1,500 acid attacks have been recorded in London since 2011

Acid attacks in Britain's capital are soaring to new heights, new data reveals.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Mirror shows that between 2011 and 2016, London had nearly 1,500 cases of the devastating crime, which burns the skin and leaves victims cowering from their injuries.

In the long term, the scale of the injuries are so scarring that victims can often suffer serious psychological damage as a result of the attacks.

Last year alone, there were 431 such acid attacks – a rise of 170 cases from the year prior.

More

Six out of 10 People in France 'Don't Feel Safe Anywhere'

Fearing terror attacks, the majority of people in France are pessimistic about the nation’s security situation, with six in 10 saying they no longer feel safe anywhere according to an IFOP-FIDUCIAL poll.

The survey found that 93 per cent of French believe the threat of more terror attacks is high, and 71 per cent feel the security situation in France has got worse over the last five years.

More

Report: IBM to announce plan to hire 2,000 vets during Trump meeting

IBM President and CEO Ginni Rometty will announce plans to hire 2,000 U.S. military veterans during a meeting Friday with President Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to a report.

Over a four-year period, the veterans will be hired as part of a software training and certification initiative. Rometty will also announce plans for 20 new Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools, part of a public-private partnership program that offers information technology education.

Rometty will be one of a number of tech leaders set to attend the meeting where worker training will be discussed, part of the German chancellor's first visit with Trump in the White House, Axios reported.

More

3 men, 1 woman shot at Atlanta mall

Atlanta police are investigating a shooting outside the West End Mall. Three adult males and one female were shot, according to police.

Police say the fight started with an altercation inside the mall related to drugs and gang affiliation.

Police also say someone got out of a white truck and began shooting the victims outside of the mall. That's when people on the street started shooting back.

More

These are the 138 JCPenney stores that will close this year (Easton store closing)

JC Penney on Friday released a list of the 138 stores it plans to shutter as part of a campaign to reduce corporate costs and increase sales at popular locations.

Macy's and Sears also announced major closures this year, as more Americans abandon brick-and-mortar chains and opt for shopping online at sites like Amazon.

"We believe closing stores will also allow us to adjust our business to effectively compete against the growing threat of online retailers," said Marvin R. Ellison, chairman and CEO of JCPenney in a statement last month. "Maintaining a large store base gives us a competitive advantage in the evolving retail landscape since our physical stores are a destination for personalized beauty offerings, a broad array of special sizes, affordable private brands and quality home goods and services."

More

Germany to Test Dialect Analysis Software on Asylum-seekers

Germany plans to test software that can automatically recognize a person's dialect to help determine whether asylum-seekers are really where they claim they're from.

Germany's Office for Migration and Refugees confirmed a report on the pilot project Friday by the Die Welt newspaper.

An agency spokeswoman says the software would complement existing methods used to verify a person's identity.

More

Build The Wall 3-18-17

ILLEGAL ALIEN ARRESTED IN TEXAS, 10 DAYS AFTER BEING DEPORTED

SEVEN-TIME DEPORTEE CAUGHT DRIVING DRUNK IN TEXAS

ILLEGAL ALIEN SEXUALLY ASSAULTED 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN NEW JERSEY

CHINESE NATIONAL ON WORK VISA SODOMIZED HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT IN MISSOURI

MARIJUANA GROW SITE FOUND IN TEXAS BELONGS TO LOS ZETAS DRUG CARTEL

ILLEGAL ALIEN RAPED MULTIPLE CHILDREN IN NORTH CAROLINA

ILLEGAL ALIEN CHARGED IN HOME INVASION OF ELDERLY COUPLE

Schumer Voted for Wall in 2006 but Threatens Gov’t Shutdown over Funding Trump’s Wall

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and several other Democrats sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Monday threatening a government shutdown in April if Congress approves funding for President Donald Trump’s border wall.

However, in 2006, Schumer, along with 25 other Democrats, voted for President George W. Bush’s Secure Fence Act, which built 700 miles (1,000 km) of a protective barrier between the United States-Mexico border.

