Society's ChildS


Red Flag

Syria and the worst refugee crisis since WWII

Ben Norton
Mondoweiss
Wed, 09 Sep 2015 15:29 UTC
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© UNHCR
The world is witnessing the largest refugee crisis since the horrors of World War II.

Today there are close to 60 million war refugees, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)—an all-time high, as violence and persecution around the world are on the rise.

The Middle East, North Africa, and Western Asia are particularly hard hit. Millions of refugees from Syria, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and Yemen are fleeing violence and war in their countries.

In all of 2014, approximately 219,000 people tried to cross the Mediterranean to seek asylum in Europe. In just the first eight months of 2015, over 300,000 refugees tried to cross the sea, according to the UNHCR. More than 2,500 died.

Human rights organizations warn the Gulf states, Israel, Iran, and Russia—all of which have taken zero refugees—along with the US, Canada, and Europe—which have taken few—are not doing enough to provide refuge to the asylum-seekers.
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Handcuffs

San Diego sees increase in use-of-force from police after issuing body cameras


Sputnik
Wed, 09 Sep 2015 15:23 UTC
police
© AP Photo/ Jim Mone
After outfitting San Diego police with body cameras one year ago, the department was surprised to find that while they have received less complaints- use of force has actually gone up.

Complaints against officers fell 23% between July 2014 and June 2015, but instances of force increased ten percent in the same time period, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

At the six month mark, an in house study found that both complaints and use of force had fallen, unfortunately their findings didn't stick.

According to the findings, there were 6,421 instances of force from July 2014 until June 2015 while cameras were in use, and 5,820 the year before they were issued.

On a good note, while there was a 17% increase in "lesser controlling force," which is non weaponized force such as an officer using his body weight to control a suspect, "greater" controlling or defending force such as tasers and chokeholds dropped 8%.
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Eye 2

Psychopath? Woman pleads guilty to making animal snuff porn in nation's 1st federal animal crush video case

Cindy George
Houston Chronicle
Tue, 08 Sep 2015 15:07 UTC
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© Houston Police DepartmentAshley Nicole Richards is charged with felony cruelty to non-livestock animals.
Editor's note: Story contains graphic description of the animal torture depicted in the videos.

One of the first persons in the nation to face federal charges under the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010 pleaded guilty in Houston on Tuesday and may become a government informant on sex trafficking crimes.

Ashley Nicole Richards, 24, admitted to four counts of creating animal crush videos and one film distribution charge.

Animal crush is a sexual fetish in which small mammals such as puppies and kittens are tortured, maimed or killed for the sexual gratification of observers. Videos of such acts, sometimes described as rituals or sacrifices, have been marketed for sale and broadcast online.
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Sheriff

Unarmed hospital patient with mental health issues shot by police in hospital and then charged with assault

Katie Halper
Raw Story
Thu, 10 Sep 2015 14:57 UTC
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© Facebook
Alan Pean is a 26-year-old biology student with no criminal record and history of violence. But on August 27th, he was shot in the chest by an off-duty Houston police officer who worked as a security guard at the St. Joseph Medical Center. The police are claiming that Alan became combative and that they followed standard operating procedure. It's Alan, they say, who is as fault, and is being charged with two counts of aggravated assault against a public servant. He was arraigned today.

According to the Houston Police Department's statement,
Officers Ortega and Law were working extra jobs as security at St. Joseph Medical Center at the above address when they were summoned to the eighth floor to help nurses subdue a combative patient. Once the officers arrived, the patient continued to refuse to comply with the nurses and officers' demands. The patient suddenly physically assaulted Officer Ortega, striking him in the head, causing a laceration. At that time, Officer Law deployed his conducted energy device, which had no apparent effect on the suspect who continued to assault the officers. Officer Ortega, fearing for his and his partner's safety, then discharged his duty weapon, striking the suspect one time.
But the family and medical professionals are disturbed by the handling of Alan's case and what looks like a failure on many levels. Alan had driven himself to the hospital the night of August 26th, during an acute mental health crisis. When he got there, he crashed his car and was treated for those injuries. But the mental health issues, which were what made Alan check himself in in the first place, were ignored, according to the Pean family. Alan's father, himself a physician, begged the hospital to get his son a psychiatric evaluation given that Alan had suffered a similar episode in 2009. But the hospital decided he was ready to be discharged. In fact, they had cleared Alan to be discharged a mere minutes before the shooting the next morning. How did he go from being cleared to leave to so combative that only a bullet could protect two officers?
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No Entry

Kim Davis sued by Survivor for playing "Eye of the Tiger" after release from prison

Darius Rubics
NBC News
Wed, 09 Sep 2015 14:28 UTC
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© AP Photo/Dennis SystemMike Huckabee standing with Kim Davis as Survivor’s song “Eye of the Tiger” played in the background
The band Survivor has filed a $1.2 million lawsuit against Kim Davis and Mike Huckabee over the unauthorized use of its hit song "Eye of the Tiger."

