Society's ChildS


Alarm Clock

Criminal gangs using 'pop-up' brothels to exploit young trafficked refugees

Brothel
© Toby Melville/Reuters
Criminal syndicates have set up "pop-up brothels" across North West England and are trafficking young refugees to the region to exploit as illegal sex workers, it has emerged.

Human traffickers are using guest houses and hotels in Barrow and around the South Lakes as ramshackle brothels that offer access to prostitutes over the course of weekend stays, local police say. Reports have surfaced of temporary brothels in the market town of Kendal near the Lake District. Police have also shut down three call houses in hotels in Barrow.

The crime gangs reportedly block-book accommodation for weekends in picturesque parts of Cumbria and bring sex workers from Liverpool or Manchester. They then advertise online, and the prostitutes are visited by multiple men over several days.

Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Nick Coughlan of Cumbria Police says the majority of the women involved are victims of sex trafficking. "What we often find is there will be a booking made online through a reputable website," he told the Guardian.

"They will then turn up and pay with cash rather than credit or debit cards, which are traceable. They won't arrive as a gang - often the men will come in on their own at first. "If it's a pop-up brothel, then two or three girls will be brought up, sometimes by men, sometimes by older women."

One lady in Barrow said she was surprised when she discovered prostitutes were making use of her guest house. The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told the North-West Evening Mail that she carefully examined CCTV footage at her property and uncovered images of local men paying regular visits to the prostitutes.


Comment: What a sickening exploitation of a despairing situation created by a global psychopathic system where human beings are treated no better than cattle.


Attention

Syria's Sunnis reject jihadism: The West supports sectarian divisions

President Assad with some of his Generals
President Assad with some of his Generals - mostly Sunnis.
Since the start of the Russian military intervention in Syria, two arguments have been made by its critics.

The first is that the Russian military intervention will ultimately fail because Russia is backing the side that is certain eventually to lose.

The argument is that the Syrian government - which Russia is supporting - is a minority sectarian Alawite regime, which is heavily outnumbered by Syria's Sunni majority, who oppose it and who will in time overwhelm it.

The second is that by destroying the "moderate" opposition Russia is leaving Syria's Sunnis with no option other than to turn to the Islamic State. The argument goes that the Alawite sectarian nature of the Syrian government and its supposed brutality towards the Sunnis means the Sunnis will never accept it. If left with no other choice the Sunnis will look to the Islamic State to protect them from it.

Jet5

Liberating Aleppo: Journalists describe a city terrorized by 'rebels', looted by Turkey, & ignored by the media

Syria Aleppo
© REUTERS/ Abdelrahmin Ismail
The Syrian Army offensive to liberate the city of Aleppo and its surrounding province continues; RT Syria correspondent Murad Gazdiev returned home to share his impressions about the situation on the ground there, the city's history before the war, and its fate since the ill-fated Arab Spring uprisings of 2011.

"Before the civil war began," Gazdiev recalled, "Aleppo was Syria's largest city [population 2.3 million]. It is really something of a mixing pot; you had all sorts living together there - Assyrians, Kurds, Arabs, Armenians, Turks, all living together peacefully."

Before the war, the city's ancient splendor and cultural diversity made it a source "of hundreds of thousands of tourists; there was also business, industry, finance, jobs - it was a bustling metropolis. And then of course, the civil war began..."

Comment: Further reading: How the "Arab Spring" went from spontaneous uprising to orchestrated slaughter


Better Earth

Fighting the globalists through decentralization

Decentralization
The world's in a heap of dung right now. Few but the most oblivious amongst us would dare disagree. But observers who look beyond the feeble, destabilizing machinations of such geopolitics chessboard pawns as Obama, Hillary, Kerry and the neocon players at the helm of US Empire folly, recognize that all this diabolically created chaos and destruction tearing our planet apart are mere consequences of following the Western ruling elite's marching orders. A handful of prominent banking families for over three centuries aka the Rothschilds joined over a century ago by the nouveau riche Standard Oil Rockefellers and other longtime central banking cabal families like English and Dutch royalty have all tightly controlled modern civilization under their twisted thumb at every brutal turn.

