Society's ChildS


Bad Guys

Study finds half of 'terror suspects' arrested in Spain are Moroccan

spanish police cars
© Les Haines/FlickrSpanish police vehicles
Almost half of people arrested in Spain on terrorism charges are Morocco-born or of Moroccan descent, a study by Spanish think tank Elcano Royal Institute has found.

Based on information from their database of terrorist activities between 2013 and 2017, the study found that approximately 46 per cent of the 233 people arrested or killed for alleged involvement in terrorism-related activities in Spain were Moroccan nationals.

The study also found that six out of ten people were second generation descendants of Moroccan immigrants, who were affiliated with terrorism cells and networks based in Spain. Many of these arrests took place in Catalonia, which the think tank argues is "increasingly known as a centre of extremism, with nearly one third of ISIS-linked arrests in Spain made there," Morocco World News reported using another acronym for Daesh.

Bizarro Earth

IDF revives anti-Semitic trope, depicts Iranians as evil puppet masters

puppet master
© WIN-Initiative / Getty Images
Using "puppet master" and "Jew" in the same sentence will likely land you on an Anti-Defamation League blacklist, but it seems to be okay when the Israeli military rolls out the tired trope against others - that is, against Iran.

The Israeli Defense Forces' (IDF) official Twitter account pulled back the veil on the Iranian global conspiracy on Thursday. It posted a poorly edited picture showing Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei pulling the strings of a Bashar Assad marionette, against the backdrop of a ruined city ravaged by explosions. One may already start to wonder what the message is, given that the photo actually shows Kobane, the northern Syrian city that was seized by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) in 2014, and liberated by Kurdish fighters a year later. But most importantly, the MS Paint masterpiece is accompanied by the caption: "WHO REALLY CONTROLS YOUR LIFE?"


Snakes in Suits

Red Ants: Meet South Africa's private security firm violently evicting squatters

red ants SA
© Alaister Russell/The Sunday Times
The Red Ants are a South African private security company specialising in clearing "illegal invaders" from properties. Two, sometimes three times a week, a convoy of trucks drives out of the gates of a sprawling farm in Gauteng province, carrying hundreds of men and led by "officers" armed with shotguns and handguns.

The company is rarely out of the headlines in South Africa and has been repeatedly accused of crimes ranging from theft to murder. It is fiercely criticised by human rights campaigners. But the attitude of the general public is more ambivalent - and the Red Ants themselves are fiercely loyal to each other and their employers. "We are a family. We look after each other ... We have built a community," says Johan Bosch, the farmer who founded and owns the company.

Comment: While illegally squatting in buildings is a criminal act, reports suggest that the Red Ants have carried out evictions without court notices and without allowing people adequate time to vacate the properties. In addition to that, it's not surprising that allegations of murder and theft have been made against them if they are hiring ex-cons!


Star of David

Elor Azarya returns home as a 'hero' after 9-month prison term for killing Palestinian

Elor Azarya
"I'm glad it's over", Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, as Elor Azarya, the soldier-medic who shot the incapacitated Palestinian suspect Abdel Fatah Al Sharif, returned home from his prison term served for 'manslaughter', after merely 9 months.

The release was early on several counts: First, what was clearly murder got reduced to a 'manslaughter' charge to begin with. Then, despite the court noting that Azarya showed no remorse and in fact had said that Al Sharif "deserved to die", despite the court noting "we have dealt with a case in which the committing of the felony and the level of guilt of the defendant are of excessive egregiousness", noting that "the reason for shooting by the defendant was not rooted in a sense of danger", the court gave him a ridiculous sentence of 1.5 years, at the low end of the term suggested even by the prosecution (14-48 months).

Newspaper

Black Fridays: Spanish public broadcaster employees mourn the death of independent news

Spanish public broadcaster employees
© mariola.cubells / Instagram
For the third week in a row, journalists at the Spanish public-service broadcaster RTVE wore black on Friday to protest PM Mariano Rajoy's party meddling in their news coverage, which they fear damages the channel's credibility.

The staff at Radio Television Espanola rebelled against the refusal of the Spanish ruling conservative Popular Party (PP) to support the opposition's bid for a public contest to appoint a new, independent chairman for the channel.

