Society's ChildS


Bizarro Earth

World shocked by U.S. execution of Troy Davis

Peter Wilkinson
CNN
Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:11 UTC
People hold placards on Wednesday during a demonstration in Paris against the execution of Troy Davis
© CNNPeople hold placards on Wednesday during a demonstration in Paris against the execution of Troy Davis

London, England -- Troy Davis may be dead, but his execution Thursday in the American state of Georgia has made him the poster boy for the global movement to end the death penalty.

World figures, including Pope Benedict XVI and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, human groups and commentators urged the execution to be halted -- but to no avail. On Wednesday Davis was put to death by lethal injection for the 1989 killing of off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail despite doubts being raised over the conviction.

The execution sparked angry reactions and protests in European capitals -- as well as outrage on social media. "We strongly deplore that the numerous appeals for clemency were not heeded," the French foreign ministry said.

"There are still serious doubts about his guilt," said Germany's junior minister for human rights Markus Loening. "An execution is irreversible -- a judicial error can never be repaired."

The European Union expressed "deep regret" over the execution and repeated its call for a universal moratorium on capital punishment.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the bloc had learnt "with deep regret that Mr Troy Davis was executed," her spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic told Agence-France Presse.
Read More...
Bad Guys

China Bans Ancient Dog-Eating Festival After Online Uproar


CNN
Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:25 UTC
Dogs
© Getty ImagesA Chinese animal lover consoles a dog after a convoy of trucks carrying some 500 dogs to be sold as meat, were stopped along a highway in Beijing on early April 17, 2011, and the dogs were later rescued to the China Animal Protection Association.

China has banned a dog-eating festival that dates back more than 600 years after a Chinese internet uproar over the way dogs are slaughtered, the official Xinhua news agency reports.

Dogs are chopped up and skinned in the streets of Qianxi township in coastal Zhejiang province during the ancient festival, which is usually held in October, state-run Xinhua says.

The festival marks a local military victory during the Ming dynasty, in which dogs in Qianxi were killed so they would not bark and alert the enemy.

After the victory, dog meat was served at a celebratory feast, and since then local people have eaten dog meat at temple fairs held during traditional Chinese holidays.
Read More...
Ambulance

Jamaica: Frightening! Mysterious illness hits Portland school

Gareth Davis Sr
The Gleaner
Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:13 UTC
Portland Illness
© Gareth DavisA student is rushed inside the Buff Bay Health Clinic in Portland to be treated for a mystery illness that affected as many as 50 children at Buff Bay High School in Portland yesterday.
Approximately 50 students from Buff Bay High School in Portland had to seek emergency medical aid yesterday after suffering from a mysterious illness, which last night continued to baffle personnel at the town's health clinic.

Up until late yesterday afternoon, at least 20 of the approximately 50 ill students, many of whom were suffering from fainting spells and showed signs of hysteria, were still being treated at the Buff Bay Health Clinic by a team of Cuban doctors.

"Even now, my granddaughter has not spoken," said Naomi Fagan, grandmother of Samantha Cann, who was among the students rushed to the clinic. "She is unable to walk and had to be assisted by a porter, who whisked her away in a wheelchair. It is total confusion and we haven't been told what caused the dizziness and fainting spells."

The mysterious illness started about lunchtime, and affected mostly students from grade seven who were either having their lunches or were studying at the library.
Read More...
Heart

Legal lynching in Amerika ruled by psychopaths: Troy Davis executed despite innocence

Ed Pilkington
The Guardian
Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:51 UTC
Condemned man proclaimed innocence in last words to victim's family before lethal injection in Georgia prison


Moments before he was put to death, Troy Davis lifted his head from the gurney to which he was strapped and looked the family of Mark MacPhail, the police officer for whose murder he was convicted, directly in the eyes.

"I want to talk to the MacPhail family," he said. "I was not responsible for what happened that night. I did not have a gun. I was not the one who took the life of your father, son, brother."

He then appealed to his own family and friends to "keep the faith", said to the medical personnel who were about to kill him "may God have mercy on your souls", and laid his head down again.

He was administered with a triple lethal injection of pentobarbital, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride, and at 11.08pm he was pronounced dead.
Read More...
Attention

Kids - as young as 8 - cage fighting in UK prompts outcry


MSNBC
Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:11 UTC
A club in England has drawn outrage after profiting from an event in which children as young as eight fought in cages, but the organizers will face no legal action, police said Thursday.

