Society's ChildS


Star of David

Jewish fanatics burn dozens of Palestinian olive trees in West Bank


imemc.org
Sat, 23 Jun 2018 15:07 UTC
nablus jewish settlers
A group of extremist Israeli colonizers burnt, on Friday evening, dozens of Dunams of Palestinian Olive orchards in Burin village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian official who monitors Israel's illegal colonialist activity in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, said dozens of colonists attacked the village, and invaded olive orchards, before setting dozens of trees ablaze.

He added that the attack, committed by fanatics from the illegal Yitzhar colony, is not the first, as they have carried out numerous similar attacks, in addition to dozens of assaults against the residents and their property.

Israel's colonies in the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem and around it, are illegal under International Law and the Fourth Geneva Convention to which Israel is a signatory, and a constant violator.


Comment: This is a regular occurence. Just the day before, the following was reported:
A group of extremist illegal Israeli colonizers invaded, on Thursday at noon, Palestinian orchards near the junction between Burqa and Sielet ath-Thaher town, south of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, injured one woman and burnt at least 30 olive trees.
...
Two days ago, the colonizers fired many live rounds at the Palestinian in the same area, reportedly after a Molotov cocktail was hurled at a one of their cars.

Also Thursday, a Palestinian woman was injured after extremist colonizers attacked her with stones at the entrance to the village of Burqa, to the north of Nablus.
Why are 'settlers' like this? Aside from personality disorders, their religion doesn't help: The Saker interviews Michael A. Hoffman II

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Car Black

Saudi ban on women driving finally overturned

Anuj Chopra
Yahoo News
Sun, 24 Jun 2018 14:57 UTC
saudi woman driver
© AFP Photo/FAYEZ NURELDINEThe lifting of the decades-long ban is expected to be transformative for many women
Saudi women celebrated taking the wheel for the first time in decades Sunday as the kingdom overturned the world's only ban on female motorists, a historic reform expected to usher in a new era of social mobility.

The much-trumpeted move is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plan to modernise the conservative petrostate -- but it has been dented by the jailing of female activists who long opposed the driving ban.

Women in Riyadh and other cities began zipping around streets bathed in amber light soon after the ban was lifted at midnight, with some blasting music from behind the wheel.

"I feel free like a bird," said talk show host and writer Samar Almogren as she cruised across the capital.

Television presenter Sabika al-Dosari called it "a historic moment for every Saudi woman" before driving a sedan across the border to the kingdom of Bahrain.

The lifting of the ban, long a glaring symbol of repression, is expected to be transformative for many women, freeing them from dependence on private chauffeurs or male relatives.

"This is a great achievement," billionaire Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal said as his daughter Reem drove a family SUV, with his granddaughters applauding from the back seat.

"Now women have their freedom," he added in a video posted on Twitter.


Comment: Almost. Letting women drive is a start, but you've still got a long way to go in the whole 'freedom' department.

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Stop

Palestinian protesters call on Palestinian Authority to lift Gaza sanctions


Middle East Eye
Thu, 21 Jun 2018 13:57 UTC
palestinian protest
© MEE/Akram al-WaraA young Palestinian holds a sign reading "Beirut, Bethlehem, Amman in one voice says lift the sanctions" in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem on 20 June 2018
Under the same slogan, "Lift the sanctions", protesters gathered in the occupied West Bank, Lebanon and Jordan on Wednesday evening to stand in solidarity with the Gaza Strip and call for an end to Palestinian Authority-imposed sanctions on the besieged enclave.

Israeli forces have killed at least 133 Palestinians during demonstrations in Gaza since the Great March of Return movement - which calls for the implementation of the right of return for Gaza's 1.3 million refugees - began on 30 March.

In the West Bank, demonstrations in solidarity with Gaza have strongly criticised the role played by the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) in worsening living conditions in the coastal strip since Fatah's rival, Hamas, took control of the enclave in 2007 after winning elections there in 2006.

