Society's Child
The north-eastern Syrian city, which was once the de-facto capital of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorist caliphate, was retaken back in October 2017. However, more than three months after what was hailed as a liberation, Raqqa still looks more like a battlefield rather than a living city.
Entire residential compounds have been reduced to rubble. Numerous residential buildings have sustained irreparable damage or been rendered uninhabitable. The streets of the city, which are surrounded by the ruins of what were once residential districts, are still filled with debris.
As TFTP reported at the time of his arrest, Judge Tim Nolan of California, Kentucky represented District 5 on the Campbell County School Board. He served at the chair of the 2016 Donald Trump campaign in Campbell County.
During Trump's presidential run in 2016, Judge Nolan was serving as the chair of his campaign. The alleged sex trafficking occurred in August of 2016 - while Nolan was working on the Trump campaign.
As RCN reports, Nolan is an outspoken and controversial figure in local politics. In 2016, he sued the creator of GOPfacts.org, which took aim at Nolan and others, and specifically referred to Nolan as a vehement racist and posted a photo that purported to be of Nolan in a Ku Klux Klan robe.
Nolan was appointed by Governor Matt Bevin to the Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Commission but was removed only days later when the Klu Klux Klan scandal erupted.
It may seem like an obvious conclusion, but the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has been generating around $3 million in revenue each year from the $250 fine motorists are forced to pay for the test, if they are convicted.
The decision stemmed from the case of Rosemary Decosimo vs. the State of Tennessee. She was joined by more than 20 defendants who had also been charged with DUIs in the same county. They argued that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation had a clear incentive to produce positive DUI test results and that the $250 it was receiving for "each DUI conviction that is obtained using a blood or breath test, is unconstitutional."
In a ruling on the case, Judge Camille R. McMullen sided with Decosimo, noting it has been well established that "fines and fees should not be used to generate revenue for a court or government agency," and it was unclear how Tennessee's Bureau of Investigation was using the entirety of the funds it received from DUI convictions.
The British aid agency faces a crunch meeting with International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt on Monday, which could see it stripped of its £34-million ($47-million) annual government funding.
Oxfam has rejected accusations that it covered up stories of its staff using prostitutes in Haiti in 2011. The personnel involved were on a relief mission following the devastating 2010 earthquake that killed some 220,000 people. An internal inquiry into sexual exploitation, downloading of pornography, bullying and intimidation found there had been a "culture of impunity" among staff during the operation.
A confidential report from the investigation in 2011 concluded that children may have been among those abused. A source with knowledge of the case claims they saw footage of a party that they described as "like a full-on Caligula orgy," with prostitutes wearing Oxfam-branded shirts, the Times reports.
One train derailed following a sideways collision with another locomotive at around 1pm local time in the southeastern town of Niklasdorf. Writing on Twitter, Austrian police confirmed that a woman was fatally injured in the incident. Three children are among the 22 injured who have been taken to hospitals in the area.
"Such insinuations and statements of a person who, even in a show can be seen with the naked eye as a person suffering from psychological, and maybe even mental problems, can hardly be taken seriously. I can only say that, of course, any accusations against our country on this issue are groundless, especially the statements he made about President Putin are nothing more than lies," Peskov told reporters.
At the same time, Rodchenkov, who appeared on CBS Scott Pelley's 60 Minutes program the day before, alleged that over 20 countries were practicing doping in their respective sports programs, in an interview with the CBS broadcaster.
Comment: Peskov is right - it is obvious that Rodchenkov is suffering from mental problems. His accusations mean nothing.
See:
- Fugitive doping doctor and WADA darling Rodchenkov wears 'disguise' for 60 Minutes interview
- Russian doping scandal: Rodchenkov can't get his story straight when testifying against Russians at CAS appeal
- Putin calls Rodchenkov appointment 'mistake', thinks FBI may be 'drugging' disgraced doctor
- Moscow court issues arrest warrant for WADA informant Grigory Rodchenkov on charges of drug trafficking
- Russian Olympic President: WADA informant Grigory Rodchenkov's attempts to hamper probe nullify his credibility
- Meet Dr. Death: How Rodchenkov went from criminal to glorified whistleblower
The Israeli military has deployed anti-missile systems, as well as "missile defense batteries" on the northern part of country's border with Syria, near the city of Baka al-Gharbiya, the Jerusalem Post newspaper reported Monday, citing eyewitnesses.
