Those well educated and despicable anti-Semites

Yes, we have Scarlett Johansson and J.K. Rowling, the brave actor and writer who refused to join the boycott movement of the State of Israel. But the anti-Semites have dozens of luminaries and professors.

The Guardian, the leading British leftist newspaper, just published an appeal to sever any ties with Israeli universities. The appeal has been signed by 350 professors working in UK academia.

These BDS supporters are the grandchildren of those Max Weinreich called “Hitler’s Professors”.

If Italy’s Fascism had writers and philosophers such as Gabriel D’Annunzio, Luigi Pirandello, Giovanni Gentile and Tommaso Marinetti, Hitler’s Nazism had an even greater list of talents: Martin Heidegger, Carl Schmitt, Gottfried Benn, Ernst Jünger, Mircea Eliade, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Ernst von Karajan, Knut Hamsun, Emile Cioran and Louis Ferdinand Celine.

The best of European culture embraced Nazism just as today it is embracing new anti-Semitism. The cowardice of the intellectuals, academics and men of letters on the “Jewish question” is repeated today on the issue of Israel.

Henry Rousso called it “Le Syndrome de Vichy”. The reference is to France under Nazi occupation, when the cream of Paris’ writers continued their work, pleasing the Germans, getting favors, condemning the Jews to death by their indifference and hypocrisy.

Consider the words and images associated with Israel in recent years by these new anti-Semitic intellectuals in their newspapers, in their books, in their university classrooms: “s**t”, “Nazi”, “racist”, “apartheid”, “ethnic cleansing”, “settler”, “war criminal”, “illegal”.

These BDS supporters hope to nail an entire people, the Jewish people, to a dark destiny: being exterminated or being the exterminator, perpetuating the myth of a “race” inevitably involved in bloody tragedies, forcing 7 million Israeli Jews, a minority in the the immense Arab world, to the choice between national suicide or a desperate war. Europe and the Arab world are sinking into a deadly mentality, planning once again to inflict horrors on the Jewish people.

In their cumulative effect, the consequences of this new defamatory language against the reputation of Israel have been devastating. Neither Syria’s Assad, nor Iran’s mullahs or North Korea, not the worst African satrapies, enjoy this special treatment.

Only Israel. Only the Jews.

North Korea believed to earn a fortune from forced labor overseas, U.N. says

North Korea’s catalog of abuses against its own people within the secretive country’s tightly controlled borders has been widely reported. But Kim Jong Un’s regime is also believed to be pocketing huge sums from tens of thousands of its citizens who are sent abroad to toil in forced labor conditions, the United Nations says.

The laborers are made to work as long as 20 hours a day without enough food and under constant surveillance, according to a new report from Marzuki Darusman, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea.

He told a news conference Wednesday that the practice has become more visible in recent years and that “the numbers have grown.”

“I think it reflects the really tight financial and economic situation in the North,” Darusman said.

The overwhelming majority of the workers are employed in North Korean allies China and Russia, according to the report. But the rest are spread across a range of countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

Poets latest to be snared in Iranian hard-liners’ crackdown

Two Iranian poets jailed for their work and sentenced to 99 lashes apiece for shaking hands with members of the opposite sex are the latest targets in a crackdown that analysts say pits hard-liners against those offering new glimpses of life in the Islamic Republic.

The sentences follow a pattern of arrests and convictions targeting activists, journalists and artists that has served as a grim backdrop to President Hassan Rouhani’s efforts to soften the country’s image and improve relations with the West, including through the landmark nuclear agreement reached last summer.

Hard-liners in the police, judiciary and military view any rapprochement with the West as a threat to the Islamic Republic and a sign of moral decay. Rights groups and analysts say those targeted in the ongoing crackdown on expression in Iran also serve as pawns in the hard-liners’ struggle with moderates ahead of February’s parliamentary elections.

“I think people thought with the nuclear deal, there would be sort of a bit of a thaw as well or a bit of an opening up,” said Karin Deutsch Karlekar, the director of Free Expression Programs at PEN America, an organization promoting literature and freedom of speech. “I think the judiciary is sort of pushing back and trying to make clear that there isn’t going to be that opening people were hoping for.”

