Category Archives: Post Human

New York Post

Fossil discovery delivers blow to 'Out of Africa' theory New York Post The creature, known as Graecopithecus freybergi and nicknamed El Graeco, may be the oldest known member of the human lineage that began after a split from the branch that led to chimpanzees, our closest cousins. The jawbone, which included teeth, ... and more »

View original post here:
Fossil discovery delivers blow to 'Out of Africa' theory - New York Post

Five people have been arrested and are in prison

Five people are in custody after the Delaware State Police, with the assistance of the FBI and the Delaware Department of Justice, completed their investigation into a case of human trafficking.

Delaware State Police spokesman Master Cpl. Gary Fournier said the investigation began May 8 when the foster parent of a 16-year-old girl contacted Troop 3s Criminal Investigation Unit. The parent said the girl, who had been missing since March 27, may have been prostituting via the backpage.com website.

Detectives found a listing that showed photographs appearing to be the missing teen and were able to confirm her identity through the foster parent. Investigators conducted a search of law enforcement records for the phone number listed and were able to link it to 18-year-old Jason Haith of Dover and his girlfriend, Jessica A. Hutkin, 34, of Smyrna.

A joint DSP/FBI/DOJ operation was started Friday, May 19 as investigators called Haiths number and arranged a meeting for sexual favors in exchange for compensation at a south Dover motel.

At about 1:40 p.m. a white 2017 Hyundai Sonata, bearing New York registration, pulled into the motel and the 16-year-old victim was seen leaving the car. Troopers stopped the car after it left the motel and the Haith and Hutkin were taken into custody without incident. Another passenger, Austin White, 19,of Smyrna, also was arrested.

A computer check showed Sonata had been reported as stolen out of Philadelphia April 6, Fournier said.

Further investigation revealed that Haith, Hutkin, and White, along with two other people, Donnell Singletary, 32, and Taliesha Haith, 34, both of Dover, used each others cell phones to make calls, send text messages, and/or connect to the internet to arrange prostitution activities for the 16-year-old victim and another 17-year-old victim who also was advertised on backspace.com.

Singletary and Taliesha Haith were taken into custody at Jason Haith's home in the 1000 block of East Lebanon Road, Dover.

Information also suggested the prostitution activities were coordinated out of the Haith home on East Lebanon Road.

Jason Haith and Jessica Hutkin are charged with human trafficking sexual servitude, second-degree promoting prostitution, receiving stolen property, and second-degree conspiracy. They both are being held on a $34,000 secured bond.

Taliesha Haith, Donnell Singletary, and Austin White are charged with Human Trafficking Sexual Servitude, second-degree promoting Prostitution, and second-degree conspiracy.

They are being held on $32,000.00 secured bond each.

Because of the sensitivity of this case, and in consideration of the victims, only limited information will be released, Fournier said. Both victims have been placed in the safety of Division of Family Services.

Victims or persons with information regarding the activities of any of the five individuals in custody are asked to contact Detective M. Weinstein at 302-698-8443 or the Troop 3 Major Crimes Unit at 302-698-8434.

Information also may be provided by calling Delaware Crime Stoppers at 900-TIP-3333, via the internet at delaware.crimestoppersweb.com, or by sending an anonymous tip by text to 274637 (CRIMES) using the keyword DSP.

Originally posted here:
State police, FBI bust Dover human trafficking operation - Dover Post

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Wolf nominates insurance commish for top post at proposed Health and Human Services Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday that he intends to nominate Insurance Commissioner Teresa Miller to serve as the first secretary of his proposed Department of Health and Human Services. Mr. Wolf has proposed combining the Department of Aging, the ... Insurance chief would lead new health, human services agencyCT Post all 15 news articles »

Read more here:
Wolf nominates insurance commish for top post at proposed Health and Human Services - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Human remains thought to be from the 1700s or 1800s have been found on the site of a residential development under construction on Alexandrias waterfront, just in time for a city-sponsored excavation tour Saturday.

City officials said the remains were discovered Thursday by archaeologists working under contract with developer EYA, which is building the residential-retail project Robinson Landing on the site of an old newsprint warehouse, Robinson Terminal South, that was once owned by the former Washington Post Co.

City government spokesman Craig Fifer said theres no reason to believe other human remains are at the site; during the 18th and 19th centuries, it was not uncommon to bury people outside formal graveyards.

City and contract archaeologists will oversee the testing of the remains found this week to determine what should happen next, both at the site and with the bones themselves, Fifer said. Virginia law outlines specific processes for disposing of remains.

On Saturday morning, city archaeologists are scheduled to lead a previously arranged, reservations-only tour of the area.

