Society's ChildS


USA

Gun culture in America: 16 children shot per day across US in 2012


RT
Thu, 04 May 2017 18:14 UTC
shooting range
© Lucy Nicholson / ReutersA 10-year-old girl at an LA shooting range
More than 5,800 children, the equivalent of 16 per day, were hospitalized with gun injuries in 2012, according to newly compiled figures.

Using the US government's inpatient database on minors, the American Academy of Pediatrics found that an estimated 5,862 children were admitted to hospital in 2012 for gun-related injuries which were received by accident, through violent assaults, or during suicide attempts.

Over half of the injuries were "unintentional", the study found.

According to the study, more than half of the youths hospitalized lived in areas "within the bottom 25 percent of median household income." Some 53 percent of the victims were black, and researchers also observed that the majority of those injured were male.

The study is due to be presented at the 2017 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting in San Francisco on May 8.
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Red Flag

Italian woman stabbed to death by neighbor after allegedly training pet parrot to insult him

Thomas Burrows
The Daily Mail, UK
Thu, 04 May 2017 08:49 UTC
Ignazio Frailis and Maria Bonaria Contu
© La NuovaIgnazio Frailis and Maria Bonaria Contu
A mother-of-two was allegedly stabbed to death by her next-door neighbour after she trained her parrot to insult him.

Ignazio Frailis, 46, from Sardinia, reportedly lay in wait for Maria Bonaria Contu, 60, when she was out walking with friends.

He then allegedly stabbed her 11 times and wounded a friend who tried to defend her.

Investigators claim he was driven to kill because of Mrs Contu's pet parrot, which hurled insults at him whenever he walked past. The 46-year-old had previously claimed Mrs Contu trained the bird to provoke him with insults, L'Unione Sarda reported.

According to local reports, unemployed Mr Frailis spent much of his time at home playing violent video games where he could hear the parrot. Paolo De Angelis, the investigating magistrate, said: 'Listening to the parrot all day, it became an obsession for him.
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Bizarro Earth

California considering bill adding third gender option on state documents

Lemor Abrams
CBS Sacramento
Wed, 05 Apr 2017 17:46 UTC
third gender
A growing group of Californians identifies as non-binary, and now they're pushing a bill that would place a third gender option on state documents.

California would be the first in the country with a third gender option on the books.

Sara Kelly Keenan made international headlines last year when New York City issued her the first ever birth certificate with an "intersex" classification in the gender field, instead of male or female.

"My body looks quite different from other women," says Keenan, who uses "she" as a pronoun.

Keenan says she was born intersex- having male genes, with female genitalia and mixed internal reproductive organs. Keenan kept her story secret for most of her life, but now that she's legally recognized, she wants to help others who feel they're neither man nor woman, but "non binary."
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Bizarro Earth

Catholic teacher found guilty of misconduct after frequently talking about sex in class

Victor Ferreira
National Post
Tue, 02 May 2017 17:30 UTC
Leanora Brown
© Michael Peake/Postmedia Network filesLeanora Brown, a Toronto Catholic school teacher, who has been found guilty of professional misconduct for inappropriate sexual conversations in the classroom.
A Toronto Catholic District School Board religion teacher was found guilty of professional misconduct after her former students told a tribunal that she went on frequent sexually-laced tirades before demonstrating her flexibility in front of the class by putting her legs behind her head.

Leanora Brown did not appear in front of the three-person tribunal at the Ontario College of Teachers on Tuesday, but denied the allegations, including telling students about her sex life, her parents' sex life and giving advice about what they should do in their own, in a letter to the school's superintendent.

"I felt like she wasn't qualified to be a teacher," one student said before the tribunal. "That's not something you're supposed to say to a student in a religion class."

According to the two students who appeared in front of the tribunal but cannot be identified due to a publication ban, Brown regularly made them feel uncomfortable in class.
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Airplane

More airline outrage: Family kicked off Delta flight, threatened with jail for refusing to yield seat held by young son

Elex Michaelson
ABC News
Thu, 04 May 2017 06:36 UTC
family kicked off delta flight hawaii
Delta Airlines booted a family from their flight for refusing to give up their 2 year old son's seat.
A Southern California family says they were kicked off an overbooked Delta airplane because they refused to yield a seat held by their young son.