Gaza Couple Names Baby ‘Knife of Jerusalem’

These people really should have a State.

Bundled Cable Deathwatch: ESPN To Cut 350 Jobs

The scam of bundled cable is the foundation of left-wing Hollywood’s money and cultural power. Were Hollywood not able to force people to pay for networks they never watch, low-rated, left-wing outlets like CNN, MSNBC, Comedy Central. and MTV would not be able to stay on the air.

Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe wins China version of Nobel Peace Prize

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has been awarded China’s alternative to the Nobel Peace Prize for what the prize committee called his national leadership and service to pan-Africanism.

Mugabe is the latest in a series of critics of the West who have received the Confucius Peace Prize, first awarded in 2010 amid Beijing’s anger over the granting of the Nobel Peace Prize to imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.

Mugabe, 91, is a resilient leader who fought in a guerrilla war, denounces the West, crushed or co-opted dissent at home and has been in power for 35 years with no clear successor.

Prior recipients of the prize, which is awarded by a non-governmental committee composed mainly of scholars, include former Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

SOURCE

University of Wisc.: It’s Not Politically Correct to Use the Term ‘Politically Correct’

The phrase is a microagression.

Jew hatin’ peanut farmer offers help for Russia’s bombing campaign in Syria

Former President Jimmy Carter said recently that he provided maps of Islamic State positions in Syria to the Russian embassy in Washington, a move apparently at odds with the Obama administration’s official policy of not cooperating with Russia in the Syrian war.

Carter said on Sunday in Georgia that he knows Russian President Vladimir Putin “fairly well” because they “have a common interest in fly fishing.” When he met with Putin in April along with other global leaders to discuss the crises in Syria and Ukraine, the Russian president gave him an email address so the two could discuss his “fly fishing experiences, particularly in Russia,” Carter said.

The civil war in Syria, where U.S. officials say Russia has bombed rebels and CIA-backed groups rather than the Islamic State terrorist group, has also been a topic of conversation between the two. Carter said he sent maps of the Islamic State’s locations in Syria, produced by the Carter Center, to the Russian embassy so Moscow could improve the accuracy of its strikes.

“I sent [Putin] a message Thursday and asked him if he wanted a copy of our map so he could bomb accurately in Syria, and then on Friday, the Russian embassy in Atlanta—I mean in Washington, called down and told me they would like very much to have the map,” Carter said at his Sunday school class in Georgia, according to a video of his remarks first aired by NBC News. “So in the future, if Russia doesn’t bomb the right places, you’ll know it’s not Putin’s fault but it’s my fault,” he added as the audience laughed.

Jew massacre of the day

One terrorist shot dead, another apprehended; earlier, would-be terrorist was shot, wounded by IDF fire near Yitzhar, treated by IDF troops.

The Absurdity of Israeli Compassion

I get it that we are a compassionate people – but this is ridiculous.

Today we read here that in Israeli hospitals it’s first come first served.

So during this killing spree, Arabs wounding and murdering Israelis at will by the day, by the hour, Jewish doctors make no distinction between the Arab terrorist and the Jewish victim. They get the same treatment, and if the killer gets to the emergency room ahead of time, he or she gets the benefit of immediate quality care.

The Jews must wait their turn.

That is not compassion. That is stupidity.

It is that kind of approach, this kind of mercy for the wicked, that gives the enemy the upper hand, knowing how easy it is to play on Jewish emotions…and play they do into this specific Jewish weakness. They play the Israelis for patsies, and rightly so.

Do you hear laughter?

Marike Veldman opened a foster home for Arab children in Jerusalem 32 years ago. Last week, she was stabbed multiple times in a terror attack

“I entered the bus 78 in Harmon Hanetziv (and) I saw two Arab men sitting in the very beginning of the bus, I thought to myself ‘what were they doing on a bus at this hour, they should be at work,’ they looked suspicious,” she said.

