Society's ChildS


Handcuffs

Prosecutors and defense file appeals - Sweden Facebook rape case


RT
Fri, 12 May 2017 21:20 UTC
phone facebook
© Dado Ruvic / Reuters
Both the prosecutor and defendant are appealing the sentence in the infamous rape case from earlier this year, in which a Swedish woman's gang-rape was broadcast live on Facebook.

Police in Uppsala, north of Stockholm, were called in January after concerned viewers tipped them off about a gang-rape that was being broadcast live to a closed Facebook group with over 60,000 members. Three men aged 18, 21 and 24 were arrested, and their claim that the woman consented to the act was rejected by the Uppsala District Court in April, which gave them sentences of one year, two years four months, and six months, respectively.

The court ruled that the woman, reportedly aged 31, was heavily under the influence of drugs and alcohol, which is considered a particularly vulnerable situation under Swedish law. The 18-year-old and 21-year-old, both Afghan nationals, were convicted of rape, while the 24-year-old, a Swedish citizen of Afghan descent, who was behind the camera, was found guilty of gross defamation and failing to report the incident. In addition to their jail time, the men were ordered to pay a total of 300,000 kronor (US$33,890) in damages to the victim.

Comment: More background

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Pistol

Refugee kills 20 wounded Syrian soldiers, jailed in Austria


Sputnik
Thu, 11 May 2017 17:21 UTC
shackled hands
© CC BY 2.0 / Victor
The 27-year-old, who has not been identified because of strict privacy laws in Austria, told people at a refugee shelter in the Tyrol that he had shot dead soldiers in President Bashar al-Assad's government while he was fighting with an Islamist rebel group called the Farouq Brigade, which was linked to the Free Syrian Army. After a trial in the city of Innsbruck he was found guilty of 20 charges of "murder as a terrorism offense."

The man, who had reportedly grown up in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, was arrested in June last year after being denounced by a Syrian migrant. He had reportedly boasted to other asylum seekers of having been part of the Farouq Brigade and executed injured Syrian government soldiers near the city of Homs in 2013 and 2014.

The man initially confessed to the killings but later tried to retract his testimony, claiming it had been wrongly translated from Arabic into German. But the translator stuck to his guns, telling the court: "The defendant told me he had shot badly wounded soldiers. I asked him to repeat his claim and he did."

Killing injured soldiers is prohibited under the Geneva Convention. He is thought to be the first person tried for war crimes in Syria under Austrian law.

Comment: Another indication of movement towards a global community and the complexity intrinsic to the displacement of millions of people adjusting to a life beyond their borders.

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People

Over 80% of Russians approve of President Putin's work, the government not so much


Sputnik
Fri, 12 May 2017 20:39 UTC
Vladimir Putin
© Sputnik/ Aleksey Nikolskyi
82.1 percent of Russians approve the work done by Russian President Vladimir Putin, while 55.8 percent of the respondents approve of the government's work, according to a poll.

The work done by Russian President Vladimir Putin is approved by 82.1 percent of Russians, while the approval rating of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is at 52.8 percent, a poll by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) showed Thursday.

According to the survey, 55.8 percent of the respondents approve of the government's work, while 32 percent do not.
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USA

Marines who share nude photos will be sacked, says new memo


Sputnik
Fri, 12 May 2017 20:14 UTC
soldiers
© AFP 2017/ SSGT Jason. D. Beckstand/ USMC
In response to the US Marines' nude photo scandal that's sent shockwaves through the military, the Corps issued a memo this week saying that servicemembers found guilty of sharing inappropriate photos could be kicked out.

The nonconsensual sharing of sexually explicit images has been added to the sexual harassment section of the Marine Corps manual that details involuntary separation proceedings. "The distribution or broadcasting of an intimate image, without consent, if done for personal gain; or with the intent to humiliate, harm, harass, intimidate, threaten or coerce the depicted person" is now considered a violation, according to the amendment, Military.com reported.

Changes to the service's social media guidelines were ordered shortly after the exposure earlier this year of a 30,000-member Facebook group called "Marines United," where retired and active duty corpsmen shared nude photos of their female colleagues, often without their knowledge or consent.

Sometimes the posts would include the woman's name, rank and duty station.

Comment: See also:

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Heart - Black

More airline hijinks: Virgin boots disabled woman out of their lounge for having a service dog


CBS Los Angeles
Thu, 11 May 2017 19:54 UTC
Micaela Bensko with her service dog.
© CBS LAMicaela Bensko with her service dog.
A Santa Clarita woman in a wheelchair said she was kicked out of an airline lounge because of her service dog.

Micaela Bensko was in tears, crumpled in pain when she said she was denied access to the Virgin Atlantic lounge at JFK International Airport in New York because she had a service dog.

In 2011, Bensko's spine was severely injured in an accident, leaving her in a wheelchair. Service dog, Blue Bell, helps pull her.

She cannot sit for more than 30 minutes, That is why she said she paid for the Virgin Atlantic lounge so she could lie down before her flight.

