Society's ChildS


Life Preserver

Ukrainian town asks Putin for Russia's help against the cold and gets it

Vladimir Putin
The mayor of the Ukrainian town of Genichesk, which is located near the border with the Crimea, addressed Vladimir Putin with a plea for help with gas supplies, the need for which has increased dramatically due to the cold snap.

The press secretary of the president of Russia, Dmitry Peskov, reported this on RIA Novosti:

"On behalf of the residents Genichesk the mayor of the city, due to low temperatures continuing through the last several days, asked to the Russian side to ensure the gas supply to prevent the people of the city freezing," said the press secretary of the Russian president.

Target

Obama to bypass Congress over gun control

gun we the people
© www.inquisitr.comExecutive action target practice.
US President Barack Obama says he will bypass Congress and its opposition to gun control through introducing a raft of executive actions to resolve the crisis. "We have tens of thousands of people every single year who are killed by guns," Obama said in remarks at the Oval Office on Monday, adding he would take unilateral measures to end "the scourge of gun violence." He said the proposals, presented to him by Attorney General Loretta Lynch at the White House, would focus on regulating gun sales and preventing illegal purchases.

According to his aides, Obama's move could tighten rules on gun dealers, widen background checks to more buyers and clamp down on "straw purchases" which enable suspect individuals to buy guns through an intermediary. The president admitted the measures were "not going to solve every violent crime in this country. It's not going to prevent every mass shooting. It's not going to keep every gun out of the hands of a criminal," but he said "it will potentially, save lives in this country."

During a meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch and other advisers on Monday, Obama said "the good news is .. these are not only recommendations that are well within my legal authority and the executive branch, but they're also ones that the overwhelming majority of the American people, including gun owners, support."

Comment: "We the People" have not agreed on this action by "You the President."


Wall Street

What actually happened in 2015, and what is to come in 2016...

New Year clock
A lot of people were expecting some really big things to happen in 2015, and most of them did not happen. But what did happen? It is my contention that a global financial crisis began during the second half of 2015, and it threatens to greatly accelerate as we enter 2016. During the last six months of the year that just ended, financial markets all over the planet crashed, trillions of dollars of global wealth was wiped out, and some of the largest economies in the world plunged into recession. Here in the United States, 2015 was the worst year for stocks since 2008, nearly 70 percent of all investors lost money last year, and it is being projected that the final numbers will show that close to 1,000 hedge funds permanently shut down within the last 12 months. This is what the early stages of a financial crisis look like, and the worst is yet to come.

If we were entering another 2008-style crisis, we would expect to see junk bonds crashing. When financial trouble starts, it usually doesn't start with the biggest and strongest companies. Instead, it usually starts percolating on the periphery. And right now bonds of firms that are considered to be on the risky side of things are rapidly losing value.

In the chart below, you can see that a high yield bond ETF that I track very closely known as JNK started crashing in the middle of 2008. This crash began to unfold before the horrific crash of stocks in the fall. Investors that saw junk bonds crashing in advance and pulled their money out of stocks in time saved an enormous amount of money.

Now, for the very first time since the last financial crisis, we are seeing junk bonds crash again. In December, there was finally a sustained crash through the psychologically-important 35.00 level, and at this point JNK is sitting a bit below 34.00. This stunning decline is a giant red flag that tells us that stocks will soon follow in the exact same direction...
junk bonds chart

Comment: No one knows the day or the hour when the next financial market crash will occur, but by reading the signs we are able to prepare ourselves, mentally and physically, for what is to come and be a light in the darkness for others to find their way to a brighter future.


Chess

Mapping the Sunni-Shiite divide & its role in geopolitics

Saudi Arabia ISIS
© Unknown
Earlier today, in "Mid-East Melee: Sectarian Showdown Looms As Bahrain Cuts Ties With Iran, UAE Recalls Ambassador," we brought you the latest from the war-torn Mid-East where a worsening spat between Saudi Arabia and Iran threatens to plunge the region into chaos.

Make no mistake, things were already out of control. The conflict in Syria has mushroomed into a global proxy war, Iraq is struggling to drive Islamic State from key cities, and Yemen remains mired in war nine months after the Saudis entered the fray to drive back the Houthis and restore the Hadi government.

Against that backdrop, the region could have done without the events that unfolded over the weekend. By executing prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, Riyadh has infuriated the Shiite community which took to the streets in protest, even going so far as to firebomb the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

Comment: Also see:


Fire

Throwing a bone to justice: Israel charges two Jewish settler youths in killing of Palestinian family

Dawabshe family in Duma outside of Nablus
Dawabshe family in Duma outside of Nablus, killed because of firebombing of their home by Israeli settlers
Israel charged two suspects today for an arson attack in the West Bank village of Duma that killed three Palestinians last summer, ending a five-month investigation into the most high-profile act of settler violence against Palestinians.

Police named the lead suspect as 21-year old Amiram Ben Uliel, from Jerusalem. In a statement released today Israel's Ministry of Justice said Ben Uliel is charged on multiple counts for "three acts of murder as well as attempted murder, arson, and criminal conspiracy with racist motives." Prosecutors did not name his alleged accomplice, a 17-year-old settler. They indicted five others, who are accused of obstruction and carrying out a series of earlier attacks on Palestinians and their property.

On July 31, 2015, assailants set fire to the home of the Dawabshe family in Duma outside of Nablus, burning alive 18-month old Ali Dawabshe. In the weeks that followed the toddler's parents—Sa'ad Dawabshe, 32, and Riham Dawabshe, 27—died from injuries sustained during the firebombing. The family is survived by four-year old Ahmad Dawabshe, who is still recovering from burns in an Israeli hospital.

