Society's ChildS


Jet5

Liberating Aleppo: Journalists describe a city terrorized by 'rebels', looted by Turkey, & ignored by the media

Syria Aleppo
© REUTERS/ Abdelrahmin Ismail
The Syrian Army offensive to liberate the city of Aleppo and its surrounding province continues; RT Syria correspondent Murad Gazdiev returned home to share his impressions about the situation on the ground there, the city's history before the war, and its fate since the ill-fated Arab Spring uprisings of 2011.

"Before the civil war began," Gazdiev recalled, "Aleppo was Syria's largest city [population 2.3 million]. It is really something of a mixing pot; you had all sorts living together there - Assyrians, Kurds, Arabs, Armenians, Turks, all living together peacefully."

Before the war, the city's ancient splendor and cultural diversity made it a source "of hundreds of thousands of tourists; there was also business, industry, finance, jobs - it was a bustling metropolis. And then of course, the civil war began..."

Comment: Further reading: How the "Arab Spring" went from spontaneous uprising to orchestrated slaughter


Better Earth

Fighting the globalists through decentralization

Decentralization
The world's in a heap of dung right now. Few but the most oblivious amongst us would dare disagree. But observers who look beyond the feeble, destabilizing machinations of such geopolitics chessboard pawns as Obama, Hillary, Kerry and the neocon players at the helm of US Empire folly, recognize that all this diabolically created chaos and destruction tearing our planet apart are mere consequences of following the Western ruling elite's marching orders. A handful of prominent banking families for over three centuries aka the Rothschilds joined over a century ago by the nouveau riche Standard Oil Rockefellers and other longtime central banking cabal families like English and Dutch royalty have all tightly controlled modern civilization under their twisted thumb at every brutal turn.

To this very day they've singlehandedly plotted, bankrolled, initiated and waged every major war, caused every major economic crash, bled the earth near dry of precious natural resources driven perniciously by fossil fuel addiction, owned all Fortune 500 transnational corporations and hijacked and controlled virtually every national government. With complete impunity their nonstop planetary raping and plundering of this ravaged earth precariously teeters humanity today on the brink of total self-annihilation. Their crumbling, Ponzi-schemed, debt-based, house of cards economy is about ready to self-implode and collapse, plunging the global economy into unprecedented turmoil and violent convulsions the likes of which none of us alive have ever witnessed before. This sad and tragic, very bleak world forecast is the shared consensus of not only many so called leading economists and financial experts, at least the honest ones apart from the scripted MSM propagandist liars, but also the vast majority of evidence-based geopolitical and military analysts as well.

But before going out and immediately throwing yourself under the nearest oncoming bus, it may not be too late to invest some lifesaving time and money in implementing a rudimentary survival plan for you and your family to utilize before that oncoming bus called the grim reaper enforces the "won't get out of this world alive" rule. A daily food and water supply for long-term sustenance may be the first item on any would-be prepper's to-do list. Stock up on canned goods, beans and rice and everyday staples. This all-important strategic plan may be individualized to fit your needs at the family level or even better be expanded to include your neighborhood-community. Since safety in numbers comes straight out of any sports, military or survivalist playbook, the latter plan together with your individual family plan is the best, most ideal option.


Comment: Indeed. See SOTT's recommendations for this: Are you prepping your diet?


Fire

Huge fire and explosions rock high-rise in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana

Astana tower fire
© Tengrinews TV / YouTube
An 88-story tower still under construction in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, was engulfed in a massive blaze early on Saturday. Amateur footage showed the high-rise, dubbed Abu Dhabi Plaza, lit up like an enormous torch.

The fire started on the 25th floor early on Saturday morning.

Some 120 people were evacuated from the scene, but no deaths or injuries have been reported, the Emergency Situations Ministry's official representative Ruslan Imankulov told RIA Novosti.

The fire was localized some four hours after emergency crew were dispatched.

Diesel heat generators actually caused the spectacular blaze, according to Imankulov. An earlier theory blaming a gas cylinder explosion was not confirmed.

Dozens of firefighters in nearly 20 vehicles have rushed to the scene. Several firefighting units are battling the blaze, struggling to get the fire under control, and at least 60 first responders have been deployed, RIA Novosti reported.


Comment: A couple of days ago a lightning strike sparked a huge explosion at steelworks in Port Talbot, Wales; while in New Jersey a massive warehouse fire burned out of control for nearly 20 hours. See also:

SOTT Exclusive: More mysterious high-rise building explosions - is there a 'cosmic' source of ignition?


