US National Security Advisor John Bolton is a “war fanatic” and “defective human product” who works to destroy peace rather than maintain it, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry has said. The tough assessment, cited by state news agency KCNA, comes after Donald Trump’s adviser lambasted Pyongyang for recently carrying out short-range missile tests. Bolton described the…
Just an ad: I am not giving Gillette’s cynical new trans promo the satisfaction of my ‘outrage’
The new Gillette ad featuring a trans man learning to shave is not for me – and not because I am a ‘cisgender man’. But because I still resent corporations who lecture me, while exploiting causes for their commercial benefit. There is actually little wrong with the minute-long spot itself, starring Canadian Samson Bonkeabantu Brown…
Israel ‘accepts’ US-mediated talks with Lebanon on sea border – minister
Israel’s energy minister said on Monday that his country had agreed to enter US-mediated talks with Lebanon on maritime borders. The talks will have an impact on offshore oil and gas exploration. Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said after meeting US State Department official David Satterfield that Israel agreed to move forward with the talks. Lebanese…
US ‘not looking for regime change’ in Iran, says Trump, beefing up military in Middle East
Washington isn’t seeking regime change in Iran, President Donald Trump has said, as the US continues to beef up its military might in the Middle East amid ongoing tensions with Tehran. “We’re not looking for regime change… We’re looking for no nuclear weapons,” Trump claimed at a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo…
‘Luxury good’ or no privacy at all? Apple & Google duke it out over customers’ data
An Apple exec is defending the high cost of privacy after a passive-aggressive jab from Google over turning what was once a fundamental civil right into a ‘luxury good’ – but look who’s talking. Pot, meet kettle. Who’s blacker? “We have no interest in learning all about you as a company,” Apple vice president of…
WHO drops ‘transgenderism’ from global disease registry, but adds ‘burnout’ & ‘gaming addiction’
The World Health Organization has prioritized norm-setting over curbing actual disease, adding burnout and gaming addiction to its International Classification of Diseases and removing transgenderism in a politically correct move. Defining “burnout” as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed,” the WHO’s definition stresses that burnout is…
Afghan politicians & Taliban to attend 2-day meeting in Moscow – officials
Afghan politicians are set to attend a two-day meeting with the Taliban in Moscow this week, AFP reported officials as saying on Monday. The meeting is scheduled to run on May 27-28 to mark the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and Afghanistan. Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the insurgents were planning to send…
US think tank goes big-game hunting for Russia. Guess who gets shot in the foot?
In a report that views Russia through the same cracked lens as Washington’s old ideological foe, the Soviet Union, the RAND Corporation reveals that its worst enemy for gaining global dominance is not Russia but the US. Featured in the 1964 dark comedy ‘Dr. Strangelove’, where it starred as the “BLAND Corporation” – the think…
‘Accept defeat with honor’: Ovechkin wife hits out after Russia world championship defeat
The wife of Russian NHL star Alexander Ovechkin has told fans “to accept defeat with honor” in an apparent riposte to criticism of the team following their world championship semifinal exit at the hands of Finland. A star-studded Russian outfit containing the likes of Washington Capitals star Ovechkin and fellow NHL players Ilya Kovalchuk and…
Sanders burns Bill Kristol over ‘foolish’ pushing for Iraq war, asks where his apology is
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders took a swipe at neoconservative Bill Kristol for his “foolish advocacy of the Iraq war,” and questioned whether he had apologized to the country for it yet. Sanders was responding to a tweet Kristol sent that said, “#Never Sanders,” and linked to a New York Times article about the longtime…