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British tribunal recognizes Wikileaks as media organization


RT
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 18:12 UTC
assange
© Peter Nicholls / Reuters
Julian Assange's WikiLeaks has been recognized as a "media organization" by a British tribunal, a ruling which may help Assange's defense against extradition to the United States, on press freedom grounds.

The UK's information tribunal, which is roughly equivalent to a court, published a ruling on Thursday that stated: "WikiLeaks is a media organization which publishes and comments upon censored or restricted official materials involving war, surveillance or corruption, which are leaked to it in a variety of different circumstances."

The tribunal, headed up judge Andrew Bartlett, QC, made the comment under the heading "Facts,"according to the Guardian.

The US has been seeking to prosecute Assange since 2010, when WikiLeaks published hundreds of thousands of confidential US defense and diplomatic documents. US attorney general Jeff Sessions said in April this year that the arrest of Assange is a priority.
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Oscar

Darwin Award candidate: Selfie that almost cost a girl's life as her skull is smashed by passing train in Purworejo, Indonesia

Sara Malm
Daily Mail
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 17:44 UTC
Shocking: This image shows the moment after Ely Hayati was hit by the train, her friend have yet to realise that she is injured
Shocking: This image shows the moment after Ely Hayati was hit by the train, her friend have yet to realise that she is injured
A teenage girl miraculously survived being hit by a train as she posed for a selfie with her friends in Indonesia.

Ely Hayati, 16, had been walking by the railway tracks with her three friends when they decided to pose for a picture and one of them got their selfie stick out.

One photo shows the moment she is struck, and show her friends laughing during the split second before they realise she has been hit.

Her three friends are still smiling, as Ms Hayati lies injured with her skull cracked open behind them, next to the speeding train.

The girls said their friend had been standing behind them, but went flying as a result of a heavy collision.
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Snowflake

Progressive libtardation: 'Snowflake students' get University College London to apologize for calling snow white


RT
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 17:19 UTC
University College London white campus
© Twitter
University College London was forced to apologize after a "dreaming of a white campus" tweet was deemed racist by "snowflake students." The tweet had been intended to let students know the campus was still open as some parts of Britain remained covered by 13 inches of snow.

The tweet said: "Dreaming of a white campus? Our campuses will be open and operating fully today, Monday 11 December, so please make your way in as planned. (We can't guarantee snow but we'll try!) #snowday #londonsnow."

One twitter user replied: "You know who else dreamt of a white campus? Hitler, that's who. Disgusting." Kumail Jaffer, a PPE student at Warwick University urged UCL to "retract and apologize." He added that if anyone does not understand why the comment is offensive, they should "look into the history of the oppression of the PoC [People of Color]," according to the Telegraph.


Comment: Wonder how he is gonna feel when people "look into the history of the oppression of PoC" and don't care? When's the last time you got mad at Alexander the Great's colonialism? Anyone care about Hannibal's mistreatment of animals? How about the genocide of the gauls? No takers?


UCL quickly apologized for the tweet, saying it "chose our words very poorly ... We're sorry and we'll choose our words more carefully in the future." The university explained it had been referring to the song 'White Christmas,' and posted a link to a YouTube video of the 1942 song, which was written by Irving Berlin.

Comment: Bonfire of the academies: Former Evergreen State College professors on how leftist intolerance is killing higher education

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Cross

America's declining Christmas beliefs and traditions: Most not bothered by it and will still celebrate with family and friends


Pew Research Centre
Tue, 12 Dec 2017 12:00 UTC
Representation of Christmas Nativity scene. (Photoillustration by iStock.com/lukbar)
© iStock.com/lukbarRepresentation of Christmas Nativity scene.
Shrinking majority believe biblical account of birth of Jesus depicts actual events

As long-simmering debates continue over how American society should commemorate the Christmas holiday, a new Pew Research Center survey finds that most U.S. adults believe the religious aspects of Christmas are emphasized less now than in the past - even as relatively few Americans are bothered by this trend. In addition, a declining majority says religious displays such as nativity scenes should be allowed on government property. And compared with five years ago, a growing share of Americans say it does not matter to them how they are greeted in stores and businesses during the holiday season - whether with "merry Christmas" or a less-religious greeting like "happy holidays."


Comment: Behind the Headlines: Jesus never existed? Interview with Laura Knight-Jadczyk


Comment: Check out SOTT radio's: Also See:

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Star of David

Fmr IDF commander calls for army to "tear Palestinians apart" if there is a new war


RT
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 17:03 UTC
Israeli soldier
© Mohamad Torokman / ReutersAn Israeli soldier aims his weapon during clashes with Israeli troops, in the West Bank village of Kofr Qadom
Former IDF commander Amiram Levin says Israel was "too nice" during the Six Day War, vowing to force Palestinians out to "the other side of the Jordan River." The statement comes amid tensions over Trump's Jerusalem decision.

"We need to engage in tough negotiations that do not take us back to the '67 borders," Levin, a key figure in the Labor Party, told Maariv daily, referring to Israel's borders before the 1967 Arab-Israeli War (also known as Six Day War). The outlet published parts of the interview on Wednesday, the full article is to come out on Friday.

Levin said that Palestinians refused to accept the UN-brokered partition plan and started the 1967 war; he warned that Israel used to be "too nice" back then, and should be much tougher if another conflict breaks out.