Fifer said others who are curious about the site should not show up for the tour, because only 18 people can fit on the sidewalk at a time. The human remains are not on display.

An EYA spokesman said the discovery is not expected to seriously delay the Robinson Landing project, which is still in the early phases of excavation and backfill.

The site was once a point that jutted out into the Potomac River named Point Lumley. The cove was eventually filled in, and on that land, a shipwright built a wharf.

A shipyard and a flour mill operated there for a while, and a bone mill, where animal bones were processed into fertilizer. A 1987 fire regarded as the most devastating in the citys history destroyed much of the property, but the buildings were eventually replaced and used for a variety of marine, industrial-type operations.

The property has already given up artifacts including historic stone foundations for buildings, brick shafts and evidence of wooden box privies. The site is adjacent to another lot where a warehouse foundation and remnants of a 300-year-old ship were found in late 2015.

See original here:
Centuries-old human remains found at Alexandria waterfront ... - Washington Post

One Republican state senator said theres no problem with being an advocate until you get on that commission and then what you want to do is you want to look at protecting all rights.

JUNEAU, Alaska The Alaska Legislature has rejected the appointment of Drew Phoenix, a transgender man, to serve on the states human rights commission.

The vote came Tuesday near the end of an hourslong joint session called to consider Gov. Bill Walkers nominees to boards, commissions and administration posts. Phoenix was the only nominee to be voted down.

Leading up to the vote, some conservative groups sought to paint Phoenix, who has advocated for LGBT rights, as too political for the post.

Sen. John Coghill, a Republican from North Pole, said theres no problem with being an advocate until you get on that commission and then what you want to do is you want to look at protecting all rights.

Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat who supported Phoenixs nomination, asked whether the state is willing to appoint people to boards and commissions who understand discrimination firsthand and will work to end it or if people want to live in a state intolerant of those different from the majority or who have different views.

In a phone interview later in the day, Phoenix said he was incredibly upset and disheartened by the vote.

I just find it so ironic that somebody like myself, with so much years experience personally and professional working on behalf of human rights, that they would not confirm me to the commission on human rights, he said.

Phoenix said a state Senate committee that held confirmation hearings asked him questions related to his work as a transgender man with the LGBT community and if, given the opportunity, he would work to advance issues of equality for the LGBT community through the commission. He said he replied that, if thats what the commission seeks to do, he would.

He said one conservative group has framed the advancement of LGBT people as posing a threat to religious freedom. He said he is an ordained Christian minister and values religious freedom.

Phoenix thanked Walker for having faith in my qualifications.

Im so sad I wont be able to use my expertise and experience to advance the work of the commission, Phoenix said.

Here is the original post:
Alaska lawmakers reject transgender man for human-rights post ... - The Seattle Times

The ongoing debate about global warming and climate change includes arguments about whether our world actually faces such a problem, and whether it was caused by human activity.But theres another earthling-influenced phenomenon we dont hear too much about: how we affect what happens in space.

Space weather which can include changes in Earths magnetic environment are usually triggered by the suns activity, but recently declassified data on high-altitude nuclear explosion tests have provided a new look at the mechanisms that set off perturbations in that magnetic system.

Earth is surrounded by layers of radiation belts, and as the space agency says in the following video, the Cold War-era experiments of the 1950s and 60s produced extra radiation close to Earth.

While those military tests concluded long ago, the after-effects of such actions, now called human-induced space weather, are the focus of a new study published in Space Science Reviews, which offers research access to millions of scientific documents.

These explosions created artificial radiation belts near Earth that resulted in major damages to several satellites. Another unexpected impact of the high-altitude nuclear tests was the electromagnetic pulse that can have devastating effects over a large geographic area (such as the continental United States).

Other anthropogenic impacts on the space environment include chemical release experiments, high-frequency wave heating of the ionosphere and the interaction of VLF waves with the radiation belts.

Certain types of communications very low frequency, or VLF, radio communications have been found to interact with particles in space, affecting how and where they move. At times, these interactions can create a barrier around Earth against natural high-energy particle radiation in space.

The following video depicts this barrier or bubble around our planet, which, according to NASA, was created by those VLF waves.

A number of experiments and observations have figured out that, under the right conditions, radio communications signals in the VLF frequency range can, in fact, affect the properties of the high-energy radiation environment around the Earth, Phil Ericson, assistant director at the MIT Haystack Observatory in Massachusetts, said in a NASA statement.

The space agency added that while these VLF signals are used to communicate with submarines, they also extend out beyond our atmosphere, shrouding Earth in a VLF bubble that even spacecraft high above Earths surface can see.

