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New York judge rules 'no basis' to dismiss Weinstein sex assault case

Michael R. Sisak and Jim Mustian
Associated Press
Thu, 20 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
Harvey Weinstein
© AP /Julio Cortez
Harvey Weinstein arrives at New York Supreme Court, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018, in New York. Judge James Burke will decide on the future of his sexual assault case, which has been clouded by allegations that police acted improperly in the investigation that led to his arrest.
A New York judge declined to dismiss sexual assault charges against Harvey Weinstein Thursday, rejecting the disgraced Hollywood titan's fierce push to have his indictment thrown out.

Judge James Burke's ruling buoyed a prosecution that appeared on rocky ground in recent months amid a prolonged defense effort to raise doubts about the case and the police investigation.

It was also welcome news for the #MeToo movement, which took off last year after numerous women accused Weinstein of wrongdoing. About a half-dozen women, including actress Marisa Tomei, showed up to court wearing t-shirts from the anti-abuse organization Time's Up.

Weinstein's lawyers argued the case had been "irreparably tainted" by a detective's alleged coaching of a potential witness and one of the accusers. They also said the grand jury that indicted Weinstein should have been shown friendly emails he exchanged with his two accusers after the alleged attacks.

But Burke ruled that Weinstein's prosecutorial misconduct claims had "no basis" and that prosecutors were under no obligation to give the grand jury evidence favorable to the defense. He denied Weinstein's demand for a hearing to examine the police investigation and rebuked his lawyers for what he said were "speculative" claims that political pressure had led to the charges.
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Star of David

Americans waking up to Israel's brutal and discriminatory tactic but Washington still ignores them

Jonathan Cook
The National
Sun, 16 Dec 2018 21:29 UTC
Ramallah refugee camp
© European Press Agency
Palestinians watch Israeli soldiers during clashes at Al Amari refugee camp in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
With opinion now evenly split between those who favour a one or two-state solution, many in the US are turning their attention to the systemic inequities faced by Palestinians

Two years of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu as a Middle East peacemaking team appear to be having a transformative effect - and in ways that will please neither of them.

The American public is now evenly split between those who want a two-state solution and those who prefer a single state, shared by Israelis and Palestinians, according to a survey published last week by the University of Maryland.

And if a Palestinian state is off the table - as a growing number of analysts of the region conclude, given Israel's intransigence and the endless postponement of Mr Trump's peace plan - then support for one state rises steeply, to nearly two-thirds of Americans.
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Megaphone

Gilets Jaunes Protests Spread to Canada: Thousands Say NO to Justin Trudeau's Globalist Government

Timothy C. Trepanier
Sott.net
Thu, 20 Dec 2018 19:45 UTC
A recent demonstration in a northern Alberta city was a clear message rejecting Trudeau's anti-pipeline, pro-carbon tax, open borders, globalist agenda

GP Convoy
© unknown
A convoy of over 600 vehicles in Grande Prairie, showed support for oil pipelines.
The people are fed up. They have had enough, and they are making their voices heard.

The gilets jaunes ('yellow vest') protests against excessive taxation without representation that have erupted across France over the last month are now spreading to different parts of the world. Recently, there have been similar demonstrations in other European countries, including Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, the UK and Sweden.

Partially inspired by the mass uprising of the people in France, residents of Grande Prairie, Alberta, held a large public demonstration in a downtown park last Sunday. The event was billed as a "pro-pipeline rally", and was coordinated in response to the Canadian government's inept handling of, and interference with, four different oil pipelines that were slated to bring Alberta oil to the world market.

The failure of the government to oversee the successful implementation of even one of the proposed pipelines have lead to record low prices for Canadian oil, with devastating results to the local industry and economy.
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Sheeple

"There is no facepalm big enough for this": Biohacker self-injects DNA sequence constructed from Bible and Koran verses

Joe Brophy
The Sun
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 20:07 UTC
bible Koran DNA
© Composite image: Global Look Press / Catherine Leblanc / Godong; Getty Images
High-school student Adrien Locatelli translated religious passages into DNA codes to build unknown proteins

A biohacker injected himself with DNA sequence made from parts of the Bible and Koran in a risky experiment because he "wondered whether it would be possible".

The high-school student risked potentially fatal consequences after conducting the procedure without any knowledge of the effects the proteins would have on his body.

Mr Locatelli, who claimed the bizarre experiment was the first of its kind, converted all of the letters in the holy books into a DNA sequence.

