Society's ChildS


Eye 2

Psychotic! Man kills girlfriend by dousing her with gasoline and setting her on fire

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© Shutterstock
An Alabama woman whose former boyfriend doused her in gasoline and set her on fire died early on Tuesday after two days in the hospital, authorities said.

Deborah Diane Prater, 49, had recently ended her three-year relationship with Michael Kennedy, 48, when police say he came to her house in a Birmingham suburb early on Sunday and argued with her before setting her ablaze.

"It's a totally senseless and violent loss of life," said Sergeant Jack Self, spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. "This is a special kind of evil that has no place existing in our society."

Kennedy fled in Prater's sport utility vehicle and was arrested on Monday about five miles away by U.S. Marshals. He was initially charged with attempted murder - a charge likely to be upgraded with Prater's death.

Eye 2

Family outraged after psychopathic Houston cop forces man to leave blind dog on the side of the freeway after traffic arrest

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The mayor of Houston has apologized to a family whose nearly blind dog was killed in traffic after a police officer forced them to leave it on the side of the road.

Josie Garcia told KTRK that the family pet Chihuahua, named Guero, was along for the trip when her husband gave a friend a ride on July 13. The men were stopped by a Houston police officer for failing to use a turn signal, and a search of the vehicle turned up prescription medication, which Garcia said belonged to the passenger.

The officer took both men into custody. And when the tow truck arrived, the dog was placed on the side of the road.

"My husband pleaded with the officer to let him call someone to come get Guero, and asked him to call Barc [animal shelter], but he said it wasn't his problem, that the dog would be fine," Garcia recalled.

Evil Rays

Australia wants access to MH17 crash site, no interest in further sanctions against Russia - Tony Abbott

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© RIA Novosti / Andrei SteninCrash site of Malaysian Boeing 777 in Ukraine
Australia's number one priority is getting access to the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash site in eastern Ukraine, rather than imposing further sanctions on Russia, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Wednesday as quoted by The Star.

"I am not saying that we might not, at some point in the future, move further," Abbott said. "But at the moment our focus is not on sanctions, our focus is on bringing home our dead as quickly as we humanly can."

Australia has not stopped attempting to gain access to the Boeing crash site, the prime minister stressed.

"If it doesn't happen today we will try again tomorrow, if it doesn't happen tomorrow we will try again the next day," Abbott said.

On Tuesday, a group consisting of Dutch and Australian specialists for the third time failed to reach the MH17 crash site near the city of Torez due to ongoing fighting in the region. Tony Abbot expressed concern over the armed conflict around the crash site, adding that "it's not just the separatists, it's the Ukrainian government as well."

A total of 298 people, including 193 Dutch citizens and 27 Australians, died on July 17 as a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in Donetsk Region of Ukraine.

Pistol

Former New York cop and prosecutor: 'Brutality is part of the job'

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© Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesA child holds up a sign outside of the Bethel Baptist Church before the funeral for Eric Garner on July 23, 2014, in New York City.
Two years ago, a black man named Darren Collins claimed that a New York City cop humiliated him in front of his friends in broad daylight, pulling down his pants and underwear on the street and tapping his testicles in an unlawful search for drugs.

Collins was "violated, embarrassed, hurt," he said to WABC recently. So he told his story to civilian investigators and later filed a lawsuit against the city, hoping that the officer would pay a price.

In the end, the only people who paid were taxpayers. The city shelled out $30,000 to Collins and another plaintiff in a settlement, but the cop who allegedly harassed Collins rejected the claims against him and was never disciplined or even admonished. He kept his badge and gun and stayed on the streets.

The cop's name was Officer Daniel Pantaleo. On July 17, Pantaleo, who is white, became the focus of a racially charged controversy after another altercation with a black man. This time, Pantaleo wrapped his arm around Staten Island resident Eric Garner, seizing him in a banned chokehold. Garner died soon after.

Comment: There is no excuse for the sort of violence that NYPD and other police around the U.S. carry out on human beings. A citizen's best hope for justice is to not call the police, ever, and educate themselves on psychopaths in positions of power and how they affect society.
  • NYPD Twitter campaign backfires, flooded with photos of police abuse
  • Father of six dies after New York police place him in chokehold for selling untaxed cigarettes
  • US is the Worst Police State in the World - By the Numbers



Airplane

Woman loses consciousness and dies on U.S. Airways flight from Honolulu to Phoenix

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© Chuck Burton, AP
A passenger died this morning on a US Airways flight from Honolulu to Phoenix, authorities say.

Fire Capt. Benjamin Santillan tells the Associated Press the passenger was a woman in her 50s.

The unidentified woman apparently lost consciousness while the plane was en route to Phoenix. Santillan tells AP that the woman had no pulse and was pronounced dead by a team of first responders that met the plane on arrival in Phoenix.

The incident happened on US Airways Flight 693, an overnight "red-eye" flight that left Honolulu on Tuesday night before arriving in Phoenix shortly around 7 a.m,. local time. US Airways is now part of of American Airlines as those two carriers proceed with a merger.

Bomb

The crisis continues: Wednesday updates (From the Top) on Gaza-Israel tragedy

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© UnknownA journalist in Gaza was killed today. Links to his footage are below.
7:00 p.m. ET Update on death toll in Gaza: 1361 dead, of that over 315 children, with 2300 kids injured.

No need to update Israeli civilian toll: still one Bedouin, one Thai worker, one settler.

