Society's Child

The IOC betrayed the Olympic movement and all principles of justice by banning clean Russian athletes

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 17:14 UTC

Twelve days ago, shortly after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ('CAS') cleared 28 Russian athletes of the doping allegations which had been made against them, I expressed the hope that sanity would prevail and that the International Olympic Committee would reconsider its decision to exclude some of these athletes from the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.

After all the International Olympic Committee's own Schmid commission had reported that there was no proof of a government organised state sponsored doping conspiracy in Russia, and since the athletes had been cleared of the doping allegations there seemed no reason to exclude them.

In the event sanity - or at least justice - did not prevail. Not only did the International Olympic Committee refuse to allowed the cleared athletes to attend the PyeongChang Games, but Thomas Bach - the IOC President, who is himself a lawyer - not only criticised CAS's decision in intemperate terms but actually called for CAS to be reorganised:

We cannot have a situation of CAS losing its credibility with athletes... We have to do our job to make proposals so trust of the athletes can be restored..... [the CAS] ruling was extremely disappointing and surprising.....We feel that this decision shows the urgent need for reforms in the internal structure of CAS.....

Comment: It's truly outrageous, but it appears that almost no one feels any outrage about it.

Baroness calls for accused rapists to have more rights following string of bungled cases in UK

RT
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 17:04 UTC

A baroness has said that a few guilty rapists walking free is better than jailing innocent people over false allegations. Baroness Wolf of Dulwich warned pressure to punish every sexual predator might mean miscarriages of justice.

Wolf, an economist, author and university professor at King's College London, said she felt strongly that "it's better that people who are guilty walk free than innocent people are imprisoned and have their whole lives ruined.

"I do feel incredibly strongly is that if you don't have the rule of law, you have nothing."

Wolf's comments come after recent police bungles saw multiple men accused of rape vindicated, including student Liam Allan, 22, who faced 20 years' jail time after a woman made claims against him, alleging 12 sex attacks. Her accusations were later undermined by thousands of previously undisclosed messages that suggested her claims were false.

Swedish whistleblower cop to be investigated for claiming gang rape 'cultural phenomenon' linked to migration

Chris Tomlinson
Breitbart
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 16:54 UTC

Swedish police officer Peter Springare has been reported to police and will likely be investigated after he said the country's gang rape problem is linked to migration and was a "cultural phenomenon".

Springare, who gained global attention after blowing the whistle on the extent of migrant crime in Sweden last year commented on the issue of gang rapes earlier this month claiming such attacks were "new" and were a consequence of the last 10 to 15 years of immigration policy, Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reports.

"There are also ethnic Swedes engaged in group violence, but not in the same numbers as foreign-born offenders," Springare said. The comments, which were recorded by broadcaster TV4, have since been reported to Bergslagen police who have announced that an internal investigation will likely take place.

Colorado shuts down funeral home operated by body parts broker

Reade Levinson
Reuters
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 16:44 UTC

© REUTERS/Mike Wood
FILE PHOTO: Megan Hess, owner of Donor Services, is pictured during an interview in Montrose, Colorado, U.S., May 23, 2016 in this still image from video.

Colorado officials indefinitely shut down the funeral home and crematory this week of a woman who runs a side business selling donated body parts from the same building.

In its order, issued Monday, the state's Office of Funeral Home and Crematory Registration suspended operations at Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors after saying that cremated remains returned to one donor were analyzed by the family and found to be concrete, not human ashes.

The action against Sunset Mesa and its owner, Megan Hess, comes after an FBI raid last week. That raid followed a report by Reuters in January about alleged practices at Sunset Mesa funeral home and Donor Services, the Hess-run body donation firm. (Read the Reuters investigation - here)

During the FBI raid, officials searching the funeral home also found bags of "dry concrete/cement," the order said.

Former employees of the Montrose, Colorado, establishment had told the news agency before the FBI raid that they were troubled by what they witnessed at the funeral home.

Russia to help restore Syria's devastated oil and energy facilities

RFE / RL
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 04:43 UTC

Russia plans to help Syria rebuild energy facilities that have been devastated by years of war, Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak has said.

"We have signed a road map, not only in the field of electricity but also oil and gas, covering the restoration of oil fields and the development of new deposits," Novak was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies on February 13.

As the main international backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russia has become deeply involved in helping the war-battered country rebuild as fighting against Syrian Sunni rebels has subsided in recent months.

Last week, an agreement was signed on the "rehabilitation, modernization, and construction of new energy facilities in Syria," Russia's Energy Ministry said on its website.

Comment: Unlike the US, who simply walks away from the destruction it causes, Russia not only offers humanitarian aid but helps countries devastated by war to rebuild.

Saudi Arabia bumping up financial investment in Russian projects

RT
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 16:25 UTC

Saudi investments in Russian projects has exceeded $2 billion, according to the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev.

"More and more Russian companies are investing in Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia is investing in Russia. Saudi Arabia's investment in Russia has already reached more than $2 billion,"Dmitriev said.

A Sovereign Fund of Saudi Arabia, Public Investment Fund (PIF), announced in 2015 its intention to invest $10 billion in the Russian economy through partnership with the Russian fund.