Comment: Apparently there were some effects, but probably not what Locatelli may have been looking for:
Using an online tool, the teenage biohacker was able to translate the nucleotide (building blocks of DNA and RNA) information into protein sequences which he then injected into each of his thighs.

The high-school student had no idea what effect injecting the unknown proteins into his body might have in what he claimed it was a one-of-a-kind experiment. He experienced no adverse side-effects apart from a swollen leg, which lasted for several days. It is unclear whether the Bible or the Koran verse proteins induced the swelling.

"Recent studies have shown that any information can be encrypted using DNA and stored in this form. I became the first living thing in which the text is stored. This is very symbolic, even if it does not bear any benefit," Locatelli said in his published research.

Locatelli was widely derided in the online scientific community, which was seemingly bemused as to his methodology and motivation for the utterly bizarre experiment.





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Cult

Thirteen years too late: LA bishop resigns following child sex abuse allegations - church knew since 2005

John Antczak and Nicole WinfieldI
Associated Press
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
Monsignor Alexander Salazar
© Kevin Sullivan/The Orange County Register via AP
Los Angeles auxiliary bishop, Monsignor Alexander Salazar - Pope Francis has accepted his resignation following allegations of misconduct with a minor in the 1990s.
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of a Los Angeles auxiliary bishop, Monsignor Alexander Salazar, following an allegation of sexual misconduct with a child in the 1990s, officials said Wednesday.

The Vatican announced the resignation in a one-line statement. It was the latest in a string of misconduct allegations against bishops to come to light this year, following the scandal of ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington that exposed how bishops have largely avoided punishment for improper behavior.

Pasadena police recommended in 2002 that Salazar be charged with committing a lewd act on a child, but prosecutors declined to bring charges over a lack of evidence, Lt. Jesse Carrillo said. He had no further information.

The current archbishop of Los Angeles, the Most Rev. Jose Gomez, said the archdiocese learned of the claim in 2005. Gomez said the archdiocese forwarded the complaint to the Vatican office handling sex abuse cases.

Gomez said that office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, imposed precautionary measures against Salazar and that a further investigation by the archdiocese's independent review board found the allegation to be credible.

Comment: The grand jury report about Catholic priest abuse in Pennsylvania shows the church is a criminal syndicate: 'It is time to face the horrible truth: The Catholic church is a pedophile ring'

Unfortunately, the Catholic Church is just one tentacle of the hydra:

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Quenelle

French police to stage 'Gilets Bleus' protests: "We are middle class too. When we take off our uniforms, we become Yellow Vests"


The Local
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 19:39 UTC
Local police Yellow vest
© Agence France-Presse
Police face Yellow Vest protests
French police are being urged close police stations on Wednesday as part of a protest over pay and conditions - including a demand to be paid the 23 million hours of overtime they are owed - as the government scrambles to quell growing unrest among the country's forces of law and order.

After the yellow vests, it's now the turn of the blue vests (gilets bleus) to show their anger as French police unions are calling on officers to picket France's police stations on Wednesday and only answer emergency calls as they fight for better working conditions and pay.

Talks were held between police unions and the Interior Minister Christophe Castaner on Tuesday but they failed to find a solution to quell the anger.

Comment: It's curtains for globalist control of France if this becomes a thing.

More from RT:
Speaking to RT on Wednesday, French police union representative Loic Travers said that when some officers are not in uniform "they become Yellow Vests" because they identify with the protesters' cause.

"We are middle class, or even lower, because of our salaries, our origin. That's why some colleagues feel that they are Yellow Vests. The cause of the Yellow Vests really resonate with the police," Travers said.


In an open letter to French lawmakers on Monday, Denis Jacob, the spokesman for national police union Alternative Police, said that police "risk their lives" daily to maintain public order and safety, but are now at a "breaking point" and feeling that "they too are affected by the demands of the Yellow Vests." Police officers are feeling "exhaustion, weariness and deep anger," the letter said.

The last thing that the French government would want as social unrest continues across France is for the police to begin striking in large numbers. Police unions have been in discussions with the French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner since Tuesday.


One concession already offered to police is a €300 ($340) bonus to officers who have been deployed during Yellow Vest protests - but the unions say it's not enough and are demanding that 23 million hours of overtime be paid.


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Briefcase

Southern California man to sue feds claiming unconstitutional phone search at LAX


Ars Technica
Tue, 18 Dec 2018 20:34 UTC
EFF mobile phone search
A Southern California man has become the latest person to sue the federal government over what he says is an unconstitutional search of his phone at the Los Angeles International Airport.

