Society's ChildS


Sheriff

Alabama Senate votes to allow church to form own police force

Police officer
© Alamy
The Alabama Senate has voted to allow a church to form its own police force.

Lawmakers on Tuesday voted 24-4 to allow Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham to establish a law enforcement department.

The church says it needs its own police officers to keep its school as well as its more than 4,000 person congregation safe.

Critics of the bill argue that a police department that reports to church officials could be used to cover up crimes.

The state has given a few private universities the authority to have a police force, but never a church or non-school entity.

Police experts have said such a police department would be unprecedented in the U.S.

A similar bill is also scheduled to be debated in the House on Tuesday.

Rocket

Anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's historic spaceflight marked in Russia and worldwide

April 12 is celebrated as the Cosmonautics Day in Russia and the International Day of Human Space Flight worldwide

Yuri Gagarin statue
© ITAR-TASS/Mikhail Metzel
Wednesday marks the anniversary of the first manned flight to space, performed by Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961. The date is celebrated as the Cosmonautics Day in Russia and the International Day of Human Space Flight worldwide.

The recent years have been difficult for Russia's space agency Roscosmos and the country's entire space industry in general, due to international sanctions against Russia and successes by the country's space rivals, notably from the United States. While Russia had to cope with cuts in the financing of its Federal Space Program and Proton engine malfunction issues, the United States successfully tested reusable rocket boosters and continued tests of delivery vehicles intended to replace Russian-made Soyuz carrier rockets.

Comment:


Ambulance

1 dead, 4 injured in explosion at US Army ammunition plant in Independence, Missouri

Missouri ammo explosion
This is the scene after explosion at the plant in Independence, Missouri, today
At least one person has died and four others have been injured after an explosion at the US Army's Lake City Army Ammunition Plant just east of Kansas City in Independence, Missouri.

On Tuesday, the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant released a statement that an explosion in their mixing building killed one employee. An updated statement from the Army Joint Munitions Command confirmed four employees were injured and refused further treatment after being evaluated on the scene.

They said the explosion occurred in a primer mixing cell at approximately 1:00 pm. The statement said the area has been secured and that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) had rendered the area safe.

There is no information on what caused the explosion at this time. The ATF has assumed control of the ongoing investigation.

Yoda

Sydney University Professor Tim Anderson leads movement exposing Syrian gas attack propaganda

Dr. Tim Anderson Assad
© HOPDIn this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad meets with Australian professor Tim Anderson and a delegation including academics, researchers and activists in Damascus in 2013.
One of Australia's most prestigious universities has become the centre of a movement that believes Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has been framed by the West for last week's chemical weapons attack.

The University of Sydney is standing by a controversial senior lecturer, Tim Anderson, who has dismissed the sarin gas attack in the Idlib Province as a "hoax" and called Syria's six-year civil war a "fiction" perpetrated by the US "to destroy an independent nation".

Australian leaders are increasing the pressure on Russia to withdraw support for Syria and leader Bashar al Assad led by the foreign and defence ministers.

Fairfax Media can reveal Dr Anderson is just one among a number of Australian academics who have formed a pro-Assad outfit called the Centre for Counter Hegemonic Studies, based in Sydney, to counter "censorship" by their universities.

Comment: Check out SOTT.net's interview with Dr. Anderson here: Behind the Headlines: Interview with Tim Anderson: The truth about the Dirty War on Syria


Biohazard

Michigan student charged over alleged peanut butter hazing of classmate with allergy

Peanut butter
© Tom Schneider / www.globallookpress.com
A Michigan student has been charged over allegedly smearing peanut butter on the face of a 19 year old classmate who has a potentially deadly allergic reaction to the food.

Dale Merza, 20, was charged with misdemeanor hazing resulting in physical injury following the incident last October which left the victim with a swollen face, according to Mount Pleasant Police Department.

Merza, a student at Central Michigan University (CMU), allegedly carried out the incident at a student house with no affiliation to the college, police said.

Comment: See also:


Bullseye

Man on trial for child rape & triple murder jumps to death from Ohio courthouse balcony

Man jumps to death
© WKBN27 / YouTube
A man has jumped to his death from an Ohio courthouse balcony just before standing trial for triple murder and the rape of a 10-year-old girl.

Robert Seman Jnr faced the death penalty if he was found guilty of the rape and murder of 10-year-old Corinne Gump and the murder of her grandparents Judy and William Schmidt, whose home he allegedly set on fire in March 2015.

