In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Terrorism; death; video may autoplay at link] Fucking hell: "Three separate car bombings in the Iraqi capital Wednesday killed at least 93 people and wounded at least 165. The Islamic State group later claimed responsibility for all three bombings. In recent months, the extremist faction has lost some of the Iraqi territory it conquered in a stunning 2014 blitz. But Wednesday's carnage demonstrates the group's lingering ability to launch significant attacks across the country and in the heart of the capital. In the largest attack of the day, a car bomb ripped through a commercial area in the predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City Wednesday morning, killing at least 63 people and wounding at least 85. Later in the afternoon, two more car bombs killed at least 30 and wounded 80, police officials said. One bomber targeted a police station in Baghdad's northwest Kadhimiyah neighborhood, killing 18, of whom five were policemen, and wounding 34. Another bombing In the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Jamiya killed 12 and wounded 46." I am so angry and so sad about the continued havoc and fear and injury and death that IS is wreaking in Iraq (and elsewhere). Fuck these people. My thoughts and sympathies and support are with the people of Iraq who are being targeted by this incomprehensibly cruel group.

[CN: Police brutality; white supremacy] Delrish Moss has been sworn in as Ferguson, Missouri's new chief of police. Moss "is the first Black person to run the department. Moss, 51, takes over the department as it works to implement the terms of its agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which requires a major overhaul of practices that were found to violate the civil rights of the city's Black residents." Good luck to him. I mean that with all seriousness and hopefulness.

Vice-President Joe Biden says if he'd decided to run for president, he would have been aces! "It's an awful thing to say, but I think I would have been the best president." Yep, that's an awful thing to say!

[CN: Fat hatred] "Obesity may not cut your life short after all, a new study suggests." No shit! Gotta love the entire tenor of this article: Look, science, may be proving that fat doesn't actually kill you, but let's not get ahead of ourselves! Your life will probably be terrible! And also maybe science is wrong! In any case, let's not get ahead of ourselves with any kind of wild notions that we should stop hating fat people and bullying them constantly under the auspices of concern for their health.

[CN: Racism; displacement] Wow: "The remains of at least 10 Native American children who died nearly 2,000 miles away from their homes while being forced to attend a government-run boarding school in Pennsylvania more than a century ago could soon be repatriated under an effort taken up by a South Dakota tribe. The exhumation and return of the bodies of the children who as students of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School were stripped of their culture and left vulnerable to abuse won't be an easy undertaking. But leaders of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe hope that a meeting with representatives from the U.S. Army and other tribes scheduled for Tuesday will begin the negotiation process to repatriate the remains of the 10 children, and eventually, of the dozens more who died while attending the school as part of an assimilation policy intended to rid the children from Native American traditions and replace them with European culture. 'We are hoping that the United States government will say 'Yes, let's bring your relatives home,'' said Russell Eagle Bear, the historic preservation officer for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe."

[CN: Rape culture; familial sexual abuse] Ronan Farrow, the son of Woody Allen, has written a piece for The Hollywood Reporter about, essentially, the fact that the media and lots of famous people continue to ignore his sister's allegations of sexual abuse against their father. And I have a lot of thoughts about what he wrote, none of which I feel like detailing today, but I will point out this one incredible, painful irony: "But it hurts my sister every time one of her heroes like Louis C.K., or a star her age, like Miley Cyrus, works with Woody Allen." Louis CK, of course, has been accused of sexually harassing and/or assaulting multiple female comics. But no charges have been brought, so everyone feels free to ignore them. Like, yanno, Woody Allen. It's entirely possible (and likely) that Dylan and Ronan Farrow are among the many people who have simply never even heard of these charges.

[CN: Transphobia; typical bad media language and misgendering] "Portage transgender teen places second in prom queen contest." This is where I attended high school. There are problems with the article, but I'm really glad that Dakota Yorke was given a chance to speak for herself and I was pleased to see how many of her classmates are publicly supporting her. As well as the school! Good job, PHS.

[CN: Misogyny] OMFG this article about the Ghostbusters reboot. The subhead ALONE! "It's hard to believe geek culture 'sexism' is responsible for all the bad buzz aimed at Paul Feig's female-fronted remake. Now we need Bill Murray to save the day." Of course we do. Love how sexism is in scare-quotes, btw.

[CN: Video may autoplay at link] This tickles me endlessly: "Known for her grasp of policy, Mrs. Clinton has spoken at length in her presidential campaign on topics as diverse as Alzheimer's research and military tensions in the South China Sea. But it is her unusual knowledge about extraterrestrials that has struck a small but committed cohort of voters. Mrs. Clinton has vowed that barring any threats to national security, she would open up government files on the subject, a shift from President Obama, who typically dismisses the topic as a joke. Her position has elated U.F.O. enthusiasts, who have declared Mrs. Clinton the first 'E.T. candidate.'"

[CN: Video may autoplay at link] "Move over bald eagles, the bison are coming for you. While the bald eagle may be the national bird of the U.S., President Obama today officially made the bison the official mammal of the United States by signing the National Bison Legacy Act into law. It is the first time the U.S. has designated a national mammal." Congratulations, bison!

And finally! It's generally not a great idea to surprise someone by getting them a pet, lol, but this story is absolutely terrific: "A teacher in Texas was understandably distraught when her beloved 16-year-old cat named Blondie died. But Tonya Andrews' tears of sadness turned to those of joy when her caring students at Joshua High School, in Joshua, surprised her soon after with an extraordinarily thoughtful gift: two adorable kittens. ...Initially, the teacher thought they belonged to Hanhart and that the class was just going to play with them. 'Then she held them out to me and said they were mine. My heart was filled with joy,' she added, saying she'd 'never forget our sweet, sweet Blondie,' who they'd rescued from a warehouse in Fort Worth. 'But my heart can now experience happiness again.'" Blub!