“They were laughing, exchanging maybe a joke or something, and then all of sudden they got up and started screaming ‘Allahu Akbar,’ and then one of them started stabbing me and he stabbed me several times, I yelled ‘Jesus help me,’” she recounted.

Ministers approve banning boycotters from entering Israel

Good thinking!

A bill calling to ban people who call to boycott Israel from entering the country received the Ministerial Committee for Legislation’s approval on Monday.

The initiative by MK Yinon Magal (Bayit Yehudi) states that anyone who is not a citizen or a permanent resident and calls for or encourages boycotts of Israel or belongs to an organization that does so will not be able to receive a visa or residency permit.

“It cannot be that someone who is trying to harm the State of Israel can enter it freely,” Magal said after the bill was approved.

Stupid Israel: Dependence on Palestinian workers endangers construction, study finds

Not a single pali should be allowed to work in Israel. Shame on the construction companies that hire them:

Israel’s dependence on Palestinian workers is a danger to the construction sector, according to a BDICoface study released Monday.

Some 11% of construction companies are at risk of closing, and crackdowns on the movement of Palestinian labor resulting from the security situation could push some of them over the edge, the study found.

Keeping construction levels high is a crucial element in reeling in the soaring price of housing, which in recent years has inflated as the result of both inadequate supply and low interest rates.

Of the 235,100 construction workers in Israel in the first quarter of the year, 22% came from the West Bank and 3% were foreign workers.

“The data that arises from the survey present a snapshot of uncertainty, not only among the contractors, but also reflected the general worries in the population in Israel,” said Avner Levy, chairman of the contractors and construction organization in Tel Aviv, Jaffa and Bet Yam. “It’s difficult to predict how the wave of terror will affect it, given the dependence on Palestinian workers.”

Last month, the cabinet approved plans to increase the number of Chinese construction guest worker by some 20,000.

The survey estimated that 67% of construction companies faced elevated economic risk, and 11% were near closure.

June saw a record level of home sales in Israel, reflecting two government policies, according to the survey. Former Finance Minister Yair Lapid’s attempts to eliminate VAT on housing for some young couples in 2014 led potential buyers to wait. When the plans fell apart, many rushed back to the market. This summer, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon announced plans to increase tax on real estate purchases made for investment purposes. Ahead of the new tax, many investors rushed to close their deals.

Combined, the factors led to a 63.2% increase in home sales in the first eight months of the year, relative to the same period last year.

Big contractors profits have soared as a result. In the first half of the year, the biggest contractor’s gross profit rate rose to 17.2%,up from 14.8% during the same period last year. Small and medium contractors, on the other hand, saw their profit rates fall from 13.5% to 11.4%.

SOURCE

Statement by New Israel Fund Canada on wave of terror

Sickening:

The New Israel Fund (NIF) sends our condolences to the families of those who have been murdered and our wishes for a full and speedy recovery to those injured during this latest deadly wave of terror.

We are witnessing a grave escalation of violence in Israel and in the occupied territories, starting with individual attacks and now progressing to acts of revenge and confrontation. We condemn and deplore this escalation, which also threatens to further damage the prospects for a shared society of Jews and Arabs in Israel, so vital to Israel’s existence.

NIF calls on all political and religious leaders, as well as communal Jewish and Arab representatives, to speak responsibly and with restraint, to calm tempers, and to reject incitement and polarization from their own communities. We especially must not allow extremists on either side to drag us into a religious confrontation that could become catastrophic.

Let us not bury our heads in the sand. When Palestinians have no hope for an end to forty-eight years of occupation, the waves of individual and collective violence will most likely continue. Therefore, despite the pain of the past few weeks, the Israeli government’s most urgent task is to work towards promoting a diplomatic solution of the core issues of the conflict. Neither repression of protest nor boycotts of Israel’s Arab minority nor collective punishment will result in greater peace and safety. Expanding the building of settlements in the occupied territories cannot be the answer to violence, and indeed will only spur more terrorist activity.

