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French Arab journalist gets death threats for saying Islam is not above criticism, humor or the law


RT
Tue, 25 Dec 2018 17:28 UTC
Zineb El Rhazoui
© Reuters / Vidar Ruud / NTB Scanpix
FILE PHOTO: Zineb El Rhazoui, former Charlie Hebdo columnist
Zineb el Rhazoui, a French journalist who used to work for Charlie Hebdo, is dealing with an avalanche of online abuse from Muslims, for saying that Islam should submit to French law. She says she has no intention of backing down.

"Islam must submit to criticism, submit to humor, submit to the laws of the Republic, submit to French law," el Rhazoui said in a recent interview. For that, she's been called a whore and threatened with violence, murder and rape.

The abuse got so bad that her current publisher, Ring, has addressed a complaint to Twitter, attaching screenshot of a few choice messages: "I want to beat you up" and "I want to see you burn in hell" being the more innocuous ones.
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Bell

US lawmakers voice howls of alarm after noticing 45+ year relationship between China's Xinhua and Associated Press


RT
Wed, 26 Dec 2018 16:40 UTC
Xinhua AP relationship
© Global Look Press / travelif; Getty Images / Mario Tama
A bipartisan group of US representatives has demanded answers from the news agency AP after it signed a memorandum with its Chinese counterpart Xinhua. RT looks at how a formality caused quite a stir.

The 14 legislators wrote a letter to question AP's wisdom about doing business with Xinhua, stating that unlike AP's "independent journalism, Xinhua's core mission is to shape public opinion in ways sympathetic" to Beijing, according to a Washington Post report.

However, the answer may be more simplistic. AP explained: "The recent memo of understanding updates a relationship that has been consistently the same since 1972 and opens the possibility for future commercial interactions, similar to agreements AP has with other state news agencies around the world."

Comment: According to their letter, lawmakers 'recognize that a free and independent press is indispensable to our democratic society'. Of course.....as long as that 'free and democratic press' is suitably reined in:

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Attention

Mine bursts into flames killing 9 in Solikamsk, Russia


RFE/RL
Sun, 23 Dec 2018 23:51 UTC
Mine Russia

Russia's Perm Krai and the city of Solikamsk are mourning the loss of nine workers killed in a mine fire.
Russia's Perm Krai and the city of Solikamsk are mourning the loss of nine construction workers who died after a potash mine owned by the Uralkali company burst into flames, trapping the men some 360 meters underground.

Perm Governor Maxim Reshetnikov declared a day of mourning for December 24, stipulating that national flags be flown at half-staff and advising cultural organizations and broadcasters to cancel entertainment events and comedy shows, Interfax reported on December 23.

The blaze broke out on December 22 at a depth of 340 meters at the mine in Solikamsk, some 215 kilometers from the major city of Perm, near the Urals.

Officials with Uralkali said the trapped workers were employees of a subcontractor doing maintenance work at the potash mine. Potash is a common ingredient in fertilizer.

Comment: This happened a day after a methane explosion in a Czech mine killed 13 people. Also notable is this from 2015: Massive sinkhole widens even further in Solikamsk, Russia

And here are just a few other similar incidents reported over the years, from around the globe: Obviously mining is an inherently dangerous job, but is there something else going on? Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Earth changes in an electric universe: Is climate change really man-made?

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Light Saber

NYPD cop honored for single-handedly fending off hostile vagrants in subway station

Bruce Golding
New York Post
Wed, 26 Dec 2018 20:50 UTC
NYPD cop battles hostile vagrants
© Twitter / NYPDMOS
An NYPD cop was honored Tuesday for single-handedly battling a group of hostile homeless men in a Manhattan subway station.

Officer Syed Ali got a Christmas Day visit from Councilman Chaim Deutsch (D-Brooklyn) at the NYPD Transit Task Force headquarters in Brooklyn.

Deutsch - who was photographed next to Ali, who held a commemorative plaque - hailed the cop's "quick action to defend civilians and himself against five individuals attacking on a subway platform."

"Officer Ali showed restraint & discipline in how he de-escalated the situation," Deutsch wrote on Twitter.

Mayor Bill de Blasio also tweeted praise for Ali's "extraordinary professionalism and bravery."

Comment: RT adds that the officer requested that the power be cut on the tracks to protect the life of his attacker before helping the man out. A backup unit took five men into custody then released them for medical evaluations. The gang was identified and later booked for breaches of city transit rules but the DA declined to pursue charges. The name of the NYPD hero has not been released.

The NYPD Muslim Officers Society posted a video:



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Briefcase

German publication to file criminal case against fake news journalist, hastened decay of trust in MSM


Sputnik
Mon, 24 Dec 2018 15:41 UTC
Der Spiegel mag
© AFP/Odd Andersen
Der Spiegel is set to file a criminal complaint against Claas Relotius, a former journalist of the newspaper, who admitted to falsifying reports and disseminating fake news. Alan Bailey, a UK-based political commentator, spoke to Sputnik about the reputational damage the case has caused for one of Germany's leading media outlets.

Sputnik: In your view, why was one of the biggest German media outlets not checking what its journalists were putting out?

