Society's Child

Protesters unite across the US to demand higher wages, end police brutality on MLK Day

RT
Mon, 18 Jan 2016 23:42 UTC

© Michael B. Thomas / AFP
Supporters and community leaders hold a march outside the Old Courthouse on Martin Luther King Day, January 18, 2016 in St. Louis, Missouri

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day has brought activists from many stripes into the streets. Airport workers in nine cities planned to block traffic and demanded a $15 minimum wage, while demonstrators protesting police brutality marched elsewhere.

In their latest push for a $15 minimum wage, airport workers took a page out of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s notebook by engaging in acts of civil disobedience on Monday. Fuelers, baggage handlers and other workers will risk arrest at nine airports across the US.

Workers at Boston's Logan International Airport demonstrated on the roads and in terminals in their bid for a increased wages and union organizing rights.

Four men booted off flight for 'looking too Muslim'; lawsuit filed

Christina Carrega-Woodby
Daily News
Mon, 18 Jan 2016 22:03 UTC

© Aaron Showalter/NY Daily News
The four men were among six longtime pals who spent several days in Toronto this December.

A flight attendant kicked four Brooklyn men off a recent Toronto-to-New York flight for looking too Muslim — claiming their appearance made the captain uneasy, a new $9 million federal lawsuit alleges.

The four fliers from Brighton Beach were among six longtime pals who spent several days in Toronto this December.

They had originally booked different flights home, but later decided to return on the same 2 p.m. American Airlines flight.

Two of the pals, Shan Anand and Faimul Alam, paid $75 to switch to the flight that two others — who are comfortable being identified only by their initials, W.H. and M.K. — had already booked.

Comment: With anti-Muslim hysteria ramping up to epic levels this case is not the first and, most certainly, won't be the last.

German Police arrest Algerian as first suspect in Cologne sexual assaults

Sputnik
Mon, 18 Jan 2016 21:42 UTC

First suspect linked to a chain of sexual assaults committed in the German city of Cologne was arrested by local law enforcement, the Cologne public prosecutor said Monday.

On New Year's Eve, hundreds of women in Cologne were robbed and sexually assaulted by groups of aggressive men, believed to be mostly of Arab and North African origin.

According to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, a 26-year-old Algerian is the first among 21 suspects under corresponding investigation to be arrested for a sexual offense.

Guitar Center orders employees to sign arbitration agreements or be fired

Dave Jamieson
HuffingtonPost
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 18:52 UTC

Employees of the music equipment retailer Guitar Center have been told they must sign mandatory arbitration agreements or they will lose their jobs.

The agreement, a copy of which was obtained by The Huffington Post, forces employees to relinquish their rights to sue the company in class action lawsuits over wage violations, workplace discrimination and unjust firings, among other disputes.

Sean Lynch, a sales employee at the company's Las Vegas store, said he and his colleagues were told they must sign the agreement by end of day Friday or they forfeit their jobs.

Comment: What they should all do is band together and file a class action lawsuit against Guitar Center for losing their jobs for refusing to sign a form prohibiting them from filing class action lawsuits - that'll show 'em. "Oh, if we sign this we're not allowed to sue you? How about we just don't sign it and collectively sue you?"

Not sure if that'll actually work, but it would be worth a shot. In the meantime, musicians should also band together and boycott Guitar Center if this new policy isn't changed. We should take our business elsewhere. Considering that the company is already facing bankruptcy, that will hit them where it hurts.

The high cost of transparency: NYPD charges $36,000 for body camera footage

John Vibes
The Free Thought Project
Mon, 18 Jan 2016 18:49 UTC

In the wake of growing controversy surrounding police violence, more police departments are equipping their officers with body cameras. However, while police-worn body cameras can bring extra evidence into cases on both sides, they are far from a fix for police brutality. The main obstacle with these cameras is the fact that the footage is still entirely controlled by police departments.

The officer in the field has an opportunity to turn the camera on and off at their discretion. The cops in the office then have a second opportunity to edit the footage or redact parts that might make the officer look bad or incriminate them. Additionally, police departments are often guilty of withholding body camera footage from victim's families and news organizations.

In one recent case, the NYPD charged a TV news network $36,000 for body camera footage, stating that it would cost them that much to prepare the footage for the network. The network is now suing the police department, stating that the high price undermines the transparency that body cameras have been promised to bring. Charging obnoxious prices for the release of body camera footage is just another trick that the police use to keep their activities from going public.

One killed, three injured in chemical plant explosion in Texas

St. John Barned-Smith
Houston Chronicle
Sat, 16 Jan 2016 17:55 UTC

Three injured in blast during 'routine function' at facility on Bay Area Blvd.

Russell Sage heard a loud boom and felt blast waves shake his truck as he sat parked across the street from the PeroxyChem plant in Pasadena Saturday afternoon.

"All of a sudden, the truck vibrated and you could hear it," said Sage, 34, who was on call at a facility about 800 yards from the plant. "You could feel it in your chest."

Moments later, Sage saw police, paramedics and other emergency personnel rush into the plant in the 12000 block of Bay Area Boulevard. Two ambulances later left, one with lights blaring and the other silent.

PeroxyChem officials and police confirmed that one person was killed and three others injured during an explosion at 12:45 p.m. at a tank holding an oil-based cleaning solution, according to Vance Mitchell, with the Pasadena Police Department.