Prominent Israeli security figures have long warned us that “managing the conflict” would fail to keep Israelis safe. Now, Israel’s leaders must act to protect its citizens. This must include taking substantive steps to confront Israel’s own extremists, further self-determination for the Palestinian people, and pressing ahead towards peace. And now more than ever, Israel must defend freedom of expression, the right to protest and demonstrate, and the right of minorities to express themselves and be heard.

SOURCE

Jew massacre of the day

Two terrorists wounded six people at the central bus station in Beersheba Sunday night, Magen David Adom.

Israel Police said that the two suspects entered the bus station, where one of them fired shots while the other stabbed.

Overall, six people, all in their 20s, were hurt in the attack: two seriously wounded, two moderately and two lightly. Paramedics provided medical treatment at the scene.

Disappointed in ‘Failure’ of Stabbings, Hamas Calls on Palestinians to Drop Knives, Commit Car-Rammings for Higher Jewish Casualties

Vehicular attacks have been less prevalent during the current terror wave, something that Hamas would like to rectify.

Look out: Rabbi Poopy Pants and a few of his fruity friends delivered a letter and went to a meeting

These guys mean business!

Illuminati alert!

UN Officials Inciting Murder of Jews, Call to “Stab Zionist Dogs”

UN staffers are using the imprimatur of their official positions to incite Palestinian stabbing and shooting attacks against Israeli Jews, with one UN-identified employee calling on Facebook to “stab Zionist dogs,” according to a new report issued today by UN Watch, the Geneva-based non-governmental organization that is accredited by the United Nations with the mandate to monitor the world body’s compliance with its charter.

Handy guide on how to stab

In addition to praising the attacks and urging more of the same, a number of Palestinian activists have posted content with advice and instructions on how to carry out attacks.

Videos and photos posted to Facebook and Twitter show detailed instructional guidance on how to stab Israelis, methods for maximum bodily damage, and ways to create deadly weapons to carry out attacks.

Here’s one: Gulf States to Purchase Israel’s Iron Dome System

Several Gulf nations are currently in negotiations to purchase the Israeli-made Iron Dome missile defense system, Sky News reported on Tuesday.

The report said that member nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council want to defend themselves against a growing “Iranian arsenal of missiles.”

There is no filthier Jew hater than a Huffington Post commenter

Just as revolting and ignorant as the most radical Islamist. PROGRESSIVES. ARE. JUST. FUCKING. SICKENING.

Not The Onion: Trudeau Vows To Tell Off Putin ‘To His Face’

I’m sure Vlad is pooping his pants right now:

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says he would tell off Russian President Vladimir Putin “directly to his face” if he becomes prime minister.

Trudeau accuses Putin of “being dangerous” in eastern Europe, “irresponsible and harmful” in the Middle East and “unduly provocative” in the Arctic.

“Canada needs to continue to stand strongly with the international community pushing back against the bully that is Vladimir Putin,” he said during a campaign stop in Toronto.

“If I have the opportunity in the coming months to meet with Vladimir Putin, I will tell him all this directly to his face because we need to ensure that Canada continues to stand strongly for peace and justice in the world.”

Trudeau’s comments follow a Dutch Safety Board report that says a Russian-made missile downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in eastern Ukraine last year, killing all 298 people aboard.

The Liberal leader’s campaign is scheduled to swing through a few NDP-held ridings on Tuesday, one day after he courted red Tories in his bid to win the election.

He urged progressive voters to avoid reading the polls and delivered a thinly veiled shot at Tom Mulcair’s pitch to convince voters that the NDP is the only alternative to Stephen Harper’s Conservatives.

“You do have a choice — multiple choices. I won’t pretend that you don’t,” Trudeau said.

“To suggest otherwise would be arrogant and an insult to your intelligence, so I’m not asking you to look at the polls. I’m asking you to look at our platform.”

SOURCE

Montreal men accused of illegally exporting railway equipment to Iran

Two Montreal men are charged with illegally exporting American-made railway equipment to Iran, violating Canada’s Export and Import Permit Act and Customs Act, RCMP say.

Michael Allen, 67, and Hugo Dreckmann, 75, are scheduled to appear in Quebec Court Wednesday to face charges of exporting without a permit and misrepresentation.

