society

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Sweden '[we] cannot cope' - closes borders to those without passports or ID cards: Sweden, with a population of 9.8 million, took 160,000 asylum seekers in 2015, a higher number of refugees per capita than any other country in the European Union. In September, prime minister Stefan Lofven said: 'My Europe takes in people fleeing from war', but by last month he admitted ' [we] cannot cope' - closing the borders to those without passports or ID cards.

Thousands of commuters traveling across the five-mile road and rail bridge and accompanying tunnel between the Danish capital Copenhagen and Malmo in Sweden were yesterday told to expect their journeys to take half an hour longer than the usual 40 minutes.

The decision to close the borders to those without passports or ID cards marks a massive turnaround for the Swedish government, which had been the most welcoming to migrants but changed course after more than 160,000 applied for asylum last year – the highest number per capita in Europe.  read more »

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telegraph.co.uk 23 Dec 2015 - Computer glitch frees 3,200 prisoners early in Washington state: the governor of Washington state has admitted that 3,200 prisoners have been released by mistake from his jails, after a computer glitch approved their early discharge.

Since computer systems were updated in 2002, around three percent of criminals have been released early due to an error that incorrectly calculated credit for "good time" served. Some of those who were released early will have to return to prison to finish their sentence, said Jay Inslee, the governor. Five have already been put back behind bars.

"That this problem was allowed to continue for 13 years is deeply disappointing to me, totally unacceptable and, frankly, maddening," said Mr Inslee on Tuesday. "So, when I learned of this, I immediately ordered the department to fix it, fix it fast and fix it right."

Mr Inslee said he had asked the state to work with local law enforcement to identify those people who need to be returned, and 7 of the 3,200 have so far been identified. The state estimates the average number of days offenders were released early is 49, with the luckiest prisoner being released 600 days early.

The state was made aware of the error in 2012 when the family of a crime victim learned the offender responsible was being released too early. But the state says the "coding fix was repeatedly delayed".  read more »

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George Lucas, father of "Star Wars", is a pioneering filmmaker who redefined how films are made. Lucas wanted to make a movie that would teach children the central ethic of right and wrong, good and evil. “I want[ed] to see if I can bend their lives at a particular point in time when they’re very vulnerable,” he recalls, “and give them the things that we’ve always given kids throughout history. The last time we had done it was with the Western. And once the Western was gone, there was no vehicle to say, ‘You don’t shoot people in the back’ and such.”

He’ll receive a Kennedy Center Honor this weekend for his blockbuster work in movies and film technology, but he’s quick to point out that he’s the only recipient this year who isn’t technically a performer. The Honors are being held a mere 12 days before the intensely anticipated release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the saga’s seventh episode. Harrison Ford said: “George has been amazing to me. He’s been the author of the early chapters of my life and given me the opportunity to have a really extraordinary life.”  read more »

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The spending bill presents Mr. Ryan with his most important test so far as speaker and will be a measure of how long members will remain enchanted with him. He can only hope their newfound ardor will match that for his new beard.
The short exchange had many signets of Mr. Ryan’s nascent leadership style, which contrasts sharply with that of his predecessor, John A. Boehner. Mr. Ryan has for the most part pushed the privilege of crafting legislation — and with it, the responsibilities — out of the leadership offices and back into the hands of members, replacing Mr. Boehner’s smoke-filled rooms, at least for now, with energy bar-lined committee conference rooms. When he wants to chat, he texts. In a grooming contrast to Mr. Boehner that seems almost willful, Mr. Ryan now also shuns shaving.

Proud of his furry face, Mr. Ryan wondered on social media whether he was, in fact, the first bearded House speaker in a century. While it was has not quite been 100 years, Mr. Ryan was close. According to the House historian, the last speaker with a beard was the appropriately named Frederick H. Gillett, who presided over the chamber until 1925.  read more »

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ex-hedge funder increases price of pill 5,000% overnight, drawing outcry
Hedge funder buys rights to drug used by AIDS patients and raises price from $13.50 to $750 per pill. A hedge fund trader is at the centre of mounting controversy after the pharmaceutical company he bought raised overnight the cost of a life-saving treatment for people with Aids and weakened immune systems from $13.50 per pill to $750.

The 5,000 per cent increase was enacted last month for Daraprim, known generically as pyrimethamine, by Turing Pharmaceuticals of New York, a start-up firm, shortly after it bought the rights to the drug. The firm is headed by Martin Shkreli.

Daraprim fights toxoplasmosis, the second most common food-borne disease, which can easily infect people whose immune systems have been weakened by AIDS, chemotherapy or pregnancy, according to the Centres for Disease Control. About 60 million people in the United States may carry the toxoplasma parasite.

Ex-Hedge Funder Buys Rights To Drug Used By Aids Patients And Raises Price From $13.50 To $750 Per Pill  read more »

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ABC news - Couple Fighting With Verizon Over $2M cell phone bill, said it took them 10 months to clear up - $2 million for one month
A couple in Oregon say they spent 10 months trying to clear up a whopping $2 million phone bill, which they say has prevented them from buying the home of their dreams. Ken Slusher and his girlfriend, of Damascus, Oregon, have a balance of $2,156,593.64 on a Verizon Wireless bill that was for a wireless account that they opened in November. "Yeah, it's been very stressful to say the least," Slusher told KPTV.com.

The couple canceled their service in December and returned their phones in January, but the bills continued to arrive, as first reported by KPTV. Customer service representatives told them in-person and on the phone that they promised to clear up the matter, he said.

Slusher said he hoped to close on a new house next Monday and his girlfriend and their children are eagerly awaiting the move. But he said his mortgage company won't sign off on a loan due to the phone debt. They began receiving several calls from collection agencies demanding upward of $2,000, KPTV reported. According to Slusher, the couple's first bill should have been around $120, but it was actually $698 with a balance of $451.

CBS - Volkswagen said its cheating software affects 11 million vehicles and may cost up to $87 billion  read more »

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New York Times, Wednesday September 23, 2015 - News and features on Pope Francis’ visit to Washington, New York and Philadelphia in September, his first visit ever.
"When Pope Francis speaks, millions listen." "the English translation of Pope Francis’ speech to United States bishops at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, as prepared for delivery and released by the Vatican"
Wisdom quoted from the full speech –

- I am well aware of the immense efforts you have made to welcome and integrate those immigrants who continue to look to America, like so many others before them, in the hope of enjoying its blessings of freedom and prosperity.

- I realize how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims – in the knowledge that in healing we too are healed – and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated.

- What does work is the combination of the epic struggle of the pioneers and the homely wisdom and endurance of the settlers. As one of your poets has put it, “strong and tireless wings” combined with the wisdom of one who “knows the mountains”.  read more »