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UK ruling shows all pretence is over in persecution of Julian Assange

Craig Murray
Craig Murry Blog
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 14:16 UTC
Julian Assange
© Peter Nicholls / Reuters
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, Britain, May 19, 2017
The "judge" who dismissed Assange's case yesterday was "Lady Arbuthnot of Edrom", wife to Tory peer, former Tory junior Defence Minister and government whip Lord James Arbuthnot. Not to mention Chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel. Arbuthnot was naturally Eton educated, the son of Major Sir John Sinclair Wemyss Arbuthnot. Of course Lady Arbuthnot's children were all sent to Eton too.

At the first hearing, I was stunned by reports of completely inappropriate comments by Lady Arbuthnot, including responding to representations about Assange's health by the comment that medical care is available in Wandsworth prison. As the official charade is that Assange is wanted for nothing but jumping bail, for which a custodial sentence is rare, that callous attempt at gallows humour was redolent of Arbuthnot's Tory mindset. She also remarked - and repeats it in yesterday's judgement - that Assange has access to fresh air through the Embassy's balcony. That is simply untrue. The "balcony" floor is 3 feet by 20 inches and gives no opportunity to exercise. Julian does not have access to it. He is confined to a small area within the Embassy, which still has to function. The balcony is off the Ambassador's office. He has been given access to it on average about twice a year. But "Lady" Arbuthnot showed a very selective attitude to getting at the truth.

Comment: More on Mrs. Arbuthnot's questionable activities.

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2 + 2 = 4

New gun policies won't stop mass shootings but maybe personal responsibility will

David French
National Review
Fri, 16 Feb 2018 12:39 UTC
It is the responsibility of a free people to be aware, to have courage, and to care for one another.
Stoneman Douglas High School
© WSVN.com/via Reuters
fullscreen Students are evacuated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., February 14, 2018.
The United States is facing a puzzling paradox. Even as gun crime has plunged precipitously from the terrible highs of the early 1990s, mass shootings have increased. Consider this: 15 of the 20 worst mass shootings in U.S. history have occurred since the Columbine school shooting in 1999. The five worst have all occurred since 2007, and three of those five were in 2016 and 2017.

It's horrifying, and governmental solutions are hard to find. Twitter's fondest wishes to the contrary, the unique characteristics of mass shootings mean that they often escape the reach of public policy. The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler (hardly an NRA apologist) famously fact-checked Marco Rubio's assertion that new gun laws wouldn't have prevented any recent mass shootings and declared it true. Time and again, existing laws failed, or no proposed new gun-control law would have prevented the purchase.

Comment: It's quite possible that our culture of victimhood is partly responsible for some of the nihlistic feelings that lead to people wanting to cause harm to others.

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Pistol

Radicalized policewoman arrested in Paris 'no-go zone' after stealing firearms

Chris Tomlinson
Breitbart
Fri, 16 Feb 2018 12:11 UTC
firearm gun
A 20-year-old policewoman, who has been described as "radicalised" by colleagues, has been arrested in the heavily migrant-populated Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis after being accused of stealing firearms.

The 20-year-old woman was arrested late last week for allegedly stealing two Sig Sauer 9mm calibre pistols. Three other suspects have also been arrested in connection with the case including a member of the French military, Le Parisien reports.

Colleagues of the 20-year-old officer described her as having an unpleasant personality and said they suspected she might hold radical Islamic extremist sympathies.
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Info

Women & human rights coalition tackle female genital mutilation in Egypt

Rahma Diaa
Al Monitor
Fri, 16 Feb 2018 12:11 UTC
Egyptian flag
Women and human rights organizations in Egypt marked the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Feb. 6 by announcing an "Anti-FGM Action Plan" to create new policies and mechanisms to reduce these practices against women and young girls in Egypt.

According to the most recent gender-based violence survey conducted by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics in 2015, 9 out of 10 women in Egypt have undergone FGM. In 2014, that figure was about 92% of married women aged between 15 and 49, with 78.4% of the operations performed by doctors and nurses.

Representatives of 146 organizations were present at the press conference, including the Tadwein Gender Research Center, the New Woman Foundation, the Centre for Egyptian Women Legal Assistance, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, the Women's Center for Legal Guidance and Awareness, Salemah for Women's Empowerment, the Cairo Center for Development, the Egyptian Coalition on the Rights of the Child and the Union of Associations to Combat Harmful Practices against Women and Children.

Comment: The Arab Weekly reports more on this disturbing situation:
There is a wrong perception that a girl whose genitals are mutilated is more chaste than another who has not come under the knife," said Azza Ashmawi, the secretary-general of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, the national agency that defends the rights of children. "This is totally wrong and must change."

National figures show how widespread FGM is. An estimated 92% of females aged 15-47 have been circumcised, a 2017 census indicated. The survey also found that in the 15-17 age range, 61% of girls had suffered FGM.


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Magnify

FBI admits it investigated YouTube Florida school shooting threat, but failed to identify author

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Fri, 16 Feb 2018 11:45 UTC
Nikolas Cruz threat YouTube Florida shooting
In the latest humiliation for the scandal-plagued FBI - one which this time had deadly results - the FBI agent in charge of the Florida shooting probe admitted that the Bureau had investigated a school shooting threat made on YouTube last year but could not identify person behind it even though Nikolas Cruz used his real name to sign the threat. Perhaps it was too busy unmasking member of the Trump administration?