The two are directors of Romic Marc Rail Inc., a company based in St-Lazare that sells locomotives and train parts.

RCMP spokeswoman Camille Habel said the company was selling rail equipment manufactured in the United States directly to Iran, but passing it off as being manufactured in Canada. That’s a violation of the Export and Import Permits Act, because it’s a way of skirting strict economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. against Iran.

A Liberal’s Ten Commandments

To better advance their causes, liberals should follow these modest Ten Commandments to live the rather “progressive” lives that they advocate for the rest of us.

Why the fuck is this guy still alive?

Alla Raeed Ahmed Zayud, 20, the Arab terrorist and Israeli citizen from Umm El Fahm who on Sunday night wounded four Israelis in a terror attack, appeared in court on Monday with a smile on his face, and pretended as if his murderous attack never happened.

Zayud ran over two soldiers, and then got out of his car to stab two passersby. One of the soldiers is in serious condition, and the rest of the victims are defined as suffering light to moderate wounds. The attack took place at a bus station near Gan Shmuel on Highway 65 in northern Israel, between Hadera and Afula.

And yet the Arab terrorist showed no remorse for his actions in court, or even any willingness to recognize his deeds.

In a court hearing to extend his arrest at the Haifa Magistrate’s Court, he said, “I didn’t do anything. They want to turn me into a terrorist. I don’t know what they want from me. I’m not a terrorist.”

The terrorist’s statements, which fly in the face of a mountain of evidence, evidently did little as his arrest was extended until Wednesday.

Zayud’s lawyer, Wassam Araf, made the surprising claim that his client was involved in a “car accident,” and was then attacked by Jews, in a total reversal of the facts of the case. Previous car attacks have also initially been claimed as “accidents.”

Israeli students attacked with firebomb in Manhattan

In a second possible hate crime incident, rocks or other heavy objects were thrown at an Orthodox Jewish woman, 22, as she pushed her baby in a stroller past the Bangladesh Muslim Center in Brooklyn, the Post reported citing police.

Stabbing squads

Brandishing a knife of his own during the speech at the Al-Abrar Mosque, Sheikh Muhammad Sallah called on Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank to “attack in threes and fours” and “cut them into body parts.”

Pali terrorists decry Howard Stern’s ‘racism’

The PLO Delegation to the US was referring to a monologue aired earlier this week, during which Stern denounced former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters for his ongoing efforts to convince musicians to boycott Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians.

In a statement, the PLO delegation termed Waters a “human rights activist” and decried what it referred to as Stern’s racism against Arabs, and Palestinians in particular.

No more “proportionality.” No more moral relativism. No more Palestinian terrorism.

It took a major wave of terrorism to spread to the country’s center for Israelis to awaken from their slumber.

The deaths of “only” four fellow citizens in sporadic violence earlier this month left too many outwardly unperturbed; a dynamic that plays out regularly when a handful of Gaza rockets terrorize southern communities, rather than rain down in large numbers on heavily populated areas.

In fact, unless Israel finds herself on the brink of disaster, emotional paralysis pervades society, an attitude of ostensible apathy that unwittingly assimilates quickly the murder of a Jew or two as part of normality.

Undoubtedly a defense mechanism adopted to cope with years of rampant Palestinian terror, it is nonetheless a defect of the mind and soul which needs to be eradicated.

Busy tearing hymens in paradise

Iranian Regime Lobby in America Loses Big in Court

The Philadelphia-based NPO Middle East Forum’s Legal Project announced on Tuesday that a legal case it had been leading against the unofficial Iranian lobby in the US ended with the US Federal Court of Appeals upholding a sanction penalty ruling against the NIAC to the tune of $183,480.09.

Uzbek president bans teaching of political science

From a political scientist’s perspective, Uzbekistan is almost certainly an authoritarian government: the regime of President Islam Karimov, who has ruled the country since before the breakup of the Soviet Union, has imprisoned critics, held sham elections and each year forces millions of people to pick cotton for the state.

It therefore came as little surprise last week when the government banned the teaching of political science, on the grounds that it is a western pseudo-science that does not take the “Uzbek model” of development into account.

