VIDEO [CC] - Ellen interview with a Deaf and Blind teen who's defying the odds on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
LOS ANGELES -- In a clip from The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Marvin Pearson is an incredible young man and varsity football player who hasn't let anything stand in the way of doing what he loves. Marvin Pearson is one special guy, and he came on the show to tell Ellen about his story.
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Marvin is a high school senior who is both Deaf and Blind. He has a cochlear implant in one ear to help him hear. Marvin doesn't let his Disabilities stop him from doing anything, in fact, he uses them as motivation when playing football, track and wrestling.
Marvin goes above and beyond in everything that he does, and Ellen's friends at Shutterfly loved his story and surprised him with $10,000! The show was taped in Studio 11 at NBC Studios in Burbank, California. Find out more about Shutterfly and see more memorable moments here, http://www.ellentv.com/shutterfly.
VIDEO [CC] - A Bad Lip Reading turns the second Presidential Debate at University of Nevada into a poetry slam.
Donald and Hillary try to top each other's poetry while occasionally fielding questions from the audience. Who knew that the presidential debate could be so poetic?
The candidates attempt to outwit each other through the medium of verse in Bad Lip Reading’s hilarious new video.
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton appears to recite surreal pieces such as “Because Zombies” and “Stealthily Bobby” in the spoof slam, which uses footage from the second debate.
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Her GOP rival, Donald Trump, meanwhile, goes slightly darker with his telling of the sinister “Mike the Merry Cricket” and “My Garden.”
“It was not good in my garden that year, it was not good in my garden,” he appears to say at one point. Trump later adds, “I am not brave, I am a merchant.”
The CSD has made a commitment to be a Deaf centered environment in which the design of learning and the language of instruction are consistent with a Bilingual-Bicultural approach to educating Deaf children.
The school values itself as a multi-cultural community of varied ethnic backgrounds through which people are able to learn and work together to promote the academic, linguistic, vocational, cultural, social, emotional and physical development of Deaf children. The involvement of parents, students, staff, the Deaf community, the business community and the community at large is regarded as essential to the mission of the school.
A safe, academic, Deaf-centered culture is nurtured at CSD. Dedication to students is the hallmark of CSD staff. Visit CSD website, http://csdeagles.com
Deaf News: Sussex Correctional Institution inmate loses bid for services.
DOVER, DE -- Delaware State News: A Deaf inmate’s appeal for equal accommodations under law while incarcerated was denied in Delaware Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Robert Ovens, held at Sussex Correctional Institution, challenged an earlier Superior Court ruling that prisons were not places of public accommodation, thus limiting his ability to communicate by telephone while incarcerated.
The Supreme Court found that a prison does not meet the core definition of a place of public accommodation as “any establishment which caters to or offers goods or services of facilities to, or solicits patronage from, the general public.
“The definition includes state agencies, local government agencies, and state-funded agencies performing public functions.”
Mr. Ovens was housed at SCI three separate times between May 12, 2010 and May 1, 2013, and filed a complaint with the Delaware Human Relations Commission regarding accommodations there.
According to court papers, the Commission held by a 2 to 1 vote that prisons did fall under the Delaware Equal Accommodations Law on Dec. 16, 2014 and subsequently awarded Ovens damages, attorney’s fees and other costs.
“The (Commission) majority found that the Equal Accommodations Law was violated because Owens had to wait additional periods of time to use the text telephone, and the DOC failed to provide him with an interpreter for his educational programs and his classification review,” the Supreme Court noted in the nine-page decision.
“The dissenting Commission member concluded that the Commission did not have subject matter jurisdiction over Ovens’ complaint because a prison is not a place of public accommodation.”
The decision was reversed in Superior Court, and Ovens then took the matter to Supreme Court.
While state-funded agencies fall under the law, the Supreme Court reasoned that “A prison like SCI is inherently different from a park or museum, in that a prison is not designed to solicit or cater to the general public for its entertainment and recreational value. …”
The DOC is a state agency, not designed to provide inmate goods and services to the public, the Supreme Court reasoned but exists to “provide for the treatment, rehabilitation, and restoration of offenders as useful, law-abiding citizens within the community,” according to Delaware Code.
Text telephone access
According to the Court, Owens “communicates primarily through American Sign Language and requires special accommodations, such as a text telephone device when making telephone calls.”
