Paris attacks: Obama pays respects at Bataclan theatre

US President Barack Obama has visited the scene of the Bataclan theatre attack in Paris, after arriving in the city for the UN climate change summit. Accompanied by French President Francois Hollande and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, he laid a single white rose at the venue where 90 people were killed. Security was stepped up for the visit, with helicopters flying overhead and roads in the area sealed off.
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Mother of two is ID'd as one of three people killed in Planned Parenthood shootings

Jennifer Markovsky was one of the three people killed in a shooting spree at a Planned Parenthood clinic here Friday, her father told The Denver Post on Sunday. John Ah-King said his daughter, a 35-year-old married mother of two, was accompanying a friend to the clinic when she was killed.
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New German Police Gear Can't Protect Them From Ridicule

May the Schwartz be with you.
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We can save atheism from the New Atheists like Richard Dawkins | Jeff Sparrow

There must be another way for nonbelievers than to transform, as Dawkins and Harris have done, into toxic know-it-alls
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Let’s Not Whitewash George W. Bush’s Actual, Heinous Record on Muslims in the U.S.

On U.S. soil, Bush perpetrated a wide array of radical abuses aimed at Muslims in the wake of 9/11. His pretty rhetoric should not serve to justify or suppress that.
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1 in custody in threat at University of Chicago linked to Laquan McDonald shooting

An online threat to kill 16 white male students or staff in retaliation for the shooting of Laquan McDonald forced the University of Chicago to cancel classes and close its Hyde Park campus Monday, the Tribune has learned, and one person was taken into custody in connection with the threat to the campus.
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Officials: Hamburg votes 'No' in 2024 Olympics referendum

Hamburg mayor Olaf Scholz announced that his city would not be hosting the Olympic Games in 2024. Hamburg's Office for Statistics confirmed that - despite not having the final count of the votes available yet - it would be impossible for supporters of the Olympic bid to get in a majority anymore. "Hamburg will not bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2024," Hamburg mayor Olaf Scholz said. "The senate and I would have preferred a different decision, but it is a clear one."
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Judge sets $1.5 million bail for Chicago cop who killed teen

A judge considered dashcam video of the shooting in deciding whether to set bail.
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The Stealth Corporate Takeover of the Supreme Court

Three cases under consideration show how Big Business is using the court to tilt the law in its favor. By Simon Lazarus. (Nov. 18)
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How political correctness rules in America's student 'safe spaces'

A student backlash against hearing words and ideas that oppose their own, citing emotional "trauma", is changing the culture of the American campus writes Ruth Sherlock, US Editor from Harvard University
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Brutal baboon battle erupts for throne at Toronto Zoo after matriarch dies

The fight that erupted between the female baboons prompted a brief closure of the zoo’s exhibit. Medical records show injuries ranging from deep lacerations near their eyes to hair ripped out and tail injuries. By Liam Casey.
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Russia ban signing of Turkish players

Relations between the countries have been strained since a Russian warplane was shot down by Turkish forces on the Syrian border, killing one pilot. Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko told R-Sport news agency that clubs had "already got the message". "If anyone wants [to sign a Turkish player] during the break, there will not be such a possibility," he said.
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'Everything points to' bodies in van in Mexico belonging to WA surfers, girlfriend says

Friends of two Australians missing for more than a week in Mexico will travel to Sinaloa following a report that the men’s van has been found, one of the friends said Sunday. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) issued a statement confirming that the pair’s vehicle had been found, but did not confirm reports that two bodies had been found inside the burnt out van.
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Birds Accidentally Preserved Historic Documents

Swifts and jackdaws gathered money, contracts, and letters to build their nests—and preserved a slice of life from 200 years ago.
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U.S. solicitor general, 18 states and Harvard back Vermont in health data case.

The Vermont Attorney General’s Office will make oral arguments in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 2 in a case about health care price transparency that will set national precedent. The states say access to the data could provide greater price transparency to consumer and ultimately lower health care prices.
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The Corrupt System That Killed Laquan McDonald

A Chicago cop now faces murder charges—but will anyone hold his colleagues, his superiors, and elected officials accountable for their failures? Thanks to clear video evidence, Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was charged this week with first-degree murder for shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. Nevertheless, thousands of people took to the city’s streets on Friday in protest. And that is as it should be. The needlessness of the killing is clear and...
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Copyright Industry Still Doesn't Understand This Fight Isn't About Money, But Liberty

With a lot of people streaming music and video from services such as Spotify, Pandora and Netflix, torrenting is less of a visible conflict than ten years ago. But similar fights continue in the shape of net neutrality and privacy, with the same values: it was never about the money.
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Understanding Rosa Parks As "A Life-Long Freedom Fighter"

As the 60th anniversary of the historic Montgomery Bus Boycott approaches, author Jeanne Theoharis says it's time to let go of the image of Rosa Parks as a meek accidental activist.
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Searching for Answers and Comfort After Killings at Planned Parenthood