To this very day they've singlehandedly plotted, bankrolled, initiated and waged every major war, caused every major economic crash, bled the earth near dry of precious natural resources driven perniciously by fossil fuel addiction, owned all Fortune 500 transnational corporations and hijacked and controlled virtually every national government. With complete impunity their nonstop planetary raping and plundering of this ravaged earth precariously teeters humanity today on the brink of total self-annihilation. Their crumbling, Ponzi-schemed, debt-based, house of cards economy is about ready to self-implode and collapse, plunging the global economy into unprecedented turmoil and violent convulsions the likes of which none of us alive have ever witnessed before. This sad and tragic, very bleak world forecast is the shared consensus of not only many so called leading economists and financial experts, at least the honest ones apart from the scripted MSM propagandist liars, but also the vast majority of evidence-based geopolitical and military analysts as well.

But before going out and immediately throwing yourself under the nearest oncoming bus, it may not be too late to invest some lifesaving time and money in implementing a rudimentary survival plan for you and your family to utilize before that oncoming bus called the grim reaper enforces the "won't get out of this world alive" rule. A daily food and water supply for long-term sustenance may be the first item on any would-be prepper's to-do list. Stock up on canned goods, beans and rice and everyday staples. This all-important strategic plan may be individualized to fit your needs at the family level or even better be expanded to include your neighborhood-community. Since safety in numbers comes straight out of any sports, military or survivalist playbook, the latter plan together with your individual family plan is the best, most ideal option.


Comment: Indeed. See SOTT's recommendations for this: Are you prepping your diet?


Fire

Huge fire and explosions rock high-rise in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana

Astana tower fire
© Tengrinews TV / YouTube
An 88-story tower still under construction in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, was engulfed in a massive blaze early on Saturday. Amateur footage showed the high-rise, dubbed Abu Dhabi Plaza, lit up like an enormous torch.

The fire started on the 25th floor early on Saturday morning.

Some 120 people were evacuated from the scene, but no deaths or injuries have been reported, the Emergency Situations Ministry's official representative Ruslan Imankulov told RIA Novosti.

The fire was localized some four hours after emergency crew were dispatched.

Diesel heat generators actually caused the spectacular blaze, according to Imankulov. An earlier theory blaming a gas cylinder explosion was not confirmed.

Dozens of firefighters in nearly 20 vehicles have rushed to the scene. Several firefighting units are battling the blaze, struggling to get the fire under control, and at least 60 first responders have been deployed, RIA Novosti reported.


Comment: A couple of days ago a lightning strike sparked a huge explosion at steelworks in Port Talbot, Wales; while in New Jersey a massive warehouse fire burned out of control for nearly 20 hours. See also:

SOTT Exclusive: More mysterious high-rise building explosions - is there a 'cosmic' source of ignition?


Shoe

Another shoe containing human foot washes up in Pacific Northwest coast; 16 feet since 2007

Shoe
© CTV News/You Tube
Nearly a week ago, a severed foot inside a shoe was found on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, making a total of at least 16 such grisly discoveries along the Pacific Northwest shoreline since 2007.

The latest was found by a family walking along the beach at Vancouver Island, according to CBC. Charlotte Stephens said her husband came across the foot, the 13th washed up in British Columbia, during a stroll along Botanical Beach.

"He picked it up and brought it out on to the beach, and we had a look at it for about five minutes and we thought, it almost looks like there is an actual foot bone in it," she said.

The British Columbia Coroners Service said the foot belonged to a human and law enforcement is trying to determine its source. Regional coroner Matt Brown said that the brand of shoe on the foot had not been available until about March of 2013.
"So I think it's fair to say we are looking for someone gone missing from March 2013 and December 2015," he said.

The severed foot is the 16th to be discovered on the shores of British Columbia or Washington state since 2007, according to the Washington Post, which cited various reports of such encounters. Most of them have been right feet, it has been reported, while all shoes were some kind of running or hiking footwear.