Owens alleged that access to the text telephone was either limited or denied, and he was required to “request permission to use the text telephone by submitting a counselor’s slip, while other inmates had free access to the telephones during their recreational periods.
“Additionally, Ovens alleged that the DOC and Warden (G.R.) Johnson did not accommodate his deafness when they failed to provide him with an interpreter for his anger management and substance abuse classes, and for his classification meetings.”
When the Commission first dismissed his complaint as not in its jurisdiction, Owens appealed to Superior Court, which remanded it for further explanation. Superior Court later ruled in Short v. Delaware that prisons were not places of public accommodation, followed by the Commission’s decision that the DOC violated Delaware Code.
Deaf News: Treatment of Deaf couple at Wendy's sparks outrage in Texas.
AUSTIN, TX -- TWC News: A local Deaf couple recently visited the Wendy's at 305 West Slaughter Lane in South Austin for food. They handed a note to the employee with their order at the window. But instead of immediately getting the fries and burgers they requested, they got a handwritten message.
They say an employee handed it to them after the fast food restaurant didn't get their order right.
The couple feels they were mistreated while trying to use the drive-thru.
Elisa Vita said the message left a bad taste in her mouth.
"They gave me the note and I felt very upset about that. I felt like they looked at me as less than other people, as inferior to other people and it was really not a good feeling,” said Vita.
Thousands have weighed in online sharing similar experiences at fast food restaurants nationwide. Vita said she spoke with the manager of the South Austin Wendy's who gave her some free meal coupons and was incredibly apologetic about the situation.
She doesn't feel like enough was done to make it right.
"I deserve the right to the same service and obviously Wendy's needs to provide more in-depth training that explicitly says everyone deserves to access the drive-thru," said Vita.
A University of Texas professor said fast food worker or not, it's best to just follow a Deaf person's lead when they're trying to communicate with you.
"They [Deaf People] are skilled at working with and interacting with people with whom they don't share a common language. Try not to become frustrated if you're the clerk," said Richard Meier, the Department of Linguistics chair at UT.
Accessibility issues for the Deaf expand far beyond the drive-thru. Faculty within UT's ASL Program are beginning to research them further.
"One problem is there may not be interpreters readily available or the interpreter may be available through a video link," said Meier. "So our question is, how well is this working?"
Meier and his colleagues plan on specifically looking at healthcare first. With such a large Deaf community based in Austin, many believe it's the perfect place to conduct such research. Many say there can never be too much emphasis placed on improving accessibility as it benefits everyone, not just the Deaf.
Deaf News: Don't erase school for Deaf history: former administrator.
ST. JOHN'S, NL -- The Telegram: John Reade points through windows of the former School for the Deaf and rhymes off classrooms and labs and how they were designed with no obstructions to students' ability to follow instruction.
John Reade recalls the home economics teacher who designed her own classroom and others who contributed ideas that made it easier for the students of the specialized facility.
His voice fills with pride as he recalls the Queen Elizabeth II's visit in the 1990s.
He remembers how he and other staff would visit the site in the mid-1980s when it was under construction and look over the foundation footings, imagining what would be a state of the art facility.
Before moving to Topsail Road, the school was located in an old military building by the airport and the windows would shake when planes took off and landed, wreaking havoc on those students who had hearing aids, he said.
Though many people in St. John's refer to it as the old School for the Deaf, there are no visible markings of that history and Reade said they disappeared two years ago.
The facility has had many uses since the school closed several years ago.
One wing now houses the school lunch program and it's filled in as temporary location for students from schools under construction.
The inquiry into the Donald Dunphy shooting is the latest tenant.
Reade, a former administrator who started teaching at the School for the Deaf in 1975, was leading a charge to have plaques returned to the school façade - one marked its opening and another a visit by Prince Edward.
While those plaques were removed, there remains on the grounds a memorial to the old sanatorium that once occupied the site.
Reade said he and a group of alumni want to see the plaques put back where they were on the brick façade, but even a marking beside the sanatorium plaque "would be something."
After The Telegram looked into the controversy, inquiring with the province and the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District about the issue, the board said late Friday it intends to have the two plaques reinstated next week.
Reade has been cataloging artifacts from the school - including a Steve Jobs-autographed early Apple that he said was bound for the trash when the Department of Education shuttered the school. He wants The Rooms to collect the artifacts.
He said it was only this summer during a come home year, that students realized the plaques had been removed from the school.
So Reade wrote to both Education Minister Dale Kirby and the English School District last month. He has no qualms with it being reused for other things, but lamented removal of its legacy.
"That building has a very important history," said Reade.
Prior to 1964 all children who were classified as Deaf were sent to first Montreal and later to Halifax for their education, Reade noted in his letter to officials.
In 1964, the Smallwood government decided to open a school for Deaf children in Pleasantville and the next year the school was moved to the U.S. barracks built in 1940 at the Torbay airport, Reade said.
In 1987, the students and staff moved into the modern Topsail Road building, but it was closed in 2010 with the province siting a lack of student enrolment.
"This building was much more than a school for four generations of Deaf Newfoundlanders. For some, it was a place of refuge from being bullied as being 'different,'" Reade said. "Through the (school's) home parent program, parents were taught how to communicate with their children and provide them with a basic language of everyday items that hearing children learn incidentally.
"(It) became a home away from home, an educational oasis, a place of acceptance, a recreation center, and most importantly, the introduction to Deaf Culture."
When the building was still known as the School for the Deaf, the Deaf community took pride in visiting and reminiscing about their time there and activities such as theatre productions by and for the Deaf or sports, he said.
"Now that the plaques were removed that dedicated the school by Premier (Brian) Peckford and commemorating the visit by Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex the Deaf community, as a whole, feels as if they have been kicked in the stomach - again," Reade said.
VIDEO: Deaf News: 3-year-old Deaf toddler becomes internet's hero with this epic class picture day outfit.
ROCKLIN, CA -- CBS News: When 3-year-old Kaylieann Steinbach picks out her school outfits every morning there are no mismatched socks, bright colored blouses or pajama-like pants.
Instead, the little girl sticks with her favorite theme: superheroes.
That’s why the preschooler’s parents weren’t surprised by their daughter’s outfit choice on picture day at her school, Merryhill Preschool in Rocklin, California.
For two straight weeks, the little girl had been running around in her bright blue velvet Superman dress and matching red cape. In fact, she wore it so much, her parents even had to sneak into her room to wash it while she was in the bath.
But they still got a good chuckle when they opened up their mail a few weeks later and saw her adorable ensemble -- superman figurine included.
Kaylieann’s dad, Alex Steinbach, posted the hilarious school picture to Reddit, and it received nearly 5,000 upvotes.
“As proud as any parents can be we do our best to support her with everything, including outfit choices,” Steinbach told CBS News. “We always let her dress herself and her choices show her personality well.”
Every day, Kaylieann makes sure everyone in her class gets a friendly “hello.”
They often try to guess which outfit she’s going to go with that day.
Her parents say it’s safe to assume it will be some version of a superhero costume.
“Since we’ve always let her choose her outfit we will continue to let her,” Steinbach said. “She loves expressing herself with her choices.”
Steinbach can’t wait to hang the photo, which perfectly sums up Kaylieann’s spunky personality, on the wall.
“She’s already smarter than all of us parents combined! She surprises us everyday and leaves us speechless and with tummy aches from laughing,” Steinbach said.
Arey wore a large, green bubble-sized costume with the words “Deaf Access Now” plastered across the back. He walked up and down Beverley Street handing out pamphlets to passersby.
Despite the small crowd, the rally drew attention through its bright green signs that lined the block from Lewis Street to North Central Avenue. Signs called for equal pay for Deaf people, access to American Sign Language for Deaf children, and equal access to jobs and services.
Arey got involved with the movement after seeing a video on Facebook that outlined the realities that Deaf people face on a day-to-day basis. The video went viral and Arey decided to help. Last year, he helped campaign for a rally held in Washington, D.C.
“Over one thousand people showed up to the rally. It went on for two days,” Arey said in an email. “There were speeches, testimonials, and chants. After the rally, we went home and decided to continue meeting.” That’s when they came up with the name Deaf Grassroots Movement.
“Since then, it has expanded from seven people with small-town ideas for Deaf equal access to countless activists, representatives and political advocates countrywide,” Arey said. “But we have a long way to go. My role in this is the interim executive director.”
Thursday’s rallies took place across the state - not just in Staunton. Deaf protesters in Richmond, Fairfax, Norfolk, Martinsville, Wytheville and Lynchburg also participated.
“This rally includes 113 cities around the U.S,” Arey said. “Now that we have spread out, we are expecting fewer people from each city. I am expecting 10 people.”
