Society's ChildS


Heart

Russian hockey gold medalist Kovalchuk donates his Olympic bonus BMW to cancer charity


RT
Wed, 25 Apr 2018 14:18 UTC
Russian hockey star Kovalchuk
© Ольга Азаматова / vk.com
Former NHL player and 2018 Olympic gold medalist Ilya Kovalchuk donated the money he made after selling his Olympic gold medal bonus BMW to a boy who was diagnosed with cancer.

Last month, the Russian star forward auctioned his new BMW X5, which had been presented by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) as a bonus for winning gold at the 2018 PyeongChang Games. The car was sold at the symbolic price of 7.1 million rubles, which reflected Kovalchuk's signature jersey number of 71.

The winner of the auction turned out to be another star Russian player, Columbus Blue Jackets left winger and Kovalchuk's good friend Artemi Panarin, who had long dreamed of helping children with health problems.

"I had saved up money to help children, but I didn't know where should I spend it," Panarin explained.
Read More...
X

US Human Rights Report whitewashes Israeli high crimes

Stephen Lendman
stephenlendman.org
Mon, 23 Apr 2018 14:35 UTC
Four Palestinians have been killed and 650 others injured near Gaza border
© AMN
Annual State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices omit US high crimes - the most egregious human rights abuser over a longer duration in world history from inception.

Each year, its horrendous abuses over the past 12 months are airbrushed from the State Department report.

It greatly downplays Israeli high crimes. In previous years, its report on the Jewish state headlined "Israel and the Occupied Territory."

Its current one is titled "Israel, Golan Heights, West Bank and Gaza."

Zionist zealot US ambassador to Israel David Friedman reportedly asked the State Department to stop calling the Occupied Territories occupied.

Last year he was quoted saying (illegal settlements on stolen Palestinian land) "are part of Israel."

Comment: While the U.S. blames Assad for killing babies with chemical weapons (something for which there is no evidence), Israel can shoot Palestinian children in the head in broad daylight with impunity. U.S. concern for human rights is a joke. They have no such concern, and the subject is only used as a stick with which to beat its ideological enemies. The crimes of its allies are ignored.

See also:

Read More...
Clipboard

China's report on human rights outlines US hypocrisy


TeleSUR
Tue, 24 Apr 2018 14:04 UTC
Trump Xi Jinping
© ReutersU.S. President Donald Trump (L) with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.


Among the problems raised by the report is the United States' habit of violating human rights in other countries.

China released a report titled "Human Rights Record of the United States in 2017," in response to the human rights report on China released by the U.S. State Department on April 20.

The report points out that the United States continuously poses as "the guardian of human rights" and a "human rights judge," while maintaining a dismal human rights record of its own.

Among the problems raised by the report are the United States' habit of violating human rights in other countries, systematic racial discrimination, flaws in democracy, and a widening wealth gap.

The report criticizes U.S. military operations for resulting in heavy civilian casualties, and says that the U.S. military has in recent years bombed at least 12 schools, 15 mosques, 15 bridges, as well as residential neighborhoods, hospitals, cultural relics and a refugee camp.

Comment: Have a look here for the full report.

Read More...
Cult

Nazi pedophile sect: German prosecutors visit Chile for updates on sex crimes investigation of a WWII immigrant 'colony'


RT
Wed, 25 Apr 2018 13:44 UTC
Colonia Dignidad Villa Baviera
© Ivan Alvarado IA / ReutersThe entrance of Colonia Dignidad now called Villa Baviera.
The progress of an investigation into an infamous Nazi pedophile sect that abused and tortured children has prompted German prosecutors to visit Chile.

Colonia Dignidad was initially established as an immigrant community by a group of Germans after World War II. The 13,000-hectare (50 sq mile) mountain "colony" lay in an isolated region 350km (217 miles) south of Santiago.

It was home to approximately 300 people from Nazi Germany and their descendents. In 1961 it was taken over by Paul Schaefer, a former Nazi corporal and medic.
Read More...
Blue Planet

Human rights activists slam new French bill aimed at curbing illegal immigration


RT
Mon, 23 Apr 2018 13:38 UTC
migrants
© Pascal Rossignol / Reuters
After more than 60 hours of heated debate, France's National Assembly has adopted a controversial immigration bill that speeds up the asylum process and steps up deportations, all aimed at controlling illegal immigration.

The new legislation, approved by 228 votes in favor to 139 against, was adopted on first reading late on Sunday and is on its way to the Senate for debate.

One of the key changes is that failed asylum seekers awaiting deportation can be held for up to 90 days, double the existing period of 45 days, but less than the 135-day period the government had initially aimed for, according to Le Parisien.

The deadlines for filing asylum applications or appealing against a rejection have also been altered. Asylum seekers will now have 90 days to file an application (down from 120 days) and a fortnight to appeal a rejection.

The new legislation came under fire, as being too tough, by human rights activists and opposition members.

