Society's Child

Italian Dies after Setting Himself on Fire in Austerity Protest

Katerina Nikolas
Digital Journal
Mon, 20 Aug 2012 00:00 UTC

Rome - A 54-year-old unemployed man has become the latest victim of Italian austerity measures. He died on Sunday from burns incurred when he set himself on fire in front of the Italian parliament last week.

Angelo di Carlo set himself on fire in Rome in a protest against austerity measures on August 11. Police put out the flames with fire extinguishers but di Carlo succumbed to 85 percent burns, dying on August 19. According to the Independent di Carlo was a jobless widower, struggling with financial problems.

Di Carlo's death is the latest in a wave of high profile suicides to hit Italy, which is one of a number of southern European countries facing crippling austerity measures in the midst of recession.

On March 28 Giuseppe Campaniello set himself on fire in front of the tax office in Bologna, after receiving a fine he could not afford to pay. Campaniello also died of his burns. His death was one of 25 recorded in the first four months of the year, labelled as austerity suicides.

The suicides in Italy follow an increasing trend of economic suicides in Greece. According to the Daily Beast by mid June 1,727 suicides were attributed to harsh austerity measures. The trend is also on the rise in Spain.

Shooter, victim dead, 9 injured outside Empire State Building

thespec.com
Fri, 24 Aug 2012 15:57 UTC

© Guillermo Ratzlaff / Reuters
Police look on as the alleged shooter, Jeff Johnson, lies dead on the sidewalk after a shooting incident near the Empire State Building in New York City, Aug. 24, 2012.

A recently laid-off store worker shot a former colleague to death Friday morning outside New York's iconic Empire State Building before being killed by police, police said. Nine others were hit by gunfire in the confrontation, but police said all were expected to survive.

The shooting set off chaos around one of the world's best-known landmarks at the height of the summer travel season and just after the morning rush hour. Police on their regular anti-terrorism duties in the highly touristed shopping area rushed to the scene.

"People were yelling 'Get down! Get down!'" said Marc Engel, who was on a bus in the area when he heard the shots. "It took about 15 seconds, a lot of 'pop, pop, pop, pop,' one shot after the other."

Engel saw the wounded scattered along the sidewalk, including one person "dripping enough blood to leave a stream."

Comment: CCTV footage of the incident has been published:

Fixing the Mortgage Mess: The Game-changing Implications of Bain v. MERS

Ellen Brown
Web of Debt
Wed, 22 Aug 2012 14:12 UTC

Two landmark developments on August 16^thgive momentum to the growing interest of cities and counties in addressing the mortgage crisis using eminent domain:

(1) The Washington State Supreme Court held in Bain v. MERS, et al., that an electronic database called Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) is not a "beneficiary" entitled to foreclose under a deed of trust; and

(2) San Bernardino County, California, passed a resolution to consider plans to use eminent domain to address the glut of underwater borrowers by purchasing and refinancing their loans.

MERS is the electronic smokescreen that allowed banks to build their securitization Ponzi scheme without worrying about details like ownership and chain of title. According to trial attorney Neil Garfield, properties were sold to multiple investors or conveyed to empty trusts, subprime securities were endorsed as triple A, and banks earned up to 40 times what they could earn on a paying loan, using credit default swaps in which they bet the loan would go into default. As the dust settles from collapse of the scheme, homeowners are left with underwater mortgages with no legitimate owners to negotiate with. The solution now being considered is for municipalities to simply take ownership of the mortgages through eminent domain. This would allow them to clear title and start fresh, along with some other lucrative dividends.

Social Harmony in Times of Global Dischord

Timothy C. Trepanier
Sott.net
Fri, 24 Aug 2012 10:47 UTC

The times they are a-changing
Everything is broken
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there
~Bob Dylan

It's like this:

Imagine you're at a house party.

The house is on fire and everyone keeps dancing. Oblivious to the rise in room temperature, the smoke crawling up the walls and the flames behind the door, they keep dancing, singing, drinking and partying.

Imagine there are a few people who notice the smoke, take a peek behind the door, see the flames and are going about the room trying to alert people to the danger. While a few may sit up and take notice, most of the revelers ignore the warnings and turn back to the party.

Well, consider me as one of these people sounding the alarm, and this essay as my warning. How much longer can you afford to continue dancing?

Several people shot outside Empire State Building

A. Mach, S. Prokupecz & J. Dienst
NBC News
Fri, 24 Aug 2012 08:52 UTC

At least four people were shot Friday morning outside the Empire State Building in New York City, officials told NBC News, adding that there could be as many as 10 victims.

© NBC News
An aerial view of the scene at the Empire State Building in New York where a shooting occurred Friday morning,

The suspected gunman was killed, officials said. Another person was reportedly dead too. It wasn't immediately clear if the gunman's wound was self-inflicted or if the suspect was shot by police.

The condition of the other victims is unknown at this time.

A law-enforcement official said the shooting did not appear to be terror-related, and may have been the actions of a disgruntled employee of a business in the Empire State Building, which houses 1,000 businesses.

"I heard pop, pop, pop, pop, and I ran back into my offices," a witness, Gloria Walker, told NBC News. "I ran, I ran, I ran," she said when she heard it.

Dogs Gone Wild! Pack of Crazed Pit Bulls Demolish California Minivan

Erik Ortiz
New York Daily News
Wed, 22 Aug 2012 09:31 UTC

In an attack reminiscent of 'Cujo' four pit bulls attack Dodge minivan trying to get to cat hiding in fender.

© Palm Springs Police Dept./AP/KPSP/CBS News
Palm Springs, California - This stray kitten was stuck in the bumper of a Dodge minivan and survived a 25-mile drive to Palm Springs and an attack by four pit bulls, who mauled the car's bumper. It has been named Fender Lynx.

