Society's ChildS


Heart - Black

Courtesy of NATO: Syrian children's lives shaped by violence and deprivation

Syrian children
© Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Some 8.4 million Syrian children, 80 percent of the total number, have been affected by the Syrian war, the UN children's agency reports. Kids as young as seven are being recruited by all parties in the conflict as fighters, UNICEF says.

One in three Syrian children - 3.7 million - have been born since the eruption of the conflict five years ago and "their lives are shaped by violence, fear and displacement," a UNICEF report titled "No Place for Children" says.

"For the 3.7 million Syrian children born since the conflict began, five years is literally a lifetime. A lifetime in which they have known little but violence, deprivation, and uncertainty," Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director, said.

More than 800,000 Syrian children live in neighboring countries as refugees with more than 300,000 already born as refugees.

Comment: The horrendous trauma and suffering that Syrians have endured is largely due to US intervention, which is entirely illegal under international law. If it weren't for Russia's humanitarian aid, and legal intervention, there would be no hope for a better future for these children.


Heart - Black

Woman charged with murder for allegedly dumping her newborn in the garbage while it was still alive

Staten Island woman
© FacebookNew York Woman Charged with Murder for Allegedly Dumping Her Live Newborn in the Garbage.
A Staten Island woman has been charged with murder for allegedly disposing of her newborn baby in a garbage bag while it was still alive, PEOPLE confirms.

Nausheen Rahman, 28, was initially charged with concealment of a human corpse after police found the infant's body Saturday, the New York Police Department tells PEOPLE. The charges were upgraded to second-degree murder Sunday after the medical examiner determined the baby had been alive before it was placed in the garbage bag, police say.

Workers at Staten Island University Hospital North alerted police to Rahman after she walked into the emergency room Friday complaining of bleeding as a result of giving birth at home, reports the Staten Island Advance. Rahman allegedly told ER staff that she "threw away" the baby, the paper added.

The cause and manner of the infant's death are pending further investigation, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner told the Advance.

Neighbors told WNBC-TV that Rahman has lived with her family for several years at the Honey Bee Condominium in Staten Island's New Springville neighborhood.

"I think it's terrible," neighbor Mike Stanganelli told WNBC. "And I'm shocked because this is a very good neighborhood. The whole complex is pretty close, too, so for this to go unknown, it's interesting."

Ambulance

3 Brussels police officers wounded during ani-terror raid related to Paris attacks

Belgian emergency vehicle
© Francois Lenoir / ReutersA victim is removed from the scene where shots were fired during a police search of a house in the suburb of Forest near Brussels, Belgium, March 15, 2016.
Three Brussels police officers were injured during an anti-terror raid linked to the November terror attacks in Paris, according to a police official. Shots were fired at police during the operation, and a manhunt is currently underway for the gunman.

The shots took place during an anti-terror raid, a Brussels police official told AP.

Three police officers were slightly injured, though it remains unclear whether the officers were struck by bullets or injured in another way, the official added.

A police spokeswoman earlier stated that one officer had been injured in the raid, which took place in the southern suburb of Forest, Reuters reported.

La Dernière Heure newspaper reported that a Kalashnikov was the gun used in the shooting, and that the shooter is on the loose.

The mayor of the municipality, Marc John Ghyssels, confirmed the shooting to Le Soir newspaper, but said the number of suspects on the run has not yet been determined.

Armed police have locked down the area, telling residents to stay indoors. A primary school has closed as a result of the manhunt.

Comment: See also:


Stormtrooper

Report finds feds declined 96% of civil rights violation cases against police over 20-year period

handcuffs
© Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
Federal prosecutors chose not to levy charges against US law enforcement officers alleged to have committed civil rights violations in 96 percent of relevant cases from 1995 to 2015, according to a new investigative report.

Based on analysis of nearly 3 million records from the US Department of Justice's National Caseload Data, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review found that the 94 US Attorney offices declined 12,703 referrals of potential civil rights violations made by the FBI and other agencies out of a total of 13,233 complaints.

This 96 percent rejection rate for potential civil rights violations against officers contrasts with a 23 percent rejection rate that prosecutors exercised for all other allegations of criminal activity in the same time period.

The most common reasons prosecutors cited in turning down civil rights complaints included weak or insufficient evidence, a lack of clear intent to infringe on another person's civil rights, and discouragement from the Justice Department.

Comment: So much for freedom in America. Police violate the people's civil rights as a matter of routine and there's nothing the average person can do anything about.


Handcuffs

Cops caught on video destroying cameras and eating sweets after raiding marijuana dispensary will be charged

santa ana police
© OCWeeklyVideos / YouTube
Police who were filmed passing around candy bars and joking about feeling "light headed" after raiding an Orange County medical marijuana dispensary are heading to court to face charges for theft and vandalism.

When the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) shut down the Sky High Dispensary, they opened a can of worms. Police knocked down the doors and used crowbars to destroy all of the security cameras in the store - or so they thought. The remaining cameras caught police on their worst behavior. The cops were filmed passing around candy that was believed to be laced with weed.

The Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) has said that there was no evidence that the candy consumed was laced with weed and that the police were instead eating some snacks that had been for the staff. However, three officers are facing charges for the destruction of the security cameras as well petty theft for stealing the snacks.

Extinguisher

Amtrak train with over 140 on board derails in Kansas, nearly 30 injured

derailed amtrak train
© Daniel Szczerba ‏@MetaOracle / twitter.com
Five rail cars of Amtrak's Los Angeles-Chicago passenger train have derailed in Kansas. Approximately 142 passengers and crew were on board, 29 of whom sustained injuries and are being treated in local hospitals.

UPDATE: The engineer applied the emergency brakes after noticing a "significant bend in a rail," an unnamed official familiar with the investigation told AP Monday afternoon. Investigators are now checking if a vehicle may have damaged the track, the agency reported.

The incident occurred in Gray County, Kansas, some 3 miles (about 5km) outside Cimarron.

"Just after midnight CT, Amtrak Southwest Chief Train 4, operating from Los Angeles to Chicago, derailed some cars approximately 20 miles west of Dodge City, Kansas, on BNSF track," Amtrak said in a statement, adding there were approximately 128 passengers and 14 crew members on board.

Sheriff

'I'm not a criminal': Transport police beat man with baton at London's St. Pancras Station

Sho Abu
© Sho Abu/Facebook
Video footage appears to show a police officer striking a man with a baton at London's St. Pancras International station after he refuses to comply with instructions to get on the floor.

The footage, shot on Tuesday, shows a man shouting "I am not a criminal" while asking two British Transport Police officers why he was being asked to get on the ground.

"Because I told you," one of the officers can be heard shouting.

The man, who is 40 and from the Thamesmead neighborhood in London, says repeatedly "I am going with you," but fails to comply with their order to get down. One of the officers can then be seen hitting the man on the legs with a baton and pushing him through the station.


The officers subsequently arrested the man on suspicion of fare evasion and two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, a police spokesperson said in statement. The man has since been released on bail.

The video was uploaded to Facebook by Showan Abu on Tuesday evening. Abu wrote: "Today at St Pancras International. I don't know what the commuter actually did, but the police was trying to arrest him.
Facebook post
© Facebook

Fire

Powerful blast reported at residential building in southeastern Moscow

Moscow fire trucks
© Vladimir Astapkovich/Sputnik
A powerful blast followed by a fire reportedly ripped through a block of apartments in the Russian capital on Thursday evening. At least one person has been killed and 13 have been injured.

"According to the latest data, 13 people have been taken to the hospital, including three children. One person died from severe injuries at the hospital," a source told RIA Novosti.

Authorities say the blast was caused by improper handling of an open fire during construction work. A gas explosion had initially been suspected. The Investigative Committee is now telling TASS that some flammable liquid ignited.

Heavy smoke could be seen rising from the building in southeastern Moscow, photos posted on social media by witnesses show. Some reports on social media suggest that the blast blew a man through a window.

At least 15 people have been evacuated from the 14-story building in the Lefortovo neighborhood, sources told RIA Novosti.


Ambulance

Israeli police kill two Palestinians they believed to be responsible for a gun attack on a public bus

Israeli emergency personnel
© REUTERS/ Ammar Awad
Jerusalem police have killed 2 Palestinians believed to be responsible for a gun attack on a public bus on Wednesday, local media reported.

Earlier in the day, individuals opened fire on a bus earlier before fleeing the scene, The Jerusalem Post reported. Later, the attackers were engaged in a shootout with police which saw an Arab-Israeli man seriously injured.

The incident comes a day after a Palestinian man was shot and killed after he allegedly stabbed 11 people in Tel Aviv. One of the victims, a US tourist, was later confirmed to have died in the attack.

The attack coincided with a visit by US Vice President Joseph Biden to Tel Aviv late on Tuesday. Biden was expected to arrive in the city at around the time Tuesday's stabbings began.

Some 30 Israelis and several foreigners have been killed in knife, gun or vehicle attacks, believed to be carried out mostly by Palestinian youths, since September 2015.

Eiffel Tower

Are there any reasons to hope for France?

A few people asked me if there's any reason to hope for France to get better. This is my 2 cents worth.

I might shock you by commenting that as things stand, France is in a much better situation that the US.

Let's start with a nice fun slice of reality, a pleasant truth.

Here's a 1 minute Youtube of Dieudonné, the humorist, at the Zenith hall in Strasbourg on Feb. 13 where 17,000 people paid about $45 a seat. His tours are a major success and halls usually sell out all the seats. The French government and the Zionist pressure groups such as CRIF have tried to get rid of him for almost 13 years, banishing him from TV, banning shows under the dictatorial power of the Conseil d'État even after courts said it was okay, pursuing him in courts on bogus charges, etc. At his lowest, having been banned from TV in 2003 as an "antisemite", and with even his private shows cancelled, he was reduced to giving performances to 40 or 50 people at a time on a rented bus. Back then, Gilad Atzmon, an exIsraeli, helped defend Dieudonné against the bogus charge of "antisemite", and in the years since, he worked his way back up to become by far the most popular comedian in France. His success proves what Regis Debray once said, « Interdire, c'est répandre. » To forbid is to spread.