While the ultimate explanation is unknown - theories range from organized crime, human trafficking or other foul play, to suicides or a plane crash - some experts say the severed feet are the result of the bodies being under water for long periods of time, in which case extremities will fall off first.

Star of David

Israel STILL keeping detained Palestinian kids in outdoor cages in winter: Rights group

palestinian children israel checkpoint
© Scott Campbell/ flickrPalestinian children at Qalandia checkpoint.
Following a November 2015 report by the Independent, in which it quoted NGO rights organization the Palestinian Prisoners Club (PPC) that at least 600 Palestinian children have been arrested in Jerusalem alone in the first half of 2015 and that roughly 40% were sexually abused, a new January 2016 report was also issued by the Independent, this time saying that the Israeli government is torturing children and keeping them in outdoor cages during winter time.

The Independent cited a report published by The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) saying that "children accused of minor crimes were subject to public caging, threats and acts of sexual violence and military trials without representation."

Upon a visit by Israel's Public Defender's Office (PDO) lawyers, shocking details of happenings in the detention facility was uncovered.

"During our visit, held during a fierce storm that hit the state, attorneys met detainees who described to them a shocking picture: in the middle of the night dozens of detainees were transferred to the external iron cages built outside the IPS transition facility in Ramla," the PDO described the scene on its website.

"It turns out that this procedure, under which prisoners waited outside in cages, lasted for several months, and was verified by other officials."

Comment: Israel's barbarity has been reported before and supposedly stopped.

'Children in cages': Human rights group accuses Israel of torture

This latest report shows caging children is still practiced. Israel has long been known for its horrendous treatment of Palestinian children, but has never been called to account for it.


Heart - Black

Indiana workers react with outrage after being told their jobs are moving to Mexico

Carrier Air Conditioner workers meeting
In a video uploaded to YouTube, a gathering of workers at an Indianapolis air conditioning manufacturing plant are stunned and enraged when told they'll soon be out of work because the company is moving their jobs to Mexico.

The large crowd of employees of a Carrier Air Conditioner manufacturing plant in Indianapolis can be seen milling around as a speaker — dressed in a suit and standing on a stage — addresses them and gives them the bad news.

"The best way to stay competitive and protect the business for long-term is to move production from our facility in Indianapolis to Monterrey, Mexico," the man can be heard explaining.

Cross

Pope Francis meets with head of Russian Orthodox Church for first time

pope francis kirill meeting
© Adalberto Roque / AFP
Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian branch of Orthodox Christianity, is holding a historic meeting with Pope Francis in a meeting room at the international airport in Havana, Cuba. The two churches have been divided for 1,000 years.

"We are brothers, at last," were the first words Pope Francis addressed to his counterpart, TASS news agency reports. "Now, it will be easier," responded Patriarch Kirill. "It is evident that this meeting is God's will," said the Pontiff, in his native Spanish.

"We are meeting at the right time and at the right place. I want to emphasize once again that it became possible with God's will," Patriarch Kirill told the Pontiff.

The two religious leaders embraced warmly in front of the cameras before proceeding to hold closed-door talks that were expected to last two hours. The Russian Orthodox Church said Patriarch Kirill would discuss the persecution of Christians around the world. Pockets of Christianity in the Middle East have been some of the worst affected by the Arab Spring and the Syrian conflict.


Camera

Cardiff University report: 111 journalists were killed in 2015 - Syria most deadly location with 10 deaths

Allepo
© Karam Al-Masri/AFP/Getty ImagesAllepo, October 4, 2013
A biannual report has found that 111 journalists were killed in 2015.

Research data collected by Cardiff University academics in the biannual 'Killing the Messenger' report found that Syria was the location for the most journalists deaths, with 10 killed in 2015.

The below map is also available as a high resolution image, or as an interactive map:
Where journalists died in 2015
© i100/CartoDB
Thirty-eight of the journalists killed were TV journalists, thirty were from print publications and twenty-seven were radio.
Graph - journalists killed


Comment: Reporters Without Borders reported 67 journalists killed in 2015:

2015 was another dangerous year for journalists