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Bad Guys

After child rape cases acquitted, French Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet considers lowering age of consent to 13


AP
Tue, 14 Nov 2017 12:00 UTC
French Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet considers lowering age of consent to 13 after child rape cases acquitted
© AP Photo/Christophe EnaA activist holds a banner reading: "For him impunity, for her a life sentence" during a protest in Paris, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017. Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet provoked consternation and dismay among feminist groups by saying a legal minimum age of 13 for sexual consent "is worth considering."
Is a 13-year-old old enough to agree to sex with an adult? That's a question France is asking as the government prepares to set a legal age for sexual consent for the first time.

Twice in recent weeks, French courts have refused to prosecute men for rape after they had sex with 11-year-old girls because authorities couldn't prove coercion. Amid the public disbelief over the situation, the French government is drafting a bill to say that sex with children under a certain age is by definition coercive.


Comment: Previously:


Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet provoked consternation among feminist groups Monday by saying a legal minimum age of 13 for sexual consent "is worth considering."


Comment: Which effectively lowers the age of consent from 15 (in France) to 13.


Comment: There are some strangely rapid changes occurring to the most basic understandings in society today that one wonders how and why they're coming about now:

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V

'Weinstein Effect' goes global as powerful men are confronted for sexual misconduct


Las Vegas Sun
Tue, 14 Nov 2017 10:32 UTC
Harvey Weinstein
© Jordan Strauss / Invision / AP
The sexual harassment and assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein that rocked Hollywood and sparked a flurry of allegations in other American industries, as well as the political arena, are reaching far beyond U.S. borders. Emboldened by the women, and men, who have spoken up, the "Weinstein Effect" is rippling across the globe.

Nearly half of the "#metoo" mentions since the movement has been launched have come from outside the U.S., and decades-old accusations have led to the downfall of some of those countries' most powerful men. Here's a look at where the fallout - and the falls - have reverberated most strongly, from the United Kingdom and Israel to India and Peru.

Comment: While we welcome the fact that sexual predators are being brought to justice, we also hope that people around the world keep their heads cool enough to distinguish between the guilty and the innocent. Accusations of sexual harassment are easy to make - even without evidence or testimony - but hard to take back.

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Eiffel Tower

Emmanuel Macron faces first revolt as 100 party members resign over 'arrogant, undemocratic' ways

Henry Samuel
The Telegraph
Wed, 15 Nov 2017 10:12 UTC
Dječak Macron potrošio je za tri mjeseca 26.000 eura za šminku
© VADIM GHIRDA/ AP
Emmanuel Macron is facing his first internal revolt since his lightning rise to the French presidency after 100 members of his centrist movement announced they were stepping down due to its "arrogant" and "undemocratic" methods.

Mr Macron, 39, swept to victory in May in part thanks to the help of an army of grassroots supporters, many with no prior political experience and who were promised they would all have a say in the way his newly-created movement would be run.

But sixth months into the presidency, 100 members of his centrist Republic on the Move (LREM) party - from students to elected officials - say they are throwing in the towel, claiming the party as an "affront to the fundamental principles of democracy with an organisational style worthy of the Ancien Régime".

Comment: True, 100 out of a party of 380,000 is nothing - but some of them were elected officials. More significant, perhaps, is the fact that LREM was a ready-made party created for the sole purpose of electing Macron as president, so the loyalty of its members is not related to ideological principles, but to their sympathies to Macron. If he is perceived as "arrogant and undemocratic", he may be losing more party members in the near future.

Further reading on Macron's 'methods':

The world according to Emmanuel Macron: The days of popular sovereignty are over

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Cowboy Hat

Hysterical Nikki Haley calls Venezuela a "violent narco-state" that threatens the globe

Edith M. Lederer
ABC News
Mon, 13 Nov 2017 09:51 UTC
Nikki Haley OAS secertary Luis Almargo
© AP Photo/Bebeto MatthewsUnited Nations U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, right, listens as Organization of American States Secretary General Luis Almargo speaks during a U.N. meeting on human rights concerns in Venezuela, Monday Nov. 13, 2017 at U.N. headquarters. Look at her worried face - it must be serious!
U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley called Venezuela "an increasingly violent narco-state" that threatens the world, speaking Monday at an informal Security Council meeting on the South American nation that was boycotted by Russia, China, Egypt and Bolivia.

