In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: War crimes] "Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has been convicted of genocide and war crimes during the 1992-95 war, and sentenced to 40 years in jail. UN judges in The Hague found him guilty of 10 of 11 charges, including genocide over the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. Karadzic, 70, is the most senior political figure to face judgement over the violent collapse of Yugoslavia. His case is being seen as one of the most important war crimes trials since World War Two."

[CN: War on agency] Jessica Mason Pieklo again has a must-read piece on the latest from Zubik v. Burwell at the Supreme Court: "Oral Arguments in the Birth Control Benefit Case Show a Court Concerned with Appearances over Facts: As we've seen time and time again, for the conservatives on the Roberts Court, women's autonomy is, at most, an afterthought."

[CN: Human rights violations] Jamil Smith on why President Obama needed to go to Cuba: "The reason Obama's visit ends up mattering is visibility. Having our lens trained not just on Cuba but on its people may be the true tipping point that helps further a human-rights campaign there, a process no one pretends a three-day presidential visit will solve. ...[T]he idea that Obama's visit there alone legitimizes the Castro regime seems overblown, especially in lieu of any better alternatives. A presidential visit is less a gesture than a diplomatic tool; the applause heard throughout Cuba wherever Obama went is a sign that it was well received by the people. And besides, the U.S. cannot limit its diplomatic sorties to countries that abuse human rights but also have things we need (like oil). The American public and the next administration should continue progressing in relations with Cuba well after Obama's presidency is over, but due to both his symbolic and tangible powers as president, we needed Obama to get this process started. It isn't a historic moment if he's not there, and without that moment, Cuban citizens and their struggles for liberty aren't back in the spotlight."

[CN: Homophobia] Fuck fuck FUCK: "Nebraska lawmakers yesterday voted 26-18 to shelve a bill (LB586) that would ban workplace discrimination against LGBT employees. The devastating blow for gay rights in Nebraska happened on Wednesday, the same day the North Carolina Senate voted to ban all cities in the state from enacting LGBT nondiscrimination ordinances. The NC ban also voids all current LGBT rights ordinances on the books in North Carolina, such as the recently passed measure in Charlotte. Nebraska Senator Adam Morfeld (above), who introduced the bill, has said that although his measure also lacked enough support to pass last year, he will continue to introduce it as long as he is in office."

[CN: War on agency; harassment] Rage seethe boil: "The federal investigation into the unfounded claim that Planned Parenthood profits off of fetal tissue donations has taken an even darker turn. A House committee led by anti-abortion Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is on the verge of issuing 17 subpoenas to medical companies to gather the names of medical researchers, graduate students, laboratory technicians, and administrative staff who are in any way involved in fetal tissue research. ...This new focus—that many say threaten the lives and livelihood of anyone involved in research that uses fetal tissue—openly exhibits the GOP's wild mission to find someone to hold accountable for a baseless accusation made in a few discredited attack videos. The attack has spiraled so far into broad areas of the medical industry, it's almost hard to remember it's solely rooted in lawmaker's beliefs about abortion. The researchers and technicians in question fear this attack could effectively halt critical research that depends on fetal tissue samples—including researching cures for the Zika virus, Parkinson's disease, HIV, and many other fatal conditions. Of course, many also fear that making the researchers' names public could seriously endanger their lives." Pro-life my fat fucking ass.

Neat! "The bright spots of Ceres continue to be a source of fascination for astronomers, professional and amateur alike. Now, NASA has provided the most detailed images yet of the strange structures."

[CN: Descriptions of violence, racism, and misogynist exploitation] This review of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is incredible. I can't wait to never watch that film!

This will probably be my favorite thing I read all day: "No buts about it, the butthole is one of the finest innovations in the past 
540 million years of animal evolution." A+

And finally! "Hospital Starts Using Therapy Dogs to Help Stressed Staff." Awwww. Good dog.