Society's ChildS

Cell Phone

Don't have a cell phone? - You will be locked out of Social Security

Mobile Phone
© YouTube
For some senior citizens, their lack of texting skills are locking them out their Social Security accounts online because of a new security measure added this week.

A new security measure was added this week that requires users to enter a code along with their username and password before they can access their account. But the new measure has some senior citizens up in arms, says Fox News.

Some people may be familiar with the practice. When you enter your username and password, a text message and a code are sent to your cell phone. You then enter the code in order to access your account. Social Security requires a new code is each time you access your account because the code is only good for 10 minutes.

On its website, Social Security explains that the added security measure was added to comply with an executive order requiring federal agencies to beef up their online security measures. This particular security measure is used by most financial institutions with online account activity.

Arrow Up

Waking up? Majority of young Americans feel marginalized by both Republican and Democratic parties

american youth protest
© Adrees Latif / Reuters
Despite the millions of dollars spent on primaries, national conventions, and hours of television coverage, the majority of young Americans are disenfranchised by both the Republicans and Democrats, according to a new poll.

Across racial and ethnic groups just 28 percent of young adults said the two major parties do a good job of representing them, according to a new GenForward poll.

While 72 percent of young Americans felt disenfranchised by the two-party system, the Democratic Party still had an advantage in appealing to young people of color. Large majorities of black voters, 66 percent; Asians, 65 percent; and Latinos, 58 percent, believe the Democratic Party care about people like them.

On the other side of the aisle, a majority, especially among young people of color, thinks the Republican Party is too extreme.

Fire

Rio's way: Burn, Brazilian flame, burn

olympic torches
© Getty Images/ MARCOS DE PAULA
If you plunge into the Rio way of doing things, you expect all sorts of mini-miracles popping up amid an array of immense distress and inescapable woes. Rio has always been the epitome of a gorgeous, glorious mess under a spectacular geological setting, beset by all manner of man-made ills caused by absolutely repellent, arrogant/ignorant elites. The inescapable native motto still applies: "Brazil is not for beginners." Rio, especially, is absolutely off-limits for beginners.

And that brings us, right from the start, to the overwhelming, predictably stupid gringo pre-Olympic Rio prognosis. The whole sorry spectacle has ranged from the plain stupid to the excruciatingly stupid, coming from pathetic, clueless gringos who know less than zero about Brazilian culture, extremely complex social nuances, geoeconomic issues, or the nation's unmatched sense of humor for that matter. But at least there are a few are not that clueless.

Rose

Ohio grandma 'definitely a hero' after she dies protecting her grandkids from pedophile

ohio grandma
© gofundme.com
A Columbus, Ohio, grandmother stabbed trying to protect her grandchildren from a convicted pedophile, died five weeks later from her injuries.

Columbus police said Candy Arthurs confronted the convict after he had lured several children into an alley under the pretext of looking for his missing drone in late June.

When Arthurs confronted Kristopher Amos he pulled out a knife and stabbed her in the chest as well as stabbing her seven-year-old grandson in the shoulder, according to police.

Airplane

4 freed American hostages' plane "not allowed to leave" until Obama's $400M cash payment plane landed in Iran - or so the story goes

4 US freed prisoners
© AP/Robin WrightL to R: Matt Trevithick, Amir Hekmati, Jason Rezaian, Saeed Abedini
Timing is everything, and the timing of events in the Iran $400 million payment do not add up. The most troubling aspect of the $400 million cash payment to Iran, is not the fact that the payment was made in cash. This can surely be explained by the US's lack of a banking relationship with the heavily sanctioned Iran.

Nor was it the fact that the payment was not reported to the US public. The White House can say it had no reason to report, what it claims was a small part of a larger (Iran-Nuclear weapons) settlement deal...that had already been made public months ago. What snags Obama, in what the president himself claims is "spy novel" stuff, comes down to simple timing and sequence of events.


Comment: Someone is off the runway with this story that made headlines in whacko news. Wait for the plane to land? Big deal. Paid in cash? So what. The money was the first installment of a $1.7B settlement from the Hague Court regarding an abandoned arms deal from 1970s, announced in January. It was not payment for four whimpy, whiney hostages. The agreement stipulated that the U.S. would pay back the principal $400 million plus $1.3 billion in interest. It had nothing to do with hostages. They were released. Not grateful?


Footprints

More than 100 migrants clash with police, storm Italy-France border

clash migrants police
© www.rt.com
A crowd of migrants took Italian and French police "by surprise" after rushing to cross the border near Ventimiglia. Some 100 people managed to make their way across the rocky shore, according to authorities, who used pepper spray to contain the breach.

On Friday a group of some 150 migrants on the Italian side launched a protest against the closure of the border, as others desperately tried to make it across into France. On the other side, in the French town of Menton, gendarmerie tried to chase back or block those who made it across. Police confronted the crowd using pepper-spray.