Shoe

Another shoe containing human foot washes up in Pacific Northwest coast; 16 feet since 2007

Shoe
© CTV News/You Tube
Nearly a week ago, a severed foot inside a shoe was found on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, making a total of at least 16 such grisly discoveries along the Pacific Northwest shoreline since 2007.

The latest was found by a family walking along the beach at Vancouver Island, according to CBC. Charlotte Stephens said her husband came across the foot, the 13th washed up in British Columbia, during a stroll along Botanical Beach.

"He picked it up and brought it out on to the beach, and we had a look at it for about five minutes and we thought, it almost looks like there is an actual foot bone in it," she said.

The British Columbia Coroners Service said the foot belonged to a human and law enforcement is trying to determine its source. Regional coroner Matt Brown said that the brand of shoe on the foot had not been available until about March of 2013.
"So I think it's fair to say we are looking for someone gone missing from March 2013 and December 2015," he said.

The severed foot is the 16th to be discovered on the shores of British Columbia or Washington state since 2007, according to the Washington Post, which cited various reports of such encounters. Most of them have been right feet, it has been reported, while all shoes were some kind of running or hiking footwear.

While the ultimate explanation is unknown - theories range from organized crime, human trafficking or other foul play, to suicides or a plane crash - some experts say the severed feet are the result of the bodies being under water for long periods of time, in which case extremities will fall off first.

Star of David

Israel STILL keeping detained Palestinian kids in outdoor cages in winter: Rights group

palestinian children israel checkpoint
© Scott Campbell/ flickrPalestinian children at Qalandia checkpoint.
Following a November 2015 report by the Independent, in which it quoted NGO rights organization the Palestinian Prisoners Club (PPC) that at least 600 Palestinian children have been arrested in Jerusalem alone in the first half of 2015 and that roughly 40% were sexually abused, a new January 2016 report was also issued by the Independent, this time saying that the Israeli government is torturing children and keeping them in outdoor cages during winter time.

The Independent cited a report published by The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) saying that "children accused of minor crimes were subject to public caging, threats and acts of sexual violence and military trials without representation."

Upon a visit by Israel's Public Defender's Office (PDO) lawyers, shocking details of happenings in the detention facility was uncovered.

"During our visit, held during a fierce storm that hit the state, attorneys met detainees who described to them a shocking picture: in the middle of the night dozens of detainees were transferred to the external iron cages built outside the IPS transition facility in Ramla," the PDO described the scene on its website.

"It turns out that this procedure, under which prisoners waited outside in cages, lasted for several months, and was verified by other officials."

Comment: Israel's barbarity has been reported before and supposedly stopped.

'Children in cages': Human rights group accuses Israel of torture

This latest report shows caging children is still practiced. Israel has long been known for its horrendous treatment of Palestinian children, but has never been called to account for it.


Heart - Black

Indiana workers react with outrage after being told their jobs are moving to Mexico

Carrier Air Conditioner workers meeting
In a video uploaded to YouTube, a gathering of workers at an Indianapolis air conditioning manufacturing plant are stunned and enraged when told they'll soon be out of work because the company is moving their jobs to Mexico.

The large crowd of employees of a Carrier Air Conditioner manufacturing plant in Indianapolis can be seen milling around as a speaker — dressed in a suit and standing on a stage — addresses them and gives them the bad news.

"The best way to stay competitive and protect the business for long-term is to move production from our facility in Indianapolis to Monterrey, Mexico," the man can be heard explaining.

Cross

Pope Francis meets with head of Russian Orthodox Church for first time

pope francis kirill meeting
© Adalberto Roque / AFP
Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian branch of Orthodox Christianity, is holding a historic meeting with Pope Francis in a meeting room at the international airport in Havana, Cuba. The two churches have been divided for 1,000 years.

"We are brothers, at last," were the first words Pope Francis addressed to his counterpart, TASS news agency reports. "Now, it will be easier," responded Patriarch Kirill. "It is evident that this meeting is God's will," said the Pontiff, in his native Spanish.

"We are meeting at the right time and at the right place. I want to emphasize once again that it became possible with God's will," Patriarch Kirill told the Pontiff.

The two religious leaders embraced warmly in front of the cameras before proceeding to hold closed-door talks that were expected to last two hours. The Russian Orthodox Church said Patriarch Kirill would discuss the persecution of Christians around the world. Pockets of Christianity in the Middle East have been some of the worst affected by the Arab Spring and the Syrian conflict.


