Victoria Fox's Blog, page 242
April 11, 2023
As many as 100 people were killed after military airstrikes hit a village in Myanmar
Enlarge this image This photo provided by the Kyunhla Activists Group shows aftermath of an airstrike in Pazigyi village in Sagaing Region’s Kanbalu Township, Myanmar, on Tuesday. Kyunhla Activists Group via AP
Kyunhla Activists Group via AP
BANGKOK — Airstrikes by Myanmar’s military on Tuesday killed as many as 100 people, including many children, who were attending a ceremony held by opponents of army rule, said a witness, a member of a local pro-democracy group and independent media.
The military is increasingly using airstrikes to counter a widespread armed struggle against its rule, which began in February 2021 when it seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. More than 3,000 civilians are estimated to have been killed since then by security forces.
A witness told The Associated Press that a fighter jet dropped bombs directly into a crowd of people who were gathering at 8 a.m. for the opening of a local office of the country’s opposition movement outside Pazigyi village in Sagaing region’s Kanbalu township. The area is about 110 kilometers (70 miles) north of Mandalay, the country’s second largest city.
About half an hour later, a helicopter appeared and fired at the site, said the witness, who asked not to be identified because he feared punishment by the authorities.
Initial reports put the death toll at around 50, but later tallies reported by independent media raised it to about 100. It was impossible to independently confirm details of the incident because reporting is restricted by the military government.
“I was standing a short distance from the crowd when a friend of mine contacted me on the phone about the approach of a fighter jet,” the witness said. “The jet dropped bombs directly on the crowd, and I jumped into a nearby ditch and hid. A few moments later, when I stood up and looked around, I saw people cut to pieces and dead in the smoke. The office building was destroyed by fire. About 30 people were injured. While the wounded were being transported, a helicopter arrived and shot more people. We are now cremating the bodies quickly.”
About 150 people had gathered for the opening ceremony, and women and 20-30 children were among the dead, he said, adding that those killed also included leaders of locally formed anti-government armed groups and other opposition organizations.
The United Nations strongly condemned the attack by the Myanmar armed forces and said those responsible must be brought to justice, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, stressing that the injured must receive medical treatment, which is “often a challenge in these circumstances.”
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “condemns all forms of violence and reaffirms the primacy of protection of civilians, in accordance with international humanitarian law and reiterates his call for the military to end the campaign of violence against the Myanmar population throughout the country” as called for by the U.N. Security Council in a resolution adopted last December, Dujarric said.
‘This heinous act by the terrorist military is yet another example of their indiscriminate use of extreme force against innocent civilians, constituting a war crime,” the opposition National Unity Government said in a statement. The NUG calls itself the country’s legitimate government, in opposition to the army. The office being opened Tuesday was part of its administrative network.
The military government’s spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, acknowledged in a statement phoned to state television MRTV that the ceremony had been attacked, but accused anti-government forces in the area of carrying out a violent campaign of terror. He said the People’s Defense Forces — the armed wing of the National Unity Government — had terrorized residents into supporting them, killing Buddhist monks, teachers and other people, while the military sought peace and stability. He said there was evidence the attack had set off secondary blasts of explosives hidden by the People’s Defense Forces around the site.
NGOs have gathered evidence of large-scale human rights abuses by the armyIn response to accusations of abuses, the military government often accuses pro-democracy forces of terrorism. But analysts for the United Nations and non-governmental organizations have gathered credible evidence of large-scale human rights abuses by the army, including the burning of entire villages and displacement of more than a million people, triggering a humanitarian crisis.
The death toll from Tuesday’s air attack, if confirmed, could be the highest in more than two years of civil conflict that began when the army seized power in 2021. As many as 80 people were killed last October in another government air attack in northern Myanmar on an anniversary celebration of the Kachin ethnic minority’s main political organization, which is also battling the military government.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army takeover triggered widespread popular opposition. After peaceful demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, and large parts of the country are now embroiled in conflict.
The army has been conducting major offensives in the countryside, where it has faced some of the toughest resistance in Sagaing, in Myanmar’s historic heartland. The resistance forces have no defense against air attacks.
In videos of the devastated village seen by AP, survivors and onlookers stumble through the area of the attack amid clouds of thick smoke, with only the skeleton frame of one building still standing in the distance. The videos could not immediately be verified but matched other descriptions of the scene.
Some motorbikes remained intact while others were reduced to their frames or buried under tree branches. In one area, two victims lay close together, one of whom had only one arm still attached.
Another victim lay face down in a small grove by the roadside. A few meters (yards) away, a small torso missing at least one limb could be seen.
In January, Myanmar’s top leader told the military it needs to take decisive action against those opposed to army rule. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said at a military parade on Armed Forces Day that those who condemned his government showed indifference to violence committed by its opponents.
