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Citizens file petition after former cop gets only 3 months for molesting an 8 y.o. girl

Jack Burns
The Free Thought Project
Sat, 11 Feb 2017 22:10 UTC
Gerald Cookus
Former Wilkes-Barre police officer, Gerald Cookus, left, leaves the Luzerne County Courthouse with his attorney.
As The Free Thought Project has consistently reported, police officers, even if they're caught on video committing a crime, are rarely punished to the same standards the public which they're sworn to protect are held to. And now, it seems, even retired police officers are given the same preferential treatment.

Gerald Cookus, a twenty-year veteran of the Wilkes-Barre Police Department in Pennsylvania, was sentenced to just 3 months in prison for admittedly molesting an 8-year-old girl at his home on Mayock Street in Wilkes-Barre.

Cookus, who was working as a greeter at the school known as the Solomon Plains Education Center, was seen by the victim's mom hugging the victim in a way that aroused her suspicions. Upon further investigation, it was discovered Cookus had molested the girl because, in his words, he felt like she liked it.

According to WNEP News, "Court papers show he admitted to police he touched the girl inappropriately because he believed she thought it felt good. School leaders do not think the assaults happened on school grounds. He was fired from his position at Solomon Plains Elementary in November."

News reports indicate the former career police officer was overcome with emotion, "Inside the courtroom, his lawyer told the judge he's living with the loss of his family's respect." And, "Before he was sentenced, Cookus told the judge through tears, 'this is the worst thing in my life and I'm sorry. I'm very, very sorry.'" But all of the emotion, the tears, the words of remorse, mean nothing when you examine the research that exists on pedophiles.
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Pirates

Khaled Sharrouf: Australia's anti-terrorism law strips first ISIS fighter of citizenship


RT
Sat, 11 Feb 2017 10:10 UTC
Khaled Sharrouf
© The Sydney Morning HeraldISIS terrorist Khaled Sharrouf
Islamic State terrorist Khaled Sharrouf, whose little son shocked the world by holding up the severed head of a soldier in a picture, has become the first Australian to be stripped of citizenship under the country's anti-terrorism laws, a report says.

A spokeswoman for Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton told AAP that a person had been stripped of their Australian citizenship, while declining to name the individual, but the Australian newspaper has identified him as 35-year-old dual-national Sharrouf.

Under a 2015 law, Australia may strip dual nationals of their citizenship if they have carried out terrorist acts or been members of a banned organization.

Sharrouf, the son of Lebanese immigrants, went to fight for Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Syria in 2013, a year after being released from prison for taking part in a terrorist plot.

In 2014, horrifying photographs emerged on Twitter showing Sharrouf and his 7-year-old son holding up the chopped off heads of Syrian soldiers, with the caption "That's my boy!" In 2015, unconfirmed reports emerged claiming that Sharrouf had been killed in a drone strike in Mosul in northern Iraq, but he is still the subject of an active arrest warrant.

Last year, Sharrouf's widow, Tara Nettleton, a mother-of-five who was living in Raqqa with four of her children and one grandchild, died in Syria, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
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People

Policeman and protesters killed in clashes as 1,000s protest near Baghdad 'Green Zone'


RT
Sat, 11 Feb 2017 15:39 UTC
Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Baghdad, Iraq
© Alaa Al-Marjani / Reuters Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Baghdad, Iraq February 11, 2017.
An Iraqi police officer was killed in clashes with protesters near Baghdad's Green Zone, where thousands of supporters of Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had rallied. Local media report that several protesters were injured as police deployed tear gas.

One police officer was killed and seven others were wounded in clashes with the demonstrators on Saturday, an Iraqi interior ministry spokesman said, according to Reuters.

Protests against corruption, which are also demanding changes in the Iraq's current election laws, are taking place in the center of the Iraqi capital for the second consecutive day.

Comment: Update: Number of Victims in Baghdad Clashes Rises to 5, Over 300 Wounded
The number of victims in clashes between demonstrators and police in Iraq's capital of Baghdad has risen to five, while 320 people have been wounded, Al Arabiya broadcaster reported Saturday, citing a local official.

Sadr called on his supporters to calm down, criticizing the excessive use of force, while Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi called on citizens not to violate law and stressed that they were not deprived of the right to conduct peaceful demonstrations.
Several Projectiles Hit Baghdad Gov't Quarter
Several projectiles hit the government quarter in Baghdad on Saturday, where many key state institutions and foreign diplomatic missions are located, local media reported.

According to Al Arabiya television broadcaster the shelling is currently underway. No information regarding casualties has been provided yet.


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TV

Another season of John Oliver: Shameless pro-establishment shill

Michael McCaffrey
RT
Sat, 11 Feb 2017 18:52 UTC
John Oliver
© Brendan McDermid / Reuters
This Sunday, season four of John Oliver's Last Week Tonight premieres. If the last three seasons were any indication, viewers can expect no deviation from the official party line by the establishment's favorite comedy accomplice.

Let's just cut right to the chase. John Oliver is a charlatan who appears to be a rebellious liberal comedian speaking truth to power. In reality, he is a shameless shill for the ruling class in the United States.

