Society's ChildS


Health

Seven humanitarian corridors in Syria's Aleppo proving successful, over 300 civilians rescued


Sputnik
Mon, 01 Aug 2016 18:36 UTC
Syrian humaitarian corridor
© George Orfalian/ Agence France-PresseSyrians attempt to leave Aleppo through the Russian humanitarian corridor.
A large-scale joint Russian-Syrian humanitarian operation is underway in the east of Aleppo. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the establishment, together with the Syrian authorities, of seven humanitarian corridors "to help civilians who find themselves held hostage by terrorists and insurgents who are wishing to lay down their arms." As expected, hot meals and first aid points will be deployed in the areas of humanitarian corridors. At the same time, Syrian President Bashar Assad on Thursday issued an amnesty decree for the surrendering militants.

"Today, 324 civilians, including 76 children left the eastern districts of Aleppo to the humanitarian points, 82 militants laid down their arms and are now passing the amnesty procedure. Currently, the Syrian command established contact and negotiating the cessation of resistance with a number of units from the so-called moderate opposition," the official said.

Comment: Russian military announces four more humanitarian corridors to be opened in Aleppo

The US is still not happy about this development: Samantha Power outraged Syria wants to save civilians in Aleppo

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Airplane

Pope Francis defends Muslims: "Islam is not terrorism"


Express
Mon, 01 Aug 2016 09:47 UTC
Pope Francis onboard
© www.vosizneias.com
Pope Francis said yesterday it was wrong to identify Islam with terrorism and that social injustice and idolatry of money were among the prime causes of terrorism. Speaking aboard the plane taking him back to Rome after a five-day trip to Poland, he said: "I think it is not right to identify Islam with terrorism. "It is not right and it is not true."

Francis was responding to a question about the killing on July 26 of an 85-year-old Roman Catholic priest by knife-wielding attackers who burst into a church service in western France, forced the priest to his knees and slit his throat. The attack was claimed by ISIS.

He said: "I think that in nearly all religions there is always a small fundamentalist group." He then added: "We have them," referring to Catholicism. The Pope continued: "I don't like to talk about Islamic violence because every day when I look at the papers I see violence here in Italy - someone killing his girlfriend, someone killing his mother-in-law. These are baptised Catholics.

"If I speak of Islamic violence, I have to speak of Catholic violence. Not all Muslims are violent." He said there were various causes of terrorism. "I know it dangerous to say this but terrorism grows when there is no other option and when money is made and it, instead of the person, is put at the centre of the world economy. "That is the first form of terrorism. That is a basic terrorism against all humanity. Let's talk about that."

When he started the trip last week, Francis said the killing of the priest and a string of other attacks were proof the "world is at war" but that it was not caused by religion. He told reporters on the plane that lack of economic opportunities for young people in Europe was also to blame for terrorism. He said: "I ask myself how many young people that we Europeans have left devoid of ideals, who do not have work. Then they turn to drugs and alcohol or enlist in ISIS."

Comment: There are very few religions that do not have a long and horrid history of terrorism and atrocity. All the majors do. Today's world is complicated and it is harder to separate the secular geopolitical agendas - from the religious belief systems - from the persuasive propaganda campaigns that conveniently demonize a particular segment of society as the evil du jour. Campaigns are built on change-agents and deflection of accountability. Muslims are the current sticker-face for fear, justification and societal manipulation. Next year, who knows.

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V

Indigenous broadcaster Stan Grant speaks of 'boiling anger', 'simmering resentment' over detention abuse videos

Christine Kearney
ABC News
Fri, 29 Jul 2016 18:27 UTC

Indigenous broadcaster Stan Grant has delivered an impassioned speech, describing his "pulsating rage" and "simmering resentment" about the way Aboriginal youths have been treated.

Key points:
  • Stan Grant says royal commission should be replaced with a 'full reckoning of our nation's past'
  • Broadcaster calls for a treaty with Indigenous Australians
  • Grant says Australia should look to other nations on how to negotiate a treaty
Delivering a public lecture at the University of New South Wales, Grant said he was moved to speak openly after witnessing last week's Four Corners report on the abuse of children in juvenile detention in the Northern Territory.

In his own words, Grant intended to deliver a more "measured" speech but felt too strongly about the issue.

"I cannot give that speech tonight. That speech may have come from my head, but tonight I have to speak from my heart," he said.

Grant also called for a broader Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as well as a treaty with Indigenous Australians.

The Four Corners report contained graphic footage of prison guards stripping, assaulting and mistreating a teenage boy, who was one of six children tear-gassed at the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in Darwin in 2014.

Grant admitted that critics who said he had given Australia too much credit were correct.
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Cell Phone

Early prediction? Japan comes to standstill after official agency issues false 9.1 earthquake warning


RT
Mon, 01 Aug 2016 17:57 UTC
Japanese smartphone earthquake warning
© Toru Yamanaka / AFP This photo illustration shows people with their smartphones showing an erroneous mega-earthquake alert with a magnitude of 9.1 on the Richter scale, and an intensity of 7 out of 7 on the Japanese scale, for Tokyo Bay on August 1, 2016.
Trains ground to a halt, a mobile network became jammed, and thousands of citizens began to panic as Japan's meteorological agency sent an alarm that a massive earthquake was about to strike the capital Kanto Region, home to more than 40 million people.

The warning was issued at 5:09pm local time on Monday, and quickly relayed to mobile apps that warned millions of Tokyo residents about an earthquake measuring 7 out of 7 on the scale used within the country - equivalent to 9.1 on the Richter scale, and as bad or worse than the Tohoku disaster of 2011.

