What's in the News? 2.0

[Ket]

On Ket's earlier question, a "lorry" is just British English for "truck". This lorry was in two parts, with the driver travelling in the cab from Ireland to Holyhead, in Wales, and then across Britain where he picked up the container, which had been shipped up from Zeebrugge in Belgium. Within an hour, the police were aware, so I really don't understand how he can be questioned for murder; it may even have been him who alerted the police.

Thank you for that explanation. I know in the US most truck drivers who work for companies haul loads for different companies, expect in the cases of huge businesses like Walmart, or delivery services like UPS or FedEx. So I was trying to figure out how the driver could have anything to do with the cargo.

[Oniya]

So, I asked Mr. Oniya about reefer trucks (the trucker lingo for those vehicles).  Much like a refrigerator, the air circulation in one of those things is - pretty minimal.  There are drainage holes in the back to void condensation (and occasionally a load of ice when you've been stuck in the drop-off line at an ice-house for too long), a rubber seal around the back door, and a rubber seal around the observation window.  Thirty-nine people in a small, basically air-tight room - that's not going to end well, ever.

[Mechelle]

No, it would have been horrendous to put it mildly.

A man and woman from Warrington ( which is a town near where I live, and nowhere near the driver's home nor the place where the container was found) have been arrested and charged with trafficking people and with manslaughter.

[Skynet]

Neo-Nazi arsonists attempted to burn down a Jewish community center in Budapest recently. Fortunately the building sustained relatively little damage and was vacant at the time.

[Lustful Bride]

Its like the whole world is collectively trying to make itself worse.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/tatu-kamau-kenyan-female-doctor-in-court-to-legalize-female-genital-mutilation/ar-AAJmQvw?ocid=spartanntp

[gaggedLouise]

The President of Chile has sacked the entire government after a huge wave of protests.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50197673

Roman Catholic priests in the Amazon basin would be allowed to marry, following a landmark decision by a Brazilian synod of bishops. Pope Francis is due to make his position clear on this, but it's not unlikely that he'd agree.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50197296


Aaand...something big is underway in foreign policy terms, according to a mysterious tweet by Trump - the buzz is that the US just took out the Caliph of ISIS in a drone attack. Trump is to speak on tv in half an hour's time.

[Sara Nilsson]

https://jezebel.com/georgia-judge-rules-that-complaining-about-exes-on-soci-1839381011

A Georgia woman who was arrested for “criminal defamation” after complaining about her police officer ex-husband on Facebook has been awarded a $100,000 settlement and an apology from the good ole boys who made her life hell for no reason.

Basically, she made a FB post about her ex husband who is a police officer complaining that he didn't get some flu meds for the kids. So he took offense had basically had her arrested. But it was overturned.

[Regina Minx]

https://jezebel.com/georgia-judge-rules-that-complaining-about-exes-on-soci-1839381011

Basically, she made a FB post about her ex husband who is a police officer complaining that he didn't get some flu meds for the kids. So he took offense had basically had her arrested. But it was overturned.

Steve Lehto, who runs a legal educational YouTube channel, covered this story, and I'm still picking my jaw up off the floor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkUslbmSe50

[Oniya]

Mr. Oniya told me about that one a day or two ago.  (He watches Lehto.)  The sheer number of people that had to agree to go all in on this dude's plan for it to work...

[Lustful Bride]

The saga of China's death/internment camps continues.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/xinjiang-camps-un-members-issue-dueling-statements-over-chinas-treatment-of-uyghurs/ar-AAJyBYY?ocid=spartandhp

[Lustful Bride]

Oh God i hope they fix this soon with no issues.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/the-worlds-largest-nuclear-power-producer-is-melting-down/ar-AAJCiNG?ocid=spartanntp

[gaggedLouise]

Oh God i hope they fix this soon with no issues.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/the-worlds-largest-nuclear-power-producer-is-melting-down/ar-AAJCiNG?ocid=spartanntp

It's not actually opened yet, and not loaded with any fuel shafts, so there's no risk of a meltdown in *that* sense, but the costs have been skyrocketing for a long time it seems. Sounds like that flashy new airport for Berlin which has been suffering from an endless run of attardations and cost overruns.

[Lustful Bride]

A politician punished for not following a law they championed.   In other news, water is wet.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/man-who-advocated-caning-for-adultery-gets-caned-for-adultery/ar-AAJGpY5?ocid=spartandhp

[Lustful Bride]

New Russian Internet law looks like a digital iron curtain.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/russias-sovereign-internet-law-takes-effect/ar-AAJJipe?ocid=spartanntp

[Hawkwood]

Measles is terrifying:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-50251259

[Oniya]

With the changes resulting from the Virginia elections, the Equal Rights Amendment may finally have a chance of getting ratified.  For non-Americans, it takes a minimum of 38 states voting to approve a Constitutional Amendment for an amendment to be added to the Constitution.  Virginia would be the 38th and final state needed.

https://nadler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394135

[elone]

With the changes resulting from the Virginia elections, the Equal Rights Amendment may finally have a chance of getting ratified.  For non-Americans, it takes a minimum of 38 states voting to approve a Constitutional Amendment for an amendment to be added to the Constitution.  Virginia would be the 38th and final state needed.

https://nadler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394135

The election was a really big deal for Virginia. Hopefully, as a blue state for the first time in decades, some common sense reforms will come about.

[Ket]

The election was a really big deal for Virginia. Hopefully, as a blue state for the first time in decades, some common sense reforms will come about.

