God, Can't believe it is the 1st of October!! Where in the world has this year gone? For me it has just flown by...
I will do my monthly statistics tomorrow. Today is a just because I had a good nights' sleep ! ! !
Here are a few stories dealing with what is good with the world and some with the not so good.
The GOOD:
El Paso waitress saves customer's cash (30 Sept 12)
EL PASO, Texas (UPI) -- A Texas waitress returned an envelope full of cash to a man who accidentally left it behind after dining in her restaurant.
Lizeth Naranjo, a waitress at Guadalajara Restaurant in downtown El Paso, noticed the wad of cash in an envelope on the restaurant's counter Wednesday, the El Paso (Texas) Times reported.
Naranjo, 32, said she ran after the customer, but he had already disappeared from the street, so she stored the $138 in a drawer in the back of the restaurant in case he returned to claim it.
The man, Richard Rechy, 60, went back to the restaurant the next day in hopes that someone had saved his cash, which he said he planned to use to pay off a library fine dating back to his time as a New Mexico State University student in the late 1980s.
Naranjo on Thursday said she recognized Rechy right away and produced his money.
"I joked that I had spent it already," Naranjo said. I knew he was upset about it, so I wanted to cheer him up.
Rechy said he was thankful for Naranjo's actions.
"It's very emotional when you never have had money and you lose $138," Rechy said. When someone cares and treats you well after you've had a hard life, you get emotional.
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For the whole story go to http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?sid=306
Aug 31, 2012--
"Brandon Cook, from Wilton, New Hampshire, was visiting his grandmother in the hospital. Terribly ill with cancer, she complained to her grandson that she desperately wanted a bowl of soup, and that the hospital's soup was inedible (she used saltier language). If only she could get a bowl of her favorite clam chowder from Panera Bread! Trouble was, Panera only sells clam chowder on Friday. So Brandon called the nearby Panera and talked to store manager Suzanne Fortier. Not only did Sue make clam chowder specially for Brandon's grandmother, she included a box of cookies as a gift from the staff. It was a small act of kindness that would not normally make headlines. Except ... " In this thoughtful post, the co-founder of Fast Company magazine examines what happened next, and the powerful reminder it holds for modern-day businesses.
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Mind you there are a lot of "Nice people doing nice things" but we really never get a chance to read or hear about them....
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The Not so Good or BAD:
Cane-wielding woman sends burglar running WILMINGTON, Del. (UPI) -- A disabled Delaware woman said she used a few good licks from her cane to get a decades-younger burglary suspect running away.
The 55-year-old woman, who wanted to be identified only by her first name, Anita, told WTFX-TV, Philadelphia, she saw the young man coming through a window of her home in Wilmington.
She started wielding the cane after she "saw him put his foot in, his butt in, his butt in, his arm in, his face in."
"My dad told me a long time ago, if the Bible don't get you, the cane will get you," Anita said.
Investigators were trying to determine whether the man was involved in the theft of a television from another house in the same neighborhood. Someone saw two young men carrying a large television down the street, but they apparently set it down and it was recovered.
Anita has a tube in her throat and moves and speaks with difficulty.
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The just plain STUPID:
Paul Stiller, 47, was hospitalized in Andover Township, N. J., in September, and his wife Bonnie was also injured, by a quarter-stick of dynamite that blew up in their car. While driving around at 2 a.m., the bored couple lit the dynamite and tried to toss it out the window to see what would happen, but they apparently failed to notice that the window was closed.
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In February, according to police in Windsor, Ont., Daniel Kolta, 27, and Randy Taylor, 33, died in a head-on collision, thus earning a tie in the game of chicken they were playing with their snowmobiles.
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In Guthrie, Okla., in October, Jason Heck tried to kill a millipede with a shot from his .22-caliber rifle, but the bullet ricocheted off a rock near the hole and hit pal Antonio Martinez in the head, fracturing his skull.
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LOS ANGELES, CA - A woman got burned during an attempt to self exterminate bugs in her home. The woman, whose identity was not beed released, activated 30 fogger-style "bug bombs" in her home, including one in the kitchen area. An ignition source triggered an explosion that authorities say burned the woman, shattered the windows and lifted the roof three inches. According to fire spokesman Jim Wells, no more than three or four foggers should have been used and the blast caused about $30,000 damage to the 800-square-foot home.
