to Ban Single-use Vapes amid Rising Popularity among Children in UK

THE GUARDIAN: As many as 15% of 11- to 15-year-olds use vapes, experts suggest, with products often packaged in bright colours

The relatively short history of e-cigarettes means there is minimal knowledge about long-term health effects. Photograph: Peter Dazeley/Alamy
Ministers are facing mounting pressure to impose an outright ban on single-use vapes, amid concern about their rising popularity among children and wider worries that officials have minimal grip over a fast-moving sector.

While it is illegal to sell e-cigarettes to under-18s, some experts suggest as many as 15% of 11- to 15-year-olds use vapes, with Rishi Sunak saying this week he was worried that his daughters could be “seduced” by a heavily flavoured product often packaged in bright colours. » | Peter Walker, Deputy political editor | Friday, May 26, 2023

This just goes to prove that the government’s relentless war on smoking is having a deleterious effect on children!

It would have been far better and more sensible if successive governments had simply used infomercials to make the public aware of the dangers of smoking and let the people decide for themselves whether they wish to smoke or not. In fact, that was the original strategy of governments to reduce smoking rates anyway; and, it must be said, that strategy was effective. It brought smoking rates right down over a period of years.

However, governments weren’t satisfied with this softly-softly approach. They have been determined to stub out the smoking of tobacco altogether which, of course, they will never be able to do.

The result has been that they have encouraged people to vape instead. The dangers of vaping are not yet well-understood. But the people in government have pushed ahead with this silly and ridiculous policy anyway.

At first, it was hoped that vaping would be used as a way of transitioning from smoking tobacco to not smoking at all. But it hasn’t turned out that way. Rather, vaping has become in itself a source of kicks for many people, including children. Vapes in multifarious flavours and forms have become particularly attractive even to young children, something which conventional cigarettes never were. The smell and taste of tobacco for children is often very off-putting. It certainly was for me as a child. As a child, I hated being around anyone who smoked cigarettes.

When I studied economics back in the day, one of the very first lessons we were taught was this: Governments should avoid at all costs distorting the market of any product, because the distortions caused by excessive taxes, etc, will often produce far more deleterious results than the use of the product the government is trying to stamp out. Clearly, our politicians haven’t learnt this lesson.

The moral of the story is quite simple: Stop interfering in the marketplace and stop interfering in the lives of the people. Let the people decide what they wish to do for enjoyment. Moreover, one shouldn’t be surprised that children are attracted to vaping when they are available in so many attractive flavours such as apricot, peach, blackcurrant, orange, etc. Make them taste of tobacco and most chidren will run far, far away from them! – © Mark Alexander

Mistrust in Mainstream Media? Radical! - UK Government Website Claims

The British government has launched a new website aimed at battling what it calls "the spell of twisted ideologies". On the site, parents and teachers can find advice on how to identify signs of radicalization in youths.

Human Rights Watch: 'Bahrain Children Beaten & Tortured' for Taking Part in Protests

Human rights watch claims there is evidence that Bahraini security forces routinely detain and abuse children suspected of participating in anti-government protests. That's according to a report, published today. Here we have a quote 'Information recently obtained from victims, family members, and local rights activists suggests that Bahraini authorities often hold children for long periods in detention and subject them to similar forms of mistreatment as adult detainees, including beatings and threats of torture.' Nicholas McGeehan, one of the authors of this press release, told RT some of the alarming details.

Rochdale Grooming Case: Trevor Phillips Insists Race Relevant
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Claims that ethnicity was not a factor in the Rochdale sexual grooming case are "fatuous", the head of the equalities watchdog said today.

Trevor Phillips, the chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said the fact that the men convicted were Asian and their victims white could not be ignored.

He expressed concern that the men came from closed communities which may have turned a blind eye to what was happening - either out of fear or because the girls concerned were from a different community.

And he said it would be a national scandal if it turned out the authorities had failed to intervene to protect the children because of fears that it would lead to the "demonisation" of the Asian community.

A gang of nine Asian men was last week found guilty of plying girls as young as 13 with drink and drugs so they could "pass them around" and use them for sex.

