Society's ChildS


Handcuffs

Transgender woman appears in UK court for 'raping man twice'


RT
Wed, 08 Mar 2017 15:21 UTC
Katie Brannen
© Katie Brannen/ReutersKatie Brannen
A Newcastle woman has appeared in court accused of raping a man, twice.

Katie Brannen, formerly Gavin Brannen, 26, appeared in Newcastle Crown Court on Wednesday. She has been charged with two counts of rape after allegedly attacking the man in January in South Shields.

Brannen spoke only to confirm her name during the hearing, the Independent reports. Her barrister Gavin Dog indicated a not guilty plea.

She is now facing a trial later this year. The trial, expected to last four days, is due to be held in December.

Brannen was granted bail on the condition she must not try to contact the alleged victim, and must live at an address on Green Lane in South Shields. She must also abide by an electronic curfew and not enter on-licensed premises.

No details of the alleged rapes were given in court.
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Books

Mother of four faces possible jail time over her kids' overdue library books

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Mon, 06 Mar 2017 14:40 UTC
Victoria Texas Public Library
Victoria Texas Public Library
When Sarrah Pitts checked out the anime series "One Piece" from her local public library for her children, the last thing going through her mind was that this could land her in jail. However, that is exactly what is happening to her thanks to the state's ability to escalate force.

"I've always heard of people going to jail for library fines, and I never knew anyone till now," Pitts, who is 35 and a mother of four, said.

Pitts checked out the books back in September of 2013. However, she failed to bring them back after she moved from Chillicothe to Victoria. During the move, the books were lost and fell out of her memory.

Because she moved, the library notices were not getting to her. So, a lost item fee of $21.75 continued to progress. Eventually, the library, in following their protocol, turned matters over to law enforcement who quickly and unnecessarily escalated the situation.

As all those involved attempted to get a piece of the 'bounty' for the book, the $21.75 late fee snowballed into a massive $784.98 warrant — for failure to return a library book.
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Clipboard

What are the real numbers saying about refugees

Declan Butler
Nature
Wed, 01 Mar 2017 14:45 UTC
refugees in focus
Growing concerns over an 'invasion' of refugees and migrants helped to elect Donald Trump and sway Brexit voters. Yet the data suggest that the situation is very different from how it is often portrayed.

Researchers warn that misleading reports about the magnitude of flows into Europe and the United States are creating unjustified fears about refugees. That is undermining efforts to manage the massive humanitarian problems faced by those fleeing Syria and other hotspots.
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Apple Red

Man charged with 'killing' mannequin posed as homeless person in Las Vegas


CBS News - Las Vegas
Wed, 08 Mar 2017 13:52 UTC
Man charged with killing mannequin
© Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept.
A man has been charged in Las Vegas with using a hammer to try to kill a mannequin that police positioned to resemble a sleeping homeless person in an area where two men had been bludgeoned to death just weeks before.

The unusual charge of attempted murder, but of a human decoy, was lodged Tuesday against Shane Allen Schindler at a hearing in which a justice of the peace ordered Schindler to undergo a mental competency evaluation.

The 30-year-old Schindler hasn't been charged in the earlier attacks. He told police following his arrest early Feb. 22 that he knew it was a mannequin he was attacking.

Schindler's court-appointed lawyer declined to comment.

Police say surveillance video shows Schindler creep up and hit the mannequin in the head, using two-handed swings of the 4-pound hammer.
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Attention

Over 30 dead in ISIS attack on military hospital in Kabul


RT
Wed, 08 Mar 2017 13:41 UTC
Afghan policemen
© Omar Sobhani / Reuters
The attack on Afghanistan's largest military hospital in Kabul has left more than 30 people dead, the Defense Ministry said. Several gunmen, dressed as doctors, attacked the facility near the US Embassy early on Wednesday, engaging special forces units.

Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said there were "more than 30 killed and more than 50 wounded" in the attack.

According to AP, more than 60 people have been injured.

Waziri said security forces have now taken full control of the facility, adding that the fighting is over.

Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the assault on the Sardar Daud Khan hospital, Afghan TOLO News reported.
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Eye 2

Mass stabbing leaves 2 dead, several injured in English city of Wolverhampton


RT
Wed, 08 Mar 2017 13:27 UTC
British police
© Neil Hall / Reuters
Two people are dead and several injured after a stabbing in Wolverhampton, in the English West Midlands, emergency services have confirmed.

According to the BBC, West Midlands Ambulance Service said it was dealing with a "serious incident" in Penn and was treating "a number of patients."

Helicopters, police dogs and officers in riot uniform are dealing with the incident at an address in Warstones, the Mirror reports.

The Birmingham Mail reports two people have been killed in the incident - one woman and one man.
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Gem

Robots, policemen & pilots get creative to celebrate Int'l Women's Day in Russia (VIDEOS)


RT
Wed, 08 Mar 2017 09:41 UTC
While flowers and chocolate are in abundance in Russia, which is marking International Women's Day with public holiday and celebrations, some are coming up with quite unconventional ways to make their loved ones smile.

On March 8, millions of Russians rush to markets and shops to get fresh flowers, a traditional part of festive atmosphere of the day. Even the walls of Kremlin sported a holiday greeting this year.

There were those, however, who decided to bring about the holiday spirit early - including police officers seemingly taking part in a nationwide flash mob.

One of the iconic Kremlin walls has been spiced up with a giant light projection featuring a bouquet of red, white, and blue flowers, shaped to form the map of Russia. "To you, our beloved ones!" the visual postcard says.
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Oscar

Lights out at the Statue of Liberty occurs hours before 'Day Without A Woman' protest


RT
Wed, 08 Mar 2017 11:58 UTC
Statue of Liberty
© Brendan McDermid / Reuters
Without warning, lights at the Statue of Liberty went dark the evening before nationwide Day Without A Woman marches are scheduled. But rumors that the outage was in solidarity with protesters dwindled when the lights came back on less than an hour later.

The bizarre outage left people speculating whether the lights were shut off in solidarity with the planned demonstrations. So far the National Parks Service is yet to comment.

Comment: See also: National strike: Over 100 protests organized against Trump, with more to come

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Heart - Black

General Motors to scale back 1,100 workers in Michigan & shift production to Tennessee


RT
Mon, 06 Mar 2017 20:02 UTC
Auto plant
© Mike Stone / Reuters
General Motors will layoff another 1,100 Michigan workers as part of its shift in domestic production, the company has announced, despite a promised $1 billion investment designed to add jobs. Production will be moved to an assembly plant in Tennessee.

The Lansing Delta Township plant currently employs 3,144 workers to build three SUVs on the same platform: the Chevrolet Traverse, the Buick Enclave and the GMC Acadia. However, in 2016, GM added 800 jobs at its Spring Hill, Tennessee plant, which is tasked with building a new, smaller version of the GMC Acadia. After the Lansing retooling, it will continue building the Enclave and Traverse, GM spokesman Tom Wickham said in a statement.

GM has been scaling back both production and employment because of lower sales in the US, CNN money reported.

The Lansing Delta cuts are the second round of layoffs this month, and the fourth since November. On Friday, GM laid off 1,300 workers at the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, as the company phased out the second shift. Many of those who were laid off were temporary workers who had been promised full-time, permanent jobs by GM and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, according to the World Socialist Web Site.
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Info

Western propaganda exposed: Survey shows Crimean Tatars' real opinions

translated by J. Arnoldski
Izvestiya / Fort Russ News
Tue, 07 Mar 2017 21:59 UTC
Crimean Tatar
The majority of Crimean Tatars, 61%, support Russian President Vladimir Putin. Around one third, 31%, say that their attitude towards the head of state has improved. Such data has been released as part of the sociological study of the Federal Agency of Nationalities Affairs. The survey was conducted between December 2016 and January 2017.

Among those (around 50%) who believe that the federal government wants to help resolve Crimean Tatars' problems, 85% evaluate the situation in Crimea as generally positive, the head of the federal agency, Igor Barinov, has reported.

Crimean Tatars currently make up 13% of the peninsula's population. According to the survey, 70% of them have successfully adapted to life in Russia.
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