Society's ChildS


Sheriff

Useless NYPD: Cops had 'no special duty' to protect man they watched being slashed while trying to stop subway serial killer


Top Information Post
Sat, 27 Jul 2013 19:07 UTC
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Joseph Lozito
He's a bona-fide hero who stopped the so-called "Butcher of Brighton Beach" at the end of a 28-hour city killing spree - but a Manhattan judge yesterday said a father of two is entitled to zero from the city for his injuries in the harrowing 2011 subway encounter.

Joseph Lozito sued the NYPD in January 2012, claiming police officers did nothing to help him as he confronted violent madman Maksim Gelman on a packed No. 3 train.

But Judge Margaret Chan tossed the case yesterday, saying that while she lauded Lozito's bravery, cops did not have a specific charge of saving him from Gelman.

Because "no direct promises of protection were made to Mr. Lozito," the police had "no special duty" to protect him.
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Stormtrooper

95-year-old dies after confrontation with Chicago police


Chicago Tribune
Sat, 27 Jul 2013 11:06 UTC
ambulance
© Tribune illustration
Illinois - A 95-year-old resident of a Park Forest senior living community who was wielding a 12-inch blade and a cane was shocked with a Taser and then hit by bean-bag rounds from police before later dying at a south suburban hospital, according to authorities.

According to an e-mailed press release from Park Forest police, officers were sent to 101 Main Street in Park Forest about 8:42 p.m. to help a private ambulance company with a "combative" resident of the home there. The Victory Centre of Park Forest, a supportive living community for adults 65 and older according to its website, is at that address.

The resident of the faculty was being "involuntarily" committed for medical treatment by staff at the Victory Centre, the release said.

When police arrived, the man was threatening staff and paramedics with a metal cane and a 2-foot metal shoehorn, the release said. Police demanded that he drop the cane and shoehorn, but he did not comply and then picked up a "12-inch butcher type kitchen knife."
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Briefcase

Berezovsky assets seized in Russia


RIA Novosti
Fri, 26 Jul 2013 17:07 UTC
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© RIA Novosti. Sergei GuneewBoris Berezovsky
Property of which the late Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky is a beneficiary has been seized in Russia but has yet to be fully valued, the head of the Federal Bailiff Service said Friday.

Some local media reports put the figure at 300 million rubles ($940,000), but that could not be independently verified.

Berezovsky had resided in self-imposed exile in Britain since 2000 until his death on March 23 this year at age 67. Russian authorities had launched a dozen cases against him on numerous charges, including fraud, failing to repatriate foreign currency revenues and abuse of office.
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Eye 1

U.S. scholar backs out of Israel trip after consulate assigns her 'subordinate' status due to birth in Pakistan

Philip Weiss
mondoweiss.net
Wed, 24 Jul 2013 15:07 UTC
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Professor Kavita Khory
More evidence if any were needed of the racially-discriminatory policies of Israeli border authorities. Last spring, Kavita Khory, a Professor of Political Science at Mount Holyoke College, signed up for a one-week, all expenses paid tour of Israel for scholars of international relations aimed at providing a "deeper understanding" of the politics of the area. The trip of a dozen scholars was sponsored by Combined Jewish Philanthropies.

Well Khory got a deeper understanding. She didn't end up going because of the way Israel treated her prospectively, on account of her having been born in Pakistan. And Congress is thinking of extending no-visa privileges to Israelis seeking to come to the U.S.?
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Eye 1

Elite hacker Barnaby Jack dies ahead of Black Hat event


BBC
Fri, 26 Jul 2013 14:56 UTC
An elite hacker who was due to demonstrate how heart implants could be hacked has died unexpectedly in San Francisco.

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Barnaby Jack died on Thursday, the city's medical examiner's office told Reuters, but did not give more details.

He had been due to give a presentation into medical device vulnerabilities at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas taking place next week.

He had said one technique could kill a man from 30 feet (nine metres) away.

IOActive, the security firm at which Mr Jack was director of embedded devices, said it was preparing a statement.

In a tweet, the company said: "Lost but never forgotten our beloved pirate, Barnaby Jack has passed."

His sister Amberleigh Jack, who lives in New Zealand, told Reuters news agency he was 35.

