Society's ChildS

USA

Brazilian police: Ryan Lochte fabricated story of being robbed, swimmers vandalized gas station

ryan lochte
© Michael Dalder / Reuters
US Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte "fabricated" a story about being robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro, a Brazilian police official has said. A surveillance video shows that the swimmer and his teammates damaged a suburban gas station.

The incident actually involved the US Olympians breaking down a bathroom door at a gas station, and paying for the damages.

"There was no robbery," the police spokesman told reporters at the news conference on Thursday afternoon. While the investigation is still ongoing, police have determined that "acts of vandalism were perpetrated by one or more of the athletes," breaking mirrors and other fixtures inside the gas station bathroom.

The security guard did not speak English, the athletes did not speak Portuguese, so a customer offered to translate. In the end, the athletes paid "100 reals (around $30) and a $20 bill" in damages, and drove off in a taxi.

Comment: While the US athletes in Rio along with the Western media wags their finger at Russian athletes for a non-existent doping scandal, US athletes are going around acting like buffoons. The Americans try to act self-righteous towards the Russians, but they've not only shown a lack of sportsmanship during the competition, but the swimmers involved in this incident also show a lack of maturity and the "exceptional" state of mind that many Americans in foreign countries possess.


Bulb

Chicago police chief recommends firing 7 cops accused of covering up shooting of Laquan McDonald

black lives matter protester
© Carlo Allegri / ReutersA Black Lives Matter protester demonstrates the police killing of Laquan McDonald
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has recommended firing seven officers accused of covering up the police shooting of Laquan McDonald in October 2014.

An initial investigation into the incident carried out by the city's inspector general also recommended that two other officers involved should be fired. According to a statement from Chicago Police Department (CPD), however, these two officers "have since retired."

Johnson was also advised by the inspector general that a 10th officer, a female, should also be sacked, but Johnson has decided against this.

In a message to rank and file officers on Thursday, Johnson wrote that he's aware "this type of action can come with many questions and varying opinions," but added that "these decisions were not made lightly."

"As I have said before, with every decision that I make, I always keep in mind the tremendous sacrifice, bravery and commitment of every officer," he continued, according to the Chicago Sun Times.

Pocket Knife

Jewish man injured in stabbing attack in France's Strasbourg

French police officers
© Fotobank.ru/Getty Images/ Antoine Antoniol
A Jewish man was injured in a knife attack in the French city of Strasbourg on Friday.

According to Le Parisien newspaper, a police investigation revealed that the man was sitting at a table on the terrace of a cafe when the attacker approached him. The suspect reportedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great" in Arabic) before hitting the man with a knife.

The life of the attack's survivor is not in danger, according to the paper.

A suspected perpetrator was swiftly arrested, the paper reported. At this stage, nothing points to the attack being an act of terrorism, according to the media.

Airplane

Military contractor jet crashes in Las Vegas, cause unknown

Military contractor jet crash
© scot.amorose / Facebook
An aircraft has crashed in North Las Vegas between the Nellis Air Force base and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Clark County Fire Department reports. Smoke was seen rising from the scene Thursday morning. The wreckage came down near Sloan Lane and Ann Road. Nellis AFB officials confirmed a civilian contractor aircraft supporting 57th Wing operations came down near the base at 7.40 a.m. local time, KVVU reports. The pilot sustained minor injuries in the accident and an investigation is under way. The plane was a (T)A-4K third-generation Skyhawk.

Introduced to US Navy service before the Vietnam era in 1956, the A-4 was retired in 2003. Florida-based Draken International, a private contractor providing training jets for the US military, acquired several of the aircraft from the Royal New Zealand Air Force Scott Poteet, a Draken representative, told reporters the pilot was the only person in the plane and is being treated at Nellis hospital. He was described as being "one of the most experienced in the squad," with more than 20 years experience.

Megaphone

Deutsche Bank whistleblower rejects share of $16.5mn award, blasts SEC for not going after execs

Deutsche Bank
© Ralph Orlowski / Reuters
A former Deutsche Bank risk officer has refused his share of a $16.5 million award from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for reporting misdeeds. Eric Ben-Artzi accuses the SEC of not going after executives, but hitting lower-ranked employees.

Ben-Artzi was one of the three whistleblowers to report an improper accounting at Deutsche in 2010 and 2011. The bank was fined $55 million in total, of which Ben-Artzi was due a 15 percent share of the fine - or half of the 30 percent allocated to the whistleblowers - which he is refusing to take.

Cell Phone

Twitter has closed 235,000 accounts since February for 'promotion of terrorism'

Twitter mobile phone
© Mario Anzuoni / Reuters
Global social media service Twitter says it pulled the plug on 235,000 accounts for spreading of extremism in the past six months. A massive spike in suspensions followed major terror attacks, Twitter states.

"While our work is not done, today we are announcing that we have suspended an additional 235,000 accounts for violating our policies related to promotion of terrorism in the six months since our February 2016 post," a statement by Twitter reads.

