Society's ChildS


Hammer

Syrian artists are transforming militant-built tunnels into sculpture galleries

Tunnels syria
© Ruptly
Formerly a hiding place for militants, the underground tunnels in Syria's liberated Eastern Ghouta are now transformed into an artistic exhibition. Their walls are being turned into sculptures with scenes of battle and bravery.

A network of tunnels was discovered in Jobar, Eastern Ghouta, in April following the liberation of the Damascus suburb. The tunnels which extend for several kilometers were used to connect militant-run underground bases and hospitals.

The bare walls are now being given a dramatic makeover as Syrian artists work together to create sculptures in tribute to the Syrian people.

Footage by RT's video agency Ruptly shows artists each working on a segment of the wall perfecting sculptures of soldiers, women and children.

Following the liberation of Eastern Ghouta, the Syrian Army discovered a whole network of tunnels connected to militant positions and underground bases permeating Damascus districts and towns such as Douma, Jobar, Ayn Tarma, Arbeen, and Zamalka. Footage from under Douma showed vehicles easily moving through the vast tunnels, reinforced by metal pillars.


Comment: Transforming a passageway of death into a tribute to those who overcame fear with courage, fought for liberation, gave the ultimate sacrifice, shows the resolve of the artisans to bring beauty, meaning and healing back to Syria.


Arrow Down

Dow down 245 as emerging markets crash on US-Turkey geopolitical concerns

wallstreetbull
© Truthout.org
Wall Street couldn't avoid the bloodbath on Friday triggered by a collapse of the Turkish lira amid escalating diplomatic tensions between the US and Turkey. Investors are worried about political uncertainty in the world.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average index slid 245 points, or almost two percent, during early trading hours on Wall Street. Two other key US indices, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, pulled back 0.7 percent.

Shares in leading US banks also plunged significantly with Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and J.P. Morgan Chase all falling over one percent.

Markets in Europe were also turbulent with Germany's DAX falling two percent, French CAC 40 falling almost two percent, and Britain's FTSE 100 declining 0.8 percent.

Emerging markets also collapsed on Friday. Russia's dollar-traded RTS index plunged over three percent, Brazil Bovespa index was losing 2.3 percent, and the Turkish Borsa Istanbul index saw a 5.4 percent sell-off.

The broad market sell-off began with the collapse of the Turkish lira after a delegation from Turkey returned from Washington without apparent progress on the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson, accused by Ankara of aiding the failed military coup in Turkey in 2016. Brunson, a US citizen and Turkish resident for over two decades, was arrested in Turkey on charges of terrorism and espionage. He is facing up to 35 years in prison if found guilty.

Pistol

Former Armenian PM Abrahamian's brother arrested; search finds weapons cache

Weapons cache
© UnknownGuns that Armenian's security service claim it found in a factory belonging to former PM Hovik Abrahamian.
The brother of Armenia's former prime minister Hovik Abrahamian was arrested on suspicion of illegal arms procurement and possession, Armenia's security service said on August 8.

Henrik Abrahamian was a member of parliament several times in the past and belongs to a wealthy and influential family, which owns several businesses in the Caucasus country of 3.2 million people.

The arrest is one in a series in recent months under Armenia's new prime minister, Nikol Pashinian, a former opposition leader who was elected by parliament in May after weeks of mass protests against corruption and cronyism in the government.

The National Security Service said in a statement that it found weapons on the property of a former mechanical plant believed to have belonged to Hovik Abrahamian, who served as prime minister from 2014 to 2016.

Info

Denmark considers jailing burqa wearers as tycoon pledges to pay fines in defense of freedom

burqa ban
© AP Photo / Fred Ernst
Two of Denmark's ruling parties are considering upping the punishment for transgressors of the recent burqa ban from DKK 1,000 ($155) to a prison sentence, as it risks being rendered ineffective by a French-Algerian mogul previously dubbed the "Zorro of Niqab."

The Liberals and the Danish People's Party (DF), currently members of Denmark's ruling coalition, argue that the pledge by Rachid Nekkaz to pay all fines accrued under the contentious "Burqa Law" is undermining Danish law, Danish Radio reported.

According to DF's immigration and integration rapporteur, Martin Henriksen, the government should consider introducing prison terms in the legislation.

Comment: See also:


Pumpkin

Delusional Dem Senator Bill Nelson claims 'the Russians are coming'... to hit Florida's midterms

Florida voters station
© Scott Audette / ReutersVoters head to the polls during the US presidential election in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Florida election officials say they have "zero information" about a threat of Russian hacking in the midterm election, after Senator Bill Nelson claimed the Ruskies have already penetrated the election systems of some counties.

Nelson, the lone statewide elected Democrat in Republican-dominated Florida, is facing a tough electoral battle against Governor Rick Scott, who is term-limited and wants to take Nelson's seat in the US Senate come November. This week the incumbent senator added some spycraft thrills to the race by claiming that the Russians were not only an ever-lurking threat to democracy in the US and Florida, but actually have already penetrated the state election infrastructure.

"They have already penetrated certain counties in the state and they now have free rein to move about," Nelson told the Tampa Bay Times before a campaign event in Tampa. He made a similar claim a day earlier in Tallahassee but declined to elaborate, stating that the information was classified.

Comment: Why on earth would Russia care about Florida? Sounds more like grandstanding by the good senator.