“DGM strives to make noises, get attention and encourage others to fix Deaf people’s issues,” Arey said. “We hope this will get the lawmakers involved. We want them to recognize us and get involved in initializing the process of helping us solve our problem.”
Deaf News: Deaf Grassroots Movement raises awareness for Deaf community.
GULFPORT, MS -- WLOX: Members of a nationwide organization called the Deaf Grassroots Movement met outside Gulfport City Hall on Thursday in an effort to raise awareness for the needs of the Deaf community.
They held signs and spoke to city leaders about opportunities offered by the city, as well as how to improve their education, job opportunities, and communications access.
City spokesman Chris Vignes said the city is one of the only on the coast that offers sign language interpreters during city council meetings. He thinks it's important for groups like DGM to raise awareness and also for the city to pay attention to their requests.
"Anytime you have a chance to help people in need, whether it's a special disability or bringing awareness to a cause, we're glad that they're here, because we can learn from what they need and how we can better help," Vignes said.
On it's website, the group says the goal is to promote equality for all with the quality of life improved for the Deaf community.
This is the second time the Deaf Grassroots Movement has promoted a nationwide rally. The first was on May 4, 2016.
Spesifikasi dan harga Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 - Samsung mengeluarkan produk andalan lainnnya yang bernama Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 yang merupakan generasi penerus dari Samsung Galaxy Ace. Smartphone ini memang ditujukan untuk kalangan menengah. Namun, smartphone ini memiliki performa yang jauh lebih baik ketimbang seri pendahulunya. Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 memiliki spesifikasi yang sangat menarik, mau tahu apa saja sepsifikasinya? silakan anda simak ulasannya berikut ini.
Galaxy Ace 3 memiliki jaringan 4 G dengan menggunakan sistem operasi OS Jelly Bean 4.2. Selain itu, smartphone ini juga dilengkapi dengan kamera pada bagian depan dengan resolusi 5 MP autofocus yang dilengkapi dengan LED flash. Namun, untuk kamera pada bagian depan hanya menggunakan kamera VGA. Smartphone ini memiliki memori internal sebesare 8 GB dan mendukung memori internal hingga 64 GB.
Smartphone ini memiliki ukuran layar sentuh sebesar 4 inchi dengan resolusi 480 x 800 pixels sehingga menghasilkan gambar yang bersih. Selain itu, Galaxy Ace 3 didukung dengan chipset dual core dan CPU Cortex A9 1.0 Ghz. Smartphone ini juga mendukung akses internet dengan kecepatan HSDPA 14.4 Mbps dan 4G LTE 42.2 Mbps, sehingga anda bisa browsing atau melakukan kegiatan online lainnya dengan lancar. Sedangkan untuk baterai yang digunakan memiliki kapasitas 1500 mAh. Untuk harga Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 yang saat ini telah diupdate pada bulan Oktober 2016 dibanderol sekitar 600-900 ribu untuk harga bekas.
Thank you to Dyer Art Center & SLT for your support from the National Technical Institute of the Deaf and community in America.
A new version "#Whereisthelove" by The Black Eyed Peas featuring The World was released on August 31, 2016, in collaboration with a great number of artists within the music industry. The proceeds of the charity single will go to educational programs.
VIDEO: Deaf News: Exclusive interview with director of 'Dawn of the Deaf' Rob Savage, talks the Deaf role in short horror film.
LONDON, UK -- ComingSoon: Director Rob Savage discusses his innovative new apocalyptic short horror film Dawn of the Deaf. Fresh off a triumphant, head-turning premiere at Fantastic Fest, the spectacularly inventive, gorgeously executed Dawn of the Deaf logline.
“Our aim was to create a genre film that would connect Deaf and hearing audiences in an engaging, thrilling way,” director Rob Savage tells ComingSoon.net of his apocalyptic horror short made with a cast drawn from the London Deaf community. “Rather than retread the same narratives usually seen when dealing with disability, we wanted to create a tense story in which the characters’ ‘disability’ becomes their ultimate advantage over the hearing population.”
Savage was gracious enough to speak with ComingSoon.net at length about the joys and challenges of leading that charge… Read More The Full Interview.
The EEOC says a young man who can't hear or speak applied online in 2012 to work at the McDonald's in Belton, Mo. He had previous experience as a cook and cleanup team member at a McDonald's restaurant in another state.
A lawsuit filed by the EEOC says that when the restaurant manager learned the applicant needed a sign language interpreter for his interview, she canceled the interview, even though the applicant's sister volunteered to interpret.
