Society's ChildS


X

Over 30 dead, scores missing in Philippines ferry sinking

Image
© REUTERS/ StringerA cargo vessel docked at a sea is pictured after colliding with passenger ferry St Thomas of Aquinas, in Talisay, Cebu, central Philippines August 17, 2013.
At least 31 people died and nearly 200 are missing after a Philippines passenger ferry collided with a cargo vessel and sank on Friday evening, local and international media reported.

The MV Saint Thomas Aquinas was heading for a scheduled stop in a port in the Cebu province when it collided with the MV Sulpicio Express Seven. Coast Guard Cebu Station Commander Weniel Azcuna told radio dyHP that the ferry sank some 15 minutes after the collision. The accident took place around 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the shore, the BBC reported.

The Associated Press cited Philippines Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Abaya as saying that of the 831 people on board the ferry, 31 people had died and 629 had been rescued. The news agency cited Azcuna as saying 171 were listed as missing.

Heart - Black

Greek teen's death after argument with bus ticket inspector sparks anti-austerity protests

Image
A 19-year-old Greek student who died after an argument with a bus ticket inspector has come to symbolize the plight of a population ground down by worsening poverty and unemployment.

Thanassis Kanaoutis suffered a fatal head injury when he fell or jumped from a moving bus as it passed through a middle-class neighborhood of Athens late on Tuesday.

Prosecutors have not yet established how Kanaoutis died.

Witnesses said they saw him brawl with the ticket inspector. The bus company said he pulled the emergency brake to jump out, but the family's lawyer said Kanaoutis might have been pushed during the altercation.

The incident quickly touched a nerve in Greece, where the government is using increasingly tough methods to collect revenue under pressure from its international lenders to fix its finances.

About 300 people, among them anti-bailout groups, marched to the cemetery where Kanaoutis's funeral was held on Friday evening. After the service, dozens of youths pelted riot police with stones near the spot where he died.

Eye 1

Texas deputy accused of raping mother in front of her children resigns

Image
A deputy in Texas accused of raping a woman in front of her children has resigned, according to KHOU 11 News.

Lisa Rodriguez of of East Harris County told local media outlets earlier this week that the deputy came to her home to question her about harassing phone calls. During the questioning, the deputy allegedly sexually assaulted her in her own home. (Note: Raw Story does not usually publish the name of sex crime victims, but Rodriguez said she wanted her name and story to be public.)

"He hurt me," Rodriguez told KHOU 11 News on Tuesday. "He took something from me without even asking. That's what hurt the most and my children were in the same house I was."

Rodriguez said the deputy, who has not been named, told her they should talk in a bedroom upstairs. She said the deputy then grabbed her hands and put them on his crotch. Rodriguez said the deputy told her if she resisted he would take her to jail.

Rodriguez reported the incident, and the deputy resigned on Wednesday.

"Rather than face answering questions from investigators with the Harris County Sheriff's Office Internal Affairs Division relating to allegations of sexual misconduct made on Tuesday by a citizen, an HCSO employee has resigned," the Sheriff's Office told KHOU 11 News.

Despite his resignation, the incident is still under investigation.


Eye 2

Texas deputy sues woman for 'mental anguish' after he kills her son-in-law

Image
The lawsuit notes that "defendant [Figueroa] decided to evacuate the children for safety reasons" before calling police.

Pullen claimed that he was violently attacked by Yazar as soon as he went through the door. The deputy said he was bitten and his nose was broken. Officers used their Tasers on Yazar, and then fired multiple shots with their service weapons, killing him.

However, Corina Padilla, who witnessed the incident, said that her brother-in-law never touched the officers and was backing away with his hands up when they shot him.


X

3 Injured in Georgia Chemical Plant Blast

Authorities in south Georgia say at least three people have been injured in a chemical explosion that rocked an industrial complex.

Valdosta fire officials say more than 40 firefighters responded to the blaze at the Gil Harbin Industrial Park Wednesday afternoon with help from Lowndes County sheriff's officials, Moody Air Force Base, the Georgia State Patrol and the FBI.

X

Marikana mine massacre: 'My husband died in vain'

Image
© UnknownThe widows of the miners who were killed by the police want the men to be arrested and punished
It is a year since South African police shot dead 34 striking miners at the Marikana mine, shocking the nation and the world. The BBC's Pumza Fihlani looks at how the killing has changed the country.

It is a chilly winter's day and widows Nonkululeko Ngxande, 32 and Zameka Nungu, 40 have returned to the place where their husbands breathed their last and they are shocked by what they see.

The white wooden crosses that had been erected in memorial of the dead miners are now lying neglected in a pile at the bottom of the rocky hill - some have even broken.

"Our husbands were killed like dogs. We are widows today because of the police and yet no-one has been arrested for their deaths," says Ms Nungu, tears gushing down her face.

"No-one cares about the men who died here because they were nobodies," she continues, her eyes red from crying.

The widows believe the desecrated crosses are telling - a reflection of how little the deaths of their beloved husbands have meant to those blamed for them - mine owner Lonmin, the police and the government.

It has been a year since Ms Ngxande's husband died but the pain of losing him is still etched on her face. Her voice shakes when she speaks about him.

Arrow Down

Warren Jeffs sends Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne 'revelations'

Warren Jeffs
© CNNWarren Jeffs.
Warren Jeffs is a self-proclaimed "prophet of God," and he's now sharing his prophecies with one of Arizona's top leaders -- Attorney General Tom Horne.

From behind bars in Palestine, Texas, Jeffs telephones his followers who transcribe his words and often send copies of them to public officials.

The ABC15 Investigators have obtained copies of correspondence sent to Horne's office last month. The "revelations" are a mixture of orders, visions and demands.

See the revelations sent on July 5 , July 12 , and July 23.

Horne said he's concerned because the revelations show that Jeffs still has control over the FLDS community in Colorado City, Ariz.

"It's the worst injustice happening in Arizona right now," he said.

Jeffs is the leader of the polygamist FLDS church. But he's currently serving more than 100 years in prison for child molestation.

Former members of the FLDS community said that Jeffs writes the revelations on a regular basis to be studied and carried out by his followers.

"Warren is claiming that these are revelations from God through him to all leaders in the world," said Flora Jessop, who escaped from Colorado City and the FLDS church two decades ago. "It makes me angry a little bit that he is allowed to continue to spread this kind of crap."

Roses

Is this the world's oldest man? Bolivian herder's records show he was born in 1890

Carmelo Flores Laura turned 123 last month, according to Bolivia's records

He is still healthy, walks without a stick and doesn't wear glasses

He has three children, 16 grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren


A Bolivian man born in 1890 - and still going strong - has been revealed as the oldest living person ever recorded, it was reported today.

Carmelo Flores Laura turned 123 last month, according to Bolivia's civil registry.

Yet the herder, from the mountain village of Frasquicia, 50 miles outside the capital La Paz, is still healthy, walks without a stick and doesn't wear glasses, according to reports.

Image
New claim: A Bolivian man born in 1890 - and still going strong - has been revealed as the oldest living person ever recorded, it was reported today


Horse

NAACP calls on Justice Dept., Secret Service to investigate rodeo clown flap

Image
© AP/Jameson HsiehThis photo provided by Jameson Hsieh shows a clown wearing a mask intended to look like President Obama at the Missouri State Fair. The announcer asked the crowd if anyone wanted to see “Obama run down by a bull,” according to a spectator. “So then everybody screamed. ... They just went wild,” said Perry Beam, who attended the rodeo at the State Fair in Sedalia on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2013. State Fair officials apologized calling the display inappropriate and disrespectful.
The Missouri chapter of the NAACP appealed for the U.S. Department of Justice and the Secret Service to launch an investigation and open a federal case against the rodeo clown who donned a mask of President Obama's face and mocked with the crowd: Do you want to see a bull run down Mr. Obama?

The NAACP says the clown was guilty of inciting violence against the president.

In a statement reported by Breitbart, the NAACP's state president, Mary Ratliff, wrote: "The activities at the Missouri State Fair targeting and inciting violence against our president are serious and warrant a full review by both the Secret Service and the Justice Department. Incidents involving individuals acting out with extreme violent behavior in movie theaters, schools, churches, political appearances, and outdoor events in general speaks volume to the irresponsible behavior of all the parties involved with the incendiary events at the Missouri State Fair."

Comment: Considering the fact that Obama is remotely murdering innocent men, women and children with Drones on a regular basis, it sure sounds like the wrong clown is getting the "sensitivity training" here.


Stormtrooper

Indiana firefighter George Madison says local police officers threatened him with stun gun

indiana firefighter
© Unknown
An Indiana firefighter has filed a formal complaint about an Evansville Police Department officer who he claims stopped him while he was riding his bike, handcuffed him and threatened him with a Taser.

George Madison Jr., 38, says he was stopped by two officers after he waved at them.

"The officer jumped out and says, 'What are you doing throwing your hands up at us?'" Madison said. "He is talking to me as he is coming toward me. I tried to explain, but I couldn't get a word in edgewise."

Madison declined to identify the officers, but it has been reported that they are EPD officers Darin Clifton and Jason Clegg. He called Evansville Police Chief Bolin to tell him what had happened and then met with the department's internal affairs division.

"I remember looking down the barrel of a Taser, because [the officer] was gritting his teeth and saying, 'Don't make me pull this trigger,'" Madison said. "It was literally maybe inches from my face. I immediately threw my hands in the air. What he asked me to do I was more than willing to do. I said 'Please don't hurt me.' The next thing I know I'm laying down the ground and they cuffed me."