Resistance forces have been able to prevent the military from taking firm control of large areas of the country, but have a great disadvantage in weapons, particularly in countering air attacks.
Critics of the military government advocate banning or limiting the sale of aviation fuel to Myanmar to cripple the military’s advantage in air power. Many Western nations have imposed arms embargoes on the military government, and the United States and Britain recently enacted new sanctions targeting individuals and companies involved in supplying jet fuel to Myanmar.
The human rights group Amnesty International said in a statement Tuesday that “The relentless air attacks across Myanmar highlight the urgent need to suspend the import of aviation fuel. Amnesty reiterates its calls on all states and businesses to stop shipments that may end up in the hands of the Myanmar Air Force.”
It also urged the U.N. Security Council to “push through effective actions to hold the Myanmar military accountable, including by referring the situation in the country to the International Criminal Court.”
Proof That House of the Dragon Season 2 Is Coming
Brace yourselves for battle.
The second season of HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon has started production in the United Kingdom, the network revealed April 11.
“House of the Dragon has returned,” co-creator Ryan Condal said in a statement obtained by E! News. “We are thrilled to be shooting again with members of our original family as well as new talents on both sides of the camera. All your favorite characters will soon be conspiring at the council tables, marching with their armies, and riding their dragons into battle. We can’t wait to share what we have in store.”
HBO confirmed that season one cast members Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Eve Best, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno and Rhys Ifans will all be returning for season two.
While new additions to the cast have yet to revealed, Alan Taylor is officially on board as an executive producer in season two after season one co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik announced his exit from House of the Dragon in August.
UK’s Truss warns of West’s ‘weakness’ to China following Macron visit – Reuters
LONDON — Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss won’t be so subtly going after Emmanuel Macron for his attempt to build bridges with Beijing.
In a speech Wednesday morning to the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, DC Truss will argue that too many people in the West have “appeased and accommodated” authoritarian regimes in China and Russia.
And she will say it’s a ‘sign of weakness’ for Western leaders to visit China and ask Prime Minister Xi Jinping for his support following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – just days after Macron’s highly publicized trip there.
While Truss – who left office after just six weeks as Britain’s crisis-hit prime minister – won’t mention Macron by name, his comments follow an interview with POLITICO in which the French president said the Europe should resist the pressure to become ‘America’s supporters’.
Macron said: “The question Europeans have to answer…is it in our interests to speed up [a crisis] in Taiwan? No. The worst would be to think that we Europeans have to become followers on this subject and take inspiration from the American agenda and an overreaction from China.
Macron has already come under fire for the comments from the IPAC group of China-skeptical lawmakers, who said on Monday his remarks were “misjudged”.
And Truss – who had a frosty relationship with Macron during his brief stint in power last year – will use his speech to urge a more aggressive stance on China and Russia.
“We saw Vladimir Putin launch an unprovoked attack on a free and democratic neighbor, we see the Chinese build up their weaponry and arsenal and threaten free and democratic Taiwan,” Truss will say in pre-released remarks. “Too many people in the West have appeased and come to terms with these regimes.”
She will add: “Western leaders visiting President Xi to ask for his support to end the war are a mistake – and a sign of weakness. Instead, our energies should be devoted to taking more action to support Taiwan. We have to make sure that Taiwan is able to defend itself.
Relations between Macron and Truss’ successor, Rishi Sunak, have been markedly warmer. The pair hailed a “new chapter” in relations between the UK and France in March, after reaching an agreement on cross-Channel migration.
POLITICO
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More than half of Americans say abortion pills should be legal in their state
More than half of Americans said in a recent poll that they think abortion drugs should be legal in their state – despite a Texas judge moving to block its approval.
A Pew Research Center poll released on Monday found that 53% of adults in the United States said that using a prescription pill or pills to terminate a pregnancy should be legal in their state.
The findings come after conflicting Federal Court rulings last week on the legality of mifepristone, an abortion pill that has been approved by the FDA for more than two decades.
The Pew Research Center survey, conducted from March 27 to April 2, before courts in Texas and Washington released their decisions on medical abortion on April 7, also found that only 22% say abortive drugs prescription should be illegal and 24% were unsure.
Unsurprisingly, the poll revealed a broad partisan divide on the issue of medical abortion – the most commonly used method of abortion in the United States.
A majority of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, 73%, think medical abortion should be legal in their state, while just 35% of Republicans and GOP supporters say the same.
53% of adults in the United States said that using a prescription pill or pills to terminate a pregnancy should be legal in their state.PA
Pew also found notable ideological gaps within parties, with nearly half of conservatives, 47%, saying abortion pills should be illegal, compared to just 20% of moderate and liberal Republicans who say medical abortion should. be illegal.
Nearly nine in ten liberal Democrats, 88%, say pills should be legal, compared to 59% of conservative and moderate Democrats, the poll found.
