Society's ChildS


Binoculars

Man claims he was Omar Mateen's lover, killing probably a revenge attack, not terrorism

omar mateen
Omar Mateen
A man claiming to be a former gay lover of Orlando shooter Omar Mateen has come forward to proclaim that the Pulse nightclub massacre was not a terrorist attack based on Islamic fundamentalism, but rather a form of "revenge."

This new information seems to directly refute the official narrative that Mateen was motivated by a desire to carry out an attack of Islamic terror in the name of ISIS, which is based solely on the 911 call made by Mateen during the massacre.

"I've cried like you have no idea," the heavily disguised man, identified only as "Miguel," told Spanish language channel Univision News. "But the thing that makes me want to tell the truth is that he didn't do it for terrorism. In my opinion he did it for revenge."

Comment: Another piece of data to keep in mind as the story develops. Strangely, this latest twist adds a further dynamic to the narrative: both sympathy and antipathy towards the LGBT community. There's an angle for everyone...

Also, keep this one in mind: Orlando shooter thought he was losing grip on reality, spent last days researching anti-psychotic meds.


Heart - Black

Man arrested in NYC subway; police stand around and watch as he dies of asthma attack

Metrocard
© WNYC
A 25-year-old resident of New York died in a subway station surrounded by those sworn to protect, a disturbing new video shows.

On September 17, 2013, Barrington Williams was selling illegal MetroCard swipes. For the crime of letting people into the subway with his unlimited pass for a smaller fee than the metro, Williams would die while police stood around and watched.

The surveillance footage from inside the Yankee Stadium subway station was released this week showing cops chasing and then tackling Williams for this petty crime.

In the video, we can see that Williams is handcuffed at 1:57 p.m. Not until the Fire department arrived over 10 minutes later, however, did anyone begin life-saving procedures on a man who was in clear medical distress.

Red Flag

Spellbound? Leading anti-war progressives have begun speaking favorably of Trump

donald trump
Until recently the progressive mind has been resolutely closed and stubbornly frozen in place against all things Trump.

But cracks are appearing in the ice. With increasing frequency over the last few months some of the most thoughtful left and progressive figures have begun to speak favorably of aspects of Trump's foreign policy. Let us hear from these heretics, among them William Greider, Glen Ford, John Pilger,Jean Bricmont, Stephen F. Cohen and William Blum. Their words are not to be construed as "endorsements," but rather an acknowledgement of Trump's anti-interventionist views, the impact those views are having and the alternative he poses to Hillary Clinton in the current electoral contest.

First let's consider the estimable William Greider, a regular contributor to The Nation and author of Secrets of the Temple. He titled a recent article for the Nation, "Donald Trump Could be The Military Industrial Complex's Worst Nightmare: The Republican Front Runner is Against Nation Building. Imagine That."

Comment: The reality is that it doesn't matter who is [S]elected president by the Powers That Be. Once they are in office, they are expected to conform to the imperial ways that the wealthy elites demand. Many politicians have made empty promises to change the way things are done while campaigning. Obama is a clear example of a politician lying to get elected. While Trump may seem like a loose cannon to the neocons, he can easily be brought into line with a few threats, implicit or explicit, made to him


Camcorder

Sixth-graders in Israel accidentally received DVDs with porn instead of school film as graduation present

porn DVD
© Flickr/ Andres Moreno
Yep! You heard us right. A school in Israel presented students upon graduation with DVDs which contained pornography instead of school film. Now, that is a memorable graduation!

The incident occurred in the city of Haifa, according to Life.ru. The sixth graders received an unusual surprise at their class graduation party. The discs which were supposed to have a film about their school instead had pornographic footage on them.

The parent of one of the students was shocked to discover the actual content of the DVD. Upon this unusual discovery they rushed to inform other parents.

Angry parents appealed to the board of the school for clarification. The board explained this incident saying that it could have happened because the company which was recording the school film on the DVDs was reusing the discs on which earlier adult films were being recorded.

The school promised to correct this error as soon as possible and offered their apologies.

Comment: Did no one think to check the DVDs before giving them away?


Cheeseburger

Kosher food fight between Israeli restaurants and Jewish authorities

Kosher restaurant
© www.haaretz.comHigh Court: Only Chief Rabbinate can pronounce businesses 'kosher.'
Jonathan Vadai just wanted a certificate confirming his Jerusalem restaurant as kosher, but he found himself fed up with the Israeli religious authorities overseeing the process. "I had to employ the person supervising me and pay him," 34-year-old Vadai said at Carousela, his trendy cafe in the city's quiet Rehavia neighbourhood. "Sometimes he asked that I pay under the table."

Such accusations are not unusual among Israelis, and now Vadai and others are part of an effort to break the ultra-Orthodox Jewish establishment's monopoly on kosher certificates in the country. They are embroiled in a legal battle over the issue with potentially wide-ranging implications.

