Society's ChildS


Attention

At last! Controversial 'naked image' body scanners to be removed from U.S. airports after privacy backlash from furious passengers

The federal government is pulling the plug on the airport body scanners that had ignited a nationwide controversy over the invasive nature of the body images that they capture. The Transportation Security Administration has announced that it will remove the 'naked image' scanners from U.S. airports because the machines' developers can't write software to make the images less revealing.
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When the machines were introduced into U.S. airports two years ago, they immediately became the focus of lawsuits and protests. The X-ray images they produce are so clear that opponents say they amount to pornography. Passengers can opt for a full-body pat-down if they refuse the scanner.

The TSA began removing the machines last fall from major airports including New York's LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International in an effort to speed up lines at crowded airports.

Meanwhile, in a bid to quell passengers' privacy concerns, the TSA asked the machines' developers, OSA Systems Inc., to make the scans less intrusive.

But the company failed to meet a congressional deadline to get the job done.

No Entry

Canada: Firefighters used chainsaw to rescue hoarder buried for at least three days under belongings

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Eleven fire fighters cut through a door and then sawed a pathway through ceiling-high mounds of garbage packed inside a small Burnaby, B.C., home to rescue an elderly man who had been pinned under debris for at least three days.

RCMP were called to the house in the city east of Vancouver Monday night after an anxious friend reported not seeing the neighbour, in his 70s, for several days.

Police sought the aid of the Burnaby Fire Department, whose members arrived later that night to help them gain entry.

Inside, they discovered "quite a mess" before uncovering the trapped man, said Assistant Fire Chief Greg Mervin.

USA

New Jersey town proposes American flag ban

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West New York Mayor Felix Roque
West New York, a town in northern New Jersey, may adopt a law that bans the American flag from being displayed.

Tucked into a proposed ordinance that would regulate window displays in businesses and televisions mounted to cars is a provision that would ban "flags, banners and pennants." Flags are included among 19 items "prohibited anywhere" in West New York, a Hudson County town across the Hudson River from New York City. The West New York Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 Wednesday to pass a preliminary version of the ordinance, scheduled for a final vote next month.

The ordinance was authored by Mayor Felix Roque (D), currently under federal indictment for computer hacking. Roque's spokesman, Pablo Fonseca, denied that the ordinance would prohibit the flying of the American flag in the town.

"That takes it to an extreme," Fonseca told The Huffington Post. "The mayor is a retired colonel in the Army."

Bizarro Earth

Western Europe gets new gas pipeline

Primda, Czech Republic -- German energy company RWE said opening the Gazelle natural gas pipeline, which connects to Russia's Nord Stream, provides a vital energy source for Europe.

RWE announced that it commissioned the Gazelle pipeline during a ceremony in the Czech Republic.

"Bringing this pipeline into service opens up the 'new northern route' for the transportation of natural gas to Western Europe," the company said in a statement. "Construction of the Gazelle pipeline is of major strategic importance for both the Czech Republic and for Europe as a whole."

The 103-mile pipeline connects to the Opal pipeline system in Germany and the Nord Stream dual pipeline system running through the Baltic Sea to Germany. The second string of Nord Stream, part of Russian energy company Gazprom's plans to diversify its export options, went into service in October.

Arrow Up

Thief writes apology letter, returns stolen gold rings 15 years later

Apology Letter
© Refreshing News
The old saying, "Better late than never," rang particularly true for the Riphagen family of suburban Chicago.

The Riphagens had four gold rings returned to them, along with an anonymous letter of apology, 15 years after they had been stolen. Margot Riphagen, 31, who now lives in Portland, Oregon, recalls exactly when the rings were stolen.

She was only 16 years old when she had a party that got a bit out of hand. A few items were stolen, most notably those four rings. "It was a long time ago and it was a pretty bad situation," Riphagen told ABCNews.com.

"I invited a few friends over and then all of a sudden there were all these people there I didn't know. We immediately noticed stuff was missing.

My parents actually turned me into the police. They always understood this wasn't my fault, but we had never recovered those rings and I still have no idea who it was.

"The anonymous note, signed by a sincerely regretful "dumb kid who wants to right a wrong," was sent to Riphagen's mother at her place of work.

The family was astonished to have the rings returned, and Margot said she doesn't even care who stole them. The only thing that matters now is that they're back.

"We don't care who it was. I was stupid when I was 16 and I'm sure they were too. Somebody did it for the thrill of it, not for money," Riphagen said.

People

Iraqi protests defy the Maliki regime and inspire hope

Anti-government demonstrations in Iraq
© STR/EPAAnti-government demonstrations in Iraq have gained energy and focus in recent weeks.
Outside analysts view the protest movement in Iraq via the prism of sectarianism, but its demands reveal a more positive agenda

The indomitable Iraqi spirit is on display yet again, as protests against the corrupt government in Baghdad continue for the 21st successive day. This outburst of civil disobedience comes after a year in which westerners have heard relatively little about Iraq. Ever since the US claimed to withdraw its combat forces in 2011, most westerners have been oblivious to the daily struggles and hardships of Iraqis, who live under a government more beholden to foreign interests than to those of its people.

