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Cross

Pope's clemency for pedophile priests under scrutiny following latest scandal


RT
Mon, 27 Feb 2017 12:41 UTC
Pope Francis
© Alessandro Bianchi / Reuters
Pope Francis' unshakeable belief in the power of mercy has been called into question after a previously-convicted pedophile priest struck again, around two years after the Pontiff reduced sanctions against child-abusing clergy, according to a report by AP.

The case of Rev. Mauro Inzoli, an Italian priest who received church clemency but was later convicted for abusing children, has turned the spotlight back on the sins of the Catholic Church. The report has revealed that Inzoli is now facing a second church trial after new evidence emerged against him.

Inzoli was found guilty of abusing young boys by a 2012 Vatican investigation and was ordered to be defrocked.

He appealed his punishment and, in 2014, Pope Francis overruled the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and granted clemency, reducing the priest's penalty to a lifetime of prayer.
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Black Magic

Pure evil: 23yo murderer of infant sentenced to 60yrs in jail after rape charges dropped in Indiana


RT
Mon, 27 Feb 2017 22:39 UTC
Kyle Parker
A southern Indiana man accused of kidnapping, raping and murdering a 15-month-old baby girl has been sentenced to 60 years in prison after a judge accepted his plea bargain that dropped all molestation and sexual-related charges, AP reports.

Kyle Parker, 23, was drinking with the victim's uncle on the night of March 23, 2016, and after waiting for everyone else to fall asleep, he kidnapped the toddler. He then raped, beat and strangled the child before dumping her body along the shore of the White River near Gosport, 40 miles southwest of Indianapolis.

Parker plead guilty to kidnapping and murder at the beginning of February but his plea deal did not involve any charges of rape or sexual molestation of a minor.

Comment: The worst part of this story is knowing that there are many, many more of these types of people doing the same exact thing, but are highly organized, very powerful, and rarely get caught and punished for their abhorrent and heinous crimes.

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Pumpkin 2

Delusional talk show host Bill Maher: US intelligence agencies "our last line of defense"

David Walsh
World Socialist Web Site
Wed, 22 Feb 2017 00:00 UTC
Bill Maher
Bill Maher - another witting or unwitting shill for US authoritarianism
In an extraordinarily foul outburst February 17, Bill Maher, the host of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher," termed American intelligence agencies "our last line of defense" against the allegedly pro-Russian Donald Trump and referred approvingly to Egypt and Turkey as countries where similar agencies had intervened against a "crazy" dictator.

Maher has been pathological on the subject of supposed Russian interference in the US elections since the issue first arose. On July 27, 2016, in response to the hacking of the Democratic National Committee's emails and unsubstantiated claims that Russian agents seeking to tip the election in Trump's favor were behind the action, Maher described Trump (who was semi-jokingly urging that Russian secret services hack Hillary Clinton's missing emails) as "the voice of treason."

Maher went on last July: "He's always taking Russia's side. Plainly, Trump is a Russian agent. I mean, I don't know it for a fact, but a lot of people are saying it . ... Oh yes, Donald Trump: the spy who loved himself."

One month ago, on Inauguration Day, in his opening monologue, Maher observed, "It really happened, we Americans have a new leader ... Vladimir Putin—and also this guy Trump took an oath today."

Comment: It seems that there are a number of so-called liberal infotainment pundits out there gravely misinforming their audience. See also:

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Attention

New outbreaks of bird flu in Lithuania, Czech Republic and Rep. of Ireland


RT
Mon, 27 Feb 2017 21:43 UTC
Swans
© Dado Ruvic / Reuters
Lithuania has reported an outbreak of bird flu virus, H5N8, among swans in central areas of the country. Several other cases were also confirmed in the Czech Republic and Republic of Ireland.

The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) reported details of the outbreak on Monday after Lithuania's veterinary services published a report. The six infected mute swans were found dead in Kaunas near a river. It is the first occurrence of the disease in the country the report states.

The H5N8 strain detected is the same as the one that spread through Africa, Europe and the Middle East over the last number of years. The strain first hit Europe in October 2016 and has led to millions of birds being slaughtered.

Comment: More bird flu disasters:

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Heart - Black

Police statistics from 2016 reveal Germany saw 10 anti-refugee assaults a day


RT
Mon, 27 Feb 2017 20:58 UTC
germany refugees
© Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters
More than 2,500 refugees were attacked in Germany last year, with roughly 10 assaults a day, according to a report by the interior ministry seen by AFP.

The attacks left 560 people injured, 43 of them children, the interior ministry revealed in a written reply to a parliamentary question, AFP reported, citing the document.

"People who have fled their home country and seek protection in Germany have the right to expect safe shelter," the letter seen by the news agency said.
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Eye 2

Islamist militants behead 70-year-old German hostage kidnapped in the Philippines


RT
Mon, 27 Feb 2017 20:58 UTC
Jurgen Kantner
© Mustaga Abdi / AFPThis file photo taken on May 5, 2009 shows German national Jurgen Kantner
A German hostage in the conflict-wracked southern Philippines has been beheaded by Islamist militants, with the video being posted online by the terrorism monitoring group SITE.

In the video released on Monday, the hostage, 70-year-old Jurgen Kantner, can be seen in a jungle clearing with his hands tied behind him. He can be heard saying the words "Now he'll kill me" before a man starts cutting Kantner's head off with a large knife.

Kantner was being held by men loyal to Muammar Askali aka Abu Rami, a commander in the Islamist militant group Abu Sayyaf, for a sum of 30 million pesos (approximately $500,000) before talks for his release collapsed on Sunday, the deadline for the ransom payment. He had been kidnapped almost two months ago when he and his wife, Sabine Merz, were cruising through the Philippines in their yacht through an area controlled by Abu Sayyaf. Merz was reportedly killed when she tried to fight back with a shotgun.

