Society's ChildS


Pistol

Police testify against fellow cop who killed unarmed father with 41 shots, still no justice

Jack Burns
Free Thought Project
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 15:47 UTC
cop killed father shot 41 times
In a travesty of justice, a mistrial was declared Monday in the latest trial of an officer who shot and killed an unarmed father — dumping 41 rounds into him, reloading twice.

Late on August 31, 2012, Michael "Mookie" Allen, 25 was running from the police while driving his white pickup truck. "Michael was terrified of the police, first of all," Randy Allen, Michael's father, said reflecting on his son's state of mind. Garland, Texas police officer Patrick Wayne Tuter was giving chase that night.

The pursuit ended in a Mesquite, TX cul-de-sac when police cruisers had boxed Allen in, but Tuter opened fire on Allen who was still sitting inside the truck. In a hail of bullets, 41 in all, Tuter killed Allen, who was unarmed. Investigators said the officer reloaded at least twice during the shooting. Two other officers were on-scene. They did not fire their weapons, only Tuter did. Witnesses said the officer gave no time for Allen to exit the vehicle, opening fire three seconds after being told to "get out" of the truck.
Read More...
Cupcake Pink

North Carolinians unhappy that 'bathroom bill' not repealed in House special session


RT
Thu, 22 Dec 2016 15:36 UTC
Opponents of North Carolina's HB2 law
© Jonathan Drake / ReutersOpponents of North Carolina's HB2 law limiting bathroom access for transgender people protest in the gallery above the state's House of Representatives chamber as the legislature considers repealing the controversial law in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. on December 21, 2016.
Despite an hours-long "special session," the North Carolina House of Representatives did not manage to repeal HB-2, which became law last Spring. Opponents of the so-called "bathroom bill" say it discriminates against those who identify as transgender.

Frustrated North Carolinians took to Twitter Wednesday to demand the House vote to repeal the new law, with the hashtag #RepealHB2 becoming a top trend nationwide.
Read More...
Quenelle - Golden

New independence vote 'within 2yrs' if Scots' Brexit demands dismissed


RT
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 15:17 UTC
Alex Salmond
Alex Salmond
If "arrogant" British Prime Minister Theresa May dismisses Scotland's Brexit proposals there is likely to be a second Scottish independence referendum in the next two years, according to former First Minister Alex Salmond.

His successor as first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, on Tuesday unveiled proposals for Scotland's future relations with Europe after Brexit.

Sturgeon's policy paper, titled 'Scotland's Place in Europe,' proposed the UK as a whole should remain in the single market and customs union. However, that would mean Britain signing up to the EU's freedom of movement rules, a scenario that has been ruled out by May.

Sturgeon said if that option was not possible, Scotland could forge its own relationship with the EU and remain in the single market without the rest of the UK. That could mean a 'hard border' between Scotland and the rest of the country.
Read More...
Attention

Journalist who sent 'last message from Aleppo' alive and well with a suicide bomber


RT
Thu, 22 Dec 2016 13:59 UTC
Bilal Abdul Kareem with terrorist
© BilalKareem / Twitter
People extensively cited by the Western media last week as saying their last goodbyes from eastern Aleppo appear to be well and still reporting. Among the latest videos, one of the 'departed' is showing off a rebel fighter wearing a suicide vest.

Last week, as the fighting became intensive for the remaining pockets of insurgent-held areas of eastern Aleppo in Syria, numerous reports in the mainstream media cited activists on the ground. Their message was more or less the same: we are about to die under bombs, so we are saying our last goodbyes.

The 10 days of rebel evacuation from eastern Aleppo is wrapping up, and the journalists and activists appear to have survived quite well after the 'Russian bunker busters' and other threats they reported.
Read More...
Laptop

UK government loses 1,000 laptops and flash drives since 2015


RT
Thu, 22 Dec 2016 13:49 UTC
Person using laptop
© Carlos Barria / Reuters
At least 1,000 laptops, computers and USB flash drives belonging to the British government have been reported lost or stolen since the general election in May 2015.

Records released on Wednesday show that at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) alone, equipment went missing on average more than once a day.

Officials said that most of the losses and thefts "occurred in home/office break-ins and whilst traveling" and that all its laptops are encrypted.
Read More...
Arrow Down

States that pass medical marijuana laws see a decrease in traffic fatalities


Sputnik News
Thu, 22 Dec 2016 13:39 UTC
cannabis traffic light
© Third Monk
A new study from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found that states that pass medical marijuana laws see an average 11 percent decrease in traffic fatalities, and a 26 percent lower rate overall, than states without medical marijuana laws.

