Is the US backing neo-Nazis in Ukraine?

(salon) - As the Euromaidan protests in the Ukrainian capitol of Kiev culminated this week, displays of open fascism and neo-Nazi extremism became too glaring to ignore. Since demonstrators filled the downtown square to battle Ukrainian riot police and demand the ouster of the corruption-stained, pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovich, it has been filled with far-right streetfighting men pledging to defend their country’s ethnic purity.

White supremacist banners and Confederate flags were draped inside Kiev’s occupied City Hall, and demonstrators have hoisted Nazi SS and white power symbols over a toppled memorial to V.I. Lenin. After Yanukovich fled his palatial estate by helicopter, EuroMaidan protesters destroyed a memorial to Ukrainians who died battling German occupation during World War II. Sieg heil salutes and the Nazi Wolfsangel symbol have become an increasingly common site in Maidan Square, and neo-Nazi forces have established “autonomous zones” in and around Kiev.

An Anarchist group called AntiFascist Union Ukraine attempted to join the Euromaidan demonstrations but found it difficult to avoid threats of violence and imprecations from the gangs of neo-Nazis roving the square. “They called the Anarchists things like Jews, blacks, Communists,” one of its members said. “There weren’t even any Communists, that was just an insult.”

“There are lots of Nationalists here, including Nazis,” the anti-fascist continued. “They came from all over Ukraine, and they make up about 30% of protesters.”

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Swiss to vote on world's highest minimum wage

A proposed minimum wage of 22 francs an hour ($24.80) would have a damaging effect on Switzerland's job market, says Swiss economics minister Johann Schneider-Ammann, as voters prepare to decide.

(thelocalswitzerland) - Schneider-Ammann launched a campaign on Tuesday objecting to the proposal, which will be put to Swiss voters in a referendum on May 18th. Switzerland does not currently have a national minimum wage.

The UK's current minimum hourly wage is £6.31 ($10.55), while Germany recently agreed a €8.50 ($11.69) minimum from 2017. The current US rate is $7.25.

Speaking at a media conference reported by Reuters, Schneider-Ammann said: "The government is convinced it would be wrong for the state to impose a nationwide wage."

"A minimum wage of 4,000 francs could lead to job cuts and even threaten the existence of smaller companies, notably in retail, catering, agriculture and housekeeping."

"If jobs are being cut, the weakest suffer most," he said.

In an interview with newspaper Tribune de Genève, Philippe Leuba, economics minister for canton Vaud, agreed.

Bringing in a minimum wage would compound the problems created by the recent anti-immigration yes vote, he said.

"Don't forget that one franc in two is earned through exports. Our standard of living depends on our ability to export and if we fail to maintain relations with the EU there will be considerable difficulties for the economy, for salaries, for jobs and for apprenticeships. So let's not multiply our mistakes by saying yes to a minimum wage."

In November, Neuchâtel became the first Swiss canton to propose a minimum wage of 20 francs ($21.75), to come into effect in 2015, after residents voted to accept the principle.

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Mexico captures Sinaloa cartel boss 'Chapo' Guzman

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Mexican authorities captured the world's most powerful drug lord in a resort city Saturday after a massive search through the home state of the legendary capo whose global organization is the leading supplier of cocaine to the United States.

Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, 56, looked pudgy, bowed and much like his wanted photos when he arrived in Mexico City from Mazatlan in Sinaloa state. He was marched by masked marines across the airport tarmac to a helicopter waiting to whisk him to jail.

Marines arrested Guzman at 6:40 a.m. in a high-rise condominium fronting the Pacific without firing a single shot. Mexican officials late Saturday said he was apprehended with a man identified as Carlos Manuel Hoo Ramirez, contradicting earlier reports that he was arrested with a woman.

An American official said that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Marshals Service were "heavily involved" in the capture.

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Conspiracy much? Dishonest Abe Lincoln’s Lies Destroyed the USA and Enslaved the World!

You can't make this Sh*t up

Shock, grief persist as southwest Missouri mourns slain 10-year-old girl

Surprisingly this wasn't labeled a "Hate Crime"..

(startribune) SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Family and friends remembered 10-year-old Hailey Owens as a vivacious spirit — a trusting little girl whose cheery disposition only deepened the heartbreak after police say she was snatched off a southwest Missouri street and killed by an abductor.

Memories of Hailey mixed with anger and shock in Springfield on Thursday, as the community tried to make sense of the brutal crime that took her life. She went missing on Tuesday, taken in daylight from a neighborhood street less than two blocks from her Springfield home as she walked back from her best friend's house.

Craig Michael Wood, 45, a longtime employee of Springfield's public school system, is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and armed criminal action in the fourth-grader's shooting death. His initial appearance in court was postponed Thursday and rescheduled for Friday.
Hailey's mother Stacey Barfield, aunt Sara Wells and a third relative gathered at the abduction site Thursday morning to retrieve some of the dozens of floral arrangements and stuffed animals left by well-wishers. Barfield broke down sobbing as she knelt beside the memorial.

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Related - 

Reuters: Coach to plead not guilty in Missouri girl's kidnap, murder -defense

Spanking bill in Kansas sparks controversy

(CNN) - A Kansas state lawmaker says a bill she's introduced that would give school teachers and caregivers expanded rights to spank children is not "intended to legalize child abuse."

Democratic state representative Gail Finney of Wichita put out a statement Tuesday after media stories about her legislation, which would expand on current Kansas law by allowing teachers and caregivers to spank children up to 10 times, possibly causing redness and bruising.

Sochi Could Be Britain's Last Olympics as a United Country

If this year's independence referendum succeeds, Scottish nationalists want their own Olympic team at the Rio Games in 2016.

