Society's ChildS


Briefcase

Russia's Olympians win their case against IOC

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Fri, 02 Feb 2018 04:03 UTC
Russian athlete
© APRussian athlete, Sochi Olympics 2014
Two months ago, when the International Olympic Committee decided to suspend the Russian Olympic Committee and to ban Russian athletes from competing in the coming Winter Olympics in PyeongChang in South Korea under their own flag - allowing only a selected few Russian athletes to compete under the Olympic flag and by invitation only - I expressed in an article for RussiaFeed my own total incomprehension at this decision.

I said that the decision seemed to me to make no legal sense since it contradicted the findings of the International Olympic Committee's own Schmid report, which concluded that there was no evidence of any government organised state sponsored doping scheme in Russia.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Star of David

Jenin: Israeli army using dogs as its new weapon in non-stop, wide-scale search-and-arrest campaign

K.T., M.K.
WAFA
Sat, 03 Feb 2018 00:00 UTC
Palestinian woman, dog
© TwitterArmy dog let loose on Palestinian woman.
Israeli forces Saturday detained several Palestinian men during wide-scale search-and-arrest raids in three different locations in the district of Jenin, according to local sources. The army used dogs in the raids.

Soldiers surrounded the residence of Walid Irsheid in the village of Kfeir, to the south of Jenin, as they apparently were searching for Ahmad Nasr Jarrar, who Israel believes was behind the deadly attack against a settler last month.

Witnesses said around 22 Israeli army vehicles and two bulldozers raided the village and surrounded the Irsheid home before breaking into it and ransacking it. Two brothers from the family, Dheeb, 43, and Qa'qa Irsheid, 42, were detained.

The army also searched many other homes apparently after getting reports that Jarrar was hiding in the village but to no avail.

The army used dogs in the search and residents reported dogs bit a man and his wife, who suffered injury in her hand.

The army later left the village without locating Jarrar.
Read More...
Attention

US troops in Kurdish uniform may be mistakenly targeted by Olive Branch forces


RT
Sun, 04 Feb 2018 13:54 UTC
US troops
© Delil Souleiman/AFPUS Special Operations Forces in Syria.
US troops fighting alongside Syrian Kurdish militias in the same uniform may be targeted by the Turkish army due to the difficulty of distinguishing them in the heat of battle, Turkey's Deputy PM has warned.

The unambiguous warning comes at a time when Turkish troops are making further advances into the Kurdish-held Syrian province of Afrin as part of 'Operation Olive Branch'. Previously, Ankara complained that the American troops' embedding with Kurdish militias - regarded as terrorists in Turkey - is unacceptable for the US-Turkish alliance.

Speaking to CNN Turk on Sunday, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said if US troops wear "terrorists' clothes" and find themselves among "terrorists" of the Kurdish YPG forces attacking the Turkish troops, "there is no chance that we [will] make a distinction at this point."

He stressed that any person bearing weapons and fighting alongside the Kurds "is our target." However, Bozdag added neither side wants open confrontation. Ankara has made it clear that US troops present in the area should stay away from where the Turks operate, and should not assist their Kurdish allies, he said. "We are clearly saying that we do not want to confront our ally, the United States. I am sure that they do not want to face Turkey and Turkish armed forces," Bozdag stated.

There have been numerous reports suggesting US Special Forces (SOF) teams use the insignia of Kurdish paramilitary groups. In May last year, an AFP photographer made a number of images showing armed men in uniform - identified by Syrian rebels as US SOF operators - in a pickup truck equipped with an Mk 19 grenade launcher.

Comment: Just to clarify: US Special Operations Forces camouflage themselves as Kurds fighting illegally in Syria against a NATO ally. Can't say they haven't been warned!

From France 24:
Beyond the northwestern enclave of Afrin, the YPG also controls the key strategic town of Manbij to the east and then a long strip of territory east of the Euphrates up to the Iraqi border. "If they (the YPG) do not withdraw from Manbij, then we will go to Manbij, we will go east of the Euphrates," Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag told CNN-Turk.

American troops have no presence in and around Afrin but they are present in Manbij and east of the Euphrates, where they have assisted the YPG in the fight against IS. "We do not at all want any clash with the US in Manbij, east of the Euphrates or in any other place," said Bozdag.


Read More...
Fire

Hair dryer or hair fryer? Amazon removes flame-shooting hair dryer from website

Chelsea Ritschel
Independent
Sat, 03 Feb 2018 13:33 UTC
hair dryer blow torch
Online retail giant Amazon has removed a hair dryer from its website after a video uploaded to Facebook showed the dryer blowing flames instead of hot air.

Erika Augthun Shoolbred from South Carolina uploaded the shocking videos to her Facebook page of the moment her OraCorp blow dryer transforms into a blow torch - and it's scary.

She wrote: "Talk about a bad hair day! My new hair dryer (more like a hair fryer) from OraCorp on Amazon.com became a blow torch on its first use this morning. A small burn on my hand and an enormous smell to my master bath - the company has yet to respond to my complaint or videos."

Comment: While it is rather humorous, the potential for someone getting seriously hurt brings some sobriety to the situation. When dealing with massive faceless companies like Amazon, the potential for inferior and dangerous products slipping through the cracks seems higher. Exercise caution! See also:

Read More...
Handcuffs

Afghanistan police arrest 3 men over flogging of woman sparking outrage among women's activists


RT
Sun, 04 Feb 2018 17:11 UTC
Flogging of woman
© Mustafa Andalib / Reuters
Three men have been arrested after allegedly flogging a woman in Afghanistan. The incident came to light after a video was posted on social media purporting to show the event.

