Links - 31st January 2018 (1)

Online discussions on same-sex marriage to be monitored - "A team of Queensland volunteers will scour neo-Nazi and other far-right or anti-gay web forums to monitor conversation around same-sex marriage and report those who overstep legal boundaries during the postal survey period. The LGBTI Legal Service will run a project named Like Love, involving training and co-ordinating volunteers to monitor online forums, media and posters to ensure accountability where unlawful vilification may have occurred... The information will be compiled and sent to the Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland for investigation."
Big Brother loves you

Benjamin Sheares - Wikipedia - "During his time as head of O&G at Kandang Kerbau Hospital during the Japanese Occupation, Sheares pioneered the lower Caesarian section which resulted in a lower mortality and morbidity rate in pregnant women than the upper Caesarian section. The method is currently the most common Caesarian section method used today. Another one of Sheares' main contributions to medicine was a technique to create an artificial vagina for those born without one. A modification of it is still used for sex change operations today"

We Didn't Normalize Trump. We Normalized the Left's Violence. - "authorities could be forgiven for feeling daunted, even aggrieved, when they realize that every speaker antifa doesn’t like means vast sums, and considerable effort, expended on turning your public spaces into a demilitarized zone. I don’t have an ironclad date for when antifa became a recognizable, and destructive, force in our politics. But I really began to notice them around the time of Trump’s election, when I saw people defending their actions on the grounds that they were trying to stop Trump from being “normalized.” I think it’s safe to say that Donald Trump has not been normalized by anyone. The media treats him with deep contempt -- mostly earned, I’d argue, but still not the normal way you expect to see a president portrayed. Foreign leaders sure don’t seem to think he is normal, and nor do the bureaucracy or the courts. And partisans on both sides are behaving distinctly abnormally. They do not see themselves as arguing over policy or even values, but as engaged in an existential battle between good and evil, with President Trump as the avatar for one side or another. But the process of not normalizing Trump has instead normalized a lot of other things, bad ones. Like public disorder. Like persistent, pervasive anxiety that often looks like mass hysteria. Like people on both sides who try to minimize the illiberal tactics of the radicals on their own side by pointing mostly to the offenses of the other. (Yes, President Trump, I’m looking at you. And also at the folks who held light-hearted debates about whether it was okay to sucker-punch Richard Spencer.)"

A Public Relations Disaster – How saving $1,200 cost United Airlines 10,772,839 negative views on YouTube - "A singer/songwriter named Dave Carroll was flying from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Omaha, Nebraska, with a layover at Chicago’s O’Hare airport. As he was getting ready to get off the plane, he heard another passenger say, “My God! They’re throwing guitars out there!”... Dave tried for nine months to get a claim processed with United. The response was a firm and consistent “no.” They claimed he had waited longer than 24 hours to process a claim, so he was out of luck... After 150,000 views, United contacted Dave Carroll and offered payment to make the video go away. He had changed his mind, however. It wasn’t about the money anymore. In fact, he suggested they donate the money to a charity. United also discovered that “United Breaks Guitars” wasn’t just a single song. It was part of a trilogy... The BBC reported that United’s stock price dropped by 10% within three to four weeks of the release of the video – a decrease in valuation of $180 million"

I killed German official’s daughter, says Afghan migrant - "An Afghan asylum seeker on trial for the rape and murder of a medical student apologised to her parents in court yesterday but insisted that he did not rape her or intend to kill her. Hussein Khavari, who says he is 18 but who prosecutors maintain is 22, admitted sexually abusing and strangling Maria Ladenburger, 19, after grabbing her as she cycled home from a party at 3am... Mr Khavari told his trial yesterday that he had been too drunk to rape her and that while she was unconscious he had put her body in the river to wash his blood off her, before fleeing. A strand of his hair was found on Miss Ladenburger’s body and checks found that he had been jailed in Greece for the attempted murder of a woman he threw off a cliff in Corfu in May 2013. The Greek authorities had let him out of prison on licence after 18 months of a ten-year sentence under a scheme to relieve pressure on overcrowded cells... “When I saw how pretty she was, I wanted to have sex with her,” he said, but added that he had been too drunk. The prosecutor said that he had pulled Miss Ladenburger from her bike causing her to scream so he choked her with her scarf, bit her face and chest and raped her until she lost consciousness."

Hussein Khavani, accused of murdering Maria Ladenburger, 'threw another woman off a cliff' - "Khavani arrived in Germany as unaccompanied minor."

Afghan who 'raped and killed' German teen had raped 12yo - "Khavari might have carried out a similar attack in his native Afghanistan, raping a 12-year-old girl... According to the police, the parents of Khavari made a settlement with the parents of the raped girl to keep the incident unreported... Khavari did not report to parole officers after his early release from the Greek detention centre and authorities issued a search warrant for the Afghan migrant, but only in their own country... Ms Ladenburger, who was studying medicine at university, would helping out migrants in various shelters and homes in her spare time."