Bullet trains began to stop services, in accordance with regulations, and NTT Docomo, the country's largest mobile provider, reported that for 15 minutes the network was overloaded and went down.

But then - nothing happened.

"The quake that had been predicted has not taken place. It's an error on our part. We sincerely apologize," said Japan's Meteorological Agency.
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Cult

The Satanic Temple rolling out an after-school program for kids


RT
Mon, 01 Aug 2016 17:08 UTC
school children
© Eric Gaillard / Reuters The Temple are starting the clubs this coming week.
The Satanic Temple (TST) is planning to bring Lucifer to school by rolling out extra-curricular clubs across the US. 'After School Satan' is the Temple's response to a Supreme Court ruling allowing evangelical religious programs to operate in schools.

Currently, nine clubs are listed as participating in the program including Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Washington DC. The clubs will focus on "rationalism, free inquiry... and fun," according to a promotional video.

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Stormtrooper

Cops are prepping for war even though crime is at an all-time low

Claire Bernish
The Free Thought Project
Mon, 01 Aug 2016 17:04 UTC
police militarization
When a country wages military campaigns on a scale not fully disclosed to the public to feed the coffers of war profiteers, it cannot possibly be surprising when that militarism — so infused in the political propaganda masking it as national security — eventually comes home.

Thus in 2016 — as the rule of the longest wartime president in U.S. history, Nobel Peace Prize winner Barack Obama — draws to a close, it must be equally unsurprising the brief and altogether impotent attempt to demilitarize America's police forces might soon be repealed.

However, the State's continued proselytizing on the need for domestic security and citizen safety proffered as the reason for remilitarization only beclouds what, in actuality, has been a steady downward trend in both violent crime and acts of terrorism. As with any governmental propaganda, it's imperative to cut through fictitious, nebulous fearmongering so the public can protest further curtailment of basic rights from a reasoned platform of fact.
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USA

US third-party gaining support

Ben Kamisar
The Hill
Sun, 31 Jul 2016 14:56 UTC
Libertarian Gary Johnson
© REUTERS/Kevin Kolczynski
Voters now confronted with the choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are making something abundantly clear: they want another option.

Surveys over the last six weeks have found a steady but noticeable jump in support for third-party candidates. The biggest beneficiary has been Libertarian Gary Johnson, who has shot up from 4.5 percent to 7.2 percent in RealClearPolitics polling averages. Green Party candidate Jill Stein has also seen an uptick since June — from 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent.

The surge in support for a third-party candidate is adding a new element of unpredictability into the presidential race. Should voters opt for a third-party candidate in large numbers, it could potentially tip the scales in crucial battleground states.

Comment: Only 9% of US citizens choose Trump or Clinton as presidential candidates

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USA

Only 9% of US citizens choose Trump or Clinton as presidential candidates


Sputnik
Mon, 01 Aug 2016 15:12 UTC
Clinton and Trump
© REUTERS/ David Becker/Nancy Wiechec/Files
Only 9 percent of the US population eligible to vote supported Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as presidential candidates, The New York Times reported Monday, having analyzed statistical data.

The November 8 US presidential elections will see the rivalry of the Republican Party's Trump and the Democratic Party's Clinton. The candidates were nominated in July during their parties' respective conventions.

According to The New York Times, a total of 60 million people voted in the primaries, with about 30 million each for Republicans and Democrats. But the paper pointed out that half of the primary voters had chosen other candidates, and only 14 percent of eligible adults, representing 9 percent of the US population, voted for either Trump or Clinton.

According to the official February-June primaries' data, Clinton won the delegates in 28 states, as well as the US territories and the District of Columbia, while Trump took over in 36 states and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Comment: US third-party gaining support

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Heart - Black

Russian customs seize hundreds of bear paws in illegal smuggling operation to China


RT
Sun, 31 Jul 2016 14:11 UTC
bear paws customs Russia
© RT NewsRussian customs seize 500+ bear paws heading to Chinese black market
Customs officers carrying out an anti-smuggling operation in Russia's Far East came across a grisly discovery - 525 bear paws headed for China. Apart from the bear paws, 3,978 mink furs, 2.4 kilograms of jade, and a 4-kilogram fragment of mammoth tusk were among the contraband seized on Monday, RIA Novosti reports.

The total value of the undeclared goods is estimated at around US$620.000. The cargo, which was sealed in big bags with labels written in Chinese, was seized from a boat in Russia's Khabarovsk Region. The owner of the vessel has been charged with two counts of smuggling. The perpetrator confessed that the cargo was to be transported from Khabarovsk to Tongjiang city in the Heilongjiang province of China to be sold on the black market.

Bear paws are considered a delicacy in Chinese restaurants, where they are often added to soups or barbecued. Some dishes containing them can cost up to $1000. According to experts, the paws from the smuggled load belonged to both Brown and Himalayan bears. Himalayan bears are on the critically endangered list, as their population is dramatically decreasing.

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Info

'Asylum seeker' stabs Belgian priest at his home who let him in to shower, but refused to give cash


RT
Mon, 01 Aug 2016 14:21 UTC
Belgian priest Father Jos Vanderlee
© Twitter
A Belgian priest has been attacked by a man who claimed to be an asylum seeker. The perpetrator first asked Father Jos Vanderlee if he could take a shower and then demanded money. When the priest said no, the man stabbed him.

The incident took place in the small town of Lanaken, Limburg province, on the Belgium-Netherlands border on Sunday. The man who presented himself as an asylum seeker knocked on the door of Vanderlee's home, asking for a shower and help.

"He said he was going to ask asylum in the Netherlands," a spokesman for the Limburg prosecutor, Bruno Coppin, later said, as cited by Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper.
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