Tag: Juveniles

Burn Baby Burn

This is one of those stories that few will read or even care….but for me I feel I must set the record straight whether anyone reads or not…..I do not those that peddle bullshit.

Awhile back some fires were raging in Israel and some accused the Pals of setting them…and then AQ was responsible….so far NO one knows for sure who set these fores (according to Times of Israel)…….

I bring up this seemingly uninteresting story because of those fires in Tennessee….while reading some of the more lunatic BS artists sites like Infowars, Breibart or WND I read that there was a group of Muslims or should I say jihadist that could have set this fire…..well an arrest has been made…..

Authorities on Wednesday charged two juveniles in an East Tennessee wildfire that killed 14 people and destroyed or damaged more than 1,700 buildings in an iconic tourism spot at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains, the AP reports. Officials offered few other specifics about how they think the two started a fire that leveled buildings into charred scraps, carving a deadly path through the Gatlinburg area. People scrambled in terror to try to flee on foot or drive out of the inferno that often cloaked them from all sides, shooting hot embers through the winds. Some spent days hoping for good news about their missing loved ones. Many learned they would soon be planning funerals. The juveniles face aggravated arson charges in the fire in the Chimney Tops area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Nov. 23.

That fire grew amid drought conditions and ultimately rode winds exceeding 87mph into the Gatlinburg area early last week. Authorities have not yet announced a dollar amount on the damage caused by the wildfire. The teens are being held in the Sevier County juvenile detention center. “Our promise is that we will do every effort to help bring closure to those who have lost so much,” said Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director Mark Gwyn. The juveniles are from Tennessee, but not Sevier County, where the fires spread. Otherwise, officials said state law prevents releasing more information about them. Great Smoky Mountains National Park Chief Ranger Steve Kloster said the public was “critical” in offering investigators information through a tip line. Previously, the National Park Service said it believed the fire was human caused and set up a tip line for people to call if they hiked that trail on Nov. 23, or knew anyone who did.

I know that few even care but I thought that maybe someone ought to call out the mindless crap spread on Right wing slugs, sites and blogs.

I decided that I would correct their accusation since I am certain that they will not….

Iraq’s Juvenile Prison System

Hundreds of children, some as young as nine, are being held in appalling conditions in Baghdad’s prisons, sleeping in sweltering temperatures in overcrowded cells without working fans, no daily access to showers, and subject to frequent sexual abuse by guards, current and former prisoners say.

Daytime temperatures in Baghdad last week averaged 44C (112F). They barely drop below 38C at night. Water supplies in Karkh are spasmodic, and Omar said he was able to shower only once every three days. Boys sleep in four dormitories, averaging 75 inmates in a cell about 5 metres by 10 metres, on double bunks or the concrete floor.

Guards often take boys to a separate room in the prison and rape them, Omar alleged. They also break prison rules by lending their mobile phones to boys to ring home, on condition that each time their families top the phone up by $10 or $20. The teaching staff resigned en masse in November because of low pay, according to an international official. As a result, the children lounge around aimlessly with no daytime activities, other than an exercise yard.

Though the boys in the prison have been convicted, international standards for fair trials are never met. “Trials last on average for 25 minutes, no witnesses are called, confessions are used as the only evidence, and court-appointed defence lawyers get the case file on the day of the trial, leaving no chance to consult the defendant in private,” an international adviser in Baghdad said on condition of anonymity.

The ministry is under Shia control and its forces have repeatedly been accused of targeting innocent Sunnis. Sahar Muhammad, the boys’ mother, told the Guardian that when she was able to visit her sons they told her they were beaten repeatedly in the first days of custody and ordered to sign a blank sheet of paper on which charges would be written later.

The UN found severe overcrowding at Tobchi, with around 400 inmates in a prison with an official capacity of 206. “In some cells juveniles were taking turns to sleep on the floor without mattresses,” the UN reported. The ministry of labour and social affairs (Molsa), which manages the prison, said shortages of funds prevented improvements.