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Alan Dershowitz defends Dan Gertler, an Israeli criminal billionaire who's stolen the wealth and well-being of DR Congo

James North
Mondoweiss
Tue, 11 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
Alan Dershowitz
Dan Gertler, the criminal Israeli billionaire who is responsible for untold misery in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the poorest nations on earth, has an influential new supporter: Alan Dershowitz. In a front page report on today's New York Times, Dershowitz speaks up for Gertler, who was sanctioned last year by the U.S. government, as "a very good person."

In fact, Dan Gertler is too corrupt for even the Trump administration to accept. Here's what the Treasury Department said a year ago about why the U.S. was punishing him under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act:
Gertler is an international businessman and billionaire who has amassed his fortune through hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of opaque and corrupt mining and oil deals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Gertler has used his close friendship with DRC President Joseph Kabila to act as a middleman for mining asset sales in the DRC, requiring some multinational companies to go through Gertler to do business with the Congolese state. As a result, between 2010 and 2012 alone, the DRC reportedly lost over $1.36 billion in revenues from the underpricing of mining assets . . .

Comment: None of this should come as any surprise given Dershowitz's long history of defending pathologically-stricken individuals and governments:

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Stop

Egyptian government prohibits yellow vest sales amid fears of French style uprising


Sputnik
Tue, 11 Dec 2018 19:29 UTC
yellow vests paris
The step was taken amid fears expressed by Egyptian authorities that opponents might use the yellow vests to copy French protests, as the state is reportedly facing the prospect of an uprising similar to the one which erupted back in 2011.

The sale of yellow reflective vests is now partially banned in Egypt after state officials instructed retailers not to sell the vests to non-commercial buyers.

Furthermore, consumers now require police permission to purchase the vests from retailers throughout the country.

The yellow vests have emerged as a symbol of resistance in France in recent weeks, and are now heavily associated with the wave of protests that have been shaking the country since November.
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Attention

Eleven injured as migrant row erupts into violence at Bamberg, Germany's troubled reception center


RT
Tue, 11 Dec 2018 16:49 UTC
Bamberg Germany anchor center riot
German police had to call in reinforcement, deploying scores of officers to quell mayhem in a reception center in country's south, where a group of migrants faced off with security personnel.

A row between migrants in one of the reception centers escalated into open violence early Tuesday as people living in the shelter attacked local security staff that tried to intervene, police announced. A group of rioters then barricaded themselves in the building, forcing the security workers to call the police.

However, several local police squads that initially arrived at the scene located in the Bavarian town of Bamberg also failed to handle the situation. The officers were pelted with paving stones and had to call for backup.

As "numerous police detachments" from neighboring departments came to rescue, the police force at the scene amassed to some 100 officers. Law enforcement besieged the housing facility, which meanwhile caught fire.

Comment: German police warned years ago that the situations in the refugee centers would lead to violent clashes, and such incidents will likely heighten tensions with the local populations:

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Arrow Down

'Cancer is infectious': Uninformed neighbors want cancer suffering kids kicked out of rented flat in Moscow


RT
Tue, 11 Dec 2018 13:50 UTC
Hospital
© Sputnik
Some dwellers of an apartment block in Moscow want cancer-stricken kids and their parents kicked out. The reason? Because "cancer is an infectious disease spread through [the] air," they say.

"Cancer is an infectious disease, 200 types of it have been discovered," a notice at an apartment block in the Konkovo District in south-western Moscow read.

On the weekend, it was reported that local activists have started gathering signatures in order to prevent the building "from becoming a cancer clinic."

They were in a panic because one of the flats in the tenement, located near the Dmitry Rogachev National Medical Research Centre, was often rented by families of sick children, who underwent cancer treatment at the facility.
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Whistle

Snowflakery on steroids: 'Mean' words and facial expressions can get you kicked out of the University of Montana

Katherine Timpf
National Review
Mon, 10 Dec 2018 20:45 UTC
mean face
© Pixabay
The University of Montana Western has a policy that allows for punishing students for "mean" words or "facial expressions" - and that punishment could technically be as severe as expulsion.

"While discussions may become heated and passionate, they should never become mean, nasty or vindictive in spoken or printed or emailed words, facial expressions, or gestures," states the Student Code of Conduct.

Another area of the code states that "committing any act prohibited by this Code of Conduct may result in expulsion or suspension from the University unless specific and mitigating factors are present."

