Society's ChildS


Newspaper

She's got a point: Nancy Pelosi is outraged: 'We did not treat President Bush this way'‏

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© J. Scott Applewhite / AP"Our view of the law is that it — if somebody is here without sufficient documentation, that is not reason for deportation," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, said in an interview with Telemundo, a Spanish-language network. "If somebody has broken the law, committed a felony or something, that's a different story."
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, said Tuesday that a large segment of the GOP is "anti-government, anti-science and anti-Obama" and that while Democrats opposed much of President George W. Bush's agenda, Republican obstruction to President Obama is "something quite stunning."

"What's interesting to me is that Democrats and Republicans know what they believe," Mrs. Pelosi said on MSNBC's "The Daily Rundown." "They know what they believe, and that's what's happening in Congress ... what's happening here now is we have a large segment of the Republican party that is anti-government. We don't want any more government than we need, but they're anti-government, anti-science and anti-Obama."

"They have a trifecta that is going," she continued. "Now, I say to the Republicans: Take back your party ... you come with confidence with the debate that goes on and try to influence the decision, but to obstruct every initiative that the president's put forth on jobs and then say, 'Why don't we have more jobs?' We do have more jobs, but no thanks to the Congress of the United States."

Eye 2

Dumped Body Parts Case: Mom expected to be formally charged in killing, dismemberment of mentally ill son‏

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© Deadline Detroit
Eight months ago, Donna Scrivo sought guardianship and hospitalization for her son, Ramsay, who was diagnosed with psychosis and threatened to hang himself when his father died of a terminal illness.

Today, the St. Clair Shores mother is charged with the dismemberment and removal of her son's body, which was discovered in a grisly roadside find in bags last week in rural areas of St. Clair County.

Authorities haven't charged Donna Scrivo with murder and said they aren't able to comment on motive or time, cause and manner of death, which is pending further tests, in the unusual case. They also did not comment on whether there was other trauma to her 32-year son's remains.

Cowboy Hat

Officer cleared after going to wrong address, shooting innocent grandpa in his garage

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© Waller FamilyJerry Waller and one of his grandchildren in a photo taken before his death.
An elderly man was slain in his own garage because police "inadvertently began searching" the wrong address while investigating a burglary call. Spotting a man who appeared "standoffish" in his own garage, police opened fire, killing a 72-year-old grandfather. After months of investigation, the officer has been cleared and is back on the streets.

In the earliest hour of May 28th, 2013, Jerry Waller was awoken after midnight to the sound of his neighbor's home burglar alarm. Doing the neighborly thing, Mr. Waller got out of bed to check on the family next door. He took a pistol with him as his wife stayed behind.

Fort Worth Police were dispatched and arrived at the scene at 12:58 a.m. Only the officers didn't go to the address of the alarm. They "inadvertently began searching" the property of Jerry and Kathy Waller at 404 Havenwood - across the road from the automated burglary alert.

Officers B.B. Hanlon and R.A. "Alex" Hoeppner walked onto the Wallers' property and approached the darkened house with their flashlights lit. As Officer Hoeppner neared the residence, he spotted Mr. Waller, who was cautiously surveying the scene from inside his garage.

A confrontation ensued between the homeowner and the intruders carrying guns and flashlights. Unfortunately only one side survived to tell their version of the events.

The undisputed fact is that Waller was shot 7 times in his own garage.

Bizarro Earth

Revealed: the thousands of rape cases the police don't bother with - as charges fall following CPS guideline changes in the UK

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© ShutterstockThe Royal Courts of Justice.

Over the last two years the number of rape cases referred by the police to the Crown Prosecution Service for charging has fallen by a third - despite a 3% rise in recorded offences over this period.

Research by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reveals that tougher evidence standards and early intervention from prosecutors have contributed to this dramatic decline. The findings were described by the Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry, as 'cause for profound concern'.

The CPS told the Bureau that as part of a wider review it would now examine whether changes in evidence standards imposed by police and its own charging guidance had affected referral rates. It added that there is 'currently no evidence' of a link between the drop in referrals and its lawyers' early involvement in rape cases.