Migrants, mostly Sudanese, Eritreans and Ethiopians, arrived from Sicily to Ventimiglia with the hope of continuing their journey to France and northern Europe. However, they were blocked at the border between Italy and France, in Ventimiglia, the last train station before the Italian-French border.

Stuck in limbo, with no access to any type of services or any proper reception centers, the families, including pregnant women and children, were forced to sleep outside at a 'No Border' makeshift camp on the rocks near Ventimiglia.


Comment: Break it; own it; fix it. Migrants and refugees without housing and some semblance of stability will gravitate to whatever, whomever, wherever can provide this.


Padlock

Cover up: Ex-LA County sheriff indicted for conspiracy, obstruction of justice, lying to FBI

Lee Baca
© Jason Redmond / Reuters
A federal grand jury has indicted former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca for conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI, in order to cover up civil rights abuses inside his jails. Lee Baca is now officially facing a three-count indictment related to an FBI investigation into Los Angeles County jails.

Although Baca tried to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence that carried a maximum of six months, a judge rejected it for being "too lenient." If Baca is found guilty of his current charges, he will face 20 years in federal prison. For the 74-year-old in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, that would most certainly amount to a life sentence.

Nathan Hochman, Baca's attorney, said in a statement to KABC, "These new charges represent punishment by this United States Attorney's office for our client's decision to seek a trial. The United States Attorney's Office has already admitted in court the weakness of its obstruction case against Lee Baca. This trial will be vastly different than the others. We look forward to this process and believe that Mr. Baca will be vindicated after all of the evidence is finally presented."

Baca will be arraigned at a later date. He is not the only one being punished for corruption in LA County jails. At least 20 other current or former sheriff's department employees are facing charges or have been convicted for their involvement in attempts to cover up corruption.


Comment: Since the FBI investigation began in 2010, 21 members of the sheriff's department have been convicted of federal crimes, including abuse of inmates, obstructing justice, bribery, and conspiracy.


Comment: There is no doubt this kind of abuse of privilege occurs in US jails and that those in charge assume they are exempt. Within law enforcement facilities, corruption takes place on both sides of the fence. For equable consequences of action, justice needs to remain blind.


Magnify

Popular North Jersey trail booby-trapped with nail boards and barbed wire

Board screws
© www.longroom.comUnsuspected buried hazards, serious risks to hikers and bikers.
Someone has been placing booby traps on a popular North Jersey mountain trail, Wayne police said Thursday. A frequent visitor to High Mountain Park told police he's found hidden wooden boards with screws or nails sticking out, broken bottles and barbed wire strung across paths over the past several weeks, Capt. Laurence Martin said.

"This is the first report of this type of incident that has been brought to our attention," Martin said. "The Wayne Police Detective Bureau is actively investigating this and is currently focusing on the area that the resident has encountered problems." The park is shared among Wayne, North Haledon and Franklin Lakes. William Paterson University police have parking lots in their jurisdiction, as well.

"These events pose a serious risk to hikers and mountain bikers who use the High Mountain Park for recreation. We are asking the public's assistance to be mindful of these style of booby-trap hazards...some placed just under the road surface, to injure persons on foot or disable bicycle tires," the captain said.

"The barbed wire and rope that was strung across the path ways raises the threat to serious injury or death," he added. Martin asked that anyone with who sees something suspicious at the park or has information that could help the investigation to call local police.

Comment: Prank? Sadistic or deranged personality? Societal disintegration? Who does this and what is the reward or benefit derived from this unthinkable action?


Heart - Black

Terrorists capture and execute three civilians attempting to leave Allepo via humanitarian corridor

sniper
© Hosam Katan / Reuters
Three civilians who tried to flee a rebel-controlled area of Aleppo via a humanitarian corridor were captured and executed, the Russian Ministry of Defense said, adding that Al-Nusra and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorists in the area are trying to break free of the army's siege.

Moscow and Damascus launched a large-scale humanitarian operation in Aleppo last week, opening three escape routes for civilians and one for militants wishing to lay down arms. On Friday, the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria reported that militants captured at least three civilians as they tried entering the government-controlled territory from the rebel-held area.

Handcuffs

Armed squatter holding two hostages arrested near Newark Airport

hostage situation Newark
© Mike Blake / Reuters
Police have rescued two people from a hostage situation in New Jersey, at a warehouse near the Newark International Airport.

SWAT teams surrounded the building at 451 Frelinghuysen Avenue on Friday afternoon. It is listed as an address of several manufacturing and shipping companies, and is about a block away from the Newark-Liberty International Airport transit station.

Police was called in around 1 pm local time, after reports of a "person with a gun" inside the building.

Two people were evacuated from the roof by police, WABC reported, noting that they were the new owners of the building who were apparently confronted by a squatter armed with a shotgun.