The study, which charted traffic fatalities by state from 1984-2015, discovered fatalities were present in every age group, but most of all in drivers aged 15-44. Older drivers, despite being overrepresented among medical marijuana users, did not see as much of a decrease in fatalities.
The trend was not universal. California, the first state to decriminalize medical marijuana in 1996, and New Mexico (in 2007) have both seen overall increases in traffic fatalities since implementing their medical marijuana laws. Others saw no significant deviation from the national average. On the whole, however, a significant decrease in traffic fatalities was found.
Read More...
Shoe

Washington DC's special inauguration Smartrip metro cards won't feature Trump

Jack Moore
WTOP
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 18:33 UTC
The cards, which sell for $10 and provide unlimited Metro access the day of the inauguration, feature an image of the White House against a red-white-and-blue flag backdrop. Notably absent? Any reference to the soon-to-be 45th president of the United States: Donald Trump

Inaugurational DC Metro card
© WMATAMetro is now selling special-edition versions of its SmarTrip payment cards to commemorate the upcoming presidential inauguration.
Metro is now selling special-edition versions of its SmarTrip payment cards to commemorate the upcoming presidential inauguration.

The cards, which sell for $10 and provide unlimited Metro access the day of the inauguration, feature an image of the White House against a red-white-and-blue flag backdrop.

Notably absent? Any reference to the soon-to-be 45th president of the United States: Donald Trump.

The 2013 and 2009 inauguration-edition SmartTrip cards both featured a smiling image of President Barack Obama.

In an emailed statement to WTOP, Metro said it requested permission to use a photo of Trump but didn't receive a reply from his campaign. "Due to the long lead time to produce the cards, the new pass commemorates the national celebration of the 58th Presidential Inauguration," the agency stated.
Read More...
Gift

Russian Emergencies Ministry sends humanitarian aid, New Year presents to residents of Eastern Ukraine


Sputnik
Thu, 22 Dec 2016 09:16 UTC
Aid convoy in Ukraine
© Sputnik/ Valeriy MelnikovAid convoy in Ukraine
Part of the vehicles carrying some 400 tonnes of cargos will head to Ukraine's southeastern Donetsk region, while the rest will go to Luhansk.

"From the Donskoy rescue center of the Emergencies Ministry ... over 40 vehicles carrying more than 400 tonnes [metric tons] have departed in the direction of the Russian-Ukrainian border," the spokesperson said early on Thursday, adding that the aid includes "food items, medicine, items of first necessity and New Year presents."

Ukraine's southeast has been severely affected by Kiev's special military operation, launched in April 2014. The operation was a response to local residents' refusal to recognize the new coup-installed government in the country.

Russia has sent over 65,000 tonnes of life-saving humanitarian aid to Donbas since August 2014.

Comment: See also: Russia sends 47th humanitarian aid convoy to Donbass, as well as New Year's presents for children and the elderly

Read More...
Pistol

New study suggests violence is contagious, with young people more likely to attack


Sputnik
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 22:33 UTC
young woman gun
© Photo: Pixabay
Young people are up to 180 percent more likely to attack someone, if a friend has done so previously, according to new research from the US.

A paper, entitled 'Violence is Like a Contagious Disease: The Spread of Violence Through Social Networks,' looked at the issue of young people and how they are more likely to attack someone compared to other age groups.

Professor Robert Bond, one of the researchers from Ohio state University who worked on the paper, said that the new study shows just how rampant violence can be.

"This study shows just how contagious violence can be. Acts of violence can ricochet through a community, traveling through networks of friends," Professor Bond said in a recent interview.

Professor Bond said the research shows why the prevention of violence is so very important.

The US study looked at information from 6,000 young people aged 12 to 18, who all took part in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health in the 1990s.

The adolescents were asked how often in the past 12 months they had been in a serious physical fight, how often they hurt someone badly enough to need medical attention and how often they had pulled a knife or gun on someone. ​

They were 183 percent more like to have hurt someone badly, 140 percent more likely to have drawn a weapon and 48 percent more likely to have been in a serious fight, if they had a friend who had done something similar.

"We now have evidence that shows how important social relationships are to spreading violent behavior, just like they are for spreading many other kinds of attitudes and behaviors," Professor Bond said.

Comment: Violence is contagious, as is kindness. So, what kind of world are you helping to create?

Read More...
Handcuffs

Duma revises prison rules, includes proposals from rights advocates


RT
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 15:23 UTC
Russian prison
© Denis Gukov / SputnikUnlocking the rights of prisoners...
Russia's Lower House has passed a bill limiting the use of physical force, weapons, and 'special means' at penal colonies that incorporates proposals from Human Rights activists aimed at minimizing the potential damage caused by such corrective actions.

"The main purpose of the bill is to ensure that the convicts' rights are protected from unjustified violence. The new edition of the bill aims to minimize the consequences of applying physical force and assure that timely medical aid is provided to all injured," the chairman of the State Duma Committee for Security, Vasily Piskarev, said in comments with TASS.

The commission's deputy chairman, Ernest Valeyev, explained that lawmakers had amended the bill to bring it in line with norms proposed by rights' advocates. These include a requirement to provide medical aid to injured inmates and allow doctors to document and report those cases. The bill also introduces restrictions on the use of "special equipment," from rubber truncheons to tasers and firearms, and requires that CCTV or portable video cameras record cases in which "special equipment" is used.

The bill also states that prison guards should not execute orders from their superiors to apply force or use 'special means' when these orders are clearly illegal. Use of force is only permitted when the disobedience of the inmates poses a threat to the lives or health of prison personnel or any other person. A separate article seeks to minimize collateral casualties by banning prison workers from using firearms in the midst of large gatherings of people.
Read More...