Society's ChildS


Handcuffs

Cop beats innocent man, forces him to undergo medical procedures in search of non-existent drugs

crime scene escena del crimen
© Desconocido
In part of an investigative report on racism in South Carolina's police departments by the Washington Post, Radley Balko has been exposing a series of horrifying police incidents that have taken place in the state.

His latest article in the series, The Watch covers the case of Kelvin Hayes, a successful business owner in Dorchester County. Hayes has recently settled a lawsuit against the Dorchester County sheriff's office for a horrid act of brutality against him.

On March 27, 2011, Hayes, who was 52-year-old at the time, was driving with his friend Karen Skipper. Hayes, who is black, was driving Skipper, who is white, back to her house, when the couple passed a roadside traffic stop with multiple police cars.

Card - MC

Japan to roll out fingerprint currency in time for the 2020 Olympics

fingerprint
Beginning this summer, the Japanese government will test a system in which foreign tourists will be able to use their fingerprints to make purchases.

The Japan News reports:
The government hopes to increase the number of foreign tourists by using the system to prevent crime and relieve users from the necessity of carrying cash or credit cards. It aims to realize the system by the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The experiment will have inbound tourists register their fingerprints and other data, such as credit card information, at airports and elsewhere.

Tourists would then be able to conduct tax exemption procedures and make purchases after verifying their identities by placing two fingers on special devices installed at stores.

Comment: The benefits of a cashless society come draped in an aura of convenience but who will really benefit from the war on cash?


Cardboard Box

Los Angeles' storage facility for the homeless

The bin
© Photo: Saul GonzalezOnce they register at The Bin, the homeless are given a standard 60 gallon City of Los Angeles recycling container to store their possessions.
In the early morning hours, a crowd of people gathers outside of a nondescript building in Los Angeles' Skid Row neighborhood. They're all homeless and all looking to find shelter, not for themselves but for their personal possessions, which they keep in everything from plastic bags to shopping carts to suitcases as they wait in the crowd. They've come to The Bin. Operated by the L.A. homeless assistance organization Chrysalis, it's one of only two storage facilities in Los Angeles where the city's homeless population can store their property free of charge, whether its a single day or several weeks.

Inside the bin
© Photo: Saul GonzalezOnce the bins are packed, they’re wheeled into an enormous storage facility and placed in long rows until clients retrieve them.
"Well, we provide storage options for the homeless population," says Alex Connedy, the on-site manger for The Bin." They don't have any stability, and they are constantly in transition with all of their property. Many times their property is lost and stolen because they have nowhere to keep it safe. So what we provide is an option for them, free of charge, to come and store their personal belongings."

Those belongings that homeless people carry or wheel in are stored in donated, 60-gallon City of Los Angeles recycling bins, just like the ones Angelinos leave curbside on trash pickup day. At The Bin, one container issued per person. People can stop [put] whatever they want in them as long as its not drugs, firearms or illegal material. They must also make sure they can close the top of their bins completely before handing them over for storage.

Comment: This is one idea that seems to work for the homeless. It is, at least, well thought out for access, safety and process, allowing folks to maneuver in the city unencumbered and with dignity. It is not, however, a residence which is ultimately the best solution. For an interesting and informative video tour of the storage facility, go here.

See also: LA's newest law: Homeless can only own a trashcan's worth of belongings


Smoking

It's official, smoking ban on Montreal terraces begins this May

no smoking sign
© Pisit Koolplukpol / shutterstock
Summer certainly won't be as enjoyable for the cigarette-smokers of Montreal (which is almost everyone) as the smoking ban on terrasses is officially coming into effect quite soon. And with this current weather, it looks like smokers might only have one or two days to enjoy a smoke and a drink in the sun before it becomes illegal.

Announced on the Association des restaurateurs du Québec website, smoking anything on a terrasse (cigarette, vap, joint) in Montreal will be banned as of May 26th, 2016.

Some may have thought that in a city with such a strong smoking culture, that this would never happen, but alas, it is has.

Shouts of "this totally sucks" rang out in our office when everyone was reminded of the smoking ban announced last year, and no doubt many of you will feel the same.

Sorry, smokers, but it is a lost battle.

For non-smokers like myself, we can't help but be mildly happy that having to deal with second-hand smoke while enjoying a pint on a terrasse will be a thing of the past, but I doubt you really want to hear that. Sorry not sorry.

Comment: The author should keep in mind the words of Martin Niemöller before he goes celebrating this restriction on civil liberties:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
See also:


Red Flag

Genetic sexual attraction: Now the powers that be are trying to normalize incest

ben ford, kim west
Not normal and never will be.
Our modern politically correct society is trying to normalize (as in "make okay") all sorts of behaviors that have never been normal and are simply not okay.

