Society's ChildS


Hearts

Utah couple married 63 years dies nine hours apart

Liz Klimas
The Blaze
Tue, 08 Oct 2013 20:58 UTC
Image
© KSL-TV video screenshotJerry and Edith Dunn were married for 63 years and died only nine hours apart from each other last week.
A Utah couple married for 63 years couldn't bear to be apart from each other, according to their children.

So, after Jerry Dunn of Spanish Fork died last week, it was only hours later that his wife, Edith, followed him, KSL-TV reported.

"Mom and dad were just always together," son Donald Dunn told KSL. "He worried about her, she worried about him."

Their devotion to each other was strong enough that Jerry Dunn would get up at 5 a.m. three days a week to take Edith for dialysis treatment. The wife and mother also had dementia and diabetes.

"He had promised her he would take care of her and that he would never put her in a care facility," Deanna Golden said of her father.
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Arrow Down

Mysterious duck decapitations force Irish locals to remove wildfowl

Eoin MacConnell
The Irish Times
Thu, 10 Oct 2013 20:44 UTC
Decapitations
© Irish TimesThe ducks had be introduced to brighten up Edenderry Harbour.
Locals have been forced to remove ducks from a harbour in Co Offaly following a mysterious spate of duck decapitations in recent days.

Members of Edenderry's tidy towns committee were horrified to discover the heads of mallard and donated farmyard ducks at the harbour this week.

Independent Cllr Noel Cribbin said the ducks had be introduced to brighten up the area and provide a focal point for young and old to congregate.

According to Cllr Cribbin, who first introduced the ducks with the help of Frank Carroll, 22 of the 40 ducks are gone and a number of heads have been found around the harbour in recent days.

"Since the ducks were introduced to the harbour some years ago they have brought nothing only happiness and contentment from the dozens of kids, parents and grandparents who have come to feed them over the years," Cllr Cribbin remarked.

He is convinced the birds were decapitated with a sharp implement as there was no sign of any animal marks on the heads and the remainder of the ducks were missing. Cllr Cribbin said the animals are very tame, "the farmyard duck cant fly, so he is a sitting duck- literally," he remarked.
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Clock

Spaniards are less productive, constantly tired because Spain is in the wrong time zone

Caitlin Dewey
The Washington Post
Thu, 26 Sep 2013 16:57 UTC
spain time zone
© U.S. NavySpain (in red) runs on Central European time, even though it sits pretty firmly in Western European time (blue).
Everyone in Spain feels jetlagged all the time, even if they haven't been traveling. That is, at least, the finding of a new Spanish parliamentary report on the country's labor conditions, which concludes that Spain is needlessly crippled by its timezone, which keeps it one hour out of step with the countries around it. After 70 years in its current time zone, the report says, Spain should shift an hour back.

Spain sits in the middle of the Western European time zone, to which Portugal, Morocco and the U.K. also belong. But because of a weird twist of history, it actually observes Central European time, running an hour ahead of daylight. That might sound like no big deal to Americans, who switch their clocks twice a year anyway -- but there's a growing body of evidence that it's really hurting the Spanish, contributing to everything from low worker productivity to a persistent gender gap.
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USA

Western U.S. best for business, Tax Foundation says

Reid Wilson
The Washington Post
Thu, 10 Oct 2013 16:54 UTC
State business tax climate index
© taxfoundation.org/maps
For the third year in a row, Wyoming has fostered the nation's best business climate, thanks to low rates on corporate and personal income taxes made possible by a booming oil industry, according to a new report from the Tax Foundation.

In fact, six of the top 10 states with the best business climate are western states, bolstered at least in part by new revenues from energy production that allows them to reduce other types of taxes. In many cases, the top-ranked states omit at least one major stream of revenue altogether, such as an income tax or a sales tax.

"If you can go without one of the major tax categories, not only do you have one less tool to distort the economy, but you're also getting rid of a ton of overhead costs," said Scott Drenkard, a Tax Foundation economist who co-authored the study. "You're also able to get rid of the dead weight cost on the private side, where people are trying to comply with those taxes."
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Green Light

Truckers pull back from threat to create unbearable gridlock

Alexandra Petri
The Washington Post
Tue, 08 Oct 2013 16:28 UTC
Highway
© Dayna Smith for the Washington PostI have no truck with this!
Hey, where's my promised gridlock?

I did not think I would be saying this either, but that was before the Trucker Protest reared its head in the news cycle.

For a while, it seemed as though the Most Exciting Possible News Story was coming on Friday, when, according to disgruntled trucker Earl Conlon, thousands of similarly disgruntled truckers were going to descend on Washington and halt traffic on the Inner Loop of the Beltway, possibly with an eye to making a citizens' arrest of Congress. They had had enough, and they were not going to take it anymore. They were going to turn the highway into a parking lot if their demands were not met.

Since then, Conlon, an author and father of three has pulled back from his statements. Thousands of truckers might still come to DC to circle the Beltway in an ominous and disapproving manner. But Conlon might not be among them. And, although he maintains that a citizens' arrest is still constitutional, it is not exactly in the cards for the weekend's festivities.
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Dollar

Vatican recalls Pope Francis medals after Jesus' name misspelled


CBS News
Thu, 10 Oct 2013 15:34 UTC
Lesus
© CBSNews/Catholic News ServicePhoto of Vatican medal with "Lesus" instead of "Jesus."

Apparently the Vatican wasn't using spell check.

