Nazanin Boniadi is an Iranian-born human rights activist, actress and 2023 Sydney Peace Prize Laureate. Roya Boroumand is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran....
Autocratic theocracy: There is no Western autocratic theocracy. Yes there is, although it is still developing.
The US is well on its way there now: with the balance of SCOTUS being right wing; Roe vs Wade being overturned; trans and women’s healthcare being decimated; the privatization of youth and adult penal systems without comprehensive federal oversight that have allowed massive abuse to occur; almost every police force in the nation under investigation for murder, fraud, abuse, stealing body parts, etc; educational systems so underfunded that many locales don’t have an actual tally of how many children live in a district; a current presidential candidate who’s facing multiple trials and civil court cases for everything from rape to fraud, but is very comfortable in positioning himself as America’s savior being martyred;
Tortures and murders their own population: America’s prison population would disagree, as would Black and Brown citizens who daily face being killed by cops. Add to this the seeming joy some take in states reactivating their death sentencing using unproven and unethical means.
Supporting and directing terrorists: One could argue that American military forces have, in the past, committed some serious war atrocities under the banner of “In God We Trust”. See the Iran-Contra affair for further evidence.
Selling arms to Russia: America has sold or exchanged weapons with other nefarious actors … again see the Iran-Contra affair.
Hurting trade: America currently has full or limited embargoes on Cuba, Russia, Belarus, Somalia, and a host of other nations/nationals which obviously affect trade.
Conducting information warfare: America has a long history of spying on its “friends”, first reported by Edward Snowdon, and more recently through Discord, which have negatively affected its relationships worldwide. Here’s a full list.
What happened next that evening in May 2021 is the basis for a lawsuit by the mother alleging that Burlington police used excessive force and discriminated against her unarmed son, who is Black and has behavioral and intellectual disabilities....
But let’s focus on the choice of a 2% target. After the high inflation of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when it reached over 20% in the UK, central banks were left scrambling to find some new theoretical model to deal with rising prices. The first central bank to propose an inflation target of 2% was in New Zealand. But...
A convoy of vehicles headed to Texas, organized by a group called “Take Our Border Back,” has had a chaotic start, including slashed tires and a stranded participant, according to WIRED....
The first investigation into allegations that members of the 2018 Canadian world junior team participated in a group sexual assault at a downtown hotel concluded in February 2019 that there weren’t “reasonable grounds to believe sexual assault occurred.”
Three years later, after the allegations became public, London police reopened their investigation.
According to documents filed in court, police now say they have reasonable grounds to believe five junior hockey players sexually assaulted a 20-year-old woman at the hotel.
Melanie Randall, a law professor at Western University in London and a legal expert on sexual assaults, says this about-face shows the original investigation was “cursory at best.”. Source
UPDATED – NHL players Michael McLeod of the New Jersey Devils and Dillion Dubé of the Calgary Flames have been charged with sexual assault related to an alleged group incident in 2018 in London, Ont., when they were members of Canada’s World Junior hockey team....
UPDATE 2 – All 5 players have now been charged Source
Lawyers for Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils, Dillon Dubé of the Calgary Flames and Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday confirmed the charges. They come two days after 24-year-old Alex Formenton, another member of the 2018 junior team and a former NHL player, showed up at London Police Service headquarters and was charged with sexual assault.
More than 250 billionaires and millionaires on Wednesday reiterated their call on elected representatives of the world’s leading economies to introduce higher taxes on the very richest in society....
Rental firm Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ.O) said on Thursday it would sell about 20,000 electric vehicles, including Teslas, from its U.S. fleet due to higher expenses related to collision and damage, and will opt for gas-powered vehicles....
“We thank you for the upcoming election, Lord — or caucus, as we call it in Iowa,” said Hundley, speaking from the sanctuary of his evangelical Christian church in his slight Texas drawl as his parishioners bowed their heads....
And that’s the problem. There are alternatives but until the feds actively push municipal/provincial gov’ts to change, they’ll just keep using salt or liquid saline solutions.
Carson Brière, the son of Philadelphia Flyers general manager Daniel Brière, will enter a Pennsylvania program for first-time offenders after being charged for pushing an unoccupied wheelchair down a staircase....
This trail of consequences for Briere began on March 11, when he was caught on surveillance camera walking up to the entryway of a dance floor at Sullivan’s Pub in Erie with three other people before sitting down in an empty wheelchair. The footage shows Briere trying to maneuver around before he gets up and shoves the chair down the stairs. The wheelchair flips over and the seat cushion comes off during the descent.
Police say their actions posed a potential danger to anyone coming up the stairs, while also creating a hazardous condition by blocking the staircase.
The wheelchair’s owner, Sydney Benes, 22, filed a complaint after the incident, listing all the ways her chair had been damaged. Benes is a double amputee who lost her foot and leg in a fire after her car crashed in 2021. To be mobile, she said, she needs the chair while she learns to use her prosthetics.
Benes wrote in the complaint that the chair’s fall down the stairs damaged the left brake handle, broke the right armrest’s plastic moulding, bent a rear handle and caused the wheels to drag when moving forward. She added that the wheelchair was purchased a year ago for US$2,000.