Federal attorneys representing the Food and Drug Administration are expected to appeal the Texas judge’s decision quickly.ReutersOverall, younger adults were more likely than older adults to say medical abortion should be legal in their state, with 66% of adults under 30 responding that abortion pills should be legal, versus half of adults aged 30 and over.
Last week, District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, appointed by former President Donald Trump of Texas, ordered a suspension of federal approval of mifepristone.
District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ordered a suspension of federal approval of mifepristone. by ReutersMinutes later, Barack Obama-appointed Washington District Judge Thomas O. Rice barred authorities from restricting access to mifepristone in at least 17 states where Democrats have filed a lawsuit to protect the availablity.
Federal attorneys representing the Food and Drug Administration are expected to appeal the decision quickly, and the White House is reportedly reviewing the decision.
Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.
April 10, 2023
Texas library could be eliminated weeks after banned books return
Texas officials will meet Thursday to decide the fate of the Llano County library system, as all three public branches face closure after a federal judge ordered the return of 12 books banned from shelves this month .
Seven residents sued Llano County over the book ban, noting that all of the books contained LGBTQ+ and race-related themes. The residents filed a civil lawsuit in April 2022, alleging their First and 14th Amendment rights were violated when local authorities deemed the books too inappropriate and removed them.
On April 1, a judge ordered not only that the books return to library shelves, but that they also be available in the library system’s catalog. When he overturned the county’s ban, Austin, Texas-based U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman ordered the reinstatement of the banned books within 24 hours.
“Defendants must return all printed books that have been removed because of their view or content,” Pitman wrote.
According to the library board, the books were removed from the shelves because they encouraged “child grooming” and contained drawn nudity.
Newsweek contacted the Llano Library System and county officials via email Monday evening.
The Llano County Library’s ban has drawn national attention, with many outraged by the removal of the book, which stems from library board officials claiming it “because they’re not from agreement with the ideas” contained in the books, according to the lawsuit.
PSA: If you ban books and even entire libraries, chances are you’re not the good guys of the story.
https://t.co/Gg4tVOccGq
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) April 11, 2023
Some of the controversial tiles include: Caste: the origins of our discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson; They called themselves the KKK: the birth of an American terrorist group, by Susan Campbell Bartoletti; And Being Jazz: My Teenage Life (Transgender), by Jazz Jennings.
Books line the stacks of the Rice University library on April 26, 2022 in Houston, Texas. State officials will meet on Thursday to decide the fate of the Llano County library system, which could be closed after a U.S. judge ordered the re-shelving of 12 books banned this month.Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Book bans have increased in the United States over the past few years, and as of last year there were thousands of books banned in the United States. advocacy organization.
Of all those books banned in schools, 41% have LGBTQ+ content, according to a study. A record number of book censorship requests also peaked last year, the American Library Association (ALA) found. A record 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship in 2022, a 38% increase from 1,858 in 2021, according to the ALA.
A Texas librarian said she was ordered to remove an exhibit in honor of Banned Books Week because a parent complained. His refusal sparked a viral debate on TikTok and other social media platforms.
In Virginia, 21 books have been removed from a school library over adult content, including works by Stephen King and Margaret Atwood.
The special meeting to determine the future of Llano County Libraries is set for 3 p.m. Thursday local time.
Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.
Inflation won’t reach the number “closer” to the Fed’s target that everyone is “comfortable” with for another year
During Monday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime,” Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi said inflation is reaching a level “that everyone feels comfortable with.” ‘ease’ that is “closer” to the Federal Reserve’s target “won’t happen until the end.” of the year is something that won’t happen until this time next year.
After saying he thinks the bar for the Federal Reserve to start cutting rates is extremely high and would require the economy to go into recession, Zandi said: “You go back to inflation, even though I say that ‘it’s going to subside, it’s going to take a while to get back to something they’re comfortable with, everyone else is comfortable with, closer to their target. it’s not going to happen until the end of the year, it’s something that’s not going to happen until this time next year, so I would be very surprised if they start cutting interest rates, to less of a recession If we’re going in – and to some extent that’s what the markets seem to be signaling, certainly the bond market and the Treasury market are signaling that investors think we’re going into an economic downturn before the end of the year.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
breitbart
Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.
‘I’m sick and tired’: Fox News contributor calls for action against guns
Fox News contributor Ted Williams told right-wing network viewers that “we need to talk about guns” after another mass shooting on Monday.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” Williams, a defense attorney and former federal special agent, told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto after the Louisville shooting. Kentucky.
At least four people were killed after a man opened fire on a bank with an AR-15 rifle on Monday morning, according to law enforcement. It comes two weeks after a massacre at a school in Nashville, Tennessee, which left three 9-year-old students and three adults dead. The shooter in this incident was carrying three firearms: an assault pistol, a rifle, and a handgun.
