Society's Child

Jacline Mouraud, self-appointed spokeswoman of Yellow Vests, seeks to create political party of 'common sense'

RT
Wed, 09 Jan 2019 17:18 UTC

Jacline Mouraud, once the self-appointed spokeswoman of the Yellow Vests, has announced the creation of a new party. The emerging political force is described as a "party of common sense," pursuing social and tax reforms.

Mouraud greatly contributed to stirring up the Yellow Vests protests and has become a highly recognizable figure after posting a video against fuel tax hikes which has been viewed several million times since October.

However, she does not seem to crave political leadership, and it remains unclear who will actually head the party. "I require no title, I'm trying to create a party, and that's good. Further, as in any party, there will be a vote. Would it be me [elected the head of the party] or not, I don't care, this is not important," she said on Monday, as quoted by French media.

"The main thing is to create it, to unite people against violence and to ensure respect for our institutions."

About time! Incompetent Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel to be suspended over Parkland shooting response

Julie K. Brown
Miami Herald
Wed, 09 Jan 2019 00:58 UTC

It appears that Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel is preparing to pack it in, for now.

The two-term sheriff, the object of fierce criticism over BSO's handling of the Parkland massacre, told his top commanders that he will be removed from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis, sources told the Miami Herald.

DeSantis, who was sworn in Tuesday morning, had not made a formal announcement of a possible suspension. Israel's discussions with staff about his ouster were first reported by Miami New Times.

Stuart N. Kaplan, one of Israel's lawyers, said Israel was working at his office at the public safety building in Fort Lauderdale.

"The governor has not said anything to us, directly or indirectly, as to whether or not the sheriff is going to be suspended,'' Kaplan said. "He is working and continues to serve the citizens of Broward County.''

But Jeff Bell, BSO's union chief, said Israel told his staff on Monday that his ouster was inevitable.

Comment: Sheriff Israel's lengthy list of misdeeds and general incompetence should have seen him deposed years ago, but apparently it took a widely reported scandal to shake the complacency of the governor.

Student behind leak of German politicians' data - not foreign state

RT
Wed, 09 Jan 2019 11:38 UTC

German investigators arrested a student they say is behind the massive leak of domestic politicians' personal data. He's not a Russian hacker, just a disgruntled 20-year-old from Hesse, despite media expectations to the contrary.

In December, two now-blocked Twitter accounts were used to publish links to caches of personal data of German politicians in the style of an advent calendar. Almost 1,000 public figures were targeted, including Chancellor Angela Merkel. The leaks however remained unnoticed until January, when they were reported by major media outlets.

While some speculated that the security breach may have been the latest 'Russian hybrid attack on Western democracies', the reality seems to be much simpler.

On Tuesday, Germany's Federal Crime Office (BKA) updated the public on the investigation, which was launched on Friday and produced an alleged perpetrator on Sunday.

Comment: By concocting stories about 'Russian involvement' Western leaders are actively ignoring the very real problems being expressed by their citizens and this will come back to bite them:

3rd cat in 6 mos. infected with bubonic plague in Wyoming

Elisha Fieldstadt
NBC News
Tue, 08 Jan 2019 01:27 UTC

The health department recommended people avoid areas with rodents and use repellant when in areas with fleas.

A cat in Wyoming with plague is the third feline in the state in six months to contract the disease, according to health officials.

A Johnson County cat, known to wander outside near its home in Kaycee, was infected with bubonic plague, according to lab results from the University of Wyoming. The other two infected cats were in Sheridan and Campbell counties.

The cat recovered, according to a spokeswoman for the Wyoming Department of Health.

Apple hikes salary of CEO Tim Cook for second year despite forecasted revenue decline

Business Today
Wed, 09 Jan 2019 16:08 UTC

Cook took home $3 million as base salary and $12 million as bonus. Apple paid $680,000 as "other compensation" to Cook, which includes private air travel expenses and security costs.

Cook took home $3 million as base salary and $12 million as bonus. Apple paid $680,000 as "other compensation" to Cook, which includes private air travel expenses and security costs.