According to his lawsuit, which was recently filed in federal court in Los Angeles, Haisam Elsharkawi had arrived at LAX on February 9, 2017 and was headed to Saudi Arabia to go on a hajj, the Muslim religious pilgrimage.

After clearing the security checkpoint, Elsharkawi, an American citizen, was pulled aside from the Turkish Airlines boarding line by a Customs and Border Protection officer, who began questioning him about how much cash he was carrying and where he was going. Elsharkawi complied with the officer's inquiries and dutifully followed him to a nearby table.

"As the questioning continued and became increasingly aggressive, Mr. Elsharkawi asked if there was a problem and whether he needed an attorney," the complaint states. "Officer Rivas then accused Mr. Elsharkawi of hiding something because of his request for an attorney."

Comment: I'll never bring my phone on an international flight again. Neither should you
The fourth amendment protects you against unreasonable search and seizure. The fifth amendment protects you against self-incrimination. If a police officer were to stop you on the street of America and ask you to unlock your phone and give it to them, these amendments would give you strong legal ground for refusing to do so.

But unfortunately, the US border isn't technically the US, and you don't have either of these rights at the border. It's totally legal for a US Customs and Border Patrol officer to ask you to unlock your phone and hand it over to them. And they can detain you indefinitely if you don't. Even if you're a American citizen.
See also:

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Arrow Down

Veteran suicide rates continue to climb

Dave Philipps
The New York Times
Thu, 20 Dec 2018 19:33 UTC
National Mall
© Stephen Crowley/The New York Times
Flags on the National Mall in 2014 representing the 1,892 veterans and service members who died by suicide from January to March that year. The suicide rate among veterans is rising, especially among those who served during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Suicide prevention efforts by the Department of Veterans Affairs fell off sharply in the last two years, even though reducing the high suicide rate among veterans is the agency's top clinical priority, according to a new report.

With the department's top management in turmoil, the suicide prevention effort lacked leadership, planning meetings were repeatedly canceled, millions of dollars budgeted for outreach went unspent, and the television and radio ads that had been broadcast thousands of times across the country in previous years went all but silent.

The striking breakdown in prevention efforts is detailed in a Government Accountability Office report released late Monday. The report says that bureaucratic confusion and vacancies in key posts are largely to blame.

Comment: Let's not pretend that the vet suicide rate hasn't been extremely high in the US over the past decade. This doesn't stem from an administrative 'mismanagement' issue, although that could be compounding the issue. Here's a thought: stop marching soldiers into illegal and unjust 'wars' that destroy whole societies, and maybe that will reduce the suicide rate.

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Cupcake Choco

Average American edging closer to being borderline obese

Alexandre Tanzi
Bloomberg | Quint
Thu, 20 Dec 2018 19:14 UTC
cupcake
© David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
The average American is heavier than at the start of the 21st Century -- and very close to being obese, according to Centers for Disease Control data on body metrics.

The average American man is 5-feet, 9-inches tall and weighs 198 pounds; an average woman is 5-feet, 4-inches and 171 pounds, based on CDC data. That compares with 189.1 pounds and 163.6, respectively, at the start of the century.

A man of average height is considered overweight between 169 and 202 pounds and obese above 202 pounds. A woman of average height is considered overweight between 140 and 174 and obese above 175 pounds. The average non-Hispanic white American male weighs 202.2 pounds.

The Obesity Society, a scientific research organization, this month classified obesity as a worldwide, non-communicable chronic disease. "Obesity meets all criteria for being a disease, and therefore, should be characterized as such," said Cathy Kotz, the society's vice president and a professor at the University of Minnesota.
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Arrow Up

What sanctions? Russia's agricultural exports booming, expected to hit $25 billion this year


RT
Thu, 20 Dec 2018 19:21 UTC
wheat
© Reuters / Bogdan Cristel
Farming production in Russia is booming. With record harvests during the past two years, the country's agricultural exports are bringing in tens of billions of dollars, according to President Vladimir Putin.

"Last year, exports of agricultural products were $20 billion. This year, they will reach $25 billion," Putin said on Thursday during his annual Q&A session. He added: "We couldn't even imagine such figures earlier."

Boosting competitiveness and improving infrastructure is key to increasing exports further, the Russian president said, promising the government's support. Some 400 billion rubles ($6 billion) will be allocated for the development of infrastructure, including seaports and roads, he said.
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