Society's ChildS


Roses

The life of Palestinian minors after Israeli prison

Chloé Benoist
Middle East Eye
Mon, 05 Mar 2018 14:25 UTC
Israeli border guards detain a Palestinian boy
© AFPIsraeli border guards detain a Palestinian boy during a demonstration outside the Lions Gate, a main entrance to Al-Aqsa mosque compound on 17 July 2017
Sometimes, 18-year old Mohammad dreams that he is back in Ofer military prison.

"I remember my friends in prison. I feel that I am in there again," the young Palestinian said softly, looking down as he recalled the eight months he spent imprisoned by Israel between 2016 and 2017.

Mohammad, who preferred not to mention his last name for safety reasons, was detained when he was only 16 years old.

According to Palestinian prisoners' rights group Addameer, 330 Palestinian minors were imprisoned by Israel in January.

Ahed Tamimi
© AFPSixteen-year-old Ahed Tamimi stands for a hearing in the military court at Ofer military prison in the West Bank village of Betunia on 1 January 2018
Among them is Ahed Tamimi, the 17-year-old girl whose case has made global headlines since she was detained in December.


Comment: See also: Child-torturing Israel says Mohammed Tamimi 'Confessed' to Falling Off Bike Rather Than Being Shot in Head


"Yes, I feel proud. Yes, she is strong," said political activist and Ahed's father, Bassem Tamimi. "But she grew up before her age. She lost her childhood because of something we - the world, adults - are responsible for."
Read More...
Display

Another tool in the information war: Experts warn against digitally altered video


CBS News
Mon, 12 Mar 2018 20:01 UTC

via GIPHY


Alec Baldwin is to some a perfect stand-in for President Trump. But in a digitally-altered video online, the president's face has been digitally stamped onto Baldwin's performance.

It's part of a wave of doctored audio and video now spreading online.

"The idea that someone could put another person's face on an individual's body, that would be like a homerun for anyone who wants to interfere in a political process," said Virginia Senator Mark Warner. He believes manipulated video could be a game-changer in global politics.

"This is now going to be the new reality, surely by 2020, but potentially even as early as this year," he said.
Read More...
Bullseye

Sailor pardoned by Trump says 'he was made scapegoat to take the heat off Hillary for mis-handling classified information'

Chris Enlow
The Blaze
Sat, 10 Mar 2018 16:58 UTC
Saucier pardon Trump Hillary
© Fox News screenshotKristian Saucier, the sailor who President Trump pardoned on Friday, ripped Obama's DOJ for using him as a "scapegoat" to cover for Hillary Clinton.
Former U.S. Navy sailor Kristian Saucier was pardoned by President Donald Trump on Friday. Just a day later, Saucier praised Trump for his decision while taking former President Barack Obama and his Department of Justice to task for using him as a "scapegoat."

Saucier was convicted of unauthorized retention of national defense information in Oct. 2016 and sentenced to one year in prison. He was released from prison last September. The charges stemmed from multiple photographs Saucier took while a sailor aboard the USS Alexandria, a nuclear-powered submarine.

Sailors aboard submarines are barred from having personal electric devices because of highly sensitive areas around the sub.

Comment:
Trump pardons submariner who took photos of classified sub and used 'Clinton emails' defense
"How is this not classified?" FBI files show Obama knew about and used Hillary's email server with pseudonym
Classified info, influence peddling and cover-ups': More Clinton emails brought to light
Fmr FBI Asst. Director: Hillary's crimes would land the normal person in Leavenworth

Read More...
Bullseye

Social worker fired from job for having a concealed carry permit

Rachel Blevins
The Free Thought Project
Tue, 13 Mar 2018 19:43 UTC
Storm Dunham tweet
A social worker took to Facebook and Twitter to share that she was fired from her job at Roanoke City Social Services in Virginia and escorted from the building by three police officers-not because she came to work with a gun, but because her employer learned that she had a concealed handgun license.