Following the trial at Liverpool Crown Court, Greater Manchester Police sought to play down suggestions of any racial element to the case. » | Sunday, May 13, 2012

Related »

Archbishop of Canterbury: Children Should Be Taught The Lord's Prayer
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Children are now half as likely to know the text of the Lord's Prayer than they were 40 years ago, according to a survey.

The study, which compared the answers of children aged 6-12 years old and adults who would have been that age 40 years ago, found that children today are less familiar with religious texts than their parents.

However, they are twice as likely to say that religion is important to them compared with those growing up in the 1970s.

Of the 1011 adults surveyed, 931 out of 1011 (92 per cent) said they knew the Lord’s Prayer as a child, while only 571 out of 1040 (55 per cent) of children knew it today.

The Archbishop of Canterbury told the BBC he believed that children should be taught the Lord's Prayer in schools and is worried by news that half as many children know the prayer.

Dr Rowan Williams said: "I'd like to see schools introducing children to the Lord's Prayer, so that they know that it's there, they know what it means and know why it matters. » | Josie Ensor | Saturday, March 31, 2012

EU: Children to Be Banned from Blowing Up Balloons, under EU Safety Rules
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Children are to be banned from taking part in traditional Christmas games, from blowing up balloons to blowing on party whistles, because of new EU safety rules that have just entered into force.

The EU toy safety directive, agreed and implemented by Government, states that balloons must not be blown up by unsupervised children under the age of eight, in case they accidentally swallow them and choke.

Despite having been popular favourites for generations of children, party games including whistles and magnetic fishing games are to be banned because their small parts or chemicals used in making them are decreed to be too risky.

Apparently harmless toys that children have enjoyed for decades are now regarded by EU regulators as posing an unacceptable safety risk.

Whistle blowers, that scroll out into a a long coloured paper tongue when sounded – a party favourite at family Christmas meals – are now classed as unsafe for all children under 14.

The new rules are designed to protect children from the chance that a piece of the whistle could be swallowed and cause choking. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Sunday, October 09, 2011

Christmas Removed from Thomas the Tank Engine to Be Politically Correct
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The daughter of the clergyman author who created Thomas the Tank Engine has criticised television producers for writing Christmas out of a new series.

Hilary Fortnam said that her father, the Rev W Awdry, would have been distressed after executives decided to omit religious references from one his adventures.

The Rev Awdry was himself the son of a Hampshire vicar and brought his three children up in the traditions of the Church of England.

His relatives have now protested after the television company which is recording new adventures for the little blue engine rebranded Christmas as "the holidays" in its latest storyline, to comply with “politically correct” thinking.

“He would feel very strongly about this politically correct age and that those who now write his stories should not have taken Christ out of Christmas. Political correctness against Christian beliefs offends,” Mrs Fortnam said in a letter to the Daily Telegraph.

She explained that her father, who worked as a vicar for nearly 30 years, “always impressed on reporters and publishers that he ‘was a priest first and a children’s author second.’” » | Duncan Gardham | Monday, October 10, 2011

The Displaced Children of Libya
Amid the military battles and the diplomatic wrangling, there are the children of the displaced.



Many evacuees fleeing the fighting along Libya's coast have been left without access to all the medical facilites and support they desperately need. The children may not grasp the geopolitics of the situation - but they do want to go home.



Al Jazeera's Sue Turton, reporting from Ajdabiya, has more on the story of Libya's displaced children.

Iran 'Using Child Soldiers' to Suppress Tehran Protests
THE OBSERVER: Armed children as young as 14 are said to have been deployed alongside riot police

Iran's Islamic regime is using "child soldiers" to suppress anti-government demonstrations, a tactic that could breach international law forbidding the use of underage combatants, human rights activists have told the Observer.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran says troops aged between 14 and 16 have been armed with batons, clubs and air guns and ordered to attack demonstrators who have tried to gather in Tehran. The youths – apparently recruited from rural areas – are being deployed in regular riot police roles and comprise up to one-third of the total force, according to witnesses.

One middle-aged woman, who said she was attacked by the youths, reported that some were as young as 12 and were possibly prepubescent. They had rural accents, which indicated they had been brought in from villages far from Tehran, she said.