Apple Inc hiked the salary of its chief executive Tim Cook by 22 per cent during the past year, resulting in his remuneration for 2018 reaching almost $15.7 million, a filing submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission showed.

According to the document, Cook took home $3 million as base salary and $12 million as bonus. Apple paid $680,000 as "other compensation" to Cook, which includes private air travel expenses and security costs.

This was the second year in a row that Cook saw a hefty rise in his pay cheque. The 58-year old received Rs 12.8 million as his annual compensation as the Apple CEO, whereas he was paid $8.7 million in 2016.

"The Compensation Committee determined that no downward adjustments to the payouts would be made based on Apple's 2018 performance and the individual contributions of our named executive officers and approved the maximum total payout at 400 percent of annual base salary," the Apple filing said.

Comment: RT adds that Cook makes nearly 300 times that of the average Apple employee and his stated salary does not even include other hefty stock incentives:

The proceeds do not include hefty stock incentives that the Cupertino-based company provides to its chief executive as part of a 2011 grant. In August, the CEO cashed in $121 million of vested stock. Cook still owns more than 1.5 million Apple shares worth about $189 million at the current share price.

The technology giant also revealed that the annual total compensation of a "median compensated employee" comprised $55,426. That means that of Apple's 132,000 employees, half make less than that, and half make more. According to the document, Cook's compensation without his restricted stock is 283 times the company's median worker earns.

Apple is one of the countries noted for having annual revenues that dwarf that of many countries, yet has been accused of mistreating and underpaying their employees, hiding money offshore, and not paying taxes.

See also:

Arizona woman in vegetative state for over a decade gives birth at nursing facility, prompts sex abuse investigation - UPDATES

WNEP
Fri, 04 Jan 2019 04:54 UTC

Phoenix police are investigating possible sex abuse at a nursing facility after a female patient recently became pregnant and gave birth, KPHO reports.

Sources tell KPHO that the alleged victim has been a patient at the Hacienda HealthCare facility for at least a decade after a near-drowning incident left her in a vegetative state. That woman gave birth to a baby boy on Dec. 29.

"None of the staff were aware that she was pregnant until she was pretty much giving birth," a source familiar with the situation said.

"How were they alerted to the fact that she was going into labor?" asked reporter Briana Whitney.

"From what I've been told she was moaning. And they didn't know what was wrong with her," the source said.

Comment: Comment:

UPDATE: JAN 8: RT reports that the CEO who had been running the facility for 28 years has now resigned. Police are continuing a criminal investigation but have shared few details although local media have reported that subpoenas for DNA samples may be forthcoming. No arrests have been made and it remains unclear if suspects have been identified. The care center received a "below average" rating from health inspectors in 2017 but holds a "much below average" rating on the Medicare website.

UPDATE 2: The victim's Apache tribe leaders made a statement and Phoenix police have issued DNA warrants for all male employees at the facility:

The San Carlos Apache Tribe also released a statement on Tuesday upon learning the woman's identity. "It is my hope that justice will be served," said tribal chairman Terry Rambler, expressing his trust in the police investigation.

The cops compelled DNA samples only after the facility discovered it could not legally force its employees to undergo DNA testing or voluntarily conduct the testing itself under federal law.

Major US telecoms are selling cellphone data that can track users in real time

RT
Wed, 09 Jan 2019 15:36 UTC

American telecommunications giants are selling access to their customers' location data, leaving them exposed to being tracked by bounty hunters and others, a disturbing report by Motherboard has revealed.

T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T are reportedly among the companies whose data is being used to track phone locations, leaving mobile network users exposed without their knowledge.

US telecommunication companies sell user data to aggregator companies who then sell this information in turn to their own customers. The data can then be re-sold on the black market, where it could fall into the hands of criminals, stalkers and others.

Motherboard reporter Joseph Cox paid a bounty hunter to geolocate a target's T-Mobile phone in his investigation into the location tracking practice. The bounty hunter's contact was able to track the phone to the correct Queens neighborhood within a few hundred meters of its location. This was done without any hacking or previous knowledge of the owner's location.