Data obtained by the Bureau shows the decline in referrals has coincided with a fall in numbers of suspected rapists being charged.

In 2012/13 11% fewer suspected rapists were charged - 320 fewer than in the year before and the lowest level for five years.

The Bureau's research found no single factor was behind the decline in the number of cases referred for charging. However eleven forces, all of whose rape referrals dropped by at least 21% last year, told the Bureau tougher evidence standards, considering cases more carefully before referral or talking to prosecutors about the strength of a case at an earlier stage contributed to the decrease.

Gold Seal

Total ban on GM food production mulled in Russia

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© AFP Photo/Robyn BeckThe draft bans the production of genetically modified organisms and transgenic products of plant, animal or microbial origin for their use in human and animal foods.
A group of Russian MPs have prepared a bill severely restricting imports of genetically modified agricultural produce, and completely banning its domestic production.

The initiative is backed by Evgeny Fyodorov of the parliamentary majority United Russia and a group called Russian Sovereignty, which unites MPs from various parties and parliamentary factions.

The politicians want to amend the existing law On Safety and Quality of Alimentary Products with a norm set for the maximum allowed content of transgenic and genetically modified components. The powers to establish that norm go to the government and products with excessive content of GMO components should be banned for turnover and imports.

Currently there are no limitations on the turnover or production of GMO-containing foodstuffs in Russia. However, when the percentage of GMO exceeds 0.9 percent the producer must label such goods and warn consumers. Last autumn the government passed a resolution allowing the listing of genetically modified plants in the Unified State Register, but this resolution will come in force only in July this year.

Stormtrooper

Cops break special needs teen's arm on school bus - family suing for $1 million


A surveillance video shows two cops in Rotterdam, New York breaking the arm of a special needs 16-year-old while trying to remove him from a school bus.

In October 2013, Rotterdam Police were called by Mohonasen transportation because the 16-year-old refused to get off the bus. According to police, the driver would not transport the teen because he threatened her.

Two cops attempted to convince the teen to get off of the vehicle - the entire time, the teen remained on his seat, unresponsive. In the video, one cop can be heard saying, "Either you or one of us might get hurt and we don't want to do that."

After 30 minutes of asking the teen to get up, the cops used force to remove him from the bus. The boy's arm was broken in the process.

Bad Guys

Fifty-five bodies, and zero trials, at the Florida School for Boys

Anthropologists from the University of South Florida
© Edmund D. Fountain/Pool/ReutersAnthropologists from the University of South Florida exhuming grave sites in the Boot Hill Cemetery at the Florida School for Boys. September 1, 2013.
This week, the remains of fifty-five bodies were found in unmarked graves on the grounds of the former Florida School for Boys, in the panhandle town of Marianna. The reformatory school, which was operated by the state of Florida, and which closed in 2011, was notorious for its mistreatment of its students. In 1968, Florida's governor at the time, Claude Kirk, said of the school, "Somebody should have blown the whistle a long time ago." There have long been allegations of beatings, torture, and sexual abuse there; it now appears that some students were killed. The total number of bodies buried at the school has not been determined, but the forensic anthropologist Erin Kimmerle, the leader of the exhumation effort, which has been under way since September 2013, has said that it may exceed a hundred.

Some of the children died natural deaths, but the sheer number of bodies suggests that there may have been many killings, a possibility buttressed by eyewitness accounts. Yet Florida's prosecutors have yet to file a single criminal charge, or even open a criminal investigation. To pass over crimes of this magnitude without investigation seems the very definition of injustice.

There is no statute of limitations for murder and other crimes causing death, which means that there is no legal bar to bringing charges. In Florida, all capital cases have long had no statute of limitations, and when these crimes were allegedly committed forcible rape was punishable by death. But there are challenges to prosecuting old crimes: given how much time has passed, it may be difficult to determine who was responsible for the killings, and many of the suspects, meanwhile, have already died, including the school's longtime superintendent, Lenox Williams, who died in 2010. Some are still alive, including Troy Tidwell, an instructor at the school, who was accused of abuse in a class-action lawsuit filed by more than two hundred former students in 2009. (Tidwell denies the accusations, and the case was dismissed after a judge ruled that the statute of limitations on the charges had run out.)

