Society's ChildS


Pistol

Philadelphia police shoot nearly a person a week, says Justice dept.

German Lopez
Vox
Tue, 24 Mar 2015 00:00 UTC
  1. A new report from the US Department of Justice found that Philadelphia police officers were involved in 394 shootings between 2007 and 2014, or nearly one shooting each week over eight years.
  2. The report outlined several failures that led to the high number of shootings, including inadequate training and poor oversight, and made dozens of recommendations to revamp how officers use force.
  3. Most officers involved in the shootings were white, and more than eight in 10 shooting victims were black — although the report didn't say whether the disparities were a result of police misconduct or profiling.
  4. The report comes in the midst of a nationwide debate about racial disparities in police use of force, following the killings of several unarmed black men in the past year.
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Newspaper

Superstition: Girl born with 'elephant trunk' deformity is worshipped like a god in India

Dab Brook
Mirror
Mon, 30 Mar 2015 00:00 UTC
Villagers in Uttar Pradesh have flocked to see the 'divine' baby even after doctors warned a genetic mutation may be to blame


A baby girl is reportedly being worshipped like a god in India after she was born with a facial deformity resembling an elephant's trunk.

Villagers near Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, have flocked to see the 'divine' girl in the belief she is an incarnation of the elephant-headed god Ganesha.

They have continued despite doctors warning her condition may well be a genetic mutation, Asian News International reported.

The newborn's aunt, named as Rajani, told the news agency: "My sister-in-law gave birth to a girl and her face looks exactly like Lord Ganesha.

"Everybody is saying she is an incarnation of the god.
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Pistol

Oregon gun control proposes: Buying and selling guns a privilege, not a right

AWR Hawkins
Breitbart
Tue, 31 Mar 2015 00:00 UTC
flag gun
© personalliberty.comA flag on the play...lawmakers want to pull the trigger.
On Wednesday, Oregon lawmakers will discuss a gun control proposal that outlaws all private gun sales except those between "close relatives," and that makes sales between "close relatives" a privilege that exists only as long as the government allows it to continue. The gun control bill is sponsored by state senator Floyd Prozanski (D-Eugene).

According to the Statesman Journal, Statesman Journal, it requires a private buyer and seller to find a licensed gun dealer, pay a fee, and "run a background check through the Oregon State Police." The bill would make the first violation of selling a gun without a background check a misdemeanor, "punishable by up to a year in jail and a $6,250 fine." The second violation would be a felony, carrying a possible 10 year prison sentence and "$250,000 fine."

Think about it: A $250,000 fine for selling a gun the same way other Americans have been selling them since the Second Amendment was ratified in 1791. Prozanski said he's chief "goal is to keep individuals who shouldn't have access to guns from having easy access to guns."

Comment: Oregon would be the eighth state to restrict private sales. "Public benefit legislation" always increases governmental control, eroding public rights until there is no recourse except to raise both hands high in the air and look straight down the barrel. ...another Freedom, another Liberty, another Right...into the crosshairs.

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Camcorder

Teens charged with violation of child pornography laws after filming consensual sex orgy


Rt
Wed, 01 Apr 2015 08:36 UTC
couple walking
© Reuters/Alexandre Meneghini
Four suburban Chicago teens between the ages of 14 and 16 were arrested for allegedly posting a group sex video of themselves on Twitter. The group, three boys and a girl, recorded the consensual sex orgy but have run afoul of child pornography laws.

Joliet police got involved when the mother of the 15-year-old girl found out about the video and reported the Twitter post to law enforcement, who seized the original recording. The teens were arrested last Friday and are remanded in juvenile custody until their court hearing on April 13. They have been charged as juveniles with child pornography.

Joliet Police Chief Brian Benton said posting the 10 minute video online made it a criminal offense.

Comment: Though it is questionable whether these teens should be charged with violation of child pornography laws and possibly have to register as sex offenders for doing something so stupid, it is highly indicative of the hyper-sexualization and moral degradation of society.

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Handcuffs

Racketeering trial in Philadelphia underway for 6 former narcotics cops


RT
Wed, 01 Apr 2015 17:52 UTC
Image
© RT / Philadelphia Police Department(TOP L-R) Brian Reynolds, Michael Spicer, John Speiser (BOTTOM L-R) Linwood Norman, Perry Betts, Thomas Liciardello
In the trial for six ex-Pennsylvania narcotics officers accused of conspiracy, robbery, extortion, kidnapping and drug dealing during a six-year racketeering scheme, opening statements began with a verbal sparring match between the lawyers.

The former Philadelphia police officers were charged with committing a variety of crimes between February 2006 and November 2012, among them beatings, threatening to shoot suspects, busting into homes without warrants to steal drugs and money, and the distribution of narcotics.

The officers standing trial are Thomas Liciardello, 38; Brian Reynolds, 43; Michael Spicer, 46; Perry Betts, 46; Linwood Norman, 46; and John Speiser, 44.

"Make no mistake about it ‒ taking money while armed and while exercising your power as a Philadelphia police officer and keeping it for yourself and your co-conspirators is robbery, even if the money is illegal drug money," Assistant US Attorney Anthony Wzorek said during his opening statements on Monday.

He told jurors the former officers routinely broke into homes without search warrants and ransacked them to steal drugs, cash, a Rolex watch and other valuables.
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Dollars

Afghan opium production on the rise - military industrial complex profits


RT
Wed, 01 Apr 2015 17:40 UTC
Image
Opium production has been on the rise in Afghanistan over recent years despite US counternarcotics efforts. Infamous mercenary firm, formerly known as Blackwater, has creamed off $569 million from the Pentagon in this unsuccessful drive.