As the media outlet specifies, some witnesses posted alleged photos of "trucks carrying the batteries on central highways in northern Israel."
According to the newspaper, on early Saturday Israel also deployed eight warplanes to target positions inside Syria.
However, the Israeli Defense Forces have yet to comment on the media reports.
Comment: Obviously, having one of their invincible jets shot down has got the Israeli military concerned. See:
Syria Shoots Down Israeli Jet - It's About Time

In this image made from video provided by Yehunda Pinto, the wreckage of an Israeli F-16 is seen on fire near Harduf, northern Israel, Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018.
Blazing jet seen streaking across sky in video that bolsters view aircraft was shot down by a Syrian anti-aircraft missile
Surveillance camera footage released Sunday showed an Israeli F-16 was on fire before it crashed on Saturday, apparently strengthening the prevailing view that the aircraft was shot down by a Syrian anti-aircraft missile.
In the black-and-white video, the plane could be seen streaking across the sky in flames before crashing in the distance in a blaze of light.
The pilot and navigator ejected from the plane before the crash and parachuted to the ground near the Jezreel Valley where the jet crashed.
The condition of the pilot, who was seriously injured, has since been upgraded to moderate; while the navigator flying with him was released from Haifa's Rambam Medical Center Sunday after being lightly wounded.
Comment: It sounds like Israelis are still in disbelief.
Syria Shoots Down Israeli Jet - It's About Time
"No, I do not have such information," Bogdanov told reporters when asked whether Moscow was aware of Iran's military base near Palmyra.
Speaking further, the senior official noted that Russia was urging to avoid the escalation of tensions in the region after Israel's strikes on Syria.
"We call on everyone to be calm, to prevent a very dangerous escalation in countries of the region," Bogdanov told reporters.
Comment: The comment about no Iraninan bases near Palmyra is significant because it contradicts the Israeli justification for bombing Syria this time:
Syria Shoots Down Israeli Jet - It's About TimeUnless the Israelis meant a mobile control facility. But even so, this is a minor point considering that Israel has been bombing Syria for a long time to cover the terrorists on the ground, in the hope that they will topple the Assad government. Who gave them the moral or legal right to do so?
[...]
This is the first time an Israeli F-16 was brought down since Israel began using the jets in the 1980s. The Israeli narrative around the events is typically hypocritical. According to Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus, an "Iranian drone" was intercepted and brought down over Israeli territory.
According to several sources, the Israeli military stated that it had the offending drone in its possession. But then Conricus posted a video to twitter supposedly showing the 'Iranian drone' being destroyed.
If that video is truly of the 'Iranian drone', I suppose the Israelis could technically have 'it' in their possession, in the form of 10,000 tiny fragments. But you'll forgive me if I call BS on this one.
Anyway, the 'drone incursion' provoked the initial Israeli attack on what Conricus claims was "an Iranian drone control facility near the desert city of Palmyra". As the Israeli jets were returning to Israel, they came under sustained Syrian anti-aircraft fire leading to the crash of the F-16 near Harduf. [...]
Although Sweden vocally disapproves of polygamy, there are still a total of 307 Swedish residents officially involved in polygamist marriages, a number which has been spurred by and is constantly rising due to immigration from Muslim countries, where polygamy is accepted. At present, though, it is possible to officially register a foreign polygamy provided that it is valid in the country of origin and that neither of the spouses has been affiliated with Sweden before the marriage, the Dagens Juridik legal newspaper reported.
In total, 169 people living in Sweden have 354 spouses registered in officially recognized polygamist marriages. Some of the women, though, have never been registered in Sweden or have emigrated. Additionally, there are about 500 instances of polygamy not accepted as legal by the authorities.
To address this growing discrepancy, the Swedish Tax Agency has in a statement called for sharpened legislation that would harmonize public records with the rules of the criminal and the marital codes. First and foremost, the agency has demanded that no forms polygamy should be accepted, regardless of where the marriage has been contracted.














Comment: The US and its allies never cared about freeing Syria, they only cared about controlling their own interests. Their complete abandonment of Raqqa is simply evidence of what we already knew.
See: