Society's ChildS


Pirates

'Mad Max' Jihad: Dozens of captured ISIS combat vehicles go on exhibit in Mosul


RT
Sat, 15 Jul 2017 09:22 UTC
Vehicles used for suicide car bombings, made by Islamic State militants
© Thaier Al-Sudani / ReutersVehicles used for suicide car bombings, made by Islamic State militants, are seen at Federal Police Headquarters after being confiscated in Mosul, Iraq July 13, 2017
Dozens of captured cars, modified "Mad Max-style" by Islamic State terrorists into either combat vehicles or suicide bombs on wheels, have been put on display by Iraqi security forces in the liberated city of Mosul.
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Health

Health Care in America: Where is the Socialist Solution?

Ajamu Baraka
Counter Punch
Fri, 14 Jul 2017 13:38 UTC
Medicare protests
© Molly Adams
The introduction of the Republican legislation to "repeal and replace" Obamacare is no more than latest scrimmage in the ongoing one-sided war against the poor and working class. The "Affordable Care Act" (ACA, better known as Obamacare) proved to be both unaffordable and unable to provide comprehensive care for millions. Nevertheless, with the ACA being one of the only tangible "victories" Democrats could claim for an administration with a dismal record of noteworthy accomplishments, neoliberal Democrats and the party's liberal base led by Bernie Sanders are now coalesced around the ACA and have vowed to defend it to the bitter end.

Yet, camouflaged by the hot rhetoric of confrontation and the diversionary struggle of the duopoly, the common agenda and objective interests being protected in this healthcare battle are quite clear. No matter what version of the healthcare bill passes or if the ACA remains in place, it will be a win for the market-based, for-profit beneficiaries of the U.S. system. As long as healthcare remains privatized, the real winners of healthcare reform will continue to be the insurance companies, hospital corporations and pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
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Attention

Fed chief Yellen: Opioid epidemic, not banking system, to blame for falling US labor participation


RT
Fri, 14 Jul 2017 21:29 UTC
Janet Yellen
© Joshua Roberts | ReutersIt's not my fault!
Opioid abuse in the US is linked to a decline in labor participation rates claims Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

Speaking at the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, as part of her bi-annual testimony, Yellen said opioid abuse is related to declining labor force participation for prime-age workers, CNBC reports.
"Many individuals with less education are finding it difficult to be placed in jobs that are middle income jobs," Yellen said. "And so this perhaps intensified during the recession, but it is a much longer lasting trend. We've seen now unfortunately this is likely tied to the opioid crisis."
Opioids include prescription painkillers such as oxycodone and fentanyl, as well as heroin. About 91 Americans die from opioid overdoses every day, the National Institute on Drug Abuse reports, while prescription drug abuse costs $78.5 billion per year, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
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Dollars

Police officer who killed Philando Castile awarded $48,500 payout to leave police force


RT
Wed, 12 Jul 2017 07:09 UTC
Philando Castile
© ReutersA still photo taken from a dashcam video shows the July 2016 police shooting of Philando Castile, a black motorist, during a traffic stop in Ramsey County, Minnesota, U.S., by officer Jeronimo Yanez released June 20, 2017.
The police officer who fatally shot Philando Castile in Minnesota last July has been awarded a $48,500 payout to leave the St Anthony Police Department.

The payout is in addition to "up to 600 hours" of accrued personal leave to be given to Jeronimo Yanez. The Star Tribune reports Yanez was making $72,612 a year at the time he shot Castile.

According to the agreement, Yanez was informed of the separation on June 30 and was given 10 days to consider. The agreement prevents Yanez from bringing any future claims related to Castile's death.

Castile was shot fives times and killed during a traffic stop last July while his girlfriend Diamond Reynolds and her four-year-old daughter were in the car.

Comment:

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Cross

Vatican charges former 'Pope's Hospital' officials with using $481k charity cash to renovate cardinal's apartment


RT
Fri, 14 Jul 2017 12:01 UTC
Pope's childrens hospital, Bambino Gesù Hospital
© Gabriel Bouys / AFP
The Vatican has charged two former officials of a children's hospital with using $481,000 of fundraising cash to renovate a cardinal's apartment. One of the men has admitted to the act, but says it was done as an investment for the hospital's foundation.

The case centers on the former president of the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesù Hospital, Giuseppe Profiti, and former treasurer Massimo Spina.

The two men are accused of using €422,000 (US$481,000) from the hospital's fundraising foundation to pay for renovations of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone's apartment when he retired as the Vatican's secretary of state in 2013.
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Fish

Hagfish explosion slimes Oregon highway

Jason Bittel
National Geographic
Fri, 14 Jul 2017 20:19 UTC
slime attack
© Oregon State Police Dept.Hagfish slime isn't actually slime—it's more like a gel made of filaments.
No, this isn't a scene from the set of Ghostbusters. On July 14, a truck carrying thousands of fish wrecked on Oregon's highway, covering the road and at least one car in slime and creating surely one of the most bizarre traffic jams in history.