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Albany, New York - Scott Bernstein, who called the Colonie New York Police Department 6 times hoping to find a prostitute, not believing, apparently, the female dispatcher who kept telling him he was reaching the police department and who kept hanging up on him. On the sixth call the police had had enough and arranged to meet him at a hotel. He then only had one more phone call he could make, and it wasn't for a prostitute.
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From England: A motorist was unknowingly caught in an automated speed trap that measured his speed using radar and photographed his car. He later received in the mail a ticket for 40 Pounds and a photo of his car. Instead of payment, he sent the police department a photograph of 40 Pounds. Several days later, he received a letter from the police that contained another picture ... of handcuffs. The motorist promptly sent the money for the fine.
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Drug Possession Defendant Christopher Jansen, on trial in March in Pontiac, Michigan, said he had been searched without a warrant. The prosecutor said the officer didn't need a warrant because a "bulge" in Christopher's jacket could have been a gun. "Nonsense," said Christopher, who happened to be wearing the same jacket that day in court. He handed it over so the judge could see it. The judge discovered a packet of cocaine in the pocket and laughed so hard he required a five minute recess to compose himself.
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Detroit: R.C. Gaitlan, 21, walked up to two patrol officers who were showing their squad
car computer felon-location equipment to children in a Detroit neighborhood. When he asked how the system worked, the officer asked him for identification. Gaitlan gave them his drivers license, they entered it into the computer, and moments later they arrested Gaitlan because information on the screen showed Gaitlan was wanted for a two-year-old armed robbery in St. Louis, Missouri.
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In Ohio, an unidentified man in his late twenties walked into a police station with a 9-inch wire protruding from his forehead and calmly asked officers to give him an X-ray to help him find his brain, which he claimed had been stolen. Police were shocked to learn that the man had drilled a 6-inch deep hole in his skull with a
Black & Decker power drill and had stuck the wire in to try and find the missing brain.
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And the BAD:
Evil teenagers who 'tortured' autistic boy, 17, for three days free to roam streets after judge fails to lock them up
By
Jaya NarainA family has reacted with horror and disbelief after a gang of teenage thugs who subjected an autistic boy to a terrifying three-day‘torture’ ordeal walked free from court.
The gang used a mobile phone to film themselves carrying out depraved assaults on their 17-year-old victim.
During a sickening spree of violence the three thugs kicked and stamped on his head, repeatedly punched him in the chest, beat him with a tennis racket and then threw him down a steep embankment.
Jack Bolton (left), Andrew Griffin (below), and Nathan Marshall (right), who used a mobile phone to film themselves carrying out depraved assaults on their 17-year-old victim, have avoided a custodial sentence for the 'grotesque' attack
The terrified teenager – who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism – was also pelted with dog mess, had his limbs scratched with sandpaper and was forced to drink vodka and gin until he passed out.
Mobile phone footage showed the yobs laughing and joking as they made him endure other abuse and, in a final humiliating assault, they applied adhesive tape to his genital area before ripping the tape off.
But Jack Bolton, Andrew Griffin, and Nathan Marshall, all 18, walked free from court.
The terrified teenager – who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism – was also pelted with dog mess, had his limbs scratched with sandpaper and was forced to drink vodka and gin until he passed out.
Mobile phone footage showed the yobs laughing and joking as they made him endure other abuse and, in a final humiliating assault, they applied adhesive tape to his genital area before ripping the tape off.
Release: Judge Jonathan Geake labelled the crimes 'grotesque' but only handed out community service orders and three-month curfews
But Jack Bolton, Andrew Griffin, and Nathan Marshall, all 18, walked free from court.
Judge Jonathan Geake imposed three-month curfews on them and ordered them to carry out 80 hours’ unpaid community work as ‘an intensive alternative to custody’. He also ordered them to be supervised by probation officers for 12 months.
Last night the teenager’s family, senior police officers and an MP branded the sentence ‘a joke’ and called for it to be reviewed.
His aunt, with whom he lived, said: ‘The things that these boys did to him were awful and disgusting. In my book they could have killed him and need to be jailed. The sentence is a joke. I can’t believe they have got off so lightly.’
She said the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, quit college and moved to a different part of the UK to rebuild his life.
‘He was young and innocent and could not fend for himself,’ she said. ‘It was just awful. He is scared and vulnerable and they have called him a grass. He used to come home with bruises and lie about it but when he came home with a trainer print on his face I knew that there was something more.’
She said: ‘Now he has nightmares and he does not trust people. He is scared of everything really and now this lot are free to walk the streets.’ Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester heard how Bolton, Griffin and Marshall had originally been friendly towards the boy.
