In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: War] A new round of fighting has erupted in Ukraine: "Seven Ukrainian troops and as many as 300 pro-Russian rebels were killed in overnight fighting in Ukraine's restive east, an official said Friday, as clashes between government forces and pro-Russian rebels flared ahead of the publication of a presidential peace plan that includes a unilateral cease-fire. Insurgents who want to split from the government in Kiev were operating tanks in the region—a particular sore point for Ukraine, which accuses Russia of letting the vehicles and other heavy weaponry cross the border. Vladislav Seleznev, a spokesman for Ukrainian forces in the east, said that in addition to the deaths, 30 troops were injured in fighting near the village of Yampil in the Donetsk region."

[CN: War] Meanwhile, in Iraq: "Barack Obama announced on Thursday that a contingent up to 300 'military advisers' will be sent to help Iraq's beleaguered army repel the advance of Sunni insurgents, but insisted the US would not be dragged into another bloody war in the country. The troops, drawn from US special operations forces, will assist the Iraqi military to develop and execute a counter-offensive against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). Their mission is likely to spread to the selection of targets for any future air strikes, but Obama stopped short of accepting a plea from Baghdad to order US air power into the skies over Iraq immediately. Instead, Obama said the option of air strikes would be held in reserve. Any such strikes would be 'targeted' and 'precise,' Obama said, warning that the fate of the country 'hangs in the balance.'"

[CN: Child neglect and abuse; sexual abuse; racism] Our immigration policy is garbage, and many of the people tasked with enforcing that policy are terrible: "Immigration activist groups have filed a complaint against the US Customs and Border Protection agents, citing 116 allegations of child abuse at the US-Mexico border in Texas and Arizona. The complaint includes the allegation that more than 80 percent of those child immigrants did not receive enough food and water, around half were not given medical care, and nearly one in four minors were abused physically. Unfortunately, the allegations don't end there. The activist groups, which include the National Immigrant Justice Center and the American Civil Liberties Union, are also alleging unsanitary conditions and the sexual abuse of children and the complaints say all of this has been going on for years."

[CN: Child endangerment] Meanwhile, the Obama administration has designated three military facilities to house undocumented child immigrants. Military facilities.

[CN: Homophobia] We need a federal law granting marriage rights to same-sex couples everywhere in the US, because the legal quagmire that has been created by this "states' rights" bullshit is intolerable. We now have separate but unequal on multiple levels.

[CN: Rape; racism; wrongful prosecution] The Central Park Five, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Kharey Wise, all black men who were wrongfully prosecuted and convicted for the 1989 rape and assault of a woman jogging in Central Park, and who were all exonerated in 2002, have settled a lawsuit with New York City. They will collectively receive $40 million, which "equates to roughly $1m for each year the men spent in jail."

HA HA I AM SO SURPRISED (I am not surprised): "Wisconsin prosecutors have alleged that Gov. Scott Walker was part of a wide-ranging 'criminal scheme' to coordinate the activities of conservative groups that spent millions to help him and other Republicans fend off recall efforts, according to documents released Thursday."

Heads-up, Breaking Baddies: "Here's the good news: AMC has renewed its Breaking Bad sequel, Better Call Saul, for a second season—before the first one has even aired. But there's some bad news, too: You'll have to wait a bit longer to see any of it. Better Call Saul, starring Bob Odinkirk as oily lawyer Saul Goodman, was originally supposed to premiere on AMC in November, but now the network is pushing that back to early 2015."

Thelma & Louise, back together again. ♥

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