Society's ChildS


Stormtrooper

US mulls deploying Marines to Haiti amid unrest, port closes blocking 'main source of food and medicine'

Marine haiti
© Sgt. Richard Andrade/ArmyA Marine from the 1st Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team stands guard outside the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 2010 after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the country.
The United States is considering deploying an elite Marine security team to Haiti because of a deteriorating security situation there, according to a defense official.

The Marines would be deployed at the request of the State Department, according to the defense official. Marine Corps Times asked the State Department for further details Thursday and didn't receive a response.

"Deploying a FAST platoon is one option at the DoD's disposal should the DoS request assistance with security at the U.S. Embassy in Port Au Prince," Maj. Mason Englehart, a spokesman for Marine Corps Forces South, wrote in an email to Marine Corps Times on Friday.

Comment: Voice of America provides an update on the situation in the country:
Haiti's Main Port Closes as State of Emergency, Curfew Extended

Haiti's main port was closed on Thursday after an attack by armed gangs, said the port operator, Caribbean Port Services.

CPS said 'malicious acts of sabotage and vandalism' led to the decision after armed men broke into the port and looted containers, Reuters reported, citing local media.

The United Nations said the port 'is currently the only means of transporting food and medical supplies for humanitarian and development organizations from Port-au-Prince to other parts of the country.'


Which is likely only going to exacerbate unrest.


Earlier Thursday, the government extended a state of emergency and nighttime curfew, as gang violence continued to escalate in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The government says it is taking the actions to 'reestablish order and take appropriate measures to retake control of the situation,' as scores of people died this week as allied gangs seek to take power.

The curfew has been extended until March 11 and the state of emergency has been extended until April 3, according to Haiti's official gazette.

The state of emergency was initially announced by authorities on Sunday, when armed gangs helped thousands of prisoners to break out of prison and tens of thousands of people fled the capital violence.

The state of emergency bans public protests and allows security forces to use 'all legal means' to enforce the curfew. Among those excluded from the curfew are some journalists, security forces and emergency services.

The U.S. has sent a security team to protect the U.S. Embassy.

Despite the curfew imposed over the weekend, gangs continued to attack police stations, setting at least 10 on fire, the police union said.

The situation in Haiti took this violent turn after Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced last week at a meeting with Caribbean leaders that general elections would be held in 2025.

After the meeting, he went to Kenya and met with President William Ruto. During the meeting he urged the president to provide support from a U.N.-backed Kenyan police force, which a Kenyan court has ruled is unconstitutional.

While he was traveling, gangs attacked and effectively shut down Haiti's international airport to prevent him from returning to the country. Many of them are frustrated with Haiti's lack of an election in nearly a decade and the fact that Henry was never elected.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Henry on Thursday, urging him to speed up a transition to a new government.

According to prominent gang leader Jimmy 'Barbeque' Cherizier on Tuesday, 'If Ariel Henry doesn't step down, they will lead us directly into a civil war that will end in genocide.'

Violence in Haiti killed about 4,700 people last year, according to United Nations estimates. In Cite Soleil, a part of the capital hit particularly hard by violence, 2,300 people were killed in 2023, Doctors Without Borders said on Thursday.

The death rates in Cite Soleil alone are similar to those in Syrian war zones and among Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, it added.

With Henry away, police forces are struggling to contain violence because of limited resources.

On Wednesday, the Caribbean Community issued a statement saying that leaders had met many times but still have not reached a consensus on how to handle the conflict.

The statement said Haitian stakeholders are being urged to reach a consensus, given the importance of a 'Haitian led and Haitian owned' solution.
See also: Haiti announces state of emergency following mass prison break, gang boss vows to oust Prime Minister


Stop

Fulton County ethics board decides at last minute not to hear Fani Willis complaint

fani
© Christian Monterrosa/AFP/Getty ImagesFulton County DA Fani Willis
The Fulton County Board of Ethics reportedly declined to review two complaints against Fani Willis just before a meeting scheduled for their consideration Thursday.