Part of the letter Schumer and other Democrats sent to McConnell read, “We believe it would be inappropriate to insist on the inclusion of (wall) funding in a must-pass appropriations bill that is needed for the Republican majority in control of the Congress to avert a government shutdown so early in President Trump’s administration.”

“If Republicans insist on inserting poison pill riders such as defunding Planned Parenthood, building a border wall, or starting a deportation force, they will be shutting down the government and delivering a severe blow to our economy,” the letter continued.

More here

What happens when you don't use a toilet seat cover?

There's a certain comfort in the toilet seat cover, the tissue-thin layer of grace between your bare behind and a piece of cold, dirty plastic. But what happens if you forgo the cover, boldly plopping down on a surface crawling with who knows what?

Probably nothing, according to public health experts. Seat covers do not stop germs, they said, and you're not likely to catch an infection from a toilet, anyway.

Toilet seat covers are absorbent and bacteria and viruses are tiny, able to pass through the relatively large holes in the cover's paper, said Kelly Reynolds, a public health researcher at the University of Arizona. That means they don't stop the spread of germs, she said, but the risk of germ transmission from your skin touching a toilet seat is unlikely in the first place.

More

PELOSI Slams ‘stupid economy’, repeats words, bursts into laughter

We asked this a few weeks ago, but seriously, is something wrong with Nancy Pelosi?

During a press conference today in which she set out to attack President Trump’s budget outline, she slammed the “stupid economy” as she criticized proposed cuts to federal education programs..

“More than $9 billion cut from education,” Pelosi told reporters.

“Now remember this: Nothing brings more money to the treasury than investment in education. So when Republicans say ‘We need to reduce the deficit and therefore we must cut education,’ that is a stupid economy because, again, nothing,” she said, pausing briefly before the memorized talking point kicked in, and continuing, “brings more money to the treasury to reduce the deficit than the education of the American people.”

Later, she repeated words like a muttering bum..

More/video

Cambridge Man Permanently Banned from Oyster Harvesting

An oysterman lost his license, a deer poacher was sentenced under a new state law, and a man accused of stealing state park passes and waterfowl hunting stamps was arrested in recent cases handled by the Maryland Natural Resources Police.

---

A Cambridge man with a history of natural resources violations has been permanently banned from harvesting oysters by an administrative law judge.

Todd Hamilton Ruark, 36, was cited by officers for power dredging in a hand tong-only area of the Tred Avon River Dec. 13, and again Dec. 19.

At a revocation hearing earlier this month, Ruark claimed he unintentionally violated the hand-tong boundary when strong tides pushed his workboat into the reserved area. He told Judge Thomas Welshko that he deserved leniency because he had not encroached very far into the hand-tong area.

After hearing from the officers and watching the video they, the judge disagreed. He called Ruark’s testimony not credible and noted that he was caught more than a football field-length inside the restricted area. The water, he noted, was calm.

“I conclude that on both dates, [Ruark] knew where the hand tong-only line was an intentionally crossed it to harvest oysters using a power dredge,” Welshko wrote in his ruling.

In December, Ruark was charged with nine additional violations stemming from illegal oyster harvesting. He was issued citations for: exceeding his daily catch limit by three bushels; harvesting oysters after hours; possessing untagged oysters; four counts of failing to store oysters in the proper containers; selling oysters on the internet without a dealer’s license; and selling oysters without a state health certificate.

He failed to appear Thursday in Talbot County District Court.

Judicial Watch Files Supreme Court Brief Supporting Ohio’s Right to Clean Voter Rolls

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch has announced that it filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Ohio’s efforts to ensure that its voter rolls are up to date. The case is on appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which held Ohio’s process is in violation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) (Jon Husted, Ohio Secretary of State v. Philip Randolph Institute, et al. (No. 16-980)).

In filing its amicus brief in support of Ohio’s voter registration law, Judicial Watch argued that the Sixth Circuit’s 2-1 ruling would undermine the 2014 settlement agreement between Judicial Watch and its litigation partner, True the Vote, and the State of Ohio (Judicial Watch and True the Vote v. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted (No. 2:12-cv-00792)).