Storm Durham claimed that she went from working as "a damn good social worker" to being escorted out by police officers who claimed she was a "safety risk to the building." Her announcement on Twitter received more than 15,000 retweets and more than 20,000 likes:

Read More...
Info

Made in America: US has 5 of the most violent cities in the world

Daisy Luther
The Organic Prepper
Sat, 10 Mar 2018 00:00 UTC
US violence
When you think of the most dangerous, violent cities in the world, do you picture slums in Third World countries with vicious drug cartels or arrogant warlords? Maybe the kind of violence where enemies are decapitated and whole families are murdered seem like things that happen far away in some terrifying, exotic locale.

Some of this is true - but FIVE of the world's most violent cities are right here on the American mainland and another is in an American territory. The list was created by researchers of anti-violence think-tank Seguridad, Justicia Y Paz (Security, Justice, and Peace), who made their rankings based on statistics of homicides per 100,000 residents.

The vast majority of the cities on the list were in Central and South America. Interestingly, the violence in Venezuela appears to have dropped in violence this year, but not because it's suddenly become a mecca of safety. The official situation there has devolved so much that they simply can't track all the homicides.
Read More...
Clipboard

ASU asked Palestinian academic to sign a 'not criticize Israel' contract

Middle East Monitor
MintPress News
Fri, 09 Mar 2018 00:00 UTC
Dr. Hatem Bazian
© AP/Jeff ChiuPalestinian Academic, Dr. Hatem Bazian
Arizona State University is reported to have asked Palestinian academic Hatem Bazian to sign a contract in which he pledges not to criticise Israel at an event organized by the Muslim Students' Association next month.

Chair of American Muslims for Palestine and lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley, Bazian said Arizona State University asked him to sign the university's speaker agreement which included a clause that prohibits criticising Israel or engaging with the BDS movement.

Bazian refused to sign the agreement, saying agents loyal to Israel, constitute a real obstacle to freedom of expression and academic freedom in American universities.

He added that asking him to sign an agreement which includes a clause that prevents criticism and boycott of Israel is to ignore the freedom of thought and academic autonomy.

"I think that Israel ignores international law and puts pressure on the Palestinian people," he said, adding that there are many pro-Israel organizations throughout the United States which try to prevent programmes and events that are organized in favor of the Palestinian cause by putting pressure on university administrations.

Last week, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed a lawsuit against Arizona State University on behalf of American Muslims for Palestine and Hatem Bazian.
Read More...
Dollars

NRA gave $7M to hundreds of schools

Collin Binkley, Megan Hoyer
AP
Fri, 09 Mar 2018 00:00 UTC
ROTC shooters
© Marla Brose/Albuquerque Journal via APROTC shooting competition, 2018 New Mexico Junior Olympic Qualifier for sport and precision air rifles at Cibola High School, Albuquerque, NM.
The National Rifle Association has dramatically increased its funding to schools in recent years amid a national debate over guns and school violence, an Associated Press analysis of tax records has found. But few say they plan to give up the money in the aftermath of the latest mass shooting.

The AP analysis of the NRA Foundation's public tax records finds that about 500 schools received more than $7.3 million from 2010 through 2016, mostly through competitive grants meant to promote shooting sports. The grants have gone to an array of school programs, including the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, rifle teams, hunting safety courses and agriculture clubs.

In some ways, the grant distribution reflects the nation's deep political divide over guns. Nearly three-quarters of the schools that received grants are in counties that voted for President Donald Trump in the 2016 election, while a quarter are in counties that voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to the AP analysis. Most are in medium-sized counties or rural areas, with few near major cities.

Comment: Perhaps it comes down to the ability to properly train people for skill, safety, judgement and responsibility versus buying a firearm and winging it. Programs that teach and practice such disciplines have value.

Read More...
Cross

Catholic Church in New York and Georgia oppose new child sex abuse bills as 'unfair'


RT
Tue, 13 Mar 2018 02:07 UTC
CrossEye
© Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault
The Catholic Church is opposing new child sex abuse legislation in both Georgia and New York. One archbishop described proposed statute of limitations extensions for survivors to come forward as "extraordinarily unfair."

