Getting Assaulted By A Taxi Driver in Beirut

A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares

It was Sunday June 15th, a few hours before starting my final year of medicine, as I headed to the graduation dinner of colleagues at my university. I took the unfortunate decision to go to the location by a “service,” or the cheap fare for taxis in Beirut. The place was within walkable distance on any given day but I was borderline suited up and it was June in Beirut.

The taxi picked up a 25 year old guy who wanted to go to “Hotel Dieu” and drove onwards. He dropped me off next to Banque Byblos on Achrafieh’s main road, facing Sofil, and I gave him 20,000.

That was mistake .

The moment he saw the bill, he started barraging me about how I hadn’t told him that I had such a huge bill with me. I looked at him and replied: “it’s just 20,000. What would you have…

View original post 1,210 more words

U.S. Plans to Step Up Detention and Deportation of Migrants – NYTimes.com

<For what it’s worth – it seems that it must be that “coyotes” and a variety of organized gangs re probably helping to spread rumors about getting into US – via their paid services, of course>

The move comes as the administration is trying to quell rampant rumors throughout Central America that American border authorities are offering entry permits to parents traveling with young children after they are caught. Officials hope that by increasing the numbers of migrants who are detained and then deported, others considering the trek may be dissuaded from doing so.

via U.S. Plans to Step Up Detention and Deportation of Migrants – NYTimes.com.

Senate Confirms Three History-Making Judges | National Women’s Law Center

Amy K. Matsui, Senior Counsel and Director of Women and the Courts

Earlier this week, the Senate confirmed Judge Darrin Gayles (to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida), Judge Salvador Mendoza (to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington), and Staci Yandle (to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois). As White House Counsel Neil Eggleston noted in a blog post, all three of these confirmed judges have broken barriers in their respective districts. Judge Gayles is the first openly gay African American man to be confirmed as a lifetime-appointed federal judge in our nation’s history; Judge Mendoza is the first Hispanic judge to serve on his court; and now-Judge Yandle is the first African American to serve on her court and the first openly gay lifetime-appointed federal judge in Illinois. This marks the first time that two openly gay judges have been confirmed on the same day. In addition, with today’s confirmations, President Obama has appointed more female federal judges than any other President and more Hispanic judges than any other President.

These confirmations highlight the fact that, as the Senate moves forward on confirming judges, those nominees also increase the diversity of the federal bench. As we’ve said before, in our view, the more our judges resemble the diverse faces of the nation, the better the quality of justice. That’s why it’s more important than ever that the Senate continue to keep judicial nominations a legislative priority.

via Senate Confirms Three History-Making Judges | National Women’s Law Center.

Online Censorship In China | GreatFire.org

Online Censorship In China

GreatFire.org brings transparency to the Great Firewall of China. We have monitored blocked websites and keywords since 2011.

Latest Stats

Monitoring 949 Alexa Top 1000 Domains: 105 are blocked in China

Monitoring 25140 Domains: 3331 are blocked in China

Monitoring 11845 Google Searches: 2994 are blocked in China

Monitoring 513 Google Sites: 213 are blocked in China

Monitoring 5793 HTTPS: 1914 are blocked in China

Monitoring 6182 IP Addresses: 2666 are blocked in China

Monitoring 116887 URLs: 23076 are blocked in China

Monitoring 19242 Weibo Searches: 2168 are blocked in China

Monitoring 992 Wikipedia Pages: 271 are blocked in China

via Online Censorship In China | GreatFire.org.

Australian militants Abu Yahya ash Shami and Abu Nour al-Iraqi identified in ISIS recruitment video – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

“They are trying to target youth in the West with a very simple message, a very evocative message,” Dr Rodger Shanahan, a non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute of International Policy, said.

Yesterday Foreign Affairs Minister said the Government believed 150 Australians have been or are currently overseas fighting with extremists in Iraq and Syria.

via Australian militants Abu Yahya ash Shami and Abu Nour al-Iraqi identified in ISIS recruitment video – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).

Middle East – Refugees top 50 million for first time since WWII, UN says – France 24

By country, the biggest populations of refugees were Afghans, Syrians and Somalis, the report said. Half of those displaced are children.

The countries currently hosting the largest number of refugees were Pakistan, Iran and Lebanon – whose very stability is threatened by the raging Syrian war next door.

via Middle East – Refugees top 50 million for first time since WWII, UN says – France 24.

With Canoes of Concrete, Engineers at City College Paddle Merrily Onward – NYTimes.com

It might sound like an idea that would go over like the proverbial lead balloon, but in September, a group of engineering students at City College of New York began meeting and devising a way to build a concrete canoe.

via With Canoes of Concrete, Engineers at City College Paddle Merrily Onward – NYTimes.com.

Pesticide Stricken Honeybee Hives On a Sustainable Family Farm | The Women’s International Perspective

Dead bees

You see, I only became a beekeeper this summer. I decided to do so in response to the Wilsonville, Oregon bumblebee die-off one year ago today: June 19, 2013. On that day, over 50,000 bumblebees rained on the parking lot outside a Target store. The culprit: neonicotinoids, a class of pesticide.

via Pesticide Stricken Honeybee Hives On a Sustainable Family Farm | The Women’s International Perspective.

What’s Great About 7 Guys in the Desert, at a Camel Market, Watching the World Cup — BagNews

• And along those lines, you’d think these guys from Daba (Saudi Arabia) would be watching either Middle East/N. Africa qualifiers Algeria or Iran, wouldn’t you? (Iran, to see them lose.) Well, they’re not. It’s Netherlands – Australia.

via What’s Great About 7 Guys in the Desert, at a Camel Market, Watching the World Cup — BagNews.

France shocked by violence against Roma | Europe | DW.DE | 20.06.2014

The reactions in social networks and online news portals were often racist and included expressions of support for Darius’ torturers. “If the state can’t provide security, it’s only logical that people will practice vigilante justice,” one French Twitter user wrote. What dangers that view brings with it has become clear in the past few days.

via France shocked by violence against Roma | Europe | DW.DE | 20.06.2014.

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