The board chose not to review the complaints because it found it lacks jurisdiction to enforce the code of ethics against Willis, as she is a state constitutional officer, according to multiple reports. The meeting agenda initially listed two ethics complaints against Willis but was later amended to exclude them.

"The Fulton County Code of Ethics only applies to county officers and employees," a member of the board stated, according to a video posted by Atlanta News First reporter Doug Reardon. "The Fulton County district attorney does not fall within the definition of a county officer."

Handcuffs

Five SAS soldiers arrested in UK on suspicion of alleged war crimes in Syria

silhouette
© Rex Features
Five members of the SAS have been arrested by British military police on suspicion of allegedly committing war crimes while on operations in Syria. The Ministry of Defence said it would not comment directly on the investigation but defence sources indicated that reports of the arrests, which had been circulating in military circles for some time, were accurate.

A MoD spokesperson said:
"We hold our personnel to the highest standards and any allegations of wrongdoing are taken seriously. Where appropriate, any criminal allegations are referred to the service police for investigation."
The case against the five revolves around the alleged murder of a suspected jihadist in Syria who was killed on operations two years ago. Case files recommending prosecution of murder charges have been sent by service police to the Service Prosecuting Authority, the military equivalent of the CPS.

It is alleged the five used excessive force in the incident, although the soldiers involved are understood to deny this, arguing they believed the dead man posed a legitimate threat, so justifying his killing.

Comment: SAS: Special Air Service of the British Army


Star of David

Palestinians 'beaten and sexually assaulted' at Israeli detention centres, UN report claims

Palestinian detainees in Gaza
© Moti Milrod/APIsraeli soldiers guard a vehicle containing bound and blindfolded Palestinian detainees in Gaza
An internal UN report describes widespread abuse of Palestinian detainees in Israeli detention centres, including beatings, dog attacks, the prolonged use of stress positions and sexual assault.

The report was compiled by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and is largely based on interviews of Palestinian detainees released at the Kerem Shalom crossing point since December, when UNRWA staff were present to provide humanitarian support.

The report, which has been circulated within the UN and seen by the Guardian, says that just over 1,000 detainees have been released since December. But it estimates that more than 4,000 men, women and children have been rounded up in Gaza since the start of the current conflict, triggered by Hamas raids into southern Israel on 7 October which killed about 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians.

Israel denies the abuse allegations, which it described as Hamas-inspired propaganda. It has named 12 UNRWA staff it claims took part in the 7 October attack, and claims that 450 of the agency's 13,000 workers in Gaza are members of Hamas or other militant groups.

Bizarro Earth

Doritos sacks trans influencer who said 'I want to do thuggish things' to a child

Samantha Hudson
© Getty Images; Doritos
Doritos sacked a transgender influencer after finding out she had written social media posts threatening to do "thuggish things" to a 12-year-old girl.

The Spanish branch of the snack company had released a video called "Crunch Talks" with the activist but deleted it 24 hours later.

Doritos Spain faced a fierce backlash after featuring the activist, who was called Iván González Ranedo but goes by the stage name Samantha Hudson.

A spokesman told Rolling Stone magazine that Hudson, 24, a successful singer in Spain, was fired for controversial comments she had made online in the past.

Bread

Major grain trading commodity firm halts business citing 'tough times' and losses in Ukraine

grain
© REUTERS/AMIT DAVE
Commodity trading firm Sierentz Global Merchants is closing physical grain trading activities around the world and many traders have already left their posts, sources said on Thursday.

Sierentz's grains division, launched in 2017 by a group of former Louis Dreyfus Company traders and based in Geneva, Switzerland, had been targeting exports of Black Sea grains, mainly from Ukraine.

The company did not answer a request to comment.

Four sources within and outside the company, who declined to be named because the matter is sensitive, said many traders had already left, notably in the Geneva and Kyiv offices.

Comment: It's notable that they're continuing their businesses in Brazil and Russia.

One wonders whether this is just the predictable impact of the West's proxy war in Ukraine, or whether this is a sign of the increasing instability of the global food supply chain?