In May, the Palestinian Authority cut in half the salaries of its estimated 50,000 employees in the Gaza Strip without warning. Last summer, the PA stopped paying for Gaza's electricity, leaving the enclave's residents with only two hours of power a day, compared to eight hours previously.

PA security forces' violent repression of one such solidarity protest in the West Bank city of Ramallah on 13 June has shocked Palestinians, who have vowed to carry on demonstrations and denounce the PA.
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Handcuffs

Cop arrested and fired after woman kidnapped and tortured escaped from his car

John Vibes
The Free Thought Project
Sun, 24 Jun 2018 13:58 UTC
Officer James Otterbine
Officer James Otterbine
A police officer was recently arrested and fired after a battered woman escaped from his car and called 911, claiming that she met him online and he paid for her plane ticket to visit him, but she quickly learned he was abusive and dangerous.

The woman, who is from Miami, claimed that she had a short online relationship with Officer James Otterbine, 32. During that time, he lured her to fly to his house in Oklahoma to stay with him, and as the days passed, he became increasingly violent with her.

According to a press release issued by the Canadian County Sheriff's Office:
"Over the course of the past several weeks, Otterbine became progressively physically violent and had even duct taped and handcuffed her to a chair during an argument. The victim also stated that during another incident Otterbine had bound and locked her in the basement with the lights turned off. The emotionally distraught girl stated Otterbine had threatened her life on several occasions, and had even threatened to shoot her, and then kill himself."
During interrogations, Otterbine admitted to assaulting the woman in front of his 10-year-old son.
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Chess

Rhode Island Senate passes bill to keep Trump off 2020 ballot if he doesn't make tax returns public


Fox News
Fri, 22 Jun 2018 13:55 UTC
Donald Trump
© AP / Charlie Neibergall
Rhode Island's state Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would require candidates for president and vice president to make their tax returns public in order to get on the Rhode Island ballot.

The bill -- which passed by a 34-to-3 vote -- now goes to the state House.

The legislation's lead sponsor, Sen. Gayle Goldin (D), noted that every presidential candidate since Richard Nixon voluntarily released their tax returns until Donald Trump's presidential run.

"Tax returns provide essential information about candidates' conflicts of interest," Goldin argued.
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Bad Guys

Teen charged with felony for recording conversation with principal

Jay Syrmopoulos
The Free Thought Project
Sat, 23 Jun 2018 13:43 UTC
Paul Boron
A trip to the principal's office at Manteno Middle School resulted in controversial felony eavesdropping charges for 13-year-old Paul Boron, in what is the latest saga of controversy regarding an Illinois eavesdropping law, which critics have warned is ripe for abuse and could be misapplied by authorities.

On the day in question, Boron was called to the office for not showing up for a number of detentions. Prior to meeting with Principal David Conrad and Assistant Principal Nathan Short, Boron turned on an audio recording application on his cell phone to record the exchange.

A report by Illinois Policy explained the chronology of events:
Boron said he argued with Conrad and Short for approximately 10 minutes in the reception area of the school secretary's office, with the door open to the hallway. When Boron told Conrad and Short he was recording, Conrad allegedly told Boron he was committing a felony and promptly ended the conversation.
The incident, which took place in February, resulted in the 13-year-old being charged two months later, in April, with one count of class 4 felony eavesdropping.
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Stock Down

American jobs already under threat from Trump's steel tariffs

Frank Sellers
The Duran
Mon, 25 Jun 2018 12:07 UTC
trump steel tariff
When Trump ran on creating more good paying American jobs and on creating a more business friendly environment, many took him seriously and backed him at the polls. Among that number are those manufacturers that happen to still be producing in America, for whatever reason.

But some American companies that use the raw materials that Trump has passed import tariffs on are finding them to be anything but business friendly, and anything but friendly towards American jobs. In fact, they're seeing their production costs increase dramatically, they're having to cut jobs, and they're looking to the Democrats for help.

