[Non-US] News That Makes You laugh/cry/neither...

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Wed Sep 14, 2016 9:56 am

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/0 ... 9keD5h942w

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/0 ... 9keFZh942w

I've never paid attention to Filipino politics before

Stahlseele · Post by **Stahlseele** » Wed Sep 14, 2016 2:19 pm

Isn't that the same despot who basically allowed open season on corrupt people and drug users and distributioners?

Schleiermacher · Post by **Schleiermacher** » Wed Sep 14, 2016 6:45 pm

Yes it is. He's quite a character.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Fri Sep 16, 2016 4:18 am

https://www.sott.net/article/327988-Arc ... al-weapons

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Sun Sep 18, 2016 9:06 pm

http://www.countryliving.com/food-drink ... kle-juice/

ETortoise · Post by **ETortoise** » Sun Sep 18, 2016 9:42 pm

Considering the intention is that we'll put pickle juice in cocktails, it doesn't make sense that they're packaging it in aluminium cans. What do I do if I just want to make one Kosher Deli?

(Rye, pickle brine, mustard bitters, garnish with pastrami slice.)

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Sun Sep 18, 2016 9:50 pm

https://www.amazon.com/DOZENEGG-B000V7T ... B000V7T1IY

maglag · Post by **maglag** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 12:10 pm

Not making front page news, but two nuclear powers get closer to war with each other.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Sat Sep 24, 2016 11:17 pm

Poland is apparently becoming a full on hell state. Apparently the ruling party (that was already terrible) is now attempting to pass a revision of their abortion law. Just to give you an idea, their abortion law currently is basically "Health of the mother, down's syndrome, and rape, that's about it" so lots of room for revisions.

Too bad the revision is to set specific criminal imprisonment periods for the mother in all abortion cases. Even abortions of Ectopic Pregnancies. No really. They literally are going to jail women for choosing to not die.

Also there's something about prison terms for miscarriages, but I haven't been able to find specifics. So I can't tell if it's an insane "induced to abort" or the even more insane "negligence." Either way.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Sun Sep 25, 2016 1:44 am

I think Germany needs to invade Poland and slap some sense into them.

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Sun Sep 25, 2016 8:03 am

While I was helping out with abortions in Prague, we got a fair amount of cross border shoppers from Poland. It's like 300 km from Worclaw to Prague. Sucks to be you if you live in Gdansk though.

-Username17

Chamomile · Post by **Chamomile** » Sun Sep 25, 2016 8:10 am

People crazy enough to imprison people for miscarriages are probably crazy enough to imprison them for abortions done in another country.

Longes · Post by **Longes** » Sun Sep 25, 2016 8:54 am

Kaelik wrote:Also there's something about prison terms for miscarriages, but I haven't been able to find specifics. So I can't tell if it's an insane "induced to abort" or the even more insane "negligence." Either way.

The proposed law would also extend to miscarriages. A woman who has a miscarriage could face a jail term of up to three years if it cannot be proven that she did not induce the miscarriage. She would be charged with "fetal murder," Elzbieta Korolczuk, a professor of gender studies at Warsaw University, told NCR in a telephone interview.

sendaz · Post by **sendaz** » Sun Sep 25, 2016 9:03 am

If that quote is how it's written, the language is especially disturbing as it presumes the miscarriaging mother is guilty unless she can prove she did not induce said miscarriage.

So much for innocent until proven guilty.
Yes, it's a different country, but you kind of hope for a nice baseline to work from.

tussock · Post by **tussock** » Sun Sep 25, 2016 2:19 pm

It's a catchy way to write laws for authoritarians who don't have a constitution that specifically forbids them doing so.

Happens all the time. Heaps of countries don't have the presumption of innocence written into a constitutional level law. Hell, you don't even necessarily get a trial for things, few recent acts in NZ just dish out punishments without bothering with the whole trial thing.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Sun Sep 25, 2016 2:26 pm

Chamomile wrote:People crazy enough to imprison people for miscarriages are probably crazy enough to imprison them for abortions done in another country.

Oh those are definitely illegal, one of the horror stories is basically "If you feel pain after an abortion done in another country, you have to decide whether or not to go to the hospital, knowing that if you do go, you could totally be reported."

But people can still do it.

karpik777 · Post by **karpik777** » Mon Sep 26, 2016 5:35 pm

Kaelik wrote:Also there's something about prison terms for miscarriages, but I haven't been able to find specifics. So I can't tell if it's an insane "induced to abort" or the even more insane "negligence." Either way.

As it was proposed, 3 months to 5 years of prison for causing a death of a "conceived child" (which is - according to that law - a combined sperm cell and egg cell) or up to 3 years if it wasn't deliberate. In the first case a court may decide not to punish the mother, in the second mothers aren't to be punished - of course the intent is probably to have an investigation whether a miscarriage was intentional or not just in case it is...

Voss · Post by **Voss** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 5:37 am

Schleiermacher wrote:Yes it is. He's quite a character.

Yes. Duterte is quite the 'character.' Someone just compared his anti-drug campaign to the Holocaust and him to Hitler.

Spoilers: It was him.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37515642

And not mentioned in the article, but covered on the news programs- analysts expect this comparison not to have any really impact in the Philippines. Granted it was (from a domestic perspective) long ago and far away (and disconnected with their issues... though they should have some living memory of purges and mass graves in the mid twentieth century), but the voters seem to really love this guy. At least the ones on TV. Presumably the ones injured by or who lose family members to the policy are a bit less fond.

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Sun Oct 09, 2016 11:51 am

hyzmarca · Post by **hyzmarca** » Sun Oct 09, 2016 4:07 pm

OgreBattle wrote:

There are only 20 skulls on that flag. What happened to the other 30 states?

erik · Post by **erik** » Sun Oct 09, 2016 4:26 pm

hyzmarca wrote:
OgreBattle wrote:
There are only 20 skulls on that flag. What happened to the other 30 states?

Thanks Obama.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Sun Oct 09, 2016 4:32 pm

Maybe the skulls count up the number of countries the U.S. has invaded imperialistically?

sendaz · Post by **sendaz** » Sun Oct 09, 2016 6:40 pm

Also only has 11 stripes so dropped 2 original colonies as well.

hyzmarca · Post by **hyzmarca** » Mon Oct 10, 2016 3:07 am

sendaz wrote:Also only has 11 stripes so dropped 2 original colonies as well.

Nah, there are the full 13. It's just that two are reversed. So it's red, white, red, white, red, white, red, white, white, red, red, white, red.

Of course, two stripes of the same color next to each other look like a single stripe of one color.

Chamomile · Post by **Chamomile** » Mon Oct 10, 2016 5:27 am

Why, though? Like, I get the skull thing. They got lazy and the basic idea gets across if you just have a bunch of skulls on a blue background, getting the number and positioning right is extra credit. But the stripes? How do you mess up the stripes? They just alternate between red and white. It's not that hard.