Society's ChildS

Stormtrooper

US soldier arrested in terrorism probe after pledging allegiance to Islamic State

US soldier American flag
A U.S. Army soldier who served in Iraq and Afghanistan has been arrested on charges of providing material support to Islamic State extremists, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said on July 10.

Ikaika Kang, 34, a soldier in the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, in Hawaii had been under investigation by the Army and FBI for more than a year and was taken into custody on July 8, the FBI said.

According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Honolulu, Kang has sworn allegiance to IS, the militant group that seized large swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq for a self-proclaimed caliphate in 2014.

Comment: Kang was only following the same course set by the US. His mistake was in thinking a low level soldier could engage in the same deplorable behavior as high ranking politicians like Hillary Clinton.


Arrow Up

Americans ignore CNN, visit Russia in record numbers

russia_tourist
© Russia Insider
Bookings by the better known US-based specialized travel agencies for Americans heading to Russia have seen a dramatic turnaround with increases of 30% between 2015 and 2016, adding a further +12% so far in 2017.

Since 2016 to May 2017, some interesting developments have been ongoing in the now well-known relationship between Russia and China as the quantity of both tourists and businesspeople moving between the two countries have increased by 32% from China and 37% from Russia. True, the numbers are not spectacularly high yet the trend is apparent.

Due to sanctions and media perceptions, we initially saw a decreased demand in 2014 from US and EU businesspeople and tourists, then on the other hand, the sanctions and the cheap ruble have compensated with increased domestic travel by Russians throughout the regions of the country, which has made a positive impact on the hotel occupancy rates.

Star of David

Majority of Israelis polled want greater separation of church and state

rabbi
© Ammar Awad / Reuters
Some 55 percent of Jewish Israelis would like a review of the longstanding policy that sees Judaism and the state fused to a great extent, a new poll shows. The same percentage of respondents believe the current policy reflects an ultra-Orthodox view.

The authors of the survey, which was commissioned by the Israel Democracy Institute, asked groups of Israel's Jewish population with various religious backgrounds about their opinion on the status quo, a consensus on the role of religion in the life of the Jewish state reached between secular and religious parties that dates back to its early days.

The main pillars of the policy were outlined in a letter by one of Israel's founders, its first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, from June 1947, and later enshrined in Israeli law. That includes limiting business and public activity on Shabbat, putting rabbinical courts solely in charge of any matters concerning marriage and divorce of Jewish Israelis and not allowing the option of a civil marriage for anyone. As for the non-Jewish population, including Christians and Muslims, the letter purported to guarantee a freedom of conscience giving them permission not to follow Shabbat and providing other exceptions.

Heart - Black

Israeli nuke whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu sentenced again for talking to foreigners

Mordechai Vanunu
Whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, who in 1986 exposed Israel's nuclear weapons program and spent 18 years in jail for his revelations, has been sentenced again, this time for violating terms of his parole.

Vanunu, a former technician at Israel's Negev Nuclear Research Center, revealed to the media in 1986 that the country was developing nuclear weapons โ€” a revelation that the embattled Middle Eastern nation refuted and continues to deny to this day, in spite of irrefutable evidence and widespread global condemnation, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The whistleblower was branded a traitor and sentenced to 18 years in prison for the revelation.

Comment: See:


Red Flag

Controversial Islamic preacher who called Jews and Christians 'agents of Satan' allowed to speak at pro-Palestine event in Britain

Ebrahim Bham
© Standard Bearers Academy / YouTube
An Islamic preacher who called Jews "agents of Satan" and quoted Nazi Joseph Goebbels to compare Jews to "fleas" was allowed into Britain to speak at a pro-Palestine event over the weekend.

Ebrahim Bham, from South Africa, has also delivered lectures where he described equality between the sexes as "absurd"and defended violent jihad as "part and parcel" of Islamic teaching, it has been reported.

The Palestine Expo event, which was given the go-ahead by the government following concerns over the organizer Friends of Al-Aqsa's links to Palestinian group Hamas, was held at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London over the weekend.

Bham spoke about the "sacredness of Jerusalem" at the event, which was billed by organizers as the "biggest social, cultural and entertainment event on Palestine to ever take place in Europe."

The event, which showcased Palestinian art, food and history, attracted more than 15,000 attendees.

Vader

Eagle-eyed student spots Mattis' phone number enabling phone interview, Mattis promptly displays American Exceptionalism

mattis
© Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
A private White House phone number was inadvertently broadcast to the world last May, allowing an eagle-eyed high school journalist to gain an interview with US Defense Secretary General James Mattis.

Teddy Fischer, from Mercer Island High School in Washington, got an exclusive that most journalists can only dream of by studying the minute detail in a picture posted on the Washington Post website.

The image depicted a relatively normal scene - a White House aide, Keith Schiller, carrying a stack of papers beside US President Donald Trump. However, what many people failed to realise was that the US defense secretary's cell number was on view for all to see.

According to Fischer, he ended up calling the number seen on a sticky note to see if the former top US Marine, General James Mattis, would pick up the phone.

Health

Kaiser Family Foundation report: Obamacare market stabilizing, not imploding

FixObamacare
© Washington Post
A new analysis of health insurers' financial data finds that Affordable Care Act (ACA) markets are "stabilizing," and not imploding as Republican lawmakers have implied.
"Early results from 2017 suggest the individual market is stabilizing and insurers in this market are regaining profitability," the Kaiser Family Foundation said in a study published Monday. "Insurer financial results show no sign of a market collapse."
The study found in the first quarter of this year insurers paid out 75 percent of their premiums in claims. As a comparison, in the first quarter of 2015, 88 percent of premiums were paid out for claims.

Comment: Financial numbers for the ACA look better as 'newbies' to the program raise totals but receive fewer benefits. Approximately 15% of the US population is enrolled, not exactly a whopping success.

KFF is in partnership with MSM news organizations such as The Washington Post and The New York Times, two liberal-favored news sources.


Sheriff

Court rules citizens have a right to defend themselves against police brutality

police brutality
© TheFREETHOUGHTPROJECT.com
A court case was decided this month by an appellate court in New Jersey which affirmed that citizens are allowed to defend themselves against police brutality.

The court's decision involves the case of Darnell Reed, 33, who was beaten to a bloody pulp by officers during an arrest in 2013 in which he faced multiple charges. A jury found him not guilty on seven of the eight charges, with the only guilty charge being that of "resisting arrest." However, the appellate court ruled last week that Reed was denied a fair trial in that instance, as the jury had not been instructed to consider whether or not Reed had that right to defend himself against police brutality.

Comment: Basic human instinct is to self-protect and fight back when under sudden threat of bodily harm. Best of luck if you are up against a cop and weigh 100 lbs.


Snakes in Suits

No kidding: Internet trolls and politicians share traits in common with psychopaths

Trolls on the web
© Wikimedia Commons/jalapeno penelope
Sport to some, digital bullying to others โ€” whether you abide online trolling or find the inflammatory, sometimes cruel, practice repulsive โ€” the Internet's myriad disparate troll armies are apparently here to stay.

Seeding malcontent, disputation, division, needless provocation, and, often, chaos, trolls merit their characterization by the hordes as the bane of the Internet.

But, upon examining the psychology of these ruthless keyboard provocateurs, their likely detriment to civil discourse โ€” already evinced in the mimicry of youth โ€” sounds a warning not to be ignored.

Trolls, researchers found, possess a worrisome psychologic profile, laced with psychopathy and sadism, as well as a dearth in empathy โ€” all of which they employ in online manipulation to sow mayhem, an ultimate reward for their mischief.

Pistol

UPDATED: 3 Chicago cops indicted by grand jury for alleged cover-up in the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald

Jason Van Dyke
© Zbigniew Bzdak/Global Look PressJason Van Dyke
Multiple felony indictments have come down against one current and two former Chicago police officers. A special prosecutor says they went beyond the "code of silence" and conspired to obstruct justice after the police shooting death of Laquan McDonald.

Chicago Police detective David March and patrol officers Joseph Walsh and Thomas Gaffney each face felony charges of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and official misconduct, after being indicted by a grand jury Tuesday, the state-appointed special prosecutor in the case, Patricia Brown Holmes, has announced.

Holmes would not rule out the possibility of more indictments or further charges in the future during a Tuesday press conference. She said the grand jury's investigation was not yet complete.

The indictments stem from the initial investigation into the October 2014 killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was shot 16 times by police officer Jason Van Dyke after walking away from police who ordered him to put down a knife.

Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder in November 2015 immediately after a Cook County judge ordered the release of police dashcam footage of the shooting, which then went viral.


Comment: The shooting occurred in October, 2014. Jason Van Dyke has still not been brought to trial. Justice is not so swift!

See also: UPDATE: July 10, 2017
According to RT:
Three Chicago, Illinois police officers charged with conspiracy to cover up their colleague's 2014 shooting of black teenager Laquan Mcdonald have pleaded not guilty, while the judge assigned to hear the case recused herself without explanation.

Just before their arraignment hearing was about to start Monday, Judge Mary Margaret Brosnahan announced she was recusing herself from the case, offering no explanation for her decision. Following Brosnahan's recusal, [Judge Diane Gordon] Cannon was assigned the case of the three officers.

Once the hearing began, March, Walsh and Gaffney pleaded not guilty, and were released on their own recognizance with a $50,000 bond they will have to pay if they don't show up for the trial. Their next court date is August 29.
"We are very well aware of the fact that this case has great public interest. There's a great deal of emotion involved. That's understandable. There's probably even some politics involved. All we're hoping for at the end of the day is that we receive a fair hearing," said Tom Breen, Walsh's attorney, according to AP.
Walsh, 48, was Van Dyke's partner at the time and allegedly gave conflicting accounts about the events leading up to the shooting.

Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder in November 2015, and has pleaded not guilty. In March 2017, a grand jury added 16 counts of aggravated battery, one for each bullet fired at McDonald. His trial has yet to be scheduled.

The trio also prepared and submitted police reports that portrayed Walsh, Gaffney and Van Dyke as "victims assaulted and battered" by McDonald, according to the indictment. Holmes said they also conspired in failing to locate and preserve physical evidence.

Following a 13-month investigation into the Chicago PD following the McDonald shooting, the Obama administration proposed a court-enforced settlement reforming the police. Last month, however, [Mayor Rahm] Emanuel said he would sign a memorandum of agreement with the Trump administration establishing an independent monitor instead.