Society's ChildS


Quenelle

Snowden's lawyer says no evidence to justify Assange eviction, John Pilger's warning and Twitter schools the Foreign Affairs Committee on free speech


RT
Sat, 13 Apr 2019 21:34 UTC
robert tiboo snowden assange
© N.Y. JenniferRobert Tibbo, left, and Edward Snowden in Moscow on July 26, 2016.
Robert Tibbo, a lawyer for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, told RT that he believes Ecuador's decision to strip away Julian Assange's asylum is based on a very weak legal case and may amount to a breach of the constitution.

"Number one, there is a very high threshold to strip someone of an asylum. For what's available in [the] public domain, I don't see any evidence that would justify President [Lenin] Moreno or his administration stripping [Julian Assange] of that asylum status," Tibbo told RT.

The lawyer said that by giving Assange only a "30-minute notice" before revoking his asylum and citizenship, Ecuador appears to have violated his rights under its own laws.
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Arrow Up

Popular YouTuber and Brexiteer Sargon of Akkad selected as Ukip election candidate

Tom Barnes
Independent
Sat, 13 Apr 2019 19:24 UTC
Carl Benjamin sargon
© YouTubeCarl Benjamin has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on his YouTube channel
Ukip has selected an anti-feminist Eurosceptic YouTube commentator as a candidate should the UK take part in European Parliament elections next month.

Carl Benjamin, who posts online using the moniker Sargon of Akkad, is one of two candidates the Eurosceptic party named on Thursday to stand in the southwest region.

"We went through an exhaustive process to sift over 190 potential candidates down to those the national executive committee representatives and I felt were most suitable," Ukip leader, Gerard Batten said.

"This list is based on a number of factors that we felt would select candidates to fight for a real Brexit after the European elections. Ukip's priority is to have MEPs who will fight to make Brexit happen."

Comment: For more on some of those mentioned in the article, see:

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Dollar

Facebook spent over $20 million dollars on security for Mark Zuckerberg last year


The Guardian
Sat, 13 Apr 2019 17:14 UTC
Mark Zuckerberg
© Paul Zinken/EPAMark Zuckerberg out running with bodyguards in Berlin in 2016. Personal security topped his 2018 security costs.
Facebook more than doubled the money it spent on top executive Mark Zuckerberg's security in 2018 to $22.6m, a regulatory filing has showed.

Zuckerberg drew a base salary of $1 for the past three years, and his "other" compensation was listed at $22.6m, most of which was for his personal security.

Nearly $20m went toward security for Zuckerberg and his family, up from about $9 million the year prior. Zuckerberg also received $2.6m for personal use of private jets, which the company said was part of his overall security program.

Facebook in the past few years has faced public outcry over its role in the spread of disinformation and political propaganda online, data breaches and privacy concerns.

It includes Russia's alleged influence on the 2016 US presidential election and revelations that Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy hired by Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, obtained personal data from millions of Facebook profiles without consent.
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People 2

Gender pay gap: The myths that won't die

Niamh McIntyre
The Guardian
Sat, 13 Apr 2019 16:20 UTC
gender pay gap
© The Guardian
Thousands of companies have filed their gender pay gap figures, revealing men are paid, on average, more than women in the majority of British businesses.

Despite the results, myths and misconceptions about the gender pay gap persist. We've pulled together some of the most common myths to help you navigate the pay gap deniers.

There is no gender pay gap

The most extreme myth is that gender pay gap is a lie perpetuated by feminists who use statistics dishonestly to further their cause.

This is a view shared by a small but vocal coalition of rightwing think tanks, Jordan Peterson, and men's rights activists.

Writing in the Spectator, Kate Andrews, the associate director of the Institute of Economic Affairs, said women are "bombarded with inflated statistics, cherry-picked and designed to make them feel helpless".
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Magnify

Investigation launched into handling of Jussie Smollett case

Meghan Keneally
ABC News
Fri, 12 Apr 2019 05:03 UTC
Foxx and Smollett
Kim Foxx, the embattled Chicago state's attorney whose office has come under fire for its handling of the Jussie Smollett case, has asked the local inspector general to conduct an "independent review" of their investigation, she confirmed in a statement.

The news comes the day after the city's law department announced that they are suing Smollett to recoup the amount that they had to spend in order to cover the overtime of police officers during the investigation.

Smollet's case has sparked a firestorm ever since news broke of the Jan. 29 alleged attack. Controversy was further stoked when police alleged the incident was a hoax and ultimately when prosecutors dropped the charges against the actor.

Foxx said that she "invited" the inspector general, Patrick Blanchard, to look into her office's handling of the case, which involved the "Empire" actor's claims of being a victim of a hate crime that police alleged was a hoax.

