Society's ChildS


Airplane

Kansas nurse says she was forced to pee in a cup on United Airlines flight

Matt Campbell
The Charlotte Observer
Wed, 10 May 2017 22:30 UTC
United airplane taking off
© Charlotte Observer
In yet another horror story about the state of commercial aviation, a nurse from Kansas City says she was forced to pee into a cup in her seat because she was not allowed to use the plane's lavatory.

Nicole Harper posted her account early Saturday on Facebook after, she says, she became frustrated at her inability to get anyone at United Airlines to acknowledge her complaint.

"United Airlines refuses to take my call, now I can't sleep and just keep thinking about how wrong this is," Harper wrote. She encouraged her Facebook friends to share her story.

Harper said her experience happened the same day that 69-year-old David Dao was injured while being forced off a United flight that was overbooked. That incident happened April 9.

Harper said flight attendants would not allow her to get out of her seat and use the bathroom until the captain turned off the seat belt sign.
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Info

Second body in 24 hours found in water at New York City's Central Park

Rana Novini
NBC4
Wed, 10 May 2017 14:21 UTC
Central Park reservoir
© NBC
Another body has been found in the water at Central Park, the second such grisly discovery within 24 hours, authorities said.

A park worker found the body of a man in his 30s wearing pants and shoes, but no shirt, floating in Swan Lake near Fifth Avenue and 59th Street Wednesday morning, police said.

It appears the man was in the water for about a week or two at most, and authorities have made a tentative identification on the body from an ID in his pocket, police said.

There were some "wildlife issues" that apparently kept him submerged in the water until he was found, NYPD Chief of Detectives Bob Boyce said Wednesday, who also referred to "some eye damage from some turtles or other wildlife."
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Smoking

Britain's toughest jails preparing for violence, unrest, increased drug use as smoking ban enforced

Paddy Dinham
Daily Mail, UK
Sat, 06 May 2017 18:49 UTC
UK inmate smoking a cigarette
Britain's toughest jails are preparing themselves for unrest and violence when a smoking ban comes into force across UK jails.

Four in every five inmates currently smoke, and the decision to force them to be smoke-free by August 31 is unlikely to be well received.

A trial was held across 21 prisons in Wales last year, with a sharp spike in fighting and vandalism reported at HMP Cardiff.

Convicts are being encouraged to sign up for courses and replacement devices in order to help them kick the habit before the deadline.

Aside from the risk of increased trouble, critics fear the move could see an rise in contraband substances, such as Spice, being smuggled in.

Belmarsh and Strangeways are among the notorious jails where some of the country's most ferocious prisoners will have to deal with the changes.

Alex Cavendish, who is now a prison academic after doing time himself, told the Telegraph: 'Tobacco is an integral part of prison life. As well as being regarded as a treat and helping to alleviate boredom, smoking also acts as a crutch for inmates with a range of more serious issues.
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Stock Up

Bitcoin prices continue to rise, regularly breaking records

Patrick Caughill
Futurism
Wed, 10 May 2017 21:00 UTC
bitcoin
© Jim Urquhart / Reuters
Bitcoin Or Bust

Early adopters of Bitcoin, the novel currency sweeping the globe, have plenty to celebrate this year. The cryptocurrency has grown in value by 85 percent in 2017. It has enjoyed steady growth, topping $1,700 for the first time ever today. This is the latest milestone for the digital currency, however back in March, Bitcoin surpassed the value of gold for the first time in its history. And, there are no indications of it slowing down.

The previous success of the currency has been tied to the uncertainty in markets after the results of the 2016 US elections. However, that explanation can't continue its potency for that long. Even more, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) still has to rule on whether or not they will reverse a previous decision to reject a high profile exchange-traded fund (ETF), so the reasons behind the currency's burgeoning strength remain unclear.
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Cell Phone

Pakistani government sends out mass text warning against blasphemy


RT
Wed, 10 May 2017 20:37 UTC
muhammad headband
© Akhtar Soomr / Reuters
Pakistan's government has sent millions of text messages warning citizens against the sharing of blasphemous content online. The move comes as authorities bid to combat a major uptick in religious violence as mob rule decides if 'blasphemers' live or die.

Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) asked members of the public to report any objectionable content to authorities.

