Society's ChildS


Sheriff

How to get arrested in Arizona for 'Driving Under Influence' with a breath alcohol content of ZERO: Be Black

Jessie Thornton was driving in Surprise, Arizona, minding his own business as a law-abiding citizen. His lawyer says Jessie made one mistake - the color of his skin.
jessie thornton
© Screengrab ABC 15Since moving to Surprise, Arizona, retired Ohio firefighter Jessie Thornton claims police have stopped him while driving at least 10 times.
Drunk driving is a serious problem in the United States, impacting many thousands of Americans every year, and so is racism. The two issues converged recently during a routine traffic stop of 64-year-old retired firefighter Jessie Thornton by police officers in Surprise, Arizona.

The motorist was handcuffed and taken into custody. Thornton submitted to a Breathalyzer sobriety test and blew a 0.000 blood alcohol content (BAC).

Despite the seeming exoneration of the test, the suspect was charged with a DUI, an assessment that led Thornton's attorney to quip that the real crime was, "D-W-B. Driving While Black."

Thornton told the local ABC News affiliate that he has been pulled over 10 times and issued four tickets since moving from Ohio to retire in the community of Surprise. This latest stop was the first time he'd been taken to the Surprise lockup.

The arresting officer cited the retiree's red eyes as grounds for the arrest. Thornton credits chemicals in the neighborhood L.A. Fitness's lap pool for the redness, a theory in line with Surprise law enforcement's resident DRE - drug recognition expert.

Sheriff

Off-duty Alabama cops collect DNA samples at sobriety checkpoint roadblocks

sobriety checkpoint
© Unknown
Off-duty cops in two counties in Alabama spent the weekend collecting saliva and blood samples from drivers at roadblocks.

According to Lt. Freddie Turrentine with the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department, drivers were asked to voluntarily offer samples of their saliva and blood for a study being conducted by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation.

The drivers were compensated for their samples.

"They've got big signs up that says 'paid volunteer survey' and if they want to participate they pull over there and they ask them questions and if they are willing to give them a mouth swab they give them $10 and if they are willing to give them a blood sample they give them $50. And if they don't do anything they drive off," Turrentine explained to The Daily Caller.


Comment: And if they don't do anything and drive off you can bet their license number is duly noted. Failure to submit to authority is highly suspicious behavior after all.


Eye 2

Brazil to use drones above stadiums at Confederations Cup, paving the way for their use at the 2014 World Cup

Unmanned aircraft are among a raft of new security measures being brought in

These include stadium fly-overs by Air Force jets and helicopters kitted out with surveillance equipment

Confederations Cup is being seen as a 'dry run' for next year's World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympics


Brazilian police are to use surveillance drones to monitor crowds at the Confederations Cup football tournament, paving the way for their use at next year's World Cup.

The unmanned aircraft are among a raft of security measures being brought in including thermal cameras, stadium fly-overs by Air Force fighter jets and helicopters kitted out with surveillance equipment including high-resolution, night-vision and thermal cameras.

The Confederations Cup football tournament gets underway this weekend, with thousands of fans from across the world expected to attend.

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Eye in the sky: Brazilian police are to use surveillance drones at the Confederation Cup football tournament ahead of next year's World Cup

Hardhat

Inspector who surveyed Philly building before collapse commits suicide


An inspector who surveyed a Philadelphia building before it collapsed last week, killing six people, has committed suicide, a city official confirmed.

Deputy Mayor Everett Gillison said 52-year-old inspector Ronald Wagenhoffer was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a pickup truck Wednesday night. Wagenhoffer as a 16-year veteran of the Department of Licenses and Inspections and had inspected the building May 14. CBS station KYW reports that was the last inspection before the fatal accident.

Blackbox

Fire started by an explosion causes multiple injuries at Louisiana chemical plant

Multiple injuries have been reported after an explosion at a Louisiana chemical plant. Louisiana State Police say there was an explosion at a plant in the town of Geismar and footage showed thick, black smoke pouring from a huge fire at the facility. The fire broke out Thursday morning around 8:30am at The Williams Companies Inc. plant about 20 miles from Louisiana capital Baton Rouge.
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Explosion: A fire started by an explosion broke out at a Louisiana chemical plant Thursday. The plant's website says it produces 1.3 billion pounds of ethylene and 90 million pounds of propylene a year
A neighboring plant told WAFB that Williams Olefin has a hydrocarbon fire that continues to rage uncontrolled. One area hospital, Our Lady of the Lake, reportedly took on five victims of the explosion. Other hospitals took on the injured, but have not reported any numbers. No deaths have been reported.

The Williams Company announced around 11:30am that emergency shutdown valves have been closed and the fire has been 'greatly diminished.'

They said the safety of their employees and that of the rescue workers was their greatest concern. The company's website says the plant puts out about 1.3 billion pounds of ethylene and 90 million pounds of polymer grade propylene a year. The plant makes highly flammable gases that are basic building blocks in the petrochemical industry.