Comment: See also: Kim Foxx's assistant prosecutor blasts her handling of Jussie Smollett case: 'An international laughingstock'

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Handcuffs

Bob Jones University cop arrested for repeated sexual assaults on mentally disabled woman

Carla Field
WYFF 4
Wed, 10 Apr 2019 16:55 UTC
Darren Thomas Wesley
© WYFF News 4Darren Thomas Wesley
A Bob Jones University Police Department officer has been dismissed after being accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a mentally impaired woman over a period of three years.

Greenville County Sheriff's Office investigators arrested Darren Thomas Wesley. 51, Tuesday on multiple criminal sexual conduct charges.

Investigators began an investigation March 14 after receiving a report that a vulnerable adult had been sexually victimized by Wesley, a former officer with the BJU police.

Deputies said that during the investigation, they determined Wesley had committed multiple criminal sexual offenses against the woman.

An arrest warrant said Wesley told the woman that if she resisted the sexual assaults or told anyone about them, she would destroy her family, which "caused serious psychological harm to the victim."
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Handcuffs

Former Venezuelan military chief nabbed on drug charges in Spain


RT
Sat, 13 Apr 2019 16:49 UTC
Carvajal & Maduro
© ReutersCarvajal & Maduro, in happier times
The former chief of Venezuela's military intelligence - and the highest-ranking military officer to defect to the US-backed opposition - has been nabbed in Spain on a US warrant for allegedly trafficking tons of cocaine.

Hugo Carvajal was arrested by Spanish police in Madrid on Friday and faces extradition to the US, where he was indicted in 2014 for allegedly having "coordinated the transportation of approximately 5,600 kilograms of cocaine from Venezuela to Mexico." He will testify in a Saturday court appearance as to whether he wishes to fight the extradition, an official with Spain's National Court told the AP.

The Venezuelan ex-major general, whose nickname "el Pollo" means "the Chicken," is accused of protecting a Colombian drug kingpin from arrest, allowing him to move about 5,600kg of cocaine in and out of Venezuela, and tipping him off to law enforcement activities. Carvajal allegedly was not only paid off by the kingpin and other members of his organization, but also invested in some of the drug shipments. He is also accused of providing weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
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Attention

US sailor kills himself and his Japanese girlfriend in Okinawa

Aya Ichihashi
Stars and Stripes
Sat, 13 Apr 2019 16:33 UTC
okinawa apartment
© Aya Ichihashi/STARS AND STRIPESOkinawa police said the bodies of a U.S. Navy sailor and a Japanese woman were found in a unit of this apartment building around 7:30 a.m. Saturday, April 13, 2019.
A U.S. sailor fatally stabbed a Japanese woman and then killed himself on Okinawa, Japanese officials said.

The two were found dead Saturday morning inside a six-story apartment building in the Kuwae district of Chatan, according to an Okinawa Prefectural Police spokesman.

The woman's child was present when the incident occurred and called a relative, who then called police at 7:26 a.m., the spokesman said.

The sailor, 31, whose identity has not been released, was attached to the III Marine Division, according to the III Marine Expeditionary Force.

The sailor and the woman, who was in her 40s, were apparently in a relationship, the Okinawa police spokesman said.
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Toys

Fisher-Price recalls millions of baby sleepers after more than 30 fatalities

Sophie Barnes
The Telegraph
Sat, 13 Apr 2019 09:51 UTC
Recalled
Toymaker Fisher-Price has recalled nearly five million of its Rock'n'Play sleepers after more than 30 babies died in them in 10 years.

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said more than 30 babies had died in the sleepers since they were first sold in 2009, with 10 deaths caused by the babies rolling over from their backs to their stomachs unrestrained. All 10 babies were 3 months or older.

The recall of the 4.7 million sleepers will affect the UK because they are available to buy online from the US.

The CPSC said people should immediately stop using the sleeper and contact Fisher-Price for a refund.
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War Whore

Police shoot at vehicle after it crashes into Ukrainian Ambassador's car outside London embassy

Dominic Nicholls
The Telegraph
Sat, 13 Apr 2019 03:03 UTC
Fired shots at car
Armed police opened fire on a car as it was driven at them having just "deliberately rammed" into the Ukrainian ambassador's official vehicle in London on Saturday morning.

The incident occurred outside the Ukrainian embassy in Holland Park, Kensington, at around 8:30 on Saturday morning.

A spokesman for the Ukrainian embassy said an unknown vehicle had crashed into the car used for official duties by Natalia Galibarenko, the Ukrainian Ambassador, Saturday morning and the man inside posed a threat that required British police to fire an unknown number of shots at the car.

The spokesman said that contrary to some reports in the media no shots were fired from the car.

The spokesman knew of no motive and did not know the nationality or any biographical details of the arrested man. He said the embassy had not been threatened in recent weeks. All members of the embassy were reported as safe.
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