David Brannon, with the Pasadena Fire Marshal's Office, said the explosion was caused by an over-pressurized tank. Harris County Haz-Mat and Channel Industries Mutual Aid also responded to the accident, he said.

Comment: Several days ago four workers were critically injured in a Dow Chemical plant explosion in Massachusetts.

Middle East stocks crash as the global financial apocalypse accelerates

Michael Snyder
The Economic Collapse
Mon, 18 Jan 2016 17:37 UTC

It looks like it is going to be another chaotic week for global financial markets. On Sunday, news that Iran plans to dramatically ramp up oil production sent stocks plunging all across the Middle East. Stocks in Kuwait were down 3.1 percent, stocks in Saudi Arabia plummeted 5.4 percent, and stocks in Qatar experienced a mammoth 7 percent decline. And of course all of this comes in the context of a much larger long-term decline for Middle Eastern stocks. At this point, Saudi Arabian stocks are down more than 50 percent from their 2014 highs. Needless to say, a lot of very wealthy people in Saudi Arabia are getting very nervous. Could you imagine waking up someday and realizing that more than half of your fortune had been wiped out? Things aren't that bad in the U.S. quite yet, but it looks like another rough week could be ahead. The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are all down at least 12 percent from their 52-week highs, and the Russell 2000 is already in bear market territory. Hopefully this week will not be as bad as last week, but events are starting to move very rapidly now.

Much of the chaos around the globe is being driven by the price of oil. At the end of last week the price of oil dipped below 30 dollars a barrel, and now Iran has announced plans "to add 1 million barrels to its daily crude production"...

Comment: See also:

Zero Tolerance idiocy: Girl suspended for sharing her inhaler with schoolmate having an asthma attack

RT
Sun, 17 Jan 2016 16:49 UTC

Two honor roll students in Dallas were suspended and faced 30 days in an alternative school after one of the girls tried to save the other's life by sharing her inhaler. The school says it is an automatic decision when a controlled substance is involved.

Earlier in the week, 12-year-old Indiyah Rush offered her classmate, Alexis Kyle, 13, who has asthma, her inhaler when she saw her wheezing and gasping during gym class at Vernon Schrade Middle School in Dallas.

"I was just trying to save her life," Rush told Fox 4 News on Wednesday. "I didn't think I was trying to do anything bad."

Rush has had asthma since the age of five and carries a rescue inhaler.

Hollande declares economic emergency in France

RT
Mon, 18 Jan 2016 15:06 UTC

French President Francois Hollande has announced what he called "a state of economic and social emergency" involving a €2 billion plan to revive hiring and catch up with the world's economy. "Due to the threat of terrorism in the past, we had to introduce a state of emergency. But amid global chaos and an uncertain economic environment, it's appropriate to talk about a state of economic and social emergency. Employment is the most important question after the security of French citizens," TASS quotes Hollande as saying.

According to AP, in his annual speech to business, Hollande announced plans for training half a million jobless workers, greater use of apprenticeships, and €2,000 aid for small businesses that hire young workers. "New economic powers are rising, the digital economy is rapidly developing, we have to rethink our economic and social model," said the President. Hollande's socialist government has been failing to boost long-stagnant French growth or cut chronic unemployment, which has been about 10 percent for a long time. One of the key milestones of his presidential program of 2012 was to cut the unemployment. Hollande's chances for a second term may depend on his ability to create jobs.

Comment: Since 2012, when Hollande was elected, more than 600,000 people have lost their jobs, at a time when joblessness has decreased in most other large European economies. According to an IFOP - French Institute of Public Opinion - poll that was held in 2014: 86 percent of French people rejected Hollande, setting a new unpopularity record for leader of the country.

See also:

Fire engulfs passenger ship off New Zealand coast, dozens 'jump into water'

RT
Mon, 18 Jan 2016 03:42 UTC

A passenger ship with some 60 people on board caught fire one kilometer off the northeastern coast of New Zealand's North Island near the town of Whakatane. Rescue teams and local boats have responded to the emergency, pulling dozens of escaping people from water.

The boat reportedly belonged to White Island Tours, according to the NZ Herald. Media reports suggested there were up to 53 passengers and 7 crew members aboard the ship at the time the fire broke out. The total number was later confirmed as 57.

All passengers and crew have been evacuated and accounted for, according to Whakatane authorities.

RadioLIVE has described chaotic scenes, with some passengers and crew jumping overboard to escape the burning vessel while small local boats hurry to save them.

At least "four or five" people have been taken to a local hospital, the radio reported.

Coast Guard and emergency services rushed to the coast of Whakatane after police received a call reporting the situation at around 3:45 pm local time (2:45 am GMT).

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Kevin Smith

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Ruth

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codis

.. .. Let's go pfhizer!! [Link]

Jibrish

Let's go pfhizer!! [Link]

Jibrish

Society's Child

Protesters unite across the US to demand higher wages, end police brutality on MLK Day

Four men booted off flight for 'looking too Muslim'; lawsuit filed

German Police arrest Algerian as first suspect in Cologne sexual assaults

Guitar Center orders employees to sign arbitration agreements or be fired

The high cost of transparency: NYPD charges $36,000 for body camera footage

One killed, three injured in chemical plant explosion in Texas

Middle East stocks crash as the global financial apocalypse accelerates

Zero Tolerance idiocy: Girl suspended for sharing her inhaler with schoolmate having an asthma attack

Hollande declares economic emergency in France

Fire engulfs passenger ship off New Zealand coast, dozens 'jump into water'

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