Some told her they had been attracted by the promise of chelo kebab dinners, one of Iran's national dishes.

"It's really a violation of international law. It's no different than child soldiers, which is the custom in many zones of conflict," said Hadi Ghaemi, the campaign's executive director. "They are being recruited into being part of the conflict and armed for it."

The UN convention on the rights of the child requires states to take "all feasible measures to ensure that persons who have not attained the age of 15 years do not take a direct part in hostilities". >>> Robert Tait | Sunday, March 13, 2011

German Politician Says Gays Should Not Be Allowed to Bring Up Children
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A leading German politician has declared that homosexuals should not be allowed to bring up children.

Volker Kauder, the parliamentary leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, said the question of children's wellbeing should come before the wishes of adults wanting to become parents.

"This has to be accepted, even if it's difficult for those affected," said Mr Kauder told the Berliner Zeitung. "I don't think children wish to be raised by homosexual couples."

In Germany, homosexuals can legally adopt the children of their partners, but adopting an unrelated child as a couple is against the law. [Source: The Daily Telegraph] Allan Hall in Berlin | Monday, December 20, 2010

The rise of fundamentalism: An increasing number of children go to madrassas. Photograph: Mail Online
”Eye-watering amounts of Saudi money goes into promoting Wahhabism. They fund mosques, religious-schools, imams, conferences and trips to Saudi Arabia. They are our wealthy allies and so are never questioned or stopped.” – Yasmin Alibhai Brown

The Talibanisation of British Childhood by Hardline Parents
MAIL ONLINE: Last November, on the steps of Tate Britain, I witnessed a scene that troubles me still.

A furious Asian father was shaking his young son and tearing up the picture his child had drawn.

The boy kicked and cried. Recognising my face from TV appearances I had made as a commentator on current affairs, the father came across to say 'hello'.

So I asked him what his child had done that had made him so angry. He explained that according to his Islamic mentors, drawing pictures of people was forbidden.

I was flabbergasted. After all, this was in the middle of Britain's multi-cultural capital - a modern metropolis, not some dusty backstreet in Kabul.

What harm can there be in a picture?

So I asked the man if he owned a camera. 'Yes,' he replied. 'And a video camera.'

So why, I asked, was it acceptable for him to take pictures, but not for his child to draw a stick figure?

'The madrasa teacher told me children are not allowed to,' he said, referring to the places of religious instruction for Muslim children, which are the equivalent of Sunday schools for Christians.

'I am not an educated man, so I must listen to them.'

You might think this encounter was a case of an ill-educated parent misinterpreting the teachings of his elders.

Alas, in the past year I have come to realise his attitude towards his child is far from unique.

Such fundamentalist beliefs about parenthood are not uncommon. In private, teachers, lecturers, community, youth and social workers have told me many more such stories of the suppression of simple childhood pleasures in the name of Islam.

An investigation by the BBC revealed one London school where more than 20 Muslim pupils had been removed from music lessons because their parents felt such teaching to be anti-Islamic.

Another one-off? No, the Muslim Council of Britain confirmed that music lessons are likely to be 'unacceptable' to 10 per cent of Muslims.

What should be a simple pleasure is instead seen by thousands of families as a symbol of moral decadence. >>> Yasmin Alibhai-Brown | Thursday, August 05, 2010

Palestinian Martyrdom Video Aimed at Children, Says US Watchdog Group
THE TIMES: Without the subtitles, the song could almost be a sentimental tune for kids that is fast spreading round the world on YouTube. With its lyrics translated, it reveals itself as something far more sinister - an ode to martyrdom from the mouths of pre-school children.

“When we seek martyrdom, we go to heaven,” sings a pretty dark-haired little girl.

“Don’t say we are young, this way of life has turned us into grown-ups. Without Palestine, what does childhood mean?”

According to the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), an American organisation that tracks Islamic extremist websites and networks, the video is spreading like wildfire, with variations of the ditty scoring millions of hits in the Muslim world, and starting to spread to Britain and North America.