Comment: The only reason this case of violence against Palestinians is even approaching an approximation of justice is because it is high profile and has received so much attention. The settlers who perpetrate these acts almost always get off scot free as the article mentions. But, at the end of the day, cases like these are just peanuts compared to the acts of the IDF and the institutionalized violence that Israel's government inflicts on thousands of Palestinians every year. Real justice will only be served once Israel's Ministry of Justice prosecutes its military and elected officials; and the culture of hatred towards Palestinians gets eradicated once and for all.

See also: Psychopathic glee: Israeli extremists celebrate Palestinian toddler's death at a wedding


Black Cat

Becoming a Hitler? Erdogan waging war against Turkish civilians

turkey war civilians
© Reuters / Sertac Kayar
The Turkish government is waging a war against its own people, deploying tanks against civilians, MP says.

On January 3, a rally held by pro-Kurdish activists in Istanbul ended in clashes with the police; numerous protesters were arrested by the authorities, according to RT.

The protesters gathered to express their dissatisfaction with the government's heavy-handed activity in the southeastern part of the country, which is populated predominantly by Kurds. The Turkish military has launched a so called 'anti-terrorist operation' in that region, having deployed about 10,000 servicemen supported by armored units and attack helicopters.

Comment: It is thus unsurprising that Erdogan admires Hitler's methods of running a country as he seems to be following in his footsteps.


Black Cat 2

Snapshots of scandal that ruled Ukrainian politics in 2015

Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk
© Str. / SputnikPrime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk enjoying his popularity in parliament
With little progress made on the economic front or integration into the EU, and still no lasting solution to the conflict in Donbass, the political year in Ukraine was marked by various stunts, scandals and provocations.

Chewbacca arrested at polling station

A man dressed as the iconic Star Wars alien Chewbacca was detained in Odessa for violating a law forbidding campaigning on election day. The police had to use force to get a handle on the hairy Millennium Falcon mechanic as he attempted to canvass voters for none other than his on-screen rival, Darth Vader, as well as resisting arrest. The Ukraine's Internet Party used Star Wars characters to boost its chances at the polls and eventually managed to snatch a seat in the Odessa City Council for Emperor Palpatine.

Comment: We can basically trace all of these absurd displays to the US-backed coup in Ukraine in 2014. Because of it, Ukrainian society is now disintegrating at an increasingly rapid clip. In all probability, the country would have fared much better choosing Russia as its economic partner. Now it's stuck with being lectured at by the financially-vested US VP Joe Biden. That's pretty much the bottom of the barrel.




Attention

About time: Outrage growing over UK role in voting Saudi Arabia to UN Human Rights Council

cameron saudi ties
The recent execution of 47 people in Saudi Arabia led to widespread condemnation across the Middle East. In Britain, the government has been called to answer questions over its potential role in voting the Saudi Arabian regime onto the UN Human Rights Council.

Commenting on the execution of prominent Shia cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, Britain's Islamic Human Rights Council said it represented "another assault by Riyadh on the forces of reform and political empowerment in the Muslim world."

"His killing signals a renewed determination in Riyadh to undermine opposition and reform movements at home and abroad highlighted by Saudi Arabia's bloody intervention in Yemen, its support of the Egyptian military dictatorship as well as its promotion of sectarianism in places like Nigeria, Indonesia and Malaysia."

Comment:


Clipboard

Polls: US government is top problem facing country

crowd protest
© www.presstv.irProtests at the US Capitol, expressing dissatisfaction and discontent with the government.
For the second straight year, Americans in 2015 named the US government as the most important problem facing the country, according to the latest Gallup poll.

An average of 16 percent of Americans mentioned some aspect of government, including President Barack Obama, Congress or political conflict, as the country's chief problem, according to Gallup's monthly measure of the most important problem facing the US.

The economy was named as the second most important problem, with 13 percent mentioning it, while unemployment and immigration tied for third at 8 percent. "For the second consecutive year, dissatisfaction with government edged out the economy as the problem more Americans identified as the nation's top problem in 2015," Gallup said.

Another top concern in 2015 was gun violence, with 7 percent mentioning it as a great problem following a spate of mass shootings last year.

However, 34 percent of Americans named at least one economic issue, including the economy, unemployment, the budget deficit, inflation and others as the biggest problem.

A CNN/ORC poll released last week found that 75 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the way the country is being governed, while 69 percent are angry with the country's direction. The poll found that 52 percent of Americans disapprove of Obama's handling of the presidency and 60 percent disapprove of his handling of terrorism.

The CNN/ORC poll strengthens the argument that Americans want to change the country's status quo and explains the rise of anti-establishment presidential candidates like Donald Trump.

Comment: Predictably, Americans can easily identify where their dissatisfaction lies, they just don't have the old true-to-self where-with-all, anymore, to begin to fix it. In the past, they would just "throw the bums out!"


Stock Down

Trading suspended on Chinese markets after tumbling stocks trigger 'circuit breaker'

chinese stock market
© China Daily / Reuters
Trading was suspended on Chinese markets after stocks tumbled 7 percent in the first trading of the year, triggering the new "circuit breaker" system limiting volatility, which was introduced in December. The fall from Asia led to a slump in European stocks as well.

The 15-minute suspension happened about 90 minutes before market's regular closure and followed a brief 15-minute halt early in the afternoon, when the main indexes had shed 5 percent.

The blue-chip CSI300 index ended down 7 percent by the time the trading was stopped early, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 6.9 percent. The technology-driven Shenzhen Composite was the worst performer, falling by more than 8 percent.