Society's ChildS


Sherlock

US: Was She 'Executed'? Iranian Molecular Scientist, 30, Shot Dead in Car Outside Her Texas Home While Talking on Cell Phone to Ex-Boyfriend


The Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:11 UTC
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© YouTubeTargeted? The shooter walked up to Gelareh Bagherzadeh's car and shot her in the head at close range
  • He [ex-boyfriend] heard a loud thud - doesn't recall hearing any gunshots, but a loud thud - and then a screeching noise. He said it sounded like someone driving away'
  • They received two calls about gunshots in the area within 45 minutes
Detectives investigating the murder of an Iranian molecular scientist gunned down in her car as she drove home believe she was followed or that someone was waiting for her.

Gelareh Bagherzadeh, 30, who lobbied on behalf of Iranian women's civil rights, was struck by a single bullet that entered the passenger door window as she talked on her cell phone with her ex-boyfriend.

Her car then rolled into and a garage door yards from her parents' home in a townhouse community just southwest of Houston, Texas.

The car's engine was still running when police found her body behind the wheel about 12:30am on Monday.

According to police, someone walked to the passenger's side of her car and shot her at point-blank range.
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Eye 1

Indonesia: Man faces Five Years for 'God Does Not Exist' Facebook Post

Emil Protalinski
ZDnet
Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:30 UTC
Indonesia-soldiers & monk
© Reuters
31-year-old Alexander Aan faces a maximum prison sentence of five years for posting "God does not exist" on Facebook. The civil servant was attacked and beaten by an angry mob of dozens who entered his government office at the Dharmasraya Development Planning Board on Wednesday. The Indonesian man was taken into protective police custody Friday since he was afraid of further physical assault.

The posting was made on a Facebook Page titled Ateis Minang (Minang Atheist), which Aan created. At the time of writing, it had over 1,700 Likes. Aan's posting has been removed, but supporters on the Page are urging police to release him.

Dharmasraya Police Chief Sr. Comr. Chairul Aziz said the district branch of the council and other Islamic organizations believed Aan had defiled Islam by using passages from the Koran to denounce the existence of God and highlight his atheist views. "So it meets the criteria of tainting religion, in this case Islam," Chairul told The Jakarta Globe.
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Cell Phone

Banks Using Mobile Phone Usage To Gauge Credit Risk

Scott Kirsner
Boston.com
Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:12 UTC
cell tower & barbed wire
© n/a
Does the number of text messages you send, or the time of day you make your first phone call, say something important about how credit-worthy you are?

Cignifi, a small Cambridge start-up with roots in the UK, believes it does. The company is out raising $2 million in funding to commercialize its technology this year, after a pilot test in Brazil in 2011.

"There's a vast market of consumers in countries like Brazil, China, India, and the Phillipines who want access to financial services like credit cards, loans, or insurance," says Jonathan Hakim, Cignifi's chief executive. "But while they may have jobs, and some have bank accounts, there really is no credit history for them." One thing they do have? Mobile phones.

Cignifi has developed sophisticated modeling software that can look at usage data from consumers' mobile phones and make predictions about who that person is and how they live. There's no single data point - like making lots of short calls between 2 and 5 a.m. every morning - that suggests that someone is a bad credit risk. But Hakim says, "The way you use your phone is a proxy for your lifestyle. It's not random. So we're looking at things like the length of calls, the time of day, and the location you make them from. Also things like whether you top up [a pre-paid SIM card] regularly. We want to see how stable the patterns are. When you look at that, you can create these behavioral clusters that give you information about users' appetite for new [financial] products, and their ability to repay a debt."
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Vader

Iraq Falling Back into 'Authoritarianism': Human Rights Watch


Raw Story
Sun, 22 Jan 2012 14:03 UTC
unrest @ Iraq
© Agence France-Presse
Iraq is falling back into authoritarianism and headed towards becoming a police state, despite US claims that it has helped establish democracy in the country, Human Rights Watch said on Sunday.

The criticism from the New York-based HRW comes less than a year after thousands of Iraqis took to the streets nationwide to criticise the government for poor services.

"Iraq cracked down harshly during 2011 on freedom of expression and assembly by intimidating, beating and detaining activists, demonstrators and journalists," HRW said in a statement accompanying its annual report.

HRW noted that Iraq remains one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists, that women's rights remain poor and civilians have paid a heavy toll in bomb attacks.
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Bulb

Christians Waking Up? Voluntary 'De-Baptism' Rising in Europe

Lisa Bryant
Voice of America
Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00 UTC
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© ReutersPope Benedict XVI baptizes one of 21 newborns during in the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican, Jan. 9, 2011.
Sunday evening youth mass in Saint-Germain-des-Pres is overflowing with parishioners. People stand in aisles or sit cross-legged in corners of the cavernous, sixth century Paris church.

Father Benoist de Sinety, parish priest at Saint Germain for the past three years, says he has always had the good fortune of seeing crowds of young people seeking their bearings or rediscovering faith. But he knows it is not the same everywhere.

Churches in France and elsewhere in Europe have been battling falling numbers, a trend evident not only in the empty pews, but in the sharp fall in baptisms. But "de-baptisms", a church's deletion of one's name from the official baptismal registry at a parishioner's request, are a recent phenomenon, and they are taking place in both Protestant and Catholic communities.

There are no official statistics, but experts and activists count the numbers of those seeking de-baptism in the tens of thousands, and websites offering informal "de-baptism" certificates have mushroomed.
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Heart - Black

US, Wisconsin: Accused Abuser Claimed "Ghost" Injured His Wife


The Smoking Gun
Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00 UTC
Image
© unknown
Cops: Man battered spouse, tried to blame apparition

A Wisconsin man charged with domestic abuse told cops that a "ghost" was actually responsible for injuries suffered by his wife, according to police.

The bizarre claim by Michael West, 41, did not prevent the Fond du Lac man's arrest for strangulation, battery, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. West is pictured in the mug shot at right.

According to a January 18 criminal complaint, West and his spouse got into an argument Sunday that turned violent. The victim told cops that West twice strangled her, and that he punched her in the face when she tried to dial 911.
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Padlock

US, Alaska: Former Army Soldier Sentenced for Killing Wife, Baby

Yereth Rosen
Reuters
Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:16 UTC
Kip Lynch
© unknownKip Lynch
A former Army soldier who was convicted of killing his wife and baby daughter shortly after returning from combat in Afghanistan was sentenced on Friday to 80 years in prison for the crimes.

Kip Lynch, 22, was found guilty last summer of first degree murder in the April 2010 shooting death of his 19-year-old wife Racquell and second-degree murder of their 8-month old baby, Kyirsta.

Lynch shot his wife numerous times in the back, head and neck while she was holding their infant daughter, according to police reports.

The bullets passed through her body, killing both mother and child, according to police reports. Lynch then turned the gun on himself in an apparent suicide attempt, but survived.

The bodies of his wife and baby remained in the family's Anchorage apartment for a weekend before they were discovered.

Lynch was found in critical condition but recovered.
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Phoenix

22 Show Horses Killed in Fast-Moving New Jersey Barn Fire


The Associated Press
Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:58 UTC
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© Dawn J. Benko/The Star-LedgerFirefighters from the Lafayette Fire Department put out hotspots.
Authorities say a fast-moving fire destroyed a barn owned by a noted New Jersey equestrian family, killing 22 show horses worth tens of thousands of dollars each.

State Police Sgt. Brian Polite says the barn was engulfed in flames when troopers arrived around 1:40 a.m. Saturday in Lafayette. The blaze was soon extinguished, but all the horses inside were killed.

Betty Hahn, whose family owns the barn, tells The Star-Ledger that the animals were valued at $10,000 to $60,000 apiece. Her family has competed and won awards in equestrian competitions along the East Coast.

She said no hay or fuel was stored in the barn, so she's baffled about how the blaze began.

Officials would not say whether they considered the blaze suspicious, citing the ongoing investigation.
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Ambulance

Flaming-Horned Bull Fatally Gores Man in Spain

Harold Heckle
The Associated Press
Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:00 UTC
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© The Associated Press/Alberto Saiz A reveler releases a bull with flaming horns during a festival in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals, in the streets of Gilet, a town near Valencia, Spain, in the early hours of Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012.
A flaming-horned bull trampled and fatally gored a man early Saturday during a festival in eastern Spain, an official said.

Large balls of flaming wax are traditionally affixed to the beasts' heads before they are let loose to rampage through squares and narrow streets in such festivals.

The mayor of Navajas, population 730, said emergency services in his town were unable to save the life of the 45-year-old man whose name was withheld. Jose Vicente Torres said the accident happened when the man, who had traveled from Alboraia, about 70 kilometers (45 miles) to the south, tripped just as the bull was released.

Torres said the bull charged the man, gored him and then stamped on his head, causing him "irreversible injuries." He said he had offered his condolences to the man's family, but would not cancel similar events scheduled for early Sunday.

"Although ours is a small town, many people from outside come to visit our feast dedicated to Saint Anton," Torres said, adding that black bows had been tied to town hall flags as a mark of respect and mourning.
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Heart - Black

US: 3 Dead in Fire at New York House Rented by Students


The Associated Press
Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:00 UTC
A fire tore through a private home being rented by Marist College students near campus early Saturday morning, killing three people, authorities said.

The victims were identified as two female Marist students in their early 20s and one male, who was not a student at the school. Their names have not been released. Four other people in the house escaped without serious injuries.

Marist College postponed two basketball games "out of respect for the students affected by this tragedy," Deborah DiCaprio, Marist's vice president and dean for student affairs, said in a statement Saturday.

The off-campus house on Fairview Avenue was being rented by six female Marist students, Town Police Chief Thomas Mauro said.
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© unknownDevastation: The fire which killed three people in Poughkeepsie early yesterday morning
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