The telecom regulator told AFP that it was acting on a court order. It's feared, however, that the government message will embolden the actions of violent mobs.

"This mass messaging will only further fuel hatred among different sects and segments of the society. It is a very very bad move," digital rights activist Shahzad Ahmad told AFP.

Earlier this month a 10-year old boy was shot dead in Balochistan province, Pakistan when a mob attacked a police station while attempting to lynch a Hindu man charged with blasphemy. Five others were also injured in the violence.
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Stock Down

United Airlines' PR nightmare continues as giant bunny dies on flight - UPDATE


Ottawa Sun
Tue, 25 Apr 2017 16:45 UTC
Annette Edwards bunny
© Rex Features
Another day, another public relations nightmare for United Airlines.

A U.K. rabbit, on track to become the world's largest, died on an international flight, according to the U.K. Sun.

Simon, a continental giant rabbit, in the cargo hold of a Boeing 767 flying from London's Heathrow airport, was found dead upon arrival at O'Hare in Chicago.

The rabbit was healthy, according to its owner Annette Edwards of Stoulton, Worcestershire.

"Simon had a vet's check-up three hours before the flight and was fit as a fiddle," Edwards told the U.K. Sun. "Something very strange has happened and I want to know what. I've sent rabbits all around the world and nothing like this has happened before."

Comment: Update: United has so far failed to return rabbit to the breeder for a post mortem and now claims the giant rabbit was alive when taken off the flight:
THE owner of the 3ft ­rabbit that died on a United Airlines jet demanded: "Where is his body?"

Annette Edwards, 65, is fighting to get Simon's corpse returned from America for a post mortem.

But the mystery deepened as a spokesman for the airline claimed the continental giant rabbit was alive when taken off the plane.

He said Simon died at a holding facility at Chicago O'Hare airport.

Annette had been told the bunny was put in a freezer after he died during a flight from Heathrow.

The breeder, who was sending Simon to a US buyer, said: "Where is his body? I can't get any answers. I want compensation. If I can get his body back I'll have a vet examine him to get answers."

Update 2: The owners of the rabbit are now seeking damages from United Airlines, claiming that the crew is responsible for the death. The owners claim that the rabbit froze to death after being put in a freezer. United has denied the claims, but its position is not helped by the fact that they cremated the rabbit without getting consent from the owner. That sure does look like someone trying to cover up how the rabbit died.

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Syringe

School bans unvaccinated kids for 3 weeks after immunized children start chickenpox outbreak

Annabelle Bamforth
The Free Thought Project
Wed, 10 May 2017 19:42 UTC
child with chicken pox
Close to one-quarter of students at a California elementary school have been directed by school officials to stay home for three weeks due to a small onset of chickenpox cases that began in March.

The chickenpox outbreak at Mariposa School of Global Education in Augora Hills, California is unique because the first case of chickenpox discovered at the school was found in a student who had been fully vaccinated.

Daniel Stepenosky, the superintendent of Las Virgenes Unified School District that includes the Mariposa School, acknowledged to CBS Los Angeles that three students were found to have chickenpox. "A kindergartener, a first-grader, a third-grader. The first case happened around mid-March. The student was immunized, however still contracted chickenpox."

According to local newspaper The Acorn, Stepenosky noted that "(It's) interesting . . . the first of three cases was a student that was fully immunized. . . . He was the vaccinated one."

This student was reported to have contracted the disease back in March. After two more cases were found, the school district took action to keep the unvaccinated students out of school for three weeks.
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Eye 2

The Rochdale sex abuse ring - a case of authorities ignoring the rape and trafficking of minors for years

Lauren Fruen
The Sun
Wed, 10 May 2017 18:19 UTC
rochdale sex gang
Rochdale sex gang Clockwise from top left: Abdul Rauf, Abdul Aziz, Girl E, Mohammed Amin, Abdul Qayyum, Adil Khan, Mohammed Sajid, Hamid Safi, Kabeer Hassan
The widespread grooming and sexual assault of girls in Rochdale was a case that shocked the nation.

Here Sun Online looks at how it was ignored by authorities for years until 2012 when a number of men were caged for a string of offences.

What was the Rochdale child sex abuse ring?

The exposure of the grooming, sexual assault and trafficking of young girls in Rochdale was made public in 2012.