After the congregation shared memories of a fallen police officer, Garrett Swasey, and cheered and cried through a grainy video of him competing at a 1992 skating championship, they bowed their heads on Sunday morning to pray for the man accused of killing him at a Planned Parenthood clinic. “Does anyone know the name of this man who shot Garrett?” asked Scott Dontanville, a pastor at Hope Chapel, where Officer Swasey had been a church elder.
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Swedish court: 'We cannot ban Pirate Bay'

After considering the case for almost a month, the District Court of Stockholm ruled that copyright holders could not make Swedish ISP Bredbandsbolaget block Pirate Bay. The court found that Bredbandsbolaget's operations do not amount to participation in the copyright infringement offences carried out by some of its 'pirate' subscribers. Pirate Bay is blocked by many European ISPs but anti-piracy outfits have always hoped that one day the notorious site would be restricted in Sweden.
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Mexican activist killed; searched for missing students

When he felt authorities weren't doing enough to protect his hometown, he organized more than 100 women to police the streets. When 43 students went missing in a controversial case that drew global attention to Mexico's struggles with violence and corruption, he led search parties trying to find them. And when more families in his state came forward reporting that their loved ones had disappeared, he organized searches for them, too.
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IS blamed for mass Yazidi grave found near Sinjar, Iraq

A booby-trapped mass grave containing the bodies of at least 110 people from the minority Yazidi sect has been found in northern Iraq, officials say. The grave was found close to the town of Sinjar after it was recaptured from the so-called Islamic State (IS) group earlier in November. IS captured Sinjar in August 2014, with reports of massacres and enslavement and rape of Yazidi women and girls. This is said to be the sixth mass grave found in or near the town.
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Most attacks in US carried out by radical anti-government groups or white supremacists

Police have named the suspect who walked into a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado on Friday, killing three people and wounding nine more. His name is Robert Lewis Dear, 57. He is white and he's from North Carolina. We don't know anything about his motives yet, so we can't say if it was an act of terrorism. In order for something as terrible as the attack on Planned Parenthood to be considered terrorism, it needs to be motivated by an ideological belief.
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The Corrupt System That Killed Laquan McDonald

A Chicago cop now faces murder charges—but will anyone hold his colleagues, his superiors, and elected officials accountable for their failures? By Conor Friedersdorf.
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“Enough shovels go to around”: Ars looks back at the lies of the Cold War

In the early and late Cold War years, the US government planned for nuclear survival.
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Donald Trump May Not Be a Fascist, But He is Leading Us Merrily Down That Path

People who have studied the extremist right as a historical and sociopolitical phenomenon in depth are acutely aware of a simple truth: America has been very, very lucky so far when it comes to fascistic political movements. And now, with the arrival of the Donald Trump 2016 phenomenon, that luck may be about to run out... By David Neiwert.
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Hwang Sun-mi, deconstructed

Famed children’s author pens poignant, sublime tales from her own impoverished childhood.
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Addicted to chemsex: 'It's a horror story'

An increasing number of gay men are taking part in multi-day, drug-fuelled orgies – despite the health risks. Paul Flynn reports on a powerful new documentary, and what it says about love and loneliness. Article by Paul Flynn.
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Politician suggests Planned Parenthood should apologise as their clinic held under siege by shooter

An American congressman has attacked Planned Parenthood on live TV as a gunman engaged in an hour-long standoff with authorities at one of the women's health care clinics in Colorado. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican member of the US House of Representatives, criticised Planned Parenthood's statement about the incident as "very premature", while speaking to CNN as the shooting took place.
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One of the Largest Hacks Yet Exposes Data on Hundreds of Thousands of Kids

The personal information of almost 5 million parents and more than 200,000 kids was exposed earlier this month after a hacker broke into the servers of a Chinese company that sells kids toys and gadgets, Motherboard has learned. The hacked data includes names, email addresses, passwords, and home addresses of 4,833,678 parents who have bought products sold by VTech, which has almost $2 billion in revenue. The dump also includes the first names...
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Exposed: 'Full Range of Collusion' Between Big Oil and TTIP Trade Reps

Amid warnings that the proposed TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) could undermine global attempts to rein in runaway climate change, new documents reveal that EU trade officials gave U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil access to confidential negotiating strategies considered too sensitive to be released to the European public.
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Edward Snowden meets Arundhati Roy and John Cusack: ‘He was small and lithe, like a house cat’

The Indian novelist, the movie star, and Daniel Ellsberg (who leaked the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam war) have an extraordinary encounter with the whistleblower in a hotel room in Moscow.
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Why the Smithsonian almost didn't exist

The world's largest museum and research organisation is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of its founder James Smithson. But it was pure luck that the Smithsonian Institution was ever created.
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Japan under fire over decision to resume whaling

Officials maintain a third of previous numbers will be caught and insist plan is scientifically sound. However, the announcement has been condemned by environmental groups and the Australian and UK governments.
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My Box of Bullsh*t Came!