Amnesty International: Israel's attack on UN school last night "is a possible war crime and should be independently investigated....If the strike on this school was the result of Israeli artillery fire it would constitute an indiscriminate attack and a likely war crime. Artillery should never be used against targets in crowded civilian areas and its use in such a manner would never be considered a 'surgical' strike." How this is different from so many other Israeli strikes is a bit beyond me, however.

Bernie Sanders on carnage in Gaza: "That's not where my mind is right now."

4:40 p.m. ET NYT's Jodi Rudoren has posted her new Facebook cover page photo--she's in that tunnel on her IDF tour. Actually this is more perfect that she imagines. See some of the comments on it there. Someone wants her in an IDF jeep, and so on. h/t Patrick Connors.

4:30 White House "condemns" latest UN massacre but can't bring itself to name or blame Israel. Then makes sure to hit UN. State Dept. spokesman today said still don't know who bombed school--contrary to all evidence. Also, U.S. has shipped new mortar rounds to replaces ones used today (see below).

4:00 p.m. ET If you can handle it: death of journalist in Gaza captured today in incredible, horrific, video.

Evil Rays

Stop the Slaughter: El Salvador becomes fifth Latin American country to recall Israel envoy

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© REUTERSChile's President Michelle Bachelet waves as she leaves the Itamaraty Palce after the 6th BRICS summit and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), in Brasilia July 16, 2014.
El Salvador recalled its Israeli ambassador from Tel Aviv on Wednesday to protest the military operation in Gaza, making it the fifth Latin American country to do so.

Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru have already recalled their ambassadors.

Yigal Palmor, the spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry, said recalling ambassadors encourages Hamas.

"Israel expresses its deep disappointment with the hasty decision of the governments of El Salvador, Peru and Chile to recall their ambassadors for consultations," said Palmor. "This step constitutes encouragement for Hamas, a group recognized as a terror organization by many countries around the world."

Such countries are handing are handing terrorists a prize, said Palmor.

Comment: The only terrorists are the Israelis.


Health

Two babies diagnosed with herpes after sick Jewish circumcision ritual

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© unknown
Two more infants were diagnosed with herpes in New York this month after undergoing ritual Jewish circumcisions, the Health Department says.

In both cases, the infant boys were born to mothers with full-term pregnancies and normal deliveries. They were circumcised using the direct oral suction technique practiced by some Orthodox Jews eight days after their birth, and developed lesions on their genitals shortly thereafter, the Health Department said.

Their conditions Wednesday weren't immediately clear.

Comment: We shudder to think of the mental landscape of the person who first thought up this ritual. This isn't the first time an infant has contracted herpes after a ritual circumcision.


Ambulance

Doctors tell of agonizing battle fighting largest Ebola outbreak in history

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Danger everywhere: A hygienist approaches patients classified as suspects wearing a boiling hot Hazmat suit to protect them from the invisible killer
A doctor who has fought the Ebola virus in Liberia where it infected two American doctors today gave a terrifying insight into how medics put their fears aside and their lives on the line to treat patients in the current outbreak taking a grip in Africa.

Doctor Hannah Spencer revealed how she wills herself to feel safe inside a boiling hot air-sealed Hazmat suit - her only barrier between her and catching an invisible killer that kills 90 per cent of those who are infected.

Dr Spencer, who is British, volunteered for medical charity Doctors Without Borders in Guinea and Liberia - the crucible of the current outbreak which has killed more than 600 and infected around 1,200.

She spoke out before news emerged that two Americans, Dr Kent Brantly, 33, and Nancy Writebol, 60, had contracted Ebola and are fighting for their lives to explain the risks, the courage, the physical toll and fear endured by doctors battling to contain the virus from killing more.

To minimise the risk of infection they have to wear thick rubber boots that come up to their knees, an impermeable body suit, gloves, a face mask, a hood and goggles to ensure no air at all can touch their skin.

Dr Spencer, 27, and her colleagues lose up to five litres of sweat during a shift treating victims and have to spend two hours rehydrating afterwards.

Stock Up

Electricity prices jump to all-time record in US

avg price kw electricity us
For the first time ever, the average price for a kilowatthour (KWH) of electricity in the United States has broken through the 14-cent mark, climbing to a record 14.3 cents in June, according to data released last week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Before this June, the highest the average price for a KWH had ever gone was 13.7 cents, the level it hit in June, July, August and September of last year.

The 14.3-cents average price for a KWH recorded this June is about 4.4 percent higher than that previous record.

Typically, the cost of electricity peaks in summer, declines in fall, and hits its lowest point of the year during winter. In each of the first six months of this year, the average price for a KWH hour of electricity has hit a record for that month. In June, it hit the all-time record.

Although the price for an average KWH hit its all-time record in June, the seasonally adjusted electricity price index--which measures changes in the price of electricity relative to a value of 100 and adjusts for seasonal fluctuations in price--hit its all-time high of 209.341 in March of this year, according to BLS. In June, it was slightly below that level, at 209.144.

Comment: Electricity production in the US peaked in 2007. No doubt there is some correlation between the fact that the US is so busy fomenting regime change around the world, that there is no money to spend on infrastructure. Bridges and entire cities are crumbling, yet the pentagon has free reign to spend.

Infrastructure of US Doomed?
US infrastructure rotting away while billions go to surveillance, killing, and foreign bribery
Infrastructure is Crumbling While US Congress Blathers: Bridges, Tunnels and Railroads Structurally Deficient
Higher energy, food prices are hurting most Americans