Society's ChildS


Handcuffs

Baltimore man calls police for help, ends up dead after being 'attacked' by police


RT
Tue, 27 Sep 2016 14:58 UTC
Baltimore police patch
© Reuters
The family of Tawon Boyd, 21, who died in Baltimore's Franklin Square Hospital after calling the police requesting an ambulance while fighting with his girlfriend, are questioning the way he was treated by authorities claiming it might have led to his death.

Tawon Boyd died at the age of 21 on Wednesday. While the autopsy is still pending, his attorney claims that brain swelling along with kidney and heart failure all contributed to his death. All three things can theoretically be attributed to blunt force trauma, which witnesses believe he incurred while the police roughly subdued him.

Tawon Boyd called the police last Wednesday while having an argument with his girlfriend, Deona Styron. Officers responded to his emergency call, requesting an ambulance, citing that he felt disoriented and needed to go to the hospital, attorney Latoya Francis-Williams said in a statement.

"They really were supposed to be there to get him to the nearest healthcare facility," Francis-Williams wrote. However, when police found him, he was described in reports as "confused and paranoid" while he claimed that his girlfriend "got him intoxicated and is secretly recording him while someone else is in the home," the police report read.
Read More...
Heart - Black

Second European bison found decapitated at Spanish wildlife reserve


The Guardian, UK
Tue, 27 Sep 2016 15:05 UTC
European bison
© AlamyEuropean bison
Spanish authorities are investigating the death of a second European bison, which was found decapitated just days after staff discovered the headless body of the herd's dominant male.

The death of the bison was similar to that of Sauron, the 660kg (1,455lb) male whose decapitated body was found nearly a week earlier at the reserve.

A spokesman for the central government's representative in the eastern Valencia region where the private Valdeserrillas reserve is located said the animal had been decapitated after death. "Either it died of a natural death, or it was poisoned before being decapitated by an axe," he said.

The European bison, the continent's largest wild land mammal, once roamed across most of the continent but it was severely hunted until it finally became extinct in the wild in 1927, according to the WorldWildlife Fund.

Neither of the dead animals had any bullet wounds, and reserve spokesman Rodolfo Navarro told AFP earlier this week he thought that Sauron might have been poisoned and decapitated by hunters who wanted its head as "a trophy".

Comment: European bison 'Sauron' poisoned, decapitated at wildlife reserve in Spain

Read More...
Stormtrooper

Disgruntled Houston shooting suspect wore 3rd Reich uniform, collected Nazi symbols in his apartment


RT
Tue, 27 Sep 2016 14:21 UTC
shooting houston
© Bob Levey / Getty Images / AFPInvestigators looks over the scene where nine individuals were shot at a strip mall along Weslayan St. on September 26, 2016 in Houston, Texas.
A "disgruntled lawyer" who is believed to be responsible for shooting nine people in Houston has reportedly been collecting Nazi paraphernalia and was wearing a vintage military uniform with swastikas when going on the rampage.

Nathan DeSai, as the shooting suspect has unofficially been identified, injured six people near a Houston shopping center on Monday morning before being neutralized by police. Another three people were struck by debris and glass.
Read More...
Eye 2

Germany orders Facebook to stop collecting, storing data from WhatsApp users


RT
Tue, 27 Sep 2016 12:51 UTC
facebook whatsapp
© Dado Ruvic / Reuters An illustration photo shows a man using WhatsApp messenger in a smart phone behind a Facebook logo.
Social networking giant Facebook has been ordered by German authorities to stop collecting and storing data from WhatsApp after users claimed their digital privacy was at risk. The privacy regulator also ruled that the data that has already been forwarded should be deleted.

The pushback comes after the messaging app announced last month it would share some users' personal information, such as phone numbers and analytics data, with parent company Facebook as part of a program to synchronize the two businesses.

However the controversial scheme means businesses would be able to send messages to customers on WhatsApp.

"After the acquisition of WhatsApp by Facebook two years ago, both parties have publicly assured that data will not be shared between them," Johannes Caspar, the German data protection commissioner said in a statement.

