Society's Child

The Granny Squad: Police in West Virginia form crime fighting G-Unit

RT
Thu, 22 Dec 2016 13:58 UTC

West Virginia's Charleston Police Department has created an unlikely crime fighting unit. Eleven women living at a YWCA with either a history of domestic abuse or elderly abuse were sworn in to protect their communities from violence with love.

This new crime fighting crew may not look like a traditional police force, but that doesn't mean they won't have a mission. On Wednesday, 11 grandmas were officially made members of the Charleston Police Department's Grandma Unit, or as their shirts say: the G-Unit. While they won't be given guns or mace, they hope to reduce crime by spreading love and hugs.

"Sometimes I'm not feeling good or I'm feeling low, and somebody will give me a hug, and I'll feel better, and then I'll share my hug with someone else," Grandma Unit member Karen Smith told WSET. However, that's not to say they're going to skirt their duties. "When we're given something to do we take it seriously, and we keep up with it," Smith added.

21-year-old Moscow student sentenced to four and 1/2 years for attempting to join ISIS

RT
Thu, 22 Dec 2016 18:19 UTC

© Maksim Blinov/Sputnik
Alexandra Ivanova (also known as Varvara Karaulova), former student of the Moscow State University, charged with attempting to join ISIS, at the Moscow District Military Court.

A court in Moscow has sentenced a 21-year old former philosophy student Varvara Karaulova to 4.5 years in a penal colony, finding her guilty of attempting to join the Islamic State terrorist group, which is banned in Russia.

The verdict handed down by Moscow District's Military Court on Thursday found the former Moscow State University philosophy student, Varvara Karaulova (AKA Aleksandra Ivanova), guilty of attempting to join the Islamic State terrorist group. Specifically, she intended to join an Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) branch called 'Badr' and carry out a suicide attack in Russia, the judges ruled.

Karaulova's lawyers say they will appeal the sentence.

Varvara Karaulova went missing in late May of 2015, but was soon found in Turkey, from which she intended to go to Syria to join Islamic State terrorists. She was guided by a long-term IS supporter that she had met online who promised to marry her. Airat, who goes by the name Klaus on the internet, was born in the Russian city of Kazan in Tatarstan. He is believed to be a professional recruiter and skillful psychologist who has tricked a great number of young women into joining Islamic State by promising them a happy family life.

Karaulova was detained by Turkish law enforcement and returned to Russia, where she was questioned, but not charged. The story received a lot of attention in the media and the girl even officially changed her name to Aleksandra Ivanova to evade unwanted publicity. However, she maintained contact with the terrorists after returning to Russia and was detained again and charged with conspiracy to join a terrorist organization in October and November of 2015.

Comment: To understand the history, ideology andpossiblereasons people are joining groups like the Islamic State, see: Islamic State is the cancer of modern capitalism

Indian woman beaten by perpetrator for resisting sexual assault

RT
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 18:26 UTC

A woman was beaten at a marketplace in India by men who allegedly attempted to molest her. The victim of the assault has reportedly threatened to shoot herself if her attackers are not brought to justice.

Video of the incident, which took place in Uttar Pradesh in India's Mainpuri district, shows the woman in a brawl with a group of men when another man approaches with a large stick and proceeds to strike her with it.

The woman reportedly asked men at the market for directions before they attempted to grope her and remove her dupatta (head covering). When she resisted, she was beaten with a stick and the men shouted abusive language at her.

The woman's husband was also struck, according to the reports, while her daughter witnessed the incident.

In the video, the woman can be seen bleeding and is reported to have sustained head injuries. She registered a complaint with police and reportedly threatened to shoot herself if the culprits were not arrested.

Three people are being sought by police in relation to the incident, an official told The Indian Express. One of the suspects, Anand Yadav, was arrested Wednesday morning.

Earlier this month, a 10-year-old schoolgirl suffered burns to 60 percent of her body after kerosene was poured on her. She told police she had been resisting rape by two men at the time.

Faceblock: German newspaper reveals 'hate speech' rules

RT
Thu, 22 Dec 2016 02:56 UTC

Little is known about Facebook's behind-the-scenes content moderators, but internal documents obtained by Suddeutsche Zeitung explain the criteria the company follows. Among them is a meticulously strict guideline for images of public urination.

Facebook's community guidelines stipulate that content posted may not contain direct threats, self-injury, dangerous organizations, bullying and harassment, attacks on public figures, criminal activity, sexual violence and exploitation or regulated goods. But what constitutes graphic subject matter or bullying is not always clear.

The documents offer some insights into how content moderators are taught to judge a post when the content frequently falls into subjective territory. But that does not do much for users who are banned, sometimes as the result of a joke.

In order to clarify this, Facebook's documents contain bizarre criteria for protected groups. The website's banning of verbal attacks on protected categories sounds good at face value. Comments attacking people for their sex, religious affiliation, country of origin, race, appearance, sexual orientation and similar markers make them protected.

The documents offer numerous examples about what is allowed and what isn't. "Tall girls are just freaks!" is an example of an acceptable post but "Refugees? More like rape-fugees" would be deleted. In the documents, Facebook explains that "Protected category + attack = hate speech."

Comment: Public behavioral modification within rules of engagement. You can vomit, just not in writing.

Kid jihad: Is Europe threatened by child terrorists?

RT
Thu, 22 Dec 2016 17:13 UTC

The Christmas market truck attack in Berlin overshadowed another case in Germany - the thwarted nail bomb plot in Ludwigshafen. Yet it marks the alarming trend of an increasingly young face of terrorism in Europe.

The 12-year-old boy behind the plot in western Germany unveiled last week intended to detonate a home-made explosive device filled with nails at a Christmas market, according to German media. He was described as being of Iraqi origin, radicalized and planning to join the terrorist group Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) sometime in the future.

