Society's ChildS


Pirates

The westerners surrendering to the SDF from ISIS's last stronghold in Syria

ISIS flag
As Kurdish and Syrian Democratic Forces pound the last remaining ISIS stronghold, a stream of foreign jihadists have poured out of the village of Baghouz, Syria. Who are the captured Westerners and what happens to them next?

US-backed Kurdish and SDF troops launched an all-out assault on the Syrian hamlet of Baghouz on Sunday evening, pummeling the village with airstrikes and killing "dozens" of militants overnight.

Nestled on the banks of the Euphrates near the Iraqi border, Baghouz is the last redoubt of the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), whose 'caliphate' once spanned much of Iraq and Syria.

SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali told Reuters that 4,000 IS militants in Baghouz have surrendered in the last month, and tens of thousands of their wives, children, and family members have evacuated the village. Only a dedicated few fighters remain inside, ready to defend the caliphate to the death.

Among the dregs emerging from Baghouz are a curious mix of Westerners who had become radicalized and made the journey to Syria to fight for IS.

Fire

Jerusalem Temple Mount, Old City closed off after firebombing, clashes with police

temple mount
© Waqf Spokesman
Clashes broke out Tuesday on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between Israeli police forces and Muslim worshipers after a firebomb was hurled toward a police post, causing a blaze to break out at the holy site. This adds to heightened tension around the Temple Mount in recent weeks over attempts to reopen a contested building closed off by Israel.

Police broke into the compound following the incident and arrested three people on suspicion of hurling the firebomb. All gates to the Temple Mount have been closed, and police evacuated everyone present. In a rare measure, entrances to Jerusalem's Old City have also been blocked.

Palestinians report that several worshipers and Waqf personnel, the Muslim custodian of the site, have been arrested, and that Israeli forces broke into the Dome of the Rock and mosques in the compound.

Palestinian eyewitnesses said they saw four people being arrested, two of whom were women. According to the Red Crescent, four Palestinians were injured in the clashes and have evacuated to a nearby hospital.

Comment: See also:


Bad Guys

Venezuela halts oil operations as power failures persist

venezuela oil
Venezuela's main oil export terminal and heavy crude processing complex in Jose are shut down as a historic blackout persists across much of the country today.

Crude exports were already backed up because of US oil sanctions before the record power outage darkened nearly all of Venezuela on 7 March. Around 14mn bl of crude are backed up in tankers anchored offshore.

Three heavy crude upgraders and a blending operation that national oil company PdV operates with foreign minority partners, as well as petrochemical plants run by Pequiven in Jose, are suspended, PdV officials tell Argus.

The halted upgraders are PetroPiar with Chevron, PetroMonagas with Russia´s Rosneft and PetroCedeño with Total and Equinor. The three plants have nameplate synthetic crude production capacity of around 450,000 b/d.

Comment:


Star of David

Wonder Woman v Bibi? Gal Gadot defends TV host berated by Israeli PM

gal gadot netanyahu
© Global Look Press / PLANET PHOTOS; Reuters /Ammar Awad/File Photo
Israeli Hollywood star Gal Gadot, best known for her role as Wonder Woman, has swooped in to defend a TV host who came under fire from Benjamin Netanyahu for suggesting Israel is not for Jews alone.

The movie star spoke out after the prime minister criticized Israeli television presenter Rotem Sela for expressing solidarity with Arab-Israelis and arguing that Israel is a country "for all its citizens."

Netanyahu later issued a rebuke of Sela's comments, stating that "Israel is not a state of all its citizens. According to the Nation-State Law that we passed, Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people, and them alone."

The prime minister's assertion apparently didn't sit well with Gadot, who shared her thoughts on the matter with her 28.3 million Instagram followers.

Comment: Apparently other Israeli stars have been emboldened to speak up. When you lose the celebrities, you know you've got problems.
Celebrity actress Rotem Sela believes that there is nothing wrong with Arabs living in the country, since Israel is a "country for all its citizens" without exception, with the statement prompting a correction from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the State of Israel belongs solely to the Jews, with his statement coming in response to a comment by Israeli actress Rotem Sela on the Israeli culture minister's recent interview.

