June 28, 2015

How Anthony Graves Went from Death Row (wrongly convicted) to Overseeing the Houston Crime Lab

A few weeks ago, Anthony Graves began hearing rumors that he was under consideration for a spot on the Houston Forensic Science Center's board of directors — a post that would put him in a position to help the city prevent wrongful convictions.

Wrongful convictions like the one that put him on death row.

The simple fact that he was being considered for the job was another form of vindication for Graves, who was exonerated in the murders of six people and released from a Texas prison five years ago.

Since then, Graves has been traveling the country telling his story, urging people to press for reforms to the criminal justice system — including the death penalty.

"I was excited about the opportunity because it lines up with the work I already do," Graves, 49, told NBC News.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/how-anthony-graves-went-death-row-overseeing-his-local-crime-n381891

June 28, 2015

'We are being exterminated': Hundreds rally in favor of Confederate flag

We are being exterminated': Hundreds rally in favor of Confederate flag as activist is arrested for pulling it down outside South Carolina state building
Almost 1,000 men, women and children gathered in Montgomery, Alabama, to defend the flag
'Ride with Pride' event was held in Tampa Bay, Florida, on Friday with at least 300 attendees
They claimed symbol was celebration of Southern heritage and distinct from history of racism and oppression
Symbol has been removed from State capitols since Confederate enthusiast Dylann Roof killed nine in Charleston
President Obama condemned the flag Friday as 'a reminder of systemic oppression and racial subjugation'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3141960/We-exterminated-Hundreds-rally-favor-Confederate-flag-guns-hand-activist-arrested-pulling-outside-South-Carolina-state-building.html#ixzz3eKCExm3Z

June 27, 2015

Sheriff charged for mistreating his K-9 partner (who is safe now and uninjured)

The Carlton County Sheriff’s Office says 48-year-old Brett Arthur Berry was at Black Bear Casino on June 14 for a canine training and certification event.
Deputies were called to the casino just before 3 a.m. on June 15 on a report of animal cruelty caught on camera involving Berry, who had been asked to leave the casino’s Cobalt Lounge earlier in the night by deputies due to staff complaints.

Berry was observed on camera leaving the lounge, going back to his hotel room and then leaving with his K-9 partner five minutes later. He was then observed carrying the dog to his car while being visibly upset.

The accused was next seen on camera picking up the dog by the collar and throwing it to the ground. The K-9 then ran back to the casino and got trapped between entryway doors. Berry was seen catching up to his partner, and then repeatedly hitting the K-9.

The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office released a written statement Friday, saying they are “troubled” by the allegations.

“Deputy Berry was sent home from the K-9 trials and placed on administrative leave,” the sheriff’s office said. “The K-9 was evaluated by a veterinarian and no injuries were found. The K-9 partner is currently in the care of others.”
Berry was arrested and has been charged with two misdemeanor counts: one for assaulting a public safety dog and one for animal cruelty.



____ video at link below. Warning he is really smacking the dog around.


http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2015/06/26/sheriff-ramsey-county-deputy-caught-on-camera-abusing-dog/

June 27, 2015

Cats rescued from shelters are hired for rodent patrol - "working cats" program has placed 500 cats

Like the characters played by the actor who inspired his name, Pacino was no scaredy cat. The brown tabby had prowled the streets of Los Angeles, a drifter scraping for his next meal.

After the cat was turned in at an L.A. County animal services shelter, there was little hope that Pacino would be adopted. He was too distrustful, too fierce, too mean.

Then Melya Kaplan came along, looking for a cat with grit, street smarts and attitude.

The 10-pound, 6-ounce cat would become the nighttime warden at the Original L.A. Flower Market, making sure rodents and other vermin didn't get out of hand. He's part of a group of tough cats recruited by an animal rights nonprofit to find homes in places that could use their hard-scrabble qualities. Along with another cat named DeNiro, Pacino would prowl the Italian side of the flower market. Of course.

"Mother Nature doesn't make mistakes," said Kaplan, executive director of Voice for the Animals. "We probably just haven't found a purpose for it yet."