However, the 48-year-old plunged to his death after flinging himself from the fourth floor courthouse balcony - just as he was about to enter the courtroom.

Megaphone

LGBTQ SJWs fear the arrival of Chick-fil-A restaurant on campus

gay pride chick-fil-a
© Chicago Tribune
Some students at Pittsburgh's Duquesne University live in "fear" of the arrival of a Chick-fil-A fast-food restaurant to their college's food fair, Campus Reform reports.

It's not about the chicken sandwiches but the fact that the corporation had the temerity to support traditional marriage during the same-sex marriage debate.

Now student senators at the university say they can't abide a Chick-fil-A location at their school and are trying to cancel plans for the restaurant to open in the fall.

Chick-fil-A has been the subject of chickophobic protests from gay-friendly politicians and liberal activists everywhere since its president, Dan Cathy, acknowledged that it had donated money to organizations opposed to changing the traditional definition of marriage.

Comment: Crap food on campus is just fine, just don't have a differing opinion on gay marriage. Here's the ingredients ofChick-fil-A's deluxe sandwich:
chicken (whole breast filet, seasoning [salt, monosodium glutamate, sugar, spices, paprika], seasoned coater [enriched bleached wheat flour {with malted barley flour, niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid}, sugar, salt, monosodium glutamate, nonfat milk, leavening {baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate}, spice, soybean oil, color {paprika}], milk wash [water, nonfat milk, egg], peanut oil [fully refined peanut oil, with Dimethylpolysiloxane, an anti-foam agent added]), bun (bleached, enriched wheat flour [wheat flour, barley malt, niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], water, sugar, yeast, soybean oil, wheat gluten, salt, vinegar, calcium sulfate, citric acid, ascorbic acid, enzymes), butter oil (soybean oil, palm oil, salt, natural butter flavor and beta carotene for color), tomatoes, American cheese (cheddar cheese [milk, cheese culture, salt, microbial enzymes], milkfat, water, sodium citrate, salt, sodium phosphate, sorbic acid as preservative, oleoresin paprika [color], annatto [color]), lettuce, pickle (cucumbers, water, vinegar, salt, calcium chloride, alum, potassium sorbate [preservatives], natural flavors, polysorbate 80, yellow 5, blue 1).
Protest that!


Cardboard Box

Florida lawsuit: Discipline box for special-needs preschoolers

discipline box
© Palm Beach PostDetention for 3yo special needs children.
A lawsuit accuses Duval County Public Schools in Florida of punishing kids as young as 3 with a "discipline box" made of drywall. The filing alleges inadequate policies and training for special-needs teachers.

The lawsuit, first reported by WJAX, alleges that Love Grove Elementary School in Jacksonville had the box outside of a classroom for preschool special-needs children. Involved in the lawsuit is the mother of a 3-year-old with cerebral palsy who was one of the students placed in the box.

Duval County Public Schools does not have adequate policies for training and supervising staff to handle special-needs students, the lawsuit claims, adding that students understood that if they were sent to the discipline box, they were being punished.

The mother involved in the lawsuit took a photo of the "discipline box" in 2012, according to reporter Cole Heath. "I represent a family where a child had been placed in the box. Again, not a valid behavioral technique," said attorney Aaron Bates, according to WJAX. Mistreatment of special-needs students also occurred at another district elementary school and on a school bus, the 37-page lawsuit says.

A Duval County schools spokesman told WJAX that the district cannot comment on active litigation, but that it was seeking out teachers named in the suit to determine if they still work for the school district. The district's superintendent said Duval County schools have made progress in recent years.

"I think you have to look at every individual situation and what are the facts of the situations," Dr. Nikolai Vitti said, according to WJAX. "I think when you look at the way we serve [special-needs] students, we've made huge strides over the last four years."

Comment: "Huge strides," "progress in recent years"...so the detention box was an improvement? ...ongoing before 2012?


X

Chinese official demoted for 'timidity' in fight against religious extremism

Muslim Islam Middle East
© Kevin Frayer / Getty Images
A Chinese official was reportedly demoted because he was afraid to smoke in front of religious figures. The decision was taken in line with China's struggle against religious extremism, which includes banning full-face veils and "abnormal" beards.

