Society's ChildS


Snakes in Suits

Woody Allen: Boy, I've really put you in a tough spot, haven't I?

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[The Onion is a satire site]

As those who have followed the uproar surrounding my lifetime achievement award at this year's Golden Globes are aware, my name has again become the source of controversy. Once more, the media, the general public, and my own family members have called into question the propriety of continuing to honor and lavish praise upon an individual - myself, legendary film director Woody Allen - who has been accused of committing crimes of the most deplorable nature. Addressing this highly contentious matter would require you to delve into the following ethical quandary: Do you continue to support me as a filmmaker, writer, and human being who has technically not been convicted of any crime, or do you henceforth cease your admiration of me and my work due to the admittedly pretty damn compelling evidence that I molested at least one young child?

I mean, wow, I've really put you guys in a pretty tight spot here, haven't I? Can't say I envy you people one bit; this one's a real doozy.

Comment: Related : Woody Allen: An open letter from Dylan Farrow


Eye 1

Connecticut Prosecutor: Woody Allen can't be prosecuted - Shameful!

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© Valery Hache/AFP/Getty ImagesA Connecticut prosecutor says the statue of limitations has expired for prosecution of child molestation claims against film director Woody Allen.
The Connecticut prosecutor who investigated Woody Allen on child molestation claims more than 20 years ago but didn't file charges says it's too late for the film director to be prosecuted.

Former Litchfield County state attorney Frank Maco said in a phone interview Sunday with The Associated Press that the statute of limitations on adopted daughter Dylan Farrow's accusations ran out at least 15 years ago.

Maco had said in 1993 that he lacked evidence to prosecute Allen but suspected the abuse did occur. He retired in 2003.

Farrow renewed allegations against Allen in an open letter to The New York Times on Saturday, saying he sexually assaulted her when she was 7 after he and actress Mia Farrow adopted her.

Allen has denied the accusations.

Handcuffs

Connecticut parents arrested in connection with toddler's death

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© New Haven Police

The parents of a 19-month-old boy whose baby sitter was charged with manslaughter in his death have been arrested, New Haven police said Thursday.

Police the parents, Thenmozhi Rajendran, 24, and Sivakumar Mani, 33, were charged with risk of injury to a child and interfering with police. Police did not say why they were charged but said the baby sitter is the prime suspect.

The parents were not supposed to use the baby sitter because of a previous incident, according to an arrest affidavit.

The sitter, 27-year-old Kinjal Patel of New Haven, told police she became angry with the boy on Jan. 16 and forced him to the floor, causing him to strike his head.

Comment: See also: Connecticut babysitter charged with manslaughter in toddler's death


Handcuffs

Connecticut babysitter charged with manslaughter in toddler's death

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© New Haven Police

A 27-year-old babysitter is charged with manslaughter and risk of injury to a child in the death of a toddler she was caring for.

New Haven Police say 19-month-old Athiyan Sivakumar died Sunday as a result of injuries he suffered earlier this month. He was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital with a skull fracture and rushed into surgery.

Police say the baby-sitter, Kinjal Patel, admitted to becoming angry with the child, and forcing him to the floor, causing him to strike his head. The Chief State Medical Examiner's Office concluded that the death was a homicide caused by blunt force. Patel is held in lieu of a million dollars bond.

New Haven Police Chief Dean Esserman called the death "senseless" and says it deeply affected members of his department.

Oscar

500,000 march in France's major cities to protest against corrupt elites

french protests lgbt
© Eric Feferberg/AFPSupporters of the "La Manif Pour Tous" (Protest for Everyone) movement demonstrate to defend their vision of the traditional family, on February 2, 2014 in Paris.
Tens of thousands of people marched in Paris and Lyon on Sunday against new laws easing abortion restrictions and legalising gay marriage, accusing French President Francois Hollande's government of "family phobia".

Police said 80,000 people took to the streets of the French capital, creating a sea of blue, white and pink -- the colours of the lead organising movement LMPT (Protest for Everyone) -- who gave a far higher turnout figure of half a million.

Demonstrator Philippe Blin, a pastor from nearby Sevres, said he felt a "relentlessness against the family" in France.

At least 20,000 rallied in Lyon, many of them ferried in aboard dozens of buses, waving placards reading "Mom and Dad, There's Nothing Better for a Child" and "Two Fathers, Two Mothers, Children With No Bearings" -- a slogan that rhymes in French.

Comment: Although the media in France and abroad has been trying to spin the mass demonstrations in France as 'right-wing extremist', it's clearly anything but, with people from all ethnic and political backgrounds protesting against the corrupt elites.

The 500,000 figure is what the organizers claim, which is probably far closer to reality.


Syringe

Missouri inmate executed while Supreme Court Considered his appeal‏

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© Unknown
Last Wednesday, the state of Missouri executed a man while his appeal was still being considered by the justices of the Supreme Court.

In an article in The Atlantic, Andrew Cohen reports that Herbert Smulls - a black man convicted by an all-white jury - was on the phone discussing the status of his pending federal appeal when he was taken to be executed.

Cohen constructs a time-line of the events surrounding Smulls's final minutes: at 10:11 p.m., lethal injection protocols were initiated, and Smulls was pronounced dead at 10:20 p.m. Ten minutes later, at 10:30 p.m., the Supreme Court notified Smulls lawyers that they denied his request for a stay of execution at 10:24 p.m., four minutes after he had been pronounced dead.

Beaker

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal thinks it's 'fair' to execute people with a chemical cocktail that takes 26 minutes to work

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© Unknown
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) on Sunday said that using a new lethal drug that took as long as 26 minutes to kill an inmate is a "fair way" to conduct an execution.

Earlier this month, Ohio elected to use two drugs never combined before to execute Dennis McGuire after manufacturers began refusing to sell traditional execution drugs to U.S. states. According to reports, "McGuire gasped for air and took almost 26 minutes to die."

Louisiana announced last week that it would also use the drug cocktail to convicted killer Christopher Sepulvado.

Boat

Modern day Robinson Crusoe: 'I wanted to kill myself', Mexico castaway reveals

Castaway Jose Ivan
© Jonathan PearlmanCastaway Jose Salvador Alvarenga arrives in the capital of the Marshall Islands
A castaway who spent more than a year at sea before landing on a remote Pacific island has recounted his "incredible" voyage as he drifted for thousands of miles surviving on turtles, birds and hand-caught sharks.

Appearing bewildered after being told that he was in the Marshall Islands - a country he had never heard of - Jose Salvador Alvarenga, 37, a fisherman who set off from Mexico in December 2012, said his first words on spotting land were: "Oh, God".

Evil Rays

School shooting kills two in Russian capital


School shooting, Russia
© UnknownEmergency vehicles parked outside a school in Russian capital Moscow, where a gunman shot dead a police officer and a teacher on February 3, 2014.

Russian police have confirmed that a police officer and a teacher were killed as an armed young man took children hostage at a school in the capital Moscow.

The man armed with a rifle entered the school located in northeast of Moscow on Monday, threatening the school's security guard, the police added.

The security guard managed to contact the police. Upon arrival, the guard showed the officers the biology room where the assailant had taken 20 teenagers aged 15 hostage, most of whom were released shortly afterwards.

The attacker opened fire at the police when they reached the room, killing the officer and wounding another, according to local media.

Authorities said the police officers had detained the gunman, who is reportedly a high school student.

Info

Property rights bill introduced after Virginian woman threatened with fines for hosting kids' birthday party

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Farmers gather at a Board of Zoning Appeals meeting in Fauquier County Virginia to hold a "Pitchfork Protest" in support of Liberty Farms owner Martha Boneta.
"Local officials who abuse zoning authority powers to cower citizens into submission and deprive land owners of Constitutional rights in the enjoyment of their land must be subject to fines and actual damages they cause including attorney fees," Delegate Bob Marshall noted in support of his HB 1219 recently introduced in the Virginia General Assembly.

Marshall introduced his bill in direct response to incidents precipitated by county officials who threatened Virginia citizen farmer Martha Boneta. Boneta gained national attention after she was cited and threatened with $5,000 per-day fines for hosting such 'menacing activities' as a birthday party for eight 10-year old girls without a permit and advertising pumpkin carvings. Virginians rallied at two "pitchfork protests" in support of Boneta.

Marshall said, "I am convinced this harassment will continue until local officials realize they can be held liable in the form of fines and other costs." H.B. 1219 provides that local governments violating constitutional rights through zoning shall pay their victims (1) the amount of the fines they sought to impose, and (2) actual damages including attorney fees. Local government officials who intentionally violate this law would also be liable.

Comment: See also:

Interview with the lunatic farmer Joel Salatin

Regarding 'pitchfork protests', they're taking off in Italy too:

Italy's president fears violent insurrection in 2014 but offers no remedy