Category Archives: Fail!

Sherpa: Norbu Tenzing on the Everest ‘circus’ and the inevitability of another disaster | Film | The Guardian

On the question of what his father might think of the current state of affairs, Tenzing pulls no punches: “I think he would be quite horrified with the way things have turned out. Since the time he was climbing there’s been a complete change, a shift in the way people climb Everest and what motivates them. “The sense of people going on an adventure, working together, doing something nobody’s done before, with a sense of comradeship and working together – that spirit doesn’t exist now. “It’s just a total service industry, where you’re fulfilling the egos of western climbers and people from south Asia who want to test the limits of how close they can get to death, at great expense of the Sherpas. I don’t think my father would want to be alive to see the circus that Everest has turned into.”

Source: Sherpa: Norbu Tenzing on the Everest ‘circus’ and the inevitability of another disaster | Film | The Guardian

Homeopathic practitioner hacked to death in Bangladesh | News | DW.COM | 20.05.2016

Both Rahman and Zaman were fans of a mystical musical tradition known as Baul, which is popular in the region. The doctor’s brother-in-law said Rahman used to arrange concerts at his home. The Bauls, or “mystic minstrels” as they are known locally, have long been dismissed as hippies and even killed after being branded heretics by the country’s religious extremists.

Source: Homeopathic practitioner hacked to death in Bangladesh | News | DW.COM | 20.05.2016

Moshe Yaalon, Israeli Defense Minister, Resigns – The New York Times

“This morning I informed the prime minister that following his management in the latest developments, and in light of my lack of faith in him, I am resigning from the government and the Knesset and taking time out from political life,” he wrote on his Facebook page. The addition of Mr. Lieberman to the government, which has not been announced, would not represent an enormous right-wing shift for Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition.

Source: Moshe Yaalon, Israeli Defense Minister, Resigns – The New York Times

Body Cameras Show Handcuffed Man Fatally Stunned With Taser – Video – NYTimes.com

This video includes violent scenes and graphic language. It has been condensed from its original length but is otherwise unaltered. On Nov. 20, 2015, Chase Sherman was handcuffed and stunned with a Taser by two Coweta County, Ga., sheriff’s deputies responding to a 911 call from his parents. He died at the scene. The body cameras worn by the deputies captured the episode.

Source: Body Cameras Show Handcuffed Man Fatally Stunned With Taser – Video – NYTimes.com

Woman attempted to set fire to Oslo mosque – The Local

The woman went to the World Islamic Mission’s mosque on Tuesday and asked to use its toilet. Video from the facility’s surveillance cameras show that she set fire to a paper towel that she brought with her out of the restroom, Aftenposten reported.    While she attempted to use the paper towel to start a larger fire, 15 people were praying one floor above her.    Those praying were able to extinguish the fire.    The World Islamic Mission has up until now been open to anyone who wants to look around or use the facility to pray. School groups have also been welcome. But now, management said it will reconsider both the mosque’s safety measures and opening hours.

Source: Woman attempted to set fire to Oslo mosque – The Local

Pesticides may increase nervous system diseases like ALS | Green Prophet

The list goes on. Just like proving asbestos causes lung cancer mesothelioma (20 years after exposure) it’s very difficult to prove that pesticide exposure causes long-term harm. Yet another study on pesticides, reported in JAMA Neurology, finds a direct link to pesticide exposure and the increase for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis known as Lou Gehrig’s disease or ALS. The researchers interviewed 156 patients about pesticide exposure, going back 30 years, and took blood samples. Those exposed to any kind of pesticide were 5 times more vulnerable to ALS than those with no exposure, the researchers concluded in the study. Time to start growing our fresh food hydroponically people. It’s pesticide free if you do it right.

Source: Pesticides may increase nervous system diseases like ALS | Green Prophet

Netanyahu agrees to give defense portfolio to ultranationalist Lieberman | News | DW.COM | 18.05.2016

Lieberman is a polarizing figure, questioning the loyalty of Israel’s Arab minority. He tried and failed to require Israelis to sign a loyalty oath or have their citizenship revoked. He is also skeptical about pursuing peace with the Palestinians, and now wants to pass legislation that would impose the death penalty against Arabs convicted of terrorism. He has become an influential voice within Israel, while alienating many of the country’s allies. Israeli and Palestinian peace talks have been in the deep-freeze for some time, and by elevating extreme nationalists into government, the chances of any thaw in the near future are made that much more remote.

Source: Netanyahu agrees to give defense portfolio to ultranationalist Lieberman | News | DW.COM | 18.05.2016

Election 2016: Peter Dutton stands by refugee remarks – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Nut jobs in charge in Australia – sad to say.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton is standing by his comments that many refugees are illiterate. Mr Dutton drew criticism earlier this week for saying illiterate and innumerate refugees could “take Australian jobs” or end up “languishing in unemployment queues”. Today Mr Dutton told 2GB he believed in what he said. “Let’s be honest enough to have these discussions — that’s what the Australian public want,” he said. “I’m not going to stand back from what I said, I believe in what I said. “My job is to keep people safe in this country, to protect our borders”.

Source: Election 2016: Peter Dutton stands by refugee remarks – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Iranian sting uncovers ′un-Islamic′ criminal modeling ring | News | DW.COM | 16.05.2016

Iranian voters ushered President Hassan Rouhani into office in part over his more liberal stance, but his power is limited in the face of Iran’s myriad competing centers of power and the Supreme Leader. On Saturday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said un-Islamic thoughts on the Internet should be watched and countered. Young women in Tehran leave some hair showing from their scarves. “This is a real battlefield. The clerics and seminary students should prepare to enter this field and fight against deviations and erroneous thoughts,” Khamenei was quoted as saying on his website. Iran blocks Facebook, Youtube and many other websites, but many Iranians get around censorship and filtering by using a virtual private network (VPN). Online sedition is monitored by a branch of the feared Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Source: Iranian sting uncovers ′un-Islamic′ criminal modeling ring | News | DW.COM | 16.05.2016

The women will win out because they are on the right side of history.

Two men kicked off plane in what captain calls ‘racist act’ – The Local

Shortly before the flight was due to take off from Moss airport in Rygge, just outside the Norwegian capital Oslo, passengers were asked to disembark and police carried out a search of the aircraft. Two men were detained by police for suspicious behaviour but were later released. Police said that the two men, one British and one Sri Lankan, had been heard arguing loudly in the toilet, and some passengers thought they heard the word ‘bomb’, according to media reports. Meanwhile, a passenger was removed from an easyJet flight in Pisa in early April after another passenger complained of “suspicious behaviour”. On the same day, Meghary Yemane-Tesfagiorgis, from London, told Britain’s ITV news that he was the victim of racial profiling after being asked to leave an easyJet plane that was readying for take-off from Rome on March 29th because another passenger “felt uncomfortable”.

Source: Two men kicked off plane in what captain calls ‘racist act’ – The Local