She accused Venezuela of using pressure to keep council members from attending, saying the fact that its government would go so far "is guilt - and that's unfortunate."

Venezuela's U.N. ambassador, Rafael Ramirez, denounced the session, telling reporters: "This is a hostile act from the United States and an interference that violates the sovereignty principles of a country that is a member of the United Nations."

The situation in Venezuela is not on the Security Council's official agenda - a point stressed by Ramirez and Bolivia's U.N. ambassador - but Haley said she will continue "to use the convening power of the United Nations to draw attention to this crisis."
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Moon

Leaked Saudi memorandum reveals plan to give up support for Palestine - in return for war on Iran

b
Moon of Alabama
Tue, 14 Nov 2017 17:42 UTC
Saudi plans
The tyrants of Saudi Arabia developed a plan that sells away Palestine. They see this as necessary to get U.S. support for their fanatic campaign against their perceived enemy Iran.

An internal Saudi memorandum, leaked to the Lebanese paper Al-Akhbar, reveals its major elements. (Note: The genuineness of the memo has not been confirmed. In theory it could be a "plant" by some other party. But Al-Akhbar has so far an excellent record of publishing genuine leaks and I trust its editors' judgement.)

According to the memo the Saudis are ready to give up on the Palestinian right of return. They forfeit Palestinian sovereignty over Jerusalem and no longer insist of the status of a full state for the Palestinians. In return they ask for a U.S.-Saudi-Israeli (military) alliance against their perceived enemy on the eastern side of the Persian Gulf.

Negotiations on the issue were held between the Saudis and the Zionist under the aegis of the United States. Netanyahu and Trump's "shared personal assistant, wunderkind Jared Kushner", is the point men in these negotiations. He made at least three trips to Saudi Arabia this year, the last one very recently.

Comment: The intensifying confluence of Saudi Arabia, Israel and the US's interests in destroying Iran - and trying to work out the way in which to do so - is certainly already one for the history books. Stay tuned as we keep you abreast of the fast-moving developments...

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Arrow Up

Iran abolishes death penalty for minor drug-related crimes

Frud Bezhan
RFE/RL
Tue, 14 Nov 2017 21:11 UTC
man with handcuffs
© Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
Iran has some of the toughest antidrug laws in the world, with authorities handing out the death sentence to offenders trafficking or possessing as little as 30 grams of hard drugs like heroin or cocaine.

So it was a major turnaround when the parliament and the Guardians Council, the powerful clerical body that must approve all proposed legislation, abolished the death penalty for some drug-related crimes.

The amendments to the law, which came into effect on November 14, increase the threshold for the use of the death penalty. Capital punishment is reserved for those charged with trafficking 2 kilograms of hard drugs or more than 50 kilograms of cannabis or opium. The death sentence still applies for repeat offenders and lethal drug-related offences.

Comment: Iran's 'hardliner' approach to drugs is in no small part due to US covert drug ops in the region. It's easy to sit from afar and criticize, much like we've seen in the West's position toward The Philippines. Yet, there is an historical precedent for the West's role in all of this that deserves mention.

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Star of David

Israel's vampiric money machine drains U.S. taxpayers

Philip Giraldi
The Unz Review
Tue, 14 Nov 2017 02:24 UTC
Friends of the Israel Defense Forces
© Tiffany Rose/WireImageFriends of the Israel Defense Forces gala, where celebrities raise money to support the illegal occupation of Palestine and the brutalization of its citizens
Jewish oligarchs fund crimes against humanity

The stars came out in Hollywood on November 2nd, or at least some of them did. The gala event celebrated the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and raised funds to support its mission in Israel itself and on the occupied West Bank. The organization being fêted was the (FIDF), which has fourteen regional offices in the United States and operates under the slogan "Their job is to look after Israel. Our job is to look after them." In attendance were Arnold Schwarzenegger and actor Gerald Butler. Entertainment was provided by the singer Seal.

