Society's Child

Ya think?! Ferguson prosecutor says witnesses lied under oath to grand jury

RT
Sat, 20 Dec 2014 15:20 UTC

Some witnesses obviously lied while testifying under oath to the Ferguson grand jury that ultimately declined to indict 18-year-old Michael Brown, said the St. Louis county prosecutor in charge of the case, Bob McCulloch.

Speaking with KTRS radio, McCulloch said his goal was to have any individual who claimed to be a witness testify before the grand jury.

"Clearly some were not telling the truth," he said.

Specifically, McCulloch noted that one woman in particular who said she witnessed the shooting but "clearly wasn't present." According to McCulloch, "she recounted a story right out of the newspaper" that matched up with the account of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, the officer who shot and killed Brown on August 9.

Comment: Witness 40's story (McElroy) was a complete fabrication:
"Witness 40": Fraud exposed in Ferguson

Notably, the account given by this witness, identified as Sandra McElroy by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was scrutinized in great detail by investigators, who eventually concluded she could not have seen the shooting like she said she did. McElroy claimed she saw Brown charge at Wilson before he was shot.

Despite apparently knowing some witnesses were not telling the truth, McCulloch said he does not have second thoughts about the way he conducted the case, nor does he plan on pressing charges against those who lied.

Comment: He knew he was presenting lies to the grand jury. That's American justice for you.

"It's a legitimate issue," McCulloch said, as quoted by NPR. "But in the situation - again, because of the manner in which we did it - we're not going to file perjury charges against anyone. There were people who came in and yes, absolutely lied under oath. Some lied to the FBI - even though they're not under oath, that's another potential offense, a federal offense."

Conscienceless senator blocks suicide prevention act, saying it's too expensive

Abby Zimet
Common Dreams
Wed, 17 Dec 2014 00:00 UTC

22 Veterans a day are so broken by grief, shame, horror or trauma they resolve not to live another day.

Despite an epidemic of astonishing proportions - 22 veterans a day so broken by grief, shame, horror or trauma they resolve not to live another day - retiring, grandstanding, incoherent obstructionist Sen. Tom "Dr.No" Coburn, R-Okla., took his final stand against humanity by single-handedly blocking the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, which had broad bi-partisan support and would have cost $22 million, or about the same as three and a half-hours of the Iraq War. From Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), "This is why people hate Washington."

Comment: It's abundantly clear that those who are sending soldiers off to war, have no concern for these men and women or their families. To these elites, be they Democrats or Republicans, soldiers are just cannon fodder. The society of normal humans needs to understand that those at the top are intra-species predators who thrive on creating death, destruction and chaos for the rest of us. We need to fully understand the nature of this beast as it is only then that we might have a chance to bring society back from the brink of the abyss they have created.

Ponerology 101: Lobaczewski and the origins of Political Ponerology

Big brother watch: Police pre-crime algorithm uses social media posts against you in real-time

Melissa Melton & Aaron Dykes
Activist Post
Fri, 19 Dec 2014 23:14 UTC

We have finally reached the moment where Orwell's nightmare in 1984 meets the movie Minority Report. We're living there right now.

Comment: In today's Orwellian world, the PTB try to monitor every aspects of our lives and now they even have a pre-crime color code, it's surprising that the cops don't use the color black in their color code system to warrant the highest threat.

Non-profit hospitals are suing poor patients and seizing their wages

Michael Allen
Opposing Views
Fri, 19 Dec 2014 00:00 UTC

© Steve Hebert for ProPublica
Northwest Financial Services first sued Keith and Katie Herie when they couldn't afford the $14,000 bill for Katie's emergency appendectomy. Since 2006, the Heries have had almost $20,000 takes from their wages to repay medical bills and still owe at least $26,000 with interest mounting.

Some wealthy nonprofit hospitals are going after their low-income patients' wages.

According to a new report by NPR and ProPublica, the Heartland Regional Medical Center (recently renamed Mosaic Life Care) in St. Joseph, Missouri, plays hard ball with poor people who cannot afford high bills.

When people are treated at the nonprofit Heartland Regional Medical Center and they cannot pay, their bills are turned over to Northwest Financial Services, a for-profit debt collection agency owned by Mosaic Life Care.

Northwest Financial Services reportedly sued (under its corporate name Midwestern Health Management) more than 11,000 people between 2009 through 2013. The collection agency garnished the wages of almost 6,000 people, which totaled up to $12 million, according to state records, says ProPublica and NPR.