Comment: See also:

Former UK football coach accused of child sexual abuse dies in car crash on the way to court

Steven Morris
The Guardian
Tue, 08 Jan 2019 15:27 UTC

A youth football coach and scout credited with launching the careers of a string of star players has died in a car crash on the day his trial for sexual offences against 11 boys was due to start.

Kit Carson, 75, is believed to have been on his way to Peterborough crown court when his car left the road and smashed into a tree. His body was identified by his wife, Pauline.

Police are examining the circumstances of the crash, which took place on a straight stretch of road about six miles from Carson's home in Cambridge. His trial, which could have lasted up to eight weeks, has been formally discontinued.

Detectives had been investigating Carson, who worked with boys at Peterborough United, Norwich City and Cambridge United, since the Guardian broke the football child abuse scandal broke in late 2016.

Comment: Did he crash into the tree on purpose? Either way, good riddance.

Norwegian billionaire Tom Hagen's wife being held for ransom

CBS News
Wed, 09 Jan 2019 15:25 UTC

© NTB SCANPIX/REUTERS
An undated police handout shows Norwegian Anne-Elisabeth Falkevik Hagen, who is the wife of real estate investor Tom Hagen, and has been kidnapped according to police in Norway.

Norway's police said Wednesday the missing wife of one of Norway's richest men has been abducted, and that her suspected kidnappers have demanded a ransom.

Chief investigator Tommy Broeske said 68-year-old Anne-Elisabeth Falkevik Hagen has been missing since Oct. 31. Her husband Tom Hagen -- a real estate investor and owner of power facilities -- is number 172 on a list of the country's 400 most wealthy people published by Norway's financial magazine Kapital. His fortune in 2018 amounted to nearly 1.7 billion kroner ($2 billion), according to Norwegian news agency NTB.

Police said a note found in the couple's house, east of Oslo, described what would happen to her if the demanded ransom wasn't paid in the cryptocurrency Monero.

Police did not give a figure for the ransom amount, but Norway's VG newspaper reported it was 9 million euros ($10.3 million.)

R. Kelly is under criminal investigation in Georgia, 'direct result' of #SurvivingRKelly Lifetime docu-series

Xeni Jardin
Boing Boing
Tue, 08 Jan 2019 14:59 UTC

Today is R. Kelly's birthday. Today, news is breaking that the singer is under investigation in Georgia.

R. Kelly has been accused of abuse, predatory behavior, and pedophilia for decades. A new investigation has launched into charges he committed crimes against girls in Fulton County. Dream Hampton, executive producer of 'Surviving R. Kelly,' said it best.

Happy Birthday @rkelly https://t.co/vJsPMKYMF9

- dream hampton (@dreamhampton) January 8, 2019

Great interview with Professor Petrovsky, a very brave soul ! He is clear and concise from a Vaccine researcher /producer point of view and calls...

Gator

There's no mileage in anything the Smith's have to say, their well versed in interfering with things. So we can all sleep safely in our bed...

Winternights3

Seriously, lets break down these words, and I am fully equipped for this task that I give to myself NOW. gives OSHA the authority to act quickly...

Buffalo_Ken

Forensic pathologists performed a postmortem and concluded that the man had probably died mid-flight Let me see ... he walked onto the plane,...

HashAttack2

This ain't no fucking real emergency. It is an effing emergency in the mind of a few....who thought they were gonna put the rest of us into...

Buffalo_Ken

Society's Child

Jacline Mouraud, self-appointed spokeswoman of Yellow Vests, seeks to create political party of 'common sense'

About time! Incompetent Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel to be suspended over Parkland shooting response

Student behind leak of German politicians' data - not foreign state

3rd cat in 6 mos. infected with bubonic plague in Wyoming

Apple hikes salary of CEO Tim Cook for second year despite forecasted revenue decline

Arizona woman in vegetative state for over a decade gives birth at nursing facility, prompts sex abuse investigation - UPDATES

Major US telecoms are selling cellphone data that can track users in real time

Former UK football coach accused of child sexual abuse dies in car crash on the way to court

Norwegian billionaire Tom Hagen's wife being held for ransom

R. Kelly is under criminal investigation in Georgia, 'direct result' of #SurvivingRKelly Lifetime docu-series

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