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McGill music student awarded $350,000 after girlfriend stalls career

Rene'Brunner
Montreal Gazette
Thu, 14 Jun 2018 21:14 UTC
McGill
© MARIE-FRANCE COALLIER / MONTREAL GAZETTEMcGill University music student Eric Abramovitz studied with some of the country's elite teachers from the age of 7.
She wrote an email posing as him, turning down a $50,000-a-year scholarship so that he wouldn't leave

McGill University music student Eric Abramovitz was among the top clarinetists in Canada. He studied with some of the country's elite teachers from the age of 7. He won first prize at the Canadian Music Competition six times. He was a featured soloist with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre symphonique du Quebec.

In late 2013, Abramovitz applied for a full two-year scholarship to complete his bachelor's degree at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles. Every student at Colburn receives a full scholarship, including tuition, room and board, and money for meals and other expenses, worth roughly $50,000 a year.

If accepted, he would study under Yehuda Gilad, considered one of the best clarinet teachers on the planet. Gilad accepts two students a year out of dozens of applicants. To be chosen is virtually a guarantee of a high-paying symphony career directly out of college. After an exhaustive pre-screening process, Abramovitz flew to Los Angeles in February 2014 with his parents to do a live audition before Gilad and a committee of faculty members.
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Shoe

Best of the Web: Russia thrash Saudi Arabia in World Cup - Biggest opening game winning margin since 1934 - British press livid

Bryan MacDonald
RT
Thu, 14 Jun 2018 21:33 UTC
russia world cup putin
"Don't look at me. I had nothing to do with this spectacular result."
Far from events in Moscow, in Russia's most southerly large city, ninety minutes of determined and often sublime football ignited local passions as World Cup 2018 began. The UK press might resent it, but the party has started.

Krasnodar

Ten minutes before World Cup 2018 kicks off and Vanya and Misha aren't feeling confident. Despite the sweltering 34 degrees Celsius (93 F) Kuban summer heat, they are dressed in shirts and ties, and awaiting the Russia-Saudi Arabia game with emotions more akin to dread than elation.

"We've failed to win any of our last seven matches, and we're the lowest-ranked team in the competition," Misha explains. "I didn't even bother to buy a jersey: but Vanya stuck a flag on his car, he's always been a masochist."

Comment: An amazing result for a team rated worst of the tournament by FIFA.


Singer Robbie Williams had a special message for the British press at the opening ceremony.

Criticized for 'selling his soul to a dictator' for agreeing to perform, Williams changed one of the lyrics of his song to "...but I did this for free," then waved at them with this gesture:




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Black Cat 2

RT interviews British diversity dissident Katie Hopkins: 'Putin rocks. And I love Russia because it's still Russian'


RT
Thu, 14 Jun 2018 20:39 UTC
Katie Hopkins
© John Sciulli/Getty ImagesThe Trump administration's Ann Coulter (L) and Katie Hopkins
Astounded that Russians describe themselves as Russian, far-right British figure Katie Hopkins talks to RT's Oksana Boyko on her thoughts about Russia, London and Sadiq Khan.

Describing St. Petersburg as a place "untouched by the myth of multiculturalism and deranged diversity," as well as somewhere she feels safer than in London, Hopkins was amazed that Russians in the city are "really Russian first" - something she found different from the UK.

Despite being told that St. Petersburg is the most multicultural city in Russia with a vibrant Muslim community, and the country is home to as many as 160 ethnic groups, Hopkins doubled down on her remarks, saying: "When you come to Russia as an outsider, and I'm an outsider, it feels Russian.

"When I talk to people on the street, they identify as Russian first. You go to the UK, you don't get any of that."

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Arrow Up

Over a million Venezuelans moved to Colombia in just two years

Jim Wyss
Miami Herald
Wed, 13 Jun 2018 11:44 UTC
Venezuelans to Colombia
© Reuters
Almost 1 million people from Venezuela are thought to have poured into neighboring Colombia in the last two years, amid a grinding economic, social and political crisis that has rattled the region.

On Wednesday, Colombian authorities said a nationwide census found that 442,462 Venezuelans are living in the country without proper documentation and 376,572 Venezuelans are in the country legally - for a total of 819,034.

