Society's ChildS


House

'The police just f**ked my life': Alabamians outraged as civil asset forfeitures soar

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Sat, 21 Oct 2017 14:33 UTC
Rick Hightower
The morning of June 29, 2010, began much like any other day for Frank Ranelli, the owner of FAR Computers in Ensley, Alabama. Ranelli, who had owned his computer repair business just outside of Birmingham for more than two decades, was doing some paperwork in his windowless office when he heard loud banging on the front door. Within a matter of moments Ranelli was placed under arrest and all of the computer equipment in his store, much of which belonged to customers, had been confiscated by Alabama police never to be returned. Per AL.com:
Within moments, a Homewood police sergeant had declared a room full of customers' computers, merchandise and other items "stolen goods," Ranelli recalled. He ordered his officers to "arrest them all," according to Ranelli, who was cuffed and taken to the Homewood jail along with two of his shop employees.

The police proceeded to confiscate more than 130 computers - most of which were customers' units waiting to be repaired, though some were for sale - as well as the company's business servers and workstations and even receipts and checkbooks.

"Here I was, a man, owned this business, been coming to work every day like a good old guy for 23 years, and I show up at work that morning - I was in here doing my books from the day before - and the police just f***ed my life," he said.
Nothing ever came of the case. The single charge levied against Renelli of receiving stolen goods was dismissed after he demonstrated that he had followed proper protocol in purchasing the sole laptop computer he was accused of receiving illegally. That said, despite no official charges and no jury trial, Ranelli has been trying, to no avail, for nearly 7 years now to recover the items the officers took from his business.
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Attention

UK crime rates surge by 13%; London now more dangerous than New York City

Thomas Mackie
Express
Sat, 21 Oct 2017 14:20 UTC
london police
© GettyLondon is now more dangerous than NYC.
Figures released earlier this week uncovered the crisis facing British police forces as crime rates across the country surged by 13 per cent.

The last decade has seen London's Metropolitan Police move away from neighbourhood patrols which criminal justice experts have blamed for the rise in crime.

The damning figures come amid increased pressure on the capital's police force to save £400 million before 2020, with the number of officers expected to fall below 30,000 for the first time in more than a decade.

Last year there were almost 70,000 burglaries in Greater London, of which 43,000 happened in peoples' homes.

The number of robberies has also heavily increased due to the rise in mobile phone theft.

According to the statistics London has almost three times the number of reported rapes than New York City.
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Handcuffs

Corey Feldman arrested for marijuana possession days after tweeting about Hollywood child sex abuse in the wake of Weinstein scandal

George Sandeman
The Sun
Sun, 22 Oct 2017 13:19 UTC
Corey Feldman


Actor came to fame in The Goonies and The Lost Boys as a teenager and has alleged he and fellow child star Corey Haim were abused by Hollywood executives.

Former child star Corey Feldman has been hit with a drugs charge just days after he spoke out about sexual abuse in Hollywood.

The 46-year-old, who starred in films including The Goonies and The Lost Boys as a teenager, was due to perform with his band in Louisiana, USA, before being arrested by police.

Comment:

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Take 2

'An Open Secret' documentary released online blows lid off Hollywood pedophilia

Jay Syrmopoulos
The Free Thought Project
Sat, 21 Oct 2017 13:53 UTC
child actors
As people try to wrap their minds around the horrid nature of rampant sex abuse in Hollywood, the accusations continue to flow but we are still left with little answers. However, Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Amy Berg has named names and delves into the systemic grooming of child actors in an eye-opening exposé-which includes a shocking on-camera confession of molestation.

With the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse scandal blowing the doors off the open secret of Hollywood pedophilia, a documentary titled, An Open Secret, which premiered a few years ago to mass publicity but failed to gain digital distribution, has been officially posted online for the first time by the producer in the wake of recent events.

"It's so funny to keep seeing headlines about how Harvey's abuse was 'an open secret' in Hollywood, and that's the name of our film," producer Gabe Hoffman told The Hollywood Reporter.

Hoffman's documentary delves into the systemic sexual abuse of children at the hands of Hollywood moguls and heavy-hitters. According to Hoffman, he put An Open Secret on Vimeo for free viewing "to commemorate serial predator Harvey Weinstein finally being exposed."
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Bad Guys

Netflix's 'Stranger Things', Finn Wolfhard parts ways with APA after agent accused of sexual abuse

Jerome Hudson
Breitbart
Sat, 21 Oct 2017 12:57 UTC
Finn Wolfhard
© Netflix
Netflix's Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard has reportedly parted ways with major Hollywood talent shop, the Agency for the Performing Arts (APA), after the firm's top representative for young stars was accused of sexually assaulting two young men.

Filmmaker and former child star Blaise Godbe Lipman named APA's Tyler Grasham in a Facebook message this week as the man who sexually assaulted him when he was a teenage actor. Wolfhard, Variety reports, was one of Grasham's clients. He represents several child actors.

Comment:

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People 2

Millennials are ditching religion for witchcraft, astrology

Kari Paul
Market Watch
Sat, 21 Oct 2017 07:22 UTC
Catland market
© CatlandAn image from a market hosted by Catland, where customers can buy occult accessories.
When Coco Layne, a Brooklyn-based producer, meets someone new these days, the first question that comes up in conversation isn't "Where do you live?" or "What do you do?" but "What's your sign?"