Comment: Nonprofits, which make up nearly 60 percent of U.S. hospitals, have a history of aggressive debt collection, yet they are given tax-exempt status because they are supposed to be serving the public and especially the poor. Instead they are taking advantage of their tax status and yet profiting handsomely. This is another reason why medical debts are the biggest cause of bankruptcies and that American 'healthcare' is a travesty.

Crowd erupts when cop beats handcuffed boy in New York

Zaid Jilani
AlterNet
Fri, 19 Dec 2014 00:27 UTC

The cell phone video of Eric Garner may not have resulted in a trial for the police officers who choked him to death, but New Yorkers are still recording incidents of police using over-the-top force against African Americans.

In a recent video recorded by an onlooker on the streets of New York City, several large uniformed cops have a young African-American boy subdued and pinned against a car, when a white plainclothes police officer runs up and throws several punches at the immobilized boy.

The video clearly shows that there is no reason or justification for this, and the bystanders erupt in horror, particularly one outspoken woman.

"He's 12!" she shouts. "Why would you do that? After everything that's happened! I'm a lawyer, I'm writing all this down."

"Stop it, get off of him!" yells another.

"You guys...need a different profession. Go to war, this is not a war, this is a 12-year-old kid!" says a woman standing on the sidewalk facing the officers, who do not respond to her. Another boy is pinned by other officers against another car. He cries out as the officers yank his hands behind his back.

Blackmail opportunity? More than 48,000 federal employees affected by background check hack

Nextgov
Thu, 18 Dec 2014 21:25 UTC

The Office of Personnel Management is alerting more than 48,000 federal employees their personal information may have been exposed following a breach at KeyPoint Government Solutions, which conducts background investigations of federal employees seeking security clearances.

The total number of employees affected is 48,439, according to an email from OPM Chief Information Officer Donna Seymour obtained by Nextgov.

Seymour said OPM worked closely with the Department of Homeland Security to investigate the incident, "and while we found no conclusive evidence that [personally identifiable information] was taken by the intruder, OPM has elected to conduct these notifications out of an abundance of caution."

Affected employees will receive free credit monitoring.

DHS spokesman S.Y. Lee on Thursday evening told Nextgov the breach was detected by a DHS entity.

"Recently, the DHS National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center became aware of a potential intrusion of a private sector company that conducts U.S. government security background investigations for OPM," he said in a statement. "Working with OPM and other interagency partners, the NCCIC, per standard procedure, deployed an on-site [U.S.-Computer Emergency Readiness Team] to assess and mitigate any risks identified."

"As we examine the potential impact on DHS employees, we are committed to ensuring the privacy of our workforce and will take all appropriate measures to safeguard it," he added.

Comment: It wouldn't be surprising to find out that the information gleaned from this breach of security were used to blackmail federal employees. On the other hand, this could all be a set up by the U.S. government to blame China and further increase public distrust of China. That would be logical, seeing as though China is strengthening ties with Russia.

8 children stabbed to death in Australia, mother in serious condition

RT
Fri, 19 Dec 2014 15:08 UTC

Eight children aged from 18 months to 15 years have been found stabbed to death inside a house in Manoora suburb of the city of Cairns in far north Queensland, police have confirmed.

Authorities were initially called in the scene after reports of a woman with serious injuries around 11.20am local time.

"During an examination of the residence police located the bodies of the children, all aged between 18 months and 15 years," police said in a statement. A 34-year-old woman who was injured in the mass stabbing has been taken to hospital.

We can confirm Cairns detectives have established a crime scene & begun an investigation into the deaths of 8 children in Manoora today.
- QPS Media Unit (@QPSmedia) December 19, 2014

Police have cordoned off the house and closed traffic on Murray St. while detectives are searching through the property. Ambulances also remain on scene.

The children were apparently all siblings and the 34-year-old was their mother, a cousin of the injured woman told AAP. According to Lisa Thaiday, another 20-year-old sibling was the one who found his brothers and sisters dead inside the house.

"I'm going to see him now, he needs comforting. We're a big family ... I just can't believe it. We just found out [about] those poor babies," Thaiday said, as quoted by AFP.

Comment: Such a heartbreaking tragedy.

Family of toddler injured by SWAT 'grenade' faces $1M in medical bills

Alison Lynn and Matt Gutman
ABC News
Thu, 18 Dec 2014 14:10 UTC

© ABC News
Correspondent via 20/20 Alecia and Bounkham Phonesavanh sat down for an interview with ABC's Matt Gutman for ABC News' 20/20.

