Society's ChildS


Eye 2

Released Guantanamo prisoner Shaker Aamer recounts brutal torture interrogations


RT
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 20:08 UTC
Shaker Aamer guantanamo
© Leon Neal / AFPA protestor holds up a sign calling for the release of Shaker Aamer from the Guantanamo prison during a demonstration in central London.
"It was worse than the beating," Shaker Aamer told the BBC about alleged threats of rape by interrogators against his then five-year-old daughter. Free after 14 years of uncharged detention in Guantanamo, Aamer has the US and UK addressing torture again.

"'If you don't start talking, we will rape your daughter and you will hear her crying daddy, daddy.' That was completely inhumane. It was worse than the beating as well, worse than everything, just thinking of my daughter, and I just sat there silent completely," Aamer told the BBC on Monday, describing an event at Bagram Air Base, where he was temporarily held before being transferred to the military detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, sometimes referred to as Gitmo. He relayed the same story to ITV News and other outlets as well.

When asked about the claim at a press briefing, State Department spokesman John Kirby gave a standard response, saying, "We don't torture. The United States does not torture."

Noting that he hadn't seen Aamer's comments, Kirby continued, "I don't know what he's referring to, but I can tell you that we meet our obligations under international law for the humane treatment of detainees."

Read More...
Attention

Indian Point nuclear plant in New York shuts down, 5th incident this year


RT
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 16:52 UTC
Indian point
© Don Emmert / AFPThe Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant on the banks of the Hudson River in Buchanan, NY.
One of the reactors at the Indian Point nuclear power plant, 25 miles north of New York City, was shut down after transmission line trouble. It was the second shutdown at the complex this month, and the fifth incident this year.

The Unit 3 reactor was taken offline Monday evening, after an "an electrical disturbance on the non-nuclear side of the plant," said a statement from Indian Point's operator, Entergy Corporation. The company blamed a problem with the high voltage transmission line leading from the plant to an electrical switching station outside.

"There was no release of radioactivity and no threat to the safety of workers or the public," Entergy said.

Comment: See more:
  • Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant: A disaster in the making

Read More...
Arrow Down

Le Pen acquitted of 'inciting hatred' after comparing Muslim street prayers to Nazi occupation in WWII


RT
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 16:20 UTC
Marine Le Pen
© Pascal Rossignol / ReutersFrench National Front political party leader Marine Le Pen.
The leader of France's right-wing National Front, Marine Le Pen, has been acquitted of charges of inciting hatred after comparing Muslim street prayers to Nazi occupation in WWII. The controversial comments were made during the leader's 2010 campaign.

During a speech to National Front supporters at the time, Le Pen said that France had seen"more and more veils," and then"more and more burqas," and "after that came prayers in the streets."

Comment: See more: The "war on terror," imperialism, and anti-Muslim hysteria

Read More...
Galaxy

The road to Galactic serfdom: War, tyranny, and terror in the first two Star Wars Trilogies

Dan Sanchez
AntiWar.com
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 17:12 UTC
Star Wars The Force Awakens
© Facebook
Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theaters this week, continuing the cinematic saga of an interplanetary civilization's struggles with galactic war and tyranny. It will be watched by millions whose own civilization is beset by global warfare driven by a planetary empire on the verge of descending into a militarized police state. So now would be a good time to review the lessons to be found in the first two Star Wars trilogies concerning the road to universal serfdom and how to keep off it.
Read More...
Info

Texas car dealer sells plumber's truck to jihadists with the decal still on it


The Free Thought Project
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 17:09 UTC
isis in Mark's truck
"Hey, how'd my truck get in the hands of terrrorists!?"
Mark Oberholtzer, the owner of Mark-1 Plumbing in Galveston, Texas is suing a local car dealership after a vehicle that he sold them ended up in the hands of Syrian Jihadists, with his business decal still attached. According to Oberholtzer, a local dealership named AutoNation Ford Gulf Freeway would not allow him to remove the decal from his car when they sold it to them because it might damage the paint.

However, somehow the truck ended up in the hands of Syrian jihadists who drove the vehicle around firing weapons at people with Oberholtzer's business and phone number on the side. Ultimately, footage of the truck reached the media and the internet and created a massive backlash that totally blindsided Oberholtzer.

"Mark-1's office, Mark-1's business phone, and Mark's personal cell phone had received over 1,000 phone calls from around the nation," the lawsuit stated.

Oberholtzer and his employees were harassed by angry callers on a regular basis, receiving over 200 calls per day for weeks. Some of the callers even made death threats, and called Oberholtzer a terrorist.

Comment: AutoNation Ford Gulf Freeway has got some 'splainin' to do. Speaking of trucks, the most recent broadcast of Sott's Behind the Headlines sheds further light on how Texas Toyota truck dealers have got their hands in some shady business.

Read More...
Snakes in Suits

AP reports Whole Foods, Wal-Mart and other retailers sell shrimp peeled by forced laborers under threat of violence and imprisonment


RT
Mon, 14 Dec 2015 17:24 UTC
slaves shrimp
© Stephanie McGehee / Reuters
Systemic human trafficking in Thailand is the engine that helps supply cheap shrimp to the US, Europe, and Asia, the AP reports. Forced laborers, including children, work 16 hours a day under threat of violence, deportation, or imprisonment.