"So many millennials read their horoscopes every day and believe them," Layne, who is involved in a number of nonreligious spiritual practices, said. "It is a good reference point to identify and place people in the world."

Interest in spirituality has been booming in recent years while interest in religion plummets, especially among millennials. The majority of Americans now believe it is not necessary to believe in God to have good morals, a study from Pew Research Center released Wednesday found. The percentage of people between the ages of 18 and 29 who "never doubt existence of God" fell from 81% in 2007 to 67% in 2012.

Meanwhile, more than half of young adults in the U.S. believe astrology is a science. compared to less than 8% of the Chinese public. The psychic services industry - which includes astrology, aura reading, mediumship, tarot-card reading and palmistry, among other metaphysical services - grew 2% between 2011 and 2016. It is now worth $2 billion annually, according to industry analysis firm IBIS World.
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Attention

Suicide bombing kills fifteen Afghan military cadets


RT
Sat, 21 Oct 2017 22:12 UTC
Afghanistan soldiers
© Wakil Kohsar / AFP
A suicide bombing killed fifteen Afghan Army trainees as they were leaving a military academy on the western outskirts of Kabul, the second suicide bombing in the city within 24 hours.

The blast occurred at around 3.30 pm as the minibus carrying the trainees went through the gates of the Marshal Fahim Military Academy, near Qambar square. There are conflicting reports on whether the attacker approached the bus in a car, or on foot.

"Fifteen soldiers who were there for training were killed and four others were wounded," defence ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri told Reuters.
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Info

Polls suggest 'Czech Donald Trump' set to win parliamentary elections


RT
Sat, 21 Oct 2017 22:12 UTC
Andrej Babis
The leader of ANO party Andrej Babis
The populist Czech ANO movement led by billionaire Andrej Babis, dubbed 'the Czech Donald Trump,' is poised to win the eastern European country's elections by a wide margin, according to the exit polls. The center-right, euroskeptic ODS came in second.

ANO, which means 'Yes' in Czech and also stands as an acronym for the 'Action of Dissatisfied Citizens', has taken a clear lead in the election with more than 30 percent of the vote, beating its closest rivals by around 20 percentage points, according to exit polls cited by the Czech media.

The center-right, euroskeptic Civic Democratic Party (ODS) has come in second, securing about 11 percent backing. The third and fourth places were taken by the Czech Pirate Party and the anti-immigrant and anti-Islam far-right populist Freedom and Direct Democracy Party (SPD), which both gained slightly more than 10 percent with the difference between them amounting to several hundredths of a percent.
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Stock Down

Melania Trump runs leaner East Wing than predecessors, especially Michelle Obama

Alex Pappas
Fox News
Fri, 20 Oct 2017 00:00 UTC
Melania/Michelle
© ReutersFirst Ladies: Melania Trump, Michelle Obama
Melania Trump is embracing a more active and public schedule as first lady - but she still runs one of the leanest East Wing operations in recent history. According to a Fox News analysis of White House personnel reports, Melania Trump has significantly reduced the number of aides on the first lady's office payroll in comparison to her predecessor, Michelle Obama.

During then-President Barack Obama's first year in office, 16 people were listed working for Michelle Obama, earning a combined $1.24 million a year. This year, just four people were listed working for Melania Trump as of June. Their salaries totaled $486,700.

The details are contained in an annual report the White House sends to Congress showing the names, positions and salaries of all its personnel. Both the Obama and Trump administrations acknowledged several additional staffers beyond those listed in the report with the term "first lady" in their titles. But even counting all those employees -- 24 for Michelle Obama and nine for the current first lady -- Melania Trump's office is relatively small.

It's an approach her spokeswoman says is intentional. "As with all things that she does, she is being very deliberate in her hiring, focusing on quality over quantity," communications director Stephanie Grisham said in an email. "It is important to her that the team is a good fit for what she wants to accomplish as first lady, and that everyone works well together. She also wants to be mindful and responsible when it comes to taxpayer money."

Comment: The difference is in their priorities: taxpayer obligations (consideration for others) or personal comforts (consideration for self).

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Tornado1

Democrats in California divided, complicate hopes for near future

Nicholas Riccardi, Michael R. Blood
ABC News
Thu, 19 Oct 2017 12:26 UTC
Liberal Supermmajority
© California Political Review/John Cole
Democrats are at war with themselves in California, where restless activists are challenging party leaders to resist all things President Donald Trump and move further left on health care, the minimum wage and populist issues.

The conflict could complicate Democratic hopes of winning as many as nine congressional seats in the state, a cluster that would go a long way toward helping the party grab the House majority in next year's midterm elections.

The Republican civil war has been on full display, with forces aligned with former White House adviser Steve Bannon challenging the GOP establishment and incumbent lawmakers. In California, where Democrats control all levers of power in state government and no Republican has won a statewide election since 2006, the party is feuding over who is doing a better job resisting Trump.

Comment: There ought to be a willing 'coming together' after a major election instead of a continued 'tearing apart.' Divide doesn't conquer.

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