The alleged assault is said to have taken place nearly two months ago in a remote region of the northeast Takhar province. Afghanistan's TOLOnews reports that, following the verdict of an unsanctioned local court, the 22-year-old woman was sentenced to be lashed. The charges against her are unknown.

The video shared on social media shows a crowd of men, some armed with sticks, encircling the woman. A number of the crowd then begin striking and verbally abusing her. The footage has sparked outrage among women's activists and religious scholars in Afghanistan, prompting the government to open a probe into the alleged flogging.
Read More...
Gear

US infantry fighting vehicles arrive in Lebanon


South Front
Sun, 04 Feb 2018 20:04 UTC
US infantry fighting vehicles
US infantry fighting vehicles
On February 3, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) announced in an official statement that its armored forces had received eight M2A2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) from the US, as a part of the US military aid program to Lebanon. The LAF received the first patch of M2A2 Bradley IFVs, which also consisted of eight vehicles, on August 14, 2017.

The M2A2 Bradley IFV is armed with a 25 mm M242 Chain Gun, a 7.62 mm coaxial M240C machine gun and a dual TOW anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) launcher. All the weapons are controlled via a daynight computerized targeting system. The IFV is powered by a 600 horsepower (447 kW) engine.

The standard US Army version of the M2A2 Bradley IFV is protected by an improved passive armor with the ability to mount an explosive reactive armor (ERA) on it. However, the ERA boxes were removed from the IFVs that had been supplied to the LAF.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Attention

Protesters defy Iranian authorities after the arrest of 29 women for not wearing headscarves

Alastair Tancred and Thompson Reuters Foundation
Daily Mail
Sat, 03 Feb 2018 18:54 UTC
iran hijab woman 1
Women in Iran protesting against wearing the obligatory Islamic headscarf have continued to take theirs off and wave them on sticks
Protests against the compulsory wearing of hijabs in Iran have continued despite the arrests earlier this week of 29 women for appearing in public without a headscarf.

Symbolic protests took place throughout the country this week with women posting videos and photographs on social media of themselves standing on utility boxes, street sidewalks and other public places as they defiantly waved their hijabs.

Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Jafar Montazeri played down the escalating protests on Wednesday, saying they were 'trivial' and 'childish' moves possibly incited by foreigners.


Comment: Which is most likely the case. See: Weaponized 'women's rights': CIA propaganda arm now runs headscarf campaign against Iran


Comment: See also:Hijab protests trigger debate in Iran

Read More...
2 + 2 = 4

The male backlash against #MeToo is brewing

Kyle Smith
NY Post
Sun, 04 Feb 2018 18:19 UTC
men and woman sitting
Men are scared, and feminists are delighted. But the urge to call out and punish male sexual transgression is bound to clash with an inescapable truth: We're all in this together, men and women.

Consider what's happening in the capital of Florida. Female staffers and lobbyists have found "many male legislators will no longer meet with them privately," reported The Miami Herald. "I had a senator say, 'I need my aide here in the room because I need a chaperone,' " lobbyist Jennifer Green told the paper. "I said, 'Senator, why do you need a chaperone? . . . Do you feel uncomfortable around me?' 'Well,' he said, 'anyone can say anything with the door shut.' "

Comment:

Read More...
Snakes in Suits

'Losing credibility': IOC chief wants 'reform' of CAS after favorable decision for Russian athletes


RT
Sun, 04 Feb 2018 18:00 UTC
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach
© Laurent Gillieron / ReutersInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach
IOC chief Thomas Bach has once again hit out at the "extremely disappointing" CAS decision to clear 28 Russian athletes of doping allegations, saying that sport's highest tribunal is losing credibility and needs urgent reform.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) knew only what had been released by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in its a press statement and this was "extremely unsatisfactory given the gravity of the cases," Bach told a media conference in PyeongChang on Sunday.

"We cannot have a situation of CAS losing its credibility with athletes... We have to do our job to make proposals so trust of the athletes can be restored," Bach said. The former Olympic fencer said that the ruling was "extremely disappointing and surprising."

"We feel that this decision shows the urgent need for reforms in the internal structure of CAS," Bach added.

Comment: Also see: Anti-Doping Authorities in Sport: Eyes Wide Shut

Read More...
Info

Poland's anti-fascist law defends national dignity in the face of Israeli and Ukrainian intimidation

Andrew Korybko
Oriental Review
Sat, 03 Feb 2018 17:26 UTC
Poland Senate
© Agencja Gazeta / Slawomir Kaminskivia / Reuters
Poland passed an internationally "contentious" draft law banning the phrase "Polish death camps", the Bandera ideology, and the denial of wartime Ukrainian fascist crimes.

Israel and Ukraine reacted with fury at the decision and harshly criticized Poland for what they each claimed for their own respective reasons was "historical revisionism". Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu forcefully condemned the bill and hinted that it amounts to "denying the Holocaust", and a few people frenziedly speculated that it would outlaw any conversation about the complicity of some Polish citizens in that tragic event. Kiev, meanwhile, decried what it claimed was the painting of all Ukrainians as fascist sympathizers and protested Warsaw's use of pre-war geographic terminology in reference to the genocide of Poles by Ukrainian so-called "nationalists" in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia.

Newly appointed Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki responded to his Israeli counterpart over the weekend when he wrote on Twitter that "Jews, Poles, and all victims should be guardians of the memory of all who were murdered by German Nazis. Auschwitz-Birkenau is not a Polish name, and 'Arbeit Macht Frei' is not a Polish phrase", one day before the two spoke to each other and agreed to enter into a dialogue on this issue. To be fair, historian Jan Grabowski has argued in his work that some Poles did in fact do terrible things to Jews, but claiming that these individuals committed these acts on behalf of the Polish Nation and collectively punishing the entire population with undeserved guilt is wrong and could be criminalized under the new legislation.
Read More...