"Miri Regev sits there and explains to Rina Matzliach that the public needs to watch out, because if Benny Gantz is elected he'll need to form a government with Arabs", Sela wrote in her Instagram story, to the joy of her over 800,000-strong army of followers.

"Rina Matzliach stayed silent. And I ask myself why Rina doesn't ask her in shock - 'and what's the problem with Arabs???' Oh my god, there are also Arab citizens in this country", she wrote, stressing that Israel is "a country for all its citizens".

"And every person was born equal. Arabs, too, God help us, are human beings. And so are the Druze. And so are gays, by the way, and lesbians, and...shock...leftists", she said, admitting though, that despite "disgusting comments", she treats everyone with affection.

The comments prompted Benjamin Netanyahu to respond on Sunday: he uploaded a snapshot of himself posing in front of an Israeli flag, captioning the picture as follows:


"Dear Rotem, an important correction: Israel is not a state of all its citizens. According to the Nation-State Law that we passed, Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish People - and them alone. As you wrote, there's no problem with the Arab citizens of Israel - they have the same rights as us all and the Likud government has invested in the Arab sector more than any other government".

He continued by saying that Likud only seeks to sharpen "the central point of these elections: it's either a strong right-wing government led by me, or Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz's left-wing government with the support of the Arab parties".

He went on to state that Lapid and Gantz have no other way to form a government, while a government "like this will undermine the security of the state and citizens". "The decision - another month at the ballot box. Have a nice day", he rounded off.

The culture minister also weighed in on the debate, addressing Rotem on Sunday: "We don't have a problem with Arabs. Our party has more than a few Arab, Druze, and Christian members. We have a problem with the hypocrisy and masquerade of Lapid and Gantz, who are trying with all their might to hide from the public that they are the left disguised as the centre", he was cited by Israeli media as saying.

Crowds, however, rushed to throw their weight behind the Israeli actress on Twitter, applauding her bravery vis-à-vis "religious extremist Netanyahu":




There were those, meanwhile, who would more likely appreciate Netanyahu's stance:






Attention

Emergency workers summoned to Amazon warehouses 189 times over suicide concerns, breakdowns: report

amazon shipping conveyor
© Getty
Emergency workers were summoned to Amazon warehouses 189 times for employees' "suicide attempts, suicidal thoughts and other mental health episodes" over the last five years, according to a new Daily Beast report.

The incidents reported by The Daily Beast spanned 46 warehouses in 17 states, comprising about a quarter of the company's centers in the United States.

"It's this isolating colony of hell where people having breakdowns is a regular occurrence," Jace Crouch, a former warehouse employee from Florida, told The Daily Beast, adding that it is "mentally taxing to do the same task super fast for 10-hour shifts, four or five days a week."

Comment: See also:


Info

US-backed SDF begin 'final attack' against ISIS in Syria's Baghouz

Syria war rubble aftermath
© REUTERS / Rodi Said
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) began a final attack on the Syrian city of Baghouz, the last stronghold of the Daesh* terror group (banned in Russia) in the country, SDF Press Office chief Mustafa Bali announced on 1 March.

An SDF spokesman has stated that the group has killed dozens in the fight against Daesh at Baghouz in eastern Syria.

The Kurdish-led SDF has reported that it is continuing the offensive against Daesh militants in the Syrian city.

Comment: RT reports more details on the SDF's latest offensive:
Kurdish fighters and their allies in the Syrian Democratic Forces launched an assault on the final stronghold of the Islamic State terrorist group in Baghouz, Syria. Some IS militants have dug in, prepared to fight to the death.

US-backed Kurdish forces have killed "dozens" of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS or ISIL) jihadists overnight, SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said on Twitter. IS militants have dug in to their positions, however, and launched several suicide attacks on the Kurds and SDF.

The final push on Baghouz, a small town on the banks of the Euphrates river near the Iraqi border, began on Sunday night after civilians had been allowed to evacuate for several weeks. Many of the evacuated civilians are wives and children of the jihadists.