Lax enforcement and low awareness of forced-labor laws in Thailand allow powerless workers, most of whom are undocumented migrants at the mercy of their handlers and bosses, to fuel the country's $7 billion seafood export industry, the Associated Press reported. Shady exporters and subsidiary suppliers have been taking advantage of the situation, as parent companies that operate with a global reach claim ignorance of abuses they call abhorrent.

US custom records have linked slave-intensive shrimp production originating from the Gig Peeling Factory in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, to Thai exporters and subsidiaries associated with some of the world's largest seafood companies, including Japan's Maruha Nichiro Foods, as well as Thai Union, Kongphop Frozen Foods, and The Siam Union Frozen Foods.

This shrimp - processed by migrants including small children forced to work 16 hours for little if any pay under threat of jail, violence, or deportation - is eventually distributed by the top companies to locations across the world, winding up as part of seafood packaged under the label of 40 US brands, including Sea Best, Aqua Star, Chicken of the Sea, and pet food Fancy Feast. In the US, where 90 percent of shrimp is imported, millions of people dine on shrimp produced with forced labor every day.
Read More...
Stock Down

Obama's approval rating plummets to nearly record low, 7 in 10 think country is headed in wrong direction


RT
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 16:28 UTC
Obama
© REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst
Amid the nation's terrorism fears, President Barack Obama's approval rating has plummeted to nearly a record low. It now stands at 43 percent, as seven in 10 Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to a recent poll.

The survey, conducted by the NBC/WSJ earlier in December, has revealed a 2 percentage point drop in Obama's job approval since late October - close to his lowest ever of 40 percent, recorded on several occasions during his time in office, mostly in 2014 and 2013, according to Gallup daily tracking.

According to the poll, only 37 percent of American's support Obama's handling of foreign policy. The president's approach in dealing with Islamic State (previously ISIS/ISIL) in Iraq and Syria has not won much approval, either, with 34 percent backing President Obama's handling of the situation.

At the same time, 73 percent of respondents would like to see the next US president to take another approach.

Comment: 7 in 10 Americans are correct; the country is headed in the wrong direction. Unfortunately it's been a long time since American leaders have concerned themselves with the interests of the American people. They serve the 1%, the rich and powerful who don't care about who is killed and what country is destroyed in order to further their psychopathic goals of global hegemonic control.

Read More...
Hardhat

Not in my backyard: Property values decline when fracking occurs nearby


Phys.org
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 00:00 UTC
fracking water contamination
Home values decline steeply when fracking occurs in neighborhoods that use well water, says new research from Duke University. But the outcome differs in neighborhoods that rely on piped water, where home values rise slightly after shale-gas drilling occurs.

The study, conducted in Pennsylvania, found that in areas using well water, home prices dropped by an average of $30,1676 when shale drilling occurred within a distance of 1.5 kilometers. Meanwhile, homes using piped water gained an average of $4,800 in value after shale wells opened nearby.

Hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," is a relatively new technology in which gas is extracted by drilling into a shale formation and then applying a high-pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals to create cracks from which the underground gas stores are released.

The paper is among the first to quantify the impact of fracking on property values in a wide geographic area, said lead author Christopher Timmins, a Duke economics professor who specializes in environmental economics. It appears online in the December issue of the American Economic Review.
Read More...
Eye 1

Gunman robs clerk and calls him a terrorist saying, 'I used to kill people like you in Iraq'

Travis Gettys
Raw Story
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 15:48 UTC
masked gunman robs liquor store
Bottlenecks robbery (surveillance video)
A Michigan liquor store clerk fought back after a robber shoved a rifle into his mouth and called him a terrorist.

The gunman demanded money from the clerk, who is of Indian descent, and led him just before midnight Saturday into a back room at Bottlenecks Food and Drink Shop in Grand Rapids, reported WXMI-TV.

The 34-year-old clerk said the gunman accused him of being part of the Islamic State militant group and called him a "terrorist."

"I used to kill people like you in Iraq with no problem," the gunman said, and shoved the barrel of the gun into the clerk's mouth.

The clerk, whose name is Tony, grabbed the rifle just before the gunman pulled the trigger and was shot in the cheek.

The masked gunman, who was described as a black man about 6 feet tall, fired two more shots before running away with an undetermined amount of cash.

Tony called for help on his cell phone because the robber destroyed the store's phone, and he is expected to survive his wounds.
Read More...
Stormtrooper

Los Angeles schools cancel classes due to threat


CNN / CBS
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 16:26 UTC
Classes were canceled Tuesday for the Los Angeles Unified School District after what the district's superintendent called a "rare" threat that comes amid new concerns about security nationwide.

An "electronic threat" received early Tuesday prompted the decision, school district police Chief Steve Zipperman said, adding that the threat "is still being analyzed."

District superintendent Ramon Cortines explained the "message" referred to backpacks and "other packages." He said many schools were threatened, though none by name. The threat was toward students in schools (as opposed to on buses).
Read More...