What we consider basic, daily acts of personal responsibility suspiciously halt when the topic shifts to sexual assault.

Actress Angela Lansbury recently made some comments on the sexual harassment scandal sweeping DC and Hollywood that, while somewhat confusing, also contain some needed common sense.

'There are two sides to this coin,' she said. 'We have to own up to the fact that women, since time immemorial, have gone out of their way to make themselves attractive. And unfortunately it has backfired on us - and this is where we are today.

'We must sometimes take blame, women. I really do think that. Although it's awful to say we can't make ourselves look as attractive as possible without being knocked down and raped...Should women be prepared for this? No, they shouldn't have to be! There's no excuse for that. And I think it will stop now - it will have to. I think a lot of men must be very worried at this point.'

A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck an area straddling the Iran-Iraq border on Nov. 12. Iran's western province of Kermanshah was the hardest hit with over 400 fatalities. Sympathies immediately began pouring in from across Iran, with many taking direct measures to help the victims. Many of these efforts, however, only created more difficulties in the delivery of aid to quake-stricken regions.

Iran's social media networks were abuzz from the initial hours after the earthquake, with people asking how they could help. Very few suggested government-affiliated organizations, such as the Iranian Red Crescent Society, which, at times of disaster, is the largest entity involved in providing relief efforts in the country. Instead, most Iranians seemed interested in finding nongovernmental organizations that could deliver their aid and donations to victims.

Iran's celebrities responded to this call, assuring people that they knew just how to do this. Former soccer player and national team coach Ali Daei was one such example. In an Instagram post Nov. 13, Daei - who also used to play for Germany's Bayern Munich - asked the public to send their nonmonetary donations to him so he could make sure it was delivered to the victims. Later that same day, Daei posted a bank account number and said that because public support had been massive, he would also accept monetary donations.

Sadegh Zibakalam, a professor of political science at Tehran University, also took a similar approach. On Nov. 15, Zibakalam - who has a large presence in Iranian media and on social networks - posted an account number on Instagram and said he knew some reliable people in Kermanshah who could make sure the aid was delivered to the victims.

Poland's parliament has voted to slowly begin the process of abolishing Sunday shopping to allow workers to spend more time with their families.

The law has been passed by the sejm - equivalent to the British House of Commons or the U.S. House of Representatives - but must be approved by the Senate and the president, both of which could veto the decision.

Although the major change - which reverses decades of movement on turning Sunday from a holy day of rest into an ordinary day of shopping and work - has been criticised as putting jobs at risk, the government hopes it will improve quality of life for ordinary Pole.

If the law passes, Poland will start by just allowing Sunday shopping on the first and last Sunday of the month in 2018, reports the Catholic Herald. This will be followed by a further reduction in 2019 when it will be permitted only on the last Sunday of the month, followed by a near total ban in 2020. From this point, special allowances will be granted for busy shopping periods - for instance in the run-up to Christmas.

One piece of advice for stressful travel days is to slow down and take a deep breath.

But in many of the world's busiest airports that deep breath may come with a dose of second-hand cigarette smoke, which the Surgeon General has declared a health risk at any level of exposure.

"There is no safe level of secondhand smoke," said Cathy Callaway, Director of State and Local Campaigns for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.


She cites a 2012 report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that concluded ventilated rooms and designated smoking areas in airports are ineffective at eliminating secondhand smoke exposure.

MSNBC's Kasie Hunt seemed happy that Republican Sen. Rand Paul suffered six broken ribs and a buildup of excess fluid in his lungs when he was attacked earlier this month, before quickly apologizing for her on-air statement.

"New details today on the incident that left Senator Rand Paul with six broken ribs - this might be one of my favorite stories," the liberal reporter said last week.

The MSNBC host quickly seemed to realize she was condoning violence and started to downplay her comments, but appeared to lose her train of thought midsentence, saying, "Although, of course, we don't... clearly Senator Paul still struggling."

Hunt took to Twitter shortly after her on-air mishap, saying "there is nothing funny about 6 broken ribs."

Some San Diego State University students are undergoing what organizers acknowledge is a "disturbing" series of "sensory experiences" in an attempt to drive out students' prejudicial tendencies and help make them less oppressive.

The annual workshop, "Journey to a Shared Humanity," is described on the university's website as a way for organizers to get students to "step outside their comfort zone and into the shoes of those who are struggling with oppressive circumstances."

This year, some students were required to attend the event as part of their classes. During the experience, students are walked through a darkened multipurpose room to view a series of theatrical vignettes acted out by campus leaders.

For example, in this year's rendition, held earlier this month, students observed skits that included a black man yelling at them to stand against and face the wall and not look at him.

