Society's ChildS


Bad Guys

UK sex-grooming gangs able to flourish due to police errors says report

Rajeev Syal
The Guardian
Thu, 19 Dec 2013 15:37 UTC
Greater Manchester police failed vulnerable girls in multiple ways, from lack of oversight to use of untrained CID staff
Image
© Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesA Rochdale shop displays a bulletin on the arrest of nine men on child sexual exploitation charges in 2011.
A catalogue of police failures allowed sex-grooming gangs to flourish in Rochdale, according to a damning, leaked report that is published on Friday. Among the failings identified in the 300-page report, untrained detectives were used to investigate child exploitation and there was a lack of resources and oversight.

The serious case review was announced by Rochdale Council last year after nine Asian men were convicted of the systematic grooming and sexual abuse of white girls in Greater Manchester. The findings of the review have resulted in an acknowledgement by Greater Manchester police [GMP] that the force has let down a number of vulnerable girls who were groomed by gangs for sexual abuse.

An internal police investigation, highlighted in the serious case review, also found a failure to recognise abuse.

The internal police review found that:

- Officers failed to challenge a Crown Prosecution Service decision not to prosecute.

- There was a lack of resources and managerial support for the investigations, initially led by CID, despite formal requests.

- Detectives without training in child sexual exploitation were used to interview potential victims.

- There was a lack of managerial oversight for investigations in 2008 and 2009.

- There was a lack of strategies to respond to frequent "runaways", which allowed them to return to their abusers.

- There was a recognition that there may have been discriminatory attitudes among police officers towards the victims.

Comment: Connection?:
The Pedophocracy
Men Who Hate Women: The Franklin Scandal and the Truth About Our Leaders

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Alarm Clock

Israel opened the gates to two dams. Now Gaza is sinking

Rana Alshami
Rana Palestinian Child - Wordpress
Fri, 20 Dec 2013 12:07 UTC
sewage gaza
My name is Rana. I have lived in the city of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip all twenty-one years of my life. What is happening in Gaza is not fiction but a bitter reality, which we lack the means to defend ourselves against. In the last few days, an unusually powerful storm has flooded many areas, displacing hundreds of residents from their homes. Children are without shelter from the cold and rain. Entire neighborhoods are sinking.

My family and I spent four days in darkness in below freezing weather: no electricity, no water, and no heat. I was so cold, I couldn't leave my bed and the small comfort it and my blankets provided. The cold felt like it penetrated my bones. Yet, I am lucky. I witnessed many people as they became homeless, their children desperate for food and warmth.

Friends called to tell me about the flooding and freezing in their areas. I felt bad, unable to help. Power lines are down and our streets are filled with raw sewage. Greenhouses have been destroyed, affecting farmers and reducing the already minimal food supply we Gazans are forced to survive on.

Making conditions worse, Israel opened two dams, releasing a torrent of water that inundated many homes. As their houses sank, some of my neighbors nearly drowned. Fortunately, rescue workers came to their aid.

Comment: Speak up. Stay human.

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Megaphone

U.S. author praises academic boycott of Israel


Press TV
Thu, 19 Dec 2013 11:39 UTC
colin s. cavell
© Press TVU.S. author, Colin S. Cavell
An American author and assistant professor at Bluefield State College has praised a recent move by US academic associations to boycott Israel for its "oppression" and "cruel" treatment of Palestinians.

A group of American scholars has joined two other organizations in boycotting Israel's academic institutions, indicating that a movement to isolate the Israel that is gaining momentum in Europe has also hit the US.

The Native American and Indigenous Studies Association and the American Studies Association approved the academic boycott of Israel this week to protest its treatment of Palestinians.

In April, the Association for Asian American Studies, which has about 800 members, also supported an academic boycott of Israel. The movement to cut off ties with Israeli academic institutions dates back a decade.

Comment: The BDS movement academic boycott seems to be gaining some ground.
There is still hope for Palestine, and for a better world.

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Die

Apollo theatre collapse injures more than 80 people in London's West End

Conal Urquhart and Rachel Williams
The Guardian
Thu, 19 Dec 2013 13:25 UTC
Image
© NationalTurk.com
Seven people seriously hurt after part of Shaftesbury Avenue theatre ceiling collapses on to balcony during performance

'I thought the clattering noise was part of the play'

More than 80 people were injured on Thursday night when part of a theatre in London's West End collapsed on to the audience during a performance.

Fire crews rescued people from the Apollo theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue, which was showing The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. There were more than 700 people in the audience.

London ambulance service said there were 88 casualties, seven of whom were seriously injured, but none are thought to have life-threatening injuries. The Metropolitan police said they were not aware of any fatalities.

Some people were initially trapped inside the theatre, but all were rescued from the building soon after the collapse.

The wounded were taken into the foyer of the nearby Queen's theatre, which was turned into a makeshift treatment centre. Some were taken from there to hospital on board a red London bus, with a police escort.
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Dollar

DC city council raises minimum wage to $11.50/hr in 2016

Ian Simpson
Reuters
Tue, 17 Dec 2013 01:08 UTC
minimum wage increase
Washington's city council on Tuesday approved raising the minimum wage to $11.50 an hour, one of the highest rates among U.S. cities and part of the wealthy region's push to hike base pay.

