Society's ChildS


Wolf

Boat Owners Call BP's Cleanup Program a Corrupt Conspiracy

Sabrina Canfield
Courthouse News Service
Wed, 10 Aug 2011 08:48 UTC
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Mobile, Alabama - Nearly 100 Gulf Coast boat owners who let BP hire their ships for its "Vessels of Opportunity" oil spill cleanup say BP's program was a corrupt conspiracy that left "thousands of participants ... holding the bag for millions of dollars of unpaid services, equipment, materials, repairs and decontaminations" - and that BP intended it that way.

The 94 individual plaintiffs say BP touted its Vessels of Opportunity (VoO) program for public relations purposes, but the program "was marred by mismanagement, corruption and broken promises," and that BP and its co-conspirators "intended to underpay VoO participants."

Lead plaintiff Clyde Crawford says BP promised the plaintiffs $1,200 to $3,000 a day to use their boats during the cleanup.
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Stop

US, Texas: Traffic Flowing Again on I-45 after Bizarre Wreck


ABC KTRK-TV News
Wed, 10 Aug 2011 00:00 UTC

There was a big mess on the North Freeway outbound yesterday that had all lanes blocked until early this morning.

At around 5:30pm, a big rig trailer struck an overhead sign. The driver of the rig said he didn't realize there was a problem until he got stuck. The cab of the rig separated from trailer, and that trailer was leaning up against the freeway sign.

Officials shut down the freeway while they worked to clear the mess. All entrance ramps on 45 from the North Loop to Airline were also shut down.

Crews removed the trailer from the steel grid around 9:15pm, but the freeay remained closed until around 12:45am when they were able to completely remove the overhead sign.
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© ABC NewsThe accident happened on the northbound side of the North Freeway at around 5:30pm on Tuesday
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Wolf

Australia: Birds Die in Bizarre Cruelty Act

Lee Gailer
The Gympie Times
Wed, 10 Aug 2011 00:00 UTC
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© Renee PilcherJim O’Pray in his empty bird aviary after dogs were locked in the cage.
A reward of $250 has been offered to any person who can shed some light on a "bizarre" act of animal cruelty.

Pie Creek resident Jim O'Pray made the grim discovery on Tuesday afternoon when he returned home from work to find two dogs in his bird aviary.

Working dogs from a nearby property had been locked in an aviary that caged 36 budgies for breeding. Five budgies are all that's left.

Gympie Regional Council was investigating the "unusual" incident which was expected to be handed over to police if deemed malicious.

Council's compliance officer Ron Potter said the matter was being treated as suspicious because no forced entries were found around the aviary.

"Two medium-sized dogs from a nearby property were locked in the aviary. How they got there is a mystery," he said.
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Pistol

US: Stripper Goes on 'Crime Spree' with Brothers

Jeane MacIntosh
New York Post
Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:48 UTC

A thrill-seeking Florida stripper and her AK-47-toting siblings on a multistate crime spree yesterday ignored their heartsick mother's plea to give themselves up, authorities said.

The mom's appeal came as the FBI launched a nationwide manhunt for alleged "Dougherty Gang" bank robbers Lee Grace Dougherty, a 26-year-old exotic dancer; her brother Ryan Dougherty, 21; and their half-brother, Dylan Dougherty Stanley, 26.

"The only safe thing, the only right thing, the only good thing to do is turn yourselves in," Barbara Bell begged her kids.
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Hardhat

US, Chicago: Repairman Charged With Swallowing Diamond Ring

Lisa Blade
NBC News, Chicago
Tue, 09 Aug 2011 03:49 UTC
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© unknownAn X-ray showing the diamond ring in Wilfredo Gonzalez's stomach.
Wilfredo Gonzalez, 30, of Chicago allegedly downed the ring to try and hide it from the owners of the house he was working on

A home repairman faces felony theft charges and up to three years in prison for swallowing a homeowner's diamond ring while on the job.

Wilfredo Gonzalez-Cruz, 30, of Chicago allegedly downed the ring to try and hide it from the owners of the house he was working on, according to Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez.