Alecia and Bounkham Phonesavanh never imagined their family would be at the center of a controversy over the militarization of police. But that's exactly where they found themselves when their toddler was seriously injured by a SWAT team, also leaving them with a $1 million medical bill they have no hope of paying.

"They messed up," Alecia Phonesavanh told ABC News' 20/20. "They had a faulty search warrant. They raided the wrong house."

In the spring of 2014, the Phonesavanh's home in Janesville, Wisconsin, was destroyed by fire. Homeless with four young children, they packed one of their last remaining possessions - their minivan - and drove 850 miles to the home of Bounkham's sister in Cornelia, Georgia.

Sucker-punching cop shamed by judge for breaking 'Good Samaritan' woman's leg

David Edwards
Raw Story
Thu, 18 Dec 2014 01:56 UTC

A judge in Canada this week lashed out an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer for causing "catastrophic injuries" to a 49-year-old woman who he said was acting as a "Good Samaritan."

During the trial that lasted longer than a year, the court heard how Maria "Tonie" Farrell responded to a woman screaming behind a convenience store in 2013, according to QMI Agency reporter Tracy McLaughlin.

When OPP Sgt. Russ Watson arrived on the scene, Farrell attempted to point the officer in the direction of the man who had been attacking the woman, but he refused to listen.

"Shut the f*ck up," Watson warned.

"Mrs. Farrell was acting as Good Samaritan who went to the assistance of a woman who was being assaulted," Justice George Beatty said this week. "She had no criminal record and wanted to assist Sgt. Watson."

"Watson kicked her to the side, a karate-kick that snapped her leg," the judge explained, adding that "Watson then jumped on her and punched her on the left side of her face. She turned face-down and Sgt. Watson kept kneeing her in the back."

With her leg dangling, and screaming from the pain, Farrell was handcuffed and placed in the police cruiser. She was later charged with assaulting a police officer.

Comment: While it's nice to see a judge who actually takes a policemen to task for his brutality, it's really not enough. This cop should have his badge taken away and he should be charged with assault. When a cop attacks a person who was doing nothing illegal and causes such horrific injuries, they should be held criminally responsible. Otherwise, there is no deterrent for cops to continue to brutalize the population.

Governor of New York state announces fracking ban

Phys.org
Thu, 18 Dec 2014 00:00 UTC

$anti-fracking$

A woman holds an anti-fracking sign at a rally for a Global Climate Treaty December 10, 2014 near the United Nations in New York

Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday he would ban hydraulic fracking in New York State, citing health concerns about the controversial oil and gas drilling technique.

The announcement extends a de facto New York ban on the practice, which offers the potential to unlock vast quantities of natural gas but which has come under intense scrutiny from environmentalists.

The energy industry complains that New York has lost jobs and investment by not following neighboring states by drilling into Marcellus, a huge shale rock formation in the eastern US.

Comment: It appears that the movement to ban fracking is gaining ground, despite the protestations of the industry that can no longer successfully argue that the practice does not involve serious environmental and health risks.

France Becomes First Country to Ban Extraction of Natural Gas by Fracking

Texas town, birthplace of hydraulic fracking, votes to outlaw it

Massachusetts seeks 10 year ban on gas fracking after series of Texas earthquakes

Seriously, lets break down these words, and I am fully equipped for this task that I give to myself NOW. gives OSHA the authority to act quickly...

Buffalo_Ken

Forensic pathologists performed a postmortem and concluded that the man had probably died mid-flight Let me see ... he walked onto the plane,...

HashAttack2

This ain't no fucking real emergency. It is an effing emergency in the mind of a few....who thought they were gonna put the rest of us into...

Buffalo_Ken

The administration defended OSHA's legal right to issue these requirements, saying that the Occupational Safety and Health Act "gives OSHA the...

HashAttack2

Thanks, SOTT. Good read.

ReRan

Society's Child

Ya think?! Ferguson prosecutor says witnesses lied under oath to grand jury

Conscienceless senator blocks suicide prevention act, saying it's too expensive

Big brother watch: Police pre-crime algorithm uses social media posts against you in real-time

Non-profit hospitals are suing poor patients and seizing their wages

Crowd erupts when cop beats handcuffed boy in New York

Blackmail opportunity? More than 48,000 federal employees affected by background check hack

8 children stabbed to death in Australia, mother in serious condition

Family of toddler injured by SWAT 'grenade' faces $1M in medical bills

Sucker-punching cop shamed by judge for breaking 'Good Samaritan' woman's leg

Governor of New York state announces fracking ban

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