Society's ChildS


Dollars

Organized crime may be using private ATMs to launder money

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© CBCAnti-money-laundering expert Garry Clement, a former RCMP officer, says it's easy to thwart rules aimed at making it harder for criminals to acquire and operate ATMs
A CBC/Radio-Canada investigation has uncovered methods organized crime may be using to launder money through privately owned automated tellers, or ATMs.

There are almost 38,000 of the ATMs, also known as "white label" cash machines because they are not bank-owned, scattered across the country - nearly double the number of bank-owned ATMs.

It is a growing, lucrative industry. Placed in hotel lobbies, bars and food courts, they provide quick access to cash, albeit with an annoying surcharge.

Anti-money-laundering expert Garry Clement, a former RCMP officer, says it's easy to thwart rules aimed at making it harder for criminals to acquire and operate ATMs. (CBC)

But experts believe some machines may have a more nefarious role.

"Investigations have shown over the years that these white-label ATM machines are in every strip club, every bar throughout Canada," said Garry Clement, an international authority on money laundering and retired RCMP officer who has been warning about the vulnerability of ATMs. "And a lot of them (ATMs) are affiliated with organized crime groups, in particular the Hells Angels or other motorcycle gang groups which are known as organized crime."

Attention

Tokyo mother reports Japan's "total media blackout" of people developing symptoms, sickness and death related to Fukushima disaster

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World Network For Saving Children From Radiation, Oct. 26, 2013: [...] A case like this is just a tip of iceburg [...] IKKO is a Buddhist monk. His life is ending. He is only 34 years old and lives in Hiwada town [near Koriyama] in Fukushima. He had a heart attack two days ago, and his doctor announced brain death. He is now connected to life-support. My sister in Fukushima knows him through her student [...] She and IKKO got engaged and were planning to get married next year. She has just lost her father from cancer last April. He had worked at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant [...] My sister was present when IKKO had a heartattack and is in disbelief of what is taking place since he was fine before this [...] There have been many cases of sickness and death among young generations in Fukushima although it is not reported by media.

Bulb

Former health care worker quit because of Obamacare

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© FacebookMichael Gordon Lotfi wrote an open letter to President Barack Obama declaring he will no longer be going into medicine because of Obamacare
A former health care worker and political activist has penned an open letter to President Barack Obama saying he has abandoned his dream of going into medicine, and it's all because of the Affordable Care Act.

"I remember the day Obamacare became law. I was sitting in the hospital working in the anesthesia department part-time to cover the costs of tuition. Dr. Alfery, a mentor of mine, looked over at me and said, 'Run - It's not too late to change majors,'" Michael Gordon Lotfi wrote in the letter, which was first posted online last week and has been viewed more than 86,331 times.

He continued: "Your legislation has caused countless doctors to go into retirement early, opt for cash-only practices, and has discouraged bright, young minds from entering the field."

Lotfi, who graduated from the nursing program at Belmont University in Tennessee in May, is the associate director for the Tenth Amendment Center, a think tank that advocates for a limited federal government.

He told TheBlaze he spent three years as an anesthesiologist technician, but said in his letter he cannot continue in the health care field "with clear conscience" as a result of the new law.

"I have decided that I believe in the principles of a truly free market, and I trust the free market. Because of this deep, internal value system I cannot, with clear conscience, continue on this path. My life has value. Such value cannot be calculated by Washington bureaucrats. I won't allow it. Only a true free-market can accurately assess the value I am capable of," he wrote.

Arrow Down

Photoshop 'body evolution' video blows our minds

We've been told time and time again that Photoshop is playing tricks on us, stretching, smoothing and buffing the models in magazines and ads to make them even more gorgeous (and less realistic).

But just how much can airbrushing really change? Just watch this mind-blowing video (below), "Body Evolution". The video, created in 2011 by GlobalDemocracy.com to demand mandatory disclaimers on all photos of airbrushed models, demonstrates just how much a computer is capable of changing a body.

While we can't be 100 percent certain the video, which surfaced again recently, is representative of what happens behind-the-scenes at every magazine today, it does make you wonder...

If models are getting the treatment seen in this video, it's no surprise lingerie model Erin Heatherton once said about her photos, "I feel like it looks like someone else. I guess it's not fair... You look better, but it's a lie."


Robot

'Biohacker' implants chip in arm

Implant
© YouTube screengrab from MotherboardBiohacker Tim Cannon had a battery-powered electronic device installed in his arm.
Kids, don't try this at home: A self-described "biohacker" had a big electronic chip - almost as large as a deck of cards - inserted beneath the skin of his arm. Without a doctor's help. And without anesthetics.