While the US has moved on, choosing to ignore the nightmare it created with war and occupation, Iraqis have gone to the streets, taking destiny in their own hands. But this should come as no surprise to those who know Iraq's history, where foreign domination has always been resisted.

Iraqis rose up to end the British mandate of their country in 1921, and after years of struggle, they overthrew the British-imposed monarchy in 1958. They carried on through yet more political turmoil when the prime minister, General Abdel-Karim Qasim, was assassinated in 1963, and succeeded by the military coup that ushered in Ba'athism. The Iraqi people endured repression from Saddam Hussein, who rose to power with help from the CIA. War with Iran lasted for most of the 1980s; the first Gulf war claimed an estimated 158,000 lives (32,195 of which were children) in 1991, and the resulting sanctions claimed an additional 1m lives.

Heart - Black

No Arab school on my watch - Israeli mayor

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© Reuters / Mohamed Abd El Ghany
The mayor of Israel's Upper Nazareth has refused to allow an Arab school to be built, defying an Israeli rights group that said the nearly 2,000 Arab children have a "basic right" to education, and that he is denying Arabs a "legitimate existence."

­Upper Nazareth, a Jewish settlement in Galilee near the town of Nazareth, has rejected an appeal to set up an Arab school in the city, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Thursday.

"Upper Nazareth was founded to make the Galilee Jewish and must preserve this role," Mayor Shimon Gapso said in a response to the Association of Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), which submitted the request for the school earlier this month.

Gapso said the building of an Arab school in the city would be akin to building a mosque or a Muslim cemetery. He claimed the request concealed "a provocative nationalist statement intended to disrupt the status quo," and vowed that it would never happen as long as he was mayor.

Although one-fifth of the 52,000 residents of Upper Nazareth are Arabs, there is no Arab school in the town, and the 1,900 Arab schoolchildren must travel to schools outside the city, most of them in neighboring Nazareth.

Pistol

7-year-old brings handgun and ammunition in backpack to New York school

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© TODD MAISEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWSAn NYPD officer discovered a student brought a gun to Wave Preparatory Elementary School in Far Rockaway at about 8 a.m.
A 7-year-old Queens student showed up for school Thursday with a handgun and ammunition in his bookbag, prompting a police investigation and a lockdown of the building.

An NYPD school safety agent discovered the handgun, a .22-caliber, shortly after the boy arrived for class at the Wave Preparatory Elementary School in Far Rockaway, police sources said. A 10-round ammunition magazine and loose bullets were also found in the bag.

But with thoughts of the Newtown school shooting in Connecticut still fresh in people's minds, parents of students at the school were worried, andfrustrated at a lack of answers from school officials about what happened.

"I went to pick up my son. I asked one of the cops what happened, and he just said: 'Nothing to be worried about. Nothing to be worried about,'" Jessica Cox, 25, of Far Rockaway, said as she went topicked up her son,

Red Flag

Divorce lawyer suspended after affair with client

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An Eagan lawyer is suspended indefinitely after having an affair with a client whom he represented in a divorce, then billing her for time they spent having sex.

Thomas P. Lowe, 58, won't have a chance for reinstatement for at least a year and three months after the decision, filed Thursday, Jan. 10, by the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Lowe, an attorney since 1985, had known the client for many years. Both are from Valley City, N.D. The woman met with Lowe in August 2011 to discuss pursuing a divorce from her husband.

He agreed to represent her. During a phone call days later, Lowe asked about her sexual relationship with her husband, commented on her appearance and asked if she was interested in sex with him.

Attention

Crumbling levees threaten U.S. with new Katrina

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© Chris Graythen/Getty Images/AFP
Across the US, hundreds of federal flood control systems are at risk of failing, endangering millions of people and property across 37 states.

When Hurricane Katrina passed over New Orleans in 2005, more than 50 deficient levees were breaches, killing 1,464 people who were in close proximity to the flood control systems. Another natural disaster could subject hundreds, thousands or even millions more Americans to the same fate if the government doesn't address the issue.

Inspectors discovered 326 deficient levees across the US, whose likely failures could leave millions of people dead. A breach could demolish homes and cost local governments millions of dollars. By failing to repair the defective structures, the US is choosing to risk the lives of its citizens who are walking on eggshells with their proximity to the flood zones. In its first ever inventory of the nation's flood control systems, inspectors raised the overdue alarm that hundreds of levees may be unable to regulate water levels and prove useless in face of heavy rains. Such populated cities as Washington DC, Sacramento, Dallas, Cleveland and many others might be flooded at any moment.

The US Army Corps of Engineers has only issued ratings for 58 percent of the 2,487 flood control systems, which means inspectors could still discover hundreds more deficient levees. Many of the earthen levees are crumbling under the effect of trees, shrubs and animal holes. Decaying pipes and pumping stations could also cause the flood control systems downfall, while some of the levees are dangerously close to houses or even have houses built on top of them.