In a decree issued on 24 August and later made public, higher education minister Alisher Vakhabov ordered that the words “political science” be dropped from the name of the last remaining course in the subject widely taught in the country, which will now be called The Theory and Practice of Building a Democratic Society in Uzbekistan. It also required universities to move all literature relating to political science from the “general fund to a special fund”, which means students and academics will need permission to access it.

Hamas leader declares ‘intifada’ in the West Bank

Ismail Haniyeh says Gaza is prepared for ‘confrontation,’ violence ‘the only path to liberation’.

Not The Onion: Conservative Journalist Banned From Participating in University Debate on Censorship

The University of Manchester Student Union has banned Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos and Guardian journalist Julie Bindel from participating in a debate on whether or not modern feminists stifle free speech.

Bindel was the first to be banned from the British university. “The Students’ Union has decided to deny this request based on Bindel’s views and comments towards trans people, which we believe could incite hatred towards and exclusion of our trans students,” they wrote. Bindel, who identifies as a radical feminist and a lesbian, is also a critic of transexuality and gender reassignment surgery.

At first, Yiannopoulos joked about being allowed to attend, saying he’d have to “up his game.” But sure enough, he was banned soon thereafter. In their statement explaining their decision, the Student Union called him a “professional misogynist” and “rape apologist.”

Yiannopoulos is much loathed by feminists and much beloved by their critics, especially in the Gamergate movement. Most recently, he was kicked out Los Angeles’ “Slut Walk” for challenging its founder and carrying a sign calling rape culture a fantasy. Back in May, a pro-Gamergate event headlined by Yiannopoulos was the victim of a bomb threat.

According to the “safe space” policy Yiannopoulos and Bindel are accused of breaking, the University of Manchester believes free speech “should not be to the detriment of the rights of other individuals and groups. Freedom of speech is important, yet intention to incite hatred is never acceptable.”

SOURCE

Pallywood production of the day

“….a colleague of the reporter confirmed that Mahameed was not seriously injured, but had “holes in her face and neck.”

Edward Snowden would rather sit in jail in the U.S. than live “free” in Russia

Edward Snowden says he has offered to return to the United States and go to jail for leaking details of National Security Agency programs to intercept electronic communications data on a vast scale.

The former NSA contractor flew to Moscow two years ago after revealing information about the previously secret eavesdropping powers, and faces U.S. charges that could land him in prison for up to 30 years.

Snowden told the BBC that he’d “volunteered to go to prison with the government many times,” but had not received a formal plea-deal offer.

He said that “so far they’ve said they won’t torture me, which is a start, I think. But we haven’t gotten much further than that.”

In an interview broadcast Monday on the BBC’s “Panorama” program, Snowden said he and his lawyers were waiting for U.S. officials “to call us back.”

Earlier this year, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said a plea deal with Snowden was a possibility.

Snowden’s revelations about the NSA, Britain’s GCHQ and other intelligence agencies set off an international debate about spies’ powers to monitor personal communications, and about the balance between security and privacy.

Critics say his disclosures harmed the ability of the United States and its allies to fight terrorism. FBI deputy director Mark Giuliano told the BBC that Snowden was a traitor.

“The question is, if I was a traitor, who did I betray?” Snowden said. “I gave all of my information to American journalists and free society generally.

“I have paid a price but I feel comfortable with the decisions I’ve made,” he added. “If I’m gone tomorrow, I’m happy with what I had. I feel blessed.”

SOURCE

Who could have seen this coming?

Pretty much everyone other than the “social justice” monkeys:

On two separate occasions — September 15 and 19 — two female residents at the university’s Whitney Hall residence building were the victims of voyeurism, having been filmed while they were showering. As a result, Whitney Hall and its four University College (UC) housing affiliates have revoked their gender neutral policy on many of the residence’s washrooms.

It fell to Melinda Scott, dean of students at UC, to break the news. “Given the serious nature of these incidents and the impact on directly affected students, we made the decision to specifically designate some washrooms throughout the building for those who identify as men and those who identify as women. At the same time, there remains at least one gender-neutral washroom per floor and per house,” Scott said in a statement to The Varsity.

