Society's ChildS

Dollar

Self-styled 'Robin Hood' jailed for 70 months


Stuff.co.nz
Thu, 11 Jul 2013 21:17 UTC
Corey
© Stuff.co.nzModern Robin Hood: Corey Donaldson caught on CCTV.
A US judge has handed down a nearly six-year prison sentence to an Australian man who says he robbed a bank so he could give money to the homeless.

The Wyoming judge sentenced 40-year-old Corey Donaldson to 70 months for bank robbery.

Donaldson claimed that he was justified in robbing more than US$140,000 from the US Bank in Jackson on New Year's Eve.

He has likened himself to Robin Hood and claims he gave much of the money to the homeless and staged the robbery to call attention to problems with the banking system.

In his closing address, he admitted he robbed the bank but asked the jury to find him not guilty because "it is the patriotic thing to do" and it was time to make a stand against banks.

His advice fell on deaf ears. The jury took just 50 minutes to convict him.
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Attention

Criminal investigation opened into Canadian unmanned runaway oil train


The Australian
Wed, 10 Jul 2013 09:47 UTC
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© AP Wrecked oil tankers and debris from a runaway train remain in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, Canada.
CANADIAN authorities say they have opened a criminal investigation into the fiery wreck of a runaway oil train in the small town of Lac-Megantic as the death toll climbed to 15, with dozens more bodies feared buried in the burned-out ruins.

Quebec police Inspector Michel Forget said investigators have "discovered elements" that have led to a criminal probe. He gave no details but ruled out terrorism.

The death toll rose with the discovery of two more bodies on Tuesday. About three dozen more people were missing. The bodies that have been recovered were burned so badly they have yet to be identified.

Investigators zeroed in on whether a fire on the train a few hours before the disaster set off a deadly chain of events that has raised questions about the safety of transporting oil in North America by rail instead of pipeline.
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Question

British public wrong about nearly everything, survey shows

Jonathan Paige
The Independent
Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:50 UTC
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Research shows public opinion often deviates from facts on key social issues including crime, benefit fraud and immigration

A new survey for the Royal Statistical Society and King's College London shows public opinion is repeatedly off the mark on issues including crime, benefit fraud and immigration.

The research, carried out by Ipsos Mori from a phone survey of 1,015 people aged 16 to 75, lists ten misconceptions held by the British public. Among the biggest misconceptions are:

- Benefit fraud: the public think that ยฃ24 of every ยฃ100 of benefits is fraudulently claimed. Official estimates are that just 70 pence in every ยฃ100 is fraudulent - so the public conception is out by a factor of 34.
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Pistol

Psychopathy in action: Michigan woman organises hit on her husband


The Guardian
Wed, 10 Jul 2013 16:29 UTC
Julia Charlene Merfeld, 20, of Muskegon, Michigan, is filmed arranging for her husband to be killed by a hitman, in reality an undercover policeman. Merfeld agrees the time, price and method of the killing in the two filmed conversations, released to media after she pleaded guilty to solicitation for murder. At one point Merfeld says killing her 27-year old husband Jacob to cash in his $400,000 life insurance policy is easier than divorcing him. She is due to be sentenced on 30 July.

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Dollar

Brazilian student sells her virginity for $780,000 online


The Telegraph, UK
Thu, 25 Oct 2012 15:03 UTC
A Brazilian student has sold her virginity in an online auction for $780,000 as part of a documentary organised by an Australian filmmaker, according to reports.
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© SAMBA NEWSCatarina Migliorini
Catarina Migliorini, 20, was the subject of 15 bids, with a Japanese man named only as Natsu winning on Wednesday night, Australian media reported.

They said Miss Migliorini would be "delivered" to her buyer on board a plane to Australia and that she would be interviewed before and after losing her virginity at a secret location.

Filmmaker Jason Sisely, who reportedly began his project in 2009 and caused outrage when he put posters up in Sydney and Melbourne saying "Virgins Wanted", said Miss Migliorini was ecstatic and had not expected such a high level of interest.

"The auction closed last night and Catarina is extremely excited. She was speaking to her family in Brazil online and they were extremely happy for her," he told Australian online news site Ninemsn.