The alleged failed bomb blast in Ludwigshafen is believed to be the youngest person in Europe detained on suspicion of terrorism since IS rose to prominence in the Middle East. The case however is far from being isolated.

5 most important facts about Tunisian suspect as manhunt underway in Berlin

RT
Thu, 22 Dec 2016 16:53 UTC

Berlin, Germany, December 21, 2016, after a truck ploughed through a crowd

© Hannibal Hanschke / Reuters
A christmas tree lays on the street beside the empty Christmas market in Berlin, Germany, December 21, 2016, after a truck ploughed through a crowd at the Christmas market on Monday night.

The Tunisian suspect, believed to have carried the truck attack in Berlin which took 12 lives, is still on the loose and may be armed. RT sums up what is known of the fugitive as round-the-clock manhunt is underway all across Germany.

A Europe-wide arrest warrant was issued by German authorities on Wednesday after several failed attempts to detain the suspect in hot pursuit. The move comes amid intense pressure from the public, demanding an explanation as to how a man known to secret services for months managed to escape their radar.

So far, the official position is that he was only identified as a prime suspect because he left his ID in the truck cabin.

Comment: Once more, a 'Muslim terror attack' culprit is found, not in person, but by way of his ID, conveniently left at the scene of the crime. Are Muslims really that stupid, or is it the PTB and media that thinks the rest of us are stupid enough to buy this dog that don't hunt? Can we say #fakenews?

UN warns, South Sudan on brink of 'Rwanda-like' genocide

Sputnik
Thu, 22 Dec 2016 16:36 UTC

Human rights organizations, genocide watch groups and the UN secretary-general are warning of a potential genocide in South Sudan, the world's youngest country, and asking the UN Security Council and regional leaders to take action.

"All of the early warning signals for mass atrocities in South Sudan are there," a special commission to South Sudan reported at a UN Human Rights Council meeting December 14.

The five-year-old nation remains in turmoil despite the nominal end of a three-year civil war in August 2015. The war, which began as a political conflict between the country's president and then-vice president, members of different ethnic groups, ended up taking shape along ethnic lines, pitting the country's two largest ethnic groups, the Dinka and the Nuer, against each other, and exacerbating tensions among others.

Berlin police cordon off shopping mall, all traffic and trains halted amid discovery of suspicious package

RT
Thu, 22 Dec 2016 15:01 UTC

© Pawel Kopczynski / Reuters
Police secures the area near the Schoenhauser Allee shopping mall in Berlin, Germany, December 22, 2016.

German police have cordoned off an area surrounding a shopping center in Berlin following reports that a suspicious package was found nearby. Traffic in the area has been diverted, and trams and underground trains have been halted, German media report.

There is a heavy police presence in the area and reports about the package are still being investigated, the German media says.

Huge fire whipped up by strong winds engulfs 140 buildings in central Japan

RT
Thu, 22 Dec 2016 16:17 UTC

A huge blaze fanned by strong winds has engulfed at least 140 buildings in central Japan, local media report. YouTube videos show huge flames engulfing houses and plumes of thick black smoke. Hundreds have been advised to evacuate.

The fire started at 10:30 local time (01:30 GMT) on Thursday in a Chinese restaurant in the center of Itoigawa City, Niigata prefecture, with a population of about 45,000 residents, local media report.

The blaze was whipped up by strong winds reaching up to 90km/h, Japanese NHK broadcaster reported, citing weather officials. So far the fire has spread to at least 140 buildings.

More US lies: Claims 'no reports' of Aleppo aid deliveries as Russia calls for intl relief efforts

RT
Thu, 22 Dec 2016 16:02 UTC

© Omar Sanadiki / Reuters
Syrians evacuated from eastern Aleppo, among them a Russian soldier (2nd L) and a Syrian government soldier (R) carry a Russian food aid bag in government controlled Jibreen area in Aleppo, Syria November 30, 2016.

The US State Department claims to be unaware of any aid deliveries going to Aleppo - instead laments "the devastation that's being wrought on the people there." The remark comes amid Russia's ongoing humanitarian operation in the city.

"I've seen no reports of aid getting in. I mean, as of coming out here, I'm not aware of any aid still getting in to the people of Aleppo," US State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday at a daily press briefing.

Comment: Obviously Kirby only reads the #fakenews from the US MSM.

I most certainly would not park my arse on a plane full of vaccinated people and have them infect me with their mutated virus. Whilst my...

Winternights3

What a shitty way to die.

Buffalo_Ken

To follow up on slbeaudry's ( I know there is a way to mention somebody's "name" formally in grey when adding a new comment - versus responding...

Buffalo_Ken

Eh. I was always warned to steer clear if they have little ones. That may provoke attacks. But... Illegal wildlife feeding? Lmao. 🤣 They will...

slbeaudry

I know several folks who are planning to fly for winter holidays in the next few months. All I can say is good luck.

ReRan

Society's Child

The Granny Squad: Police in West Virginia form crime fighting G-Unit

21-year-old Moscow student sentenced to four and 1/2 years for attempting to join ISIS

Indian woman beaten by perpetrator for resisting sexual assault

Faceblock: German newspaper reveals 'hate speech' rules

Kid jihad: Is Europe threatened by child terrorists?

5 most important facts about Tunisian suspect as manhunt underway in Berlin

UN warns, South Sudan on brink of 'Rwanda-like' genocide

Berlin police cordon off shopping mall, all traffic and trains halted amid discovery of suspicious package

Huge fire whipped up by strong winds engulfs 140 buildings in central Japan

More US lies: Claims 'no reports' of Aleppo aid deliveries as Russia calls for intl relief efforts

Latest News

Picture of the Day

Quote of the Day

Recent Comments

Quantum Quirk

Contact Us