The Schear family of Huntington Beach says they were flying from Hawaii to Los Angeles last week when airline staff asked them to give up a seat occupied by their 2-year-old son and carry him on their laps for the duration of the flight.

They tried to refuse and argued with airline staff, but say they were threatened with being sent to jail.

"You have to give up the seat or you're going to jail, your wife is going to jail and they'll take your kids from you," Brian Schear recalled the airline staff telling him.

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Sherlock

FBI assisting in investigation of hate crime targeting African American students at American University


RT
Thu, 04 May 2017 16:09 UTC
American university hate crimes
© American University Police / YouTube AU campus police are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to a positive suspect identification, according to a memo that referred to the incident as a “hate crime.”
The FBI is helping an investigation at American University in Washington, DC, where campus police say African American students were targets of a "hate crime" involving bananas for the second time this year.

Bananas were found hanging from "string in the shape of nooses" in three places around the university campus, according to a memorandum from Interim Vice President of Campus Life Fanta Aw.

"These racist, hateful messages have no place in our community. The safety of our students is paramount," Aw wrote in the memorandum.

The bananas were marked with the letters "AKA," a reference to Alpha Kappa Alpha, a sorority on campus which is predominantly comprised of African-Americans.
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Vader

'Praise God it's not Russia this time!' Russian Embassy trolls May over Brussels election meddling claim


RT
Thu, 04 May 2017 16:06 UTC
Russian Embassy tweet
© Russian Embassy, UK / Twitter
The Russian Embassy in London used Theresa May's claim that Brussels is interfering in the British general election as an opportunity for some gentle twitter trolling that was too good to miss.

The embassy mocked May's allegations by tweeting: 'Praise God it's not Russia this time' next to a picture of the front page splash on Thursday's Times.
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Apple Green

Priming? UK police say schoolchildren should be trained how to respond in terrorist attacks


RT
Thu, 04 May 2017 10:30 UTC
Schoolchildren, children school
© Aziz Taher
Schoolchildren must be prepared for the event of a terrorist attack and be trained how to respond, a senior Scotland Yard officer has said.

In the event of a major attack, children will inevitably be caught up, Assistant Deputy Commissioner Lucy D'Orsi told the World Counter Terror Congress, which is being held in London.

D'Orsi said children should be taught how to respond to terrorism in the same way they are taught to avoid talking to strangers.

"When I was at school, everybody used to talk about 'stranger danger' and that was the sort of buzz phrase and it's still a thing I remember today," she said.
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Target

'Google Docs' phishing scam spreads like wildfire across web through disguised emails


RT
Thu, 04 May 2017 14:34 UTC
password computer
© Pawel Kopczynski / Reuters
Google Docs users came across a new sophisticated type of phishing scam after many clicked a well-disguised link sent to Gmail accounts. The fraudulent invitations spread like wildfire before they were finally stopped, but many questions remain.

On Wednesday, several Gmail users received emails from known contacts, asking them to click on a link to Google Docs. Even diligent and cautious users fell for this new phishing scam, causing it to rapidly circulate far and wide.

Phishing scams usually involve fraudulent emails from cyber-criminals pretending to be someone else to steal money, valuable information, or even a person's identity.

Once the user clicked the link, accepting an invitation to Google Docs, they were brought to a seemingly legitimate Google page. However, the app was not the real Google Docs, but a fake application with the same name.
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Vader

Sadist: Swedish sports coach on trial for tying up teen boys, placing plastic bags over their heads


RT
Wed, 03 May 2017 13:46 UTC
Hands tied rope
© Getty Image
A trial has begun for a Swedish sports coach accused of 100 counts of crimes against teenage boys. The victims say the man tied them up, placed plastic bags over their heads, and taped their mouths and noses shut.

The man, who has not been named, is being tried on 55 counts of aggravated unlawful coercion and 45 counts of aggravated assault, prosecutor John Dagnevik explained at the start of the trial, according to The Local.

The trial comes after some of the teens told police about the incidents in January, which reportedly took place at the coach's cottage in Blekinge province, Sweden.
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