The incident took place in the village near a town of Hotan in southwestern Xinjiang, an autonomous region in western China and home to the country's Muslim Uyghur ethnic minority, the Chinese Global Times newspaper reported.

Jelil Matniyaz, Party chief of the village, was downgraded from "senior staff member" to "staff member" in March this year. AFP identified him as "a village-level secretary for the ruling Communist Party."

Comment: Further reading:


Pistol

Shooting reported at US elementary school in San Bernardino (Update)

North Park Elementary School
© Google MapsNorth Park Elementary School.
At least four people, including a teacher and two students, have been shot at an elementary school in San Bernardino, California. The incident is believed to have been a murder-suicide, according to police.

The shooting occurred in a classroom at North Park School. Along with the four victims, the suspect is believed to be down as well, according to San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan.

Comment:

UPDATE from CBSLA: The gunman has been identified as Cedric Anderson of Riverside, who open fired on his estranged wife, Karen Elaine Smith. The two students who were struck by gunfire, were behind the teacher at the time of the shooting. One of the students, 8-year-old Jonathan Martinez, was pronounced dead at Loma Linda University Medical Center. The other student, a nine-year-old boy, is in stable condition. All other students were transported to Cajon High School for safety.

UPDATE 2: San Bernardino gunman was pastor, Navy vet with record of violence

The "deeply religious man" who entered a California school to kill his estranged wife was in a seemingly happy relationship. In reality, Cedric Anderson was "paranoid and possessive" and in a deteriorating marriage, family members said.

On Monday, Anderson, 53, received clearance from the front office of North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, California, to access to a classroom to give something to his wife Karen Elaine Smith, 53, who taught special-education children.

Once inside, Anderson quickly opened fire, police said, killing Smith and Jonathan Martinez, an 8-year-old boy standing near her.

A 9-year-old boy was also shot but is in stable condition, according to reports. Anderson then reloaded and turned his .357 revolver on himself.

Anderson and Smith were married in late January after four years of friendship, Smith's mother, Irma Sykes, told the Los Angeles Times.

Anderson often posted on social media about their marriage and his faith, referring to Smith as his "angel." His Facebook page, which is no longer available, featured several posts and videos about his love for Smith all the way up to March 15, the date of his last public post, according to reports.

After moving in with Smith, Anderson's demeanor changed for the worse, Sykes said, and Smith was considering divorce.

"She thought she had a wonderful husband, but she found out he was not wonderful at all," Sykes said. "He had other motives. She left him and that's where the trouble began."

Smith, a devoted Christian who had four children from a previous marriage, had been a teacher for about ten years and was motivated to help children with autism and learning disabilities, the Times reported.

One of Smith's adult children, Joshua, said his mother was a "genuinely loving and caring person."

Anderson, however, was "different" at first and later became "paranoid and possessive," Joshua Smith told the Washington Post. This situation led his mother to leave Anderson shortly after their wedding, he said.

According to San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan, Anderson had a criminal history. The maintenance technician had faced weapons charges and was accused of domestic violence in a previous marriage. He was charged in 2013 with assault and battery, brandishing a gun and disturbing the peace, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records reported by the Times. Those charges were dismissed in 2014.

In 1993, Anderson was charged with two misdemeanor counts of battery in Kern County, California, but he was eventually exonerated after the charges were dismissed.

Anderson, who frequently posted on Facebook about guns, spent at least eight years in the military and lived in California, Georgia and Nevada. Around 2000, he was featured in a local news segment about housing fees at Nellis Air Force Base.

Local law enforcement, including a SWAT team, secured a Riverside home associated with Anderson on Monday afternoon, the Press-Enterprise reported. One car in the driveway had a "United States Navy" bumper sticker.

The veteran was also a pastor who sometimes preached on the radio and attended community meetings, according to Najee Ali, executive director of Project Islamic Hope.


"He was a deeply religious man," Ali said. "There was never any signs of this kind of violence ... on his Facebook he even criticized a man for attacking a woman."

His marriage to Smith seemed happy, neighbors and others said, which likely allowed Anderson safe passage into the school.

"He killed her, and he killed himself," said Sykes, Smith's mother. "And I want to see what he's going to say to God about that."

The school's staff followed all the proper entry procedures, including asking for identification, according to San Bernardino City Unified School District Superintendent Dale Marsden. Security at the school was increased following the terrorist attack at a San Bernardino government building in December 2015.