Society's ChildS


Boat

Passengers: Power outages, overflowing toilets on another Carnival cruise ship

Ed Payne, and Josh Levs
CNN
Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:32 UTC
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Multiple passengers aboard the Carnival Dream have contacted CNN, telling stories of power outages and overflowing toilets.
A Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Dream became a nightmare for some passengers, a month after a fire crippled another Carnival ship in the Gulf of Mexico.

Several Dream passengers contacted CNN, telling stories of power outages and overflowing toilets, all while docked in port at Philipsburg, St. Maarten, in the eastern Caribbean.

The reports came just two days after Carnival Cruise Lines announced it was conducting "a comprehensive review" of all its 23 ships.

Carnival acknowledges 'periodic interruptions'

"We are not allowed off of the boat despite the fact that we have no way to use the restrooms on board," Jonathan Evans of Reidsville, North Carolina, said in an e-mail early Thursday. "The cruise director is giving passengers very limited information and tons of empty promises. What was supposed to take an hour has turned into 7-plus hours."

U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss told CNN, "We have spoken to the captain and right now, the decision has been made to have the passengers remain aboard the ship for accountability purposes. The last thing we want to do is have someone get left behind in St. Maarten by accident."
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Bizarro Earth

Lawsuit claims a two-year-old ate a used condom at McDonald's


CBS Chicago
Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:27 UTC
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© AP
A diner at a Gage Park neighborhood McDonald's is suing the fast food giant, claiming her young child ate a used condom he found in the restaurant's play area.

Anishi Spencer filed the suit Wednesday in Cook County Circuit Court on behalf of herself and her young sons, Jacquel and Jonathan Hines.

Jonathan, then 3, and Jacquel, 2, were visiting the restaurant at 5733 S. Kezie Ave. on Feb. 4, 2012, when they allegedly found the used condom on the play area floor, Spencer claims in the suit.

The mother claims Jacquel later coughed up a piece of the condom, the suit says. Both toddlers had to receive medical treatment because of the incident.
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Sheriff

16-year-old killed by NYPD was shot three times in back, four in front

J. David Goodman
NY Times
Wed, 13 Mar 2013 09:47 UTC
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The 16-year-old boy who was killed in Brooklyn by the police in a hail of 11 bullets on Saturday night was hit by seven of them, three entering his body from the rear, the authorities said on Wednesday.

The report from the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner did not specify which of the seven bullets caused the death of the teenager, Kimani Gray; that determination awaits further investigation.

One bullet entered his left shoulder in the rear, exiting in the front; two other bullets struck the back of his thighs, one in the left thigh and one in the right. Two bullets struck from the front, hitting his right thigh; one bullet entered his left side, striking his lower rib cage; and the last bullet hit his left lower forearm.

The police said that two plainclothes officers fired at Mr. Gray after he pulled a .38-caliber revolver and pointed it at them; the officers then fired 11 shots, killing him. Mr. Gray's revolver had four bullets in its chambers, the police said.
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Bizarro Earth

Fireball in Gulf of Mexico as tug collides with pipeline


Upstream
Thu, 14 Mar 2013 06:29 UTC
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© AFP/Scanpix
A fireball bursting from the ocean's surface continued to burn on Wednesday after a tug and barge hit a gas pipeline owned by Chevron south of New Orleans on Tuesday evening.

The fire had been reduced by about 30% by Wednesday afternoon and there were no reports of oil in the water, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

"Visual imagery initially indicated potential pockets of crude oil," the statement said. "However, those areas have been determined to be particulate ash from" the liquid petroleum gas (LPG) burn off.

"The fire will diminish as the product diminishes," it added.

The pipeline was shut shortly after the collision at around 18:00 local time Tuesday evening near Bayou Perot 30 miles south of New Orleans.

Chevron said the line connects a gas plant in Venice, Louisiana, with a pump station in Paradis, according to a Reuters report.
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Briefcase

Is your boss a possible psychopath?

Ben Schiller
Co.Exist
Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:53 UTC
psychopath office politics

Winners at office politics tend to be psychopathic--as well as narcissistic and Machiavellian. These "triads" fly up the corporate ladder, but there are ways to minimize their effect on your success and happiness.

It's estimated that 3 million Americans are psychopathic--meaning they display callous or non-empathetic tendencies; that, perhaps one in 10 on Wall Street are; and it's even suggested that a touch of psychopathy may be necessary to reach the top.

Psychopaths are also likely to be narcissistic (self-loving) or to have a Machiavellian streak (detachment, liking for games-playing). These days, more and more people are "triadic," says British psychologist Oliver James--meaning the people in your office have all three disorders at the same time.

The perception of what you've contributed becomes as important as what you've actually done.

James blames the changing nature of work. In the past, jobs were straightforward: you made stuff, and you were compensated accordingly. Now, in many service industries (PR, finance, TV) it is hard to say who should take credit. Triads thrive with such ambiguity, mastering how to accentuate their part in the positive, while downplaying their negatives.

"The perception of what you've contributed becomes as important as what you've actually done," James says. "Whether you get promoted and how much you get paid depends largely on the subjective valuation of your boss. That means that office politics becomes more important. Making your boss like you, and encouraging them to believe you are doing a good job, is as important as actually doing a good job."