But a lounge employee said no and Bensko caught it on video, which showed the employee saying: "With Virgin Atlantic policy with any service animal, you have to have some sort of paperwork."
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Arrow Up

Japan blacklists companies violating labor laws in effort to prevent suicides and death from overwork


RT
Fri, 12 May 2017 15:04 UTC
death by overwork, japan karoshi
© Reuters Japan has one of the highest life expectancies in the world, at 83.3 years, bu also has the highest suicide rates.
The Japanese government has for the first time announced a list of over 300 businesses nationwide that have broken labor laws. Officials want to protect employees from abuse and prevent "karoshi," or death by overwork.

The list includes major companies such as advertising agency Dentsu and electronics maker Panasonic, who are blamed for illegal overtime. A local unit of Japan Post, a subsidiary of Japan Post Holdings is accused of failing to report work-related injuries.

Companies that abuse workers have been called "black" by the local media. The problem intensified when a young worker at Dentsu committed suicide in 2015. The death was recognized as "karoshi," encouraging Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to push for labor reforms.

Comment: 'Karoshi': 20% of Japanese employees risk death from overwork, survey shows
The Japanese are notoriously known for their strict work culture and putting in long hours. Hundreds of deaths from overwork are recorded every year, most of which are due to strokes, heart attacks, or suicide. Suicides are an especially acute problem. According to National Police Agency statistics cited by the Japan Times, 2,159 people took their own lives due, at least in part, to work-related problems in 2015.


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Sheriff

Cop non-violently diffuses potential school shooting by talking to student

Jack Burns
The Free Thought Project
Fri, 12 May 2017 19:43 UTC
Officer Wallace
Arthur J. Wallace Junior, known as "June" by his friends, is the school resource officer for Forest Hills High School. As such, Wallace sees his role as more of a father figure than an officer.

Many of the students he serves have at least one parent in jail, or prison, or has been a victim of a homicide. He reaches out to those kids and finds it easy to build relationships with students, but he didn't personally know the would-be assassin he'd passed in the halls every day, at least until his apprehension.

The Free Thought Project has reported far too many times on school resource officers who've beaten and choked the children they are ostensibly protecting.

Thankfully, the following story has a happy ending, due in part to the example Officer Wallace set for other school resource officers throughout the nation — all of which will likely come as no surprise to folks who call June a friend.

According to Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey, he was alerted after Canadian authorities became aware of one NC student's plans to kill his classmates. They, in turn, contacted the NC State Bureau of Investigations (NCSBI), who then contacted Union County Sheriff's Department. Cathey said he then knew who to call.
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2 + 2 = 4

Colorado teacher kills herself as police approach house to question 'inappropriate relationship' with student

Victor Skinner
EAG News
Fri, 12 May 2017 19:39 UTC
Drake Middle School
© CBS
A Colorado teacher killed herself Tuesday as police approached her home to question her about an inappropriate relationship with a middle school student.

A family member told CBS Denver that 47-year-old Gretchen Krohnfeldt, a mother of three, killed herself in front of police officers who went to her Arvada home to question her about the investigation.

School officials put the Drake Middle School teacher on leave Monday when informed that Arvada police and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office was informed by a colleague who allegedly witnessed inappropriate contact between Krohnfeldt and the student, now a high-schooler.

The employee allegedly witnessed the inappropriate interaction months ago, but only reported it to police on Monday.

"Through the course of the investigation, it was alleged that a physical relationship occurred between the two in the City of Arvada," according to a police statement cited by KUSA.

Sources told CBS Denver the alleged abuse occurred at Krohnfeldt's home.

Jefferson County Public Schools issued a statement about the ordeal, but did not reveal that Krohnfeldt died of a suicide.
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Eye 1

Oklahoma lawmaker says non-English-speaking kids should be turned over to immigration officials to save cash


RT
Fri, 12 May 2017 16:36 UTC
non-English speaking students
© Global Look Press
A lawmaker in the Oklahoma House says non-English speaking students should be turned over to immigration officials "to see if they truly are citizens." He says the move could save the state $60 million, while critics slam the idea as "utterly shameful."

Mike Ritze - a member of the newly created 22-member Republican Platform Caucus - claims there are 82,000 non-English speaking students in Oklahoma, and that turning them in could be a financially positive move for the state.

"Identify them and then turn them over to ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] to see if they truly are citizens, and do we really have to educate non-citizens?" he told News 9.

It's unclear whether he was suggesting turning the children's names in, or if believes the students should be physically rounded up.
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Attention

Horrific video shows mentally ill woman suffering before death in Aussie hospital (PHOTOS)


RT
Fri, 12 May 2017 11:27 UTC
Mentally ill woman
© ABC News
Horrific footage of a mentally ill mother-of-two at a hospital in New South Wales, Australia, has emerged online. The sedated woman, Miriam Merten, stumbled around the facility covered in feces and falling at least 25 times before she died.

Merten was admitted to the Lismore Adult Mental Health Inpatient Unit on May 26, 2014, and was locked in a seclusion room for over five hours at the facility on June 1, 2014. The next morning, a nurse unlocked the ward, and the woman stumbled around the hospital before collapsing in the corridor, right next to the nurses, who are seen to be paying no attention. Merten died two days later.

Following Merten's death, one of the woman's daughters, Corina, requested CCTV footage from the hospital, and those images have just been released.

According to Coroner Jeff Linden, Merten died of "traumatic and hypoxic brain injury caused by numerous falls and the self-beating of her head on various surfaces, the latter not done with the intention of taking her own life."
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