The Guardian reports how it resulted in the conviction of nine men for offences including rape on girls as young as 13 between 2005 and 2008. Sexual health worker Sara Rowbotham spent years trying to get police, the council and social workers to take the grooming seriously.
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Nuke

[Update] Tunnel collapse at Hanford nuclear site, emergency declared


RT
Tue, 09 May 2017 19:46 UTC
Hanford Site
© Jeff T. Green / Getty Images North America / AFP
The US Department of Energy has declared an emergency at the Hanford, Washington nuclear waste storage site, after a tunnel used to store contaminated materials caved in.

About 3,000 workers have taken cover at the 200 East Area of the sprawling complex.

A tunnel near the plutonium-uranium extraction plant (PUREX) collapsed early Tuesday morning local time, most likely from vibrations produced by nearby road work, KING-TV reported.

The tunnel was used to store highly radioactive materials and equipment, such as trains used to transport nuclear fuel rods.

Comment: From Zero Hedge:

Update 5: The Spokane Spokesman-Review reports that Gov. Jay Inslee was notified about the tunnel breach by the Energy Department and the White House on Tuesday morning. Inslee called the event "a serious situation." "Federal, state and local officials are coordinating closely on the response," Inslee said, said, with the state Ecology Department in close communication with the Energy Department. There were no plans for Inslee, who is making several previously planned stops in Skamania County on Tuesday, to go to Hanford, his staff said.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry had been briefed, federal officials said, adding that "everyone has been accounted for and there is no initial indication of any worker exposure or an airborne radiological release."

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., released a statement as well: "Worker safety must be our number one priority, and we need to understand whether there has been any environmental contamination resulting from the subsidence at these tunnels. My thoughts are with the first responders who are working to assess the situation on the ground, monitor any environmental impacts and design next steps for securing the area."

Update 4: Washington Emergency Management has released a map showing the distances from the incident to various neighborhoods... non-essential employees in 200 East Area have been released. Swing shift north of the WYE Barricade is cancelled. See also: Radioactive contamination spreading in shuttered Hanford Site nuclear weapons plant

Update 3: Images of the hole in the roof of the tunnel have been released...


Update 2: An aerial survey midmorning Tuesday showed an opening about 20 feet by 20 feet into the tunnel, which had been covered with about eight feet of soil. As Tri-CityHerald.com reports, the breach could expose the highly radioactive material disposed of in the tunnel to the atmosphere.
No airborne radiation had been detected as of about 10:30 a.m. Radiological surveys were continuing.

Instructions for people to shelter in place were expanded from central Hanford to all of Hanford, including LIGO and the reactor areas along the Columbia River, after the aerial survey. No one is being allowed to enter the site beyond the security barricades.

Earlier in the morning workers near Purex had noticed a 4-foot-by-4-foot depression that was 2 to 4 feet deep over the tunnel.

Workers in Purex were evacuated when the depression was noticed.

About 3,000 workers in central Hanford initially were told to take shelter indoors, including about 1,000 workers at the vitrification plant construction site. Ventilation systems at the vit plant have been turned off as part of the emergency procedure and equipment that could generate heat have powered down.
The DOE announced that secretary Perry is aware of the incident and that there is no initial indication of any worker exposure or an airborne radiological release.

Update 1: A robot is being used to sample the contaminated air and soil in the area around the collapse...




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Attention

Spain: Horrific bouncy castle explosion leaves one child dead, six others injured

Rita Sobot
Daily Mail
Wed, 10 May 2017 19:29 UTC
bounce castle accident
© antena3.comEmergency services inspect the bouncy castle after it exploded causing the death of a child.
A six-year-old girl has died after a bouncy castle exploded and catapulted her more than 45 foot into the air.

Half a dozen other children were injured, three of them seriously, after the incident in a restaurant garden in Girona, Spain, on Sunday afternoon.

It is understood a valve failed on the inflatable and pressure built up causing the explosion which sent children high into the air before crashing down onto tarmac or grass.

Three youngsters most seriously hurt were rushed to hospital in a helicopter, and the girl, six, died overnight of her severe injuries.

The emergency services say the six other boys and girls suffered various injuries when they were flung off the bouncy castle, parts of which reached the roof of the restaurant.
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