Comment: 'Betrayal of trust': WhatsApp to start sharing user data with Facebook and corporations

Read More...
Attention

Drug lab explosion in Bronx, NY kills fire captain, injures ten police and firefighters


RT
Tue, 27 Sep 2016 14:22 UTC
bronx blast house fire
Falling Debris Kills Firefighter When Suspected Drug Den Explodes in Bronx
A New York City fire captain has been killed and multiple police and firefighters were injured after a "drug lab" exploded in the northern borough of the Bronx.

Initial reports spoke of at least five people injured, including two firefighters, following a "gas explosion" at a house on West 234th Street.

Firefighters showed up at the location around 6:30 am local time, to investigate reports of a gas leak. What they found was a homemade drug laboratory, which exploded as police and firefighters were investigating, local media reported citing law enforcement sources.

The explosion took place just after 7:30 am local time, injuring four police officers and a FDNY battalion chief, reported the New York Post. He was rushed to the hospital but "could not be saved."
Read More...
Attention

Oops: Ex-military MPs attack anti-war artwork unaware it was commissioned and endorsed by veterans


RT
Tue, 27 Sep 2016 11:34 UTC
anti-war art project UK, throwing medals downing street
© Rob Edwards / RT
Former British soldiers have responded fiercely to ex-military MPs who attacked their satirical anti-war art project. The ex-services group accused them of being "self-appointed veterans' champions" who "trade off the backs of ordinary soldiers."

The response by Veterans for Peace UK (VFP UK) follows a verbal attack on the satirical art project, parts of which were displayed at a Momentum event on the fringes of the Labour Party Annual Conference in Liverpool on Sunday.

The veteran-endorsed 'Army: Be the Meat' artwork was originally commissioned by military veterans in 2015 to highlight a number of issues relating to the poor treatment of veterans and soldiers, and opaque military recruiting practices.
Read More...
Headphones

Okinawan villagers sue local government over construction of U.S. helipads causing unlivable noise pollution


RT
Tue, 27 Sep 2016 13:30 UTC
Marine station Futenma okinawa
© Toru Hanai / Reuters Four Sea Knight transport helicopters and a Super Stallion helicopter are parked at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan on Okinawa.
Two Okinawa villages filed a lawsuit last week against the local government after it allowed US military construction of two heliports on the only virgin forest remaining in Okinawa Prefecture, home of a US base in Japan.

While the government maintains that the completion of helipads will benefit the people of Okinawa, after months of protests, the villages of Higashi and Kunigami around the Northern Training Area have filed a lawsuit at the Naha District Court, citing noise complaints.

The two helipads, which were completed in 2014, are currently being used by the US Marines. Helicopters taking off and landing at these two sites cause constant noise pollution, the villagers say.

Comment: While construction of the helipads began in 2007, only two have been built thanks to the continuing protests and legal challenges by residents. The villagers are also fighting against the central Japanese government which has been ignoring their protests against the offensive U.S. military presence for years.

Read More...
Palette

US photographer's exhibition in Moscow closes and is branded 'child pornography' by protesters


RT
Sun, 25 Sep 2016 23:47 UTC
jock sturges exhibition
© Valery Melnikov / Sputnik
An exhibition by US photographer Jock Sturges, best known for his works featuring teenage nudity, has been shut down in Moscow after some protesters blocked the venue and accused the artist of shooting child pornography.

Camouflaged men, representing the NGO Officers of Russia, turned up at the Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography on Sunday afternoon. They blocked the entrance to the building, saying they were going to evaluate the contents of the exhibition for "pedophilic" contents.

Earlier, a man made it to into the building posing as a journalist and sprayed several of Sturges's works with a mix of urine and acetone. The perpetrator was detained and charged with hooliganism.

After negotiations with the activists, the Lumiere Brothers Center decided to close the controversial exhibition.

Comment: So this artist exhibits his work in a country where religion is part of everyday life, where online pornography has recently been restricted, and he didn't see this coming? The outrage and protests are justified from a society that does not want these images polluting the minds of their citizens. The artist's work is contributing to the objectification of children's bodies and the images will most probably be used by deviants to satisfy their unnatural urges.

This excellent article: Eradicating beauty: The destruction of art explains how over the years as our society has become more ponerized so has our artistic expression, and sometimes we defend downright grotesque, offensive and perverse pieces of 'art' in the name of freedom of expression, à la charlie hebdo.

Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Study reveals "safe" levels of glyphosate kills freshwater macroalgae putting entire ecosystems at risk of collapse

Whitney Webb
True Activist
Sat, 24 Sep 2016 00:00 UTC
glyphosate damages freshwater ecosystems
© Crystalriverfl.orgLegal levels of glyphosphate, can alter and kill freshwater seaweed by inhibiting photosynthesis. Die-offs of macroalgae can put the entire ecosystem at risk of collapse if the die-off is sufficiently severe.
A new study published by a group of Brazilian researchers in the journal Phycologia shows that Monsanto's most popular herbicide, RoundUp, negatively affects life in freshwater ecosystems. More specifically, legal levels of RoundUp, as well as those of its main ingredient glyphosphate, can alter and kill macroalgae (i.e. freshwater seaweed) by inhibiting photosynthesis.

The legal limits referenced in the study are those of Brazil, which are 0.28 mg l−1. Compare that to the US legal limit of 0.7 mg l−1. Macroalgae are extremely important in freshwater ecosystems as they function as primary producers, meaning they help form the bottom of the food chain on which other organisms depend. They also recycle nutrients and increase plankton populations, which are a main food source for many fish and other marine animals. Die-offs of macroalgae, regardless of the cause, reduce diversity and the populations of other animals in the ecosystem, which can put the entire ecosystem at risk of collapse if the die-off is sufficiently severe. The species of macroalgae used in the study, Nitella microcarpa, is found throughout the world, meaning that the implications of this study are global.

Comment: Monsanto's most dangerous product? The case against Glyphosate

Read More...
Pistol

Attorney goes on shooting rampage in Houston, wounding nine people before being shot by police


RT
Mon, 26 Sep 2016 16:13 UTC
houston shooting sept 26 2016
© Bob Levey / AFP A Houston Police Department investigator photograph a vehicle that received gunshot damage at a scene where nine were wounded in a strip mall shooting on September 26, 2016 in Houston, Texas.
A man opened fire on commuters near a strip mall in southwest Houston, Texas, early Monday morning, wounding nine people before being shot and killed by police. A bomb squad is searching what is believed to be the suspect's car.

Eyewitnesses, many of whom were traveling along Weslayen Street in the West University Place neighborhood, said a gunman carrying a revolver opened fire, shooting dozens of bullets beginning around 6:20am local time.

The Houston Police Department (HPD) confirmed "an active shooter situation in a shopping center near the corner of Weslayan and Bissonnet in southwest Houston," and that police killed the suspect while he exchanged gunfire with officers. HPD said it considers the scene "still active" but contained. A bomb squad is checking a Porsche believed to have belonged to the suspect near The Oaks condominiums on Law Street.

Comment: Update:

Houston Gunman Had 2 Weapons, Thousands of Rounds at Scene

Six of the shooting victims are in area hospitals, one is in serious condition and another is critical. The attorney has been identified as Nathan DeSai. Police have found two guns and 2500 rounds of live ammunition; a search of his home has revealed a collection of vintage military items dating to the Civil War and other guns. So far, there is no indication that a second suspect was involved. The FBI is assisting with the investigation.

DeSai's former law partner, Kenneth McDaniel, countered reports that that DeSai was 'disgruntled' over the dissolution of the business, saying the firm's closure had been prompted by a falloff in business because of the recent recession. McDaniel said he had worked with DeSai for about 12 years although he had not been in contact with him recently.

The property manager of DeSai's condo complex, said DeSai was involved in two recent incidents at the complex. In August, police were called after roofers working in the complex said DeSai pointed an assault-style rifle at them. Last week, DeSai became upset because of water pressure problems at his home, asked for maintenance help and expressed his displeasure in an email to the management firm that implied he'd "intimidate his way to getting what he was asking for".

Read More...