Prosecutors say Gonzalez was remodeling a home on Friday in Cicero when he asked to use the bathroom. After, a homeowner noticed her diamond ring was missing. She told her husband, who confronted Gonzalez, who denied taking the ring.
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Cell Phone

US, California: No Facebook for Inmates

Barbara E. Hernandez
NBC News, Bay Area
Tue, 09 Aug 2011 01:58 UTC
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© CDCR
Thousands of inmates in California's state prisons have access to contraband mobile phones and are updating their Facebook accounts, and now the state is asking the social network to close them down.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported that more than 7,284 contraband mobile phones were found in state prisons in the first six months of 2011. In 2006, that number was only 260. Prisoners are apparently using those phones to surf the Web and update Facebook accounts, so now the department is working with Facebook to shut down accounts that have been updated since the prisoner's incarceration.

"Access to social media allows inmates to circumvent our monitoring process and continue to engage in criminal activity," CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate said in a release. "This new cooperation between law enforcement and Facebook will help protect the community and potentially avoid future victims."
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People

US: Nearly 10,000 Attend Transportation Job Fair At Chicago State


CBS News Chicago
Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:27 UTC

With renewed worries about the economy in the wake of the downgrade of the nation's credit rating, nearly 10,000 people showed up for a job fair hosted by Congressman Bobby Rush on Tuesday.

As WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya reports, everyone from the CTA to Southwest Airlines to railroads and the military were on hand at Chicago State University for a transportation job fair.

And, as CBS 2′s Dorothy Tucker reports, as of 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, nearly 10,000 people had turned out.
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Bizarro Earth

UK, London: Forced to strip naked in the street: Shocking scenes as rioters steal clothes and rifle through bags as people make their way home


The Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 10 Aug 2011 07:51 UTC
This picture shows the shocking depths the thugs were prepared to plumb - stealing the clothes from a man's back.

The taller, broader man already holds a pair of white and green trainers and a white T-shirt in his hands. Now, it seems, he wants the trousers too.

The shorter man dutifully removes his jeans, leaving only his dark blue underpants and his white socks.
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© TwitterHumiliation: A young man is forced to strip to his underpants in the street, having apparently already handed his T-shirt and trainers to a looter. There were unconfirmed reports last night of victims being made to strip in Deptford, south London, and in Birmingham
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Stop

Congo: Baby Mountain Gorilla Rescued from Poachers


Our Amazing Planet
Tue, 09 Aug 2011 19:08 UTC
Baby Gorilla_1
© World Wildlife Fund

A young mountain gorilla was rescued from poachers attempting to smuggle the gorilla into Rwanda from the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday night. An investigation is currently underway to identify how and why the gorilla ended up in the hands of poachers.

The female mountain gorilla, estimated to be less than one year old, was found alive and is now in the care of veterinarians and caregivers at a facility in Kinigi, Rwanda, near Volcanoes National Park.

"When we walked into the jail, one of the poachers almost immediately sneezed right on the baby, who was asleep in a tight, tense ball on the bed," Dr. Jan Ramer of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project said.

"She will go through a 30 day quarantine period, and hopefully will return to DR Congo at Virunga National Park's Senkwekwe Center where she can join orphan gorillas Maisha, Kaboko, Ndeze and Ndakasi. We are cautiously optimistic for this little one - she is tense, but accepting of people, and is eating. All good signs for her eventual recovery."
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People

Narcissists Look Like Good Leaders, but They Aren't


ScienceDaily
Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:00 UTC
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© dba-oracle.com
Narcissists rise to the top. That's because other people think their qualities -- confidence, dominance, authority, and self-esteem -- make them good leaders.

Is that true? "Our research shows that the opposite seems to be true," says Barbora Nevicka, a PhD candidate in organizational psychology, describing a new study she undertook with University of Amsterdam colleagues Femke Ten Velden, Annebel De Hoogh, and Annelies Van Vianen. The study found that the narcissists' preoccupation with their own brilliance inhibits a crucial element of successful group decision-making and performance: the free and creative exchange of information and ideas. The findings will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
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