Society's Child

Syrians in Israeli-controlled Golan Heights protest against Tel-Aviv's imposition of local elections

Sputnik
Sat, 20 Oct 2018 20:58 UTC

The protests were preceded by a demonstration against the Israeli occupation, organized by the area's Druze community, who waved Syrian flags and held portraits of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while standing on the border with Syria.

The Syrian population of the Golan Heights has gathered in the town of Majdal Shams to protest against Israeli policies in the occupied territories, Syria's SANA news agency reported. The protesters waved Syrian flags and burnt election ballots that had been distributed by local Israeli authorities.

Political activist and former prisoner Bashar al-Maqt, quoted by PressTV, slammed the elections that were organized by Tel Aviv as legally void and called on international organizations to pressure Israel to abandon its policies in the Golan Heights. Bashar al-Maqt further vowed to spread the protests to other Syrian communities in the Golan Heights.

Comment: No matter how Israel couches the attainment ofthis territory, it is plain and simple land theft. With no historical, ethnic, nor cultural claims on the land, there is only Israeli interest in mineral rights and 'lebensraum', which, under international law, is no justification whatsoever.

Female Syrian military journalist comments on captivity: Rebels 'threatened to dismember us'

Sputnik
Sat, 20 Oct 2018 09:23 UTC

Syria's first military correspondent has shed light on what it was like to be held captive by the Free Syrian Army rebels, revealing the "horror, humiliation, beatings and rape attempts" in an interview with Sputnik.

"I am the first Syrian journalist who happened to wear body armor and a helmet; I was arrested and taken prisoner. To top it off, I am one of the first Syrian journalists wounded in the discharge of my professional duties," Yara Saleh told Sputnik.

The thirty-two-year-old anchorwoman from state television channel Al-Ekhbariya arrived in the military zone 8 months after the start of the conflict that broke out in March 2011 and accompanied the government's forces for two and a half years.

Yara, when answering the question of why she had chosen a profession that was so unusual for a woman of her background, said that at first she and her deceased colleague and friend Yara Abbas did not think too much about what being a war correspondent meant.

As journalists, they were supposed to cover the entry of Syrian troops into the cities, accompany Arab observers, and show Syrians and the world the testimony of local residents in areas captured by militant groups. Yara does not refer to them as anything other than "terrorists."

Comment: See also this interview by Thierry Meyssan with Yara Saleh:

Thousands gather in London for 'biggest' anti-Brexit rally seeking a 'final say'

RT
Sat, 20 Oct 2018 12:08 UTC

Thousands of protesters are descending on Westminster for what organizers claim is the "biggest, loudest and most important" anti-Brexit demo since the vote. They insist Brexit is taking the UK to a "future nobody voted for."

The participants, mainly young activists, of the so-called "March For the Future" gathered at Park Lane in the British capital at noon. They will march to Parliament Square, where they will hear speeches in support of a people's vote.

"The Brexit elite can't sort out this mess - only you can: Demand a people's vote." This is the ambitious message conveyed by the People's Vote campaign group on its website. It insists that Brexit negotiations are taking British people towards "a future that nobody voted for."

A petition calling for people to be given a final say on a Brexit deal has already gained almost a million signatures.

Comment: The likely deep pocket behind the protest? See also:

White Helmet members, foreign experts killed in huge chemical workshop blast in northwestern Syria

Muraselon
Sat, 20 Oct 2018 17:53 UTC

A sum of 11 members of the pro-militants White Helmets Organization and non-Syrians experts were killed after a huge explosion at the terrorists' chemical workshop in Idlib province near the border with Turkey, a Russian media outlet reported on Saturday.

The Arabic-language website of Russia's state news agency, Sputnik, quoted well-informed sources as disclosing that a huge blast broke out at a workshop of the terrorists used for making chemicals in the small town of Tarmanin in Northern Idlib near the border with Turkey.

Legal experts say case against Harvey Weinstein unraveling

Elizabeth Joseph
CNN
Sun, 21 Oct 2018 16:18 UTC

Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced movie mogul whose alleged sexual assaults sparked the international #MeToo movement, may be sentenced to a lifetime of shame and ridicule. Legal experts, however, now indicate he may never see the inside of a jail, let alone go to trial to face his accusers.

The case against Weinstein is "unraveling," high profile defense attorney and CNN legal analyst Mark Geragos says, citing the infighting between the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and the New York Police Department as one of the main reasons he believes the Weinstein case won't go to trial.

"If you're on the defense here, you just sit back and watch them cannibalize themselves," said Geragos, who has represented high-profile clients, such as Michael Jackson and Colin Kaepernick.

In October 2017, The New Yorker released an audio recording of Weinstein speaking with model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez as part of a 2015 sting operation. Without consulting the DA's office, the NYPD set up the sting after Gutierrez told authorities that Weinstein groped her a day earlier.

France in shock as VIDEO of student threatening teacher with 'fake gun' in class goes viral

RT
Sun, 21 Oct 2018 14:31 UTC

An appalling video showing a student in a French school threatening a teacher with a dummy 'gun' in class has shocked France. Questions are being raised about the regularity of such incidents and the authorities' response.

The viral footage, initially distributed on Snapchat, shows a class in a school in Creteil commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris. A male student stands in the middle of the classroom and threatens the teacher with an object that looks like a gun, and demands that she write 'present', not 'absent' in the attendance list. In the background, there is another student making obscene gestures at the camera.

French media report that the gun was "an airsoft type" ball gun or a toy gun - which wouldn't be capable of hurting the teacher. In spite of the shocking situation, the teacher seems unperturbed, as though it's not the first time this has happened.

Following the incident, the teacher filed a complaint and two 16-year-old students were taken into custody, according to French media. The student who made the obscene gestures was soon released, while the main perpetrator is in custody and will stand before a juvenile court on Sunday.

Following Chinese ban, UK plastic 'recycling' industry becomes the pits

RT
Sun, 21 Oct 2018 16:13 UTC

© Reuters / Luke MacGregor
A man walks through bundles of bottles waiting to be recycled at the recycling plant in Dagenham, east London

The Environment Agency (EA) is investigating suspected widespread abuse and fraud within Britain's plastics recycling industry. It will deal with complaints that firms and organized crime are abusing the system.

Data from the EA showed that six UK exporters of plastic waste have had their licenses suspended or cancelled in the last three months over concerns of high contamination rates.

The EA said it was pursuing "several lines of enquiry," including allegations that the waste was not recycled but was left to leak into rivers and oceans. The investigation will also look into UK firms accused of shipping contaminated waste when non-recyclable items are mixed in with recyclables items.

Britain sends about two-thirds of its plastic packaging waste abroad every year. It includes plastic bottles, yoghurt pots and other items. The export industry is reportedly worth £50 million ($65 million) per year.

Comment: See also: Nations around the globe are being buried in trash after China's garbage import ban

1 dead as 200 migrants storm barrier between Spain and North Africa

RT
Sun, 21 Oct 2018 15:48 UTC

In this file photo taken on February 19, 2015 migrants sit atop a border fence separating Morocco from the north African Spanish enclave of Melilla.

© AFP / Angela Rios
In this file photo taken on February 19, 2015 migrants sit atop a border fence separating Morocco from the north African Spanish enclave of Melilla.

One migrant died as around 200 stormed a fence separating Morocco from a Spanish enclave in North Africa on Sunday. Three others were injured during the push to cross into Spanish territory.

Video footage shared on social media shows people pouring over the fence and onto a road on the Spanish side of the border at Melilla. The group was reportedly taken to a local reception center for identification.

One man was treated by Spanish emergency services but died of suspected cardio-respiratory arrest.

Comment: Good thing Euro leaders destroyed Libya, eh?

Florida police department defends cop delivering multiple body blows to 14 y.o. girl during arrest

RT
Sun, 21 Oct 2018 16:03 UTC

Florida police have defended the manner of their arrest of a 14-year-old girl in which a male officer repeatedly punched her in the side as she lay on the ground after allegedly resisting arrest at a Coral Springs mall.

Short video footage taken by a bystander shows the black teen being held face-down on the ground by a female police officer; a male officer kneeling on the girl's back punches her twice in the side. The clip was provided anonymously to the Miami Herald.

The Coral Springs Police Department issued a statement defending the officer's actions, saying the footage doesn't show the whole context of the incident, and claiming the teen was part of an unruly group that returned to the mall after being previously asked to leave for harassing other patrons. The police force also said the officer did not use excessive force, based upon the teen's "stature and aggressive behavior."

Mexican Navy helicopter crashes into Gulf of Santa Clara, 1 person missing

RT
Sun, 21 Oct 2018 13:55 UTC

One person is missing after a Mexican Navy helicopter crashed into the Gulf of Santa Clara, Baja California, with 12 people on board. Two people have been hospitalized.

The MI-17 helicopter was monitoring illegal fishing when the crash happened on Saturday, according to a statement from the Ministry of the Navy. Video footage of the crash shows the helicopter apparently struggling to maintain control in the air before nose-diving into the sea.

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Animanarchy

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Rowan Cocoan

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Jibrish

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smertzasmert

Society's Child

Syrians in Israeli-controlled Golan Heights protest against Tel-Aviv's imposition of local elections

Female Syrian military journalist comments on captivity: Rebels 'threatened to dismember us'

Thousands gather in London for 'biggest' anti-Brexit rally seeking a 'final say'

White Helmet members, foreign experts killed in huge chemical workshop blast in northwestern Syria

Legal experts say case against Harvey Weinstein unraveling

France in shock as VIDEO of student threatening teacher with 'fake gun' in class goes viral

Following Chinese ban, UK plastic 'recycling' industry becomes the pits

1 dead as 200 migrants storm barrier between Spain and North Africa

Florida police department defends cop delivering multiple body blows to 14 y.o. girl during arrest

Mexican Navy helicopter crashes into Gulf of Santa Clara, 1 person missing

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