In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: White supremacy; racist threats] Police have arrested the person who made a terroristic racist threat against the black students, faculty, and staff at Mizzou: "After University of Missouri (Mizzou) students and faculty successfully lobbied to push President Tim Wolfe and Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin out, the victory has been marred by anonymous threats against students of color. 'I'm going to stand my ground tomorrow and shoot every black person I see,' one anonymous YikYak user wrote Tuesday. Another warned people not to come to class. Campus police arrested someone who they say was posting threats with multiple accounts to YikYak Wednesday. ...MUPD released the name of the suspect Wednesday morning. They have arrested 19-year-old Hunter Parks, who is not a student at the university, for allegedly making terroristic threats on social media. He is being held on $4,500 bond at Boone County Jail." I repeat: The biggest terrorist threat in the US is white supremacy. Period.

[CN: Rape culture; anti-immmigrationism] In New Zealand, Prime Minister John Key went on a tirade in which he said that among the New Zealanders being detained by the Australian government are "rapists, some of them are child molesters, and some of them are murderers." He accused MPs who expressed concern about the detainees of "backing the rapists," and several female MPs took objection. "On Wednesday, Green party co-leader Metiria Turei told the Speaker that as a survivor of sexual violence she was deeply offended by Key's remarks: 'As the victim of a sexual assault, I take personal offence at the prime minister's comments, and ask that you require him to withdraw and apologise.' Her comments were echoed by Green MP Catherine Delahunty, who was told by the Speaker to stop and sit back down. When other female MPS, including Labour's Nanaia Mahuta, Clare Curran, and Megan Woods, along with Green MP Marama Davidson, repeated the call for Key to apologise with reference to their own assaults, Carter ordered them to stop... Despite the warning, MPs continued to stand to urge the Speaker to take action. Green MP Marama Davidson was then thrown out of the House, followed by Poto Williams." Got that? Female MPs stood up and publicly disclosed being sexually assaulted and were thrown out for it. Fucking hell.

[CN: Transphobia] This kid is terrific, even though I am so sad and angry he is obliged to say anything at all: "Twelve-year-old Evan Singleton has a message for anyone who questions his transgender status... 'I'd say, 'Well, you’re not the person to tell me who I am.' ...[T]hey have no right to come into my life and tell me what I need to do. That's what my parents are for, and my parents are doing a great job raising me. I do my chores, I clean my room, and I help out. Not to gloat, but I'm a great kid, I'm getting A's and B's in school, and they have no right to come telling us, our family, what to do.'" Kids today. Get ON my lawn!

[CN: Rape culture; child sex abuse; description of assault at link] I have a lot of complicated feelings about sex offender registries—especially around requiring registry of people convicted of statutory rape when the perpetrator is just over the age of consent and the victim is just under the age of consent and asserts it was consensual, and around the fact that registries tend to entrench the idea that children are more likely to be victimized by strangers—but I don't think that the current proposals to basically just abolish the registries do much good in addressing many of the valid concerns about the registries, especially when there isn't much else in place to handle offenders with a high rate of recidivism.

[CN: War on agency; hostility to consent and privacy] Carly Fiorina continues to be terrible: "Republican presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina is lending her support to the latest in a string of perennially unsuccessful California ballot measures to mandate parental notification for minors seeking abortion care in the Golden State. The California Supreme Court struck down a forced parental notification law nearly 20 years ago and similar ballot measures have repeatedly failed to win sufficient signatures or votes. But this go-around, the former Hewlett-Packard chief is backing a new ballot measure in robocalls to Californians." Fuck's sake.

[CN: Guns; domestic violence] Meanwhile: "Republican presidential candidate Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey conditionally vetoed a bill on Nov. 9 which would have banned those convicted of domestic violence and individuals subject to a domestic violence restraining order from owning a gun. In his rejection message, Christie suggested harsher penalties for perpetrators of domestic violence and making it easier for victims to buy guns." Unfuckingbelievable.

Oh, Jeb! You know you're the candidate of the future when you get the coveted Bob Dole endorsement. Woof.

Neat! "Astronomers have identified the most distant object yet in the Solar System. Observations with Japan's Subaru telescope reveal the likely icy body to be some 15.5 billion km from the Sun—about three times further away than even far-flung Pluto. Scientists say their initial studies suggest that the object—catalogued as V774104—is some 500-1,000km across. It will need to be tracked over time to learn the shape and extent of its orbit through the Solar System."

Yessssssssss: "David Bowie Releases Extended 'Blackstar' Snippet: 'Last Panthers' preview offers 90-second glimpse at singer's throbbing, darkly orchestral new album title track."

And finally! Happy Bunny is happy! Aww lol.