Read More...
Megaphone

Ahmadinejad: Zionist regime is not sacred


Ynet
Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:44 UTC
Ahmadinejad
© EPAWalking out on Ahmadinejad's speech

Iranian president addresses global body's 66th General Assembly, blames 'Zionist regime for inflicting terror on Palestinians, extorting world over Holocaust. Dozens of delegates walk out .

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday. As usual, the head of the Islamic Republic blamed the United States, Israel and the West for provoking wars and "spreading totalitarianism and perpetrating slavery and colonialism."

Ahmadinejad began by saying he "plans to analyze the current (global) situation from a different angle," and quickly blamed the "arrogant powers of the West" for causing worldwide recession and all manners of social inequalities.
Read More...
Heart - Black

US: Gay Buffalo, New York Teen Commits Suicide on Eve of National Bullying Summit

Susan Donaldson James
Abcnews.go.com
Thu, 22 Sep 2011 07:30 UTC

Jamey Rodemeyer sent out many signals on social networking sites that he was struggling with his sexuality, and although he encouraged others on YouTube (shown above) to fight off the bullies, things didn't get better.

The Buffalo, N.Y., boy, 14, killed himself this weekend after posting an online farewell.
Read More...
Hourglass

Georgia, US: Troy Davis Has Been Executed


The Associated Press
Wed, 21 Sep 2011 23:30 UTC
Image
© T&G Staff/Tom Rettig
Behind Worcester City Hall today, a vigil was held for death row inmate Troy Davis. The event was organized by the Worcester branch of the NAACP.
Vigil held at Worchester City Hall

Jackson - Georgia executed Troy Davis on Wednesday night for the murder of an off-duty police officer, a crime he denied committing right to the end as supporters around the world mourned and declared that an innocent man was put to death.

As he lay strapped to a gurney in the death chamber, the 42-year-old told relatives of Mark MacPhail that he was not responsible for his 1989 slaying. "I did not have a gun," he insisted.

"All I can ask ... is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth," he said.

He asked his friends and family to "continue to fight this fight." Of prison officials he said, "may God have mercy on your souls. May God bless your souls."

Davis was declared dead at 11:08 p.m. The lethal injection began about 15 minutes earlier, after the Supreme Court rejected an 11th-hour request for a stay.

"Justice has been served for Officer Mark MacPhail and his family," state Attorney General Sam Olens said in a statement.
Read More...
Heart

"To All" - A message from Troy Anthony Davis

Troy Davis
Soa watch/Facebook
Wed, 21 Sep 2011 08:17 UTC
Troy Davis
© UnknownTroy Davis

To All:

I want to thank all of you for your efforts and dedication to Human Rights and Human Kindness, in the past year I have experienced such emotion, joy, sadness and never ending faith. It is because of all of you that I am alive today, as I look at my sister Martina I am marveled by the love she has for me and of course I worry about her and her health, but as she tells me she is the eldest and she will not back down from this fight to save my life and prove to the world that I am innocent of this terrible crime.

As I look at my mail from across the globe, from places I have never ever dreamed I would know about and people speaking languages and expressing cultures and religions I could only hope to one day see first hand. I am humbled by the emotion that fills my heart with overwhelming, overflowing Joy. I can't even explain the insurgence of emotion I feel when I try to express the strength I draw from you all, it compounds my faith and it shows me yet again that this is not a case about the death penalty, this is not a case about Troy Davis, this is a case about Justice and the Human Spirit to see Justice prevail.
Read More...
Hourglass

US: Troy Davis Execution Delayed

Colleen Curry
ABC News
Wed, 21 Sep 2011 21:22 UTC
Troy Davis' execution was delayed tonight as the Supreme Court weighed arguments by Davis' legal team and the state of Georgia over whether he deserves a stay.

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

At 7:05 p.m., five minutes after his scheduled death, Davis' supporters erupted in cheers, hugs and tears outside the jail in Jackson, Ga., as supporters believed Davis had been saved from the death penalty. But Davis was granted only a temporary reprieve as the Supreme Court considers the decision.

The warrant for Davis' execution is valid until Sept. 28. The Georgia Resource Center, part of Davis' legal defense team, said it was unsure how long the delay would last.

Davis was convicted of the 1989 murder of Savannah, Ga., policeman Mark MacPhail, and had his execution stayed four times over the course of his 22 years on death row, but multiple legal appeals during that time failed to prove his innocence.

Public support grew for Davis based on the recanted testimony of seven witnesses from his trial and the possible confession of another suspect, which his defense team claimed cast too much doubt on Davis' guilt to follow through with an execution.
Read More...