The culprit? Hagfish, deep-sea scavengers that look a bit like eels and are capable of generating massive amounts of anti-predator mucus at a moment's notice. The Pacific Northwest is home to several hagfish fisheries that supply the fish to many Asian countries, including South Korea, where it is a prized dish.

Just how inconvenient is hagfish slime? Well, the Oregon Department of Transportation is currently using a small bulldozer to remove the muck from the middle of the road. (Most of the fish died in the accident.)

Of course, in its natural environment on the seafloor, the hagfish has other uses for this secret weapon. (Read seven reasons why hagfish are amazing.)
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Sheriff

North Carolina cop traveling 100mph kills pedestrian


RT
Fri, 14 Jul 2017 20:19 UTC
Phillip Barker
© Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s OfficePhillip Barker
A rookie police officer in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been charged over killing a pedestrian with his patrol car. The on-duty officer was driving at 100mph (160kph) when he struck the person, according to police.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Philip Barker, 24, was charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle on Wednesday.

Barker fatally struck James Short, 28, as he was crossing the street early Saturday morning while traveling at 100mph in a 30mph zone, according to police.

Police said three marked patrol cars were responding to reports of a car that ran into a building when the accident happened.

Short was crossing the street against a red light when he was struck. Police said Barker had his lights and sirens on at the time.


Comment: That poor guy may have thought he could cross the street in time. If the officer had been traveling at a normal rate of speed, it's likely he would have.

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Newspaper

Man confesses to the murders of four men found in a common grave

Richard Gonzales & Bill Chappell
NPR
Thu, 13 Jul 2017 19:33 UTC
four slain men
© Bucks County District Attorney's Office via APThe investigation of four men who went missing last week in Bucks County, Pa. — Thomas Meo (from left), Dean Finocchiaro, Jimi Patrick and Mark Sturgis — led to a common grave on Pennsylvania farm, where Finocchiaro's body was found.
A Pennsylvania man under suspicion for his connection to the disappearance of four young men who went missing in rural Pennsylvania last weekend has confessed to their murders.

Cosmo DiNardo, 20, agreed to plead guilty to four murder counts, according to his attorney Paul Lang outside the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.

"In exchange for that confession, Mr. DiNardo was promised by the district attorney that he will spare his life by not invoking the death penalty," said Lang.

District Attorney Matthew D. Weintraub declined to comment via Twitter, although his office had retweeted media coverage of Lang's statement. Weintraub also said he expected to have more information on Friday morning.

DiNardo, of Bensalem, Pa., was being held on a $5 million cash bail after being arrested Wednesday; one day earlier, he had been deemed a "person of interest" in the missing-persons case after he was accused of trying to sell the car belonging to one of the missing men.
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Heart - Black

Four y.o. girl dead after being wrapped up in duct tape by mother and her boyfriend

Danya Bazaraa
The Mirror
Fri, 14 Jul 2017 19:15 UTC
Desaray Thompson
© Kalamazoo County Sheriff's OfficeDesaray was not breathing when she was found on Sunday.
A four-year-old "darling little girl" has died after her mum and boyfriend allegedly wrapped her up in duct tape every night for two-weeks.

Desaray Thompson was found not breathing at a home on Sunday, and officers' attempts to revive her using CPR were tragically unsuccessful.

The child's mother Kelly Ballinger, 33, and her boyfriend, Matthew Longenecker, 34, had restrained the little girl at night for a period of two weeks, detectives said.

They wrapped her up in blankets then duct tape before putting her to bed, Kalamazoo County District Court heard.
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Sheriff

NYPD cop fired for throwing his semen on a female co-worker

John Vibes
The Free Thought Project
Fri, 14 Jul 2017 19:07 UTC
NYPD badge
Former NYPD sergeant Michael Iscenko is facing charges of third-degree sex abuse, after he was accused of flinging his semen at a female co-worker. Not only has the victim come forward to testify against Iscenko, but there is also video and DNA evidence against him, proving that he is guilty of the crime.

The footage that has surfaced since the event shows the former officer sneaking up behind an office worker in the NYPD building, and launching some type of liquid substance onto her leg before running out of the office.

On the stand, the victim told the jury that, "I turned back because I felt someone behind me and when I turned back, Michael, he was behind me."

"I saw Mike behind me and told him, 'Ewww! Why did you do that?' in disgust, and he just looked at me and walked to his office," she said.

The victim also reported that Iscenko had sexually harassed her on multiple other occasions.
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