“Just two weeks ago I was standing in front of a camera when you had kids, babies, filmed in Nashville, Tennessee, with a person who, by the way, had an AR-15,” Williams said. . “And from what we’ve been told here, Neil, this individual had the same type of weapon. And when you look at mental illness…and that weapon, it’s a dangerous concoction, and we have to do something about it in this society.
He added that “I’m sick” of reporting on shootings like the ones in recent weeks, and he pushed back against the idea that it was too early to talk about them.
“We need to talk about guns. AR-15s are killing our babies and our citizens in this country, and we need to do something about it,” he said.
Williams on Fox: I’m sick of standing in front of a camera…we need to talk about guns! AR-15s are killing our babies and our citizens in this country and we need to do something about it pic.twitter.com/4ntyPcnuE9
—Acyn (@Acyn) April 10, 2023
Later in the segment, Williams called for “red flag” laws across the country, which seek to get guns out of the hands of people deemed a danger to themselves or others.
Fox News hosts and guests routinely blame other issues rather than discuss gun law reforms in the wake of gun violence. Another network guest said on Monday the shooting would inevitably spark discussions about guns, but added: ‘I hope politicians and so-called leaders aren’t dwelling on it right now.’ .
Williams was joined in Cavuto’s program by former FBI Special Agent Nicole Parker, who sparked backlash after the Nashville attack when she called for better securing of “side doors” at schools while failing to mention the weapons used in the massacre. The Nashville shooter fired through locked side doors to enter the school.
The Huffington Gt
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Taylor Swift’s Songs Inspired By Joe Alwyn
The first song Taylor Swift collaborated on with her former boyfriend Joe Alwyn, the ballad appears on 2020’s Folklore as a duet with Bon Iver. At the time of the album’s release, Joe was credited under the pseudonym William Bowery, though Taylor confirmed William and Joe were one and the same during her Disney+ concert film, Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions.
Taylor revealed Joe had written the entire piano part, along with singing, “I can see you standin’ honey/With his arms around your body/Laughin’ but the joke’s not funny at all.” She went on to say The Favourite actor was “always just playing and making things up and kind of creating things,” but the couple may have never worked together if it wasn’t for the COVID-19 shutdown.
“I was like, ‘Hey, this could be really weird, and we could hate this,'” she explained, “‘because we’re in quarantine and there’s nothing else going on, could we just try to see what it’s like if we write this song together?'”
The result of their professional collaboration? Winning Album of the Year at the 2021 Grammys.
“We’re so proud of ‘Exile,'” Taylor gushed. “All I have to do is dream up some lyrics and come up with some gut-wrenching, heart-shattering story to write with him.”
Is Paul Rudd a Good Kisser? Clueless’ Alicia Silverstone Says…
Ugh, as if we could forget about Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd‘s onscreen romance.
Nearly three decades since Alicia and Paul starred in Clueless as Cher Horowitz and Josh Lucas respectively, the actress gave some cheeky insight into their time filming the movie, including if it was true or false that the Ant-Man actor was a good kisser.
“True,” she told the Women On Top podcast in an episode airing April 12, before quipping, “You didn’t ask me if it was an on-set kiss or an off-set kiss.”
Though podcast hosts Tammin Sursok and Roxy Manning raised eyebrows at the answer, Alicia didn’t elaborate further. She did, however, recall one of the first times she kissed someone onset.
“The cutest story ever is when I was 15 and I did my first movie The Crush with Cary Elwes and we kissed on set and then I thought he was my boyfriend,” Alicia shared. “So I went to his trailer and I was like ‘Was that OK?’ and he was like, ‘Yes it was OK, it was nice.’ And I just thought in my head like, ‘OK, you’re mine now.'”
Amy Sedaris Talks Celebrity-Inspired Sandwiches and Kitchen Must-Haves
We interviewed Amy Sedaris because we think you’ll like her picks at these prices. Amy is a paid spokesperson for Hillshire Farm. E! has affiliate relationships, so we may get a commission if you purchase something through our links. Items are sold by the retailer, not E!. Prices are accurate as of publish time.
If love sandwiches and pop culture, Amy Sedaris teamed up with Hillshire Farm for a campaign that celebrates iconic people with sandwiches. The comedian and culinary enthusiast came up with some mouth-watering recipes with punny names. Fan out over Amy with The Hamy Sedarwich. She honored her good friend Andy Cohen with the Andy Coham.
Amy shared, “Andy likes a lot of pickles on his sandwich. We wanted something that seemed like it would come alive and be fun. Mine has ham on it and lettuce with a pickle tongue. It has swiss cheese on it and olives for eyes.” In an exclusive E! interview, Amy talked sandwiches and her kitchen must-haves, including this top-rated must-have she uses daily.
Stay up to date with the latest Hillshire Farm content by following the brand on TikTok and Instagram.
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