See the original post here:
NASA: Space Weather And Radiation Bubble Are Linked To Human Activity - HuffPost

Drew Phoenix, left, and his girlfriend, Ellen Robertson, in 2012. Rachel D'Oro / AP file

Sen. John Coghill, a Republican from North Pole, said there's no problem with being an advocate "until you get on that commission and then what you want to do is you want to look at protecting all rights."

Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat who supported Phoenix's nomination, asked whether the state is willing to appoint people to boards and commissions who understand discrimination first-hand and will work to end it or if people want to live in a state intolerant of those different from the majority or who have different views.

In a phone interview Tuesday evening, Phoenix said he was "incredibly upset and disheartened" by the vote.

"I just find it so ironic that somebody like myself, with so much years' experience personally and professional working on behalf of human rights, that they would not confirm me to the commission on human rights," he said.

Related:

Phoenix said a state Senate committee that held confirmation hearings asked him questions related to his work as a transgender man with the LGBT community and if, given the opportunity, he would work to advance issues of equality for the LGBT community through the commission. He said he replied that, if that's what the commission seeks to do, he would.

He said one conservative group has framed the advancement of LBGT people as posing a threat to religious freedom. He said he is an ordained Christian minister and values religious freedom.

Phoenix thanked Walker "for having faith in my qualifications."

"I'm so sad I won't be able to use my expertise and experience to advance the work of the commission," Phoenix said.

Follow NBC Out on

Originally posted here:
Alaska Lawmakers Deny Transgender Man Human Rights Post - NBCNews.com

Financial Post

One problem with productivity is, we're only human: Comment Financial Post We all know that productivity growth is a problem. That's partly because of the limitations of new technology. But it's more about the imperfections of people. I suggest that we focus on how hard it is to build communities, and how trying it can be to ...

Read the original post:
One problem with productivity is, we're only human: Comment - Financial Post

Walking into Build-a-Bear as a child was one of the most exciting times of my life. You chose your bear, gave it a voice, dressed it and even had your own birth certificate for your new-found friend. It was then yours to keep and cuddle for 15 (plus the added expense of buying your bear Ugg boots and a Hannah Montana t-shirt).

Now, the technology geniuses of 2017 bring us the adult version: Build-a-Girlfriend. You choose the breasts, genitals and even the colour of the nipples. With 42 colours to choose from, youre spoilt for choice! You can even detach the parts and wash them in the dishwasher. What more could you want? A measly bear now pales in comparison.

Harmony, the artificial intelligence sex robot, promises to be the girl youve always dreamed of. She remembers your birthday, knows what your favourite film is and, put simply, exists solely for your own pleasure. I absolutely love misogyny; apparently the perfect girl is one that has no backbone, no autonomy and customisable labia. I guess Id better start working on my attractiveness by ceasing my opinionated contributions to the Comment section of Redbrick. Damn.

Maybe Im being too harsh, as customers can dictate their partners character so there is some personality in there somewhere. The client can choose from 18 different personality traits such as moody and shy. Still, the character is being chosen based on the preferences of the customer and isnt representative of a real relationship.

The robots are designed to help the lonely in their quest for companionship, fulfilling not only physical needs but also emotional ones. How can a robot do such a thing? And even if it could, there are detrimental effects attached to portraying women in this way.

Her tiny waist, wide-set hips, and large breasts are features many women desire, and struggle relentlessly to obtain. Perpetuating an ideal body standard doesnt do wonders for teaching men that women dont all come with ridiculous proportions and also fails to reassure women that there isnt a standard body shape we should all be striving for.

The objectification of women has already gone far enough in popular culture, but this is literally degrading the female body to a sex toy. Why would you need a real woman when you can have your customised robot? She wont question your superiority and has your favourite shade of nipple.

Creator Matt McMullen claims that it isnt designed to distort reality to the point where people start interacting with humans the way they do with the robot, but I cant see this is a realistic statement. She is likened to a girlfriend and given human voices and mannerisms. Ive seen TV reports that show men considering a mannequin or sex doll to be their girlfriend, kissing them on their plastic lips and vowing not to be unfaithful. They dream of the day when they can find a lifeless doll that can actually speak back to them.

The ignorance of creators of the dolls to people like this fail to see that these dolls arent going to just be considered a robot to all in fact, its predicted that by 2050 people will be tying the knot with their AI partners. If creators are striving to ensure AI sex robots are seen strictly as objects, why did they include memory of favourite films/music and birthdays? Why does it emulate a human in so many ways if they wanted it to be seen as nothing like one?

Companionship isnt a robot: it consists of friends, family and pets. It doesnt need to come in the form of a partner and especially one with no life of its own.

