Society's Child
Let's start with some examples in politics.
© Carl de Souza
The headline reads "BBC hires out studio to Kremlin channel." At first, I thought it might be the beginning of a fun weekly feature looking at who the BBC is hiring out its facilities to. The reason I thought that is because it's absolutely standard practice for the BBC to hire out studios to broadcasters from around the world.
As the BBC itself says: "Like other international broadcasters, we hire our studios to other media outlets, at a standard rate, if we have spare capacity; the revenue generated goes back into the BBC public service budget."
It's clear this story is a wet dream for a Times journalist on a slow-news day. RT and the BBC together, who could resist? Forget that the actual facts of the story are mundane, it has all the keywords that are presumably needed to successfully pitch a story at the Murdoch paper.
But in their hurry to spare Grid Girls the indignity of the male gaze, nobody making this argument seems to have stopped to wonder whether Grid Girls might have an interest in defending what they do. Instead, a collective of ostensibly progressive voices leapt to their defence without bothering to ask the girls themselves if they needed defending at all. In response, Formula One abandoned its Grid Girls so that it can be seen to be moving with the times and hip to contemporary mores. In doing so, Formula One's executives have implicitly conceded that they have spent too long objectifying women instead of empowering them. They would like it to be known that they'd rather see women driving the cars, or as members of the engineering teams, or just about anywhere other than track-side holding a driver's name-board and looking beautiful.
© Ramil Sitdikov / Sputnik
On Friday morning, the Ad Hoc division of the CAS dismissed two appeals filed by the Russian athletes and coaches, stating that invitation to the Olympic Games lies exclusively within the competence of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) - the organizer of the event.
Russian State Duma deputies are expected to prepare an official statement regarding the CAS decision to uphold an Olympic ban against the 47 Russian team members who appealed their ban from PyeongChang, TASS reports.
Spirit Airlines employee told student to flush emotional support hamster down the toilet, so she did
© Reuters
Belen Aldecosea said she flushed her emotional support hamster down the toilet after Spirit Airlines refused her furry pet on the flight.
Belen Aldecosea said she flushed her emotional support hamster down the toilet after Spirit Airlines refused her furry pet on the flight.
Belen Aldecosea, 21, of Miami Beach, Florida, told the Miami Herald that she contacted Spirit Airlines before her flight from Baltimore to South Florida on Nov. 21, 2017, regarding traveling with her dwarf hamster, Pebbles. Aldecosea claimed the airline told her it was not a problem to bring her hamster on the flight.
However, when the student arrived at the airport she said the airline refused to let Pebbles on the plane. Aldecosea said she did not have many options since her family was in Florida and her friends were hours away. The student claimed a Spirit employee suggested she either flush Pebbles down the toilet or let the animal free.
Comment: It's hard to fathom why Alsecosea decided flushing her beloved pet down the toilet was her only option. Setting the rodent free would have been much more humane, even if its chances of survival were slim. At least it would have a fighting chance!
More wacky airplane hijinks:
- Airline calls the shots: 'Humiliated' Instagram star removed from AA flight (VIDEOS)
- Naked passenger wreaks havoc on Alaska Airlines
- More hysteria: Man to sue airline over ban for touching flight attendant
- Accused child molester busted after alert airline passenger catches him sending text messages about molesting children
- Man gets 9-year jail sentence after smoking on airplane resulted in toilet bin fire
- Airplane fascism: Delta kicks passenger off flight for using bathroom
- Unhinged woman goes off on Trump supporter on airplane, cabin cheers at her departure
© Getty Images/Westend61
USA, police car
USA, police car
"They said 'we're ramming him,'" Sheriff Oddie Shoupe of White County said on tape in the aftermath of the killing of suspect Michael Dial. "I said, 'Don't ram him, shoot him.' F--- that shit. Ain't gonna tear up my cars."
Shoupe arrived on the scene shortly after police had shot Dial at the conclusion of a low-speed chase, clearly upset he had missed the excitement.
"I love this s--t," Shoupe said, apparently unaware that his comments were being picked up by another deputy's body-worn camera. "God, I tell you what, I thrive on it.
"If they don't think I'll give the damn order to kill that motherf---er they're full of s--t," he added, laughing. "Take him out. I'm here on the damn wrong end of the county," he said.
Comment: How telling. Psychopaths also thrive on excitement involving violence. Yet another criminal holding a badge!
© andykazie/Getty Images
St George’s, Bermuda: the British territory’s governor said the new law reflected opposition to same-sex marriage among voters.
St George’s, Bermuda: the British territory’s governor said the new law reflected opposition to same-sex marriage among voters.
British island territory swaps marriage for domestic partnerships for LGBT couples in move criticised as attack on equal rights
Bermuda has become the first jurisdiction to legalise and then repeal same-sex marriage, in what critics have called an unprecedented rollback of civil rights by the British territory.
Bermuda's governor has signed into law a bill reversing the right of gay couples to marry, despite a supreme court ruling last year authorising same-sex marriage.
Walton Brown, Bermuda's minister of home affairs, said the legislation signed by Governor John Rankin would balance opposition to same-sex marriage on the socially conservative island while complying with European court rulings that ensure recognition and protection for same-sex couples in the territory.
Bermuda's Senate and House of Assembly passed the legislation by wide margins in December and a majority of voters opposed same-sex marriage in a referendum.
Comment: The global media will surely make a big deal out of this, but lets put things in the right perspective: There have been around half a dozen same-sex marriages in Bermuda since May 2017, and gay couples still have the option of registering domestic partnerships.
© Win McNamee / Reuters
Some 803 complaints were made in the last fiscal year compared with 787 the previous year. Only 144 were considered credible and subsequently investigated by the Inspector General. In total, 49 senior officials were eventually found guilty of misconduct.
The number of cases "involving substantiated senior official misconduct involved approximately two percent of the DoD senior official population," according to the latest report. The data was released Wednesday during a House Armed Services personnel subcommittee hearing.
Comment: #MeToo is coming to the US military, CNN warns:
While the issue of sexual assault in the military has been widely reported for years, the recent spate of allegations against individuals and momentum of the #MeToo movement has prompted a renewed effort for transparency within the armed services.Perhaps a co-ed war machine wasn't the best idea.
© Nanking2012 / Wikipedia
General view of Arak IR-40 Heavy Water Reactor, Iran
General view of Arak IR-40 Heavy Water Reactor, Iran
The US and European Union must make the 2015 nuclear deal work before asking Tehran to negotiate other issues, such as its ballistic missile program and its influence in the wider Middle East region, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister and chief nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi has said.
"Now they ask Iran to enter discussions on other issues. Our answer is clear: make the [deal] a successful experience and then we discuss other issues," Araghchi told the Euromoney Iran Conference in Paris on Thursday.
Comment: Giving with one hand only to take with the other...
See also: 'Insufficient' evidence: IOC overturns 28 Russian athletes' ban from Olympics in groundbreaking ruling