Many students are in shock. “It’s scary to think that there’s someone nearby that’s doing that kind of thing,” said Tessa Mahrt-Smith, a first-year Whitney resident. Melissa Birch, also a first-year resident of Whitney and shares Mahrt-Smith’s sentiments. “I think it sucks that there are going to be people that don’t feel safe in Whitney now, and that we can’t have an inclusive environment.”

Whitney Hall has never had a reported controversy regarding its gender-neutral washrooms. The Metro Toronto Police have yet to find any information as to the physical appearance of the voyeur, though the investigation is ongoing.

“Both victims (women) claimed seeing a cellphone reach over while they were in the shower,” said Constable Victor Kwong.

Scott admits that the turn away from gender-neutral washrooms does not directly approach the problem of the voyeurism in Whitney Hall. “The purpose of this temporary measure is to provide a safe space for the women who have been directly impacted by these events and other students who may feel more comfortable in a single gender washroom in the wake of these incidents. We do not expect the designation of these washrooms alone to resolve this matter; it is a complex situation that requires a multi-layered approach,” she said.

Some residents, however, have considered that separating men and women will have an adverse affect, providing an environment in which voyeurism can take place more easily. “It’s not very hard to be of [another] gender and sneak into the single-gender washrooms if they know it’s in the wee hours of the morning, or if they know that there’s only one person in there, who actually might happen to be in the shower. So I do feel that while [gendered washrooms] may help, there’s also the potential that [this system] could provide easier targets for the voyeur,” said Mahrt-Smith.

Moreover, the effects of the segregated washrooms have caused one male resident to reshape his daily routine. Evan Rees is the only male student on the first floor of Ferguson House in Whitney; the once gender-neutral washroom is now women only. Rees entered his residence contract with the understanding that there would be a washroom on his floor. Without one, he must travel up to the second floor whenever he needs to use the facilities.

“While [UC Residences understand] that the designation to some washrooms as male, female or gender-neutral is a change, we do not feel that it is an undue inconvenience.  There will be no change in the residence fees as a result of this change,” said Scott.

The atmosphere at Whitney has changed, something that is evident from speaking with its residents. Reynolds Garret, another freshman resident, told The Varsity that “this issue is not strictly about someone taking pictures; it is about a violation of the trust that our residence experience is based on.” Birch echoes these sentiments: “I’m disappointed that it happened. I have more faith in people than that.”

Amanda Stojcevski, president of the UC Literary and Athletic Society, wants all UC students to be aware of the options available to them. “Despite the incidents that have occurred, there are many sources of support at University College for students should they feel uncomfortable or unsafe. The UC Lit is just one of these sources, and we would like students to know they are welcome to come talk to us about any issues at the college, and we can either act as a support ourselves, or connect them with the appropriate resource.”

Campus Police have urged anyone with any information on the voyeurism incidents at Whitney Hall to contact them.

SOURCE

Is Syria’s long war wearing down key Assad backer Hezbollah?

Under Sheikh Nasrallah, Hezbollah rode to the defense of its ally Syria. But the Shiite group that was founded to confront Israel is paying a high price in lives and prestige.

FINALLY: Sarah Silverman weighs in on Canadian election

American comedian Sarah Silverman made an unexpected foray into Canadian politics on Sunday, when she praised NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair and urged voters to support one of the party’s candidates in British Columbia.

The New Democrats welcomed her endorsement, despite questions about whether she may have violated an obscure federal election lawthat prohibits foreigners from influencing how Canadians vote.

In a Twitter message sent Sunday morning, Silverman, a veteran actor and former Saturday Night Live cast member, appeared to back the NDP’s position on the niqab.

The Conservative party has sought to prohibit Muslim women from wearing the face covering during citizenship ceremonies, while the NDP believes women have the right to wear it. The issue has become one of the defining debates of this year’s election campaign.

“Kudos to @ThomasMulcair 4 supporting a woman’s right to wear what she wants w/out discrimination,” Silverman wrote.

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