Life Preserver

Boeing 737 crashes off runway after gear failure, comes day after wheel fell off 777

boeing crash
© X/@rengannerUnited flight UA2477 ran off the runway in Texas as it landed after gear failure
A United Airlines flight has run off a runway following gear failure during landing at George Bush Airport in Houston, Texas.

Flight UA2477 originated in Memphis, Tennessee.

The Boeing 737 Max 8 plane appeared to suffer the gear failure during the last 30 minutes of the flight, according to reports.

All passengers have been evacuated safely from the aircraft, but it is not clear what happened in the incident.

Comment: Is this seeming 'planned obsolescence' at Boeing solely related to corruption and incompetence or, at least with regards some of the incidents, is there more to the story?

January: United, Alaska Airlines find loose hardware on door plugs on several Boeing 737 Max 9 planes

And it's not just Boeing, Western militaries more generally are suffering endless accidents and incidents:


Bizarro Earth

Video shows pro-Israel hooligans brutally attack man carrying Palestinian flag in Athens, Greece

israel greece attack
© @chris_avramidis, XInjured man taken to hospital, reports local media
A group of hooligans supporting the Israeli soccer team Maccabi Tel Aviv assaulted a man carrying a Palestinian flag in Athens, local media reported on Thursday.

The victim, identified as a foreigner, sustained injuries and was promptly transported to the hospital, according to the public broadcaster ERT and several daily newspapers.

The incident unfolded at the bustling Syntagma Square, where a significant police presence was deployed.

Maccabi Tel Aviv was scheduled to compete against Greece's Olympiacos in the Europa Conference League.

Comment: Footage of the attack:


Granted football hooligans the world over are notorious for their violence and anti-social behaviour, but, in this instance, which is just one of many examples, it seems reasonable to connect their behaviour and their support for a regime guilty of such brazen and sadistic cruelty. One is likely going to have a particular personality or psychological state, and so behaviour such as the above could be considered 'natural', for them.

The following is yet another video of rather callous behaviour from a pro-Israel/Zionist person:



See also:


Mr. Potato

Ex-con turned NYC criminal justice activist busted after head of prison rival found in freezer of apartment

Sheldon Johnson
© Obtained by NY PostJohnson allegedly in the apartment building while wearing a blond wig. 12
Johnson allegedly in the apartment building while wearing a blond wig.
A criminal justice activist is facing murder charges after cops found a dismembered body inside a Bronx apartment — with the accused killer caught on surveillance video disguised in a blond wig at the scene of the crime, according to witnesses and police.

Sheldon Johnson, a 48-year-old staffer for the public law firm Queens Defenders, was led out of the 44th Precinct stationhouse in handcuffs Thursday after police made the grisly discovery — a human torso in a blue bin and a head stashed in a freezer in the sixth-floor apartment, police said.

He was held without bail at his arraignment Thursday night.

Comment: Looks like the deep breathing and conflict resolution courses didn't quite work as advertised!

Here's a clip of Sheldon Johnson on Rogan's podcast:




House

Maine taxpayers in revolt over funding $13million 'Taj Mahal' migrant housing complex

illegal migrant apartments tax funded maine
© ZillowThe 60 apartment complex is being funded by a mix of private and public money through MaineHousing, the state's housing authority
Asylum seekers can stay RENT FREE in luxury apartments for two years

Residents of a Maine town have hit out at the $13million construction of a complex of 60 apartments for asylum seekers, where they can live rent free for two years then pay a fraction of the rental price.

Locals in Brunswick have expressed fury over the project, which is being funded by a mix of private and public money and which has been heavily criticized by Donald Trump Jr.

The apartment complex in Brunswick is one of the many projects being launched by the town in what critics have labeled a 'Taj Mahal', red-carpet welcome for asylum seekers.

There are currently 180 apartments in the Brunswick Landing complex available for anyone to rent. A one bedroom unit costs $1,800 a month, while a two-bedroom costs $2,300 a month.