Benes’ chair was left alone in the stairwell that night because she was using the restroom at the bottom of the stairs. Sullivan’s Pub was built before accessible design requirements were enacted, so her friend would "personally physically carry her down the stairs any time she has to use the restroom.”
Carson Briere previously was dismissed from Arizona State’s hockey club in 2019 for what the school called a violation of team rules, the Associated Press reported.
A large cargo ship with a fire in its hold is being kept 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) offshore of an Alaska port as a precaution while efforts are undertaken to extinguish the flames, the U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday....
Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl still flying free 1 year after escaping Central Park Zoo - CBS New York (www.cbsnews.com)
13-year-old boy fatally shot man whose leg was blocking aisle of bus, Denver police say (apnews.com)
Denver police have arrested a 13-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting a man whose leg was blocking the aisle on a public bus.
An Execution Binge in Iran (time.com)
Nazanin Boniadi is an Iranian-born human rights activist, actress and 2023 Sydney Peace Prize Laureate. Roya Boroumand is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran....
A Vermont mom called police to talk to her son about stealing. He ended up handcuffed and sedated (apnews.com)
What happened next that evening in May 2021 is the basis for a lawsuit by the mother alleging that Burlington police used excessive force and discriminated against her unarmed son, who is Black and has behavioral and intellectual disabilities....
The damning truth about the UK’s 2% inflation target: it’s completely made up | Louis-Philippe Rochon (www.theguardian.com)
But let’s focus on the choice of a 2% target. After the high inflation of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when it reached over 20% in the UK, central banks were left scrambling to find some new theoretical model to deal with rising prices. The first central bank to propose an inflation target of 2% was in New Zealand. But...
The 'God's army' convoy traveling to Texas to stop migrants has seen a vehicle get lost, tires slashed, and someone stranded on the highway: report (www.businessinsider.com)
A convoy of vehicles headed to Texas, organized by a group called “Take Our Border Back,” has had a chaotic start, including slashed tires and a stranded participant, according to WIRED....
NHLers Michael McLeod, Dillon Dubé charged with sexual assault in Canadian world juniors investigation (www.cbc.ca)
The LPS has called a news conference for Monday, when it’s expected more details will be released....
UPDATED -- 5 former Canadian world junior hockey players now face sexual assault charges (www.cbc.ca)
UPDATED – NHL players Michael McLeod of the New Jersey Devils and Dillion Dubé of the Calgary Flames have been charged with sexual assault related to an alleged group incident in 2018 in London, Ont., when they were members of Canada’s World Junior hockey team....
Sky News Makes On-Air Apology After Presenter Compared Israel’s War In Gaza To The Holocaust (deadline.com)
Mega-rich renew call on global leaders at Davos to 'tax our extreme wealth' (www.cnbc.com)
More than 250 billionaires and millionaires on Wednesday reiterated their call on elected representatives of the world’s leading economies to introduce higher taxes on the very richest in society....
Rental giant Hertz dumps EVs, including Teslas, for gas cars (www.reuters.com)
Rental firm Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ.O) said on Thursday it would sell about 20,000 electric vehicles, including Teslas, from its U.S. fleet due to higher expenses related to collision and damage, and will opt for gas-powered vehicles....
One in 100 people in Gaza has been killed since October 7 (edition.cnn.com)
Israeli strike on Lebanon kills senior commander in elite Hezbollah unit (www.reuters.com)
An Israeli strike on south Lebanon on Monday killed a senior commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force, three security sources told Reuters....
Iowa's Christian conservatives follow their faith when voting, and some say it leads them to Trump (apnews.com)
“We thank you for the upcoming election, Lord — or caucus, as we call it in Iowa,” said Hundley, speaking from the sanctuary of his evangelical Christian church in his slight Texas drawl as his parishioners bowed their heads....
'Try not to let moose lick your car,' warns Parks Canada, as more moose flock to highways (www.cbc.ca)
Parks Canada is warning drivers not to stop while on highways to let moose lick their cars this winter....
Al Jazeera bureau chief's son Hamza al-Dahdouh among journalists killed in Gaza (www.bbc.co.uk)
The eldest son of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief has been killed in an Israeli strike in southern Gaza....
Son of Flyers GM put in probation program for wheelchair push (www.cbc.ca)
Carson Brière, the son of Philadelphia Flyers general manager Daniel Brière, will enter a Pennsylvania program for first-time offenders after being charged for pushing an unoccupied wheelchair down a staircase....
215 bodies found buried behind Jackson, Mississippi jail (chicagocrusader.com)
Winnipeg Jets @ Anaheim Ducks (www.nhl.com)
First game the Jets have played against the Ducks since Ryan Strome took out KFC with a knee-on-knee hit … and guess who’s an injury scratch?
Court records related to Jeffrey Epstein are set to be released, but they aren't a client list (apnews.com)
There is no such list and the truth is less scandalous....
Polar bear dies from bird flu as H5N1 spreads across globe (www.theguardian.com)
A polar bear has been killed by bird flu as the highly contagious H5N1 virus spreads into the most remote parts of the planet....
Cargo ship carrying burning lithium-ion batteries reaches Alaska, but kept offshore for safety (apnews.com)
A large cargo ship with a fire in its hold is being kept 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) offshore of an Alaska port as a precaution while efforts are undertaken to extinguish the flames, the U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday....