Society's ChildS


Stormtrooper

Cops shoot innocent man in bed, no charges filed


REALfarmacy.com
Thu, 11 Jul 2013 13:26 UTC
cops shoot man in bed
© King 5 News
Dustin Theoharis was asleep in his bed when a Department of Corrections officer, and King County Sherriff's deputy rushed into his house, busted into his bedroom and began to unload their pistols on this unarmed man.

It is estimated that the two officers fired over 20 rounds of which 16 landed in Mr. Theoharis. According to Theoharis's attorney, Erik Heipt, "Theoharis suffered "a broken shoulder, 2 broken arms, broken legs, he had a compression fracture to his spine, damage to his liver and spleen."

The kicker here is that Theoharis was not the guy the police were after. According to King 5 news Seattle, The King County Sheriff's deputy and Washington Department of Corrections officer who shot him were at the house to arrest a man who'd violated his parole. But in a search of the house after the shooting, they surprised Theoharis in the basement room he was renting.

Cole Harrison, who was at the house, described it this way: "They (the officers) rushed into that room like they were going to get somebody. I mean they rushed down there and then all of a sudden. Boom, boom, boom, boom."

According to a review requested by Charles Gaither, a civilian watchdog of the Sheriff's Office, which was conducted by a police accountability expert, Merrick Bobb, the officers refused to be interviewed on the scene and no internal investigation was ordered. In fact Deputy Aaron Thompson didn't even issue a statement until a month later.
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Yoda

President Jimmy Carter: Lambasts U.S. intel over NSA spying, says America has no functioning democracy


RT.com
Thu, 18 Jul 2013 11:15 UTC
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© Mario Tama/Getty Images/AFPFormer U.S. President Jimmy Carter
Former US President Jimmy Carter lambasted US intelligence methods as undemocratic and described Edward Snowden's NSA leak as "beneficial" for the country.

Carter lashed out at the US political system when the issue of the previously top-secret NSA surveillance program was touched upon at the Atlantic Bridge meeting on Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia.

"America has no functioning democracy at this moment," Carter said, according to Der Spiegel.

He also believes the spying-scandal is undermining democracy around the world, as people become increasingly suspicious of US internet platforms, such as Google and Facebook. While such mediums have normally been associated with freedom of speech and have recently become a major driving force behind emerging democratic movements, fallout from the NSA spying scandal has dented their credibility.
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Hiliter

Journalists are supposed to shine a light on secret government powers

Mike Masnick
techdirt
Mon, 24 Jun 2013 11:46 UTC
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from the say-that-again dept

It's been quite incredible to see defenders of the surveillance state attack not just Edward Snowden for leaking information about the NSA's surveillance efforts, but also go after the reporters who broke the various stories concerning what he leaked. While many of the attacks have been focused on Glenn Greenwald, the other journalist who has access to Snowden is the Washington Post's Bart Gellman, and apparently it's his turn to be attacked for doing a good job in reporting. The attacker, in this case, is Stewart Baker, the former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security and former General Counsel for the NSA. He wrote an incredible attack on Gellman, arguing that he has somehow crossed the despicable line from "journalist" to "advocate" in his reporting on Snowden's leaks.
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Bad Guys

Brazil world's seventh most violent country: 1.1 million murdered in 30 years


Fox News
Thu, 18 Jul 2013 00:00 UTC
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© AFP/FilePeople demonstrate against violence at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro on October 24, 2009. More than one million people were murdered in Brazil between 1980 and 2011, making it the world's seventh most violent country, a survey showed Thursday.
More than one million people were murdered in Brazil between 1980 and 2011, making it the world's seventh most violent country, a survey showed Thursday.

During the period, homicides soared 132 percent to claim 1,145,208 lives, from a rate of 11.5 murders for 100,000 inhabitants in 1980 to 27 per 100,000 in 2011, according to the Map of Violence report,

Among those aged between 14 and 25, homicides skyrocketed 326 percent to reach 53 per 100,000 inhabitants, said the study published by the Latin American Studies Center (Cebela).

In 2011, Brazil, now home to 194 million people, recorded 51,198 homicides, ranked seventh among the world's most violent nations after El Salvador, the US Virgin Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Colombia and Guatemala.

From 2007, the study highlighted a resumption of a surge in violence after a drop in the previous decade, attributed mainly to public disarmament policies.

The survey showed that violence in Brazil, once concentrated in major metropolitan areas such as Sao Paulo and Rio, has spread nationwide over the past 10 years to the hinterland of most states, especially in the north, a trend that coincides with the expansion of new economic hubs.

Comment: Brazil is also a country of extreme poverty and corruption, which accounts for the violence, and it is the reason its citizens have had enough and are taking to the streets:
Revolution? Brazilian protests swells to millions: government calls emergency meeting
'People Revolution' spreads to Brazil: Thousands take to streets in anti-government protests

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Sheeple

5 Reasons why more Americans don't protest against the system

Sigmund Fraud
Activist Post
Thu, 18 Jul 2013 18:18 UTC
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Having recently celebrated their nation's independence on July 4th, Americans were invited to recall the spirit of protest, rebellion, and revolution that marks the popular myth of the birth of the United States of America.

The Declaration of Independence still stands as an important example of how the tolerance of any man can be exceeded by the actions of an overbearing and intrusive government. Yet, 237 years after the signing of this document, one has to wonder what has happened to the spirit of fearlessness and rugged self-determination that set the American experiment in motion.

As a form of redress of grievances by a people to its leadership, protest is as much of a historical part of democracy as voting is. A near-last resort when the populace is bereft of political power, publicly voicing dissent in an organized, peaceful, and constructive manner is a critical and vital sign of life for a society that wishes to be free. Yet, when a ruling elite and political class become too intrusive, parasitic or too dangerous to the population, protest is often a precursor to violence, therefore the outcome of rebellion and protest is never certain and often disastrous. However, the fate of a people without the will to resist encroaching tyranny is just as foreboding.
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Stock Up

One last hurrah? Bank profits and housing market boom dominate 'recovery' of U.S. economy

John Rubino
Dollar Collaspe
Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:36 UTC
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One of the many, many lessons we should have learned from the 2009 crash is that an economy driven by inherently-unstable - and completely unproductive - things like rising home prices and bank trading profits can't be trusted.

And yet here we are again. Bloomberg reports that the Manhattan housing boom has spread to the boroughs:

Brooklyn Home Prices Rise to Record in N.Y. Sales Frenzy
Home prices in Brooklyn, New York's most populous borough, surged to a record as low interest rates and rising rents across the city swelled demand for homeownership amid a dwindling supply of properties for sale.

The median price of condominiums, co-ops and one- to three-family homes that sold in the second quarter was $550,000, up 15 percent from a year earlier and the highest in more than a decade of record keeping, New York-based appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate said in a report today. The inventory of listings fell 19 percent to 4,704, the lowest for a second quarter since Miller Samuel began tracking the data in 2008, said Jonathan Miller, the firm's president.

The median price of condominiums, co-ops and one- to three- family homes that sold in the second quarter was $550,000, up 15 percent.
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Pistol

"Marauding bands of young robbers" catch L.A. cops by surprise, as fallout from Zimmerman trial continues

Joel Rubin, Andrew Blankstein and Emily Alpert
Los Angeles Times
Wed, 17 Jul 2013 13:21 UTC
At least 14 people were taken into custody Tuesday night and many more remained at large after marauding bands of young people conducted a string of robberies, assaults and acts of vandalism along Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles police said late Tuesday.


The crimes did not appear to be related to the protests over the George Zimmerman acquittal in the slaying of Trayvon Martin.

Incident commander Dennis Kato said police were inundated with phone calls beginning about 9 p.m., reporting that packs of young people were roaming along Hollywood and attacking people. Public information officer Rosario Herrera said at least one of the attacks was near Hollywood and Highland.
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People 2

UK: Number of people calling mental health helplines soars by 50% in one year - and 'financial pressures' are to blame

Rachel Reilly
The Daily Mail, UK
Thu, 18 Jul 2013 11:23 UTC
Mind, a mental health charity, has noticed a sharp increase in the number of people calling their infoline

Charity CEO Paul Farmer said that financial worries were usually the root cause of despair and worry

The number of people ringing helplines to seek advice for mental illness has shot up by an 'alarming' 50 per cent, according to new figures.

The nature of the calls made by those who anonymously seek help has also changed - with more people contemplating suicide.

Mind, the mental health charity who compiled the data, have described the figures as 'alarming' and have urged people to seek help as soon as they are concerned about their state of mind.
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Mind, a UK mental health charity, has noticed a sharp increase in those calling their infoline for help. The amount of people ringing with 'complex and acute' problems had increased more specifically

Mind found that the number of calls rose to over 68,000 in 2012/13, from 46,000 in 2011/2012.

They said that they had seen a corresponding shift in the nature of calls, with people presenting more acute and complex problems.
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Pistol

We've had our conversation on race. Now we need one on guns.

Alec MacGillis
The New Republic
Wed, 17 Jul 2013 18:45 UTC
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Of course the George Zimmerman trial was about race, and it's natural for us to spend the days after the verdict deliberating that in all its particulars. (The faceoff on the Washington Post op-ed page between Richard Cohen, rationalizing Zimmerman's fear of black boys in hoodies, and Eugene Robinson's cri-de-coeur about the lost youth of African American men pretty much says it all. For the undercard, I heartily recommend the day-long Twitter debate between Will Saletan and Tom Scocca.) But could we spare just a moment to talk about the other factor that led Trayvon Martin to end up lying on a sidewalk in Sanford, Florida with a bullethole in his chest?

I know, I know - guns don't kill people, hyper-vigilant neighborhood watchmen kill people. But that's just the thing: it was far more likely that George Zimmerman was going to be carrying a deadly weapon that night in Florida than his equivalent wanna-be cop would've been in many other states. There are more than one million active concealed-carry permits in Florida. That's tops in the nation - one for every 14 Florida adults. It's painfully obvious, but must be said anyway: if Zimmerman is out protecting the streets that night with naught but his martial-arts skills and maybe some pepper spray, Trayvon Martin would be alive today.

Comment: The lethal combination of "Shall Issue" concealed gun permitting and the "Stand your Ground" laws that many states have will lead to many more unnecessary killings. The fact that anyone can get away with murder by claiming they felt threatened puts many people in danger especially, but not exclusively, young African-American men and boys whom many see as violent and threatening. The Powers that Be have inculcated fear into the public for a reason, despite the fact that violent crime has been dropping sharply in the United States. A fearful, paranoid nation is easier to control.

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Alarm Clock

Welshpool train crash: Tractor driver's miracle escape after 70mph service smashes into his vehicle

Luke Traynor
mirror.co.uk
Tue, 16 Jul 2013 14:44 UTC
The driver was towing a trailer into a neighbouring field and decided to cross the line with the busy service fast approaching
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© Jon Fuller-Rowell / Daily MirrorArriva train has crashed into a farmers trailer
A tractor driver cheated death today after trying to travel across tracks moments before a 70mph train smashed into him.

The driver was towing a trailer into a neighbouring field and decided to cross the line with the busy service fast approaching.

Detectives from British Transport Police arrested the 27-year-old on suspicion of endangering safety following the smash.

Amazingly, the driver emerged unscathed with hardly any injuries following the midday crash at a remote agricultural crossing in Buttington, Welshpool, in mid-Wales.

Up to 200 passengers were evacuated from the 10.06 Arriva Trains Wales service from Birmingham to Aberystwyth and led across fields to waiting buses, while two people suffered minor injuries.

They were taken to Welshpool Hospital for further treatment.

The train managed to stay upright despite the high-impact collision and remained on the tracks with some damage to its front, at around 11.50am today.

One onlooker said: "The tractor ended up in a hedge and the trailer was catapulted 20 metres down the track.

"The train appears to have hit the trailer rather than the tractor which is probably why the driver is still alive. A spilt second earlier and he'd have been dead."

Bob Gittins, landlord of the nearby Green Dragon Inn, was walking his dog with his wife and saw the aftermath of the drama.

The 60-year-old told the Mirror: "It happened in the field next to our pub.

"We heard the train coming as normal, but then a big thud and smoke everywhere.
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