Society's Child

Indiana woman sentenced to two days in prison; Ends up trapped for 154

Sylvie Krekow
Gawker
Mon, 27 Jan 2014 19:10 UTC

A woman from Clark County, Indiana, was held in jail for five months after being ordered to spend only two days there.

Judge Jerry Jacobi sentenced Destiny Hoffman, 34, to 48 hours in jail for failing to pass a drug test - one of the conditions of her drug court programs, which are notorious for being terrible forms of rehabilitation.

He instructed the Sheriff's office to hold her with no bond, and not to release her until "further order of the court" (it is currently unclear why a non-violent drug offender needed to be held indefinitely, without bail).

Hoffman was subsequently (and illegally) denied a hearing and any form of legal counsel, and would probably still be in jail if it weren't for Deputy Prosector Michaelia Gilbert, who noticed something was amiss while she was looking over old case files.

Gilbert quickly attempted to set the record straight by entering a motion for a status hearing, and Hoffman was finally appointed a lawyer, who "expect[s] this will result in a lawsuit for the county."

Judge Jacobi did not appear in court, and has not been reached to comment on the case.

A ban on owning farm animals? Michigan is considering it

Daniel Jennings
OffTheGridNews
Fri, 24 Jan 2014 21:40 UTC

Keeping even one "farm animal" in residential neighborhoods could soon be illegal in Michigan. That's because a proposed change to state regulations could strip property owners of the right to keep and raise small numbers of poultry or livestock.

Michigan's Right to Farm Act currently extends to all property owners in the state, including those in areas zoned residential or commercial. The state Agricultural Commission is considering a change to the regulations - called Generally Acceptable Agricultural And Management Practices (GAAMPS) - that would strip property owners of that right.

"It would exclude a whole bunch of people who are seeking Right to Farm protection," Randy Buchler of the Michigan Small Farm Council said of the proposal, "and strip the small farmers of their right to be protected by a state law."

The change would allow local governments to bar people from keeping small numbers of animals such as one cow or pig or a flock of chickens on their property. The law does this by labeling certain kinds of property, such as lots in subdivisions or small homesteads, as unacceptable for livestock.

Woman jailed for small amount of marijuana dies two days later

Jonathan Wolfe
Opposing Views
Fri, 24 Jan 2014 21:14 UTC

Two sisters returning to Kansas from a trip to Colorado were pulled over on Monday for speeding. After being stopped, the Kansas police officer found a small amount of marijuana in the car. As will surely happen to many people in the near future, the sisters purchased marijuana legally in Colorado but made the mistake of bringing it across state lines.

The officer arrested the sisters, named Brenda Sewell and Joy Biggs, and put them in jail. While in jail, Sewell was unable to take her medications. She had the pills in a daily pill container rather than in their original prescription bottles. County officials say they were unable to determine what each pill was, and, because of this, could not allow Sewell to take her medications. She'd been taking medicine for hepatitis C, fibromyalgia, and thyroid problems for over a decade.

On Wednesday, after being off her medications for two days, Sewell fell ill in her jail cell. She was reportedly foaming at the mouth before passing out. Biggs and another inmate alerted authorities of the emergency while trying to revive her.

Oil field fumes so painful, Alberta families forced to move

Mychaylo Prystupa
Vancouver Observer
Sun, 26 Jan 2014 18:39 UTC

Severe headaches, dizziness, rashes and loss of memory: all symptoms reported to a new hearing examining health effects of Alberta's rapidly expanding heavy oil industry

Northwest Alberta grain farmer Alain Labrecque recalls the first winter in 2011 when the fumes from oil tanks near his home in the Peace River area seemed to trigger terrible health effects for himself, his wife and two small children.

"I started getting massive headaches. My eyes twitched. I got dizzy spells. I often felt like I was going to pass out."

"Next thing I knew, my [3-year-old] girl had trouble walking. She had no balance. She would sit at the table, and she would just fall off her chair."

"My [4-year-old] son - he was really black under his eyes all the time, and had big time constipation."

"Then my wife fell down the stairs while carrying a laundry basket."

"We went through a weird winter like that," Labrecque told the Vancouver Observer by phone Sunday.

Labrecque, his family, and neighbours are part of a group of rural home owners now giving testimony to an unprecedented Alberta hearing, examining the health effects of the odour and emissions from bitumen extraction. About 75 people packed the conference centre, each day of the first week of proceedings.

Arizona Cops shoot and kill unarmed man with his hands in the air

CBS5
Mon, 27 Jan 2014 17:03 UTC

Video of a police standoff contradicts the initial Pinal County Sheriff's Office description of the chain of events that led to the shooting death of a suspected car thief. The man had led police and sheriff's deputies on a chase through Casa Grande and Eloy for nearly an hour, before deputies immobilized the car he was driving.

Ukraine protesters declare eight-hour truce as talks with government continue

Shaun Walker
The Guardian
Thu, 23 Jan 2014 09:14 UTC

After declaring truce, opposition politician Vitali Klitschko said he would return to barricades later to announce results of talks

An eight-hour truce has been declared by protesters in Kiev after a day of violence in which at least three people died and an opposition leader said he was willing to face "a bullet in the forehead" if Ukraine's president, Viktor Yanukovych, did not launch snap elections.

The truce was announced by opposition politician and former heavyweight boxer Vitali Klitschko at midday Kiev time, as negotiations between opposition leaders and Yanukovych were expected to continue.

On Thursday afternoon Yanukovych called a special parliament session for next week to discuss the crisis, but there was no indication that this represented an inclination to compromise with the opposition.

On Wednesday, a three-hour meeting between the sides ended without a deal, leaving the capital braced for intensified violence.

After the truce was announced, protesters began to extinguish the huge burning barricade, made of thousands of tyres, which has separated them from lines of riot police and been the focal point of clashes.

Klitschko said he would return to the barricades at 8pm local time (6pm GMT) to announce the results of negotiations.

Behind the Headlines: Surviving the Psy-pocalypse - Interview with Stefan Verstappen

Sott Editors
Sott.net
Sun, 12 Jan 2014 19:00 UTC

Earlier this month we spoke with Stefan Verstappen, Canadian writer, artist, and martial arts expert. This world traveller is also one of the few people who understands that psychopaths rule our world. Creator of the viral YouTube video documentary 'Defense Against the Psychopath', based on his book The Art of Urban Survival: A Family Safety and Self Defense Manual, Verstappen has lots to share, not only about defending ourselves from the predators in our midst, but also about what we can do to prepare for natural disasters and social breakdown.

Running Time: 01:52:00

Download: MP3

Comment: Here's a link to the documentary Verstappen refers to in this interview:

Stress, Portrait of a Killer - Full Documentary (2008)

Russian Foreign Ministry: Guantanamo must close during Obama's term

RT
Mon, 27 Jan 2014 12:40 UTC

Guantanamo Bay detention facility should be closed down while President Barack Obama is still in power, insists Russia's Foreign Ministry. A Russian delegation which recently inspected the facility witnessed grave violations of basic human rights.

"Our visit to Guantanamo has convinced us all over again that this so-called prison must be shut down at the earliest possible time," said the Russian Foreign Ministry's Commissioner for Human Rights, Konstantin Dolgov, at a media briefing in Moscow.

Russian teenager arrested in Pennsylvania for building bombs

Associated Press
The Guardian
Mon, 27 Jan 2014 11:40 UTC

© Altoona Police Department
Vladislav Miftakhov was being investigated for growing marijuana in his home when police found bomb-making materials.

The Russian roommate of a Penn State student who has been charged with building a suspected bomb in his bedroom has said that the 19-year-old recently set off three "mini-bombs" just outside their apartment.

Andrew Leff told the Altoona Mirror that he warned Vladislav Miftakhov to get rid of the bomb-making materials. He called Miftakhov "dumb" and "crazy", but not dangerous.

Miftakhov was in jail on Sunday in Altoona, after being arrested on Friday and charged with possessing a weapon of mass destruction, risking a catastrophe and other counts. Court records do not list a lawyer for Miftakhov.

Police said they were investigating a reported marijuana growing operation at Miftakhov's apartment when they found and dismantled the suspected bomb. They also allegedly found a suitcase containing explosives-related material.

Americans are flocking to Mexico to take advantage of its better healthcare system

brasschecktv.com
Mon, 27 Jan 2014 10:49 UTC

Another surprise about US/Mexican relations...

For years, thousands of Americans have been going to Mexico for medical procedures that would otherwise be too expensive in the US.

Now, some are ever taking advantage of Mexico's free health care.

Given the unfolding collapse of any semblance of competence, sanity and humanity in the US health care system, this trickle could easily become a flood.

There are many science fiction movies and television series that have android robot people, like Battlestar Galactica and Agents of Shield. In the...

Dwoods44

A student at Princeton University argued in a Sunday night opinion article that the school's ban on plagiarizing or cheating 'disadvantages'...

codis

What is a good sign to me is this is a young person thinking critically, despite being educated in America. He steps through logically what the...

Dwoods44

They're pushing this particular Psy Op like crazy these days, Why do I say psy op? Because I just happen to be a mol. biologist who worked on...

scrutinizer

All this concern about masks, but not a peep about the harm from the shots. Hmmm..... From that alone, my conclusion is that masks cause harm -...

GhettoKing

Society's Child

Indiana woman sentenced to two days in prison; Ends up trapped for 154

A ban on owning farm animals? Michigan is considering it

Woman jailed for small amount of marijuana dies two days later

Oil field fumes so painful, Alberta families forced to move

Arizona Cops shoot and kill unarmed man with his hands in the air

Ukraine protesters declare eight-hour truce as talks with government continue

Behind the Headlines: Surviving the Psy-pocalypse - Interview with Stefan Verstappen

Russian Foreign Ministry: Guantanamo must close during Obama's term

Russian teenager arrested in Pennsylvania for building bombs

Americans are flocking to Mexico to take advantage of its better healthcare system

Latest News

Picture of the Day

Quote of the Day

Recent Comments

Quantum Quirk

Contact Us