Alan Bailey: It's a combination of two aspects. Are the articles the journalist produces popular? Do they attract readers? If they do (as appears to be the case with Relotius) then why mess with a successful formula? And secondly, are the journalist's articles backing up the narrative the publication wishes to push? Again, yes, in this case. Anything outside the Liberal 'soft-left' viewpoint is called out as extremist and dismissed as niche and dangerous. Claas Relotius was a textbook case of both these and was over time given a free hand to write and say whatever he wished. He realised over time that this was the case and pushed his luck further and further until his luck ran out.

Comment: Readership does not dictate the truth, nor should it dictate the news, no matter its views. News is to inform, not conform.

See also:

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Star of David

Criticism of Israel immediately triggers its army of outraged partisans

Kamel Hawwash
Middle East Eye
Wed, 12 Dec 2018 14:14 UTC
IDFbeatPal
© Reuters
Israeli soldiers beat a Palestinian in West Bank.
Israel was created through violence and terror, which it continues to heap on Palestinians to this day, as it works to fulfill the dream of Zionism - a Jewish state from the river to the sea.

How, then, does it continue to portray itself as the victim, while painting the actual victims - Palestinians - as the aggressors?

It has become a tired and broken record, one that Israel and its ardent supporters play, regardless of the rationality of their arguments. Any criticism of Israel, or any peaceful act to put pressure on the state, draws the same outrage, expressed through carefully thought out, yet irrational, talking points.

Total impunity

Anyone, or any organisation, who dares to criticise the self-proclaimed "only democracy in the Middle East" is accused of being motivated by anti-semitism. Any critical act or protest aimed at pressing Israel to uphold international law, no matter how peaceful, is denounced.

Israel's treatment with kid gloves is not new; what is new, however, is its launching of the bullying trigger button within seconds of an attack.
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Crusader

'Completely insane': Patriarch Kirill warns Kiev's law demanding name change of Ukrainian Orthodox Church 'risks blood'


RT
Wed, 26 Dec 2018 15:46 UTC
Ukrainian orthodox against name change
© Sputnik
Ukrainian Orthodox believers rally against parliament bill, which can deprive the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church of its name. Sputnik
Kiev's new law demanding that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church change its name to show affiliation with Moscow is "insane" and may ignite "bloody conflicts," the primate of Russia's Orthodoxy has warned.

Ukraine's parliament recently passed a controversial bill which basically demands that any religious entity tied to Moscow change its name to reflect this fact. Kiev now wants it to be called the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, requiring the church to make the change within four months.

Commenting on the move, on Wednesday, Patriarch Kirill said the Ukrainian law was "completely insane in terms of modern law" and rules of secular state. In the West in particular, the government has nothing to do with what a church calls itself, he argued.

"When the state invents a name for a religious entity, desiring to discriminate and destroy it, it breaks all rights and laws of a civilized society," the Russian Patriarch said. The government's "openly blatant interference in church affairs" is unparalleled and leads to a "civilizational catastrophe."

Comment: Anything that can stir dissent and widen the gulf between Ukrainians and Russia is fair game - those behind this current crisis are indifferent to its effects on the lives of ordinary citizens. See also:

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Snowflake

'Woke Twitter' forgets Queen of England is rich, gets outraged when she gives Queen's Speech in front of lavish gold piano

Gavin Allen and Bradley Jolly
The Mirror
Tue, 25 Dec 2018 20:25 UTC
queen of england
© Getty Images
The Queen's Christmas Day speech has been slammed on social media for being "out of touch" and disrespectful to families "struggling to make ends meet".

In her annual address, broadcast at 3pm today. the head of state talked about Brexit and austerity.

But she also praised the Comonwealth for "the bonds of affection it promotes, and a common desire to live in a better, more peaceful world.

"Even with the most deeply held differences, treating the other person with respect and as a fellow human being is always a good first step towards greater understanding."
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Question

Cause of death a mystery for children found buried in Georgia family's backyard

Joshua Sharpe
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mon, 24 Dec 2018 20:06 UTC
The Crocker's
© WSB-TV
As expected by authorities, autopsies have confirmed the identities of two children found buried in their family's backyard in Effingham County, though many questions remain about the deaths, coroner David Exley said Monday.

"The cause and manner of death is still pending," he said, adding it could take weeks.

The trouble, he said, is partly that Mary Crocker and Elwyn Crocker Jr. had been buried so long ago - Mary for perhaps a few months, Elwyn for maybe as long as two years. The remains of the siblings, who were both 14 years old when they were last seen but hadn't been reported missing, were discovered Thursday in the rural town of Guyton by the Effingham Sheriff's Office.

Deputies went to the house after a tipster called 911 to express concern regarding the whereabouts of the girl. An interview with the father, Elwyn Crocker Sr., revealed information that sent deputies to check the backyard for the bodies.
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Light Sabers

ACLU sues federal agencies over failure to disclose gov't hacking activities targeting American public


RT
Wed, 26 Dec 2018 20:16 UTC
hacker
© Steve Marcus / Reuters
The American Civil Liberties Union, along with several non-profits, has sued seven US federal agencies over their failure to disclose information regarding government hacking activities that target the American public.

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed last Friday in New York calls on the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and four other agencies to disclose which hacking tools and methods they use, how often they use them, and the legal basis for employing such methods.

The lawsuit also seeks any internal audits or investigations related to American citizens being subjected to government hacking programs. The ACLU brought the suit after its FOIA requests regarding government hacking went unanswered.
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