Comment: The book Snakes in Suits by Babiak and Hare is highly recommended reading on this subject. The only defense we have is to educate ourselves as much as possible about this intra-species predator in our midst.

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Wall Street

Senator Warren slams Republicans: Worry less about helping big banks and more about helping ordinary consumers

Eric W. Dolan
The Raw Story
Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:37 UTC
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Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts slammed Republicans on Tuesday for holding up the confirmation of Richard Cordray to be director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

At a Senate Banking Committee hearing, the progressive senator suggested Republicans were using false arguments to fight the nomination of Cordray. Warren, who was a key figure in setting up the relatively new agency, questioned why Republicans believed it was wrong for the CFPB to have a single director, but was acceptable in the case of numerous other agencies like the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

"I see nothing here but a filibuster threat against Director Cordray as an attempt to weaken the consumer agency," Warren said. "I think the delay in getting him confirmed is bad for consumers, it's bad for small banks, bad for credit unions, for anyone trying to offer an honest product in an honest market."

"The American people deserve a Congress that worries less about helping big banks, and more about helping regular people who have been cheated on mortgages, on credit cards, on student loans and on credit reports," she added.
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Dollars

Policeman arrested for printing counterfeit currency

Stephen C. Webster
The Raw Story
Wed, 13 Mar 2013 09:51 UTC
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Anthony A. Rivera
Former Santa Fe police officer Anthony Rivera and brother Dominic were arrested Sunday and charged with overseeing the production of fake $100 bills, created using $20′s that were stripped of their color using paint thinner.

The two men, 44 and 34 respectively, were arrested along with 20-year-old Tyler Ament and accused of creating more than $1,200 in counterfeit currency in recent months, The Santa Fe New Mexican reported Tuesday.

Police broke the case last week after Ament tried to use one of the bills at a gas station and a clerk turned him away. Ament returned to the gas station for cigarettes after buying jeans at a local Kohls and officers were waiting for him.
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Bad Guys

Florida Lt. Governor resigns over ties to Internet sweepstakes cafes under investigation for illegal gambling

Tia Mitchell
Miami Herald
Wed, 13 Mar 2013 00:00 UTC
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© Chris O'Meara / AP In this Jan. 11, 2012 file photo, Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll speaks during Florida Space Center day at the Florida House of Representatives in Tallahassee, Fla. Carroll resigned in the wake of a federal gambling racketeering case.
Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll abruptly resigned Tuesday after law enforcement officials questioned her about ties to a purported veterans charity organization at the center of a $300 million multi-state racketeering investigation.

Florida law enforcement officials would not say if Carroll, 53, is facing possible criminal charges in connection with the case. Gov. Rick Scott also would not comment. Scott said he would not name Carroll's replacement until the end of the annual legislative session in May.

"She resigned, and she did the right thing for her state and for her family," Scott said.

At issue is Carroll's connections to Allied Veterans of the World, a Florida nonprofit that operates a chain of Internet sweepstakes cafes as a pseudo-charity. Nearly 60 people associated with the company were arrested this week on various charges, including illegal gambling, racketeering and money laundering.

Carroll owned a public relations firm that represented Allied Veterans, and as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, did work for the company. She later filmed an advertisement promoting Allied Veterans while serving as lieutenant governor.
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Bulb

Fake fingers to fool the boss at Brazil hospital


Agence France-Presse
Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:49 UTC
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© AFP PhotoA biometric scanner. Five doctors at a Brazilian hospital have been suspended after they were accused of covering for absentee colleagues by using fake silicone fingers with their prints to fool biometric machines.
Five doctors at a Brazilian hospital have been suspended after they were accused of covering for absentee colleagues by using fake silicone fingers with their prints to fool biometric machines.

Globo television showed footage of a doctor touching her finger to the device, then using two fake digits to do the same for colleagues, and taking delivery of slips of paper indicating they had in fact clocked in to work.

That way it looked like there were doctors on duty when there was just one.
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Ambulance

Harlem mother dies and her 10-month-old son is badly injured after they fall eight stories out of apartment building

Rocco Parascandola, Joe Kemp, and Vera Chinese
NY Daily News
Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:33 UTC
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© ANDREW SAVULICH/NEW YORK DAILY NEWSA 44-year-old woman and her 10-month-old son plummeted eight stories from a Harlem building near W. 147th St.
Sources say mother may have grabbed her child and jumped out a window; police are still investigating.

A 10-month-old child survived an eight-story fall Wednesday when his mother grabbed the boy and leaped out of the window of her Harlem home, sources said.

The unidentified 44-year-old woman tried to kill herself and her child by jumping from the window of her Bradhurst Ave. home near W. 147th St. hours after her husband stormed out of the apartment during a "loud argument," sources said.

The baby managed to survive the deadly fall because his mother held him against her chest and her back hit the ground first, shielding him, sources said.

Her husband was seen on surveillance video leaving upscale co-op almost three hours before she took the 3:30 p.m. plunge, sources said.

"I heard a small scream when she was in the air," said witness Steven Dominguez, 18. "I noticed something falling, but I didn't want to believe it was a person."

Dominguez, who teared up as he spoke, said the landing made a horrifying sound.

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© ANDREW SAVULICH/NEW YORK DAILY NEWSNeighbor Christian Johnson said he heard the woman and her husband yelling at each other, but didn’t think it was anything more than a typical squabble until he saw the woman dead.
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