“The term is abhorrent and should never be used. The fact that we are talking about this during a very important moment in American history has upset me deeply,” Matlin said in a statement on Friday.
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Three staffers on the reality TV show, who requested anonymity due to non-disclosure agreements, told the Daily Beast that Trump often treated Matlin with disrespect and called her “retarded,” both behind her back and in front of her. A former Apprentice contestant also told People that Trump made sexual comments to Matlin and other women on the show.
“I am Deaf. There are millions of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people like me, in the United States and around the world who face discrimination and misunderstanding like this on a daily basis. It is unacceptable,” said Matlin, who has indicated her support for Hillary Clinton throughout the campaign.
“As a person who is Deaf, as a woman, as a mom, as a wife, as an actor, I have a voice. And I’m using that voice to make myself heard… and vote.”
VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: Man killed in apparent road rage incident in Coral Springs, Florida was legally Deaf, friends say.
CORAL SPRINGS, FL -- ABC News: Detectives say it's unclear whether charges will be filed. A man who was killed Thursday in an apparent road-rage incident in Coral Springs was legally Deaf and used sign language to communicate, the victim's friend told Local 10 News on Friday.
"He had that disability. He was hearing impaired, but nonetheless he was a very productive member of society. He worked at a job and he had a normal life as best as it could be," family friend and chaplain, Ken McLymont, said.
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Coral Springs police Sgt. Carla Kmiotek said Paul Peterman, 37, of Margate, was airlifted to a hospital after being involved in an altercation with another driver that ended in the area of Atlantic Boulevard and Riverside Drive in Coral Springs.
He was pronounced dead later in the day.
Kmiotek said the other driver, identified as Joshua Tullis, 37, of Coral Springs, fled the scene, but has since contacted detectives.
Kmiotek said he is cooperating with investigators, and it's unclear whether charges will be filed against him.
Authorities have not said how Peterman died, but said that they are still interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence.
Kmiotek said he was not stabbed, nor shot.
Loved ones said Peterman was an Eagle Scout and was involved in theater. He was also a warehouse manager at a professional lighting company and was engaged to be married.
Anyone who witnessed the altercation is asked to call Coral Springs police, or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.
UPDATE: AUSTIN, TX -- The Daily Moth is a new ASL radio show, delivers news in video using American Sign Language. The Deaf host, Alex Abenchuchan, covers trending news stories into a Deaf man dies in the Florida 'road rage' incident.
Paul Peterman, a 37-year old Deaf man, was killed last Thursday (October 13) in a road rage incident in southern Florida. The other driver is a 37-year old Joshua Tullis, who is a firefighter with the county sheriff's office. The cause of death has not been determined and no charges have been filed, but the investigation is ongoing. Watch The Raw Cell Phone Video. Story at the Daily Moth's Article.
VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: Deaf people for generations in Bali's village, everyone speaks sign language of the Indonesian island.
KIKI SIREGAR BENGKALA -- Straits Times: Balinese women dressed in gold bodices dance to rhythmic drumming while waving fans as men in purple outfits sit cross legged around them, jiggling their arms and chanting. It appears to be just another show on the Indonesian resort island, known for its ancient culture and rituals, but there is a key difference - the dancers are all Deaf and cannot hear the beat.
They perform the moves, learnt over months of hard training, from memory.
The village of Bengkala has been home to an unusually large number of Deaf people for generations, and nowadays about 40 out of its approximately 3,000 residents have severe hearing loss.
But unlike in other parts of Indonesia where they could face mistreatment, local people have taken the Deaf residents to their hearts. In many ways, life in the small hamlet has come to revolve around them.
As well as the dance project, a unique sign language called Kata Kolok has been developed in the isolated village which has been mastered by those with hearing impairment, as well as many of those who can hear, prompting interest from scientists around the world.
In addition, Deaf villagers are trained in skills such as making handicrafts that can be sold in the heaving tourist resorts of the island, and they work side by side with other villagers in the rice fields.
"Human rights are the same everywhere. So I thought, why should the Deaf be ostracised?" said Ketut Kanta, who heads a community group for the village's Deaf residents.
The approach is relatively unique in Indonesia, where the disabled often suffer harsh discrimination.
Bengkala, in northern Bali, has existed for about eight centuries.
Residents often scrape a living tending to the surrounding rice fields and education levels are generally low.