"We will give [the Palestinians] a carrot in the form of a state, and if they don't want it, we will tear them apart," Levin said. "I have said many times in the past that next time we have a war, they will no longer remain here, we will kick them out to the other side of the Jordan River. That's how we need to fight. We were too nice in '67."
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Eye 1

Iraqi citizens beaten, tortured by British troops awarded thousands in compensation


RT
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 15:42 UTC
Soldiers
© Phil Noble / Reuters
Four Iraqi citizens have been awarded thousands of pounds in compensation for their illegal detention and for torture by the British military during the Iraq war. The four cases will now set the tone for 600 other claims being brought against the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

On Thursday a London judge awarded the four Iraqi citizens varying amounts in compensation, with one set to pocket more than £30,000, after he had been deprived of sleep, sight, and sound in captivity.

Justice Leggatt ruled that the four were entitled to compensation under the Human Rights Act. The four cases will now set precedents for more than 600 unresolved claims, known as the Iraqi Civilian Litigation, in which unlawful imprisonment and ill-treatment by the British armed forces is alleged.

"This judgment follows the first full trials of these claims in which the claimants themselves and other witnesses have testified in an English courtroom," said Leggatt.

Comment:
In 2014, the ICC prosecutor reopened an investigation into war crimes allegations after Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) alleged that the "UK personnel committed systematically and on a large scale war crimes of torture and related ill-treatment" against at least 1,071 Iraqi detainees pursuant to the UK government's "deliberate policy of abuse" of Iraqi detainees in the period from March 2003 through to December 2008 on the territory of Iraq.

The rights groups also claimed that the British personnel committed at least 52 cases of unlawful killings against persons in their custody in Iraq during the same period.

See entire article: International Criminal Court finds reason to believe British soldiers guilty of Iraq war crimes


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Bullseye

Undercover Michigan police no longer exempt from prosecution for having sex with prostitutes


RT
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 08:10 UTC
Prostitute
© Robert Schlesinger / Global Look Press
Sex with prostitutes in Michigan isn't legal, but until Wednesday, undercover police in the state couldn't be prosecuted for sleeping with streetwalkers. Police agencies deny ever using the law or training officers to do the horizontal hula with hookers.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder (R) signed into law on Wednesday two pieces of legislation repealing an exemption that protected on-duty undercover law enforcement from prosecution for having "penetration" sex with prostitutes.

"Every day the brave men and women in Michigan's law enforcement community work tirelessly to help ensure the safety and wellbeing of all Michiganders," Snyder said, according to MLive Media Group. "These bills help ensure the ongoing integrity and accountability of our law enforcement system by clarifying what actions officers are exempt from while performing their official duties."

The bills, House Bill 4355 and Senate Bill 275, were sponsored by State Representative Gary Glenn (R-Midland) and State Senator Judy Emmons (R-Sheridan). The State Senate approved its bill unanimously, but some House Democrats voted against HB4355 because an amendment that would have included other sexual acts besides penetration failed, according to the Detroit Metro Times.
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Handcuffs

Egyptian court jails singer for "inciting debauchery" in racy music video


Middle East Eye
Tue, 12 Dec 2017 23:49 UTC
Shyma, Shaimaa Ahmed
Shyma, whose real name is Shaimaa Ahmed, was also fined $560
An Egyptian court jailed a little-known singer for two years on Tuesday for "inciting debauchery," judicial sources said, after she appeared in a music video in revealing clothes, suggestively eating a banana.

Shyma's song, titled "I have issues," sparked controversy on social media in the conservative country.

Egyptian TV commentators also expressed rage over the music video, calling the singer "filthy" and urging the authorities to prosecute her.

The singer, who was fined $560, can appeal the verdict to a higher court.

The director of the video was also fined and sentenced to two years in prison, but in absentia. Both defendants were accused of inciting debauchery and producing a video harming public morality.

Comment: The young singer pleaded not guilty to the charges, claiming that she was forced into the provocative poses by the video's director, who included the scenes in the final cut without her consent. In addition to the jail sentence, the musician's union has subsequently banned Shyma from performing. The offending video is fairly typical of what is commonly seen in Western music videos.

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Books

Sexism, segregation, squalor: Religious schools are failing to meet Britain's minimum requirements, says regulator


RT
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 12:57 UTC
Schools
© Charles Platiau
More and more religious schools are failing to meet the government's minimum requirements, according to the UK education watchdog. Some students are being taught sexist and solely religious texts in lieu of basic math and English.

The Ofsted Annual Report 2016/17 has shone a light on the dank, squalid conditions experienced at some of Britain's independent religious schools. "There has been a sharp decline in inspection outcomes for other independent schools and in particular schools with a faith. Almost half of faith schools (49 percent) were judged less than good at their most recent inspection and over a quarter (26 percent) were inadequate," the report states.

"The most basic checks, such as whether staff were suitable to work with children, were not in place," it revealed. "Perhaps more significantly, in a handful of schools inspectors found instances of sexist and sectarian literature."

The report also shows that a rising number of religious schools are actively undermining British values in their teachings. Ofsted Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman told the Daily Mail that in some parts of the country "shared values and tolerance clash with community expectations."
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Eye 1

Woman is killed after she is pushed in front of train at subway station in Bucharest, Romania

Joe Sheppard
Daily Mail (UK)
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 14:16 UTC
The victim is pushed from behind with great force at the subway station in Bucharest
The victim is pushed from behind with great force at the subway station in Bucharest
A 36-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a waitress was pushed under a train in Romania.

Alina Ciucu, 25, was killed after she was crushed under the carriages of the metro at the Dristor 1 subway station in Bucharest on Tuesday night.

Passengers initially believed the young woman had committed suicide but, after reviewing CCTV footage of the incident, police determined that she had been pushed.

(WARNING DISTRESSING CONTENT)

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