(theatlatntic) - A key issue in the referendum debate is whether an independent Scotland could rapidly join international organizations like NATO and the European Union, as Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond claims (and as British and EU officials dispute). Olympics participation would be more straightforward: Assuming all of its basic criteria are met, the International Olympic Committee only requires that new countries be recognized as independent by the international community. In practical terms, this usually means membership in the United Nations.

Could an independent Scotland achieve Olympic glory? Scottish Summer Olympians brought home 13 Olympic medals, including seven gold medals, when Britain hosted the 2012 Games in London. And while Scots only comprise one-twelfth of Britain's population, 18 Scots qualified for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, meaning they constitute roughly one-third of Team GB's 48 overall athletes. But Scottish cyclist Chris Hoy, a six-time gold medalist considered to be Britain's most successful Olympian ever, warned that Team GB's Scots might not fare as well on their own.

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Malaysia: Isma Blames ‘Ungrateful Infidels’ For Religious Tensions

 (malysiadigest.com) KUALA LUMPUR: Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) has blamed “ungrateful infidels” for spiralling religious tensions in the country.

Isma said that those who do not believe in “Allah” have started to undermine the position of Islam as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

“Infidels who do not have faith and do not believe in the fact of Allah the creator, will not know how to be grateful. That is the cause of tensions happening in this country,” Isma president Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman said on the group’s website.

A dispute over use of the word “Allah” has led to tensions between the country’s Muslims and Christians .

In October last year, Malaysia’s second highest court ruled that a Catholic newspaper could not use the word “Allah” to refer to God, overturning a lower court decision in 2009.

The Christian paper is looking to appeal the latest decision and preliminary hearings at Malaysia’s apex court start on March 5.

Selangor state religious authorities confiscated bibles containing the word ‘Allah’ in January this year, using a state enactment dated 1988 which bans non-Muslims from using 35 Arabic words.

The dispute is hurting Malaysia’s image as a moderate Islamic country.

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4 Horrible Schools That Would Make Ayn Rand Proud

Cracked.com - The Wu-Tang Clan once sagely proclaimed that cash rules everything around us. While that may be an overly simplified look at our economy, it has apparently made its way into the curriculum of several elementary schools around the country, which are doing their very best to teach children that there is only one thing that matters in their little kid lives ...

Read more: HERE

Scotland becomes seventeenth "country" to approve same-sex marriages

(Reuters) - Scotland voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to allow same-sex marriages, becoming the 17th country to give the green light to gay marriage despite opposition from its main church organizations.

The Scottish government, which will hold a referendum on independence from Britain in September, said passing the same-sex marriage bill was an important step for equal rights and paved the way for same-sex wedding ceremonies later this year.

The move was opposed by the Scottish Catholic Church and the Presbyterian Church of Scotland but the law will not compel religious institutions to hold ceremonies on their premises.

The approval, in a vote of 105 to 18 in Scotland's devolved parliament, follows similar legislation passed by the British parliament last year that allows same-sex marriage in England and Wales, with the first weddings to take place from March 29.

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57 Women Stoned To Death During Annual Riyadh Fashion Week

(theonion) RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA—With local organizers and attendees hailing the event as a “major success,” the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh wrapped up its 10th annual fashion week Friday, a star-studded international showcase of the latest trends during which 57 women were pelted to death by stones.

The glamorous high-fashion event, which debuted the fall couture collections of Calvin Klein, Diane Von Furstenberg, and Anna Sui among others, took place over seven days in the city’s upscale Olaya district and claimed the lives of dozens of models, assistants, and designers, as well as 19 female audience members whose outfits exposed parts of their bodies other than their eyes or hands.

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Coca-Cola's "America the Beautiful" Super Bowl Commercial Sparks Outrage on Twitter

It's a conspiracy!

Who knew a Coke commercial could cause such an uproar?
Coca-Cola aired a Super Bowl commercial titled "It's Beautiful," with a simple premise: scenes from American life (families, pool parties, road trips, what have you) with "America the Beautiful" playing in the background. The twist? The patriotic tune was sung in different languages.

Should the Minimum Wage Be Abolished (i.e. Reduced to $0.00)?

In a Nutshell

Yes	No
The vast majority of economists believe the minimum wage law costs the economy thousands of jobs. Teenagers, workers in training, college students, interns, and part-time workers all have their options and opportunities limited by the minimum wage. A low-paying job remains an entry point for those with few marketable skills. Abolishing the minimum wage will allow businesses to achieve greater efficiency and lower prices. When you force American companies to pay a certain wage, you increase the likelihood that those companies will outsource jobs to foreign workers, where labor is much cheaper. Non-profit charitable organizations are hurt by the minimum wage. The minimum wage can drive some small companies out of business. A minimum wage gives businesses an additional incentive to mechanize duties previously held by humans. Cost-of-living differences in various areas of the country make a universal minimum wage difficult to set. Elimination of the minimum wage would mean more citizens and fewer illegals would be hired for low-pay hourly jobs, leading to greater tax revenues and less incentive for illegal immigration. The minimum wage creates a competitive advantage for foreign companies, providing yet another obstacle in the ability of American companies to compete globally. The minimum wage law is just another example of government condescendingly controlling our actions and destroying personal choice. Citizens do have the ability to say no to a lower wage.  Continue Reading	Adults who currently work for minimum wage are likely to lose jobs to teenagers who will work for much less. Workers need a minimum amount of income from their work to survive and pay the bills. Businesses have more power to abuse the labor market. It forces businesses to share some of the vast wealth with the people that help produce it.