In the past, villagers thought the high incidence of deafness was due to a curse but those superstitions - and the prejudices they created - have largely been abandoned after experts concluded it was due to a recessive gene common among the local population.
It was not until the 1960s that the village began to make efforts to better integrate its Deaf residents and nowadays everyone is treated equally, according to village head I Made Arpana.
"We don't differentiate between Deaf villagers and non-deaf villagers," he said, adding that the community did not want the hard of hearing residents to feel "inferior".
A key factor in creating this peaceful co-existence has been Kata Kolok, which literally translates as "Talk of the Deaf", and is used to varying degrees by around 80 per cent of the villagers.
It is different from international and Indonesian sign language. It has grown organically over the decades and has its own unique signs created by villagers to reflect how they see the world.
Attempts to ensure harmony in the village start at a young age, with a Bengkala elementary school teaching all children side by side.
The 77 students are all given lessons in the local sign language, and are introduced to elements of Indonesian and international signing.
Made Budiasih, whose seven-year-old son goes to the school, said she was worried for his future when they discovered he was deaf at birth, but said the inclusive educational centre had made all the difference.
"I was despairing, but then I found out about this school," she said.
Still, it is not always easy teaching deaf students as they often become frustrated and act out, according to teacher I Made Wisnu, who has been working at the school for a decade.
There are no junior high schools equipped to teach Deaf students, so most have to drop out of the system once they've graduated from elementary classes.
Despite the challenges, village chief Arpana is determined to safeguard the unique culture of the hamlet's Deaf community, saying he would be a "sinner" if he did not.
The clearest expression of the village's warm embrace of its hard of hearing population is the unique project "Dance of the Deaf", which has started to draw a trickle of foreign visitors to the out-of-the-way village, giving residents hope for a brighter future.
Tambourine player I Wayan Getar, speaking in sign language through an interpreter, told AFP: "Tourists from China and Europe are coming to watch us, and they really enjoy it."
VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: The proposed eviction of an elderly couple who are Deaf and can’t read or write because they unwittingly acted as guarantors for their son’s bank loan has sparked public outcry in Spain.
MADRID -- The Local Spain: Bankia made the decision on Monday to cancel the eviction of an elderly couple who are disabled and illiterate after bowing to public pressure and a change.org petition that collected 220,000 signatures in just 48 hours.
Last month Maria del Carmen Lebron, 81, and Antonio Pleguezuelos, 76 who have lived in their home in the Madrid suburb of Pinto since 1970 were given an eviction notice as Bankia called in an outstanding debt owed by their son Gregorio.
It was only then that they learnt that in 2005 they had signed documents acting as guarantors for a €219,500 mortgage for their son, even though they hadn’t understood what they were signing.
In fact the mortgage agreement states that the contract was read out to the couple by a notary and that they had fully understood and agreed the terms. Their lawyers now argue that the agreement was invalid as both are completely Deaf - Antonio lost his hearing when he was four years old after falling ill with meningitis and Maria del Carmen was Deaf since birth.
When their son lost his job in the crisis and fell behind on mortgage payments the bank called in the debt and demanded they leave their house by January 30th 2017.
Their eldest son Benjamin made the case public starting a petition on change.org which garnered more than 200,000 signatures in just 48 hours and made headlines across Spain.
On Monday, Bankia announced that it had stopped the eviction order and would cancel the debt “given the particular vulnerability observed in this case”.
The case highlights the still ongoing plight of indebted homeowners suffering years of unemployment as a result of Spain’s economic crisis.
During the peak of the eviction crisis as banks called in loans, hundreds of families were evicted each day. In 2013, some 50,000 families were turfed out of their homes.
VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: This smart vest lets the Deaf ‘hear’ with their skin, what are the limits of human perception ?
SAN FRANCISCO BAY -- Singularity Hub: Take a second and concentrate on your surroundings: the subtle flickering of your laptop screen, the faint whiff of lingering coffee, the muffled sounds of traffic, the warm touch of sunlight peeking through your window.
We owe our understanding of the world to our various senses. Yet what we naturally perceive is only a sliver of the physical world.
The eerie beauty of infrared is beyond our grasp, as are the air compression waves that bats use for navigation, or the electromagnetic fields that constantly course through our bodies.
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“Your senses limit your reality,” said Stanford neuroscientist Dr. David Eagleman at the TED conference last year in Vancouver, British Columbia.
We are slaves to our senses, and when we lose one, we also lose our ability to perceive that fraction of the world. Take hearing, for example. Although cochlear implants somewhat restore sound perception as an inner ear replacement, they’re pricey, surgically invasive and very clunky. They also don’t work very well for congenitally Deaf people when implanted later in life.
According to Eagleman, replacing faulty biological sensory hardware is too limited in scope.
What if, instead of trying to replace a lost sense, we could redirect it to another sense? What if, instead of listening, we could understand the auditory world by feeling it on our skin? And what if, using the same principles, we could add another channel to our sensory perception and broaden our reality?
Our “Mr. Potato Head” Brain - Eagleman’s ideas aren’t as crazy as they sound.
Our brain is locked in a sensory vacuum. Rather than vision, smell, touch or sound, it only understands the language of electric-chemical signals that come in through different “cables.” In essence, our valued peripheral organs are nothing but specialized sensors, translating various kinds of external input - photons and sound waves, for example - into electricity that feeds into the brain.
“Your brain doesn’t know and it doesn’t care where it gets the data from,” says Eagleman. Your ear could be a microphone, your eye a digital camera, and the brain can still learn to interpret those signals. That’s why cochlear and retinal implants work... Read More at Singularity Hub.
VIDEO [CC] - Weird News: Clown sighting pranks have happened since the 1980s - but never quite like this in America.
WASHINGTON -- The professional clowning community has a serious image problem in America. In recent weeks, stories of so-called “creepy clowns” and “killer clowns” have been popping up all over local newscasts across the country and disseminated through social media. While parents and educators express concern for the safety of children, the ones in real danger may be the clowns themselves.
In 2016, anyone who dares to leave the house dressed as a clown may become the victim of a vigilante or even an angry mob. Vox attempts to sort through the madness in an informative seven-minute mini-documentary called “America’s Creepy Clown Craze, Explained.” Produced and narrated by Christophe Haubursin, the video not only explores the current wave of clown-related pranks but also the longstanding historical roots behind the current, widespread anti-clown sentiments. Here's the mini-documentary with closed captions.
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Some may assume that the public’s fear of clowns, or coulrophobia, began with John Wayne Gacy, the Illinois serial killer who performed at charity events and children’s parties in the guise of “Pogo The Clown.” But Haubursin traces the problem back to the 19th century, when a man named Joseph Grimaldi was “the most popular entertainer in England.” Grimaldi’s costuming and makeup set the precedent for modern day clowns, but his private life was marred by depression and alcoholism. Writer Charles Dickens immortalized Grimaldi’s private struggles, first by editing his memoirs, then by including a “disturbed clown character” based on Grimaldi in his 1837 novel The Pickwick Papers. That changed the public’s perception of clowns in general.
Today, there are few positive clown role models in popular culture. The two jesters best known to the public are Batman’s murderous nemesis, Joker, and The Simpsons’ “morally, financially, and physically bankrupt” Krusty The Clown. It’s gotten so bad for clowns out there that some are being arrested for “disorderly conduct” simply for wearing their work clothes in public places. Organizations like the World Clown Association may try to redeem the art form, but the damage may be irreparable.
VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: Deaf woman loses High Court bid to serve on jury in Australia, claims “a smack in the face” for the Deaf community.
BRISBANE, AU -- The Independent: The High Court in Australia has ruled to deny a woman the chance to become the country’s first Deaf jury member, a decision she later described as “a smack in the face” for the Deaf community.
In 2012, a registrar told Gaye Lyons from Queensland she should be excused from jury duty as a sign language interpreter could not be sworn into the conference room, according to state law.
The 69-year-old can lip read but needs an interpreter to communicate, and decided to take her case against the Queensland government to the High Court.
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The court decided to uphold state law and said the presence of an interpreter in a deliberation room would cause “an incurable irregularity” which could affect the outcome of a case, resulting in the dismissal of Ms Lyons’ appeal.
Queensland attorney general Yvette D’Ath said the confidentiality of jury deliberations and the right to a fair trial were “among the most fundamental tenets of Australia’s justice system”, according to AP Australia.
"We're the same as everybody else, we're human, we have kids, we go to work, we drive cars, we pay mortgages - I was just fuming because I could not have equal access to this," Ms Lyons told reporters outside court.
"Why should the powers that be decide what's right for me, why should they decide what I can and can't do? It just made me livid, I was seething about the whole thing.”
Ms Lyons has repeatedly cited her detailed interest in the law and said jury duty was “something I really wanted to take part in”.
"After five years of struggle, just fighting for access for the Australian Deaf community, it felt like a slap in the face.”
"For them [the High Court] to say that interpreters could not relay information accurately, that was the living end, that was the last straw for me. Deaf people should not be treated differently. The High Court does not see that,” she added.
In 2011, a Deaf woman served on an inquest jury in the United Kingdom after several legal challenges found Deaf people can fully comprehend courtroom discourse and jury deliberations through interpreters.
Exemptions for Deaf people carrying out jury service in criminal trials were removed in Ireland and the UK after legal challenges during the 2000s. In the United States, they have been serving on juries since 1979.
New Zealand is another country where sign language interpreters are employed by courts to help Deaf jurors contribute to trials.
It's the only specialized police unit in the country dedicated to protecting Deaf people.
Officer Myra Jordan came up with the idea 14 years ago. She learned sign language as a child, when she played with a neighbor who was Deaf.
The 25-year veteran of the department went to the chief with her idea to combine her love for police work and sign language.
"The Metropolitan Police Department was struggling with communicating or interacting with the Deaf community, and we needed to build that bridge," Jordan said.
She was joined on the unit two years ago by Officer Teyna Ellis. She learned how to sign so she could help at her church.
In addition to the pair's regular patrol duties, they train other officers in the basics of communicating with Deaf people, like "knowing the universal sign of a Deaf person, to be able to communicate with them during a traffic stop," Ellis said.
Advocates for the Deaf community say the liaison unit has made a particularly big impact in dealing with Deaf victims of domestic violence.
"In the past, people didn’t know who to talk with and they didn’t feel comfortable making the report because they didn’t know who is going to understand me ... but now there is someone who speaks my language," said Shazia Siddiqi. She is executive director of the organization DAWN, which aims to end abuse in the Deaf community.
Jordan said the unit's work is paying off for police and for the community. She says it comes down to one word: trust.
"The officers aren't afraid of the unknown because they know the unknown now, and the community isn't afraid because they trust the police," she said.
Ellis and Jordan regularly get requests to help train officers from other police departments. They said they're proud that D.C. is leading the nation.
While dubbing is used to make it look like the candidates are saying ridiculous things, it’s often hard to discern whether some of the statements actually were made, such as when Trump proclaims to Clinton, “I don’t like how you look, I don’t like your name, I don’t like your anything.”
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The short video has Holt playing a few rapid-fire games with the political rivals, including “Five Favorites,” where Trump shares his love of William Shatner, raw chicken, and lice.
Adding in fake audio wasn’t the only way to have fun with the debate; the candidates’ physical mannerisms made for a few laughs as well. Holt, who ended things early to get to a dentist appointment, asked Clinton to act as if her face muscles had frozen in the middle of laughing, which perfectly matched up with the video.
Watch the latest edition of Bad Lip Reading and the many laughs that come with it above.
VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: Hurricane Matthew approaching South Carolina, Haley's sign language interpreter's flair gains attention of social media.
COLUMBIA, SC -- WLTX: For the last several days, standing inches away from South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley at her emergency briefings, you've likely seen Jason Hurdich.
He's the sign language interpreter who's just off to the side of the governor when she's speaking. Even though the New York native has only been in South Carolina for two months, it's his job is to make sure that everyone watching understands Hurricane Matthew's potential impact on South Carolina.
"A storm is very serious so I need to make sure that i am culturally matching what the Deaf community needs when they get their information," he said.
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He's been interpreting for about 15 years. But as you're listening to the governor and watching Hurdich interpret for the Deaf community, he's watching Shonna McGee.
"I've worked with Jason for over 10 years and what I do in situations like this is I take the spoken information and I interpret it to him, and he clarifies and expands when necessary for the Deaf community to have clarity."
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Hurdich is Deaf, so in this situation, the interpreter has an interpreter. So he translates what McGee hears.
It's a unique situation which means critical information doesn't get lost in translation for the Deaf community.
"Having someone who is a native to your language, giving them the information in their language is always the best, especially in critical situations like a hurricane," McGee said.
"My goal is really to empower the Deaf community to really thrive and encourage them to do that and improve their quality of life," Hurdich said. "The South Carolina Deaf community really needs Deaf leaders and nationwide also."
Interpreting is not Hurdich's full time job. he currently works as a counselor for vocational rehab in Charleston.
