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'Stop Operation Soros' movement begins in Macedonia


RT
Thu, 19 Jan 2017 15:54 UTC
George Soros
© Bob Strong / Reuters
A new initiative, Stop Operation Soros (SOS), dedicated to countering the influence of American billionaire activist George Soros, has been launched in Macedonia.

In a press conference on Tuesday, the founders of the group called on all "free-minded citizens," regardless of ethnicity or religion, to join them in the "fight against one-mindedness in the civil sector, which is devised and led by George Soros," the Vecer newspaper reported. The movement says it will first focus on uncovering 'subversive' activities by Soros-funded NGOs.

Comment: Poor George is feeling the heat:

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Sheriff

Charges against elderly deaf man beaten by cops have been dropped because cost of trial would be too high

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Thu, 19 Jan 2017 13:49 UTC
Pearl Pearson Jr.
Pearl Pearson Jr.
Police officers assaulting or even killing deaf people for being unable to hear their commands is a tragic reality. Pearl Pearson Jr. has learned that reality the hard way. For nearly seven minutes, Pearson, 64-years-old at the time and diabetic was beaten and arrested by police officers as they yelled at him to stop resisting.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol officers, Eric Foster and Kelton Hayes were the two officers that were involved in what an affidavit claims was a 7-minute altercation.

When the original incident happened on January 3, 2014, police refused to release the video. However, weeks later, after the media frenzy died down, police quietly released the dashcam. The disturbing video shows troopers yelling at Pearson and drag him from the vehicle.

He was dragged from the vehicle in spite of the fact that he did everything he was supposed to as a deaf driver, according to his family.

According to Pearson's family, Pearl pulled over and rolled down his window expecting an officer to ask for this identification. An officer struck him in the face before Pearl had the chance to do anything.

The photos of his swollen and bruised face clearly show the result of the police action.

Comment: This District Attorney has his priorities all mixed up. See also: Cops beat a deaf man for seven minutes because he didn't respond to their yelling

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Rainbow

Gay Indian man beaten and threatened with 'corrective rape' by his own family


RT
Thu, 19 Jan 2017 13:40 UTC
gay rights activists India
© Anindito Mukherjee / ReutersGay rights activists wave flags and shout slogans as they attend protest against a verdict by the Supreme Court in New Delhi
A young man in India has been beaten and threatened with rape after his family found out he was living with his gay partner.

According to the India Times, the young man known as 'Sanjoy' was subjected to a string of physical and emotional abuse from his family in the city of Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta, in West Bengal. After his parents found out that Sanjoy, in his early 20s, is gay and living with his partner, they hired local thugs to beat him and torment him psychologically.

Koninika Roy from the Humsafar Trust, a Mumbai-based advocacy group for LGBT rights, also said that the parents tried to send him to a doctor to "cure" him of his homosexuality, and when the doctor refused they considered forcing him to undergo "corrective rape" therapy.

Corrective rape is a crime perpetrated on members of the LGBT community to 'punish' them for their sexuality. In some cases it might be facilitated by members of the family in an attempt to force the victim back into their traditional gender role.

"Violence against the LGBTQ community is extremely common in India. Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and the fact that same sex behavior is criminalized in the country means that homosexuals cannot live freely," Roy told the India Times. "The story of this gay couple is just one of the examples of how the LGBTQ community is treated in India."
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Briefcase

Trump's nominee to EPA says human impact on climate change 'needs more debate'


RT
Thu, 19 Jan 2017 12:37 UTC
Scott Pruitt
© Joshua Roberts / ReutersOklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt
Scott Pruitt, Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, disagrees with the president-elect that climate change is 'hoax,' but says the human impact on the phenomenon needs more debate.

During his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Pruitt told the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works,"science tells us the climate is changing and human activity in some matter impacts that change."

"The ability to measure and purse the degree and the extent of that impact and what to do about it are subject to continuing debate and dialogue," Pruitt added.
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Quenelle

Chinese billionaire: "US wasted trillions on warfare instead of investing in infrastructure"


CNBC
Thu, 19 Jan 2017 12:36 UTC
Jack Ma Alibaba Group
Jack Ma, Chairman of Alibaba Group
Alibaba founder Jack Ma fired a shot at the United States in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Ma was asked by CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin about the U.S. economy in relation to China, since President-elect Donald Trump has been talking about imposing new tariffs on Chinese imports.

Ma says blaming China for any economic issues in the U.S. is misguided. If America is looking to blame anyone, Ma said, it should blame itself.

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Black Magic

Sick society: California artist protests Trump inauguration by painting in human blood

Stephanie Becker
CNN
Wed, 18 Jan 2017 08:38 UTC
© LAWeekly/Marnie Sehayek"Rise Up Thy Young Blood"
Illma Gore caused quite a controversy during the presidential campaign last year with her illustration depicting a nude Donald Trump. This time she's teamed up with an artist collective to create a mural using human blood.