Tim Cannon is a software developer from Pittsburgh and one of the developers at Grindhouse Wetware, a firm dedicated to "augmenting humanity using safe, affordable, open source technology," according to the group's website. As they explain it, "Computers are hardware. Apps are software. Humans are wetware."

The device Cannon had inserted into his arm is a Circadia 1.0, a battery-powered implant that can record data from Cannon's body and transmit it to his Android mobile device. Because no board-certified surgeon would perform the operation, Cannon turned to a DIY team that included a piercing and tattoo specialist who used ice to quell the pain of the procedure.

Now that the device is inserted and functioning, Cannon is one step closer to achieving a childhood dream. "Ever since I was a kid, I've been telling people that I want to be a robot," Cannon told The Verge. "These days, that doesn't seem so impossible anymore."

Brick Wall

Paralyzed Detroit firefighter will lose health benefits

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© MyFoxDetroit.comBrendan Milewski (image from video)
A paralyzed Detroit firefighter is about to lose his health benefits. Brendan Milewski was injured on the job and left permanently paralyzed.

Now, he is losing his benefits because Detroit is going into bankruptcy.

Brendan Milewski was hurt by a piece of limestone that fell on him while he was working as a firefighter at the scene of an emergency. This left him paralyzed and unable to work. The Detroit firefighter requires ongoing physical therapy to stay healthy, but he is not expected to walk again.

The firefighter has received a recent notice letting him know his health benefits will end on Jan. 1, 2014. The city is offering a small montly stipend to help him, but it will not be enough to cover his healthcare costs.

Brendan Milewski had no other warning from Detroit that it was changing the health benefits, and he feels betrayed.

Pistol

Update - Suspect shot, in custody at Los Angeles International Airport after TSA agent fired upon

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© CNNAirport officials said a police incident began about 9:30 a.m. at Terminal 3, an airport spokeswoman said.
A suspect has been shot and is in police custody after a shooting that prompted evacuations Friday at Los Angeles International Airport, a law enforcement source close to the investigation tells CNN's Miguel Marquez.

Airport officials also confirmed the arrest in a tweet, adding that there were "multiple victims."

The incident began when a person with a firearm approached a checkpoint at Terminal 3 Friday morning and opened fire on Transportation Security Administration agent, a former Los Angeles Police Department ranking officer who arrived at the scene shortly after the incident told CNN.

Multiple shots were fired, and the TSA agent and the gunman were taken to hospitals, the source said.

Pistol

Breaking - Los Angeles International Airport: Shots fired at TSA agent, evacuation in process

Several people have been shot Los Angeles International Airport Terminal 3, according to the LAPD. The victims' conditions are unknown at this time. Authorities say the incident at a checkpoint at Terminal 3 began at 9:30 a.m. At least one of the shooting victims is believed to be a TSA employee. Initial reports are that there is a suspect in custody. It is unclear if there is a search for a second suspect.

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An "incident" at Los Angeles Airport began at 9:30 a.m. airport officials confirmed.
Terminal 3 has been evacuated. LAPD's West Bureau and South Bureau are in tactical alert due to the shooting.

Century Boulevard has been shut down. Motorists are advised to avoid the area.

Terminal 3 is the last terminal on the north side of the airport. Airlines that operate out of the terminal include Allegiant Air, Frontier, JetBlue, Spirit and Virgin America.

Live broadcast link

DEVELOPING: We will add more details to this report as they become available.

People 2

Germany allows 'indeterminate' gender at birth for 'intersex' people

Germany has become Europe's first country to allow babies with characteristics of both sexes to be registered as neither male nor female. Parents are now allowed to leave the gender blank on birth certificates, in effect creating a new category of "indeterminate sex". The move is aimed at removing pressure on parents to make quick decisions on sex assignment surgery for newborns. However, some campaigners say the new law does not go far enough. As many as one in 2,000 people have characteristics of both sexes.


Pistol

Fate to be decided for boy who killed neo-Nazi father

Jeff Hall, neo-Nazi, murdered by son
© Associated PressJeff Hall, pictured in 2010, was a regional leader of the National Socialist Movement and organised rallies at synagogues and day labour sites.
Lawyers argue over the future of a 10-year-old who shot dead the white supremacist Jeff Hall while he was sleeping.

The blond boy was 10 when he put a gun to the head of his sleeping neo-Nazi father and pulled the trigger.

It was over in an instant for Jeff Hall, but deciding the fate of his son has been a two-and-a-half-year journey that approaches its final stage on Friday in a hearing to determine where he will spend his teens and, possibly, his early adult years.

The judge hearing the case must decide not how to punish a child for second-degree murder, but how to rehabilitate someone who grew up in an abusive home, attacked his school teachers and was indoctrinated in the beliefs of white supremacy.