Society's ChildS


Eye 2

Couple pleads guilty to enslaving children from Korea after using fear and abuse to intimidate them for over 6 years

Karen Hua
NBC New York
Thu, 20 Jul 2017 17:30 UTC
jail cell
A husband and wife from Queens have pleaded guilty to enslaving two children from Korea, forcing them to do housework, provide massages, and turn over pay from outside jobs, prosecutors in New York said Wednesday.

The Flushing couple — 54-year-old Jeong Taek Lee and his wife, 50-year-old Sook Yeon Park — were charged on two counts of labor trafficking. Lee was sentenced to five months' probation, while his wife faces six months in prison followed by five years' probation.

The brother and sister, whose names and ages were not released, moved from Korea to live with the couple in January 2010, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Shortly after they arrived, Lee and Park seized the children's passports and, over the course of six years, used fear and physical abuse to intimidate the kids to do their bidding, Brown said.
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Candle

Putin visits co-founder of Russia's oldest human rights NGO on her 90th birthday


RT
Thu, 20 Jul 2017 15:13 UTC
Putin Lyudmila Alekseyeva
© Aleksey Nikolskyi / SputnikRussian President Vladimir Putin wishes a happy 90th birthday to Lyudmila Alekseyeva, chair of the Moscow Helsinki Group, human rights defender and a public figure.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has paid a visit to the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Lyudmila Alekseyeva, to congratulate the activist on her 90th birthday and thank her for her service to the nation.

Putin also presented Alekseyeva with an etching depicting a view of the activist's native city of Yevpatoriya (Eupatoria), and emphasized that she had done "the most important thing" throughout her life. "Solzhenitsyn called this 'preserving the people,' he did this in his own way, and you do it in yours," the president said.

In comments with RIA Novosti, Alekseyeva said that she was surprised by the president's visit, adding that she was grateful for the birthday greetings.

Comment: Read more on Alekseyeva and the Moscow Helsinki Group's activities: Russian strategy behind placement of pro-Western figurehead to human rights council

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Sherlock

O.J. Simpson's upcoming parole renews calls to reopen murder investigation

Emily Smith
Page Six
Thu, 20 Jul 2017 16:32 UTC
oj simpson
OJ Simpson
As O.J. Simpson faces a parole board Thursday, after serving more than eight years in a Nevada prison, there are — predictably — fresh calls to reopen the inquiry into the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.

California-licensed private investigator Michael Alex Martin told the recent Investigation Discovery series "Is O.J. Innocent? The Missing Evidence" that he believes O.J.'s son Jason Simpson was an accomplice in the murders.

Martin, who happened to be at the scene doing surveillance on a different case, claims that he saw O.J. with Jason in the Bronco the night Brown and Goldman were killed in 1994.

Investigators on the show said Martin's account explains how more blood was found on the passenger side of the Ford Bronco.

Comment: Despite some almost incoherent rambling from OJ during his parole board hearing, his parole has been granted and he will be released from prison.

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Attention

"Families are being treated like cattle": Grenfell fire survivors demand resignation of Kensington Council leadership


RT
Thu, 20 Jul 2017 11:14 UTC
Protests Kensington Chelsea meeting Grenfell
© Neill Hall / ReutersGrenfell fire survivors demand resignation of new Kensington Council chief
Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council's new leader faced calls to step down by angry survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire on Wednesday evening.

Elizabeth Campbell was sworn in as the new council leader during a public meeting, but was booed and heckled by Grenfell survivors who shouted "shame on you" and "resign."

Survivors are disappointed with the way the council has dealt with residents following the tower block blaze that killed at least 80.

They also hit out at its negligence after it emerged that residents had previously raised concerns about safety in the 24-story building.

Comment: Grenfell Tower: A symbol of all that is wrong?

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Attention

ISIS faces extinction in central Syria

Andrew Illingworth
Al-Masdar News
Thu, 20 Jul 2017 16:56 UTC
Syria battle map 7/19/17
A grand pincer movement against the so-called Islamic State is taking place in central Syria. At both the northern and the southern prongs of this pincer is a seemingly restless force of men - fighting not only the terrorist group, but also time - with one immediate goal in mind: al-Sukhnah.

Everyday, and on multiple fronts, advances are being made by pro-government forces against ISIS to realize this massive encirclement scheme, the latest summary of which is as follows.

