Links - 20th October 2016

Donald and Hillary - I've Had The Time of My Life - YouTube

Gary Johnson: My ignorance on foreign policy could be an asset as president - "For Gary Johnson, ignorance is not only bliss — it might also be a strength of his as commander in chief, the Libertarian presidential nominee said Tuesday. “The fact that somebody can dot the i’s and cross the t’s on a foreign leader or a geographic location then allows them to put our military in harm’s way,” Johnson said in an interview with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell. The former New Mexico governor’s comments were in response to a question about his inability to name a single foreign leader he admires during a recent MSNBC town hall — a gaffe Johnson himself described as “another Aleppo moment.” That was a reference to yet another MSNBC gaffe: his unfamiliarity with the war-torn Syrian city in a “Morning Joe” interview in early September."

What one of the greatest civilizations in history tells us about Donald Trump - "Plato was a genius political philosopher but a shoddy political scientist, as it turns out. “Plato was a theorist — but he wasn’t much for testing his theories,” says Andrew Hanssen, a political economist at Clemson University in South Carolina, who studies Ancient Greece. “If Plato had been interested in collecting data, he would have found his view to be incorrect.” Were democratic societies in Ancient Greece doomed to degenerate into tyrannies? The evidence, actually, points to the contrary... The most prosperous democracies of the 4th century B.C. tended to have gone through a period of tyranny in the previous century. Moreover, city-states with a history of tyranny were much more likely to later end up as democracies. Fleck and Hanssen believe that tyranny may have been a “bridge to democracy” in Ancient Greece because early tyrants created economic opportunity and strengthened the middle class... There are lessons to be learned from the politics of Plato's time — just not from Plato himself. As Fleck and Hanssen have shown though their study of Ancient Greece, economic forces motivates politics in powerful ways. Societies fall under the sway of demagogues not because they suffer from an excess of democracy but because they suffer from an excess of suffering. In contrast, a healthy middle class was one reason that democratic regimes began to flourish during the 4th century B.C."

Volkswagen’s other speciality: Curry sausage - "He cannot imagine Volkswagen without the sausage, which is even listed as an official VW component with the product code 199 398 500 A... VW also launched a vegetarian version in 2010 and a vegan Currywurst in 2015."

Tricked into porn: Japanese actresses step out of the shadows - "Accusations that women were made to perform in sometimes brutal sex scenes, on film against their will, prompted the industry to issue an unprecedented apology and promise change. The surprise mea culpa followed the June arrest of three Tokyo talent agents accused of forcing a woman to appear in more than 100 pornographic videos... One woman cited in the report had repeated plastic surgeries to escape her past, while another decided told an NGO she planned to hire a lawyer to stop the distribution of movies she appeared in. But she hung herself before pushing on with the case"

This heatmap shows you where all of Singapore's taxis are

We Muslims can’t wait for the next bomb before we speak out - Telegraph - "Many Muslims remain reluctant to think seriously about the vision they have for their lives in Europe. They react to Western foreign policies, geopolitics, sectarian violence, disenfranchisement with corrupt Muslim governments, but they still remain unwilling to accept that nurturing an ethical framework for one’s life requires reflection and a very real commitment to social and intellectual pluralism. These are ethical issues, and they are unsettling. But only that which unsettles us helps us to grow. Our ethics must be based on a generosity towards others. There is no point in talking of human rights when it’s just your own human rights which concern you; there is no depth in talking of piety when your only concern is wearing the hijab; there is no traction in saying Islam is a religion of peace when the evidence for it is shrinking daily."

Judge says man must pay $30K in child support for kid who is not his - "He’d been made dad by default after an ex listed him as father when applying for welfare benefits. According to documents filed with the court, a process server claimed to have given Carnell Alexander, in person, a notice of hearing at a house he once lived at. It is something that wasn’t possible. Carnell wasn’t at that house on the date he was allegedly served. He was incarcerated for a crime he committed as a young man."

A Lunar New Year With a Name That’s a Matter of Opinion - The New York Times - " China said goodbye to the Year of the Horse on Wednesday, and on the first day of the new lunar year revelers welcomed the Year of the Sheep. Or maybe the goat. Or perhaps the ram. For English speakers, it is a can of worms... “In Western culture, things are subdivided into more and more detailed categories, and that’s why Europe has still not been unified after so many years,” he continued. “If you want to say whether it’s goat or sheep, then why not also ask whether it’s a ewe or a ram? But Chinese culture has an inclusive spirit and stresses harmony.”"

Two Kids Have Sex, The Boy Goes to Jail and Becomes a Sex Offender While the Girl Goes Free

'What is he doing here Mommy? Doesn't he know he will be killed?' Shocking hidden camera footage shows Jew being spat at, called a 'dog' and threatened as he walks the streets of Paris - "Posting the video on YouTube, he wrote: 'Welcome to Paris 2015, where soldiers are walking every street that houses a Jewish institution, and where keffiyeh-wearing men and veiled women speak Arabic on every street corner.'.. tourist attractions were 'relatively calm' - 'but the further from them we walked, the more anxious I became over the hateful stares, the belligerent remarks, and the hostile body language,' he wrote. Boys shouted 'Viva Palestine' and as he passes a group of youths, one remarks: 'I'm joking, the dog will not eat you'... in Paris, Jews 'are barred from entering certain areas'. 'Is this what life is like for Paris' Jews?' he reports. 'Is this what a Jew goes through, day in and day out, while walking to work or using public transportation?'"