The Chief Rabbinate, the Jewish religious authority overseeing the certificates, wields power over a range of issues in Israeli society in an arrangement that critics call outdated. "Israeli law gives the Chief Rabbinate a monopoly on kosher supervision, but there is lots of corruption and unjust pressures," said Aaron Leibowitz, a soft-spoken rabbi and Jerusalem city council member involved in the effort to end the monopoly.

Comment: A rabbinical mafia in collusion with the government, complete with under-the-table deals, protection fees, pressure and corruption. Is this 'kosher'?


Attention

Orlando cops were told to stand-down, not pursue Mateen for 15-20 minutes

orlando
The testimony of a Belle Isle police officer was given this week allowing for the first public account of what happened inside the Pulse nightclub earlier this month. Officer Brandon Cornwell's account of what happened could explain why the death toll was so high — they were told to stand down and not to pursue the shooter.

According to Cornwell, he was one of the first seven officers on the scene. After hearing reports of shots fired, Cornwell was at the nightclub only 38 seconds later.

"Some ran towards the building, some stayed back with people running out," he said. "There was tons of people running out of the club. I grabbed my assault rifle and ran toward the club. At this point, the shooter is still actively shooting inside."

Comment: And conveniently, those pesky accomplices, whom the authorities continue to deny the existence of, managed to get away. Orlando nightclub massacre eyewitnesses: 'More than one shooter, snipers fired at police, someone blocked exits'


Sheriff

Cop who drove van in which Freddie Gray died found not guilty

Caesar Goodson
© Bryan Woolston / ReutersOfficer Caesar Goodson arrives at the courthouse in Baltimore, Maryland
Officer Caesar Goodson, Jr. has been found not guilty of all charges in the death of Freddie Gray. Goodson was the driver of the police van in which Gray suffered a fatal spinal injury in April 2015, sparking riots in Baltimore, Maryland.

Of the six officers involved in Gray's arrest, Goodson faced the most serious charges, including second-degree "depraved-heart murder," second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and misconduct in office. Like Gray, he is African-American.

A veteran of the Baltimore Police Department, Goodson chose a bench trial before Circuit Judge Barry Williams, who delivered the verdict Thursday morning. Previously, Williams acquitted Officer Edward Nero of all charges, while the prosecution of William Porter ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury.

Prosecutors have argued that Goodson intended to injure Gray by not buckling him in inside the police van, and failed to seek medical help when he realized Gray had suffered severe injuries that ultimately proved fatal.

Camera

Death by selfie: Seven students died while taking selfies in the Ganga River

Ganga River
© AFP 2016/ Prakash SINGH
Seven students were swept away in the Ganga River in the Indian city of Kanpur while taking selfies.

Seven youths were swept away when they were taking selfies along the banks of the Ganga River in Kanpur. When one of the youths fell into the river while taking a selfie others jumped in the river to save him resulting in all seven youths being swept away by the current.

It is yet another tragedy in the series of selfie deaths in a selfie-obsessed India. In fact, India has the dubious distinction of having the highest number of selfie deaths in the world. India accounts for more than 40 percent of deaths every year and it is increasing rapidly.

This new selfie craze has taken many lives in India where social media obsession is at the peak among youths. Youths risk their lives just to take selfies and get likes and attention on social media.

Apple Red

Russian agricultural exports have reached record high over last few months

wheat
© Sputnik/ Mikhail Mordasov
The growth in production and export of Russian agricultural products is very strong and future prospects in the field are encouraging, experts say.

Russian agricultural sector seems to be doing great, with production and sales steadily growing over the last few months, Russian newspaper Vzglyad wrote.

"Agricultural production shows fantastic results: over last four months, we have a five percent growth in exports of agricultural products [...] and an increase of 30.5% in physical volumes of agricultural products' supplies abroad," Russia's First Deputy Minister of Economic Development Alexei Likhachev said cited by the newspaper.

Dollars

Slap on the wrist: Merrill Lynch to pay $415 million for 'mishandling' customer funds

Merrill Lynch
© Mario Tama/Getty
Merrill Lynch is the New York-based wealth management and investment division of Bank of America.

"The rules concerning the safety of customer cash and securities are fundamental protections for investors and impose lines that simply can never be crossed," said SEC Enforcement Division chief Andrew Ceresney. "Merrill Lynch violated these rules, including during the heart of the financial crisis, and the significant relief imposed today reflects the severity of its failures."

The SEC explained that from 2009 to 2015, Merrill Lynch mishandled customer funds that should have been deposited in a reserve account.

Merrill Lynch used the funds for "complex options trades" that freed up billions of dollars per week for the firm's own trading activity, the SEC added.

Furthermore, the firm violated the SEC's Consumer Protection Rule by failing to shield customer securities against potential claims from its creditors.

According to the SEC, Merrill Lynch held up to $58 billion per day in consumer securities in an account that was subject to liens.

If the firm had collapsed, customers would have been exposed to "significant risk and uncertainty" of getting back their own money, the SEC pointed out.

The SEC also noted it will launch an effort to find potential violations by other firms and uncover additional abuses of the Consumer Protection Rule.