The Holy See has recalled thousands of commemorative papal medals after the word "Jesus" was misspelled as "Lesus."

According to the Vatican Information Service, more than 6,000 medals were produced by the Italian State Mint to commemorate the beginning of Francis' papacy.

The medal features a portrait of Francis on one side and on the other, a Latin phrase that the future pontiff says inspired him as a teenager to pursue the priesthood: "Vidit ergo Jesus publicanum et quia miserando antque eligendo vidit, ait illi sequere me." (Translation: "Jesus, therefore, saw the publican, and because he saw by having mercy and by choosing, He said to him, 'Follow me'").

However, the letter "J" in Jesus was mistakenly replaced with the letter "L."
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Question

Supreme court justice Scalia and Satan: Why do people believe in the Devil?

Benjamin Radford
Discovery News
Wed, 09 Oct 2013 00:00 UTC
satan
© Gerville Hall/Getty Images
In a recent interview in New York magazine, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia acknowledged his belief in Satan.

Scalia said that "I even believe in the Devil.....Of course! Yeah, he's a real person. Hey, c'mon, that's standard Catholic doctrine! Every Catholic believes that.... In the Gospels, the Devil is doing all sorts of things. He's making pigs run off cliffs, he's possessing people and whatnot. And that doesn't happen very much anymore.... What he's doing now is getting people not to believe in him or in God. He's much more successful that way."

Dualistic theology - the idea that the world is divided into two parts, good and evil, and that humans are affected by a constant struggle between the two for domination - is common to many religions, and especially prominent in Roman Catholicism.

Though the Catholic Church has gradually moved away from more traditional and literal interpretations of Hell and Satan, Scalia is not alone; according to a 2007 Baylor Religion Survey, over half of Americans (54 percent) "absolutely believe in Satan."
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Arrow Down

Albino moose killing in Cape Breton outrages Mi'kmaq communities


CBC News, Canada
Mon, 07 Oct 2013 13:05 UTC
Albino Moose
© Hnatluks Hunting Fishing LtdBacklash: The indigenous Mi'kmaq communities in Nova Scotia, Canada, are incensed that hunters shot this moose recently. The hunters originally posted this photo on Facebook. Since the backlash, it has been taken down.
Mi'kmaq communities in Cape Breton are upset after hunters shot a rare albino moose last week. The white moose was killed near Belle Cote, N.S.

"This is what we call a spirit animal," said Clifford Paul, moose management co-ordinator for the Unamaki Institute of Natural Resources.

Mi'kmaq hunter Danny Paul said aboriginal communities have known about the moose for years, but refrained from killing it because white animals are considered sacred.
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Red Flag

NYPD agent arrested for biker beating spied on Occupy activists


RT
Wed, 09 Oct 2013 10:31 UTC
Image
© AFP Photo / Spencer Platt
A NYPD cop arrested in connection with the violent biker brawl last month in Manhattan reportedly worked as an undercover officer and tried to infiltrate the Occupy movement and the activism community that supported Anonymous hacktivist Jeremy Hammond.

Officer Wojciech Braszczok, 32, was arrested this week for his alleged role in the Sept. 29 beating of a sport utility vehicle driver on the West Side of Manhattan. Video of the incident was captured live from the scene showing a parade of bikers assaulting the SUV driver after a minor fender bender between his truck and a motorcycle, and the subsequent media coverage has caused the video to go viral and catapulted the story to becoming one of the most discussed events in recent weeks.

The New York Times confirmed on Tuesday that Braszczok was arrested that evening and charged with rioting and criminal mischief, though more counts could be added in the future. As news reports circulate about his role within the NYPD, however, the officer has been accused by numerous sources as posing as an Occupy Wall Street activist during the course of the anti-capitalist movement that spawned a wave of peaceful protests around the world during the last two years.

According to prosecutors, Braszczok acted anything but peacefully when he allegedly attacked the SUV driver last month while the victim's wife and 2-year-old daughter watched in horror. The Associated Press has since reported that they have received video evidence showing Braszczok punching and kicking the vehicle.
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Light Saber

Anti-drones protesters who broke into RAF base are praised by judge

Richard Norton-Taylor and agencies
The Guardian
Mon, 07 Oct 2013 13:30 UTC
perimeter fence at RAF Waddington, Linconshire
© Matthew Cooper/PA Wire/Press Association Images A perimeter fence at RAF Waddington, Linconshire, where drones are operated.
Judge John Stobart finds six activists guilty of criminal damage with 'heavy heart' and says he would welcome appeal

Six protesters who broke into RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, home of Britain's first unmanned drones base, were described by a judge at their trial on Monday as "dutiful people". He said it was only with a "heavy heart" that he found them guilty of criminal damage to the base.

Judge John Stobart ordered the protesters to pay £10 compensation each to the RAF, £75 in costs and a £15 victim surcharge. He said he would welcome an appeal.

The protesters argued that the use of unmanned drones was a breach of international law and accused the government of war crimes.

Susan Clarkson, Christopher Cole, Henrietta Cullinan, Keith Hebden, Martin Newell and Penelope Walker all denied criminal damage to a fence belonging to the RAF on 3 June. They spent over half an hour walking around the base distributing leaflets and taking photographs as well as planting a peace garden of a fig tree and a vine.

Lincoln magistrates court heard that their action led to the base, home to 13 Squadron, which operates the drones, as well as a squadron of airborne surveillance planes, being placed on lockdown until the situation was resolved.
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