Oh perfect, a monthly subscription of complete bullshit!
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Prominent pro-Kurdish lawyer shot dead in Turkey

A prominent pro-Kurdish lawyer was shot dead on Saturday in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeastern city of Diyarbakir. Tahir Elci, the chairman of the Diyarbakir Bar Association, was caught in the crossfire between Kurdish rebels and security forces while making a press statement in Diyarbakir, Turkish media reported. Elci, a highly influential figure with Kurds in Turkey, died after he was hospitalised, state broadcaster TRT said.
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Russia Says Putin Is 'Fully Mobilized' to Tackle 'Unprecedented' Threat From Turkey

President Vladimir Putin is fully mobilized to tackle what the Kremlin regards as an unprecedented threat from Turkey following the shooting down of one of its warplanes by a Turkish F-16, the Russian leader's spokesman said on Saturday. In comments which underscore how angry the Kremlin still is over the incident, Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, called the behavior of the Turkish air force "absolute madness" and said Ankara's subsequent handling of the...
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The Buy-One-Give-One Model Might Make You Feel Good, But It Doesn't Make The World Better

Your socially conscious purchasing decisions don't mitigate your place in a destructive global system.
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Mom told Denver police son in standoff was mentally ill, needed time

A Denver woman says her mentally ill son might still be alive if police had given him more time to surrender Sunday night before storming into a home where he had barricaded himself. "I told them my son was not mentally stable. He said, 'I'll come out. Just give me time,' " said Gema Martinez, the mother of 28-year-old Miguel Angel Martinez, who was shot to death Sunday in an exchange of gunfire with SWAT officers. "They have no compassion whatsoever. I have anger, and I hurt."
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U.S. Space Mining Law Is Potentially Dangerous And Illegal: How Asteroid Mining Act May Violate International Treaty

The space mining legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama on Wednesday – which gives U.S. space firms the right to own and sell natural resources mined from asteroids and other space bodies – is considered dangerous and potentially illegal by some experts. Particularly happy with the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act is Planetary Resources, a 2010-founded firm seeking to extract water, important materials, and minerals from asteroids and profit from them.
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Gang convicted of smuggling £1.6bn of drugs into UK in fake ambulances

Members of the gang drove the ambulances from the Netherlands wearing bogus paramedic uniforms and even carrying fake patients
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Retail Therapy: What Mannequins Say About Us

Similar to the elaborate fashion dolls that preceded them, retail mannequins were first developed to model the latest clothing styles for wealthy shoppers.
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The world wants more 'porous' cities – so why don't we build them?

People of all classes, races and religions come and go in intense and complex Nehru Place. But while Delhi’s electronics market is every urbanist’s dream, it is not the sort of space most cities are building
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Cards Against Humanity Sells Nothing on Black Friday, Makes $71,000, Spends It Immediately

It's the third annual anti-Black Friday stunt from the card game company.
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The DEA has failed to eradicate marijuana. Some members of Congress want it to stop trying.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is not having a great year. The chief of the agency stepped down in April under a cloud of scandal. The acting administrator since then has courted ridicule for saying pot is "probably not" as dangerous as heroin, and more recently he provoked 100,000 petition-signers and seven members of Congress to call for his head after he called medical marijuana "a joke."
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The Art of Homemaking in a World War Dugout

Even amidst the unimaginable horrors of war, there’s just something so relatable about bringing the comforts of home into such an unlikely setting...
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Police rush in after man heard screaming 'I'm going to kill you'; discover noise caused by him attacking spider

Officers in Sydney respond to reports of man shouting threats and furniture being thrown – only to find a ‘quite embarrassed’ man on his own in an apartment
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Young Greek women selling sex for the price of a sandwich, new study shows

Young Greek women are selling sex for the price of a sandwich as six years of painful austerity have pushed the European country to the financial brink, a new study showed Friday. The study, which compiled data on more than 17,000 sex workers operating in Greece, found that Greek women now dominate the country’s prostitution industry, replacing Eastern European women, and that the sex on sale in Greece is some of the cheapest on offer in Europe.
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Hubris by Alistair Horne

Horne’s thesis is that each major military victory begets hubris by the victors toward the defeated, leading to embarrassing defeats that often turn the tide of major campaigns of war. For instance, in the first battle described in Hubris, the naval battle of Tsushima, the Russians believed that their naval colossus would crush the tiny Island of Japan, which they considered to be a barely worthy foe in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05.
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Russia 'playing with fire', warns Turkey, as Moscow imposes visa regime

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan steps up the war of word after Russia’s latest retaliatory measures in the wake of the downing of its fighter jet
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