Hollywood Jewish royalty was thick on the ground, the grub was strictly kosher and billionaires competed to see who could give the most to such a worthy cause. The 1,200 attendees at the Beverly Hilton Hotel donated a record $53.8 million, with Oracle founder Larry Ellison leading the pack with a contribution of $16.6 million. Israeli media mogul Haim Saban, Hillary Clinton's most generous supporter, served as host of the event and donated $5 million. Two weeks ago, a similar gathering of 1,200 in New York City dubbed "A Night of Heroes," attended by GOP major donor casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, raised $35 million, $7 million coming from Adelson personally. FIDF reportedly was sitting on $190 million in contributions for the year before the Hollywood and New York events.
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Bullseye

Zakharova: UK Prime Minister's attempts to portray Russia as the main threat to the global community are "irresponsible and groundless"


TASS
Wed, 15 Nov 2017 01:19 UTC
Maria Zakharova
© Valery Sharifulin/TASSThe Russian Foreign Ministry’s official spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova
UK Prime Minister Theresa May's attempts to portray Russia as the main threat to the global community are "irresponsible and groundless," the Russian Foreign Ministry's official spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said on Tuesday.

"We have taken note of the statement concerning Russia made on 13 November by the British Prime Minister Theresa May at the Lord Mayor's Banquet 2017. This time our country is ranked first among "threats to the international community", not just equal to others as before. Thus, the United Kingdom is making an attempt to claim global leadership in deterrence of Russia, in order to protect the existing world order, as PM Theresa May put it," Zakharova said in a statement published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's official website.
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Megaphone

Fmr diplomat: NATO's new command structure is as dangerous as it is deluded and is incapable of operations against any but the defenseless


Sputnik
Tue, 14 Nov 2017 21:25 UTC
soldier nato flag
© REUTERS/ Ints Kalnins
The new military command structure recently unveiled by NATO will needlessly generate war tensions across Europe, retired Canadian diplomat Patrick Armstrong told Sputnik.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced last week that alliance leaders had agreed on a new command structure that would allow them to move military forces around Europe more quickly and easily.

"NATO is dangerous in the way that the stupid and deluded can be," former Canadian diplomat Patrick Armstrong told Sputnik. "NATO is incompetent, incapable of operations against any but the defenseless and slow and ultimately unsuccessful even at that."

The new command structure alarmed Russia and was provoking the very military buildup it was supposed to prevent, reflecting the irrelevance and absurdity of the alliance policy-making, Armstrong said.
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Gold Seal

The foundations of Western liberal democracy cracking with demonization of RT and Sputnik

John Wight
Sputnik
Tue, 14 Nov 2017 21:13 UTC
sputnik offices
© Sputnik/ Igor Russak
"We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not fearful men, not descended from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes which were for the moment unpopular."
The great American broadcast journalist, Edward Murrow, spoke these words in the 1950s, protesting against the witch-hunt of communists, alleged communists, or of anyone thought to evince anything resembling sympathy or support for ideas associated with communism, by Senator Joseph McCarthy and his House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).

McCarthy and his team of witch hunters were able to sow fear, paranoia, and a rigid adherence not to democracy or free speech, but to intolerance of dissent and the questioning of the received truths that sustained America's engagement with the rest of the world.

In 2017 we are witnessing the rebirth of McCarthyism across the West in response to Russia's recovery from the demise of the Soviet Union and the attempt to turn the country into a wholly owned subsidiary of Washington via the imposition of free market economic shock treatment thereafter. In the process critical thinking and reason has been sacrificed on the altar of Pavlovian conditioning and unreason, resulting in the embrace of hysterical Russophobic nostrums by a liberal political and media class for whom Russia can only ever exist as a vanquished foe or one that needs to be vanquished.
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