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Report from leading think tank: Millions of UK families on brink of poverty


RT
Wed, 15 Feb 2017 12:47 UTC
Poverty in the UK
© Eddie Keogh / Reuters
Rising prices and stagnating incomes have left millions of British families on the very brink of poverty, a report from a leading think-tank has warned.

According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), between 2014 and 2015 up to 19 million people were living below the Minimum Living Standard (MLS) - up by four million since the financial crisis back in 2008.

The MLS figure corresponds to what the public thinks is a fair amount of money for a decent living.

Chief executive of the JRF, Campbell Robb, said: "This could be a very difficult time for just-managing families as rising inflation begins to bite into finely-balanced budgets.

"The high cost of living has already helped push four million more people below an adequate income, and if the cost of essentials such as food, energy and housing rise further, we need to take action to ease the strain," he said.

Comment: Austerity: That wonderful neoliberal gift that guarantees that the most disadvantaged of a given society suffer for the pathological contrivances, manipulations and greed of the elite.

But the world is catching on to the scam.

See also:

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Passport

Complaint filed by 23yo DACA recipient 'unlawfully detained' by ICE


RT
Wed, 15 Feb 2017 13:52 UTC
us deportation protests DACA
© Stephanie Keith / Reuters
Despite having no criminal record and working papers, a 23-year-old "dreamer" protected under Obama's DACA immigration order has been detained by immigration enforcement agents.

Daniel Ramirez Medina was arrested on Friday after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents came to his father's house. It is not known why they were seeking to arrest his father, but Ramirez was arrested as well despite having working papers through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

His arrest is the first involving recipients of DACA.

Ramirez's status within the DACA program was renewed, meaning his status was reviewed and disclosed to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) twice.

On Monday, Ramirez petitioned the Western District of Washington courts. His claim said that "despite DHS having twice determined that Mr. Ramirez poses no threat to national security or public safety, he was taken into custody and is being unlawfully detained by ICE."

His petition, obtained by The Stranger, notes that DHS maintains a toll-free "Law Enforcement Support Center Hotline" for DACA holders who believe they have been unlawfully arrested. Ramirez's attorney contacted the hotline but was told they could not help.

Comment: More on the DACA program:

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Sherlock

Massachusetts man pleads guilty to threatening to burn down mosque


RT
Wed, 15 Feb 2017 13:18 UTC
Facebook social media cell phone twitter
© Dado Ruvic / Reuters
A convicted Massachusetts felon has pleaded guilty to threatening to burn down a Boston mosque during an alcohol-fueled social media spree. The threat was made a day after the 2015 terrorist attack in Paris that left 130 people dead and 360 injured.

Appearing in a prison jumpsuit in a Boston federal court on Tuesday, Patrick Keogan pleaded guilty to charges that include the arson threat, owing firearms despite a prior felony conviction, and child pornography.

The 44-year-old electrician was arrested in July and charged for posting an image of a burning mosque on the Facebook page of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center. Superimposed over the image were the words, "Burn your local mosque," and "hello scumbags."

Comment: Further reading: Hystericizing Westerners against Muslims: 'Mass sex assaults by refugees' in Frankfurt on New Year's Eve... never happened
Reports of mass sexual assaults on women in Frankfurt on New Year's Eve allegedly committed by dozens of drunken refugees, and which initially appeared in Germany'sBild newspaper, were made up and are "completely baseless," police said.

The story about mass sexual assaults by refugees in the Fressgass Street area in downtown Frankfurt was reported by Bild earlier in February. The article has since been taken down.


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Robot

Nevada senator introduces bill outlawing forced microchipping of people

Sandra Chereb
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Mon, 13 Feb 2017 16:14 UTC
Microchip
© ThinkStock
Tag microchips used for tracking and identification.
State Sen. Becky Harris said a bill to prohibit forced microchipping of people is not as far-fetched as it might seem, because it happens in some places around the world.

Senate Bill 109 would make it a Class C felony to require someone to be implanted with a radio frequency identifier, such as microchips placed in pets.

The idea for the bill came from a constituent, the Las Vegas Republican said. "As I began to look into the issue, I was surprised with the merit that I believe the issue warrants," Harris told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday.

She said sales of radio frequency identifiers are escalating around the world, and a company in Australia as of June 2016 sold more than 10,000 implantable chips with do-it-yourself kits. "Each kit costs about $100 and includes a tag and an injection tool," Harris said.

The Wall Street Journal has reported an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 chips have been sold globally, she said.Harris said the technology is used by companies in Belgium and Sweden to identify employees "It's done under the idea to unlock doors or use copy machines or maybe pay for lunch, you could use your hand," she said.

Besides privacy concerns, Harris said the concept raises ethical questions, such as who owns the chip or the information contained on it, and how does someone get "de-chipped" if they are no longer employed by the company that required it. She also wondered if a chip could be hacked to harass or stalk someone.
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Fire

Explosion rips through coal mine in central China leaving nine dead

Sadie Whitelocks
Daily Mail (UK)
Tue, 14 Feb 2017 13:16 UTC
Zoubao mine explosion
© Alamy Live News
The deadly blast occurred at about 1:30am on Tuesday at the Zoubao coal mine in the southern Hunan province
Nine people have been killed and another three injured in a massive coal mine explosion in China.

The deadly blast occurred at about 1:30am on Tuesday at the Zoubao coal mine in the southern Hunan province.

According to People's Daily, 29 people were working underground when the eruption took place, with more than a dozen managing to escape the incident unscathed.

The injured miners are currently being treated in hospital and are described as stable.

China's national safety regulator, the State Administration of Work Safety, did not immediately identify the cause of the blast, but said the site was considered a 'high gas mine.'

Gas explosions inside mines are often caused when a flame or electrical spark ignites gas leaking from the coal seam.
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Sheriff

NYPD Cops taser pregnant teen as punishment for non-compliance

Jay Syrmopoulos
The Free Thought Project
Tue, 14 Feb 2017 00:26 UTC
Dailene Rosario, cops taser

Dailene Rosario, age 17, was snatched by police after she refused to let them into her home without a warrant.
In an extremely disturbing video, an NYPD officer can be seen traumatizing a pregnant teen by shocking her with a stun gun. The teen was accused of resisting arrest on Friday night after she refused to let officers enter her apartment without a warrant.

The video evidence clearly shows teenager, Dailene Rosario, 17, who is 14-weeks pregnant, being swarmed by nearly a dozen officers before being taken to the ground with the stun gun.

Rosario says that she informed officers that she was pregnant prior to them electrocuting her and her baby with 50,000 volts.

"I was resisting them because I didn't do anything wrong," Rosario told New 12.

According to Rosario's family police were in their building handling a separate issue on Friday night, but came to the family's dwelling after Rosario's boyfriend got into an altercation with her sister's boyfriend while playing a video game.

When officers came to the residence, Rosario's boyfriend was no longer there and Rosario was inside her home engaging in an argument with her sister's boyfriend regarding the incident. When police attempted to enter the residence, the sisters refused and told them they would need a warrant to enter the home. Police then called for backup. At this point Rosario attempted to "get a breath of fresh air," but police intervened and grabbed her.

Comment: Hopefully she'll get some sort of justice. Police are out of control.

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Handcuffs

Feds arrest 680+ undocumented migrants in a series of raids across multiple US states


RT
Tue, 14 Feb 2017 20:58 UTC
US ICE officers
© ICE / AFP
US ICE officers detaining a suspect during an enforcement operation on February 7, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.
More than 680 undocumented migrants have been arrested in a series of raids across multiple US states, with the authorities saying that 75 percent of them had prior convictions. Activists are handing out flyers urging the migrants to "know their rights."

Secretary John Kelly said in a statement on Monday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, San Antonio and New York City were responsible for arrests of "individuals who posed a threat to public safety, border security or the integrity of our nation's immigration system."

ICE said those arrested were being sought for offenses "including but not limited to, homicide, aggravated sexual abuse, sexual assault of a minor, lewd and lascivious acts with a child, indecent liberties with a minor, drug trafficking, battery, assault, DUI and weapons charges."
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Newspaper

Pedro Hernandez found guilty of kidnapping and killing Etan Patz in 1979

Rick Rojas
New York Times
Tue, 14 Feb 2017 21:26 UTC
Pedro Hernandez
© Credit Pool photo by Louis Lanzano
Pedro Hernandez, a clerk in a Manhattan bodega, had confessed to luring the 6-year-old Etan Patz into the store’s basement and attacking him in 1979.
Pedro Hernandez, a former stock clerk in a Manhattan bodega who confessed to luring the 6-year-old Etan Patz into the store's basement and attacking him, was found guilty on Tuesday of murder and kidnapping, a long-awaited step toward solving the nearly 40-year mystery that bedeviled investigators and forever changed the way parents watched over their children.

A jury in State Supreme Court found Mr. Hernandez guilty on the ninth day of deliberations and after two lengthy trials that brought new attention to Etan's disappearance on May 25, 1979, as he walked to his school bus stop alone for the first time.

Comment:

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Attention

Oroville Spillway disaster: Why you should never wait for an official evacuation order

Daisy Luther
The Organic Prepper
Mon, 13 Feb 2017 18:45 UTC
Oroville spillway
The state has basically gotten all the rain it missed over the past years at once, as three storms called "atmospheric rivers" have unleashed torrential rains that have lasted for days. Another huge rain storm is expected later this week and crews are working frantically around the clock to fix the spillway before more rain falls. This photo shows the damage to the spillway.

But the real lesson here isn't the faulty infrastructure or the mismanagement of funds.

It is the deception of the public and the way that officials will go to great lengths to cover their butts - even if that means giving a warning to the public that could be too late. This isn't the first time that the government has completely failed in an emergency response to an imminent disaster, and it won't be the last.

Officials waited until they believed that the disaster was only 60 minutes away to evacuate nearly 200,000 people.
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Cut

Cosmetology student under investigation for giving free haircuts to the homeless

Josie Wales
The Anti Media
Tue, 14 Feb 2017 18:33 UTC
Juan Carlos Montesdeoca
© Facebook
Juan Carlos Montesdeoca giving a haircut.
An Arizona cosmetology student is currently being investigated for giving free haircuts to the homeless. Juan Carlos Montesdeoca has been giving away free haircuts to homeless individuals at Santa Rita park in Tucson and recently organized an event called Haircuts for the Homeless at a local library, during which he offered free haircuts and manicures to the homeless people of Tucson.

Montesdeoca has been homeless in the past and wanted to do his part to help the community in any way he could. The cosmetology student says he was inspired to offer his services after he helped cut hair for a woman with cancer. "I started this as an act of kindness for a mom I met on Tucson Angels Facebook group," he says. He also does it in memory of his mother, who lost her hair.

He decided to take his talents to the streets when his Regency Beauty school shut down last September, but he was shocked when he found out he was being investigated by the Arizona State Board of Cosmetology for practicing without a license. "They can suspend - even before I even try to get a license, they can say no. That would be very very unfortunate," he says.
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