Oliver, who hails from West Midlands, England, specializes in telling his liberal audience and those in the establishment exactly what they want to hear. He never genuinely challenges or questions the American power structure, thereby making him an agent of the status quo, which is why the media adores him.
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Arrow Down

The deputy head of the Ukrainian Army's General Staff Gennady Vorobyov 'suddenly' dies at his workplace


RT
Sat, 11 Feb 2017 19:50 UTC
Ukrainian tank
© Natalia Seliverstova / Sputnik
The deputy head of the Ukrainian Army's General Staff, Gennady Vorobyov, who was also the head of Ukraine's National University of Defense, "suddenly" died on Saturday.

Vorobyov died "suddenly, at his workplace," according to Ukraine's presidential spokesman, Svyatoslav Tsegolko, who added that the Lieutenant-General had headed the Ukrainian army "on the front line" between 2014 and 2016.

President Petro Poroshenko has expressed his condolences to the deceased man's family.
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Attention

16-year-old girl becomes Denmark's first female charged with terrorism


RT
Sat, 11 Feb 2017 19:13 UTC
Denmark policemen
© Christian Charisius / Reuters
A 16-year-old Danish girl is facing at least four years in prison after being charged with terrorism offences, local media report, citing the prosecutor's office.

The unnamed girl, an ethnic Danish convert from the village of Kundby on the island of Zealand, was arrested in January of 2016 for possessing explosives and has been held in custody ever since.

All of the hearings regarding the case have been held behind closed doors, but on Friday the Copenhagen Public Prosecutor Office announced that the girl would be charged for participating in a serious terror plot.

"The 16-year-old was, according to the indicted, far along in her preparations to bomb two schools. She is charged with having made preparations to make a bomb and for having planned a test explosion," said public prosecutor Lise-Lotte Nilas, JydskeVestkysten reported.
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No Entry

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos blocked by protesters from entering D.C. private school


RT
Sat, 11 Feb 2017 18:58 UTC
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos
© Jonathan Ernst / ReutersU.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos had to be escorted away from a public school when protesters physically obstructed the entrance. The controversial reformer eventually made it inside, and also heard from members of the teachers' union.

Devos' first official visit to a public school since narrowly being confirmed as the new secretary of the US Department of Education indicated that she might be the most divisive figure in President Donald Trump's Cabinet.

"She does not represent anything that they stand for!" one protester yelled while using her arms and body to block a stairway to Jefferson Middle School Academy in the District of Columbia on Friday morning.

Another demonstrator badgered Devos as she walked away with her security detail.

"Keep giving money to senators and buying your way into the position," he said, adding, "You should be so proud of yourself!" before breaking out into a chant of "Shame! Shame!"

Comment: See also: US Senate confirms Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education

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Handcuffs

Long Beach: Suspect sought in string of robberies and sexual assault at senior housing complex


CBS Los Angeles
Thu, 09 Feb 2017 17:43 UTC
long beach suspect
A woman was injured Thursday after being robbed at her home in Long Beach.

Police believe the crime was committed by the same man, who is wanted for series of robberies and a sexual assault in and around a senior housing complex.

The latest crime occurred about 7:25 a.m. Thursday when officers were dispatched to the 3700 block of Pacific Avenue, said Marlene Arrona of the Long Beach Police Department.

Police said the man forced his way into a 90-year-old woman's house, tried to sexually assault her then robbed her. As she fought him off, she was punched in the face, one neighbor said.

Neighbors said the latest victim is well known in the area and was probably targeted.

"She's out walking almost everyday," Martin Brindezik said.

The victim remains in the hospital being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
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No Entry

Six months on, Rio Olympic sites falling into state of decay


Sputnik
Sat, 11 Feb 2017 17:44 UTC
2016 Olympic Games venues in Rio in disrepair
© REUTERS / Pilar Olivares
Nearly $2.3 billion was spent on the 2016 Olympic Games venues in Rio. Now, they sit almost in ruins.

Abandoned buildings, drained swimming pools, garbage and broken sports equipment - such a blood-chilling picture can be seen by any tourist or passer-by in Rio, host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics.

After the festival of sport ended, the Brazilian government promised to maintain and fund seven of the nine Olympic venues, including the Rio Olympic Arena, the Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Carioca Arena 1 and 2, as well as tennis courts.
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Laptop

How complex algorithms secretly run the world

Rob Lever
Yahoo News
Sat, 11 Feb 2017 17:12 UTC
woman and cell phone
© AFP photo/Roslan Rahman
When you browse online for a new pair of shoes, pick a movie to stream on Netflix or apply for a car loan, an algorithm likely has its word to say on the outcome.

The complex mathematical formulas are playing a growing role in all walks of life: from detecting skin cancers to suggesting new Facebook friends, deciding who gets a job, how police resources are deployed, who gets insurance at what cost, or who is on a "no fly" list.

Algorithms are being used -- experimentally -- to write news articles from raw data, while Donald Trump's presidential campaign was helped by behavioral marketers who used an algorithm to locate the highest concentrations of "persuadable voters."

But while such automated tools can inject a measure of objectivity into erstwhile subjective decisions, fears are rising over the lack of transparency algorithms can entail, with pressure growing to apply standards of ethics or "accountability."

Data scientist Cathy O'Neil cautions about "blindly trusting" formulas to determine a fair outcome.

"Algorithms are not inherently fair, because the person who builds the model defines success," she said.

Amplifying disadvantages

O'Neil argues that while some algorithms may be helpful, others can be nefarious. In her 2016 book, "Weapons of Math Destruction," she cites some troubling examples in the United States:

Comment: Computer algorithms are increasingly shaping and filtering our experience of the real world

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