The Hill reports:

Comment: While the intent is to encourage companies to move manufacturing back to the US, the tariffs will not do much to encourage that since the higher costs will force companies to move or look to pass them on to the consumer. See also: Petrodollar, Trade Deficit and Tariff: What is Trump Doing?

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Hammer

Israeli army has plan to attack, divide and occupy parts of the Gaza Strip


Middle East Monitor
Mon, 25 Jun 2018 14:21 UTC
Israeli occupation forces
© Salih Zeki Fazlıoğlu/Anadolu AgencyIsraeli occupation forces
The Israeli military has prepared plans for a full-scale invasion of the occupied Gaza Strip, in the event of a serious escalation in the south, according to a report by Israeli news site Ynet.

Veteran correspondent Ron Ben-Yishai, citing unnamed Israeli military officials, wrote that the army "is already considering alternatives to the Hamas government", should the latter not cooperate in efforts to establish an economic-security "arrangement" in Gaza agreeable to the Israelis.

"There is a feeling in the [Israeli army's] Southern Command that, this time, the IDF will be able to create a considerable change in the situation if it is required to launch a major campaign in Gaza," wrote Ben-Yishai.

Comment: In other words, Israel appears to be planning its next step and elevating its plans for the slow-motion ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people in Gaza. And why aren't we surprised? Israel has a habit of doubling down on all its aggression - and doing so after the killing and maiming of thousands during the March of Return recently will be no different.

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Russian Flag

'I feel safer here than I do in London': UK journalist shocked World Cup is peaceful

Enda Brady
Sky News
Mon, 25 Jun 2018 14:30 UTC
Volgograd Arena world cup stadium Russia
The Volgograd Arena is a football stadium in Volgograd, Russia. The stadium is one of the venues for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. It also hosts FC Rotor Volgograd


Enda Brady says he has seen no sign of the ultras and hooligans that certain sections of the UK press have been obsessing over.

There was a moment late on Friday night when my heart sank.

We were seconds away from broadcasting live from Lenin Square in Nizhny Novgorod ahead of England's World Cup match here, when two burly guys in their 20s approached us, drunk on life and heading home.

But what happened next amazed me.

They stood still and silent, behind the camera and listened to what I was saying on live TV.

Comment: It's no surprise that people would be surprised when, after being primed with nonsensical anti-Russian propaganda, they were confronted with the reality that Russians are actually very nice and accommodating people. The fake news hype-machine can't keep up when confronted with the truth.

See also:

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Eye 1

UK's youth increasingly find stability in gangs they don't at home - 30,000 under 10-15 year olds claim to be in gangs

Victoria Friedman
Breitbart
Mon, 25 Jun 2018 12:00 UTC
uk gang police
© Carl Court/Getty
More than 30,000 children are believed to be in gangs in the UK, as the number of 10- to 15-year-olds being treated for stab wounds has increased by two thirds since 2013.

According to research to be released in full in July, over 70,000 young people define themselves as being in a gang, 32,500 of those are aged 10 to 15, reports The Times.

"It's not just in London, Liverpool or Manchester, for the first time last year every one of the police forces, all 43, said they had seen an increase in gangs and the county lines delivering drugs across the country. Children are being drawn in from all over the place. The vast majority are boys," Anne Longfield, Children's Commissioner for England, has said.

The figures were arrived at based on the 2013-14 Crime Survey of England and Wales, which saw 0.9 percent of 10- to 15-year-olds and 0.7 percent of 16- 24-year-olds say that they were part of a criminal gang, the figures approximated for current population.

Comment: As the UK economy continues its downward spiral, vulnerable youth will turn to whichever group offers the most attractive benefits and stability. Previously that came from family and wider society but, increasingly, for some, gangs now fill that vacuum. In this sense, the UK is following a path already well entrenched in some areas of the US which suffers the same problems of a dysfunctional society and poverty, and similarly its youth turned to crime and gangs:

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