Davis, the Kentucky clerk who was jailed after refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, was released Tuesday morning, after serving six days in prison, to the sound of Survivor's classic song "Eye of the Tiger." The song played in the background as she, her husband, and Mike Huckabee celebrated her freedom in front of thousands of supporters.

Survivor issued a statement on their Facebook page yesterday stating:

"NO! We did not grant Kim Davis any rights to use 'My Tune -The Eye Of The Tiger.' I would not grant her the rights to use Charmin! C'mom Mike, you are not The Donald but you can do better than that -See Ya really SoooooooonnnnnnN!!!!!!"

Comment: Kim Davis is a disgusting, hypocritical Authoritarian Follower and NOT a Christian by any stretch of the imagination.

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Shoe

Participants in Workout street fitness see Moscow as their playground


The Moscow Times
Fri, 04 Sep 2015 13:58 UTC
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© Natalya FerenetsAnton Kuchumov, the coordinator of the Workout project in Moscow.
Every weekend, groups of young people take over Moscow courtyards, testing their fitness abilities by climbing monkey bars, performing straight-bar dips, pull-ups and push-ups on ordinary playground equipment.

They are devotees of a brand of street fitness called simply "Workout," which was popular in the Soviet era and is currently experiencing a revival.
Workout participants say the practice aims to build muscle and burn calories without the use of any nutritional supplements or the guidance of a personal trainer.

It's also a way to socialize. Training groups give participants the opportunity to encourage and compete against each other.
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Attention

United Airlines CEO walks away with $5M 'separation payment' after resignation over corruption probe


RT
Wed, 09 Sep 2015 21:52 UTC
united airlines
© Eduardo Munoz / Reuters
United Airlines said its chief executive has resigned as a result an internal investigation. The airline is also under a federal investigation over whether it sought to influence senior officials at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Two other senior officials also stepped down on Tuesday, according to United Airlines.

United's Jeff Smisek, the former CEO, will walk away with a $4.8 million "separation payment," according to a public filing from the company, CNN Money reported. He was paid $12.7 million in 2014.

Comment: This airline CEO received a huge raise last year

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Mr. Potato

Plastic hamster insult: Nutty Fox News anchor sues toy company for 'commercial and emotional damage'

SM Gibson
The Anti Media
Tue, 08 Sep 2015 12:13 UTC
Harris Faulkner
Harris Faulkner – the reporter VS Harris Faulkner – the plastic hamster: Can you tell which is which?
Stop. Take a deep breath...Okay, are you sitting down? What you are about to read is real — far too real. For the sake of humanity, I would love to tell you that the following paragraphs were constructed as satire meant to mock a mainstream mouthpiece who regurgitates a corporate agenda for a living. Sadly, this story isn't satire.

One topic both the right and left have begun to exceedingly agree upon in recent years is that anchors, pundits, and the various players in "oldstream" media are no more to be trusted than a man adorned with a pencil thin mustache, top hat, flowing cape, and a nagging habit with which to tie genteel damsels up to train tracks. No matter who you think is the most vitriolic newsperson today, when it comes to pure absurdity, one Fox News anchor has recently surpassed the insanity of her colleagues and officially jumped the shark.
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Airplane

Newark Liberty International Airport hangar collapse injures several workers

Ben Yakas
gothamist.com
Wed, 09 Sep 2015 02:45 UTC
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Several people were injured when a hangar that was under construction at Newark Liberty International Airport collapsed this afternoon.

According to initial reports, at least four people were injured in the collapse, which occurred around 2 p.m. Wednesday. ABC reports that nine workers were in the process of demolishing an old United Airlines hangar on Brewster Road when a portion collapsed on top of them.
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Chart Pie

21,995,000 to 12,329,000: Government employees outnumber those employed in manufacturing 1.8 to 1

Terence P. Jeffrey
cnsnews.com
Tue, 08 Sep 2015 11:14 UTC
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© AP/Mike Groll
Those employed by government in the United States in August of this year outnumbered those employed in the manufacturing sector by almost 1.8 to 1, according to data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

There were 21,995,000 employed by federal, state and local government in the United States in August, according to BLS. By contrast, there were only 12,329,000 employed in the manufacturing sector.

The BLS has published seasonally-adjusted month-by-month employment numbers for both government and manufacturing going back to 1939. In the first 50 years of the 76-year span since then, manufacturing out-employed government. But in August 1989, government overtook manufacturing as a U.S. employer.

That month, government employed 17,989,000 and manufacturing employed 17,964,000.

Since then, government employment has increased 4,006,000 and manufacturing employment has declined 5,635,000.
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