Damascus vows Syrian Army will down 'any jet' that launches an assault

Sputnik
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 16:24 UTC

© Jack Guez / AFP
The remains of an Israeli F-16 that crashed after being hit by Syrian air defences during attacks against 'Iranian targets' in Syria, February 10, 2018.

During a press conference, Fayssal Mikdad, Syria's Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister, asserted that the USA aimed to prolong the war in the country.

The diplomat called on Arabs and Kurds in northern Syria to "unite and fight back at Turkish forces," warning the Western countries against carrying out airstrikes on Syria.

"We call on the United Nations to investigate the actions and practices of the United States, which threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Syria and aim to liquidate the Syrian people, contradicting the objectives and principles of the UN. The Army will down any jet that launches an assault on Syria and that is not a mere threat... we are able to get rid of terrorists when the West stops supporting them."

Earlier in the day, French President Emmanuel Macron threatened to launch strikes on Syria if the allegation that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against its civilians was proven.

On February 10, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported that they had downed an Iranian drone over the disputed Golan Heights. After that, the Israeli aircraft attacked the command post on the territory of Syria, which was used to operate the alleged Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle. In response, Syria's air defenses fired back at Israeli aircraft and downed an F-16 jet. Tel Aviv, for its part, attacked "additional Iranian targets" in Syria.

Comment: Russia continues to keep the balance in Syria. Putin did not express approval of Syria's action but then again he didn't need to. Russia had always supported national sovereignty. He did however, make it very clear to Israel that interference with Syria's battle against jihadist forces was a no-go.

Russian Duma orders end to cruelty in hunting dog training amid major rift over 'contact baiting stations'

RT
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 13:56 UTC

Russia's lower house has passed a rewritten bill regulating the training of hunting dogs, after the upper house rejected a total ban on so-called "contact baiting stations" despite widespread criticism.

The final draft of the document passed by the State Duma on Wednesday reads that the training of hunting dogs must not include cruelty to animals or inflict physical harm on them. It directly orders that barriers be used between a hunting dog and an animal used as bait in cases when the latter's movement is restricted.

The controversial bill on baiting stations caused a rift between the two chambers of the Russian parliament, as well as a wave of comments in the mass media and on the internet. The row began in December last year, when the State Duma almost unanimously passed the motion containing a total ban on "contact" training involving hunting dogs and captured wild animals. Owners of the stations were legally bound to install glass or mesh barriers between dogs and their prey.

Britain's work on migrant registration system 'barely begun'

Westmonster
Westmonster Blog
Mon, 12 Feb 2018 16:19 UTC

Britain looks set to be plunged into border chaos as it emerged that work on a crucial registration system for EU nationals arriving in the UK during the Brexit transition period has 'barely begun'.

The whole thing is completely ridiculous anyway - Britain should be free to implement its own border policy from the moment it leaves the EU in March 2019 and not have to be subject to EU open borders.

Theresa May said EU migrants arriving in Britain during the transition period wouldn't have the automatic right to stay, but obviously that means there needs to be a system in place to process them and, in true Theresa May style, work on this hasn't really got going.

A government source told The Times:

"The way things look at the moment it almost certainly won't be ready. The government doesn't have the best record of these kind of projects anyway and the most pressing priority is to ensure that nothing goes wrong with registering existing EU nationals. If that goes wrong it will be a disaster."

Another added: "Work has barely begun and I don't think anyone has any confidence that a such a new system can be ready for March next year."

So not only is Britain going to be subject to EU open borders after Brexit, it also won't be equipped to deal with it. How much more government incompetence can the UK take?

Seoul agrees to pay $2.6M to cover expenses of North Korea's participation in Olympics

RT
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 08:52 UTC

Seoul has agreed to allocate up to $2.6 million to cover the expenses of the North Korean delegation attending the PyeongChang Olympics, under the terms of a recently approved plan.

The fund will cover the cost of hundreds of North Korean delegates participating in the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, including arts performers, cheerleaders, and a taekwondo demonstration team.

"It is aimed at providing financial support for the North Korean delegation's visit to South Korea, and for carrying out cultural cooperation projects (between the two countries)," the South Korean Unification Ministry said in a statement, following a meeting of 11 government officials on Wednesday.

Comment: Korea! Opening Ceremony of Pyeong Chang 2018 - Hope For Peaceful Reunification Despite American Subterfuge

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Society's Child

The IOC betrayed the Olympic movement and all principles of justice by banning clean Russian athletes

Baroness calls for accused rapists to have more rights following string of bungled cases in UK

Swedish whistleblower cop to be investigated for claiming gang rape 'cultural phenomenon' linked to migration

Colorado shuts down funeral home operated by body parts broker

Russia to help restore Syria's devastated oil and energy facilities

Saudi Arabia bumping up financial investment in Russian projects

Damascus vows Syrian Army will down 'any jet' that launches an assault

Russian Duma orders end to cruelty in hunting dog training amid major rift over 'contact baiting stations'

Britain's work on migrant registration system 'barely begun'

Seoul agrees to pay $2.6M to cover expenses of North Korea's participation in Olympics

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