"Factors to be considered in mitigation may include the present attitude and past disciplinary record of the offender, as well as the nature of the offense and the severity of any damage, injury, or harm resulting from it," the code continues.
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Cell Phone

New report says customs officers are searching more travelers' devices

Colleen Long
AP
Mon, 10 Dec 2018 20:29 UTC
cell phone apps
© PA
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers are searching the electronic devices of travelers more often, and did not always follow proper protocol, a new watchdog report has found.

The report made public Monday found there were 29,000 devices searched at a port of entry out of 397 million travelers to the U.S. in budget year 2017, up from 18,400 the year before from 390 million travelers.

Customs and Border Protection officials note it is less than 1 percent of all travelers.

Officers are allowed under law to look through devices of travelers who are referred for a secondary inspection. During the primary inspection, travel documents and passports are reviewed. If a secondary inspection is needed, officers may search devices like phones, thumb drives and computers to determine admissibility into the country, and also to identify potential law violations.

For example, in March 2018, officers found images and videos of terrorist-related materials, and in another search, graphic and violent images including child pornography. Neither person was admitted into the United States, according to the report.
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Handcuffs

High school football player stabs his pregnant girlfriend to death

Vic Ryckaert and Crystal Hill
USA Today
Mon, 10 Dec 2018 20:18 UTC
Aaron R. Trejo
© St. Joseph County (Ind.) Police Department
Aaron R. Trejo, 16, of Mishawaka, Indiana, was charged with murder and feticide Dec. 10, 2018, in connection with the death of Breana Rouhselang, 17, who was six months pregnant.
A high school football player has confessed to killing a student manager of the team because she was pregnant with their child, according to court documents released Monday.

Aaron Trejo, 16, of Mishawaka about 150 miles north of Indianapolis, told police that he knew Breana Rouhselang, 17, was pregnant and he was "supposed to be the father of the baby," but neither he nor Rouhselang wanted to be parents, a probable cause affidavit said.

"I took action. ... I took her life," Trejo reportedly told police, according to court documents.

On Monday, Trejo was charged in St. Johnson County Superior Court with murder and feticide after Rouhselang's body was found Sunday morning in a trash container behind a Mishawaka restaurant. Prosecutors are trying him as an adult, and he is being publicly identified because of that action.
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Attention

Campinas, Brazil: Gunman opens fire on church killing 5 people and himself

Flora Charner
Fox 13
Tue, 11 Dec 2018 20:12 UTC
Metropolitan Cathedral
© Wikipedia
Metropolitan Cathedral in Campinas.
A gunman opened fire on a church in the Brazilian city of Campinas on Tuesday, killing five people before turning the gun on himself, CNN affiliate Record TV reported.

The victims include four men and a woman, in addition to the gunman, Record TV reported. Police initially said nine people were injured but have revised that number down to three.

The shooting occurred in the Metropolitan Cathedral, according to a statement from local police to Record TV.
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Cross

Russian 'Gucci' priest causes outrage posting designer items on Instagram, says sorry for 'sin'


RT
Tue, 11 Dec 2018 14:45 UTC
Cleric wears Gucci shoes
© archpriesttver Instagram account
Image from now-deleted.
These days one can make a career out of posting photos of designer clothes and accessories on Instagram. But combining this with serving as an ordained priest may be tricky, as one Russian cleric found out.

The 'Gucci priest' was one of Russia's biggest viral stories last week. An Instagram account attributed to cleric from the city of Tver sparked outrage with many images of expensive luxury items, including shoes, slippers, luggage bags and accessories. The author apparently had a soft spot for Louis Vuitton, although Gucci was a favorite too.

The photos were months old, but last week the account was highlighted by a popular Russian online fun board, Pikabu, sparking a wave of outrage and puzzlement. "This is the clergy we get," said the headline of the post, and many commenters agreed, saying the man bragging about his posh lifestyle hardly qualifies to be a spiritual guide.

Others thought the account was too outrageous to be genuine. They suggested it must be some anti-clerical project meant to satirize priests that think too much about body and too little about soul.
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Stormtrooper

Disturbing video shows cops body slamming and arresting two teen girls for filming them

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Tue, 11 Dec 2018 18:40 UTC
cop choking teen
A disturbing video was shared with the Free Thought Project this week showing police officers slam and arrest a girl who is reportedly just 14-years-old and then do the same thing to her sister. According to the person who shared the video with TFTP, she was assaulted and arrested for the mere act of filming police.

The video shows the arrest of a young black man by two Harnett County deputies as two teenage girls film the arrest. In the video, the girl filming asks police why they are arresting the young man.
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