Comment: A group of lawmakers from Macron's own party abstained from voting on the bill. Maybe they have something in common with these people: Poll shows over half "dissatisfied" with President Macron

Read More...
Hardhat

Russia ready to build Nord Stream 3 & provide Europe with as much gas as it needs


RT
Wed, 25 Apr 2018 13:09 UTC
Nord Stream
© gazprom.com
Gazprom, Russia's leading natural gas producer, says it's ready to supply as much blue fuel as Europe wants. The company is ready to build the Nord Stream 3 pipeline, if necessary.

"We have proven reserves, we have transport, we are building new transport routes. If Europe is ready... I do not rule out new gas transportation projects - Nord Stream 3, for example," said Gazprom Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee Aleksandr Medvedev in an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel.
Read More...
Cow Skull

More than 17 million children in Brazil live in poverty


teleSUR
Wed, 25 Apr 2018 13:18 UTC
Brazil poverty
© ReutersResearch reveals that 17.3 million infants and youth in Brazil up to 14 years of age live in poverty.

The study also revealed that 5.8 million children live in extreme poverty.

More than 40 percent of infants and youth in Brazil up to 14 years of age live in poverty, according to a new study titled "The Scene of Infants and Adolescents in Brazil." The percentage represents a total of 17.3 million people nationwide.

Conducted by the Abrinq Foundation, the study also revealed that of the total number of youth and adolescents living in poverty, 5.8 million, or 13.5 percent, live in extreme poverty.

The research compares and contrasts Brazil's social indicators to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, of which the South American country is a signatory along with 192 other countries.

Comment: It's not just Brazil:

Read More...
Stock Up

Russia made billions from US sanctions that turned ruble to rubble


RT
Wed, 25 Apr 2018 13:14 UTC
US EU Russia ruble sanctions
© Ohde / face to face / Global Look Press
The latest US sanctions, which sent the Russian currency to its steepest drop in the past three years, surprisingly helped to boost the country's budget with an extra 232 billion rubles ($3.8 billion).

The decline in the value of the ruble, as well as recent purchases of hard currency by the Central Bank of Russia, brought an additional inflow of money for the Russian government.

The re-assessment of foreign-exchange reserves shows that, at the peak of the ruble crash, when the national currency fell to over 65 rubles to one dollar, Russia's sovereign wealth fund reaped a profit of some 470 billion rubles ($7.6 billion). However, the subsequent strengthening of the Russian currency wiped out nearly half of the gains.
Read More...
Attention

Syria controversy: There is no good reason to believe the official narrative

Max Blumenthal
Truthdig
Mon, 23 Apr 2018 09:50 UTC
Syrian man
© Hassan Ammar / APA Syrian poses as he gathers with his family in the Marjeh Square in Damascus on April 15. Syria’s President Bashar Assad spoke that day to a group of visiting Russian politicians, saying that a campaign of "lies" and misinformation in the U.N. Security Council accompanied Western missile strikes against his country.

Editor's note: Reports of a chemical attack in Syria have generated controversy and conflicting claims about what happened and who was responsible. The April 7 event is still under investigation. On Thursday, Truthdig columnist Sonali Kolhatkar wrote a column titled "Why Are Some on the Left Falling for Fake News on Syria?" Truthdig contributor Max Blumenthal questions her analysis. Below is his response. You can read Kolhatkar's take here.

This month, the United States, the United Kingdom and France launched airstrikes in Syria in flagrant violation of international law and entirely on the basis of images that had appeared on social media.

To date, no concrete evidence of a chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government in Douma has been produced to support the Trump administration's justification for the allies' bombing in response. The only sources of what State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert described as "our own intelligence" on chemical warfare allegations were the White Helmets and the Syrian American Medical Society.

The U.S. government has funded both groups, and they operate exclusively alongside Salafi-jihadi militants, including the local affiliate of al-Qaida and Islamic State. Both groups also are avowedly dedicated to stimulating support for a Western-led war of regime change against Syrian President Bashar Assad. Neither, therefore, can be considered credible sources of intelligence.

Comment: Excellent rebuttal from Blumenthal. The arguments coming from western media and government are always the same. They conveniently ignore the information that is available coming from the ground and call it "Russian propaganda". They'll also cite sources that when traced back, are either funded by those that want regime change or have questionable credibility. Considering the track record they have of twisting or omitting information to suit their agenda, there's no reason why they wouldn't do it in this case, as they have over previous events in Syria. It is almost certain that the same tactics will continue to be used in future campaigns orchestrated by imperialist western powers, and essential for people to remain skeptical when it comes to the 'official line'.

Read More...
Heart - Black

Israel's latest excuse for murdering child protesters in Gaza: They're not in school

Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss
Tue, 24 Apr 2018 02:36 UTC
Alaa Zamli, 15, killed by Israeli sniper in Gaza
Alaa Zamli, 15, killed by Israeli sniper in Gaza
The picture of Alaa Zamli, 15, is on top of this post because of his beautiful smile, which should have taken him very far in life. But he lived in Gaza, where he was killed by an Israeli sniper during the fence protests April 10. Today Ben White tweeted Zamli's picture along with those of three other children protesters Israeli snipers have killed in Gaza.
Israeli soldiers have killed four Palestinian children during the protests in the occupied Gaza Strip since March 30. Every sniper shot is approved, & recorded, Israeli officials say.

Comment:

Read More...