That would be nice, as honestly I'd love to move home and live closer to family.

[GrimWhisper]

With the changes resulting from the Virginia elections, the Equal Rights Amendment may finally have a chance of getting ratified.  For non-Americans, it takes a minimum of 38 states voting to approve a Constitutional Amendment for an amendment to be added to the Constitution.  Virginia would be the 38th and final state needed.

One can only hope.

[Beorning]

Some news bits from Poland...

During a mass, after participating in the Eucharist, a 13-year-old boy took out a communion wafer from his mouth and hid it in pocket (supposedly because of a tooth ache). The priests noticed it - and they detained the boy in sacristy, as well as called the police on him:

https://www.tvn24.pl/tvn24-news-in-english,157,m/polish-priest-called-police-on-a-13-year-old-who-took-communion-wafer,982958.html

I can only roll my eyes at it... Thankfully, the local bishop took notice of the situation and apologized for it.

Polish government gets into a row with Netflix because of the Devil Next Door documentary:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/poland-protests-map-used-in-netflix-documentary-about-nazi-guard-demjanjuk/

I'm honestly curious what people abroad think of this situation. Are the complaints valid, or is it a case Polish government (and Polish right-wingers in general) being overly sensitive?

[Ket]

During a mass, after participating in the Eucharist, a 13-year-old boy took out a communion wafer from his mouth and hid it in pocket (supposedly because of a tooth ache). The priests noticed it - and they detained the boy in sacristy, as well as called the police on him

I mean, communion wafers are nastier than cardboard, so I don't blame the kid. That's a rather harsh reaction given the Catholic Church's reputation.

Polish government gets into a row with Netflix because of the Devil Next Door documentary:
I'm honestly curious what people abroad think of this situation. Are the complaints valid, or is it a case Polish government (and Polish right-wingers in general) being overly sensitive?

So the article says this:

It is critical to “preserve the truth about World War II and the Holocaust” and “certain works available through your network are hugely inaccurate – and to an extent extent obfuscating historical facts and whitewashing actual perpetrators of these crimes,” Morawiecki wrote.
The show, he continued, “involves a map that falsely places several German Nazi concentration camps within modern-day Poland’s borders. There is no comment or any explanation whatsoever that these sites were German-operated. Not only is the map incorrect, but it deceives viewers into believing that Poland was responsible for establishing and maintaining these camps, and for committing the crimes therein. As my country did not even exist at that time as an independent state, and millions of Poles were murdered at these sites, this element of the The Devil Next Door is nothing short of rewriting history.”

Umm dude...everyone knows there were concentration camps inside Poland's borders. EVERYONE. And no one is dumb enough to believe (save Holocaust deniers and their ilk) that anyone other than the German's were  running these camps. I've seen this documentary. It doesn't whitewash a damn thing, nor does insinuate that Poland had anything to do with the running of the camps. He can go check himself with his nonsense.

[Beorning]

I mean, communion wafers are nastier than cardboard, so I don't blame the kid. That's a rather harsh reaction given the Catholic Church's reputation.

IIRC, the priests initially tried to explain themselves by claiming that during the time all of this happened (shortly before October 31st), "satanists" try to steal communion wafers to desecrate them during Halloween... 

It was a tricky situation, because Catholics do believe that communion wafers become the literal body of Christ. So, throwing away a communion wafer would be sacrilegious... Nevertheless: calling the freaking police on a child???

So the article says this:

It is critical to “preserve the truth about World War II and the Holocaust” and “certain works available through your network are hugely inaccurate – and to an extent extent obfuscating historical facts and whitewashing actual perpetrators of these crimes,” Morawiecki wrote.
The show, he continued, “involves a map that falsely places several German Nazi concentration camps within modern-day Poland’s borders. There is no comment or any explanation whatsoever that these sites were German-operated. Not only is the map incorrect, but it deceives viewers into believing that Poland was responsible for establishing and maintaining these camps, and for committing the crimes therein. As my country did not even exist at that time as an independent state, and millions of Poles were murdered at these sites, this element of the The Devil Next Door is nothing short of rewriting history.”

Umm dude...everyone knows there were concentration camps inside Poland's borders. EVERYONE. And no one is dumb enough to believe (save Holocaust deniers and their ilk) that anyone other than the German's were  running these camps. I've seen this documentary. It doesn't whitewash a damn thing, nor does insinuate that Poland had anything to do with the running of the camps. He can go check himself with his nonsense.

Personally, I agree. But the Polish right has this obsession that the outside world (especially Germans) want to shift the blame for the Holocaust at Poland...

Morawiecki's protests are kind of hypocritical - his party (and he personally) seem to be quite intent of promoting the Brygada Świętokrzyska (a nationalist guerrilla group from the WW2 era) as heroes. Even though these guys openly cooperated with Germans... At the same time, Morawiecki protests a map in this Netflix movie, because it feels it might lead to Poland being associated with German death camps. 

[Ket]

So I had to go look up Brygada Świętokrzyska, because I didn't recall if I'd ever heard of it before.

And I come across this"

Its soldiers fought simultaneously with the Nazi German occupiers and the communist underground

So they fought with the Nazis who despised communists. Okay.

I'm laughing now.

[Beorning]

There was also a period when they actually cooperated with the Germans and Gestapo. A highly controversial group at best...

[TheGlyphstone]

Active shooter attacks California high school. 6 injured, no deaths yet reported, shooter is reportedly still at large in the area.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/los-angeles-county-deputies-respond-report-santa-clarita-school-shooting-n1082231