Society's ChildS


Red Flag

Elderly New Jersey man beaten with crowbar for wearing Trump t-shirt

Bloomfield Police
© northjersey.com
A 62-year-old male was assaulted in a Friendly's parking lot for wearing a Donald Trump T-shirt, Bloomfield police reported Tuesday.

The victim was walking on West Passaic Avenue in Bloomfield at 5:41 p.m. Wednesday when a male in an older gray compact vehicle questioned him about his shirt of the Republican presidential candidate. The suspect directed profanities at the victim as he continued to follow the victim.

The suspect followed the victim to the restaurant at 1243 Broad St. The suspect then approached the victim armed with a crowbar. An altercation occurred, with the suspect striking the victim several times, police said.

The victim sustained injuries to his forearms, hands and thighs. He was treated at the scene.

The suspect fled prior to police arrival, according to authorities.

Comment: American society is strange. After a barrage of media commenting on Trump and his supporters leaning in the fascist direction, the anti-Trump demographic seems to have dusted off the old Brownshirts for a little old fashioned stormtrooping. See also: Man holds up Hillary sign at RNC, Trump sign at DNC - see what happens


Evil Rays

Couple arrested after leaving 2yo son at home alone to play Pokemon Go

brent and brianna daley
© APThis undated booking photo provided by the Pima County Sheriff shows Brent Daley, left, and his wife, Brianna, who were accused of leaving their 2-year-old son alone for up to 90 minutes to go play the "Pokemon Go" smartphone game
An Arizona couple have been accused of leaving their 2-year-old son alone for up to 90 minutes to go play the "Pokemon Go" smartphone game, in a case that a local sheriff called "beyond comprehension."

Brent Daley, 27, and Brianna Daley, 25, were arrested after a neighbour found the boy crying outside the couple's home in a southeastern Phoenix suburb Thursday night, the Pinal County sheriff's office said Monday.

The child was barefoot and wearing a diaper and a T-shirt, authorities said.

The couple initially told deputies they went to buy gas but then said they had gone in search of virtual Pokemon creatures in their neighbourhood for about 90 minutes, the sheriff's office said.

Gold Coins

This one picture sums up the ridiculousness of the Olympics and glaring income inequality

olympics
The 31st Olympic summer games are underway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and thousands of athletes and spectators from around the world have gathered for the event which will serve as prime time entertainment for the next couple of weeks. Every four years an insane amount of money is dumped into the spectacle as host cities and the Olympic committee construct arenas, stadiums and press quarters, leaving megalithic ruins in their wake.

Most of the news coverage about the events in Rio are centered around the pomp and splendor of athleticism, hoping to portray the affair as an opportunity for the world to feel united in sport, yet the truth is always hidden from the highlights and coverage: the world is suffering from terrible inequality and the fallout of economic tyranny, and the divide between the haves and have-nots is now greater than it has ever been.

Comment: See also:


Evil Rays

Knife-wielding man suspected of abduction, assault asks Virginia police to shoot him, stabs himself

Emergency services in Charlottesville, VA
© NBC
Charlottesville police identified a man who threatened officers with a knife before stabbing himself in the chest Monday afternoon.

Kenneth Wayne George, 46, from Grottoes, is in stable condition at the University of Virginia Medical Center after police said he tried to abduct a 17-year-old girl and that he then stabbed himself when police attempted to apprehend him. Just after 1:30 p.m. Monday, city police were dispatched to the Days Inn at 1600 N. Emmet St. for the report of a possible abduction.

Minutes later, police spotted the suspect — later identified as George — hiding behind a utility building behind Ming Dynasty, near Emmet and Earhart Streets. When the officers attempted to apprehend him, George reportedly threw a trash can at one officer and then charged at him with a knife in hand.As officers avoided him, George reportedly shouted, "Shoot me."

Police said George then stabbed himself in the chest and an officer used a Taser to disable him. As he fell to the ground, George continued to injure himself, but officers were able to restrain and stop him, according to police.

No officers were injured during the incident. Police also said the 17-year-old abduction victim, who is known to George, was not injured.

Attention

Orlando nightclub shooter's father cheers at Hillary Clinton rally, calls for gun control

Seddique Mateen at Clinton rally
© WPTV
Seddique Mateen, the father of the Orlando nightclub shooter, attended a Hillary Clinton rally in Kissimmee, Florida, placing himself prominently behind the presidential candidate as she spoke to supporters.

Mateen was visible in the backdrop of Clinton's speech as she paid tribute to the police officers and victims of the shooting.

A WPTV reporter recognized Mateen and interviewed him after the event.