Dollar

More than £10m of taxpayers' money splurged on Salisbury & Amesbury 'Novichok' failed probes

Police
© Toby Melville / ReutersPolice officer stands guard, Salisbury, UK, March 6, 2018.
The cost of investigations by the Wiltshire Police Force into the Salisbury and Amesbury poisonings is expected to exceed £10 million, according to the police and crime commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon.

Commissioner Angus Macpherson disclosed the astronomical cost to his police force following what were "unimaginable"events from earlier this year - adding he "fully expects" the British government to reimburse all costs, reports The Independent.

Macpherson issued a statement on Thursday, saying: "For our force to find itself at the centre of two major incidents in such a short space of time is somewhat unimaginable and we have endured significant costs because of the scale of the investigation."

"I am grateful that the government has already pledged £4.1 million towards the costs incurred by Wiltshire Police during the investigation into the attack on Yulia and Sergei Skripal. I fully expect all costs associated with these unparalleled incidents to be met by the government," he added.

Crusader

Lead pastor and board of elders of Chicago megachurch resign due to sexual harassment allegations against founder Bill Hybels

Bill Hybels
© Willow Creek / The IndependentBill Hybels


'To all of the women who have come forward ... we are sorry we added to your pain'


The lead pastor of one of the largest evangelical churches in the US has said she is stepping down along with the entire Board of Elders after a string of sexual harassment allegations against its founder, Bill Hybels.

Heather Larson said the Willow Creek Community Church needed new leadership.

"To all of the women who have come forward, the church should always follow in Jesus' footsteps to help the wounded find healing, and we are sorry we added to your pain," she said in an announcement on the Chicago-area church's website.

Biohazard

Why does Yulia Skripal believe she was "attacked" in Salisbury poisoning - when that contradicts the official story?

Yulia Skripal
© facebook.com/julia.skripalYulia Skripal at her 'press conference'
In my last piece, I attempted to show how on 4th July, when Yulia Skripal called her cousin, Viktoria, she appeared blissfully unaware of the British Government's central claim that the poisoning of her and her father was carried out by the Russian state. So blissfully unaware, in fact, that somewhat bizarrely she seemed to think that her cousin Viktoria was responsible for the publicity around the incident, and she also expressed her desire to return to Russia soon - the country whose Government was apparently responsible for attempting to assassinate her father. The Keepers of the Official Narrative are welcome to explain that, if they can.

I now want to go back to an earlier statement she made, which I also think is quite revealing. This is the one when she was "interviewed" by Reuters, significant for the fact that it was the world's first interview where the interviewer was not allowed to put any questions to the interviewee. She started her statement as follows:
"I came to the UK on the 3rd of March to visit my father, something I have done regularly in the past. After 20 days in a coma, I woke to the news that we had both been poisoned."
So far so good. She did come into London on March 3rd and was hospitalised with poisoning the day after. But then we get this:
"I still find it difficult to come to terms with the fact that both of us were attacked. We are so lucky to have both survived this attempted assassination. Our recovery has been slow and extremely painful. The fact that a nerve agent was used to do this is shocking. I don't want to describe the details but the clinical treatment was invasive, painful and depressing" [my emphasis].
"The fact that both of us were attacked"??? Hmm! Is this a fact, according to the official narrative? No, it most certainly is not.

Star of David

Israeli air force pound Gaza, kill pregnant Palestinian woman and 18-month-old daughter, destroy city infrastrucure

Israel pregnant mother toddler house
© Ashraf AmraPalestinians inspect a house that was damaged in an Israeli airstrike on Dair al Balah in the center of Gaza Strip on August 9, 2018.
Three Palestinians were killed during pre dawn Israeli airstrikes on the besieged Gaza Strip Thursday. Among the dead were a woman, who was nine months pregnant, and her 18-month-old daughter.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza identified the pregnant woman as 23-year-old Inas Khamash, and her 18-month-old daughter as Bayan Khamash.

The two were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit their home in the Jaafari area of central Gaza. Khamash's husband, Muhammad, was severely injured during the strike.

Comment:


Attention

Just another week of Saudi atrocities in Yemen: Deliberate targeting of civilians kills dozens

yemen children
© Naif Rahma | Reuters
The late morning sun conspired with a cloudless blue sky to picturesquely frame the city of Dhahian in southern Saada province. Suddenly the serenity was broken by the loud piercing shriek of fighter jets over the quiet village, followed by a deafening explosion. When the thick black smoke finally began to dissipate, more than 20 mothers discovered a school bus carrying their children had been transformed into a hellish scene: choking dust, smoldering shops, and the charred corpses of children buried under the mangled school bus. Anguished moans and screams of grief and pain filled the air.

At a bed in the Jomhouri Hospital in Saada, four-year-old Mohammed was receiving first aid when he came to the realization that he was still alive but that more than 35 of his classmates, older and younger, lay dead in beds near him as if they were asleep. Others were lying in torn, blood-stained clothing along with school bags, fighting death in the same room.

Mohammed was one of the 80 civilians wounded on Thursday in fresh U.S.-Saudi strikes that targeted a school bus carrying children to summer camp on Dhahian's outskirts in Yemen's northwestern province of Saada.

Comment: Remember:
U.S. Deepens Role in Yemen Fight, Offers Gulf Allies Airstrike-Target Assistance - Wall Street Journal - June 12, 2018
The U.S. military is providing its Gulf allies with intelligence to fine-tune their list of airstrike targets ...