And so, nearly half a year later and long after one of America's most deadly school shootings, the FBI said on Thursday that it was finally investigating whether or not a disturbing YouTube comment reported to them in September was posted by the suspect in Wednesday's deadly Florida school shooting rampage.

A Mississippi man told CBS that he warned the FBI last September about a social media comment allegedly posted by Florida school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz. Ben Bennight says he saw a comment on a YouTube video that troubled him and notified the FBI, Pegues reports. The comment on Bennight's YouTube video said, "I'm going to be a professional school shooter," Bennight said.

Comment: Context: RT reports that a Nikolas Cruz left a similar message (now deleted) under a YouTube documentary about the 1966 Texas University massacre.

In both cases, he signed as Nikolas Cruz. Yet the FBI couldn't find him?

From Twitchy:
NOT GOOD: FBI explains why it didn't do anything on the Nikolas Cruz tip in 2017

Officials and law enforcement are briefing the press in Parkland, Fla. right now and FBI Special Agent in Charge, Robert Lask, just explained that they couldn't identify Nikolas Cruz as the person who wrote in the comments on a YouTube video, "I want to be a professional school shooter":


From Lasky: ""The FBI conducted database reviews [and] checks, but was unable to further identify the person who actually made the comment."


And we're still waiting to hear more from YouTube:


Related:




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2 + 2 = 4

10 students show up to UCLA hosted campus talk on 'toxic masculinity.'

Mark McGreal
The College Fix
Fri, 16 Feb 2018 11:23 UTC
empty theater seats
Some 42,000 students attend UCLA, and whether many of them think "toxic masculinity" is a pressing concern is unclear, if the attendance at a recent campus forum on the subject is any indication.

When the UCLA Intergroup Relations Program recently hosted an event to allow the campus community to discuss "toxic masculinity," 10 students showed up.
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Newspaper

Trans man risks adopted baby's health and life by attempting to breast-feed

Jonathon Van Maren
The Bridgehead
Fri, 16 Feb 2018 11:03 UTC
trans man and baby
I've been saying this over and over again, but it seems like every day new evidence surfaces: The trans movement pretends to have the best interests of young people at heart, but the sad reality is that their movement is doing incalculable damage to thousands of kids. Beyond the psychological confusion, the mastectomies, the castrations, the hormone therapy, the halting or delaying of puberty, and the growing (although ignored) trend of "reverse transitions," there is also the simple fact that the trans movement is fundamentally claiming that they can transform reality. Thus you have a sudden and bizarre uptick in "pregnant men," which, as the kids like to say, isn't a thing.

But this recent story from the Daily Wire may just take the cake, revealing how dangerous and irresponsible trans activists can be-as well as showing that the progressive cheerleaders are perfectly willing to sacrifice the safety of children in pursuit of this new ideology:
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Jet3

2 pilots dead as Turkish military training plane crashes in Izmir province


RT
Fri, 16 Feb 2018 10:30 UTC
Turkish military training plane
© Aldo Bidini / Wikipedia
Turkish military training plane crashes during a training flight
A military plane has crashed in Izmir province, western Turkey, during a training flight, the Turkish Armed Forces said in a statement. Both pilots were killed in the accident.

The SF-260D training plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Cigli Airbase at around 11am local time Friday, statement says, as cited by Hurriet. Fire brigades, ambulances, as well as search and rescue teams were immediately sent to the crash scene.

Debris from the aircraft was reportedly found some 3km north of the military facility. The cause of the fatal crash is currently being investigated.
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Fire

Russian warship catches fire in Far East port, crew members safely evacuated


RT
Fri, 16 Feb 2018 09:44 UTC
Russian Navy destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov
© Vitaliy Ankov / Sputnik
Russian Navy destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov in Vladivostok
A Russian Navy destroyer has caught fire in the port of the Russian Far Eastern city of Vladivostok. Images of the vessel shared on social media show clouds of smoke spewing from the ship's deck structures.

The Marshal Shaposhnikov, a destroyer from the Russian Pacific Fleet, caught fire on Friday morning while anchored in Vladivostok. Eleven fire trucks and 48 personnel were dispatched to the port to fight the blaze. All 106 crew members on board were safely evacuated.


Despite the impressive amount of smoke billowing from the ship, a local shipyard representative said the fire didn't cause any significant damage, according to RIA.

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Pistol

Southern Russia: Gang leader eliminated, 1 officer killed in anti-terrorist operation


RT
Thu, 15 Feb 2018 00:00 UTC
Russia Dagestan couter terrorism operation
© Sputnik
A local gang leader has been neutralized after exchanging gunfire with security forces during a counter-terrorist operation the Russian Republic of Dagestan. A dramatic standoff left one special operative dead and several injured.

A gun battle unfolded in the North Caucasus region Thursday afternoon, when law enforcement officers cornered an armed militant in the "mountain-wooded area" near the village of Harachi, the National Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAK) confirmed.

Although the militants were given a chance to lay down their arms and surrender, they began shooting at security forces squad and were gunned down. As a result, one special forces officer was killed, and several others were injured. No civilian casualties have been reported.

The officers found a grenade, a rifle and ammunition at the site.
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