More than 4,000 IS militants had surrendered in the last month, Bali told Reuters. A core of their most die-hard members remained inside, determined to fight to the death.

As darkness fell on Baghouz, airstrikes pummelled the town and the Kurds and SDF peppered its buildings with gunfire. Footage by RT's video agency Ruptly shows the moment of the air raid.

As Kurdish forces closed in on Baghouz, they seized weapons caches, clothing, and coins minted by the Islamic State. These spoils are the last remnants of a "caliphate" that once controlled huge swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory.

Some of the IS fighters and their families were unrepentant, even in capture. Security forces now fear that some members managed to escape Baghouz and are planning to mount a guerilla campaign elsewhere in Iraq and Syria.



Star of David

New Israeli billboards feature Netanyahu giving drivers the 'middle-finger'

Yashar middle finger Israel billboards
© MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)A billboard, doctored to show top politicans giving the middle finger, located in Jerusalem.
A series of mysterious outdoor advertisements went up around Israel in recent days, featuring photos of top politicians doctored so they appear to be giving passers-by the middle finger.

"This time, don't vote for politicians who will give you the finger in return," is how the message on the billboard loosely translates. The original text plays on the fact that the words for "to vote" and "to point" are the same in Hebrew.

Among the politicians pictured making the obscene gesture are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blue and White leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, and New Right leaders Ayelet Shaked and Naftali Bennett.

Heart - Black

'ISIS wife' reportedly approves of jihadis turning female prisoners into sex slaves

ISIS wife
© REUTERS / Ali Hashisho
As the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched a final attack on the city of Baghouz, the last remaining stronghold of the Daesh* terror group (banned in Russia) in the country, a number of videos emerged online featuring alleged wives of jihadists surrendering to the Kurdish-led forces.

What appeared to be footage of a woman described as an "ISIS* wife" allegedly defending militants having sex slaves appeared on a Twitter account publishing the latest developments in the war in Syria, and was published by the Daily Mail.

The alleged "foreign ISIS wife" is talking ‏about Yazidis raped by Daesh* militants, calling the captives "their property" and saying that "in Islam they are allowed to use them", as cited by the British outlet. She reportedly concluded that "it was not rape", also claiming that if it's in the Quran she would not dare to question it.

Comment: For more on the disturbing mindset of the Islamic State check out:


Map

Bollywood superstar calls for Indian & Pakistani armies to 'join together' against terrorism

Bollywood legend Rishi Kapoor
Bollywood legend Rishi Kapoor
Known for pushing for peace between the two nations, Bollywood star Rishi Kapoor is calling for India and Pakistan to jointly root out terrorism - going as far as to suggest the Pakistani forces could do it behind their PM's back.

Writing from a hospital in New York where he is currently recovering from a medical procedure, the outspoken actor followed up on comments he made in a recent interview where he implied that the Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan, was not taking adequate steps to curb terrorism in the country.

The comment has sparked controversy not only for suggesting the rival nations spilling each other's blood on the Kashmir border put down their weapons and hold hands, but also for the implication that the Pakistani military or intelligence services do what Khan can't. This led many to see the tweet less as a call for peace and more as an underhanded jibe at the Pakistani leader.

Arrow Down

Christian Basilica in Paris a 'no-go zone' after suburbs heavily vandalized

Basilica of Saint-Denis in France
© LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP/Getty Images
The over 800-year-old Basilica of Saint-Denis in France was heavily vandalised this week, with vandals smashing stained glass windows and severely damaging the nearly 200-year-old organ.

The destruction was discovered on Sunday morning by the basilica's organist, who found that the engine of the organ had been damaged along with other parts of the massive instrument, designed between 1834 and 1841, Le Parisien reports.

Saadia Tamelikecht, head of the departmental unit of architecture and heritage of the heavily migrant-populated Seine-Saint-Denis suburbs, said the damage to the instrument, which has been recognised as a historic monument of significance in France, was major.