According to RTVE staff, this kind of management casts doubt on its credibility, following numerous cases of deliberate news manipulation in favor of the ruling party, whether by withholding information or inaccurate coverage.

Women at RTVE, who were supported by many male colleagues, said they dressed in black to show they want "a public broadcaster that includes all colors, one that is diverse, independent and professional."

Bad Guys

Palestinian Prisoners Centre spokesman: Israel arrested 500 Palestinians over Facebook posts

Facebook logo
© West McGowan/FlickrFacebook logo
Palestinian Prisoners' Centre (PPC) said yesterday that Israel had arrested 500 Palestinians, including women and children, as a result of their social media posts, Al-Resalah newspaper reported.

PPC spokesman Riyadh Al-Ashqar said that the Israeli occupation began arresting Palestinians because of their social media posts following the start of the Jerusalem Intifada claiming such uploads incite terror against Israel.

Israel is using its recently formed "Cyber Unit" to monitor Palestinian social media posts, the centre said.

Pirates

Palestinian reporter shot by Israeli soldiers in Gaza

Palestinian protesters pull on a burning tire during clashes with the Israeli forces
© AFP 2018 / SAID KHATIBPalestinian protesters pull on a burning tire during clashes with the Israeli forces on April 20, 2018, east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip during mass protests along the border of the Palestinian enclave, dubbed The Great March of Return, which has the backing of Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas
Motasem Ahmed Dalloul with the Middle East Monitor was hit in the abdomen by a live round east of Gaza City on Friday while covering a protest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. Watchdog called for an immediate inquiry into the incident.

"Israeli authorities must investigate the shooting of Dalloul and take all measures to ensure that the media can safely cover protests," CPJ's Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour said.

The use of force by the Israel Defense Force, including live fire, has taken a severe toll on Palestinian journalists, Mansour said.

Comment: See also: Gaza border crossing set on fire as Palestinian protesters 'damage gas pipelines' - IDF


Fire

Gaza border crossing set on fire as Palestinian protesters 'damage gas pipelines' - IDF

Fire
© IDFSpokesperson / Twitter
Palestinian protesters have started fires on the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza on Friday, damaging gas pipelines leading to the enclave, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said.

Dozens of people took part in the attack, the military said, adding that they believe it was designed to "sabotage humanitarian efforts that Israel & other countries carry out." The IDF reiterated on Twitter that it holds Palestinian radical group Hamas "responsible for everything that happens in Gaza."

Smoking

Republic of Georgia imposes 25 smoking fines in one week

No smoking sign
© Zest Magazine
12 individuals and 13 legal entities were fined in a week by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) for violation of the new tobacco regulations which entered into force on May 1.

On May 5, two persons were arrested in a bar in Georgia's western town of Kutaisi for refusing to obey the law.

A total of 46 calls were made to the MIA regarding violations of the smoking ban from May 1 to May 8. Up to 2000 police officers have been assigned to monitor the execution of the law.

Smoking of tobacco, including electronic cigarettes and hookah, is prohibited in all enclosed areas, with the exception of houses, psychiatric clinics, penitentiary facilities and casinos.

Bad Guys

Karl Marx: Sacrificing logic on the altar of his desire for revolution

karl marx statue
© Ralph Peters / Global Look PressKarl Marx
Karl Marx, the committed revolutionary, once proved that the revolution need not happen. What did he do next?

Marx was a committed revolutionary, so much so that when reflecting on his life, he said that if he had it all to do over again, he would still be a revolutionary but would not marry, to save his wife from having to suffer the privations of life with him.

There were, of course, many committed revolutionaries in the 19th century. What set Marx apart from them all was that he had proven that revolution not only would happen, but had to happen. It was inevitable.

And then, one day, he proved, using a significant advance in his own economics, that revolution did not have to happen: that the inexorable force he had believed pushed in that direction was the outcome of a flaw in his own theory. When the flaw was corrected, the force was gone, and not only was revolution not inevitable, it might not even be necessary. How do you think he reacted?

He fudged, of course.