The Protests May Be Winding Down, But Ferguson's Fight Is Not Over

by Alice Speri

An out-of-towner driving through Ferguson, Missouri on West Florissant Avenue on Friday morning might easily have missed the signs of the protests and clashes that have dominated this stretch of suburbs for the past two weeks.

In fact, the signs are there: most stores are boarded up, with "open" signs sprayed over the wooden panels that used to be glass windows. The burnt down shell of the Quiktrip gas station — which is at once Ferguson's "Ground Zero" and its "Maidan" — is still there, surrounded by a metal fence that was not there a few days ago.

The area got brand new "I heart Ferguson" signs, planted in every courtyard and hanging from every pole, and messages of hope and love are all over town — on colored signs drawn by children, or on the boards covering up the Ferguson Market and Liquor store, the site of looting last week.

‘I’d Like to Join ISIS and Kill with Them’: Children Volunteer for Jihad

VICE has taken another look at the inner workings of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), this time focusing on the effective and disturbing way that the radical Islamists recruit one particular group: children.

“For us, we believe that this generation of children is the generation of the Caliphate,” one ISIS fighter tells the camera. “God willing, this generation will fight infidels and apostates, the Americans and their allies, God willing. The right doctrine has been implanted in these children. All of them love to fight for the sake of building the Islamic State and for the sake of God.”

Image via YouTube

The Islamic State: Battle for Iraq (Vice News Series)

The Islamic State, a hardline Sunni jihadist group that formerly had ties to al Qaeda, has conquered large swathes of Iraq and Syria. Previously known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the group has announced their intention to reestablish the caliphate and declared their leader, the shadowy Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as the caliph.

Flush with cash and US weapons seized during recent advances in Iraq, the Islamic State’s expansion shows no sign of slowing down. In the first week of August alone, Islamic State fighters have taken over new areas in northern Iraq, encroaching on Kurdish territory and sending Christians and other minorities fleeing as reports of massacres emerged.

Elsewhere in territory it has held for some time, the Islamic State has gone about consolidating power and setting up a government dictated by Sharia law. While the world may not recognize the Islamic State, in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the group is already in the process of building a functioning regime.