Society's ChildS


Stop

The EPA threatens Wyoming family with fines of $75,000 a day for building a duck pond on their property

cartoon
© unknown
A Wyoming family is being threatened with massive fines for building a stock pond on their eight-acre farm.

Andy and Katie Johnson built the pond in 2012. They stocked it with trout, ducks, and geese.

Of course, the government is why we can't have nice things. Naturally, the EPA has found a reason to come around and harass the Johnsons and prevent them from enjoying their property.

Johnson said the EPA has engaged him in a power play and is threatening him with massive civil and criminal penalties over the pond, which they claim is actually a "dam."

Fox News reports:
The agency claims Johnson violated the Clean Water Act by building a dam on a creek without a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. Further, the EPA claims that material from his pond is being discharged into other waterways. Johnson says he built a stock pond - a man-made pond meant to attract wildlife - which is exempt from Clean Water Act regulations.

Eye 1

Egypt: More than 500 sentenced to death in 'grotesque' ruling

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© AFP/Getty ImagesEgyptian relatives of those sentenced to death react to the news outside the Minya Criminal Court.


Today's Minya Criminal Court death sentences handed down by an Egyptian court are a grotesque example of the shortcomings and the selective nature of Egypt's justice system, Amnesty International said.

According to state media reports, in a single hearing this morning, the Minya Criminal Court sentenced 529 supporters of former President Mohamed Morsi to be executed for their alleged role in violence following his ousting in July last year.

"This is injustice writ large and these death sentences must be quashed. Imposing death sentences of this magnitude in a single case makes Egypt surpass most other countries' use of capital punishment in a year," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International.

"This is the largest single batch of simultaneous death sentences we've seen in recent years, not just in Egypt but anywhere in the world.

Eye 1

Two Psychopathic California Women Starved Three Little Children

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© Montgomery County Sheriff's Office/ Mug shotsWomen arrested for starving three kids were the children's parents. Two of the kids were adopted and the youngest was the biological child of one of the women.

Disturbing details are starting to emerge following the March 14 arrest of two California women accused of starving three children and chaining one to the floor.

Authorities arrived at the Salinas, California home to investigate accusations of child neglect, and once they got there, they were horrified to discover a three-year-old boy, a five-year-old boy, and an eight-year-old girl all being starved. The young girl was shackled to keep her from eating.

"The little girl was from time-to-time chained to the walls of the house and denied food," said Monterey County Sheriff Scott Miller. "She was extremely emaciated. She's been described as someone who looks like she's been living in a concentration camp." Miller added that all three children had "hardly eaten for months" and that the girl was the "major target" of the abuse.

Eraca Dawn Craig, 31, and Christian Jessica Deanda, 44, were arrested and charged with multiple counts of felony child cruelty, false imprisonment, and other related charges. The women are reportedly domestic partners, and one of them is the biological mother of the three-year-old boy. The five-year-old boy and the girl were both adopted.

Handcuffs

Hysteria Run Rampant: St. Louis County mother furious after being arrested for consoling son

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A mother trying to pick her special needs son up from school winds up in handcuffs and puts the school on lockdown.

The furious mother came to News 4 claiming the school handled things all wrong.

The incident took place at Walnut Groves Elementary School on Thursday when the mother came to help her son.

"I was lying in bed when I received a frantic phone call from the teacher, Michael was panicking," said Niakea Williams.

Michael is Williams' son and he suffers from Asperger's syndrome.

After getting the call, Williams came up to the Ferguson - Florissant school where she was buzzed in by school officials.

"I saw a teacher and she said Ms. Williams what is wrong? I said something is wrong with Mikey and proceeded to go straight to my son," said Williams.

She got to her son's classroom and immediately started to console him. Then the school principal informed her she was violated school policy by not signing in.

Pistol

Another shooting: Naval station Norfolk shooting leaves 2 dead

Norfok Naval base
© Reuters/U.S. Navy/MC2 Ernest R. ScottUS Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia
At least two people were killed on Monday night in a shooting at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia.

According to the station's official Facebook fan page, which is sponsored by Naval Station Norfolk, the incident occurred at approximately 11:20 p.m. at Pier 1.

Terri Davis, a base spokeswoman, told The Associated Press that the two men who died were a sailor and a civilian.

No other injuries were reported.

U.S. Navy security forces responded to the shooting and placed the station in lockdown as a precaution. The lockdown was later lifted.

At the time of this writing, no other details have been released.

Naval Station Norfolk is the world's largest naval station, Military.com reports. The station supports at least 75 ships and 134 aircraft.

Stormtrooper

Russians targeted in Ukrainian anarchy: Ukraine radicals rob Russia-Moldova train passengers

Ukrainian militants
© RIA Novosti/Andrey Stenin
The recent robbing of passengers, traveling from Russia to Moldova via Ukraine's territory, by a local ultra-nationalist Insurgent Army is a manifestation of "anarchy," the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.

On March 21, the train, en route from Moscow to the capital of Moldova, Chisinau, made a scheduled stop in the city of Vinnitsa in central Ukraine.

"To the horror of passengers...people dressed in the uniform of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) got into carriages and began a 'document check'. People who showed Russian passports were then made to hand over their money and golden jewelry," the Russian Ministry said on Monday in a statement published on its website.

The robbery was accompanied with "political sensitization," diplomats said.

Moscow also said it was "bewildered" by the refusal of the Ukrainian police to take any action when the victims attempted to file a report.

"That is the kind of 'rule of law' that is currently being formed in Ukraine," the ministry said. "It seems that the anarchy of the beginning of the 20th century is reviving."

A similar incident occurred with passengers traveling from the Ukrainian city of Krivoy Rog to the Russian capital, reported the NTV channel. However, this time it was either Ukrainian border guards or customs service officers who were involved.

According to passengers, during the border control procedure, Ukrainian officers grabbed passports from Russian citizens providing them with no explanation.

Passenger, Angela Piskokha, told NTV that Ukrainian officials then offered her the opportunity to buy back her own passport for 6,000 rubles (US$ 166).

Stormtrooper

Updated: Notorious Ukrainian nationalist militant Muzychko 'shot dead' in Western Ukraine

Aleksandr Muzychko
© UnknownAleksandr Muzychko killed in Rovno, Western Ukraine
Notorious Ukrainian right-wing militant leader Aleksandr Muzychko, also known as Sashko Bilyi, has reportedly been shot dead in western Ukraine, where he coordinated actions of local groups belonging to the nationalist Right Sector movement.

Muzychko was killed in Rovno, western Ukraine, according to reports in the Ukrainian mass media.

A Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada MP, Aleksandr Doniy, was among the first to write about Muzychko's death.

"His car was cut off by two other cars. He was dragged out and placed in one of those cars. Then he was thrown on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back and [he received] two shots in his heart," Doniy wrote on Facebook.

There are differing accounts as to how Muzychko died.

Comment: Though blame will undoubtedly go to Russia, there are many other groups that would have an interest in killing this militant, not least the Ukrainian people.


Question

Baffling coded messages discovered at Western University

Baffling Code
© The StarA series of cryptic notes have been discovered in the Western University library. There are too many for it to be an accident, and they're too similar and detailed for it not to be a coordinated effort by someone/some group.
Calling all cryptographers - there's a real-life mystery unfolding at Western University.

At least 15 hidden messages have been discovered at the school's D.B. Weldon Library, written entirely in symbols on standard printer paper, and concealed in plain-white envelopes tucked inside the pages of various books.

Each note is accompanied by an item, like a feather or a gem stone, that appears to relate to the symbols. On each note there is also an image of a household item like a vase or table.

"It's completely baffling!" said assistant professor Mike Moffatt, who found one of the messages two weeks ago Sunday.

"I'd taken a book off the shelf on international economics," he said. "Inside the book there was an envelope. I immediately thought somebody had been using it as a bookmark."

"But when I opened it up, there were two items in it. One was a green plastic leaf, like something you'd buy at a dollar store, with two paint splotches on it. The other was this piece of paper covered in symbols with an image of a pillow," he said.

Arrow Down

Fifteen flamingos found dead at Frankfurt zoo

Flamingo
© Getty ImagesThe mysterious killing of 15 flamingos at Frankfurt Zoo has shocked staff and puzzled police, it appears.
The birds were killed over two consecutive nights, with their bodies found on Friday and then Saturday. Some had their heads cut off or torn off, while others were stabbed to death, reports Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Zoo director Manfred Niekisch calls this a "shocking incident" and staff are "speechless". It is not clear who or what killed the birds, but stab wounds suggest it was done by humans. Police have referred to "one or several previously unknown perpetrators" and Niekisch believes animals such as foxes or raccoons could have played a role.

Strangely, very little blood was found at the scene. Police say they are considering whether the birds were stolen from the zoo and killed, before their bodies were returned. In 2007, three flamingos at the same zoo died in a similar manner. The seven-year-old case is still unresolved.

The flamingo killings in Frankfurt leave the German media guessing. "Who would do such a thing?" asks Die Welt daily. "Psychopaths? Was it a completely out-of-order test of courage among young people? Or was it Satanists?"

People 2

New York City school suicide epidemic: 10 student suicides in past 7 weeks

france suicide
© Stavros/flickrFrance's suicide rate is well above the European average.
New York City Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina said she feels "heartsick" over the fact that 10 public school students have committed suicide since she took office less than two months ago.

According to a report in the New York Post, Farina discussed the suicide epidemic during a private meeting with new school principals on Saturday.

The statistic has not been made public. The Post said it received a recording of Farina's comments delivered at the prestigious Stuyvesant High School.