But the 17-year-old, who also suffers attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, had felt increasingly threatened and bullied.
The gang, all from Eccles, Greater Manchester, told him they would‘break his jaw’ if he did not do as he was told and made phone calls warning they would beat him up.
Nicky Moore, prosecuting, said the threats came to a head in May when, over a period of three days, the boy was beaten and abused by the gang. His ordeal came to an end only when his aunt spotted the trainer print on his face and injuries to his body.
On mobile phone footage played in court the boy could be heard begging: ‘Please don’t hurt me.’
The gang told police they carried out the attacks ‘for no reason’ because they were ‘bored’.
Bolton, Griffin and Marshall admitted assault causing actual bodily harm and common assault.
Hazel Blears, Labour MP for Salford and Eccles, said she was‘shocked’ at the sentences and would raise them with Justice Secretary Ken Clarke.
‘This young man has been driven out of the city and the perpetrators are walking round free. It should be the other way round,’ she said.
‘There is a sexual element to these offences – did the judge not consider making the culprits sign the Sex Offenders’ Register?
‘These offences go way beyond bullying. They were sadistic and have clearly caused emotional damage to a vulnerable young man.’
A senior police source said: ‘It is a shame that when the Government is making such a big issue about anti-social behaviour we do not get the backing from the courts. It was a sickening, disgusting, and hideous attack on a vulnerable boy.’
Judge Geake said he had taken into account the attackers’ ages, remorse and the fact they had pleaded guilty.
AND ANOTHER and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Might be best to just skim it because it is a long read.
Cruelty of the carers: Damning report into home help for the elderly finds neglect so appalling some wanted to die
- ‘These small acts of cruelty are being enacted, possibly unthinkingly, every day’
- Cancer victim, 76, had to struggle to kitchen to heat up a meal - because it was claimed health and safety rules meant home helpers could not operate a microwave
- Another patient, her 90s, put to bed at 2.45pm
Thousands of elderly people are being abused and neglected in their homes by the very staff meant to care for them.
In some cases the treatment is so appalling that frail and vulnerable pensioners have been left ‘wanting to die’, a report reveals today.
It comes after studies exposing the shocking standard of care for old people in hospitals and care homes across the country.
The report found that in some cases the treatment is so appalling that frail and vulnerable pensioners have been left ¿wanting to die¿. (Picture posed by models)
In one example, a care worker forced a 76-year-old cancer victim to struggle to the kitchen to heat up a meal – because it was claimed health and safety rules meant a helper could not operate a microwave.
Another was put to bed at 2.45pm – while some were even left to starve by refusing help with their meals.
The daughter of one neglected pensioner told the inquiry team: ‘These small acts of cruelty are being enacted, possibly unthinkingly, every day.’
Basic rights: Sally Greengross said elderly people needed to be protected from dehumanising treatment
The landmark study by the Equality and Human Rights Commission also lifts the lid on appalling physical abuse and carers stealing money from pensioners.
But it warns the victims often do not complain for fear of repercussions.
The study also accused councils of being guilty of cruel age discrimination: spending less money on and providing fewer services for pensioners than they would for younger adults with similar care needs.
Appalling neglect of some of the 500,000 older people relying on council and private home helps leaves many of them stuck in their own homes, suffering from ‘pervasive social isolation and loneliness’. The report concluded: ‘Many of these incidents amount to abuses of human rights.
‘The cumulative impact on older people can be profoundly depressing and stressful: tears, frustration, expressions of a desire to die and feelings of being stripped of self-worth and dignity.’
The EHRC report found pensioners’ human rights were being breached in a number of ways:
- Elderly not being given adequate support to eat or drink, in particular those with dementia
- Home helps not carrying out vital tasks such as washing and dressing because of lack of time;
- Financial abuse, such as money being systematically stolen;
- Talking over older people (sometimes on mobile phones) or patronising them;
- Physical abuse, such as rough handling or unnecessary force.
Funding shortfall: Liz Kendall, Labour's spokesman for older people, blamed cuts for hitting care for the elderly
Sally Greengross, commissioner for the EHRC, said: ‘It is essential that care services respect people’s basic human rights.
'This is not about burdensome red tape, it is about protecting people from the kind of dehumanising treatment we have uncovered.
'The emphasis is on saving pennies rather than providing a service which will meet the very real needs of our grandparents, our parents, and eventually all of us.
