On some of the feelings and violence that happened last night.
What we know about what happened in Ferguson →
Some of the questions that Brown's death has raised simply don't have answers, but here are a few things you might be wondering if you're just getting caught up on what's happening in Ferguson...
It’s Incredibly Rare For A Grand Jury To Do What Ferguson’s Just Did →
For anyone who missed the presser last night, Prosecutor Mcculloch showed how incompetently he tried to stage manage the grand jury. In fact, he gave a very convincing case of why it should have gone to trial (competing evidence; fabricated evidence on the part of the police; TWELVE SHOTS fired at Michael Brown who died over 150 feet from officer Darren Wilson's vehicle; etc.), yet tried to spin it as a job well done on the part of the grand jury and a case closed.
From every outward appearance, this person, who was *supposed* to be laying a case for why it should go to trial, deep-sixed it. End of story. And travesty of justice.
The Gospel of Rudy Giuliani →
Why are our politicians ignoring this plague of American-on-American crime? Why are American leaders not protesting the cult of death that fills the graveyards of America? Who will bravely challenge the culture of failure that says that Americans should only be outraged when Muslims kill Americans? Who will challenge the American pathology that says that a boy who walks unarmed is acting French?
I demand a TSA checkpoint at every shopping mall to shield Americans against Americans. I demand drones to kill Americans before they kill other Americans. I demand that American leaders stop pretending that American morgues and American cemeteries are full of young men because of jihadis. The evidence is clear—American-on-American violence is a silent killer that only Americans can stop. American criminality is now so rampant that it must always be the only topic of any conversation. Let us not speak of any act of international terrorism until American terrorism has been wholly vanquished.
Israeli cabinet approves legislation defining nation-state of Jewish people →
Worrisome. Non-Jews are already second-class citizens. This will reinforce that anti-democratic trend.
A Rape on Campus: A Brutal Assault and Struggle for Justice at UVA →
And not uncommon, given systemic indifference. Our colleges and universities need to address this at every level.
With the publication of this article in Rolling Stone, UVa has taken what looks like particularly cynical, self-serving action:
UVa Temporarily Suspends Fraternities in Response to Rape Allegations
The fraternity suspension is set to run through January 9, the start of the spring semester.
(A three week suspension of frats at the end of this semester. Quick, "extreme", but likely to do little on its own.)
Tunisia holds first post-revolution presidential poll →
The polls have closed after Tunisia's first presidential election since the 2011 "Arab Spring" that triggered uprisings across the region.
About 54% of the electorate took part, with no reports of any violence.
Interim president Moncef Marzouki and anti-Islamist leader Beji Caid Essebsi were touted as the favourites in a field of more than 25 candidates.
Both campaigns claimed to have won the most votes but admitted that a second round of voting next month was likely.
The official results are due out later this week and if no candidate wins more than 50%, a run-off will be held on 31 December.
House intel panel debunks many Benghazi theories →
A two-year investigation by the Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee has found that the CIA and the military acted properly in responding to the 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, and asserted no wrongdoing by Obama administration appointees.