However, they also estimate that more than 160,000 Colombians who were long-term residents of Venezuela have returned in recent months.

"We're talking about more than 1 million people who have come here from Venezuela in the last 15 months," said Christian Kruger, the director of Colombia's immigration agency.

The Venezuelan exodus is being felt throughout the hemisphere. According to the International Organization on Migration, there were at least 1.6 million Venezuelans living abroad in 2017 - up from 698,000 in 2015. But Wednesday's data, and studies in Venezuelan universities and elsewhere, suggest the total number could be much higher.


Comment: And what part in this massive exodus did/does the US play?

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Attention

Humanitarian orgs: 'Millions of lives at risk', urge Saudi-led coalition to spare Yemeni civilians


RT
Thu, 14 Jun 2018 04:02 UTC
Ship Hodeidah
© WFP Middle EastChartered vessel carrying 25,000 tons of wheat offloading at Hodeidah Port - so far 6,000 tons have discharged.
Halting operations at the crucial Hodeidah port would have an enormous impact on people all across Yemen, humanitarian agencies have warned, urging the warring parties to spare innocent lives in their battle for the Red Sea city.
"Hodeidah is a lifeline for millions of Yemenis," Iolanda Jaquemet, a spokeswoman from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told RT. "The assault risks exacerbating an already catastrophic situation... Should this aid not be able to flow into this port, it will put at risk millions of lives."
At dawn on Wednesday, the Saudi-led Arab coalition began the long-anticipated ground, naval, and air campaign against Houthi rebels in Hodeidah, trying to recapture the strategic port. After the first day of fighting, the coalition failed to capture the Red Sea city or to take possession of its airport. Despite the fighting, the port continues to operate, management of the port said, while the UN confirmed an aid delivery on Wednesday.

Comment: It is going to take more than arm-twisting to get the one-mentality Saudis to back off. Civilians are the first to go and last thing on their minds. Sickening. It is doubtful the hypocritical US/UK request to the UNSC will produce any results.

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TV

Populism on the rise: Germany's cultural council calls to censor political talkshows

Kate Connolly
Guardian
Wed, 13 Jun 2018 05:00 UTC
germany protest afd 2015
© Carsten Koall/Getty Images
The head of Germany's most powerful cultural body has called for the plug to be pulled on the nation's multitude of political talkshows for a year, arguing that their populist agenda has helped fuel the rise of the far right.

Olaf Zimmermann, who heads the German cultural council, an umbrella group for organisations from art galleries to television companies, said public broadcasters needed to step back and rethink a format that has helped cement gloom-ridden public attitudes towards refugees and Islam, and propelled the Alternative für Deutschland party into parliament at last September's election.

"I'd suggest for them, take a break for a year ... though the length of the intermission isn't the decisive factor. What is crucial is that they return with new talkshow concepts and try to come up with more suitable contents with regards to social cohesion in our society," Zimmermann said, arguing that the public broadcasters ARD and ZDF were obsessed with refugee-related issues, often framing them negatively.

The cultural council, which is taxpayer funded, has pointed out that since 2015, at the height of the refugee crisis when almost a million refugees and migrants entered Germany, more than 100 political talk shows have put a topic related to migration at the centre of their discussion.


Comment: Is it any wonder people want to talk about uncontrolled mass migration which is changing the very fabric of their society?


Comment: The debates appear to reflect the issues the German public are understandably very concerned about, which are the drastic changes that have occurred in their society and of which they've had very little say in. And it's not just in Germany, most EU countries are seeing a rise in populist parties as the public have begun to realise the majority of politicians do not represent them: Also check out SOTT radio's: The Truth Perspective: Weapons of Mass Migration: Interview with Michael Springmann on Europe's Migrant Crisis

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People 2

New study finds that young people are getting dumber


RT
Thu, 14 Jun 2018 19:43 UTC
texting girls
© Mladen ANTONOV / AFP
A new study, conducted by Norwegian scientists, shows that IQ scores of today's young people are in decline, putting an end to the post-war trend of rising intelligence.

After the Second World War young people's IQs were steadily rising. It was dubbed the Flynn effect after New Zealand intelligence researcher James Flynn. This phenomenon saw average IQ scores rise about three points per decade.

But researches from the Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research in Oslo say the Flynn effect is now past its peak. In a paper, published in the PNAS journal, Norwegian scientists Ole Rogeberg and Bernt Bratsberg analyzed the data from standardized IQ tests of about 730,000 men, born between 1962 and 1991, who underwent mandatory IQ tests to join the national service.

The study revealed that the IQ points of those tested peaked among those born in 1975, while people born in 1991 scored five points lower. According to the scientists, this shift could be due to many factors, including the way children are brought up and educated. For example there is less drilling in subjects like mathematics and languages and the total amount of time spent watching television or using technology has increased.
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USA

Pimpin' ain't easy: A brothel owner just won Nevada's GOP primary

Michelle L. Price
Las Vegas Sun
Wed, 13 Jun 2018 19:33 UTC
Dennis Hof
© John Locher / APIn this April 27, 2018, photo, owner Dennis Hof, left, jokes with madam Sonja Bandolik at the Love Ranch brothel in Crystal.
Pimp Dennis Hof, the owner of half a dozen legal brothels in Nevada and star of the HBO adult reality series "Cathouse," won a Republican primary for the state Legislature on Tuesday, ousting a three-term lawmaker.

Hof defeated hospital executive James Oscarson. He'll face Democrat Lesia Romanov in November and will be the favored candidate in the Republican-leaning Assembly district.

Hof celebrated his win at a party in Pahrump with Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss at his side.

"It's all because Donald Trump was the Christopher Columbus for me," Hof told the Associated Press in a phone call. "He found the way and I jumped on it."

Hof, who wrote a book titled "The Art of the Pimp," has dubbed himself "The Trump of Pahrump," and held a rally with longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone. Hof was in the limelight in 2015, when former NBA player Lamar Odom was found unconscious at Hof's Love Ranch brothel in Crystal after a four-day, $75,000 stay.
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Attention

Dutch proposed ban on face-covering garments nears final vote before expected adoption into law


RT
Thu, 14 Jun 2018 09:18 UTC
burqa ban, dutch ban face-covering clothes
© AFPWomen wearing niqab visit the Senate in the Hague, the Netherlands.
The upper house of the Dutch parliament has finally put to a vote a controversial bill banning face-covering clothes in public places, including transport and schools. Officials say it does not discriminate against religious garb.

The Dutch Senate debated the so-called "burqa ban" bill on Tuesday, scheduling it for a vote on June 19. The legislation is expected to pass the upper chamber with majority support, local media reports.

The bill would introduce a 400-euro fine on individuals covering their faces in government buildings, on public transport, in schools and in hospitals. The clothing to be outlawed includes not only burka and niqab, but non-religious apparel as well, such as balaclavas and full-face helmets. Islamic headscarves, which do not cover a woman's face, are not a subject of the ban.
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Eye 2

Israeli police forcibly evict Ethiopian monks in Jerusalem - Ethiopia then denies any plans to move embassy there


Times Of Israel
Tue, 12 Jun 2018 03:23 UTC
Ethiopia denies ever having considered move or recalling ambassador after footage shows police rudely addressing, evicting Ethiopian monks from Jerusalem complex
© Channel 10 News screenshotEthiopia denies ever having considered move or recalling ambassador after footage shows police rudely addressing, evicting Ethiopian monks from Jerusalem complex
Ethiopian monks gather outside an Ethiopian Church owned complex from which police evicted them on May 31, 2018. The eldest, aged 84, stands on the left.

Ethiopia has reportedly been considering moving its embassy to Jerusalem, but will no longer do so following a recent incident where Israeli police forcibly evicted Ethiopian monks from a complex owned by the Ethiopian church in Jerusalem.

"Moving the Ethiopian embassy to Jerusalem was under consideration," said Eliezer Yasu Gil, a lawyer representing the embassy told Channel 10 on Monday. "For now this process is frozen."

A spokesperson for the Ethiopian embassy, however, on Wednesday denied that moving the embassy was under consideration and said the lawyer did not represent the mission.

Comment: From monks supposedly attacking a police officers 'hand' to female Palestinian medics being a threat to Israel's snipers, considering Israel's track record, it isn't surprising how their version of reality so damningly conflicts with the evidence provided: Also check out SOTT radio's:

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