"It's a Democratic party so everybody can enjoy," he said, when asked why he decided to attend the rally. "Why should they be surprised, I love the United States."

Arrow Down

Stagnant wages, soaring housing costs leave one-third of UK households on the brink of homelessness

poverty Britain, homelessness Britain
© Neil Hall / Reuters One third of UK households could not afford to pay their rent or mortgage for more than a month if they lost their income.
One in three British households are teetering on the brink of homelessness because rent and mortgage payments have dramatically risen high, while real wages have fallen.

A study by homelessness charity Shelter and pollster YouGov found that a third (37 percent) of UK households could not afford to pay their rent or mortgage for more than a month if they lost their income.

Over a fifth (23 percent) said they would be unable to pay anything for their housing from the moment they lost their job.

Shelter said the report offers a reminder of how millions of families are living from "one paycheck to the next."

Comment: Surging London home prices decimate living standards


Safe

Panic rooms trending among the super rich

panic room
The hottest new trend for the .01 percent? Safe rooms, darling.

Billionaires are outfitting their abodes with ultra-luxe safe spaces that cost up to half a million dollars, according to a Town & Country story in the September issue of the glossy, which hits stands tomorrow.

The shelters are designed to protect against everything from natural disasters to home invasions and ISIS attacks, and come complete with infrared cameras, facial recognition software for entry, ballistic fiberglass to protect against explosions, air filtration units and bad-guy-distracting fog that's activated with the touch of a button.

"They may want a facility that's nuclear-proof, but they also want it to look like a Ritz-Carlton," Lana Corbi tells T&C. She and her husband run the security firm Strategically Armored & Fortified Environments.

Comment: Fad? Presentiment? Foreknowledge?


Whistle

British values: Sexism, money-grabbing, cover-ups rife among UK police

sue sim
© Northumbria Police / YouTube
A "sexist, money-grabbing" and "boys' club" culture among senior officers plagues Britain's police forces, according to former Northumbria Police chief Sue Sim.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, former Northumbria Police chief constable Sim complained of the barriers put in front of women inside the force, regardless of seniority.

Sim, who retired last year, came to national prominence during the manhunt for Raoul Moat, who shot a police officer after attacking his ex-girlfriend and killing her new partner in 2010.

"My biggest battle was with a culture that was sexist, money-grabbing and run by a 'boys' club' of senior officers who thought they could do what they damn well wanted," she told the Mail.

Stock Up

Fairness, equality: UK bosses earn 129 times more than their employees

British pound UK market
© Chris Ratcliffe / Reuters
The bosses of Britain's top companies were paid an average salary of £5.5 million last year, earning 129 times more than their employees, a new report has shown.

The British think tank High Pay Center revealed on Monday, that the chief executives of firms on London's FTSE 100 index enjoyed a 10-percent rise in their mean average income.

This is while, according to the report, most employees of these companies received a pay rise of about 2 percent last year.

The report also revealed that the median pay for the top brass rose to just shy of £4m last year, 144 times the median yearly income of the average Briton which currently stands at around £27,600.

Sir Martin Sorrell, who heads the advertising group WPP, was the highest paid boss with a total of more than £70 million.

Comment: Freedom and democracy: oligarchs enrich themselves while plunging the rest of us into poverty with impunity.


Arrow Up

Family of Muslim teen arrested for bringing homemade clock to school files federal lawsuit against school officials

homemade clock Ahmed Mohamed
© Irving Texas Police Department / Reuters A homemade clock made by Ahmed Mohamed, 14, is seen in an undated picture released by the Irving Texas Police Department September 16, 2015.
The family of a 14-year-old who was arrested in September for bringing a homemade clock to his Texas high school and then charged with having a "hoax bomb" has filed a federal lawsuit against school officials for violating his civil rights.

Ahmed Mohamed was arrested at his Irving, Texas, high school for bringing a homemade digital clock made of a plastic pencil box, electric wires, and other hardware. He said he wanted to show the clock to his English teacher. A family attorney said in November that Mohamed was interrogated by seven adults for nearly 90 minutes and was not allowed to call his parents, a violation of the Texas Juvenile Justice Code. He was threatened with expulsion if he did not sign a confession saying he intended to bring a "hoax bomb" to school.

Irving police eventually dropped the charges though Mohamed was still suspended for three days. He did not return to the school and was forced to leave the United States upon receiving death threats. He and his family now live in Qatar.

Now, Mohamed's family has sued the Irving Independent School District, the city of Irving, and MacArthur High School principal. The suit asks that a jury determine damages.

Comment: Arrest of 14-year-old student for making a clock: The fruits of sustained fearmongering and anti-Muslim animus