Mr Jack became one of the most famous hackers on the planet after a 2010 demonstration in which he hacked a cashpoint, making it give out money. The technique was dubbed "Jackpotting".
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Crusader

Religion to disappear by 2041 claims new study

Rebecca Savastio
Guardian Express
Tue, 23 Jul 2013 13:42 UTC
Religions To Disappear
© Guardian Express
Author and noted biopsychologist Nigel Barber has completed a new study that shows Atheism is most prevalent in developed countries, and, according to his projections, religion will completely disappear by 2041. His findings are discussed in his new book Why Atheism Will Replace Religion. A new study that clarifies his earlier research will be published in August. His findings focus on studying trends within countries around the world and the fact that "Atheists are heavily concentrated in economically developed countries"-
In my new study of 137 countries (1), I also found that atheism increases for countries with a well-developed welfare state (as indexed by high taxation rates). Moreover, countries with a more equal distribution of income had more atheists. My study improved on earlier research by taking account of whether a country is mostly Moslem (where atheism is criminalized) or formerly Communist (where religion was suppressed) and accounted for three-quarters of country differences in atheism.
His main thesis stems from the phenomenon of religion declining as personal wealth increases. He cites the reason as people having less of a need for supernatural beliefs when the tangible, natural world is providing for their needs. He says the majority of the world will come to view religion as completely irrelevant by 2041.
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Eye 1

Over 100 killed and 1,000 injured in Egyptian clashes as deposed Morsi formally accused of murder and conspiracy with Hamas

Rosie Taylor and Anthony Bond
The Daily Mail, UK
Sat, 27 Jul 2013 13:20 UTC
Hundreds of thousands turned out across Egypt for pro-army demonstrations but clashed with counter protests

At least 70 people have died in clashes as supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi also lined the streets

Morsi has been formally accused of conspiring with Palestinian group Hamas and of murdering prison officers

More than 100 people are believed to have been killed at a protest in support of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi.

Security forces are reported to have started shooting demonstrators shortly before pre-dawn morning prayers at a round-the-clock vigil in Cairo being staged by backers of Morsi, who was removed from power by the army three weeks ago.

Makeshift field hospitals around the area near the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque were overwhelmed, with one doctor telling the BBC that more than 1,000 had been injured.

The state health ministry said 20 people had died and 177 suffered injuries.

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Followers: This image released by the Egyptian army of Friday evening's pro-army rally shows the strength of support for the security forces and against the ousted president Morsi
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Red Flag

'I'm sick of all this s**t': Middle-aged man in despair about bedroom tax, cuts his own throat in UK benefits advice office

Anna Edwards
The Daily Mail, UK
Sat, 27 Jul 2013 12:50 UTC
Dragged a blade from his ear down to his throat on each side of his neck

Gory outburst happened at Halton Direct Link in Halton Lea shopping centre

Cheshire police officers have spoken to the man about his well-being

Middle-aged man suffered minor injuries in gory outburst

A man cut his throat with a knife in a benefits advice office in a protest about the controversial bedroom tax.

The middle-aged man said he was 'sick of all this s***' then dragged a blade through skin from his ear down to his throat on each side of his neck.

The wounds left him and the floor of the Runcorn office spattered with blood, a witness said.
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The bedroom tax was widely protested across the country - and was apparently too much for one man who slit his throat in protest about it
The gory outburst happened at about 2pm on Monday, at Halton Direct Link in Halton Lea shopping centre.

Staff hit an emergency alarm during the incident.
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Pistol

Gunman kills six hostages before police fire fatal shot in south Florida shoot-out

Heather Saul
The Independent, UK
Sat, 27 Jul 2013 12:20 UTC
Neighbours say the gunman lived in the apartment building

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Six hostages lost their lives in a South Florida apartment during a stand off between a gunman and a police commando team in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The gunman was shot dead by police after refusing to co-operate.

Sgt. Eddie Rodriguez said police received a call at approximately 6.30pm on Friday evening over reports that shots had been fired in a five story apartment building complex in Hialeah, a suburb north of Miami.

Sgt. Rodriguez said upon arrival police discovered a gunman moving from floor to floor inside the building, before finally barricading himself in an apartment, holding two people hostage.

A crisis team was able to briefly establish communication with the man, whose identity is currently unknown. Sgt. Rodriguez said negotiators and a special weapons team attempted to communicate with him from the other side of the door of the apartment unit. However, talks "fell apart" and officers were forced to storm the building, fatally shooting the gunman after he engaged in gunfire. Both hostages survived.

There was no information available yet as to how long negotiations lasted.
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Arrow Down

Cop who pepper-sprayed students at occupy protest wants worker's compensation for 'psychiatric injury'


Associated Press
Fri, 26 Jul 2013 09:14 UTC
Davis Police
© AP/Wayne Tilcock/The EnterpriseIn this Friday, Nov. 18, 2011, photo University of California, Davis Police Lt. John Pike uses pepper spray to move Occupy UC Davis protesters while blocking their exit from the school's quad Friday in Davis, Calif. Two University of California, Davis police officers involved in pepper spraying seated protesters were placed on administrative leave Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011, as the chancellor of the school accelerates the investigation into the incident.
Davis, California - The former police officer who pepper-sprayed students during an Occupy protest at the University of California, Davis is appealing for worker's compensation, claiming he suffered psychiatric injury from the 2011 confrontation.

John Pike has a settlement conference set for Aug. 13 in Sacramento, according to the state Department of Industrial Relations' website.

Pike was fired in July 2012, eight months after a task force investigation found that his action was unwarranted.
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