Tag Archives: WorldNews

If you believe in human rights, Madonna, don’t play Tel Aviv | Roger Waters

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Until the Israeli government recognises the Palestinians’ right to self-determination, artists should stay away

Madonna’s acceptance of an invitation to perform in Tel Aviv at the Eurovision song contest finals in May raises, yet again, fundamentally important ethical and political questions for each and every one of us to contemplate.

In Paris in 1948 the then fledgling United Nations drafted and subsequently adopted a Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which enshrined in international law that all our brothers and sisters all over the world, irrespective of their ethnicity or nationality or religion, have certain basic human rights, including but not limited to the right to life, liberty and self-determination.

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The misogynist trolls attacking Katie Bouman are the tip of the trashpile | Jill Filipovic

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Trolls latched on to Bouman’s achievement of the first black hole image with a vitriol that, in a saner world, would be shocking – but is par for the course for women

The researcher Dr Katie Bouman played a leading role in taking the first photograph of a black hole. A photo of the 29-year-old Bouman taken the moment the photo was processed shows her with her hands clasped in front of her mouth, looking at the camera with a mix of shock and excitement. It went viral – both a testament to the groundbreaking work itself and a moment of victory for women in the sciences, whose contributions have long been ignored, downplayed and erased.

The giddiness didn’t last long.

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Salvini ‘crossed red line’ with refugee boat policy, says military

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Italian deputy PM criticised over order to continue turning away migrants at ports

Italian military officials have accused Matteo Salvini of “unprecedented interference” as tension mounts over the far-right interior minister’s policy of closing ports to rescued migrants.

Salvini, who is also Italy’s deputy prime minister, sent a letter to the heads of the navy and coastguard reportedly ordering them to maintain the policy by paying close attention to events at sea, in particular the movements of Mare Jonio, a charity rescue ship that was seized in March after defying an order not to bring migrants to Italy.

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Trump’s veto over Yemen is a scandalous abuse of presidential power | Simon Tisdall

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The US could have distanced itself from a murderous war. Instead, Trump’s unholy alliance with the Saudis continues

Expected or not, Donald Trump’s veto of a bipartisan Congressional resolution to end US military involvement in Saudi Arabia’s murderous war in Yemen is an outrage. It will prolong the unspeakable suffering of millions of Yemeni civilians, the blameless victims of Riyadh’s vicious proxy war with Iran and its Houthi allies.

Yet Trump’s uncaring arrogance also threatens the US itself. It is further proof that the constitution’s famous checks and balances are just not working, and that, post-Mueller, this unworthy president is raging dangerously out of control.

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Robert Kraft massage parlor video to be released to public, prosecutors say

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  • State attorney’s office cites obligation under public records laws
  • Lawyer for Kraft had lobbied to bar release of surveillance video
  • Kraft, 77, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of soliciting sex

A surveillance video that led to New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s ensnarement in a prostitution sting at a massage parlor will be released to the public, prosecutors said Wednesday in court filings, citing their obligation under Florida’s public records laws.

Lawyers for the 77-year-old Kraft had asked judge Leonard Hanser not to make public the video, calling the evidence “basically pornography”.

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Facebook allowed violent posts by man charged with Ilhan Omar death threat

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Site took no action to remove posts by Patrick Carlineo alluding to violence against Muslims and US officials, until Guardian review

Facebook allowed a man charged with threatening to kill congresswoman Ilhan Omar to post violent and racist content for years, and took no action to remove his posts when he was arrested.

Patrick Carlineo, of upstate New York, posted several entries to his Facebook page alluding to violence against Muslims and US officials including former president Barack Obama, a Guardian review found.

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Not in it to win it: the dirty little secret of the Democrat’s 2020 battle

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The potential upside can be large for candidates who do not win – whether it’s to advance a greater profile or a signature issue or agenda

Political scientists are quick to point out two reasons why a record number of candidates is running for president on the Democratic side in 2020.

One: the Republican president, Donald Trump, is vulnerable with a low-40s approval rating, so the Democratic nominee has a good shot at winning the White House.

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How capitalism captured the mindfulness industry

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The secular technique and its relativist lack of a moral foundation has opened itself up to a host of dubious uses, called out by its critics as McMindfulness

On the internet is an image of Ronald McDonald, the McDonald’s hamburger icon, seated in a lotus position. Some Thai Buddhists see this in literal terms as disrespectful to the Buddha; others are rightly critical of the colonialist and harmful cultural appropriation of Buddhism by the west and the lack of regard for Asian Buddhism in the US and Canada.

The technical, neutral definition of mindfulness and its relativist lack of a moral foundation has opened up secular mindfulness to a host of dubious uses, now called out by its critics as McMindfulness. McMindfulness occurs when mindfulness is used, with intention or unwittingly, for self-serving and ego-enhancing purposes that run counter to both Buddhist and Abrahamic prophetic teachings to let go of ego-attachment and enact skillful compassion for everyone.

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