Society's ChildS


Take 2

'The Last War Crime' Debuts At Cannes While Censored In US

Jeanine Molloff
Nation of Change
Wed, 11 Jul 2012 00:00 UTC
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"In spite of strong evidence identifying Dick Cheney as the mastermind behind this torture regime - the subject remains taboo, both in the 'news' business and in Hollywood - that is until Hollywood executives watched trailers for the anti-war documentary."

During this summer of Occupy and subsequent police brutality, the subject of torture is hotly denounced by protesters and conveniently ignored by candidates. Like that ostrich diving head first into the sand of political expediency - Americans want to focus on the alleged debt crisis or gay marriage - anything that absolves us from the messy subject of tortures committed in our names by the Bush/Cheney administration and which continue under Obama to the present day. The entire Bradley Manning debacle speaks volumes to this accusation.

In spite of strong evidence identifying Dick Cheney as the mastermind behind this torture regime - the subject remains taboo, both in the 'news' business and in Hollywood - that is until Hollywood executives watched trailers for the anti-war documentary - The Last War Crime.

Written, produced and directed by a new talent known only as 'The Pen,' this film documents the torture protocol ordained by the Bush-Cheney administration. Since it first circulated a trailer on the web; it has been heavily censored and cyber attacked. You Tube has removed it at intermittent intervals and MTV (which is owned by Viacom) has refused to sell air time for a commercial.
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House

Mortgage Refinancing Denied to Millions of Americans

Diana Olick
CNBC
Wed, 11 Jul 2012 12:04 UTC
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© CNBC.com
Mortgage rates hit new lows and applications to refinance fell for the third straight week. It defies logic, unless of course you operate in today's tight mortgage market.

It's not just about the rate anymore. Negative equity, strict underwriting and big bank backlogs are keeping many borrowers from taking advantage of these incredibly low mortgage rates.

"If history is any lesson, the only thing that can really extend refi activity in a low rate environment is a loosening of underwriting standards to bring more borrowers into the market. And that is not likely to happen anytime soon," said Guy Cecala of Inside Mortgage Finance.
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Info

Native Americans Hail Rare Bison as Sign from Spirits

Ken Roberts
CantonRep.com
Fri, 13 Jul 2012 17:32 UTC
White Baby Bison
© CantonRep.comIs this the fourth?
Here's one bison that won't end up as a burger. An extremely rare white calf was born last month, not on a range where they're known to roam, but on Peter Fay's farm in Goshen, Connecticut. Some Native Americans are hailing the birth as a powerful message from the spirits and are traveling to the farm for naming ceremonies at the end of July.

The calf, which looked "like a ghost" when it was born, shocked Fay, as did the ensuing excitement. Huge crowds are now expected to visit his farm, and the field is being guarded around the clock to protect the pale wonder.

The Lakota Sioux believe that Whope, the goddess of peace, once appeared in the form of a white buffalo calf, and the belief is that the goddess will return once four such calves are born, bringing in 'a new age', which some reckon could be the end of the world.

"We currently have the only three white buffalo in the world, at least to my knowledge," said Thomas Dodson at the National Buffalo Museum in Jamestown, N.D. Is this the fourth one in the story above?

According to the Hopi culture, the time of prophecy is upon us, the time of the ending of the Fourth World and the beginning of moving into the Fifth Sun or Fifth World. All cultures around our beautiful planet have an ancient knowing of this time and of the great shifts ahead.
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Newspaper

Court orders credit card company to un-block WikiLeaks payments

Stephen C. Webster
The Raw Story
Thu, 12 Jul 2012 15:59 UTC
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© Unknown
Whistleblower website WikiLeaks achieved its first major legal victory in a pushback against the U.S.-led financial blockade that's crippled the publication and sapped more than 95 percent of its resources since 2010.

In a ruling by the Reykjavík District Court in Iceland, credit card processing company Valitor, partner of both Visa and MasterCard, is required to un-block future payments to WikiLeaks within the next two weeks or face $6,000 in fines every additional day it delays.

The case was brought by WikiLeaks payment partner Datacell, which was cut off by Valitor after WikiLeaks began publishing hundreds of thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables in 2010. The court ultimately decided that Valitor had violated contract law by cutting off Datacell, which it justified by claiming that its clients are not allowed to accept payments on behalf of others.

"This is a significant victory against Washington's attempt to silence WikiLeaks," site founder Julian Assange said in prepared text. "We will not be silenced. Economic censorship is censorship. It is wrong. When it's done outside of the rule of law its doubly wrong. One by one those involved in the attempted censorship of WikiLeaks will find themselves on the wrong side of history."
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Footprints

Aaron Schaffhausen Calls Ex-Wife and Says "You Can Come Home Now Because I Killed the Kids"

Michael Allen
Opposing Views
Fri, 13 Jul 2012 15:39 UTC
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© Unknown
Aaron Schaffhausen has been charged with murdering his three daughters (Amara, 11, Sophie, 8, and Cecilia, 5) after reportedly stabbing all three to death. He faces three counts of intentional homicide.

Jessica Schaffhausen and Aaron Schaffhausen divorced in January. Aaron lived in Minot, North Dakota, while Jessica and the three children lived in River Falls, Wisconsin.

According to reports, Aaron drove to River Falls on Tuesday for a surprise visit. After his kids took him upstairs to see their toys, the recently fired dad allegedly killed them and then called Jessica, saying "You can [come] home now because I killed the kids."