After all, a mans best friend is a dog and not Harmony the glossy-haired sex robot.

See the original post here:
Post-Human Lovers: How Sex-Bots Degrade and Dehumanise - Redbrick

It was the smell that drew police to the inner Brisbane apartment.

A foul stench no one could quite place. Unmistakably foreign.

But no one could have imagined the true horror that lay behind that apartment door.

Human flesh in a large pot, removed from a nearby stovetop.

Marcus Volke was a chef by trade a chef with a particular interest in bone broth. But the final broth the 27-year-old would make came not from a quest for healthy living.

He made it to conceal a murder, and the sordid double life his family knew nothing about.

The two officers who called at Volkes apartment, ostensibly for a welfare check, thought they had stumbled upon a sick prank.

In the pot he had been using to cook his partner Mayang Prasetyos body parts, they found what appeared to be human feet.

Other parts of Prasetyos dismembered remains were found in a garbage bag near the washing machine.

The inquest into Prasetyos and Volkes deaths heard that Senior Constable Bryan Reid and Constable Luke McWhinney initially were called to conduct a routine welfare check late on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014.

(There) was a bad smell, it was something I hadnt smelt before and cant really describe, Reid said on the opening day of the inquest in Brisbane on Monday.

An electrician had earlier visited to restore power in Volkes apartment, which he had short-circuited when the pot on his stove boiled over.

It was the electrician who raised the alarm.

The building managers called police, concerned about that odd smell and that the woman who lived there with him had not been seen for a couple of days.

Reid said Volke was initially cooperative when they questioned him outside his apartment.

But when he went back inside, telling the officers he needed to secure the pairs dogs, Volke locked the door, self-harmed and jumped his balcony fence to escape to a rear alley.

There was a pool of blood on the floor beside the pot that contained Prasetyos feet.

Volke was later found dead inside an industrial garbage can.

He had been seeking treatment for mental health problems in the weeks leading up to the death, the three-day inquest was told.

Detective Sgt. Joshua Walsh told the court that the couple had met and struck a deal to help each other while working as escorts, according to police interviews ofVolkes former partners.

She provided the information that they were residing together for an extended period of time, Walsh said. During that time, Marcus had accrued a debt of approximately $6,600 in credit cards, with no means of repaying it.

The detective said Volke had worked as a chef part-time but was unable to continue because he had mental health problems. He decided to become a male escort in Melbourne clubs as a way of repaying the debt.

Thats where he met Prasetyo, born Febri Andriansyah in Indonesia, who had begun transitioning into a woman before she moved to Australia.

They came up with an agreement between the two parties that [Volke] would assist with her getting a permanent partner visa for Australia and she would assist him within transgender clubs within Melbourne and overseas, in Europe and Asia.

The pair had traveled through Asia and Europe together, working as escorts in transgender clubs, the court heard.

Walsh said Volke and his former partner later kept in regular contact through emails and Facebook.

She was able to ascertain that he was struggling, with both his identity and his employment, and wanted to break free from that and start as a dog breeder in Brisbane upon his return, he said. On one occasion she stated that he was considering self-harm.

The court was told thatVolke had presented to a doctor with anxiety, depression and a sleep disorder, and had previously been treated by a hospital as a teenager.

The Double One 3 apartment complex in the up-market, riverside enclave of Teneriffe, Brisbane, was so new in early October 2014, a giant banner still hung on the side of the building advertising units for rent.

Finishing touches were still being applied inside.

Pieces of paper taped to walls directed residents to their new homes, for which investors had paid upwards of $450,000.

Volke, who was raised in a small farming community, was among the first to move in.

He and his young Indonesian wife, Prasetyo, had lived in a ground-floor apartment with their three small pugs for just a couple of months.

During their brief tenure in the building, Prasetyo was frequently seen walking the dogs along the riverside paths and in parks nearby.

On the surface, they were a young couple who had recently returned to Brisbane after working on cruise ships, he as a chef, she as a cabaret dancer.

The reality was very, very different.

Volke left his farm life after high school, but he soon discovered a lucrative new profession.

At Pleasure Dome brothel, which promotes itself as having Australias finest selection of male escorts and transsexuals, he was introduced to fellow sex worker Prasetyo.

She was working as a high-class transgender escort, eventually charging her clients $370 per hour.

She sent the funds back to her impoverished mother and two younger sisters at home, paying for the girls to go to school.

They had no idea how she was earning the money that supported them.

The couple moved into private escort services after leaving the brothel and traveled the world plying their trade.

