Society's ChildS

Brick Wall

EU countries refuse to open their ports to help Italy cope with growing inflow of migrants

migrants, refugees EU
© Yannis Behrakis / Reuters
Other EU countries have refused to open their ports to migrants as proposed by Italy, which is trying to cope with a constantly growing inflow of migrants. The other bloc members would rather see more economic migrants returned home.

At an informal EU meeting in Estonia on Thursday, several leaders spoke out against opening their ports for migrants.

"Just opening more ports will not solve the problem," Dutch Security Minister Stephanus Blok said, as cited by the EU Observer.

"I don't think we're going to open Belgian ports. No," joked Theo Francken, Belgian state secretary for asylum and migration.

Fire

'Welcome to hell': Protesters rage in Hamburg - Live updates

Police officers push away activists who tried to block a street during the G20 summit in Hamburg
© Hannibal Hanschke / ReutersPolice officers push away activists who tried to block a street during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 7, 2017
Parts of Hamburg are under a blanket of black smoke. G20 protesters in the German city started a huge inferno as the summit of world leaders kicks off.

The summit sessions are now underway with Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump having shaken hands. But across the city hordes of protesters blocked streets by staging sit-down demonstrations at key intersections.

Reuters reports that streets and bridges leading to the summit were blocked as well as a road used by trucks at Hamburg Port.

Hundreds of left wing anarchists started fires and clashed with police. At least 29 activists are now under arrest and more than 150 policemen are injured.

We're working mostly with Samdesk - a UGC discovery platform - to help us geolocate and verify posts and surface dramatic videos from the city.

Comment: Hamburg police requested reinforcements following overnight clashes in the city, according to Germany's Welt newspaper, citing police officials.
Berlin and Baden-Wรผrttemberg police units deployed 200 more officers each in addition to the 20,000 or so already providing security during the G20 summit.

A police helicopter was nearly hit by a pistol flare light on Friday, Hamburg police wrote on Twitter.

Earlier, demonstrators set several cars on fire in Altona, several police vehicles also were vandalized, according to Hamburg police, who tweeted the images of police vans with black paint and smashed windows.


People have been posting numerous videos and photos online showing plumes of smoke rising in the Hamburg suburb. Police advised people to avoid the area to not get caught up in the chaotic scenes.


Protests in Hamburg are ongoing, with some groups of demonstrators sitting on the streets, while police are taking protesters one by one in attempt to clear the road.
Melania Trump is unable to leave her Hamburg accommodation due to G20 protests taking place outside, her spokeswoman confirmed to German media. The demonstrations are keeping the US first lady from attending an event with the spouses of other world leaders.
"We have no security clearance from the police to leave the guesthouse," spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told German news agency DPA.

Grisham also called the situation "unfortunate," according to NBC's chief White House correspondent, Hallie Jackson.

The first lady was due to attend an event for the spouses of world leaders, organized by the husband of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Joachim Sauer.



Bad Guys

DEA allowed New Orleans cops to build their own personal drug cartels for over a decade

New Orleans DEA drug cartel
According to a whistleblower inside the DEA, the agency "allowed and promoted" multiple officers to run their own personal drug cartels for years.
For over a decade, agents with a New Orleans-based DEA task force sold drugs, intimidated informants and stole cash on the job with total impunity.

According to the Advocate, Chad Scott, the former leader of the task force has been fired in the midst of the investigation. It was reported that Scott and some of the officers working under him had a massive operation selling painkillers and that they would sometimes sell other drugs that they managed to steal from dealers during raids.

"There were a series of complaints that went back years. This is a guy who probably shouldn't have been allowed to run his own task force," an anonymous law enforcement official said.

The good news, in this case, is that a large and growing number of federal criminal drug cases are being reversed and nonviolent offenders are being set free due to the fact that this corruption has been exposed.

Comment: Police have been profiting handsomely from the war on drugs. Where is there a more convenient place to run drug-trafficking operations than from within corrupt US police departments?


Footprints

2,500 immigrants evacuated from La Chapelle refugee camp in Paris

french police and migrants
© Pascal Rossignol / ReutersFrench police evict thousands of migrants living on sidewalks near the reception center for migrants and refugees at porte de la Chapelle, north of Paris, France, JuLy 7, 2017.
The authorities in the French capital have evacuated about 2,500 migrants who set up a makeshift camp near a local refugee center due to overflow.

The evacuation started at 6am local time on Friday, and saw about 60 buses taking migrants to other refugee centers across Ile-de-France region, including in Paris.

Pistol

Floridians can't openly carry guns but county tax collectors can

robbery
Tax collectors in Florida are now publicly announcing the values of being armed when demanding money from citizens. The only problem is that the state bans open carry for civilians that the tax collectors are stealing money from.

If you're leery about government intervention in your life, and you know that taxation is theft, this article will probably strike a nerve. However, on the other hand, if you revile and worship the government which steals from you and creates edicts you must follow under threats of violence using your stolen money, you'll love what they are doing down in the Sunshine State.
"A Central Florida tax collector says a new policy will allow his employees to openly carry firearms while they work," The Associated Press reports. "Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg told the Orlando Sentinel that according to Florida law, he and his employees are considered 'revenue officers' and are exempt from the state's ban on the open carrying of firearms while performing their duties."
Ready for the glaring hypocrisy?
The rationale behind the move is to save taxpayers money by eliminating the need to hire private security.

Heart - Black

Caught on camera: Cop steals unconscious man's Christmas money

Linnard Crouch and the Mabes
A widow claims in court that a former Texas City police officer found her husband unconscious on the side of the road with more than $2,000 in cash meant for Christmas gifts and stole the money, just before the man died.

Linda Mabe sued Texas City and former police officer Linnard Crouch Jr. in Galveston federal court Wednesday, claiming Crouch stole $2,400 in cash from her husband, James Mabe, while he was incapacitated on the side of the road.

Instead of returning the full amount, Crouch gave Mabe less than $300 in a "stack of $1.00 bills that James kept in the center console of the truck he drove," according to the complaint.
"Some people would call that theft," Linda's attorney Randall Kallinen said during a press conference Thursday. "Many would call that theft."
Linda's husband was robbed by Crouch, victimized by someone who was supposed to protect and serve the public, she said during the press conference.

Crouch resigned from his position as a Texas City police officer on Jan. 30, according to a press release issued by the police department on Thursday.

Wedding Rings

Opposition to California barring child marriage

childbride
© YouTube
A Bay Area legislator was shocked when he learned from a young constituent that while Californians cannot legally consent to sex until they are 18, they can โ€” with the permission of a parent and a judge's order โ€” get married at any age, even if their spouse is many years older.
"I thought, that can't be true in California," said state Sen. Jerry Hill, a Democrat from San Mateo. "We found that it is true in California and true in many states throughout the country."
But Hill's resulting proposal to bar juveniles from getting hitched has been watered down after it prompted strong objections from civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union.

As the emotional fight unfolds in Sacramento, there's no agreement even about a basic piece of information โ€” how many minors get married each year in California. People who want to limit such marriages say the total is in the thousands, while those who oppose the bill say that's vastly inflated.

The state doesn't keep such numbers, and even efforts to change that are running into resistance.

Comment: Marriage is difficult enough for full-fledged adults. It cannot be fathomed how this 'institution' affects children forced to enter into such a relationship, often left to the mercy of one's legal spouse. Perhaps legislation should be given a second look.


Handcuffs

Trump supporter tries to frame liberals with anti-Trump graffiti at elementary school has been arrested

Trump supporter
© Ronni Newton / YouTube
A self-declared supporter of President Donald Trump has been arrested for vandalizing a Connecticut elementary school, telling police later that he hoped liberals would be blamed for his threatening messages directed at the president.

A Connecticut judge ordered Steven Marks, 32, to stay away from Morley Elementary School, where police found several menacing messages written on the playground's welcome sign, benches, playground equipment, and other areas, the Hartford Courant reported.

The graffiti, which was discovered by a student before school on June 16, included phrases such as "Kill Trump,""Death to Trump," "Bernie Sanders 2020" and "Left is best," according to the Courant.

On June 19, West Hartford Police released surveillance footage that shows Marks riding his bicycle onto school grounds with his dog at around 10:30pm. Marks then stops and scribbles something on a sign in the playground.

Heart - Black

Western sanctions leaves Aleppo maternity hospital in critical condition

Aleppo
© Mohamed Maaruf
It's not just war and terrorism that have destroyed Syria and destabilized its economy. Punitive measures imposed by the US and the EU have transformed a once prosperous country into an aid-dependent nation. The chief doctor of a government-run maternity hospital in Aleppo revealed the struggling conditions in which the hospital has found itself.

It was not long ago that Aleppo was liberated from terrorists. The raging war however was not the only horror which devastated the city. Officials also blame the sanctions, introduced by the US and the EU, for the desperate need of medical equipment, fuel, food and building materials.

The punitive measures of the West have severely restricted pharmaceutical imports, even though medical supplies are largely exempt from the imposed measures.

Attention

Residential building collapses near Naples, Italy several feared trapped under rubble

Building collapses
© ReutersFirefighters work on the site of a collapsed building in Torre Annunziata, Italy July 7, 2017.
A four-story residential building has collapsed in Torre Annunziata, a town at the foot of Mount Vesuvius near Naples, Italy. At least five people are feared to be trapped under the rubble.

Conflicting media reports say that it was a five-story building, according to AP.

Up to eight people from two families are missing, local firefighters tweeted.