The IPT said that the clip was the work of a Jordan-based film company called Birds of Paradise, whose high-standard production marks “a new wave of jihadist youth indoctrination”.

The catchy tune appears designed to appeal to children and grown-ups alike, with a message of dying for Palestine. Read on and comment >>> James Hider, Middle East Correspondent | Friday, June 25, 2010

The Sick Indoctrination of Innocent Children: لما نستشهد بنروح الجنة


The Investigative Project on Terrorism: "Birds of Paradise" – Martyrdom Recruitment as Children's Entertainment >>>

No Birthday Cake for Kids in This Nanny State
THE TELEGRAPH: A string of nurseries have banned children from having sweets or cake to celebrate birthdays under a new healthy eating initiative.

The "Pre-School Nutrition Project", which was set up by Knowsley Borough Council and Chester University, sets out strict rules for nurseries which critics claimed risk "spoiling childhood".

Sweets and cakes brought in for children's birthdays cannot be eaten in the nursery, but must be handed to parents at the end of the day. Nurseries ban children from having birthday cake >>> | Monday, May 10, 2010

Naughty Brits Still Smack Their Children. Not Good Enough, Says Europe
THE TELEGRAPH: Britain is one of the few countries in the world not to have completely banned smacking, European Union leaders say, as they called for a change in the law.

The British government’s “unwelcome” intrusion into family affairs was to blame for the delay in the complete ban of the practice, the Council of Europe warned.

The Council, a body which monitors compliance with the European convention on Human rights, also blamed traditional parenting practices that were based on “authority”.

The comments come ahead of a debate in Strasbourg on Tuesday where EU leaders and campaigners against the “corporal punishment of children” will criticise the UK government for not banning the practice completely.

Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, deputy secretary general of the Council of Europe, said on Monday that 20 countries had "formally abolished laws" against smacking since over the past three year.1998 ruling found it violated a child’s human rights.

"The UK is one of the countries that has not yet implemented a full ban," she said.

“In part, this is because the traditional parent-child relationship in the UK is one of authority [and] state intervention into family affairs is still not welcome.” Smacking ban delays caused by 'unwelcome government intrusion', Europe says >>> Andrew Hough | Monday, April 26, 2010

Leading Doctors Call for Ban on Smoking in Cars
TIMES ONLINE: Twenty of Britain’s most senior doctors call today for a ban on smoking in cars as part of a sweeping expansion of laws to protect children against the effects of inhaling smoke.

Writing in a letter to The Times, the doctors argue for more anti-smoking legislation to address the serious health problems caused by passive smoking.

The signatories, including 13 presidents of medical royal colleges, urge the Government to bring in laws prohibiting all smoking in vehicles and in public places visited by young people such as parks and playgrounds.

The letter recommends a comprehensive strategy to cut adult smoking and children’s smoke exposure outside and inside the home. About two million children are exposed to cigarette smoke at home, with a child twice as likely to take up the habit if a close family member smokes.

The doctors say that the national strategy must include tobacco price rises, media campaigns, more effective health warnings and better provision of smoking cessation services. Read on and comment >>> Sam Lister, Health Editor | Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Ban Smoking in Cars to Save Young Lives
TIMES ONLINE: Smoke-free legislation needs to be extended to include public places visited by children and young people, including cars

Sir, A new report launched today by the Royal College of Physicians, Passive Smoking and Children, confirms that passive smoking is a leading cause of death and disease in children. About two million children are currently exposed to cigarette smoke at home, and many more outside the home. In addition to the serious health risks of passive smoking, however, the report also points out the additional health risk to children posed by family smoking, which makes children about twice as likely to become smokers themselves.

These health hazards to children can be avoided entirely by acting to reduce the number of adults who smoke, particularly parents and care-givers, and to reduce still further the exposure of children to smoke and smoking, both in and outside the home. This will require a comprehensive strategy including tobacco price rises, mass media campaigns, more effective health warnings, prohibition of point of sale display, generic packaging and better provision of smoking cessation services.

