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Czech president sets red underpants ablaze in front of cameras to troll reporters


Sputnik
Fri, 15 Jun 2018 14:45 UTC
Czech President Milos Zeman underpants
© AFP 2018 / Michal CIZEK
Czech President Milos Zeman invited journalists to Prague Castle, where he unveiled an large pair of underpants. He passed them to two firemen, who set the "artifact" on fire. Zeman explained his action as a desire to show that policy should be carried out "on the basis of an exchange of opinions, and the time of underwear in politics is over."

Zeman burnt the giant red underpants in public. The video was published on the channel POLITIKA 24 on YouTube.

In 2015 these underpants were hung over the residence of the head of state by the Czech art group Ztohoven, demonstrating their attitude to Zeman and his policies. The presidential administration bought them from the Committee on State Property Management for one crown.


Comment: For those of us who don't immediately get the joke, there's a bit more context here:
The visibly frail 73-year-old Zeman abruptly announced a press conference on Thursday afternoon, raising speculation about his possible resignation.

"I apologise to the journalists whose intelligence I tested, unsuccessfully as always," Zeman told reporters gathered for the briefing the gardens of Prague Castle where he was flanked by his spokesman, assistants and several firemen.

To their amazement, Zeman then proceeded to burn a huge pair of red underpants in a fire pit, assisted by two firemen dressed in full gear.

"The time of underwear in politics is over," Zeman declared. "I'm sorry to make you look like little idiots, you really don't deserve it," he told reporters before leaving in his car.

The red underpants, measuring roughly one square metre, resembled a pair that Czech pranksters had flown from a flag pole atop the presidential palace in 2015 in protest against Zeman.

The pranksters said that the red colour of their boxer-short style protest flag symbolised the unhealthily close link they believed Zeman, a former communist, had with China and Russia.

Staunchly pro-Russian and pro-Chinese, Zeman once dubbed journalists "manure" and "superficial" before telling Russian President Vladimir Putin in China in May 2017 that "journalists should be liquidated".

He also showed up at a press conference in October 2017 with a toy Kalashnikov in his hand labelled "for journalists".

Zeman narrowly won a second consecutive term in January elections, beating his pro-European liberal rival Jiri Drahos in a knife-edge run-off that underscored deep divisions in the EU and NATO state.

Zeman's stunt drew a barrage of criticism on Thursday, with Jiri Pospisil, leader of the right-wing TOP 09 party, exclaiming "let us wake up from this nightmare!"

Zeman's health has come under heavy scrutiny in recent months.

He walks with a cane, is diabetic and is a former heavy drinker and smoker.


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Eye 1

Anti-vaccination billboard sparks outrage amongst Australian doctors


RT
Fri, 15 Jun 2018 14:22 UTC
Vaccinations
© Schneyder Mendoza / AFP
A new anti-vaccination billboard in Perth has sparked outrage amongst Australian doctors and caused a dispute to flare on social media. The ad poses the controversial question "Do you know what's in a vaccine?"

The billboard was met with fierce criticism from Australian doctors and the authorities, which vowed to pull it down, as social media users argued about whether this could violate freedom of speech. Placed on a street corner, the billboard provided a link to an American anti-vaccination group called 'Learn The Risk.' It defines its mission as one of raising people's awareness of "the dangers of pharmaceutical products, including vaccines."

However, the message wasn't received so well by the Australian Medical Association. As soon as the billboard was spotted, the Association insisted on having it pulled down by the local authorities. Their outrage was reinforced by Health Minister Roger Cook, who in turn branded the billboard "nasty and devious" and warned that its "misleading" nature could seriously endanger people's lives. Cook vowed to pull all the necessary strings to have it removed as soon as possible and said he was considering toughening laws to fight against this sort of "misinformation."

Comment: See also:

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Heart - Black

Disturbing images: Dog 'buried alive' in hot tar sparks anger in India


RT
Fri, 15 Jun 2018 12:51 UTC
Dog buried
© Raju Tomar
Disturbing images of a dog reportedly buried alive in hot tar has horrified locals in Agra, India. Four people were arrested after images of the shocking incident went viral.

The distressing occurrence happened on the Fatehpur road on Tuesday night when construction workers were laying a road with tar, NDTV reports. The dog was inexplicably half-buried under the freshly-laid tar along the side of the road.

Video footage provided to RT by a local source shows the dog lying in the street, with its legs and some of his belly covered in tar. Social media users expressed anger and disgust at the news.

There are conflicting reports about whether the dog was alive when the tar was poured, with some saying it was sleeping or already dead, and others alleging they heard the dog howling in pain.
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Handcuffs

'Punish a Muslim Day': UK man charged in connection with Islamophobic letter campaign


RT
Fri, 15 Jun 2018 08:34 UTC
Letter
© tellmamauk.org
A 35-year-old man has been charged in connection with the Islamophobic 'Punish a Muslim Day" investigation, counter-terrorism police say.

A series of menacing letters headed 'Punish a Muslim Day' were sent to Muslim MPs earlier this year, calling for acid attacks against Muslims, mosque bombings, and the tearing off of hijabs, part of Islam's traditional female clothing.

David Parnham, from Lincoln, has been charged with 14 offences, including soliciting to murder, staging a bomb hoax, and sending threatening letters.

Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement: "Those affected by hate crime can rest assured that we and our partners take such investigations extremely seriously and are avidly committed to seeking justice in all circumstances."

Comment: See also: Calls for police action after man films himself, posts video spraying stain remover at Muslim woman

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War Whore

Calls for police action after man films himself, posts video spraying stain remover at Muslim woman


RT
Fri, 15 Jun 2018 13:44 UTC
Woman
© Frank May/ Global Look Press
Furore has erupted over an "Islamophobe" filming himself spraying a Muslim woman with a stain remover. Twitterati are calling for the man to be tracked down and prosecuted over what has been called an "illegal" stunt.

The video - shared on social media by Muslim community network 5Pillars - shows the man roaming around the with a pink Vanish spray. He then says: "Let's see if this f*cking stuff works," before he points the camera at a woman in a hijab and squirts the product at her.

The victim seems to not notice the man behind her, and carries on with her shopping.

The location of the video or whether it has been reported to the police is not known.
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Palette

Banksy print thief filmed walking artwork out of Toronto gallery


RT
Fri, 15 Jun 2018 13:13 UTC
Art gallery
© Toronto Police Service / YouTube
The moment a thief steals a Banksy print from the walls of a Toronto gallery and strolls out with the artwork in his hands has been captured on CCTV.

The footage, released by Toronto Police, shows how brazen the art thief was. First shown walking into the exhibition space, his face hidden by his hoodie and hat, he appears in the frame again seconds later carrying a large print.
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Arrow Down

Rollercoaster riders dangle 30ft above ground after horrifying derailment at Florida amusement park


RT
Fri, 15 Jun 2018 12:23 UTC
Rollercoaster derailment
© Daytona Beach Fire Department
Two people were thrown more than 30ft to the ground while several others were left dangling mid-air after a rollercoaster derailed in Florida.

The terrifying incident happened at the amusement park on Daytona Beach Boardwalk, Thursday night, as passengers were riding the 85ft high Sand Blaster, according to ClickOrlando.

The rollercoaster went off the tracks, leaving three connecting cars dangling off the rail. Two riders fell right out of the front carriage, while 10 more were left hanging some 34ft above the ground.
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Star of David

Norman Finkelstein: 'The Israeli military said' & the NYT coverage of Gaza protests

Norman G. Finkelstein
Mondoweiss
Fri, 15 Jun 2018 12:48 UTC
David Halbfinger
© New York Times
David Halbfinger
New York Times reporter David M. Halbfinger didn't know whether the demonstrations in Gaza were "peaceful protests or violent riots." So he embedded himself with Israeli snipers poised on the perimeter of Gaza concentration camp to find out ("At Gaza Protests: Kites, Drones, Gas, Guns and the Occasional Bomb," June 8, 2018).

One might suppose if he wanted an answer to that question, the obvious place to go would be among the demonstrators. But never mind.

According to human rights organizations, the weekly Gaza demonstrations have been overwhelmingly nonviolent. But from day one, Halbfinger and his Times colleagues have recurrently portrayed them as armed confrontations in which Israeli snipers return the fire of protesters. They rely on official Israeli statements that are quoted without demurral, without further investigation, and without independent corroboration from, say, human rights monitors:
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Cut

Brexit rebels and resignations in the UK Labour party

Emma Ross-Thomas
Bloomberg
Thu, 14 Jun 2018 12:41 UTC
Jeremy Corbyn
© REUTERS / Neil Hall


Today in Brexit: A rebellion and mass resignations expose Labour's divisions over Brexit.

If anyone in Brussels thought negotiating Brexit with the Labour Party would be preferable to talking to Theresa May's divided Conservatives, a rebellion in its ranks on Wednesday will give pause for thought.

Voting on whether the U.K. should remain fully inside the European Union's single market - and accepting all its rules including free movement of people - 90 Labour lawmakers (out of 257) defied the instructions of the party leadership. Of those, 75 voted to remain in the European Economic Area - a non-member affiliation with the bloc often dubbed the "Norway model" - and 15 voted against. Whips had told them to abstain.

Six members of Jeremy Corbyn's core team resigned ahead of the vote.

Comment: Long after the Brexit referendum vote in which the UK people chose to leave the EU, the flip-flopping and arguing over Brexit of the political class continues. One may agree or disagree with the wisdom of Brexit, but it's a little late for such debates, since the Biritsh people already decided.

More on the topic:

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Gold Bar

Russian government approves cooperation agreement with China to develop joint gold mining project in Siberia


RT
Fri, 15 Jun 2018 12:52 UTC
Bay with water
© Ilya Naymushin / Reuters
The Russian government has approved a cooperation agreement with China on developing the Klyuchevskoye gold ore deposit in the Trans-Baikal region.

The decree was signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, and the project is expected to be operational in two years. The planned volume of ore extraction is over 12 million tons per year.

Development of the Klyuchevskoye gold deposit is a very important project, according to the region's governor, Natalia Zhdanova. Three countries - Russia, India, and China - are involved in the project's development.

"It is important for the region. Foreign economic policy and attraction of investors are among the key work aspects for the Trans-Baikal's government," Zhdanova said, adding that 28 projects involving foreign investors are already being implemented there.

Comment: There is also a pipeline in the works which is almost complete and increased trade between the two superpowers.

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