The minimum wage in the U.S. capital would rise in 2016 from the current $8.25, and then be indexed for inflation. The council gave unanimous final approval to the measure, which it first passed two weeks ago.

Democratic Mayor Vincent Gray has opposed the measure, saying it was not known how it would affect the labor market, and urged an increase to $10 an hour instead. The unanimous vote means the council could pass it over Gray's veto.

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. The District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce has called for raising the minimum wage to $10 over three years and then indexing it to inflation. The council coordinated raising the base wage with lawmakers in Montgomery and Prince George's counties, in Washington's Maryland suburbs. They approved similar measures last month.

Once the higher pay takes effect, the three jurisdictions would form a region with 2.5 million residents and a minimum wage higher than any of the 50 states. Virginia, which borders Washington, requires employers to pay the federal rate.
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Eye 1

Autopsy: Fla. megachurch pastor Zachery Tims died from cocaine and heroin


Myfoxny.com
Thu, 19 Dec 2013 01:15 UTC
The New York City medical examiner says the combined effects of cocaine and heroin killed the popular pastor of a Florida megachurch.

Results released Thursday ruled the death of Zachery Tims accidental. He was found dead on the floor of a room at the upscale W Hotel in Times Square in August 2011.

Tims was the senior pastor of New Destiny Christian Center in Apopka, one of the largest congregations in central Florida. He also appeared on Christian television and radio programs. Tims started the 7,000 member church in 1996.

The Orlando Sentinel said Tims had been in and out of jail as a young man and hoped the church's youth center would keep youngsters away from drugs and crime. Church officials did not immediately respond to a comment request.

More on this story: Zachery Tims, Florida Megachurch Pastor, Found Dead in NYC Hotel

Source: Associated Press
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Bad Guys

IRS delays start of tax filing season due to October shutdown

Josh Hicks
The Washington Post
Thu, 19 Dec 2013 07:00 UTC
irs
© Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
The Internal Revenue Service has shortened the upcoming tax-filing season by 10 days while it continues to make up for October's government shutdown, the agency announced Wednesday.

The filing period will begin on Jan. 31, while the statutory deadline of April 15 will remain in place. The IRS said it needs more time to program and test its tax-processing systems after falling behind during the 16-day government closure, which resulted from a lapse in federal funding.

"Our teams have been working hard throughout the fall to prepare for the upcoming tax season," acting IRS commissioner Daniel Werfel said in a statement. "It's a complex process, and our bottom-line goal is to provide a smooth filing and refund process for the nation's taxpayers."

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Eye 2

Convicted child rapist, Welsh rock star Ian Watkins, told fan: 'It was mega lolz'


The Guardian
Fri, 20 Dec 2013 10:25 UTC
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© South Wales police/PAFormer Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins is due to be sentenced.
Transcript of fan's conversation with former Lostprophets frontman read out to shocked court before sentencing

The paedophile rock star Ian Watkins spoke to a female fan from prison the day after admitting two counts of attempted baby rape and said he was going to issue a statement when he was sentenced saying it had all been "mega lolz".

A transcript of the conversation was read out to a shocked and silent Cardiff crown court on Wednesday as the former Lostprophets frontman was being sentenced.

Christopher Clee QC, prosecuting, told the judge that Watkins had a conversation from Park Prison with a woman named Samantha on 27 November.

Watkins denied being a paedophile and expressed exasperation at the way people had reacted to his guilty pleas.
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Smoking

NYC Council on ecigs: No 'vaping' allowed!


CBS New York
Thu, 19 Dec 2013 09:25 UTC
ecig
© FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty ImagesA smoker uses an e-cigarette, the battery-powered device designed as an alternative to cigarettes
Bloomberg Expected To Sign Legislation

The New York City Council approved legislation Thursday to ban the use of electronic cigarettes from indoor public spaces where smoking is already prohibited.

E-cigarettes have been endorsed by celebrities, marketed in multiple flavors and are soaring in popularity.

Battery operated, the device heats up liquid nicotine and delivers a chemical-infused vapor. E-cigarettes are billed by many manufacturers as the cigarettes you can smoke anywhere, but that would no longer be true in New York City if Mayor Michael Bloomberg signs the bill, which he is expected to do.

Under the bill, e-cigarettes would be prohibited in the same places as traditional cigarettes and other tobacco products throughout the city. The ban would go into effect in four months, CBS 2′s Sonia Rincon reported. Businesses and restaurants would have another six months to put up signs indicating there is no smoking or "vaping" allowed.

Comment: No 'vaping' allowed, ya hear? Maybe next they'll come up with a 'Vapor Free Air' Act.

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Health Benefits of Smoking Tobacco
'World No Tobacco Day'? Let's All Light Up!

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Question

Bizarre incident at the Mandela memorial: 'Schizophrenic' sign-language interpreter 'hallucinated', company he works for 'vanishes'

David Pakman Show
YouTube
Thu, 12 Dec 2013 10:07 UTC
What was the story with the 'fake' sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela's memorial, Thamsanqa Jantjie?

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