The settlement agreement required Ohio to contact inactive voters every year to confirm they had not moved or died, as one of many steps to fulfill Ohio’s voter list maintenance obligations under the NVRA. In that lawsuit, Judicial Watch and True the Vote alleged violations of the NVRA by the State of Ohio.

In its amicus brief to the Supreme Court, Judicial Watch argues that in preventing Ohio from cleaning its voter rolls, the lower court “inverted the plain meaning” of the federal voter list integrity law. Judicial Watch contends that Ohio should be permitted to continue its process of “sending of a statutory confirmation notice to any registrant that has not had any voting-related activity for two years.”

More here

Gravesite of Crisfield’s early settlers to be stabilized, public invited to hear lectures on local history

Joe Paden and UMES students in 2016 worked to restore the Nelson Homestead family cemetery off Cash Corner Road. On Saturday, March 25, they will be back stabilizing another small cemetery, this time on Calvary Road. The public is especially invited for the talks about local Native American history, genealogy and lore which begin at 10 a.m. The program is free, but donations will be accepted.

CRISFIELD — On Saturday, March 25, Joe Paden of the historic preservation group and tour guide outfitter, The Crisfield Story Project, will be leading a cemetery restoration of “Nelson’s Plot” located at 3075 Calvary Road in Crisfield. The restoration will be carried out by volunteers consisting of students and staff from the UMES Office of University Engagement and Lifelong Learning.

The Nelson Plot is the family cemetery of John Nelson, son of Revolutionary War Veteran, Thomas King Nelson, and grandson of Sacker Nelson who was kidnapped during that war to pilot the British fleet up the Chesapeake Bay. Mr. Paden will be sharing stories of this and other families throughout the day.

At 10 a.m., Native American expert, Norris Howard, chief of the Pocomoke Indian Nation will be giving a lecture and presentation on Native American life in the area. He will be followed by historian and genealogist Philip Goldsborough who will be covering the colonization of the Eastern Shore along with other interesting episodes in our history. Genealogist Linda Paden will also be present to answer questions pertaining to the histories of local families.

More

Very Fake News: CNN Claims Sean Hannity ‘Pulled Gun’ on Juan Williams After ‘Argument’

The fake news establishment media at CNN is at it again. Now they are attacking Fox News host Sean Hannity, smearing his reputation with a phony story about him allegedly pointing a gun at liberal Fox News contributor Juan Williams.

Dylan Byers, one of the media writers at CNN who works for media industry defender Brian Stelter, printed a story on Thursday alleging: “Last year, after ending one of his many spirited on-air arguments with liberal contributor Juan Williams, Hannity pulled out a gun and pointed it directly at Williams.” Byers cited “three sources with knowledge of the incident” to make the claim.

“He even turned on the laser sight, causing a red dot to bob around on Williams’ body,” Byers wrote, adding in parentheses: “Hannity was just showing off, the sources said, but the unforeseen off-camera antic clearly disturbed Williams and others on set.”

Byers added in the next paragraph that the alleged incident was investigated, and it was determined nothing bad happened.

More here

DOJ To Appeal Latest Setback For Trump Travel Ban

(WASHINGTON) -- The Justice Department announced today it will appeal a federal judge’s ruling that blocked federal agencies from enforcing certain parts of President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban.

"The Department of Justice strongly disagrees with the Maryland federal district court’s ruling, and looks forward to defending the President’s Executive Order seeking to protect our Nation’s security,” a DOJ spokesperson told ABC News.

The move comes just one day after the federal judge in Maryland issued a nationwide preliminary injunction on one part of Trump's revised ban -- the section that imposes the 90-day pause on the issuance of visas to citizens of six Muslim-majority countries included in the executive order. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang ruled that the plaintiffs had standing and a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims, including claims that the executive order discriminated on the basis of religion.

The nationwide preliminary injunction will remain in place indefinitely until it is either lifted by the Maryland judge or overturned by a higher court. The Trump administration is appealing the Maryland decision to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

More

New York State Kills Literacy Test for Teachers: Minority Kids Hardest Hit

Teachers’ unions are cheering the news that New York state education officials have killed off a literacy test which successfully revealed that almost a third of candidate teachers cannot meet eight-grade standards.

