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ACLU comes out in support of Betsy DeVos' protections for due process on Title IX

Conor Friedersdorf
The Atlantic
Sun, 10 Feb 2019 20:50 UTC
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos
© Mike Theiler / Reuters
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos
After Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos proposed a new rule on the obligations of colleges under Title IX, focusing on the due-process rights owed to students accused of sexual misconduct, members of the public submitted more than 96,000 comments. The ACLU's contribution is of particular interest.

By way of background, Title IX is a law that states, "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." Under President Barack Obama, the Department of Education published a letter setting forth a new interpretation of what colleges had to do to meet their obligations under the statute. Any failure to comply would risk their ability to receive federal funding.
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Stop

Plans for Holocaust memorial in London park opposed by charity responsible for its oversight due to 'significant harmful impacts'


The Guardian
Sat, 09 Feb 2019 19:30 UTC
planned holocaust memorial London
© Adjaye Associates & Ron Arad Architects
An impression of the David Adjaye: Making Memory UK National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre.
Proposals for a Holocaust memorial have been dealt a blow after the charity responsible for looking after the central London park in which it is supposed to be built said it was opposed the move.

The new landmark, which would also feature a learning centre, is planned for Victoria Tower Gardens on Millbank, alongside the River Thames close to the Houses of Parliament.

It will be dedicated to the 6 million Jewish men, women and children and other victims murdered by the Nazis.

A planning application for the memorial is currently being considered by Westminster city council.

But Royal Parks, a charity which looks after Victoria Tower Gardens, said it did not support the planning application "given the impact it will have on a popular public amenity space in an area of the capital with few public parks".

In a letter to Westminster's planning team, Royal Parks described the gardens as a "highly sensitive location in planning and heritage terms".
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Fire

Angry demonstrators torch luxury cars during Yellow Vest protest


RT
Sun, 10 Feb 2019 18:00 UTC
porsche on fire
© AFP / Zakaria Abdelkafi
One of the sports cars trashed during the Yellow Vest protest in Paris on February 9, 2019.
Several luxury sports car owners are counting the cost of Saturday's chaotic Yellow Vest protests in Paris after their pricey vehicles were targeted and torched by angry demonstrators.

Video taken by eyewitnesses at the march show two Porches and a Mercedes were set on fire, and at least one Ferrari was smashed and defaced in the violent demonstrations.

Firefighters were called to extinguish the blaze sparked by hooded protesters who appeared to loot the vehicle before setting it ablaze. Another Porche had its windshield smashed in with a metal baseball bat before it, too, was set on fire.
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Attention

Abuse of force: Body camera video shows man tased 11 times by Glendale, AZ police

Dave Biscobing
ABC News
Sun, 10 Feb 2019 08:36 UTC
Man being tased
On July 27, 2017, Johnny Wheatcroft was a passenger in a silver Ford Taurus when a pair of Glendale police officers pulled in front them in a Motel 6 parking lot.

The stop was for an alleged turn signal violation.

Minutes later, Wheatcroft was handcuffed lying face down on the hot asphalt on a 108-degree day. He'd already been tased 10 times, with one officer kneeling on his back as another, Officer Matt Schneider, kicked him in the groin and pulled down his athletic shorts to tase him a final time in his testicles, according to a federal lawsuit and body camera footage obtained by ABC15.

The scene was witnessed by his 11- and 6-year-old sons.
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NPC

Faculties still digging in their heels: Ontario universities still don't really want free speech on campus

W.R. Laird
Nationa Post
Fri, 08 Feb 2019 09:47 UTC
Free Speech Rally Wilfrid Laurier University

Students rally in support of free speech at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont., on Nov. 24, 2017.Dave Abel/Toronto Sun
In August 2018, the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, under newly elected Premier Doug Ford, required all colleges and universities to devise a policy on the freedom of speech by Jan. 1, 2019. In particular, it required that the policy adhere to the principles of the University of Chicago statement on free speech, notably that "universities and colleges should be places for open discussion and free inquiry," that they "should not attempt to shield students from ideas or opinions that they disagree with or find offensive," that "while members of the university or college are free to criticize and contest views expressed on campus, they may not obstruct or interfere with the freedom of others to express their views," and that "speech that violates the law is not allowed."

Universities and colleges should be places for open discussion and free inquiry
University of Chicago

Comment: Back in 2016 another columnist for the National Post had this to say:

Universities aren't a haven for free speech, but a breeding ground for indoctrination

Will things swing back the other way is yet to be seen on Canadian campuses, and it may take one student and one professor at a time to push back, like this person makes clear:

A former SJW on leaving the SJW cult

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Laptop

Arizona introduces legislation to declare pornography a public health crisis

Morgan Gstalter
The Hill
Sat, 09 Feb 2019 17:34 UTC
Porn
© shutterstock
A Republican state lawmaker in Arizona has introduced a resolution that would declare pornography a public health crisis.

A measure introduced by state Rep. Michelle Udall (R) passed through the Arizona House Committee on Health & Human Services on Thursday, the first hurdle in its path to a full vote, AZ Central reported.

The symbolic measure has no legal effect but states that porn "perpetuates a sexually toxic environment that damages all areas of our society."

"Like the tobacco industry, the pornography industry has created a public health crisis," Udall told lawmakers, according to the outlet. "Pornography is used pervasively, even by minors."

Udall's resolution states that children being exposed to widely available porn on the internet can lead to "low self-esteem, eating disorders and an increase in problematic sexual activity at ever-younger ages."

Comment:

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People 2

Most Germans see relations with US as 'negative' while less than 2% name Russia as threat


RT
Sat, 09 Feb 2019 16:57 UTC
Merkel and Trump
© AFP/ Saul Loeb
The majority of Germans have negative views about the state of relations between Washington and Berlin, and many think China is a more reliable partner, a recent poll has shown. Only a fraction believe Russia is their problem.

As many as 85 percent of respondents in Germany saw US-German relations in a "negative" or even "very negative" light, according to a survey conducted by German polling company Civey and Atlantik-Bruecke (the Atlantic Bridge), an NGO promoting closer ties between the two countries. Just about ten percent of respondents had positive opinions about the relationship.

Worse still, more than 57 percent of Germans believe that Germany should also keep a greater distance from its ally across the pond, while only 13 percent advocate closer ties. More than 42 percent of German citizens also consider China to be a more reliable partner for Germany than the US - almost twice as many as those who said they favor the US.
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Health

Medical tourism to Russia booming as high-quality, low-cost treatment attracts foreigners


RT
Sun, 10 Feb 2019 16:36 UTC
Heart graphic
© Pexels
The number of foreigners coming to Russia for medical treatment is growing exponentially, rising by 40 percent last year, according to Medsi, one of the biggest networks of private clinics in Russia.

"We have noticed a growing interest in Russian medicine from people living in CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries and outside it," Alla Kanunnikova, marketing and commercial activities director at the clinic told Vedomosti newspaper. She added that Medsi centers handle nearly eight million medical cases a year - only five percent of which involve foreigners, but their numbers are on the rise.

Most patients come from China, and are mostly interested in in vitro fertilization (IVF) and orthopedics, according to a top manager of a Moscow medical center. Apart from the Chinese, people from Germany, Bulgaria and other countries are also seeking healthcare in Russia.

The number of foreign clients has made clinics open new departments and hire additional staff, including interpreters, according to Vedomosti.
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People 2

Mother, 38, is arrested in front of her children and locked in a cell for seven hours after misgendering a person on Twitter

Martin Beckford
Daily Mail
Sun, 10 Feb 2019 03:05 UTC
Woman
A mother was arrested in front of her children and locked up for seven hours after referring to a transgender woman as a man online.

Three officers detained Kate Scottow at her home before quizzing her at a police station about an argument with an activist on Twitter over so-called 'deadnaming'.

The 38-year-old, from Hitchin, Hertfordshire, had her photograph, DNA and fingerprints taken and remains under investigation.

More than two months after her arrest on December 1, she has had neither her mobile phone or laptop returned, which she says is hampering her studies for a Masters in forensic psychology.

Writing on online forum Mumsnet, Mrs Scottow - who has also been served with a court order that bans her from referring to her accuser as a man - claimed: 'I was arrested in my home by three officers, with my autistic ten-year-old daughter and breastfed 20-month-old son present.
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Roses

'Neither dead nor alive': Former Guantánamo Bay inmate recalls horrors of infamous prison and CIA black sites


RT
Fri, 08 Feb 2019 21:58 UTC
Guantanamo detainee
© Reuters / Lucas Jackson
FILE PHOTO: Guantanamo detainee paces around a cell block in Camp VI
Being detained in the Guantánamo Bay camp was like hovering between life and death but the CIA-run 'black sites' were even worse, a man who spent 15 years - without charge - in the infamous facility has told RT's Going Underground.

Mansoor Adayfi, from Yemen, who was confined in the US's most notorious detention camp between 2002 and 2016, is still tormented by the traumatic experience he had there. Detained because of alleged ties he had to Al-Qaeda, he was eventually released without charge.


Comment: The atrocious horrors committed by the US government at Guantánamo Bay is yet another stain on the soul the "Exceptional Nation"

See also:

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