Che Guevara

Bilderberg protesters addressed by Labour MP Michael Meacher (Video)

On the public side of the giant Bilderberg security fence, Michael Meacher, Labour MP for Oldham West and Royton, addresses protesters outside the Grove Hotel, Watford, Hertfordshire, on Saturday. The Bilderberg Group is an annual private conference of invited guests from North America and Europe, including senior politicians, heads of state and industrialists


Light Saber

Representatives from Alliance of European National Movements in the European Parliament visit Syria to learn what is really going on there

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British National Party leader Nick Griffin speaking to a local journalist in Damascus about their shared enemy, the elite British establishment
MEP says he is on fact-finding mission to Damascus and wants to highlight risk of UK supporting opposition fighters

Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National party, has waded into controversy by paying an officially sponsored visit to Damascus as part of a delegation of far-right and nationalist European politicians.

Griffin, an MEP for north-west England, used his Twitter account to publicise selected details of his "fact-finding" trip, calling the Syrian capital a "modern, bustling city". Aside from "occasional explosions" in the distance, life in Damascus was normal, he tweeted.

Syrian state media reported that suicide bombings in Marja Square in the centre of the city had killed 14 people and injured 31. Griffin later visited the site and commented: "Vile ... smells like an abbatoir. Hague wants your taxes to arm these terrorists!"

The BNP spokesman Simon Darby said Griffin was not being paid by the Syrian regime and did not want his presence in the country to be seen as an endorsement of President Bashar al-Assad. But anyone entering Syria - as Griffin did by road from Lebanon - needs a visa, which would require the approval of the information and foreign ministries.

Other members of his delegation are MEPs and MPs from Belgium, Russia and Poland. The BNP is part of the Alliance of European National Movements in the European parliament. Other members include Jobbik, the Movement for a Better Hungary, France's National Front, Italy's Tricolour Flame, Sweden's National Democrats and Belgium's National Front.

Che Guevara

Occupy movement in Istanbul ignores Turkish leader's 24-hour deadline, carries on protesting

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© AFP Photo / Ozan KoseA pianist plays piano during an anti government demonstration in Taksim square on June 12, 2013, one day after heavy clashes with police
Turkish protesters remain defiant after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan declared that the disturbances must end within 24 hours. Overnight riot police used tear gas and water cannons to break up activists in Ankara as they built barricades.

"I have given orders to the interior minister," Erdogan said Wednesday. "This will be over in 24 hours."

He added that the protests were hurting Turkey's image and economy. Meanwhile, Turkey's Ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chairman Huseyin Celik has said a referendum might be held to decide whether to build replicas of Ottoman-era barracks in Gezi Park or leave it as it is.

Erdogan's deadline is unlikely to be observed by the protesters, reports RT's Irina Galushko from Istanbul. Following PM's statements, activists at Taksim Square were chanting and singing in defiance of his order to leave.

The city was relatively quiet overnight, but the capital Ankara saw its fifth night of rioting in a row. There police again used tear gas and water cannons to break up some 2,500 protesters, as they were trying to erect barricades on a road leading to government offices.


Arrow Down

Millions of children in slave-like conditions as domestic laborers

Child Laborers
© Associated PressYoung Indian bonded child laborers wait to be processed at a safe house after being rescued during a raid by workers from Bachpan Bachao Andolan, or Save the Childhood Movement, at a factory in New Delhi, India, June 11, 2013.
Geneva - The International Labor Organization estimates 10.5 million children around the world are working as domestic workers in hazardous, sometimes slave-like conditions. The ILO is marking World Day Against Child Labor June 12 by calling for action to eliminate child labor in domestic work.

The International Labor Organization reports all regions of the world employ children as domestic laborers, often in brutal conditions. The report finds 6.5 million of the 10.5 million child domestic laborers are aged between five and 14 years. More than 70 percent are girls.

International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor Director Constance Thomas says children carry out a variety of domestic tasks such as cleaning, ironing, cooking, gardening, looking after other children, and caring for the elderly.

"We know that they are vulnerable to physical, psychological and sexual violence and abuse. They are isolated from their own families. They are hidden from the public eye by the nature of where they are working. And, they can become in a state of high dependence on the family or the people in whose household they are working. We have evidence that some do end up becoming commercially sexually exploited," said Thomas.

Thomas describes the situation of many domestic workers as a serious violation of child rights. She says the conditions under which they work are appalling, with long hours and no time for rest or leisure. She says many are exposed to toxic chemicals, carry heavy loads, and use dangerous tools like axes and knives. She says the children often are underfed, receive humiliating and degrading treatment and suffer verbal and sexual abuse.

Black Cat 2

Mom: Officer shot kittens in front of my kids

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© WKYCMany of those attending the rally Wednesday morning brought their own pets with them. They carried signs, including those asking for harsher penalties for animal abuse.
The Ohio Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals wants Humane Officer Barry Accorti fired for allegedly shooting five kittens in a home's back yard on Monday.

OSPCA Executive Director Teresa Landon says Accorti should be fired and charged with five counts of animal cruelty.