It’s not a sheep or a ram - it's the year of the goat, says leading Chinese linguist | South China Morning Post - "Ho said that while sheep had a long history in Chinese society, the country's culinary past suggested the goat as the most likely animal to have been included in the zodiac. "In ancient China, people ate six types of animals - horse, cow, goat, pig, dog and chicken. Goat is therefore included in the zodiac, too," Ho said. Goats also had a higher status among the six animals in Chinese society, as in the past, only rich people and the aristocracy could afford to eat them."

Feminist Mother Publicly Shames Her Teenage Boys—With The Help Of The Media - "That Allard’s boys won’t take up their mother’s fight makes them “part of the problem,” writes Allard. They’ve “dipped their toes into toxic masculinity,” she adds. Toxic masculinity is a favorite feminist term. It means the more masculine a man is, the more vile he is. Nice, huh? Fortunately for Allard’s sons, their mother’s efforts to indoctrinate them has failed. Unfortunately, her response was to publically shame them... One of Allard’s sons, the 16-year-old, is a known suicide risk—known to Allard and known to The Washington Post editors. And still they publically shamed him... She has been married and divorced three times—her exes, of course, were the problem; her biological father abandoned her; she has “divorced” her mother, who she says is “incapable of mothering anyone”; and she’s a victim of sexual abuse. Oh, and she was born with one hand, not two; and her adopted sister, who liked to kill animals, tried to kill her. The list goes on. How many of Allard’s stories are true (save for the physical impairment) as opposed to ploys for attention is anyone’s guess. What is clear is that Jody Allard is unwell. What is also clear is that somewhere along the line, feminism became her lifeline. That’s typically how happens: a childhood goes terribly wrong. As adults, these folks find solace in an ideology rooted in victimhood, one that promises to heal the wounds of the past. Rather than deal with problems on their own, they ban together with others who’ve been hurt and blame men and marriage for all things evil."

Disney Apologises For Inappropriate Moana Costume - "Disney has pulled its Polynesian demigod Maui costume from physical and online stores in the wake of a PR kerfuffle over the outfit a little over a month before Halloween and two months before the film’s release. The costume is a likeness of Dwayne Johnson’s character in the upcoming Disney animated feature “Moana” and consists of a dark skinned, long-sleeved bodysuit of tattoos with a leaf skirt... Disney has reportedly tried hard to ensure the film is diversity-appropriate with almost all of the voice actors playing Polynesians are actually actors of Polynesian descent"
Comments: "I live in Hawaii. Trust me, there's nobody here who gives a crap about this. Some of my native Hawaiian friends think it's pretty funny. This whole thing stems from nothing more than a bunch off PC police cry babies."
"One day I'd like to see a company simply say "we won't be apologising, nothing wrong was said or done." People aren't entitled to always get their way, entitlement is nothing but a delusion built on self centredness and laziness."
If they hadn't produced a Moana costume they'd have been accused of ignoring minorities and only representing white people
You can't win

Ban the Box? An Effort to Stop Discrimination May Actually Increase It - NYTimes.com - "When we try to end discrimination without addressing the underlying causes of discriminatory behavior, our efforts may accomplish little — and may even backfire... Lacking the ability to discern criminal history, employers became much less likely to call back any apparently black applicant. They seemed to treat all black applicants now as if they might have a criminal past. These were big and disheartening effects: Banning the box extended discrimination to virtually all black applicants."

Three women accused of having sex with married men then blackmailing them in South Korea as part of 'honeypot' operation - "In each case, the women are said to have enticed the men to have sex, then threatened to report the encounter to police as rape if they failed to pay substantial sums."

Contributory negligence - "where a person suffers damage as a result partly of his own fault and partly the fault of another(s), a claim shall not be defeated by reason of the fault of the person suffering damage. Thus contributory negligence operates as a partial defence...
The burden of proof is on the defendant to demonstrate:
1. The claimant failed to take proper care in the circumstances for their own safety
2. The failure to take care was a contributory cause of the damage suffered...
the failure to take care must be a contributory cause to the damage suffered as oppose to the causing the incident that resulted in damage...
Common examples of what constitutes failing to take care for own safety include:
Failure to wear a seat belt
Failure to wear or fasten a crash helmet on a motorcycle
Exposing oneself to danger
Victim blaming!

80 per cent Singaporeans in Reach survey say the death penalty should be retained - "According to the survey, there is widespread general support for the death penalty system, with 57 per cent outrightly supporting death penalty and 80 per cent of residents generally supporting the notion. In addition, 23 per cent said "it depends" and 13 per cent opposed it. Those with higher education qualifications were more in support for the death penalty."
At this point, the liberals who usually champion education and democracy start making excuses

Blaming the victim again: Toronto once again tells pedestrians to not dress in black, but it's a lost cause
"Don't tell me to look before crossing the road. Tell drivers not to run me down." was meant to be satire. But Poe's Law.

Saudi Arabia's top cleric says Iranians are 'not Muslims' - "Saudi Arabia's top cleric has said Iranians are "not Muslims", a day after Iran's supreme leader denounced its management of the Hajj pilgrimage. Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh, the grand mufti, said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's accusations were "not surprising". "They are the sons of the Magi," he said, referring to Zoroastrianism, a religion that once dominated Iran... Ayatollah Khamenei accused Saudis of "murdering" pilgrims caught up in a stampede at last year's Hajj. "The heartless and murderous Saudis locked up the injured with the dead in containers - instead of providing medical treatment and helping them or at least quenching their thirst," he said, without providing evidence. "They murdered them." "The world of Islam, including Muslim governments and peoples, must familiarize themselves with the Saudi rulers and correctly understand their blasphemous, faithless, dependent and materialistic nature. They must not let those rulers escape responsibility for the crimes they have caused throughout the world of Islam," he added."
Saudis aren't Muslims, Iranians aren't Muslims, terrorists aren't Muslims. Who is a Muslim?