"Let's go! Face the wall! Don't look at me," the performer yelled as if he was a drill instructor commanding recruits. Then he went on.

The ongoing and escalating crisis in relations between Israel and American Jewry since the cancellation of the Western Wall compromise in June had not managed to penetrate public and media discourse in Israel until the uproar raised by Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely on Nov. 22 following one damaging and ignorant interview. Hotovely's words in the interview can be likened to another "terrorist attack" on relations between Israel and American Jewry - and thanks to them, the great drama experienced by diaspora Jewry has finally reached the top of the media and political agenda in Israel.

Hotovely was interviewed in English by the I24 NEWS network and said, among other things, that most American Jews don't understand Israel since they "never send their children to fight for their country ... most of the Jews don't have children who serve as soldiers, going to the Marines, going to Afghanistan or to Iraq." She added, "Most of them are having quite convenient lives. They don't feel how it feels to be attacked by rockets, and I think part of it is to actually experience what Israel is dealing with on a daily basis."

Back in 2008, one of the biggest arguments in favor of Obamacare was that the legislation would help alleviate bad debt at hospitals created by people who required emergency care but didn't have health insurance or the financial means to cover their treatment. Of course, like most promises made about Obamacare, the exact opposite of the Left's original theories has played out in reality as restructuring lawyers are now warning that the healthcare industry is about to experience a massive wave of hospital bankruptcies. Per Bloomberg:

A wave of hospitals and other medical companies are likely to restructure their debt or file for bankruptcy in the coming year, following the recent spate of failing retailers and energy drillers, according to restructuring professionals. Regulatory changes, technological advances and the rise of urgent-care centers have created a "perfect storm" for health-care companies, said David Neier, a partner in the New York office of law firm Winston & Strawn LLC.

Some signs are already there: Health-care bankruptcy filings have more than tripled this year according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and an index of Chapter 11 filings by companies with more than $1 million of assets has reached record highs in four of the last six quarters, according to law firm Polsinelli PC. Junk bonds from companies in the industry have dropped 1.4 percent this month, a steeper decline than the broader high-yield market, according to Bloomberg Barclays index data.

Since 1997, health-care cases have made up only 5.25 percent of all U.S. bankruptcy filings, according to Bloomberg data. Year to date, they already comprise 7.25 percent of all filings. Emergency-room operator Adeptus Health, cancer-care provider 21st Century Oncology, and cancer treatment specialist California Proton Treatment are the largest filings. Those statistics exclude pharmaceutical company Concordia, which is restructuring in Canada, and Preferred Care Inc., one of the U.S.'s largest nursing home groups, operating 108 assisted living facilities.

"Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive." ~ C. S. Lewis

I've written plenty of times in the past about the ways corporate media and IT giants like Google, Facebook and Twitter are engaging in stealth censorship. As we are getting distracted by the daily outrage of politics and the sensationalism peddled by corporate media, social network conglomerations are using algorithms and key word suppression to shutter independent voices and non-affiliated journalists. The end of net neutrality will only increase this form of corporate fascism to unimaginable levels as internet service providers will be given free rein to create classes of service where corporations get to be more equal than people.

If you listen to people like Lee Camp, Caitlin Johnstone and Tim Black to name a few-voices who refuse to accept corporate narratives and refuse to stay in the narrow lanes of ideology and identity - all will tell you the dangers of letting the public square be hijacked and monopolized by plutocrats and moneyed interests. We speak on these things because we know first hand the experience of being censored. When articles at Ghion Journal get shared by thousands and yet you search on Facebook and find only a few highlighted or when our pages gets deleted by citing a nebulous reference to "community standards", it becomes evident that there is a concerted effort to marginalize all but mainstream media.

The French national council of the national trade union of airline pilots (conseil national du syndicat national des pilotes de ligne (SNPL)) has voted for a general strike over Christmastime.

Should the strike go ahead, it will affect pilots of all French airlines - including Air France, HOP! Air France, Transavia, Corsair, XL Airways, Aigle Azur, Air Caraïbes, easyJet, and La Compagnie, as reported in numerous news outlets including Tour Hebdo.

The exact dates of the strike have not yet been confirmed, but reports are suggesting it will take place - if it goes ahead - over the end-of-year holiday period, to purposefully increase its impact and show a "strong arm" to the management.

The strike is said to be about how HOP! - the domestic arm of Air France - has been organising its employees' work and rest days, in connection with the merger of Airliniar, Britair, and Regional.

Employees are also reportedly angry over working conditions and pilot pay, French newspaper La Tribuneadded.

"A strike is extremely probable. There is a risk of the director-general for Civil Aviation bypassing social dialogue [on these issues], which we believe is illegal," said Christophe Tharot, president of the SNPL, speaking to La Tribune.