Smoke-free legislation also needs to be extended much more widely, to include public places visited by children and young people, and including prohibition of all smoking in cars and other vehicles. The Chief Medical Officer, in his foreword to the report, says that we must keep up the momentum to continue to reduce the harm of tobacco use in our communities, and create a truly smoke-free future. As doctors, we agree, and call on governments to take the necessary actions to protect our children’s future. Read on and comment >>> | Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Excellent readers' comments:

@ Toby Donovan, "There is something deeply sinister in this inexorable extension of state powers. I left the country years ago and I'm glad I did - the UK is becoming the pettiest, creepiest sort of police state."

Yes, a sinister and creepy police state. I wish I had decided to retire to France when, after many years living in sane third world countries, I returned instead to the UK. I'm too old to leave again now. I made a bad mistake coming home to a country where a sinister, authoritarian regime employs officious jobsworths with no public mandate, to cast about constantly for ways of imposing their faddish obsessions upon the rest of us.

I smoke. But I am a gentleman, and I have never smoked and do not smoke close to children. This is called commonsense, and good manners, that condition of socialisation which is rare indeed in Britain, but ought not to be legislated upon us. I never gave these doctors ("leading doctors"? Are the rest just second-rate?) any mandate to abrogate my right to exercise good manners and common sense, but these sort of people and the Regime which backs them, seek constantly to deprive me of my right to exercise a gentleman's attributes of my own volition, for they would legislate away all choice and in so doing, place me at the same level as the most stupidly antisocial yob with several ASBOs to his name. – Robert Dewar [Source: Times Online] | Wednesday, March 24, 2010


Des médecins veulent interdire la cigarette au volant
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: GRANDE-BRETAGNE | Un organisme consultatif de médecins recommande d’interdire de fumer dans les voitures, soulignant les risques que pose le tabagisme passif chez les enfants.

Le Royal College of Physicians (RCP), un organisme représentant plus de 20.000 médecins et qui conseille le gouvernement, souligne que le tabagisme passif entraîne chaque année 300.000 consultations médicales d’enfants, pour un coût de plus de 23 millions de livres (26 millions d’euros).

Le rapport, intitulé "Le tabagisme passif et les enfants", estime que le phénomène provoque chaque année chez les enfants "plus de 20.000 infections pulmonaires", 120.000 maladies auriculaires et deux cents cas de méningite.

Quarante bébés décèdent chaque année de la mort subite du nourrisson en raison du tabagisme passif, ajoutent les médecins. >>> AFP | Mercredi 24 Mars 2010

Kiddoms!
Excuse me, but shouldn’t boys of twelve be playing with their friend Willy instead of playing with their own willy? – © Mark

MAIL ONLINE: Extra small condoms for boys as young as 12 are going on sale in Switzerland after a sexual health group campaign.

Called the Hotshot, the condom has been produced after government research showed 12 to 14-year-olds did not use sufficient protection when having sex.

The study, conducted on behalf of the Federal Commission for Children and Youth, interviewed 1,480 people aged between 10 and 20.

It found more 12 to 14-year-old were having sex, in comparison with the 1990s.

Nancy Bodmer, who led the research at the Centre for Development and Personality Psychology at Basel University, said: 'The result that shocked us concerned young boys who display apparently risky behaviour.

'They have more of a tendency not to protect themselves. They do not have a very developed sexual knowledge. Swiss government produces extra small condoms for boys as young as 12 >>> Alexandra Williams | Wesnesday, March 03, 2010

Children of the Holocaust

Jihadists Groom Children in the UK under 10
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Police have identified children as young as seven being groomed for terrorism, with some expressing a wish to become suicide bombers.

Up to 10 primary school pupils, aged between seven and 10, have been placed on a government outreach programme for individuals considered at risk of being radicalised and turning to violence.

Some have taken inspiration from jihadi websites or after viewing extremist material in Islamic bookshops.

One child was referred to the programme by his teacher after writing on a school book: “I want to be a suicide bomber.”

Other youngsters were identified by their parents after suddenly adopting traditional Muslim dress or espousing extremist views.

At least 228 people, mostly teenagers and young men aged 15-24, have been referred to the anti-terrorism Channel project after being singled out as “potentially vulnerable to violent extremism”. >>> Marie Woolf, Whitehall Editor | Sunday, January 10, 2010