Ohio father who donned clown mask to punish his 6-year-old is arrested, charged - "An Ohio man who tried to discipline his 6-year-old daughter by chasing her around in a clown mask has been charged after the little girl ran screaming to a stranger's apartment - prompting that neighbour to fire a gunshot into the air"

Is there such a thing as the seven-year itch? - "In the United States, the median duration of marriages that end is just over seven years, which would seem to support the idea of a seven-year itch. But while seven years is a median marker for marriages in the United States, researchers have noted that a significant number of marriages in this country dissolve after just two, three or four years. A 2007 study found that couples who had been married less than three years were significantly happier than the ones that had been married between four and six years [source: Roberts]. In 1999, researcher Lawrence Kurdek found that there were two major declines in a 10-year marriage -- one at seven or eight years, which appeared to be further proof of a seven-year itch, but another one at year four... Anthropologist Helen Fisher has a different theory as to why the four-year mark is significant. Historically, she claims, humans gave birth every four years. We were driven, therefore, to couple up for four years -- enough time to have a child and raise it through infancy. After that, according to Fisher, men and women might have a biological drive to get bored with a relationship and seek a new partner for childbearing"

Why Do Witches Fly on Brooms? - "Those who practiced “magic” were often using herbs to treat various conditions, though various side effects made them appear like sorcery. Some concoctions were used recreationally—not medicinally—which is where the legend of the broomstick comes in... Applying the herbs topically minimizes the negative side effects without interrupting the hallucinations... Those who wished to use the mixture on the genitals were now tasked with getting it up there. It is believed that the broomstick became the preferred tool. The earliest evidence of this comes from the investigation of Lady Alice Kyteler, who was suspected of using witchcraft to kill her husband in 1324... After applying the ointment to the genitals with the broomstick, the psychoactive effects began to sit in. Getting high in this manner has been described as feeling weightless, like you're disassociating from the ground, free to move in any direction. After straddling a greased-up hallucinogenic broomstick, the user subsequently experienced the feeling of flying"

This Kind of Fat Lowers Your Risk For Diabetes - "the consumption of butter (at 12 grams a day) and cheese (at 30 grams a day) were both linked to an increased risk of diabetes. On the other hand, people who ate whole-fat yogurt actually had a lower risk than those who didn't. The researchers have several explanations for these findings. Yogurt contains healthful ingredients, like probiotics and protein, that may have protective effects when it comes to diabetes risk, says lead author Marta Guasch-Ferre, a nutrition research fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Even though the results were adjusted to account for other food intake, unhealthy eating patterns may have influenced them. “Butter and cheese often come with carbohydrates, like toast or crackers,” Guasch-Ferre says. Plus, people who eat more yogurt tend to have better diets than those who don’t, she adds.The study did not find any significant links between diabetes risk and consumption of red meat, processed meat, eggs or whole-fat milk"

Peppa Pig 'spiders can't hurt you' episode pulled off air in Australia – again - "A controversial episode of Peppa Pig has been pulled off the air in Australia for a second time, after complaints it told children to pick up and play with dangerous spiders."

Singapore's political succession plans in disarray - "The nomination of Tan, 49, as Speaker, a role he started on Monday, is the most intriguing and leaves many awkward questions which have yet to be answered fully. For instance, why move a high-flying military general, who was hand-picked to join the ruling party to fight the general elections just six years ago, to a less powerful, less meaningful and less lucrative job as Speaker?... As Singaporeans debate the rather unusual appointment, the received wisdom is that the leadership's changing of the baton is causing concern as the previous changes have been so well-oiled and predictable. Way before Lee Kuan Yew decided to step aside in 1990, the public knew that Goh Chok Tong would take over, and way before Goh even became PM in 2004, it was generally accepted that Lee's son, the current PM, would become PM No 3. This kind of a smooth and predictable handover has been a Singapore hallmark which made the country a haven for investors and foreigners flocking to put in their money and sink roots here. Now, the next leader is not even in sight making this safe haven a little unpredictable, even a little vulnerable."

