Society's Child
At around 1:45 p.m., a 20 foot by 30 foot banner, featuring a photo of Putin with Russian and Syrian flags as the background was hung over the Brooklyn side of the bridge. Over an hour later, at around 3 p.m., the banner was removed by city officials, but not before plenty of onlookers grabbed photos to post on social media.
Abu Sin's vibrant personality compensated for a lack of verbal interaction, and the two seemed to be on the same charming wavelength. The language barrier that pushed them to find alternative ways of communication only added to the fun, and goofy videos of their "conversations" went viral as soon as they were uploaded on YouTube. The couple immediately gained thousands of followers, but Abu Sin's fame came back to bite him. As he became popular, Saudi police claimed to receive complaints from vigilant citizens in the kingdom who, apparently, have nothing better to do than watch Americans and Saudis talk on YouTube. On Sunday, the teen was taken into custody in Riyadh. His arrest was recorded on camera.
Comment: An example of the unfortunate byproduct of living under such regimes as in Saudi Arabia where the consequences outweigh the "crime" and religious precepts are intertwined with civil societal control to the point of indistinguishable infraction.
The blast took place in Istanbul's Yenibosna neighborhood in the Turkish capital's European part. The explosion is said to have been so strong that it was heard at Ataturk airport, some five kilometers away, media reported, citing witnesses. Bomb disposal squads and emergency crews were dispatched to the scene.
The area was immediately cordoned off by police to prevent the possibility of another explosion, Turkish Milliyet reported. The explosive device was reportedly detonated via remote control. After examining a CCTV camera, police have identified a suspect, who fled the site immediately after the attack.
The blast damaged several vehicles and also shattered glass in the buildings nearby, images from the scene showed. The police station in question is in the Yenibosna, or "New Bosnia" neighborhood, just east of Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport.
Comment:

Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter speaks with Regional East deputy commander Brigadier General Ron Lewis.
Now it appears that such charges extend all the way up the chain of command to almost the very top: Major General Ron Lewis, the former senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Ash Carter. Lewis was fired from his post in November after the DOD announced he was under investigation for undefined "misconduct allegations." He was transferred to serve as a special assistant to Lieutenant General James McConville, the Army's deputy chief of staff for personnel matters, and demoted in rank to a two-star general.
We have now learned what that misconduct was: Accusations that Lewis "misused his government travel charge card for personal expenses; made false official statements regarding his government travel card misuse; and engaged in other inappropriate behavior," Kathie Scarrah, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon's Office of the Inspector General (IG),told AP.
Comment: US tax dollars at work (and play). Outrageous.
Two cops lose their jobs after being caught making racial slurs and plotting to target black drivers
One Georgia sheriff's deputy has now been fired and a second resigned abruptly after an investigation disclosed a bevy of racist and sexist posts to social media and an apparent pattern of targeting African Americans for traffic stops.
McIntosh County Sheriff's Department deputies Brant Gaither and Jeremy Owens patrolled Interstate 95 between Savannah and Brunswick as part of a special traffic unit, reported the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
A supervisor stumbled onto the two cops' Facebook Messenger exchanges, initiated an internal investigation, and terminated Gaither on July 25. Owens — responsible for the quote at the beginning of this article — resigned the following day.
Racial slurs peppered their messages, as did overtly racist stereotypes and denigrating comments about women, the Journal-Constitution found. In one example, renowned civil rights and peace activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic "I Have a Dream" speech became the subject of abject mockery.
"I have a dream," Gaither wrote. "That one day my people will not act like animals."
Owens replied, "Lol. That'll never happen."
Other exchanges included quips about domestic violence and something unspecified concerning a black pregnancy test and fried chicken.
Residents reported hearing a "boom" sound and came outside to see the Wayne Avenue duplex collapsing and debris strewn in the street.
Two people were taken to a local hospital from the scene of the 3:20 p.m. explosion, on a side street between Calhoun Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
One other person was near the explosion, but not injured, officials said. City firefighters first on scene did not enter the structure, waiting for all the utilities to be shut off. Shortly before 4 p.m., the strong smell of natural gas permeated the block in North Trenton.
A PSE&G spokeswoman said utility crews shut off the gas to the two homes, and the cause of the incident was under investigation.
"2 dudes just hung a giant Vladimir Putin 'Peacemaker' flag of the manhattan bridge," Twitter user @FAMOUSCLASS tweeted.
The DOJ will focus on claims of physical and sexual violence by inmates on each other and accusations of excessive force and sexual abuse by prison guards and other staff members. On top of that, the agency will look into whether the prisons are sanitary, secure and safe, the Justice Department said in a statement.
"Our obligation is to protect the civil rights of all citizens, including those who are incarcerated," said US Attorney Joyce White Vance of the Northern District of Alabama. "This investigation provides us with an opportunity to work collaboratively with the state of Alabama to assess current conditions and ensure constitutionally sufficient conditions exist for all prisoners."
The DOJ Civil Rights Division's Special Litigation Section and the three US Attorney's Offices in Alabama will conduct the investigation.
Sabbie was violently subdued and repeatedly pepper sprayed by guards at the Bi State Prison on the borders of Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana.
As the assault on this father began, five officers swarmed Sabbie and piled on top of him as he shouted, "I can't breathe." Then, a sixth guard, equipped with a body camera, joined the group and began spraying Sabbie in the face while accusing him of resisting.
"Get your hands behind your back or you'll get it again!" the guard yelled.
"I can't breathe, sir," Sabbie said, as officers propped him up against the wall outside of the nurse's office. "Please, please. I got pneumonia."
The nurse examined him and then released him, noting that his symptoms were normal for someone who'd just been pepper sprayed. However, Sabbie had those symptoms before he was sprayed. "Please, please," Sabbie begged for water, but was denied. He was then brought to the shower to wash off the spray and thrown in his cell.
Comment: Arson? What about attempted murder!
Kayden Culp is seriously ill after he was allegedly intentionally set on fire when playing in a field on Sunday. The boy was reportedly doused in gasoline by one boy and set on fire by another.
He remained in an induced coma at San Antonio University Hospital Wednesday where he's receiving treatment for severe burns which cover more than 20 percent of his body "from his ears to his bellybutton", San Antonio Express News reports.
Culp exhibits autistic behavior, although he has never been formally diagnosed, and was often picked on by kids for a speech disorder linked to hearing impairment, according to relatives.
"This was no accident!" wrote the boy's mother Tristyn Hatchett on her Facebook page Tuesday. "The other boys who were there have been telling kids at school that it was not an accident, that it was intentional," said Hatchett to the San Antonio Express.















Comment: Good to see that at least some people are aware and awake!