‘Most of us will want to carry on living in our own homes later in life, even if we need help to do so.
‘When implemented, the recommendations from this inquiry will provide secure foundations for a home care system that will let us do so safely, with dignity and independence.’
The report concluded home helps get away with appalling standards because the elderly are frightened to complain, believing it could have repercussions such as them getting an even worse standard of care. It was striking how reluctant older people are to make complaints,’ it said.
‘They do not want to get their care workers in trouble, feared being put into residential care and did not want to “make a fuss”.’
Councils are racked with age discrimination, the report said. Evidence provided to the inquiry found that people over the age of 65 get less money spent on their care than younger people with similar care needs, and get a more limited range of services.
Some town halls’ contact numbers even screen out older people needing home care without passing them on for a full assessment – something which is against the law.
'The emphasis has been on saving pennies rather than providing a service.'
Sally Greengross, EHRC commissioner
The commission also found people who funded all or part of their care as a result of council means tests often received worse care, because only those who received all their care for free come under the remit of the Human Rights Act.
The inquiry follows a damning report by the Care Quality Commission in May which raised serious concerns about the treatment of older patients in care homes and NHS hospitals. A wave of inspections was ordered to be carried out in 500 care homes for the elderly and 50 hospitals after inspectors found nurses and carers were failing to provide the most basic of necessities.
Similar failings were highlighted earlier this year by the Health Service Ombudsman who cited cases of patients left to become so thirsty they could not cry for help.
Last night, care services minister Paul Burstow said: ‘This Government won’t tolerate poor care. I am determined to root out ageism and bad practice to drive up quality and dignity in care.’
Labour spokesman for older people, Liz Kendall, said Government cuts were pushing the social care system ‘to breaking point’.
THE DAMNING DOSSIER
Today’s report has uncovered dozens of examples of appalling care provided by home helps. Here is a selection of the most harrowing:
Health And Safety Left OAP To Starve
An able-bodied, healthy 32-year-old female care worker stood and watched a 76-year-old woman with advanced cancer struggle from the lounge to the kitchen to microwave a meal, as the home help said she could not to do it ‘because of health and safety’ – although apparently this did not preclude the worker from dishing up the microwaved meal on to a plate. The pensioner’s daughter said: ‘It is hard to think of a reason or excuse big enough adequately to cover such a fundamental lack of care from one adult to another.’
78-year-old Pushed Back Into Her Chair
One 78-year-old woman described her treatment at the hands of carers: ‘Most of the girls were nasty; they were rough. Rather than say “sit in the chair”, they’ d push me back into the chair, and I didn’t like that. I couldn’t do anything about it. I can’t even walk – they know you’re vulnerable.’
Grim: The report said that pensioners don't complain about shoddy care because they fear the repercussions
Woman’s Weight Plummeted To 7st
An elderly woman’s weight went down to 7st because carers just left food beside her, even though she was physically unable to feed herself. She had Huntingdon’s disease, which means she needs an hour to swallow her meal and has to ingest 4,000 calories a day – but carers would simply plonk the food down and rush off to the next appointment.
Patient In Her 90s Put To Bed In Afternoon
One woman in her 90s was put to bed at 2.45pm because that fit in with the carer’s time slot. Her daughter recalled: ‘The carers get mum ready for bed at 4.30pm. Mum would prefer this later but the only slot given was after 9.30pm and this was too late for her. Last week one carer arrived at 2.45pm to get her ready for bed.’
Man Made To Shower In Front Of Trainees
One man, aged over 65, found himself being showered in front of a room full of trainees. ‘I have MS and am very severely disabled, and feel my dignity is not being respected when I have several trainees observing quite an intimate routine,’ he said.
Elderly Mother Left In Filthy Bedding
The daughter of a woman in her 80s said: ‘For several weeks mum was not bathed or had her hair washed. One time, carers decided not to do any of her washing any more, even though it was on her care plan, leading to my mum being left in filthy nightwear and clothes and bedding.’
Carer Ignored Blind Man On Visits
A care worker came round every morning to visit a deaf/blind man called Sam. She made him his breakfast and left it on the kitchen top – but never told him she was there, let alone that his breakfast was in the kitchen. Every morning, the breakfast went uneaten.
Dementia Patient’s Day Without Food
A woman with Alzheimer’s didn’t have anything to eat all day after a carer made her a sandwich, but simply put it in the fridge and told her to eat it at lunchtime. She forgot and did not have anything to eat until her daughter visited that night.