Fists fly in a punch-up in London's Hyde Park - "Two factions – the Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists (or so-called TERFs) and their bitter enemies Trans Activists – clashed in an unseemly bust-up that ended with a 60-year-old woman being bundled to the ground and punched in the face... Mother-of-two Maria MacLachlan, who describes herself as a ‘gender critical feminist’, was attacked at Speakers’ Corner in London’s Hyde Park... She had joined around 50 fellow TERFs who were to be given details of the secret location for a talk entitled What Is Gender? The Gender Recognition Act And Beyond... ‘Julia said she was going to sing a song she had written. She took a megaphone and as soon as she put it to her lips, these kids started shouting, “When the TERFs attack, we fight back.” ‘I thought, “I can film this, it will be interesting.” They were getting louder and louder. Then suddenly someone tried to grab my camera. It was scary. Someone kept trying to get my camera. I think it was a girl, but I couldn’t tell because they had a hoodie over their eyes.’... Ms MacLachlan later identified a trans-woman who is currently trying to raise £5,000 for vocal-cord surgery to make her voice higher, as one of her attackers... Several feminists called 999 and three cars containing six officers arrived on the scene, but no arrests were made... Because students from Goldsmiths had been so vocal in opposing the original meeting, the feminists believe they formed a section of the protesters... Action for Trans Health London issued a statement saying: ‘We condemn violence against women in all forms. We’re proud that many self-organising activists, allies and supporters stood against hatred, misogyny and intimidation.’"
Antifa style tactics being used against feminists
Maybe Action for Trans Health London meant they were condemning the "violence" against women that the TERFs were perpetrating by voicing their views and were proud that the trans activists stood against "hatred" and "intimidation" by fighting back

Transgender group ATH says it is fine to punch women - "A transgender campaign group defended an activist who attacked a 60-year-old by comparing the 'radical feminists' who question their views to 'Nazis'... the protestors shouted 'when the TERFs attack, we fight back' and she decided to start filming... 'Punching terfs is the same as punching Nazis. Fascism must be smashed with the greatest violence to ensure our collective liberation from it'. 'Violence against terfs is always self defence', another tweet read... She is currently the trans officer for the National Union of Students (NUS). They declined to comment... Elsewhere on social media ATH supporters say 'TERFS must die' and 'burn in a fire, TERF'"
First it's okay to punch Nazis. Then it's okay to punch people who are like Nazis. Definitely there're people equating people who don't punch Nazis to Nazis too. So basically you can punch anyone you disagree with

What a woman learnt from interviewing 100 convicted rapists in India - ""After you speak to (the rapists), it shocks you - these men have the power to make you feel sorry for them. As a woman, that's not how you expect to feel. I would almost forget that these men have been convicted of raping a woman. In my experience, a lot of these men don't realise that what they've done is rape. They don't understand what consent is... In India, social attitudes are highly conservative. Sex education is left out of most school curriculums; legislators feel such topics could "corrupt" youth and offend traditional values. "Parents won't even say words like penis, vagina, rape or sex. If they can't get over that, how can they educate young boys?" Ms Pandey asked... One convicted rapist in particular sent Ms Pandey on an unexpected journey. He expressed remorse for raping a five-year-old girl. "He said, 'Yes, I feel bad, I ruined her life.' Now she is no longer a virgin, no one would marry her. Then he said, 'I would accept her, I will marry her when I come out of jail.'" The response shocked Ms Pandey so much that she felt compelled to find out about the victim. The man had revealed details of the girl's whereabouts in the interview. When she found the girl's mother, she learnt that the family had not even been told that their daughter's rapist was in jail."

A Material That Throws Heat into Space Could Soon Reinvent Air-Conditioning - "Materials emitting radiation in that range literally cast it into the cold expanses of space, or at least the cool upper atmosphere, allowing the surfaces themselves to dip below the temperature of the surrounding air. This natural phenomenon is what causes frost to form on surfaces under the open night sky, like car windows and blades of grass, even when temperatures don’t reach freezing."

One PR campaign, 32 photographers, no women. Nikon has an optics problem - "In response to the backlash, Nikon responded, weakly: “Unfortunately, the female photographers we had invited for this meet were unable to attend, and we acknowledge we have not put enough of a focus in this area.” Women made up just 11% of Nikon’s workforce this year."
Comments: "There are not many instances where one sees massed photographers. But if you look in the background of paparazzi shots, Oscar type star-lineups and sporting events, the photographers you see in the background are exclusively men. Discuss."
"if you have a look around You Tube, where it looks like Nikon went looking for photographers. Most of the presenters are male."
"I have just checked out the first ten photographs with a photographer's name below that I could click on here in the Guardian. Mostly stock shots, three commissioned by the Guardian. All were taken by photographers who, going on their name, are men."

Facebook Enabled Advertisers to Reach ‘Jew Haters’ - "Until this week, when we asked Facebook about it, the world’s largest social network enabled advertisers to direct their pitches to the news feeds of almost 2,300 people who expressed interest in the topics of “Jew hater,” “How to burn jews,” or, “History of ‘why jews ruin the world.’” To test if these ad categories were real, we paid $30 to target those groups with three “promoted posts” — in which a ProPublica article or post was displayed in their news feeds. Facebook approved all three ads within 15 minutes. After we contacted Facebook, it removed the anti-Semitic categories — which were created by an algorithm rather than by people — and said it would explore ways to fix the problem, such as limiting the number of categories available or scrutinizing them before they are displayed to buyers."
Yet skin whitening ads were blocked