As part of the Working Cats program, street cats like Pacino are rescued from animal shelters and sent to locations ranging from police stations, like the LAPD's Wilshire and Foothill divisions, to private homes, businesses and schools. Over the years, the program has placed about 500 cats in nearly 50 locations.

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-adv-cats-for-hire-20150627-story.html

June 27, 2015

House of Cards actress spots elderly dog struggling to walk in hot sun

SANTA FE (KRQE) – He was left to die, on the brink of heat exhaustion. But right when a dog needed help, an actress filming in New Mexico spotted him and stepped in to help save his life.

The dog, now called ‘Grandpa,’ was found alone in a Santa Fe park Friday, dehydrated and weak. He was abandoned in the heat of the day.
“He kept trying to stand up on his front legs, but his back legs had totally given out, we thought he was injured,” recalled Rachel Brosnahan. The actress is filming the second season of ‘Manhattan’ in Santa Fe this summer. She also starred in the hit series, ‘House of Cards.’

But to the old dog she found Friday, Brosnahan is simply a life-saver.
“The poor guy had just been toasting out there I think,” Brosnahan told KRQE News 13. “We brought him some water and called Animal Services.”

http://krqe.com/2015/06/24/actress-filming-in-santa-fe-helps-save-dogs-life/
----!-!!!

Grandpa has had a remarkable turn of events today! This is the dog who was found abandoned at the off-leash dog park in town and left to die in the hot sun. Luckily for him, Rachel and her friend had just arrived at the park when someone pointed out the dog, who had collapsed and was struggling. They waited until animal services officers arrived (BTW she said they were amazing) and brought him to us for help.


His temperature was 106 degrees and he was quickly placed on fluids after our staff brought this temperature down. We're not sure how old he is - anywhere from 12 to 15 - and he's definitely arthritic, but his bloodwork didn't show any serious signs of disease. So many people reached out and offered to foster or help him, including Rachel. Iris stopped by this morning with a comfy bed and treats for him. We contacted Ulla Pedersen of Kindred Spirits Animal Sanctuary, who offers eldercare and hospice to dogs, horses and poultry. She immediately connected with this gentle soul and he is now resting comfortably at her Lone Butte area sanctuary.

We'll do a followup in a couple weeks - in the meantime, tune in tomorrow on KRQE and follow Gabrielle's story about his plight. Thank you all for your quick support and love of this gentleman - he certainly deserves a happy ending.
https://m.facebook.com/sfhumanesociety/posts/10153510134484880

June 27, 2015

cop fired for posting pic of himself in Rebel flag underpants

http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20150625/PC16/150629550/north-charleston-officer-fired-for-posing-in-rebel-flag-underwear
North Charleston police officer has been fired because he posted a photo of himself wearing Confederate flag boxer shorts.

Shannon Dildine, who was a sergeant and with the force since 1996, was sent a letter Wednesday from Police Chief Eddie Driggers detailing why the department let him go.

He was terminated because it was determined that the posting would make him incapable of effectively serving as a North Charleston officer.

“On Tuesday ... the City learned that you posted on Facebook a photograph in which you were wearing only a pair of boxer shorts emblazoned with the image of the Confederate flag,” Driggers wrote. “Your posting in this manner led to you being publicly identified as a North Charleston Police officer and associated both you and the Department with an image that symbolizes hate and oppression to a significant portion of the citizens we are sworn to serve.”

June 26, 2015

Wicked Campers must remove violent, misogynist, racist and homophobic slogans from its rental fleet,

Wicked Campers must remove violent, misogynist, racist and homophobic slogans from its rental fleet, activists say.

Not in America but still shocking. ugh.

The Brisbane-based hire company has established its identity by painting shocking and lewd slogans on the side of its campervans vans for years.







Community outrage at one particular slogan – “in every princess is a little slut who wants to try it just once” – led to the Senate unanimously passing a motion calling for it to be removed in July 2014.

At the time Wicked Campers founder, John Webb, removed the slogan, but activists say there are still countless other offensive slogans on the vans.

Wicked Pickets founder Liz Upham says slogans like “she can’t wrestle, but you should see her box”, “fat chicks are harder to kidnap”, “it’s better to be black than gay because you don’t have to tell your parents” and “a wife: an attachment you screw on the bed to get the housework done” do not belong on the streets.