Poilce say that Jessica got a text from Aaron on Tuesday, asking for an unplanned visit. She agreed, even though Aaron had allegedly made threats on her life in the past.
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Bad Guys

15-Year-Old Girl Forced to Wear Electric Shock Collar For Punishment

Michael Allen
Opposing Views
Fri, 13 Jul 2012 15:35 UTC
Samuel and Diana Franklin were arrested this week on charges of child cruelty and false imprisonment after their adopted 15-year-old daughter told police that she was forced to live in a chicken coop and wear a remote-controlled shock collar (video below).

The unnamed 15-year-old, who was home schooled, was punished by spending up to six days at a time in the chicken coop behind the couple's house in Butler, Georgia, over the past two years.

Police also said that the girl was also forced to do manual labor and spend time in a 4-foot-wide outhouse.

A shock collar was found at the home when the parents were taken into custody on Tuesday. The girl said that a device was used to activate the collar and punish her with jolts of electricity.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Agent Wayne Smith told KLTV: "I've never seen anything like this personally. If the allegations prove to be true, it's a very severe case."
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Gear

Sightings App Lets Users Insert Images Of Jesus, Virgin Mary And Bigfoot Into Food Photos

Rachel Tepper
HuffingtonPost
Fri, 13 Jul 2012 15:12 UTC
Sightings App
© Betabrand
We'd never thought we'd write these words, but now there's an app that injects images of Jesus, Mary, or Bigfoot into any photo. Seriously.

The app, Sightings by Betabrand, is made by the same people behind pants line Cordarounds, which features items like slacks that lower the average wearer's crotch heat index. (Their words, not ours.)

In an e-mail to The Huffington Post, founder Chris Lindland explained why anyone would ever need the Sightings app.

"There's no better way to declare tastiness than to inject a divine apparition into your casserole or cup of coffee," he wrote.

Check out the app at work in the gallery here.
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USA

Americans' Confidence in the Church at All-Time Low

Jeanna Bryner
LiveScience
Fri, 13 Jul 2012 08:46 UTC
Praying
© Kevin Carden, ShutterstockOn average, older individuals have a stronger belief in God than younger age groups.
Americans' confidence in organized religion is at its lowest in more than three decades, with just 44 percent having a lot of faith in the church, a new Gallup poll released this week suggests.

The results follow a long-term decline in Americans' confidence in religion since the 1970s, when Americans ranked "the church or organized religion" higher than any other institution in the survey, beating out the military and the U.S. Supreme Court. In the 1980s confidence in organized religion fell below 60 percent for the first time. Gallup officials say the dip may have resulted from scandals involving televangelist preachers Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart.

Then, in 2001 confidence increased to 60 percent, only to be hammered back down, possibly as a result of charges of child molestation by Catholic priests, Gallup suggests.

When separated out by religious affiliation, the new Gallup poll showed that 56 percent of Protestants have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the church or organized religion, compared with 46 percent of Catholics. There weren't enough respondents from other religions to separate them out in Gallup's analysis.
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Heart - Black

'Most humans disgust me': Chilling claims of survivalist accused of sexually assaulting girl, 5, alongside his wife

Emily Anne Epstein
Daily Mail
Fri, 13 Jul 2012 09:54 UTC
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© Police photoComplaint: Authorities say that David Armstrong also penetrated the girl, in addition to forcing the child to perform oral sex
A married Illinois couple has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a five-year old girl. Police say David Brian Armstrong, 33, and Danielle Armstrong, 22, had sex with the victim as well as forced the child to perform oral sex on David Armstrong in their Alton home.

The two were arrested after the victim told her grandmother what happened to her, who in turn notified police. News of the crime has shaken up the Saint Louis, Missouri suburb. Lieutenant Scott Golike told the MailOnline that nothing like this incident has ever happened on his watch. 'It's a horrible crime,' Lieutenant Golike said.

David and Danielle Armstrong were arrested on Wednesday after a tip came through the Illinois state sexual abuse hotline, police told the MailOnline. 'The victim reported it to another family member who reported it to police,' an official from the Madison County State's Attorney's Office said to the MailOnline.

The complaint alleges that the abuse of the girl took place over the course of a week between July 1 and July 8 of this month.Both Armstrongs were charged with predatory criminal sexual assault of a child. Danielle Armstrong was charged with 'committing an act of sexual penetration' and placing her mouth on the child's genitals. Authorities say that David Armstrong also penetrated the girl, in addition to forcing the child to perform oral sex.
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Dollar

Gold to Hit $2,000 by Year-End on More Fed Easing: Merrill

Jean Chua
CNBC
Wed, 11 Jul 2012 07:36 UTC
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© AP
Merrill Lynch has added its voice to the chorus of gold bulls who have been predicting that bullion will hit $2000 an ounce.

Francisco Blanch, Head of Global Commodity & Multi-Asset Strategy Research at the investment bank, says he expects the Federal Reserve to initiate an asset-purchasing program of as much as $500 billion in the second half of the year, which will drive spot gold much higher by the end of the year.

"We think that $2,000 an ounce is sort of the right number," Blanch said on CNBC Asia's "Squawk Box" on Thursday. "We believe that ultimately the Fed will be forced to do quantitative easing. If it happens in September, as our economists expect, we will get a rally sooner in gold. If it happens after the election (in November), we will get the rally a little bit later; probably we will touch $2000 an ounce sometime next year."

Spot gold was trading almost unchanged at $1,569.71 an ounce by 6.14pm GMT on Wednesday and inched up to about $1,572.80 in early Asian trade on Thursday. The metal has fallen nearly 20 percent since touching an all-time high of $1,918 in September last year, as a combination of Europe's debt crisis and concerns over global economic growth triggered a selloff in risk assets like commodities.
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