The money the company received from US tax-payers was used for "training, equipment, and logistical support" for Afghan forces engaged in counternarcotics operations. These agencies included the"Afghan National Interdiction Unit, the Ministry of Interior, and the Afghan Border Police," says a report from The Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, cited by the Guardian.

Formerly known as Blackwater, and later rebranded as Academi, the notorious company has been the biggest beneficiary of counternarcotics expenditure in the war-torn country.

However, the firm failed to eradicate opium production. In fact, this has reached record highs since the beginning of US occupation in 2001.

Since the US toppled the Taliban in 2002, opium production in the country has tripled. Afghanistan accounted for over 90 percent of the world's heroin market in 2014.

A UNAIDS report from 2014 said that there is a 7-percent increase in land being cultivated despite the US spending over $7 billion on counternarcotics programs.
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Phoenix

Thousands evacuated after underground fire in central London

Lizzie Dearden
The Independent
Wed, 01 Apr 2015 15:44 UTC
Holborn Fire
© London Fire BrigadeFirefighters said power cables had started a fire beneath the pavement in Holborn, London
More than 2,000 people were evacuated from buildings in central London this afternoon as toxic smoke filled the streets.

The Metropolitan Police declared a "major incident" after blocks housing businesses and part of the London School of Economics were cleared by the emergency services.

Firefighters said power cables had started a fire beneath the pavement in Holborn and they could not put it out until the current was switched off.


Footage from the scene showed the air filled with dark smoke that appeared to be streaming from potholes and underground vents.

People were seen pouring out of offices, restaurants, cafes and shops while roads were cordoned off by the emergency services.

Onlookers described "crazy scenes" and "madness" as smoke rose so high in the air that it could be seen from the Shard skyscraper.

"Holborn is chaos. All the manholes on Kingsway are smoking," Jordan Hatch wrote on Twitter.

Comment: In February this year, US Utility company, Con Edison responded to hundreds of manhole explosions in New York in the space of just three days. Perhaps not all of these incidents can be attributed solely to the conventional meme of "manhole explosions this time of year are as common as snow, because the salt used to treat icy roads corrodes underground wiring when it seeps below the surface".

As well as potentially leaking gas mains, maybe there is a build up of methane from deep below the planet's surface too which is igniting?

With Manhattan's East Village recently shaken by an explosion and partial building collapse, perhaps another source of ignition - electrical in nature - needs to be considered.

Could some of the increasing number of power outages, such as in the Netherlands and Turkey, also be affected by this electrical 'grounding' too?

See: SOTT Exclusive: Solar System 'grounding':Transformer explosions and electrical anomalies

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Extinguisher

Explosion and intense fire on Pemex oil platform in Gulf of Mexico leads to evacuations, 1 reported dead


RT
Wed, 01 Apr 2015 16:37 UTC
Image
A fire broke out on an oil platform belonging to Mexico's state Pemex petroleum giant in the Gulf of Mexico, leading to the evacuation of about 300 workers. According to the company at least one person has died and 16 have been injured.

Pemex said on Twitter that the fire on the Abkatun Permanente platform in the oil-rich Campeche Bay broke out overnight and eight firefighting boats were tackling the blaze.
¡Impresionante! #Video del incendio de la plataforma Abkatun Alfa en la Sonda de #Campeche #PEMEX @OlmecaDiario pic.twitter.com/E7RxBzdQzR

— Sistema Informativo (@SistemaInfoVEOO) April 1, 2015
The oil giant said in a statement that at least one person, a contractor, has been killed and 16 have been injured in the blaze. Two of them are in a serious condition.


Comment: Is this another example of the Earth "opening up"? Or possibly a short circuit caused by an EMP blast from a fireball entering the atmosphere? Could this be related to the recent power outages in Turkey and Amsterdam and the "accidental" airing of the Emergency Alert System in the U.S.? Taking all these incidents into account, it sure is looking like the universe is trying to send us a message.

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Heart - Black

Plainclothes cop caught berating Uber driver with xenophobic rant on camera is NYPD detective

Jason Silverstein, Thomas Tracy, and Joseph Stepansky
NY Daily News
Tue, 31 Mar 2015 16:11 UTC
Image
The angry lawman who was caught on camera belittling an Uber driver during a bias-fueled tirade in the West Village is an NYPD detective assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force, police sources confirmed Tuesday.

The NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating the video, which shows Det. Patrick Cherry lambasting the Uber driver during a traffic stop and mocking his broken English.

"I don't know where you're coming from, where you think you're appropriate in doing that; that's not the way it works. How long have you been in this country?" Cherry, who is white, barked at the driver after pulling him over in an unmarked car with flashing lights, according to video of the encounter.

The roadside rage erupted after the detective tried to park the unmarked car without using his blinker, and the Uber driver went around him and gestured to him to use his signal, according to Sanjay Seth, a passenger in the Uber car who posted the video clip.

The car Cherry drives in the video does not belong to the NYPD, according to a police source.

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Health

Psychological after-effects of killing for the Empire - 6 veterans per day seeking PTSD help


RT
Tue, 31 Mar 2015 22:48 UTC
Image
© Reuters / Toby Melville
Experts warn the "floodgates" of post-traumatic stress are about to open, as a top armed forces charity claims mental health issues among military personnel have risen 26 percent over the last year.

The charity Combat Stress, which supports veterans with mental health issues said: "This increase is mainly accounted for by a marked rise in those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan seeking help."

Some 2,264 personnel have requested treatment with three-quarters said to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - an average of six veterans per day over the last 12 months.

Many are also affected by depression and abuse of alcohol and drugs - symptoms associated with the condition.

Head of medical services at Combat Stress Dr Walter Busuttil said: "It is the biggest increase we have seen in recent years and we expect it to continue, so we are building up our clinical services accordingly."

"I do think there needs to be more significant investment in relation to veterans' mental health. The good news is that we do have treatments that work."
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