Society's ChildS


Bizarro Earth

Student ordered to remove cross necklace at Sonoma State University


Daily Mail
Thu, 04 Jul 2013 10:00 UTC
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Standing up: Audrey Jarvis, 19, says she is outraged that she was told to remove her cross necklace
A California college student is furious after her supervisor told her she had to remove a cross necklace she was wearing while working at an orientation for incoming freshmen on campus.

The boss - a university employee - told Audrey Jarvis that 'it might make incoming students to Sonoma State University feel unwelcome' or make them not want to join the group - which plans student events and activities on campus.

The supervisor then told Miss Jarvis, a devout Catholic, that she could keep the necklace on, but she had to hide it under her shirt.

'My initial reaction was one of complete shock,' Miss Jarvis told Fox News.

'"I was offended because I believe as a Christian woman it is my prerogative to display my faith any way I like so long as it is not harming anyone else.
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Dollar

Mom settles suit: Poppy seed bagel led to false positive in hospital drug test


Houston Chronicle
Tue, 02 Jul 2013 09:54 UTC
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© AP
A woman who had her newborn taken away because she failed a hospital drug test after she ate a poppy seed bagel has settled a lawsuit over the case.

Lawrence County's child welfare agency and Jameson Hospital have paid $143,500 to settle the suit filed on behalf of Elizabeth Mort by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which announced the settlement Tuesday.

Mort sued in October 2010, alleging that a poppy seed bagel she ate shortly before arriving at the hospital spurred a positive test for opiates in April 2010 that prompted the seizure of her 3-day-old daughter, Isabella Rodriguez.

Mort said she was home with her baby when a county child welfare caseworker arrived with an emergency protective custody order and took Isabella.
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Heart - Black

Human remains found hidden in wall of New York home are of woman who went missing 30 years ago

Erik Ortiz
NY Daily News
Tue, 02 Jul 2013 09:48 UTC
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© POUGHKEEPSIE POLICE DEPARTMENTJoAnn Nichols went missing in 1985 at age 55. The case remained cold — until Friday, when her skeleton was discovered in her own home.
JoAnn Nichols vanished in December 1985 after she failed to show up to her beauty salon appointment. A contractor looking through the home in the Town of Poughkeepsie found a false wall where her remains had been sealed in a plastic container.

A sinister secret stashed inside the walls of a New York home has been exposed almost 30 years later.

Human remains were found sealed in a container and hidden behind a false basement wall in the home where James Nichols and his wife, JoAnn, had once lived in the Town of Poughkeepsie.

The remains are those of 55-year-old JoAnn Nichols, who was reported missing Dec. 21, 1985, the Dutchess County Medical Examiner confirmed Monday.

A contractor cleaning out the home, which has been vacant since December, made the chilling discovery.

JoAnn Nichols died from blunt force trauma to the head in what appears to be a homicide, Dutchess County Medical Examiner Dr. Kari Reiber told WABC-TV.

Dental records were used to identify the decomposed body - a complete skeleton.

Town police said the new forensic evidence is prompting them to continue the investigation.
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Dollars

Antonio Lopez Chaj, house painter, awarded $58 million after suffering severe brain damage in brutal beating


NY Daily News
Tue, 02 Jul 2013 09:22 UTC
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© NICK UT/APAntonio Lopez Chaj, a 43-year-old house painter, appears at a news conference in Los Angeles after his lawyers announced he has been awarded a $58 million by a jury in Torrance Superior Court.
The brutal attack left the 43-year-old with half of his skull permanently caved in. The money is among the largest damage awards ever given to one person in California.

A 43-year-old house painter so badly brain damaged that he can't speak has been awarded $58 million by a jury after a beating at a bar left him with half his skull permanently bashed in.

Antonio Lopez Chaj (chy) appeared at a news conference Monday with lawyers who announced the award handed down against a security company Friday in Torrance Superior Court.

It was among the largest damage awards ever given to one person in California, the lawyers said. They said they expect an appeal and there could be settlement negotiations before Chaj receives anything.

Chaj had to be supported by relatives at the news conference. When he took off a baseball cap hiding his injuries, gasps could be heard from people present.

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© NICK UT/APAntonio Lopez Chaj, 43, is so badly brain damaged for a beating in a bar that left him with half his skull permanently bashed in that he cannot speak.
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Newspaper

Michael Hastings' wife obliterates New York Times for dismissive obituary

Jason Linkins
Huffington Post
Thu, 20 Jun 2013 07:03 UTC
In the 24 hours since the tragic death of journalist and author Michael Hastings was first reported on Tuesday, those who knew him, worked with him, and covered his work have offered numerous remembrances of the man best known for his Polk Award-winning Rolling Stone piece, "The Runaway General."