The is the latest move by the tech giant since it started cracking down on social media abuse by terrorist members and sympathizers last year.

The overall number of accounts shut down since June 2015 by the service now stands at 360,000.

Twitter has been prompted to react to an increased use of its service by those sharing terrorist propaganda in the wake of numerous terror attacks that shook Europe, Middle East and the US.

Comment: Twitter shuts down 125,000 accounts linked to Daesh Takfiri terrorist group


Bullseye

'I was an easy target': Hasidic patrolmen receive no punishment after brutally assaulting man

Hasidic
© Reuters
A gay black man was brutally attacked by five men in 2013 and has spent the last three years fighting for justice. Unfortunately, he may never see it. Two of five Hasidic neighborhood patrolmen have been sentenced, but will spend no time in jail.

On Tuesday, two men charged with gang assault, punishable by up to 25 years in prison, walked away with a sentence of community service and three-year probation for an attack that left 24-year-old Taj Patterson blind in his left eye.

Pinchas Braver, 22, and Abraham Winkler, 42, were two of five men that assaulted Patterson.

Whether Patterson was attacked for being gay or black or a combination, he'll never know.

Card - VISA

Debt-ridden, nearly 1 in 5 young adults live with parents or grandparents

Game of loans
© www.zerohedge.com
In America today, more than 60 million people live in multi-generational households. That number is so large that it may seem difficult to believe, but the truth is that vast numbers of young adults have had to move back in with their parents and grandparents in recent years due to the deteriorating economy. Millions of our young people cannot find decent jobs once they leave school, and millions of them are absolutely overwhelmed by debt. Of course some of them are just lazy, but whatever the reason it is undeniable that multi-generational households are on the rise. According to the Pew Research Center, 12 percent of the U.S. population was living in multi-generational households back in 1980. Today, that number is up to 19 percent. That means nearly one out of every five U.S. adults now live with their parents or their grandparents.

One of the big culprits, of course, is student loan debt. According to CNN, approximately 70 percent of all college graduates will have student loan debt to pay off once they leave school, and the average loan balance for those graduates is about $28,950.

But there are many that run up $50,000 or $100,000 in debt at high end schools. We encourage our young people to apply to the "best schools" that they possibly can, and we tell them that they shouldn't worry about how much it will cost. We assure them that they will be able to easily pay back any debts once they leave college because of the "good jobs" that they will get upon graduation. Unfortunately, millions upon millions of our young people have discovered that the good jobs that they were promised simply do not exist.

Comment: Through the millennia, families have been multi-generational. From this perspective, Americans are returning to societal parameters that protected all family members from need and desperation. From an educational and financial point of view, there are most definitely flaws in the system and a manipulation of circumstances to reward the rich and penalize the poor.


Airplane

Bomb scare: Manchester airport evacuated after suspicious package found in departure area

Manchester police
© Phil Noble / Reuters
Manchester Airport's Terminal 2 has been evacuated after a suspicious unattended package was found by staff, according to UK media. A bomb squad dispatched to the area assessed the package and deemed it not to be dangerous.

Unconfirmed reports on social media suggested the package had 'tested positive' for a device.

The item was believed to be a bag that had been left for a long time in the drop-off area outside the airport.

The terminal was duly evacuated and cordoned off as a precaution.

Airport officials asked people to leave the area and keep away from windows and glass constructions.

There were no delays in plane departures or arrivals, according to the airport's timetable.

Bad Guys

Sadistic Illinois cop who raped 7-year-old forces her to testify before pleading guilty

David Wright
© The Free Thought ProjectDavid Wright
An Elburn Police Officer's paid vacation has come to an end after he pleaded guilty to repeatedly raping a child from the time she was seven until she was 17. However, before this monster admitted to these unspeakable crimes, he forced his victim to take the stand and testify.

Nearly 20 minutes into the poor child's testimony, David Wright, 54, pleaded guilty. Last year, the Free Thought Project reported on Wright's arrest, noting that in spite of being arrested, he was still being paid. In 2015, Wright was charged with 33 felonies that carried a minimum prison sentence of 143 years and a maximum of 648 years.

"Quite frankly, I think 500 years sounds reasonable," Kane County Circuit Judge D.J. Tegeler told Wright. However, thanks to the fact that Wright was an upstanding member of the police department for 24 years, he was given a sweet plea deal and will be out of jail in less than 20 years.

According to the Daily Herald, during opening statements Monday, prosecutors recalled the first time Wright raped the girl โ€” when she was 7 and in a bathroom at a birthday party โ€” he warned her by saying, "This is gonna hurt."

Instead of having the girl's parents testify as to what their daughter went through, which is standard in incidents such as this one, Wright forced his victim to recall what he did to her.
During her horrific recount of Wright's repeated attacks, after this monster made her relive the nightmare in an apparent attempt to force her to suffer more, Wright changed his plea.

Comment: Listen to our interview with Dr. Anna Salter, author of Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, and Other Sex Offenders. Knowing how these predators think and operate are our best protection.