CLibertyC

Doctor returns Viet Cong soldier’s bone 40 years after amputation

"The arm was handed back to ex-soldier Nguyen Quang Hung, who now plans to use it to claim a war veteran’s pension. 'After some research, it turns out that you can take bones in your suitcase,' said US doctor Sam Axelrad, adding that he packed the arm into his luggage — not his carry-on — 'and it went all the way through with no problems.' 'You can’t send a body without authorisation, but bones, yes,' he added. Some three million Vietnamese civilians and soldiers died during the war, which also claimed the lives of almost 60,000 American soldiers before ending in 1975 with Vietnam’s reunification." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDoctor returns Viet Cong soldier’s bone 40 years after amputation

Cop Who Shot and Killed Unarmed 14-year-old Hiding in Woodshed May Have Used Excessive Force

"A police officer for a Texas school district may have used excessive force in fatally shooting a teenager who fled the scene of a fistfight, a federal judge ruled. 'In violation of NISD police department procedures, Alvarado drew his weapon immediately after exiting the patrol car,' the complaint states. 'With his gun drawn, he rushed through the gate and into the back yard. Within seconds from arriving at the residence, Alvarado shot and killed the unarmed boy hiding in the shed.' The school district attracted national attention last year when a father challenged its program for tracking students with chip-embedded identification badges." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCop Who Shot and Killed Unarmed 14-year-old Hiding in Woodshed May Have Used Excessive Force

Austrian children’s home charged with ‘decades’ of physical and mental abuse

"Children were physically and mentally abused for decades at a former Austrian children’s home and city authorities knew about it but did nothing, a commission charged with investigating the allegations said Wednesday. The violence went beyond the severe education techniques of the time and clearly violated regulations on children’s homes which forbid beatings, Helige said, confirming that rapes also took place. Unusually, all files from the home were destroyed after its closure so the report relied heavily on interviews with some 220 people, including former staff and children from the Wilhelminenberg home." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAustrian children’s home charged with ‘decades’ of physical and mental abuse

Nursing home staff allegedly abused elderly Alzheimer’s patients

"Twenty-one current and former employees of a nursing home for Alzheimer’s patients in Georgia, including its owner, face a total of more than 70 criminal charges for allegedly abusing elderly patients, authorities said Tuesday. The abuses included employees restraining patients with bed sheets and subjecting them to 'inhumane and undignified conditions' at Alzheimer’s Care of Commerce, about 60 miles north of Atlanta, according to a statement from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. In 2012, a Congressional report showed that patients suffer abuse or neglect in one in three nursing homes in the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNursing home staff allegedly abused elderly Alzheimer’s patients

Justice Department sues Florida over ‘deliberate indifference’ in treatment of disabled children

"The U.S. Justice Department sued the state of Florida on Monday, accusing health officials of violating the Americans with Disabilities act by placing almost 200 handicapped minors in nursing homes usually used for elderly residents, Mother Jones reported. Florida is the 12th state sued by the department over alleged mistreatment of physically or mentally disabled residents in the past four years. The Miami Herald reported that while the state has increased patient care payments to $550 per day for children placed in nursing homes, lawmakers also cut $6 million from a program allowing residents to get private health care at their homes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJustice Department sues Florida over ‘deliberate indifference’ in treatment of disabled children

Doctors caught on video using household drills in Moldovan state-run children’s hospital

"Doctors at a Moldovan state-run hospital used household tools, including an electric drill and pliers, to perform surgery in a video leaked to local press and published on the Internet, prompting outrage among the public and government officials. Prime Minister Iurie Leance ordered Healthcare Minister Andrei Usatii on the same day to investigate the incident. Usatii, in turn, told local television that while the use of household tools was allowed in certain circumstances, the hospital in question had adequate specialized equipment. Moldova, a former Soviet republic of 4 million, is one of the poorest nations in Europe with an average monthly wage of about $300." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDoctors caught on video using household drills in Moldovan state-run children’s hospital

Cannabis for Elders: A Precarious State

"Ailments ranging from chemotherapy side effects, arthritis, glaucoma, chronic pain and even malnutrition are being treated with cannabis, a promising alternative for seniors who are increasingly susceptible to the dangerous side effects and growing dependency of multiple prescription medications. But as many move into assisted living facilities, questions arise on the use of medical marijuana behind their doors. Muddied by its illegal status at the federal level, social stigma, and often hesitant attitudes of administrators who in some cases fear losing funding for allowing a controlled substance on their property, medical marijuana presents a list of challenges for seniors." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCannabis for Elders: A Precarious State

NSA Says It Can’t Search Its Own Emails

"The NSA is a 'supercomputing powerhouse' with machines so powerful their speed is measured in thousands of trillions of operations per second. The agency turns its giant machine brains to the task of sifting through unimaginably large troves of data its surveillance programs capture. But ask the NSA, as part of a freedom of information request, to do a seemingly simple search of its own employees' email? 'There's no central method to search an email at this time with the way our records are set up, unfortunately,' NSA Freedom of Information Act officer Cindy Blacker told me last week. The system is 'a little antiquated and archaic,' she added." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA Says It Can’t Search Its Own Emails

California City Retreats From Red Light Camera Referendum

"City leaders in Riverside, California are backing off the promise made last November to allow residents to make the call about whether to keep or eliminate red light cameras. The city council votes later today on a staff recommendation to pull the plug on the public vote. The city has already postponed the ballot measure that was to be considered in June." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalifornia City Retreats From Red Light Camera Referendum

Another Revolving Door: Deputy Secretary Neal. Wolin to Leave Treasury

"The Treasury Department today announced that Deputy Secretary Neal S. Wolin will conclude his tenure at the Department at the end of August, more than four years after he was confirmed. Wolin served as Acting Treasury Secretary from mid-January to late-February 2013. He was confirmed as Deputy in May 2009 and is the longest-serving Deputy Secretary in the Department’s history. From 2001 to 2008, Wolin served at The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. as President and Chief Operating Officer for Property and Casualty Operations. Earlier in his career, he also worked in private law practice at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington, DC. " Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnother Revolving Door: Deputy Secretary Neal. Wolin to Leave Treasury