For more on that, consider this argument from a gay man on why he does not want to share a bathroom with a trangendered man (a man that used to be a woman) even though laws are being passed everywhere to force everyone to accept the phenomenon as "normal":
I'm gay. I know a man when I see one. A woman who cuts off her breasts and grows a throat beard is not a man, she is a woman with a psychological disorder, known as gender disphoria. And I do not want to share a locker room or a shower with a woman. And YES, sorry libs, gender dysphoria is a mental disorder. That is the only reason insurance will cover the surgery - as treatment for a mental problem.

Comment: For more on the on the degradation of sexual mores see: Mummy, why is Daddy wearing a dress? Daddy, why does Mummy have a moustache?


Handcuffs

Cop arrests jogger after she refuses to follow arbitrary order

Jogger Arreseted
© MLive
MLive has dashcam footage of a Michigan woman who was arrested on Jan. 2 after she ignored a cop who stopped her and asked her to run on the sidewalk. There's a lot of yelling.

Vera Pecaj, a 40-year-old teacher from Brighton, was jogging in Green Oak Township when Officer Michael Jain pulled up next to her in his vehicle and asked her to move from the road onto the sidewalk. According to Jain's report, Pecaj ignored him. More, from MLive:
Jain crossed Rickett Road and then turned left onto Mission Road to wait for Pecaj, his report states. When he held up his hand to signal her to stop, he said, she repeatedly refused.

When she finally did —after Jain informed her she needed to stop or she'd go to jail — Pecaj refused to give her name and yelled she had done nothing wrong. Pecaj turned away to keep running, and Jain grabbed her arm.

"Don't f****** touch me," Pecaj yelled, according to Jain's report.

Fireball

Artificial meteor shower planned for the opening ceremony of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo

2020 Olympics Logo
© Eugene Hoshiko/AP/Press Association ImagesJapan won't host the Games for another four years but planning is well under way.
A man-made meteor shower as the center-piece of the opening ceremony is just one of the ways Tokyo is gearing up to produce the most high-tech Olympic Games to date in 2020.

According to the people at Futurism the budget for the Games is likely to come in at close to $18 billion with the event itself driving a host of new tech builds including automated taxis and that artificial meteor shower.

It will be provided by a Japanese astronomy start-up called Ale who plan to release a micro-satellite into space that will shoot out thousands of little spheres that will burn up and glow on on re-entry like a real meteorite shower.

Another innovation for 2020 is a plan by Panasonic to work on an instant translation device.

While there are 206 countries sending athletes to the Games, the device — which they hope can be worn around the next — will translate Japanese into 10 of the most widely spoken languages.

The same company is also planning an app that allows visitors to scan Japanese signs and translate them instantly.

It's not unusual for Japan to use the Olympics to showcase tech developments.

During the 1964 Games in Tokyo, they introduced the Shinkansen Bullet Trains. By 2020, the next-generation will have a top speed of 600 kph, just a bit faster than Usain Bolt.

Read the other innovations they have planned here.

Stock Down

Americans spend more on taxes than food, clothing and housing - combined

taxes
The annual report from The Tax Foundation, an advocacy group, has found that Americans spend more on taxes than they do on their food, clothing and housing -- combined.

According to their findings, Americans will pay $3.3 trillion in federal taxes and $1.6 trillion in state and local taxes, totalling nearly $5.0 trillion, or approximately 31% of the nation's income.

"This year, Americans will work the longest to pay federal, state, and local individual income taxes (46 days). Payroll taxes will take 26 days to pay, followed by sales and excise taxes (15 days), corporate income taxes (nine days), and property taxes (11 days). The remaining seven days are spent paying estate and inheritance taxes, customs duties, and other taxes," the report stated.

Tax Freedom Day is when the nation has collectively earned enough money to pay its total tax bill for the year. This year, Tax Freedom Day falls on April 24th, or 114 days into the year (excluding Leap Day, which is earlier than last year). The Tax Foundation reports that this is due to slightly lower projected federal tax collections, expressed as a share of the U.S. economy.

Comment: Further reading: 'Taxation is theft' meme goes viral


Camera

Russian photographer captured images and stories of people who decided to escape from social life and live alone in wild nature

hermit
A Russian photographer has captured the images and stories of people who find a life of isolation in the wilderness preferable to the madness of society. The story of his work is making its way around the internet again this month.

Fire

Large fire breaks out at LyondellBasell refinery in southeast Houston, officials issue shelter in place order for area

chemical fire refinery Houston
© Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle Large chemical fire in the 1200 block of Lawndale Friday, April 8, 2016, in Houston.
A large fire broke out Friday morning at a LyondellBasell refinery in southeast Houston, sparking a shelter in place order for much of the area.

The blaze started at about 10 a.m. at Houston Refining in a coker unit that's part of the refining process, said LyondellBasell spokesman Scott Buchman. The facility is located at at 12000 Lawndale near N. Allen Genoa.

The fire was declared under control and tapped out at noon, according to the Houston Fire Department.

There were no known injuries, Buchman said. HFD officials said all employees were accounted for.

No toxins were detected in air safety tests, Buchman said.

Houston Fire Department officials said a cleaning fluid and heavy fuel were burning. It's is not known what sparked the blaze, but the company has begun an investigation into the cause.