They settled for a while in Denmark, where, under the name Heath XL, Volke advertised himself as a young sexy Australian boy, very friendly and easy going, discreet and professional.

Im open to all kinds of people, ages, and backgrounds but if you are cool, serious and generous, then we can be a match!

In 2013, the couple married in Copenhagen, after Volke asked his prospective mother-in-law for permission to marry her daughter on a return trip the couple made to Indonesia.

While Prasetyos family knew of her marriage, Volkes family were completely in the dark.

As far as they knew, the son who infrequently called home and occasionally visited alone was traveling the world while cooking on cruise ships.

They knew nothing of Prasetyos existence, or of their sons double life.

The extent of his deception was not revealed until after his death.

In addition to coming to terms with the grief of suddenly losing their son, his parents also had to absorb the details of his sordid life being so publicly exposed.

When reporters came knocking at the family property in the days following the deaths, Volkes clearly distressed father, Peter, a karate instructor, chased them away.

The 27-year-old was bid farewell in a small, private funeral service.

Media interest was high but they were told, in no uncertain terms, they were not welcome.

Volke and his new wife returned to Australia nearly a year after their August 2013 marriage in Copenhagen.

Like many affluent young professionals, they chose to live in Brisbane.

Brisbane boasts plentiful cafes, bars and boutiques, among the rustic, riverside red brick buildings that once operated as wool stores, now converted to sought-after apartments.

The couple both continued to work as private escorts.

Friends and family hinted that, despite their recent marriage, their relationship was a volatile one.

None of them could have foreseen the horror to come.

Neighbors heard Volke and his wife fighting inside their apartment late on Oct. 2.

Prasetyo was not seen again.

In the days following the discovery of her remains, Detective Senior Sgt. Tom Armitt said investigators did not believe the murder was a premeditated one, but the tragic outcome of a heated domestic dispute.

The true circumstances of her death may never be known.

But while Volke may not have intended to kill Prasetyo, he went to extreme lengths to cover up her murder.

It was not just the inevitable charges and loss of his liberty that was looming.

The discovery of her death would also expose the life he had so carefully hidden for so many years.

Stuck with his wifes body in a heavily populated area, Volke got to work disposing of it.

He took out a large pot and one of his chefs knives and cut her into pieces.

It is not known exactly when he hatched his disturbing plan.

But by Saturday, there was that distinctive stench pervading the air of the Double One 3 complex. It was the first sign that something was amiss in Volkes apartment.

It was similar to rotting meat, some residents later told police. Like dog food, others reported.

The smell itself may not have ever been enough for residents to call police and Volke may well have gotten away with murder.

But on that Saturday, two days after Prasetyos death, the tide turned.

The pot Volke was using to cook parts of his wifes body boiled over and into the electric oven.

The appliance short-circuited and cut the power supply to the apartment.

To carry out his plan, Volke had no choice but to phone an electrician.

He sounded casual when he called Brad Coyne.

Gday, is this a 24-hour electrician? he asked in that phone call.

Yeah, came Coynes reply.

Ive got a bit of a problem.

Later that day, Coyne knocked on the apartment door.

You have to mind the smell, Volke said to him.

He was cooking pigs broth, he explained to the electrician, who already suspected otherwise.

Garbage bags were strewn around the apartment.

There were bottles of chemicals and rubber gloves, the smell of bleach mingling with that odd, foul stench.

He restored the power and left the apartment.

On the way out, he talked to the building manager and police were called.

Within hours, Volke would also take his own life.

Investigating police officers Reid and McWhinney responded to the building managers request for the welfare check.

The scene that confronted the officers in that nearly new unit was particularly gruesome.

Volke instinctively fled.

He slashed his own throat inside the apartment before jumping his balcony fence, which faced an alley behind the building, leaving it smeared with blood.

He continued to leave a blood trail as he ran and hid in an industrial garbage can in a nearby alley.

With a suspected murderer on the loose, police quickly mobilized and soon an estimated 15 officers swarmed the area.

For years, Volke had successfully concealed his marriage and life as a male sex worker.

As he hid from police in the wheeled garbage can, it was all on the brink of exposure.

It was inside the can that he died, the blood streaming from his throat. Subsequent CPR attempts by police and paramedics were utterly hopeless.

The investigation into Volke and Prasetyos death was a lengthy and painstaking one.

The Queensland Ethical Standards Command, the body reserved for internal police investigations, led the probe, as Volke was on the run from two officers when he took his life.

This week, Coroner Terry Ryan will hear submissions to make the final ruling on one of Brisbanes most gruesome cases of murder-suicide.

Read the original post:
Chef who killed trans wife undone by smell of boiled human flesh - New York Post