In the countryside of southern Raqqa Governorate, the Syrian Arab Army's (SAA) elite Tiger Forces liberated almost twenty key sites from ISIS in a single 12 hour period yesterday, whilst at the same time, and in the same battlespace, the Republican Guard's 124th Special Forces Brigade repelled a large ISIS assault on the strategic crossroads town of Resafa.

Comment: More updates on the Syrian conflict from South Front:



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Bad Guys

Cecil the lion's son Xanda killed by soulless trophy hunter

Julian Robinson
Daily Mail, UK
Thu, 20 Jul 2017 11:08 UTC
Xanda
The son of Cecil the Lion has been shot dead by a big game hunter - two years after his father was killed, it has emerged.

Xanda, a six-year-old male, was killed just outside Hwange National Park in north west Zimbabwe - near the spot where Cecil died two years ago.

Authorities were able to identify the animal - believed to be Cecil's oldest cub -because it had been fitted with an electronic tag.

American trophy-hunter Walter Palmer, from Minnesota, paid £45,000 to hunt and shoot Xanda's majestic father, easily recognisable by his black mane which helped make him Hwange's biggest tourist draw.

Comment: Killing these beautiful creatures for fun is not ethical. Any human being who enjoys it as 'sport' is lacking in empathy and conscience.

See also: Killing Cecil: A metaphor of Western colonialist exploitation of Africa

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People

Polls show Corbyn more popular than May for first time


RT
Thu, 20 Jul 2017 16:29 UTC
Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn
© Kirsty Wigglesworth / Reuters
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is more popular than Prime Minister Theresa May with the wider public for the first time, new opinion polls suggest.

New polls compiled by Ipsos MORI for the London Evening Standard newspaper reveal that May's popularity has fallen to a record low, whilst her main opponent, Labour leader Corbyn, is viewed more favorably than ever before.

Only 34 percent of respondents said they approve of May's leadership, while 59 percent expressed their dissatisfaction with her government.

It is the worst result for May since the beginning of her tenure as PM last summer, and a historic low for any British prime minister since Ipsos MORI began collecting data.
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Evil Rays

Americans have been 'brainwashed' to believe Russia has taken over their country - Max Blumenthal


RT
Thu, 20 Jul 2017 14:02 UTC
putin_trump
© Carlos Barria / ReutersUS President Donald Trump speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg
We're seeing more and more congressional Democrats attempting to push the concept of Russian collusion onto the American electorate. I am just challenging it because it is a dangerous narrative, Max Blumenthal, American author and journalist, told RT.

The White House accused the media of "Russia fever" over reports about a supposed secret meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G-20 summit earlier this month. It has emerged that the leaders did speak for a second time, but only during a joint dinner with other leaders.

President Trump dubbed the story "Fake News" in a tweet, saying that the press was aware of the dinner, and that all the G-20 leaders were present.

Furthermore, Democratic member of the US House of Representatives Jamie Raskin was challenged by a journalist Max Blumenthal after he claimed that Trump's ex-advisor was a host on this channel.

RT spoke to Max Blumenthal.

Comment: Here is Max Blumenthal's interview with James Raskin:



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Book

College student avoids suspension after grading and posting ex-girlfriend's apology note to Twitter


RT
Thu, 20 Jul 2017 16:09 UTC
college student
© Global Look Press
A college student who faced suspension after tweeting an apology letter from his ex-girlfriend, which he 'graded' for errors, has successfully appealed the penalty. What was supposed to be a joke turned out to be much more than the man bargained for.

Nick Lutz, 21, who felt betrayed by his ex-girlfriend, sent the apology she wrote him to his friends, who gave him the idea to grade the apology and return it to the woman.

Lutz scanned through and made comments on the letter with a red pen and ultimately came to a final grade of 61 out of 100, a D-minus. He posted the graded letter on Twitter in February, and it eventually went viral.
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Family

Poll: Most Russians support idea of installing monuments to Stalin


RT
Thu, 20 Jul 2017 15:50 UTC
Soviet Union Stalin monument
© Bolot Botchkarev / Sputnik
Over 60 percent of Russians think it is reasonable to install monuments and memorial plaques glorifying the achievements of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. The share of those who oppose the idea is half that number.

According to the latest research by state-run pollsters VTSIOM, the share of those who support the idea of commemorating Stalin as a major figure in Russian history is 62 percent.

Respondents told researchers that they consider the Soviet dictator a part of Russian history that their children must know about, and mentioned the victory in the war against Nazi Germany as one of Stalin's major achievements.
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