That article, which presented a dim view of the U.S. strategy in the Afghanistan war and exposed a military command structure working to actively undermine its civilian leadership, also contained several accounts of less-than-professional behavior and comments by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the International Security Assistance Force commander, the disclosure of which led to McChrystal tendering his resignation in June 2010.
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Che Guevara

100 anti-NSA protest rallies take place across U.S. on Independence Day

Chelsea Schilling
WND
Fri, 05 Jul 2013 03:44 UTC
Americans take to streets, Internet to demand feds stop spying on citizens

Americans outraged by the federal government's spying programs took to the streets on Independence Day for "Restore the Fourth" protests in an estimated 100 American cities, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Memphis and Miami, plus international cities such as London and Munich.

The "Restore the Fourth" national protest was named after the Fourth Amendment, which was intended to protect Americans against "unreasonable searches and seizures."
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The NSA's PRISM online surveillance program was exposed by Edward Snowden only weeks ago. Americans soon learned that at least nine Internet companies reportedly submitted to government surveillance of their servers: Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Facebook, PalTalk, YouTube, Skype, AOL and Apple.

"Restore the Fourth," initially organized on Reddit, describes itself as "a non-partisan, unaffiliated group of concerned citizens who seek to strengthen the Fourth Amendment with respect to digital surveillance by the U.S. government."
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USA

28 Hurt in California fireworks explosion: police

Samantha Tata and Oleevia Woo
NBC Los Angeles
Thu, 04 Jul 2013 23:45 UTC
Fireworks Explosion_1
© NBC Los AngelesEmergency crews treat dozens of injured people after a "fireworks mishap" at a Simi Valley park on July 4, 2013.
Dozens of Fourth of July celebrants were injured Thursday night in a "fireworks mishap" at a Simi Valley, Calif., park, authorities said.

The injury count changed multiple times over the course of a quickly developing breaking news story. As of 11:30 p.m., 28 people were reported injured, Ventura County Fire Department spokesman Mike Lindberry told reporters at the scene.

Of those 28 victims, 20 were transported to the hospital -- 16 suffered minor injuries, four suffered moderate to severe injuries, Lindberry said. Eight people were treated and released on scene.

Initial injury counts reported 20 people were hurt then that figure was revised to 14 before Lindberry detailed those hurt in the explosion.

Between 8,000 and 10,000 people were expected to attend the Independence Day celebration Thursday night.

Witnesses said the professional fireworks show lasted just a few minutes before the huge explosion went off.

"We saw about three minutes of the show. There was some that went up in the area and everything just kind of scattered outwards and then everybody just started running," a witness told NBC4.

"Everything exploded and parts came flying everywhere," another witness told NBC4. "People were running everywhere. So, it was pretty scary."
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Laptop

PRISM: Mozilla, Reddit and WordPress use Independence Day to protest NSA surveillance

Michael Passingham
v3.co.uk
Thu, 04 Jul 2013 13:41 UTC
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Many high-profile websites have used US Independence Day to take part in an online protest against the NSA's surveillance of internet use, including email and web browsing history.

Organisations such as Mozilla, WordPress and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), as well as websites such as 4chan, Reddit and the Cheezburger network will be prominently featuring Fourth Amendment imagery throughout their pages. The US's Fourth Amendment protects against "unreasonable searches and seizures".

The protest, which has been organised by the Internet Defense League, will include pop-up banners promoting the Fourth Amendment as well as blog posts from many of the sites involved.

Comment: For more information about PRISM, please see the Sott focus article:
Through the PRISM of public amnesia

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USA

Protesters in Boston slam NSA spying programs at downtown Independence Day celebration

Derek J. Anderson
Boston.com
Thu, 04 Jul 2013 13:15 UTC
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As people gathered around Boston's Old State House to hear the reading of the Declaration of Independence in celebration of the Fourth of July, protesters carrying signs stood along the barricaded area, denouncing recently-revealed secret government surveillance programs.

Spurred by the revelations about the National Security Agency's surveillance activities, about 25 activists gathered at the 9:30 a.m. Restore the Fourth rally.

The release of government documents by former NSA contractor Edward J. Snowden, who is believed to somewhere in a Moscow airport, has sparked protests from various groups and outrage from the Obama administration, which is seeking to prosecute him on espionage and government theft charges. The documents were first published last month by the British newspaper The Guardian. Since the release, President Barack Obama, as well as members of Congress and intelligence officials have told citizens that they are not the target of the agency's surveillance.
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Handcuffs

Bizarre twist: 'Walking Dead' actress charged In ricin letters case


Wall Street Journal
Fri, 28 Jun 2013 11:10 UTC
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© Titus County Sheriff’s DepartmentShannon Guess Richardson
Actress Shannon Guess Richardson, who has appeared in very small roles on "The Walking Dead" and "The Vampire Diaries," has been charged with allegedly sending letters laced with the poison Ricin to President Obama and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The indictment formally charges Richardson, 35, with one count of threatening the President of the United States along with two counts of mailing a threatening communication. Federal prosecutors say the actress and mother of five was attempting to frame her estranged husband.

The actress, from New Boston, Texas, was arrested June 7 and faces up to five years in prison on each of the charges, the Justice Department said in a statement. Tonda Curry, Richardson's court-appointed attorney, did not respond to requests for comment.
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