Camera

Cardiff University report: 111 journalists were killed in 2015 - Syria most deadly location with 10 deaths

Allepo
© Karam Al-Masri/AFP/Getty ImagesAllepo, October 4, 2013
A biannual report has found that 111 journalists were killed in 2015.

Research data collected by Cardiff University academics in the biannual 'Killing the Messenger' report found that Syria was the location for the most journalists deaths, with 10 killed in 2015.

The below map is also available as a high resolution image, or as an interactive map:
Where journalists died in 2015
© i100/CartoDB
Thirty-eight of the journalists killed were TV journalists, thirty were from print publications and twenty-seven were radio.
Graph - journalists killed


Comment: Reporters Without Borders reported 67 journalists killed in 2015:

2015 was another dangerous year for journalists


Attention

Sirhan denied parole, despite his innocence and pleas from Kennedy confidant

schrade
© Gregory Bull/AP/PoolPaul Schrade, who was shot in the head by Sirhan Sirhan, reacts during Sirhan’s parole hearing Wednesday in San Diego.
After decades of investigation, Paul Schrade has no doubt about the identity of the man who shot him in the head shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel:

It was Sirhan Sirhan, the same gunman convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy.

And yet, when Schrade came face to face with Sirhan for the first time in nearly 50 years, at a parole hearing in San Diego on Wednesday, he argued that the notorious gunman wasn't Kennedy's killer.

But the panel wasn't swayed and Sirhan was denied parole for the 15th time, according to the Associated Press, which noted:
Commissioners concluded after more than three hours of intense testimony at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Center that Sirhan did not show adequate remorse or understand the enormity of his crime.
Still, the AP reported, Schrade forgave his shooter during the hearing and apologized to Sirhan not doing more to win his release.


Comment: A travesty of justice. Just why should a man show remorse for something he did not do? Sirhan did not even kill RFK, has no memory of the shooting, and was in all probability hypno-programmed to commit the crime. He is a political prisoner, plain and simple, and all to reinforce the myth of the lone assassin in political assassinations. See also: RFK friend Paul Schrade to defend Sirhan at parole hearing, calls for his release. See also O'Sullivan's latest video on the shooting:




Wolf

Capture or kill: The Burmese python has worn out its welcome in Everglades, Florida

Python 'hunter'
© AP/Wlifredo LeeBill Booth of Bradenton, Fla., prepares to turn in a dead python at a Python Challenge checkpoint, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016, in Florida Everglades, Fla. A cold snap may be giving humans an edge early in a state-sanctioned hunt for elusive Burmese pythons in the Everglades.
The Burmese python has worn out its welcome, and its time is nigh.

For the second time since 2013, Florida wildlife officials are inviting people near and far to search for Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) in the Everglades. Depending on where they spot the invasive species, participants can either capture or kill the snakes, which are generally about 6 feet (almost 2 meters) in length, said Carli Segelson, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

However, the snakes' brownish markings make them well camouflaged. So far, 1,035 volunteers have caught 95 snakes — more than the 68 snakes caught by 1,600 participants in 2013, Segelson said.

The 2016 challenge, which started Jan. 16 and ends Feb. 14, is the state's way of controlling the pythons' population. "It's not good for the ecosystem and the native wildlife to have an invasive species living in the area," Segelson told Live Science.

Either way, the pythons have prospered in the Everglades' hot, humid summers and mild winters. They're also eating the native birds, mammals, fish and reptiles, Segelson said. There are some reports of alligators eating the pythons (and vice versa), but other than that, the Python Challenge seems to be the only major way to get rid of them. Experts aren't sure how the pythons got established in the Everglades, but they have two ideas. Perhaps pet owners set captive snakes free into the wild, Segelson said. Or, maybe the snakes escaped from captivity during Hurricane Andrew in 1992, she said.

Volunteers can brush up on their python-finding and safety skills at PythonChallenge.org, which has videos and tips for capturing the snakes. On average, it takes more than 15 hours to spot a python, but participants might have more luck if they look in marshes, pine rocklands, canal banks and open areas, according to the site. Moreover, the challenge is held in the winter, when snakes spend more time basking in the sun (especially on levees or tree islands) due to the cooler weather.

Comment: US, Florida: Pythons Apparently Wiping Out Everglades Mammals