Comment: Abu Sayyaf get their name from an influential US agent who fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s, and who trained militants who returned to fight in the Philippines. Once again, the world can thank the US for creating these head-chopping monsters and using them for nefarious purposes.

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Brick Wall

Hungary launches migrant crackdown with construction of second border fence


RT
Mon, 27 Feb 2017 20:58 UTC
migrant immigration serbia hungary border europe refugee
© Laszlo Balogh / ReutersA barbed-wire fence already stands along the Hungary-Serbia border.
Construction on a second border fence has begun in Hungary as the government increases measures to stop migrants entering. Summer months usually signal a resurgence in the number of those making the arduous journey into Europe along the Balkan corridor.

The new fence will accompany a previously installed barbed wire barrier, which was erected in 2015 to run along the country's border with Serbia - an overland route used by migrants fleeing to Germany.

Some €120 million has been allocated to the construction of the fence and containment camps to hold migrants, according to Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Chief of Staff, Janos Lazar.
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Fire

1967: The Detroit Rebellion and its global significance

Abayomi Azikiwe
Global Research
Mon, 27 Feb 2017 00:00 UTC
Detroit police
© www.detroits-great-rebellion.comDetroit Police no shoot order
We know that this anniversary will be a nervous one from the standpoint of the white-dominated ruling class and its surrogates. There will be an attempt to frame the Detroit Rebellion as a series of criminal acts devoid of social significance. Although we are five decades removed from this outbreak of righteous indignation on the part of the oppressed people, the capitalist rulers can never admit that their systematic institutional racism and exploitation serves as the underpinning for all forms of resistance aimed at national liberation and social justice. From the period of slavery right through the failure of Reconstruction to Jim Crow segregation, lynching, the Great Depression, Cold War, and the contemporary period of benign neglect and state repression, African people have fought back against what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described as the "triple evils" of racism, war and poverty.

The deliberate distortion of the actual history of Detroit and its African American community is crafted to maintain the social status-quo. Despite the fact that gains were made from the self-organization and emancipatory movements of the post-World War II awakenings and increasing levels of national consciousness, the ruling capitalist class has sought to reverse all advancements won by the people.

Moreover, there are striking parallels with the situation in 2017 and that of 1967. Racism is still very much in evidence. African Americans and other oppressed people are subjected to economic deprivation such as higher unemployment rates, deeper levels of poverty and desperation along with political suppression. The governmental system in the U.S. has never recognized through the Constitution and its amendments the special oppression of the African people who were brought here as slaves.

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Bomb

New wave of bomb threats cause evacuations at dozens of Jewish Centers across US


RT
Mon, 27 Feb 2017 20:36 UTC
Police fence armed
© Bryan Woolston / Reuters
Dozens of Jewish centers from Alabama to Pennsylvania are being evacuated following consecutive bomb threats. Last week, 10 Jewish centers in at least five states received similar threats. The Levite Jewish Community center in Birmingham, Alabama was emptied on Monday morning. The center was also targeted last week.

The David Posnack Jewish Day School in Broward County, Florida was reportedly cleared following a bomb threat at 9:30 am. Three Jewish Community Centers (JCC) in Stated Island, New York was evacuated as well as the JCC in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and JCCs in Providence, Rhode Island.

Just before noon, New York Representative Nita Lowey tweeted that a bomb threat had been made against the JCC in Tarrytown, New York. The Jewish Federation of South Jersey tweeted that people had been moved from the building and police had arrived. Reports indicate that Jewish centers in Delaware, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, South Carolina are also being vacated.

In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, officials say students and staff were ushered from the JCC due to a bomb threat.
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Book 2

Neil Howe: "Where did Bannon get his worldview? My book!"

Neil Howe
Washington Post
Fri, 24 Feb 2017 20:12 UTC
steve bannon
© Jim Lo Scalzo/European Pressphoto AgencyStephen K. Bannon, President Trump’s chief strategist, reportedly believes that war is coming soon.
The headlines this month have been alarming. "Steve Bannon's obsession with a dark theory of history should be worrisome" (Business Insider). "Steve Bannon Believes The Apocalypse Is Coming And War Is Inevitable" (the Huffington Post). "Steve Bannon Wants To Start World War III" (the Nation). A common thread in these media reports is that President Trump's chief strategist is an avid reader and that the book that most inspires his worldview is "The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy."

I wrote that book with William Strauss back in 1997. It is true that Bannon is enthralled by it. In 2010, he released a documentary, "Generation Zero," that is structured around our theory that history in America (and by extension, most other modern societies) unfolds in a recurring cycle of four-generation-long eras. While this cycle does include a time of civic and political crisis — a Fourth Turning, in our parlance — the reporting on the book has been absurdly apocalyptic.

I don't know Bannon well. I have worked with him on several film projects, including "Generation Zero," over the years. I've been impressed by his cultural savvy. His politics, while unusual, never struck me as offensive. I was surprised when he took over the leadership of Breitbart and promoted the views espoused on that site. Like many people, I first learned about the alt-right (a far-right movement with links to Breitbart and a loosely defined white-nationalist agenda) from the mainstream media. Strauss, who died in 2007, and I never told Bannon what to say or think. But we did perhaps provide him with an insight — that populism, nationalism and state-run authoritarianism would soon be on the rise, not just in America but around the world.

Comment: You can check out SOTT's take on Howe and Bannon here: Part 3 coming soon!

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