A pack of pit bulls ripped through the front of a Southern California man's minivan in a stunning display of force that would make Cujo cringe.

So what drove the dogs to such destruction? A kitty stuck in the bumper area, Palm Springs police Sgt. Mike Kovaleff said Tuesday.

The unidentified owner's Dodge minivan was parked at his home in Banning where he saw the damage to his vehicle Monday morning, according to CBS affiliate KESQ in Palm Springs.

"He discovered that his vehicle had been significantly damaged by his four pit bull dogs, in an attempt to attack an unknown animal or rodent while his vehicle was parked overnight,"' Kovaleff told the station.

15-Year-Old Girl Alleges She was Gang-Raped on Carnival Cruise Voyage to Bahamas

Erik Ortiz
New York Daily News
Wed, 22 Aug 2012 10:54 UTC

Teen says another passenger supplied her and a group of underage boys with alcohol and then led sexual assault.

A Florida man accused of leading a gang rape of a 15-year-old girl during a cruise to the Bahamas denied taking part in the alleged attack - but admitted Tuesday to plying the group with alcohol, according to reports.

Casey Dickerson, 31, was arrested Monday and thrown into Orange County Jail on sexual-assault charges after the incident on a Carnival Sensation cruise Sunday, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Dickerson, of Casselberry, declined to say what occured in the room, but repudiated the rape accusation.

"I didn't rape anybody," he told ABC affiliate WFTV in a jail house interview Tuesday.

But, he said, "I admit I bought alcohol."

Dickerson was reportedly on the cruise with his wife leaving from Port Canaveral on Aug. 16. The couple was upset about noise heard from inside their cabin and were given a second room - but were also permitted to keep the first one.

It's inside the original cabin where Dickerson allegedly hosted a booze-filled gathering with four underage boys as well as the 15-year-old girl and her 15-year-old friend, according to The Sentinel.

Drunk Georgia Lab Tech Parties with Escaped Monkeys

Click Orlando
Wed, 22 Aug 2012 02:49 UTC

University employee found with pants down, monkeys roaming free

A Georgia Health Sciences University lab tech was recently discovered in a campus locker room engaging in unusual behavior.

Authorities said 32-year-old Coley Mitchell was jailed after he was found intoxicated with his pants down in a locker room in the Sanders Research and Education Building while two lab monkeys were found roaming free, outside their cages, the Augusta Chronicle reported.

Mitchell was booked into Richmond County jail on charges of public intoxication. The monkeys were examined and found to be unharmed.

Elderly Parisioner's Touch-Up to 19th century Spanish Church Fresco Turns Jesus into Cartoon

Andy Soltis
New York Post
Thu, 23 Aug 2012 01:25 UTC

An elderly parishioner's attempt to touch up this cherished but deteriorating Spanish church fresco has turned Jesus into a cartoon figure.

The unidentified woman, in her 80s, was upset at the damage that moisture was wreaking on the 19th century fresco in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza.

Without authorization, the devoted woman scraped away some of the paint, leaving white marks on the wall.

Then she took out a paintbrush and replaced the strokes of artist Elias Garcia Martinez with her own, Spanish media reported.

When she realized how badly it had turned out, she contacted the city's culture councilor, Juan Maria Ojeda.

"I think she had good intentions," Ojeda was quoted as saying.

As it turns out, the woman's efforts weren't even necessary. An organization that restores Spanish artwork, El Centro de Estudios Borjanos, had just received a donation from Martinez's granddaughter to repair the damage done by the moisture.

Ojeda said art experts are trying to determine whether the woman's work can be undone.

"If we can't fix it, we will probably cover the wall with a photo of the painting," he said.

Ronald Weekley Jr., Skateboarder Alleging Excessive Police Force, Hires Trayvon Martin Family Attorney

CBS News - Crimesider
Wed, 22 Aug 2012 01:04 UTC

© CBS Los Angeles
Image from cell phone video is believed to show Los Angeles police officers on top of Ronald Weekley, Jr., as they subdued and arrested him on Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012.

Ronald Weekley Jr., a 20-year-old skateboarder who alleges that police used excessive force when they arrested him on Saturday, has hired Benjamin Crump, the attorney representing the family of Trayvon Martin, CBS Los Angeles reports.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers tried to stop and detain Weekley at 6:25 p.m. on Saturday after spotting him skateboarding in traffic on Sunset Avenue in Venice, a violation of the vehicle code.

CBS Los Angeles reports a cell phone video of the arrest of Weekley shows four officers on top of the skateboarder, who is face down on a lawn. It appears as though Weekley is punched in the face repeatedly by one of the officers, as the other three wrestle with him on the ground.

Crump questioned why police stopped Weekley in the first place.

"Was he stopped because he was on the wrong side of the road, or was he attacked because he was the wrong color?" Crump asked.

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Society's Child

Italian Dies after Setting Himself on Fire in Austerity Protest

Shooter, victim dead, 9 injured outside Empire State Building

Fixing the Mortgage Mess: The Game-changing Implications of Bain v. MERS

Social Harmony in Times of Global Dischord

Several people shot outside Empire State Building

Dogs Gone Wild! Pack of Crazed Pit Bulls Demolish California Minivan

15-Year-Old Girl Alleges She was Gang-Raped on Carnival Cruise Voyage to Bahamas

Drunk Georgia Lab Tech Parties with Escaped Monkeys

Elderly Parisioner's Touch-Up to 19th century Spanish Church Fresco Turns Jesus into Cartoon

Ronald Weekley Jr., Skateboarder Alleging Excessive Police Force, Hires Trayvon Martin Family Attorney

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