The Los Angeles-based artist was approached shortly after the election by Indecline, the artist collective that placed statues of a nude Trump in five cities around the United States.

The resulting mural is called "Rise Up Thy Young Blood," a paraphrase from Shakespeare's King Richard -- a call to action.

About 50 people donated blood. None of them was told what the project would look like. Gore says most of the donors are artists and friends and wanted to remain anonymous. Gore also used her own blood. "Blood is similar to watercolors. It smells a little weird. It's very metallic like iron."


A unifying message

Gore says the mural is meant to show a sense of solidarity for people who feel divided post-election and as Trump enters the White House. "I would say it's anti-racism, anti-divisiveness, it's anti-bigotry, it's anti-not listening people, except for coming together and saying we are here and we will do anything."
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Dollar

Federal bureau sues student loan servicer Navient for cheating borrowers - 'systematically and illegally failing'


RT
Thu, 19 Jan 2017 03:17 UTC
Student holding debt sign
© David Shankbone/Wikipedia
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is taking Navient, the nation's largest student loan servicer, to court for cheating borrowers by making them pay more for their loans than was necessary.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Navient, formerly a part of Sallie Mae, for "systematically and illegally failing borrowers at every stage of repayment," according to a statement from the agency.

The CFPB claims Navient steered borrowers into payment options that made more money for Navient, and made borrowers pay more for their loans than was necessary.

Specifically, the CFPB claims that Navient purposefully incentivised their customer service representatives to push numerous borrowers into forbearance, without mentioning other payment plans that would be better for their income.

The CFPB website states between January 2010 to March 2015, Navient "added up to $4 billion in interest charges to the principal balances of borrowers who were enrolled in multiple, consecutive forbearances. The Bureau believes that a large portion of these charges could have been avoided had Navient followed the law."


Comment: See also:

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Fire

30 firefighters feared dead after blaze collapses Tehran's oldest high-rise, Plasco Trade Center


RT
Thu, 19 Jan 2017 09:54 UTC
Fire engulfs Plasco Trade Center building
© Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesFire engulfs high-rise building, Plasco, in Tehran, Iran on January 19, 2017.
Some 30 Iranian firefighters are feared dead after a high-rise commercial building engulfed by fire collapsed in Tehran, according to state TV. Over 200 people are reported injured.

Police have cordoned off the area, and rescue teams are on their way to the scene, state TV reported.

An official was quoted as saying that between 50 to 100 people are believed to have been trapped under the rubble, Press TV reported, adding that nearby buildings including the embassies of Turkey and the UK have been evacuated. More than 200 people injured in the fire have been taken to local hospitals, IRNA news agency reported.

"The building is one of the oldest buildings in Tehran," it said, adding that "the Plasco building is located in southern Tehran and is mostly a commercial building." The building came down in a matter of seconds, with a thick plume of smoke instantly rising over the site.

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Arrow Down

St. Louis cop publicly searched woman's vagina for drugs, but found nothing


RT
Thu, 19 Jan 2017 10:45 UTC
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon (L) and St. Louis police officer Angela Hawkins (R)
© State of Missouri / YouTubeMissouri Governor Jay Nixon (L) and St. Louis police officer Angela Hawkins (R)
A female police officer in St. Louis publicly searched a woman's vagina in search of drugs while a male cop watched, but found nothing, according to a lawsuit. The officer later won a Missouri Medal of Valor for killing a suspect.

The reported sexual assault took place on October 19, 2012, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in November. Kayla Robinson, the plaintiff, said she was in a vehicle that was pulled over and searched in north St. Louis by officers with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

One of the officers, defendant Angela Hawkins, later wrote in an incident report that she thought Robinson was concealing drugs. In her lawsuit, Robinson admitted to handing Hawkins a small bag of marijuana, but the officer believed Robinson was also in possession of crack cocaine.

During the police search, Hawkins, a white woman, accused Robinson, a black woman, of hiding something in her pants, according to the lawsuit.

Despite her pleas for a cavity search to be conducted at the city jail, Robinson was then handcuffed and taken about 200 feet away to a tractor-trailer parking lot. Hawkins then called for rubber gloves, which were delivered by a male officer who stayed on the scene, the lawsuit said.
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Handcuffs

Suspected Orlando cop killer captured, after manhunt


RT
Thu, 19 Jan 2017 10:26 UTC
Markeith Lloyd
© Orlando Police DepartmentMarkeith Lloyd
After a nine-day manhunt and a $125,000 reward for tips leading to an arrest, Orlando Police say they have captured the man suspected of killing 17-year police veteran Sgt. Debra Clayton.

Markeith Lloyd, shown on local television with a beaten face and swollen eye, was led into Orlando Police Department headquarters on Tuesday night.

"They beat me up," Lloyd was heard saying three times during the perp walk, according to WKMG.


Orlando Police Chief John Mina told reporters Lloyd had sustained some minor facial injuries after he resisted arrest.
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