Society's ChildS


Shoe

Cambodian factory workers clash with police

Cambodian Flag
© Associated PressNike has said that it is "concerned" about the allegations.
At least 23 workers were hurt in Cambodia when police used stun batons to end a protest over pay at a factory that makes clothing for sportswear company Nike, a worker and a trade union representative said.

Police with riot gear were deployed on Monday to move about 3,000 workers, mostly female, who had blocked a road outside their factory owned by Sabrina (Cambodia) Garment Manufacturing in Kompong Speu province, west of the capital, Phnom Penh.

A Nike spokeswoman in the United States told Reuters by e-mail that the company was "concerned" about the allegations and was investigating.

Nike requires contract manufacturers to respect employees' rights to freedom of association, the spokeswoman added.

Sun Vanny, president of the Free Trade Union (FTU) at Sabrina, told Reuters news agency the injured had included a woman who was two months pregnant and who had lost her child after military police pushed her to the ground.

Arrow Up

German finance minister Schaeuble warns of revolution

Schaeuble
© Getty ImagesGerman Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has warned that failure to win the battle against youth unemployment could tear Europe apart.
Let the austerity backlash begin. Who knew that an excel error could cause so much social strife. Granted common sense would have got you there, but this is politics. German Finance Minister Schaeuble warned on Tuesday that unless Europe wins the battle against youth unemployment, revolution is a distinct possibility.

The dreaded r-word came about as some corners push to reform the welfare standards to closely correlate with American standards. This would be a monumental mistake according the German finance minister. Youth unemployment as it stands now across the EU is at 25%, double the rate of older citizens.

Eu countries such as Germany, Italy and France are backing urgent action to tackle the issue before it becomes even more systemic than it already is. Anecdotes out of Spain have college graduates turning 30 without ever having a job. The problem is definitely have a social spillover as evidenced by the riots in Stockholm.

Labor ministers out of Italy are saying that they have the best educated generation and policies are essentially putting their future on hold. Schaeuble told a conference that if US welfare standards were enacted in the EU, the revolution would start the same day. It is completely untenable to adopt that set of rules.

Granted the youth unemployment picture here stateside is not exactly the best. Most of the job creation in recent months have gone to the older populace with the younger generation looking more and more like a carbon copy of an EU nation.

The solutions to the problem are not known, but the central banks willingness to continue the QE policies that have failed to generate any real job growth. If you broke down the amount injected by QE and applied it on a per job it works out to $500k per job created. Enough to give a person a 50k a year salary for ten years. Which is the better model, Dow 15k or systemic unemployment? Not really a trick question.

Black Cat

Police and citizen brutality: Man dies in custody after beating by Sacramento police and onlookers

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A man who was hit 10 times with a baton by a Sacramento police officer on Friday evening later died in custody. A bystander recorded the incident on video, showing the unidentified man being beaten by a female officer while a male officer restrained him.

The video obtained by CBS13 shows a man in his early 40s outside a Metro PCS store. He is hit with a baton while being held down. Eventually, officers realized he was not breathing.

According to a statement released by the Sacramento Police Department, officers responded to a call from a female employee at 5:46 p.m. on Friday, after the man entered her store speaking unintelligibly. She claimed she feared for her safety. When officers arrived, the suspect reportedly re-entered the store and attempted to barricade himself inside with the female employee.

When he resisted officers, pepper spray and batons were used. Additional officers were called in. As they tried to place the man in custody, a violent struggle allegedly ensued. He assaulted an officer, the release says, and another officer struck him with the baton and sprayed pepper spray in order to free the other officer. Neither measure, reportedly, had any effect on the man.

Bad Guys

Marines investigated for threatening and lewd social media posts

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Incident comes at a time when top military officers say they are facing a crisis of sexual harassment and abuse within the ranks

Federal law enforcement officials are investigating a former Marine and several active-duty Marines after they allegedly posted threatening and lewd messages on social media sites that targeted President Obama and a California congresswoman, according to a government official informed of the investigations.

The former Marine was interviewed last week by the Secret Service for the threatening post against President Obama, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigations are ongoing.

The Secret Service does not discuss its protective actions, said spokesman George Ogilvie.

Investigators from the U.S. Capitol Police have been investigating several threatening posts against Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., the Capitol Hill source said. Capitol Police do not comment on their investigations.

Several Marines also have been referred to their commanders for non-judicial punishment in recent months, said Marine Capt. Eric Flanagan, a spokesman. That punishment can range from raking leaves to loss of rank to dismissal from the service, he said.

Red Flag

Ramping up hysteria! Police detonate pressure cooker left at hotel

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© Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Image
Police in Dearborn are trying to understand why a pressure cooker was left in the restroom of the Adoba Hotel, forcing the evacuation of guests until the early morning hours.

The evacuation also canceled Sunday night's banquet of the University of Muslim Association of America.

Asgar Zaidi of Washington D.C. has been attending the organization's conference for the past 11 years. He says it's the first time it's ever been held in Dearborn.

"We all look forward to this time of year, Memorial Day weekend ... we have fun, we learn and it's just disheartening to see this type of stuff happen here," said Zaidi.

The pressure cooker discovered at the hotel was detonated by police as a precaution, but contained no explosives.

Dearborn officers have determined that the pressure cooker had not been converted into any type of explosive device.

Eye 1

Majority of Americans think federal government too powerful

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A majority of Americans said they believe the federal government today wields too much power, a Gallup Daily tracking survey released Monday indicated.

The 54 percent that expressed that belief, however, is only slightly higher than reported in 2012 and slightly lower than reported in 2010 and 2011, Gallup said.

Only 8 percent of Americans said they thought the federal government has "too little" power, while 36 percent said the government has about the right amount of power, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said.

Results indicated more than twice as many Republicans as Democrats said the government has too much power, 76 percent to 32 percent.

Forty-six percent of Americans said they agreed with the statement that the federal government "poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens," while 53 percent disagree, Gallup said.

Eye 1

German railways to use mini drones to stop graffiti

graffiti
© Unknown
Germany's railway operator plans to deploy mini drones to catch vandals who deface its trains with graffiti, with the aerial vehicles shooting thermal images of its train depots at night.

Deutsche Bahn plans to soon start testing the vehicles which have four helicopter-style rotors and can shoot high-resolution pictures.

"We are going to use this technology in problem areas, where taggers are most active," a spokesman who asked not to be named told AFP.

Sheriff

Father says he was suspected of kidnapping his kids by Walmart security -- due to his children being mixed

A Prince William County man says he was suspected by Walmart security of possibly kidnapping his three young daughters -- all because they aren't the same race.


Joseph, who doesn't want his family's last name revealed, and his wife Keana are an interracial couple. They have been married for nearly 10 years and have three daughters: a 4-year-old and 2-year-old twins.

On Thursday evening, Joseph took all three girls to the Walmart in Potomac Mills in Woodbridge to cash a check. He says they weren't there long, but spent a few extra minutes in the parking lot while he buckled the girls in and then made a phone call.

Joseph says he then went to up his wife, Keana, and as they were arriving home, they were shocked to find a Prince William County police officer waiting for them.

"He asks us very sincerely, 'Hey, I was sent here by Walmart security. I just need to make sure that the children that you have are your own,'" Joseph says.

Attention

Train collides with big-rig and derails, with explosion, flames near Baltimore, Maryland

A CSX freight train derailed Tuesday afternoon in the Rosedale area, damaging nearby buildings, shutting down US Route 40 and causing a loud explosion that could be felt several miles away.Authorities in Baltimore County said the 15-car train struck a commercial truck near the 7500 block of Lake Drive, veering off the tracks near an industrial park. Initial reports were that no one was hurt, but County Executive Kevin Kamenetz later said the driver of the trailer was extricated and taken to Maryland Shock Trauma center in serious but stable condition.The National Transportation Safety Board announced at around 4 p.m. that it was sending a "go-team" that includes rail and hazmat investigators.


Baltimore County spokeswoman Elise Armacost said the train was carrying unknown chemicals but said the smoke did not include toxic inhalants. Still, a 20-block area around the accident was evacuated. "The evacuation would be much more significant if there were toxic chemicals," said Baltimore County Fire Chief John J. Hohman. He said he expected the fire to burn into the night, and firefighters were huddling with CSX officials about how best to attack the blaze.

Only two people were aboard the train, and they were uninjured, Armacost said.

MTA spokesman Terry Owens said the agency did not expect any disruption of service on the Penn Line between Baltimore and Perryville, which operates on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. Minor delays were possible on the CSX-owned Camden Line between Washington and Baltimore's Camden Station, as CSX shuffles previously scheduled freight trains.

Pistol

Cops: U.S. Marine goes on shooting spree

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© Allen Breed, APThe globe and anchor stand at the entrance to Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Authorities say Marine from Camp Lejeune was killed and a sheriff wounded after a central Texas gunbattle with police ended a shooting spree that left one other person dead and five injured.

The suspected gunman was identified as Esteban J. Smith, 23, who was stationed at the Marine Corps base in North Carolina, the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement Monday.

He was declared dead following a shootout with authorities in Concho County, the department said.

Master Sgt. Jonathan Cress at Camp Lejeune, said Monday that the Marine was wanted for questioning in a homicide in nearby Jacksonville, N.C.

Concho County Sheriff Richard Doane was being treated for non-life threatening injuries at Shannon Medical Center in San Angelo, Texas, Department of Public Safety spokesman Tom Vinger said in a written statement.

The events began around 4:30 a.m. Sunday when shots were fired on a vehicle in the Eden area, leaving a woman injured and hospitalized in San Angelo, the department said. She was reported to have suffered non-life threatening injuries.

A short time later, two people were wounded when they were fired upon as they sat in their vehicle at a convenience store in Brady, in McCulloch County. They were treated and released.