Members of the New York state Board of Regents voted on Monday to eliminate the literacy exam which revealed the prospective teachers’ poor reading and writing skills, saying the controversial test is “flawed” and that it puts Latino and African-American teacher applicants at an unfair disadvantage.

Advocates of testing said the decision to kill the literacy test will lower teaching standards, especially for minority students in the city.

“Eliminating the [test just] to increase the number of unqualified, unprepared Black and Latino prospective teachers is the most racist and destructive action taken under the guise of diversifying NY’s teachers,” said Mona Davids, President of the New York City Parents Union, adding:

We, Black and Latino parents, do not want teachers who cannot pass a basic literacy test. We don’t care about the color or race of the teacher, we want highly effective teachers teaching our children.

More

55 ‘Ghost’ Pots Removed From Bays

OCEAN CITY – The Maryland Coastal Bays Program (MCBP), along with a team of local watermen and volunteers successfully removed dozens of hidden “ghost” crab pots from the waters, in and around the resort area that were either abandoned or lost, causing a danger to several species along with navigation.

The MCBP recently partnered with local watermen and volunteers to remove marine debris with a focus on abandoned crab pots from the local bays. Crabber Skip Maisel, along with first mate Charlie Travers and Assateague Conservation Corps volunteers, spent two days on the water seeking and retrieving abandoned “ghost” crab pots. Fifty-five derelict pots in various stages of deterioration were removed from the water and transported locally for recycling.

Occasionally, a crab pot can become detached from its buoy or forgotten. These lost pots, known as “ghost pots,” are still able to continue catching crabs, fish, and terrapins. Even after the original bait is gone, the pots “re-bait” themselves. As new animals get trapped in the pots and die, they attract others that then become trapped as well. One study estimated that there are 85,000 ghost pots in the Maryland portion of Chesapeake Bay alone.
Crab pots are lost due to a variety of causes, such as gear conflicts, storm events, or debris catching the pots. However, the majority of crab pots lost in Maryland are due to boat propellers cutting the line. The easiest way to prevent this from occurring is to avoid crab pot marker floats. Not only does hitting a buoy lose the crab pot, but the boat’s props can also be damaged from getting tangled in the line.

More

Transgender Pastor Scolds Bathroom Bill Supporters: 'God Is Transgender!'

Maintenance man acquitted in sex-for-repairs case

BALTIMORE (AP) — After a key witness failed to show up in court, a judge has acquitted an ex-maintenance worker of charges that he demanded sex from a woman in exchange for repairs at a public housing unit in Baltimore.

News outlets report the state’s attorney’s office abandoned the case against 62-year-old Doug Hussy after a woman who had accused Hussy did not appear in court Thursday to testify.

The accusations against Hussy were among several raised by female public housing tenants in 2015 that led to a class-action lawsuit. The city housing authority settled the lawsuit last year for up to $8 million.

More

Are Collapsing Pensions "About To Bring Hell To America"?

The toxic dollar is bringing hell in a handbasket.

Along with the student loan debt bubble and other major financial factors, the looming pensions crisis is bound to be the death of us all.

Because it’s based on a future promise to pay, it has long been a benefit dangled to solve strikes and union disputes – because, in the end, it is just more debt, whether private or public.

With tens of trillions in unfunded liabilities, the weight of an avalanche remains dangling over our heads. An aging population is cashing in on needed retirement benefits while the younger generations must support multiples that are unsustainable financially.

Somewhere between the retiree that needs clothing, food and lodging, and the bankruptcy of cities and state governments is the makings of the next economic crisis.

via AgainstCronyCapitalism.org:

This is one of those things that few will pay attention to until it’s a 5 alarm fire. Then the policymakers will run around with their hands in the air saying they didn’t see it coming.

Of course they did. But addressing the problem is hard and will make people unhappy in the short term.

This blog pointed out the sad, and quiet fact that entities like the government of South Carolina are deep in debt over pensions. Everywhere there are failing social systems.

And somewhere, the rubber is going to met the road, and people are going to get hurt.

More