“They’re saying it’s ok to kidnap a woman, they’re saying it’s ok to use gaffer tape against a woman, they’re pretty much saying it’s ok to rape a woman: that’s what their messages are,” she said. “You couldn’t put this stuff on a fixed billboard, how is it acceptable for these slogans to be driven down our streets in front of us and our children?”

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/apr/12/activists-demand-wicked-campers-remove-misogynist-slogans-from-fleet

June 26, 2015

Dumped goldfish turn into giants in Canadian waters

We're gonna need a bigger boat.

Officials in Alberta, Canada, say dumping of live goldfish into the ecosystem has resulted in freakishly large fish. The invasive species has no natural predator and is thriving in poor water conditions, according to Kate Wilson, aquatic invasive species specialist with Alberta Environment and Parks.

"The biggest one we've caught is the size of a dinner plate," Wilson said.

"That's the crazy thing about domestic aquatic pets, you have them in your aquarium and they are this cute little thing and then you release it into the wild and that constraint of size and food is gone and because of that some of these species can get really big," Wilson said.

The fish are reproducing in cold, harsh, low-oxygenated areas like Fort McMurray, which is 275 miles north of Edmonton in Alberta. That is where they caught the four generations of fish pictured above.


Wilson warns, "We are estimating hundreds of thousands are in flowing rivers and water. My biggest concern is people are doing this because they think it's the humanitarian thing to do. We really need to correct misinformation."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/25/us/illegally-dumped-goldfish-giants/index.html

June 26, 2015

This tech CEO gives employees $7,500 to go on vacation — here's the unexpected reason

This tech CEO gives employees $7,500 to go on vacation — here's the unexpected reason it's good for business

In 2012, Bart Lorang, cofounder and CEO of the Denver-based tech company FullContact introduced "paid paid vacation."

In addition to the standard 15 days paid vacation plus federal holidays, the company would give employees $7,500 to finance a trip. That's $7,500, on top of their full salaries.

There were just three rules:

No checking work emails, texts, or calls.
No working, period.
You have to actually go on vacation or you don't get the money.

Needless to say, the program did not go unnoticed. And as FullContact's communications director Brad McCarty told the Washington Post last year, it's worked "incredibly well."

"The really big names in tech all focus on the same idea, that employee happiness has to come before everything else. While it's really difficult to measure that return on investment from a dollar standpoint, it's not difficult to measure what happens when someone returns from a Paid Paid Vacation: you see, without fail, people shining brighter, working harder and more excited to get back into the swing of things."

http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/This-tech-CEO-gives-employees-7-500-to-go-on-6350140.php

June 26, 2015

$500,000 Awarded After Doctors Mock Patient During Surgery

Source: patch.com

The patient had intended to record his doctor’s instructions after the procedure, ensuring nothing got lost in translation when he awoke from sedation. Instead, he inadvertently recorded the entire procedure, and it didn’t take long after he fell unconscious for the anesthesiologist, Tiffany M. Ingham, 42, to begin the ridicule.

The Washington Post reported the anesthesiologist and other medical professionals in the room made jokes at the patient’s expense and even placed a false diagnosis on his chart during the procedure.

Here are a few samplings from the man’s recording, via the Post.

“After five minutes of talking to you in pre-op,” the anesthesiologist told the sedated patient, “I wanted to punch you in the face and man you up a little bit,” she was recorded saying.

When a medical assistant noted the man had a rash, the anesthesiologist warned her not to touch it, saying she might get “some syphilis on your arm or something,” then added, “It’s probably tuberculosis in the penis, so you’ll be all right.”

When the assistant noted that the man reported getting queasy when watching a needle placed in his arm, the anesthesiologist remarked on the recording, “Well, why are you looking then, retard?”

----

After a three-day trial, a Fairfax County judge ordered the anesthesiologist and her practice to pay the man a sum of $500,000: $100,000 for defamation, $200,000 for medical malpractice and another $200,000 for punitive damages.

Read more: http://patch.com/california/redlands/s/f29zf/500-000-awarded-after-doctors-mock-patient-during-surgery