In spite of these difficulties, a prosecutor still has many options in a case like this one. Scenes of mass death, like those caused by fires at night clubs in which the exits are blocked, are often prosecuted as cases of involuntary manslaughter. If the wantonly negligent operation of the school led to many deaths, the Florida School of Boys was like a deadly fire in slow motion. In addition, some of the school's surviving employees and managers could potentially be prosecuted for felony murder - Florida law includes special provisions for deaths that occur during the abuse of minors - or, alternatively, members of the staff could be prosecuted as members of a conspiracy. There may also be fresher claims of obstruction of justice. A law student could probably find more options, let alone a dedicated prosecutor.

Arrow Down

Fee planted in farm bill could increase costs of home heating oil just as costs soar

hemp harvest
© Kristen WyattHemp harvesting
Congress' mammoth farm bill restores the imposition of an extra fee on home heating oil, hitting consumers in cold-weather states just as utility costs are spiking.

The fee - two-tenths of a cent on every gallon sold - was tacked on to the end of the 959-page bill, which is winding its way through Capitol Hill. The fee would last for nearly 20 years and would siphon the money to develop equipment that is cheaper, more efficient and safer, and to encourage consumers to update their equipment.

It's just one of dozens of provisions tucked into the farm bill, which cleared the House on a bipartisan 251-166 vote last week and faces a key filibuster test in the Senate on Monday. It is expected to survive and face final passage Tuesday before heading to President Obama's desk.

Taxpayer groups say the bill could increase spending over the previous version and that it's crammed with favors for individual lawmakers, such as rules legalizing industrial hemp.

The heating oil fee was backed by Northeast lawmakers who said it would fund important research to benefit consumers.

Comment: Millions of Americans are out of work, employment benefits have been cut, and temperatures have been excessively cold - yet consumers will be forced to pay even higher prices to heat their homes at a time when few can afford it.
Propane shortage = Millions of cold Americans
Frigid temperatures = Utility bill shock


Attention

Train full of hazardous materials derails near Mississippi mobile home park

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A train carrying fuel oil, fertilizer, methanol derailed in southeast Mississippi Friday morning, forcing a local evacuation, officials said.

There was no fire or explosion, but 50 people living within a half-mile radius were evacuated, and a nearby highway was shut down as a precaution. "They've got these spills pretty much contained and secured, and we're working on starting the cleanup process at this point," local sheriff Jimmy Dale Smith said from the scene. "Hopefully we can get everything cleaned up this afternoon and get people in their homes tonight."

The train - owner and operated by Canadian National Railway Company - was running from from Jackson, Mississippi to Mobile, Alabama, when it derailed near a mobile home park outside the town of New Augusta around 9am Friday morning. Various reports state the pileup involved anywhere from 18 tot 21 cars, and that four to eight of the cars were leaking at some point. No injuries have so far been reported.

Red Flag

Half of America lives paycheck-to-paycheck

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The economic picture is looking brighter these days. The federal government announced Thursday that economic growth had picked up to its fastest pace in two years, while employment growth over the past five months has averaged a healthy 185,000 new jobs. But as evidenced by a report out Thursday from the Corporation for Enterprise Development, nearly half of Americans are living in a state of "persistent economic insecurity," that makes it "difficult to look beyond immediate needs and plan for a more secure future."

In other words, too many of us are living paycheck to paycheck. The CFED calls these folks "liquid asset poor," and its report finds that 44% of Americans are living with less than $5,887 in savings for a family of four. The plight of these folks is compounded by the fact that the recession ravaged many Americans' credit scores to the point that now 56% percent of us have subprime credit. That means that if emergencies arise, many Americans are forced to resort to high-interest debt from credit cards or payday loans.

And this financial insecurity isn't just affected the lower classes. According to the CFED, one-quarter of middle-class households also fall into the category of "liquid asset poor." Geographically, most of the economically insecure are clustered in the South and West, with Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Nevada, and Arkansas being the states with the highest percentage of financially insecure.