"But I guess they didn't expect her to do something like this."
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Eye 1

Egyptian photographer Ahmed Assem shot by sniper and films his own death


huffingtonpost.co.uk
Wed, 10 Jul 2013 14:26 UTC

Chilling footage has emerged of the moment a photographer apparently recorded his own death.

Ahmed Samir Assem was filming protests outside the offices of the Egyptian Army in Cairo when the gunman he was recording turned to face him.

The exact circumstances of the 26-year-old's death have not been verified, but friends and colleagues have claimed the grainy footage shows him being killed.

"At around 6am, a man came into the media centre with a camera covered in blood and told us that one of our colleagues had been injured," Ahmed Abu Zeid, of Assem's newspaper, Al-Horia Wa Al-Adala, told the Daily Telegraph.

"Around an hour later, I received news that Ahmed had been shot by a sniper in the forehead while filming or taking pictures on top of the buildings around the incident.

"Ahmed's camera was the only one which filmed the entire incident from the first moment."

The Muslim Brotherhood has reportedly been using the footage to show army snipers firing on innocent people.

Assem had been filming protests by Muslim brotherhood supporters outside the offices of the Egyptian Army, where ousted President Mohamed Morsi was reportedly being held.

At least 51 people were reportedly killed

.
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People 2

Irish people issue warning to banks by shutting down home repossession auction


youtube.com
Thu, 11 Jul 2013 13:44 UTC
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Eye 2

Divide and conquer: Ireland abortion debate stretches into second day


The Guardian
Thu, 11 Jul 2013 13:14 UTC
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© Yves Herman/ReutersEnda Kenny: hard line against party rebels
Irish politicians will spend a second day debating divisive laws that will legislate for the first time for abortion in limited circumstances.

A vote on the landmark laws, which enshrine a woman's right to a termination if her life is at risk, including from suicide, had been expected to pass at about 5am on Thursday morning.

But as discussions rumbled into dawn with no sign of an end, the Dรกil was adjourned with plans for the debate to resume late this afternoon.

The laws will be supported by the vast majority of the country's politicians, but a junior minister who has shown signs of joining a small backbench revolt is likely to lose her job.

Despite the widely anticipated rebellion by Lucinda Creighton, the minister for European affairs, the laws are likely to pass comfortably.

The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013 was drawn up following the death of Savita Halappanavar, an Indian dentist who died in an Irish hospital in October last year after being denied an abortion as she miscarried 17 weeks into her pregnancy.
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Camcorder

One CCTV for every 12 people - surveillance soars in care homes, hospitals and schools, UK

Larisa Brown
The Daily Mail, UK
Thu, 11 Jul 2013 12:59 UTC
There are nearly 5million CCTV cameras in the country, new research finds

More in 'sensitive locations' such as car homes, hospitals and schools

Campaigners criticised the growth of the 'surveillance state'

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Common sight: There are an estimated 5million CCTV cameras in Britain today - one for every 12 people
Schoolchildren, the elderly and the infirm are being watched by an astonishing 750,000 spy cameras across Britain, a survey revealed yesterday.

There are nearly 5million CCTV cameras in the country, researchers found - the equivalent of one for every 12 people. Surveillance was particularly high in 'sensitive locations' such as care homes, hospitals and schools.

Campaigners last night criticised the growth of the 'surveillance state', lambasting the Government for embarking upon a journey similar to George Orwell's vision in his novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four.

The British Security Industry Authority (BSIA) estimated there were 4.9million closed-circuit television cameras in the country, but said the figure could be as high as 5.9million. Previous estimates ranged from 1.5million to 4million.

Nick Pickles, director of the privacy campaign Big Brother Watch, criticised the findings. He said: 'This report is another stark reminder of how out of control our surveillance culture has become.
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Stop

Bomb squad sent to US Embassy in Australia after car crashes into gates

Tom McIlroy
Canberra Times
Thu, 11 Jul 2013 14:12 UTC
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© Graham TidyThe car stuck in the gates at the US Embassy.
A 30-year-old man is expected to face the ACT Magistrates Court after a car crashed into the main gates of Canberra's United States Embassy on Wednesday night.

The Australian Federal Police bomb response unit attended the Yarralumla complex after ACT Policing, Fire and Rescue and Ambulance crews were called about 6pm.

Investigators said it was too early to tell what circumstances had led to the accident and five-hour police operation, but neither the vehicle or the embassy security gates were extensively damaged.
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