A legislative proposal known as the "Hidden Predator Act" (House Bill 605), to extend the statute of limitations for adult survivors of child sex abuse, has been decried by the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) in Georgia as a step too far. A lobbyist for the RCC's Archdiocese of Atlanta is attempting to gut the bill, which would afford survivors more time to file lawsuits against groups, entities or organizations that harbored pedophiles in the past. The proposed rule change would extend the statute of limitations for child sex abuse cases from age 23 to 38. It would also afford survivors additional recourse beyond that upper limit.

The "Hidden Predator Act" passed unanimously (170-0) on the floor of the House of Representatives, despite rumored lobbying by exposed groups like the RCC and the Boy Scouts. Proponents claim that many victims don't come forward until after the age of 40, while opponents argue that such increases in the statute of limitations would inflict collateral damage on people in organizations that were not involved when the abuse occurred.

Comment: Morality and rectitude don't have time limits. Today's RCC was yesterday's RCC. Just because a certain amount of time has passed, the trauma for victims has no such limits and the responsibility for those circumstances rests squarely with the churches, private schools, businesses and non-profit organizations in which they occurred.

Read More...
Calendar

Cuban vote opens final chapter of the Castro era


Al Jazeera
Mon, 12 Mar 2018 00:00 UTC
Miguel Diaz-Canel/Raul Castro
© Geopolitical Intelligence ServicesCandidate Miguel Diaz-Canal and President Raul Castro
Cubans voted to ratify a new National Assembly, a key step in a process leading to the elevation of a new president - the first in nearly 60 years from outside the Castro family.

Sunday's general election is the first since the death in 2016 of Fidel Castro, and marks the beginning of major change at the top in Cuba.

The new members of the National Assembly will be tasked with choosing a successor to 86-year-old President Raul Castro when he steps down next month.


Read More...
Dollar

Riyadh's coercion and physical abuse used to seize billions in anti-corruption purge


RT
Tue, 13 Mar 2018 05:08 UTC
MohammedbinSalman
© Hamad I Mohammed / ReutersSaudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Saudi Arabia's so-called anti-corruption campaign saw hundreds of the country's elite arrested about four months ago. Most detainees have been released but witnesses say they are not really free, living in fear and uncertainty.

People familiar with the situation told the New York Times that many of the arrested princes and businessmen were subjected to coercion and physical abuse. They now wear ankle bracelets that track their movements, witnesses said. The families who flew on private jets cannot gain access to their bank accounts, even wives and children have been forbidden to travel.

In the early days of the crackdown, at least 17 detainees were hospitalized due to physical abuse and one later died in custody with neck injuries and other signs of abuse, according to a person who saw the body. In an email to the New York Times, the Saudi government denied accusations of physical abuse as "absolutely untrue."

Many of the detainees surrendered huge sums of money in order to leave the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh, where the arrested were held. They have also signed over real estate and shares in their companies to the government - all outside of any clear legal process. "We signed away everything," said a relative of a former detainee, who has been forced to wear a tracking device. "Even the house I am in, I am not sure if it is still mine."

Comment: See also: More from Yahoo.com:
A Saudi general may have been tortured to death and several wealthy businessmen were allegedly abused in captivity at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's recent crackdown on powerful figures in Saudi Arabia, according to a newspaper report.

The most dramatic accusation involves Major General Ali al-Qahtani, an aide to a senior Saudi prince seen as a potential rival to the 32-year-old Prince Mohammed, who died in government custody in mid-December.

Sources told the newspaper that the general's "neck was twisted unnaturally as though it had been broken" and that his body had burn marks which appeared to be the result of electric shocks.

General Qahtani was taken to hospital in November but was reportedly returned to his interrogation after being seen by doctors. The government has not offered an official explanation for how he died.

The general's death had been widely reported in Arab and Iranian media previously but not in detail. The US report comes shortly before Prince Mohammed, known by his initials "MBS", is due in Washington for meetings with the Trump administration.

General Qahtani was an aide to Prince Turki bin Abdullah, a former governor of Riyadh who is from a rival line of the Saudi royal family to Prince Mohammed. Prince Turki was himself detained during the November crackdown on allegations of corruption. He was eventually released.


Read More...