Social Issues

Several thousands of people took to the streets in Rynek, Poland on Saturday to protest what they say is excessive internet surveillance by the government.  Protestors ranged from children to the elderly, men and women, all of whom protested some of the most invasive media censorship laws in Europe. Krakowpost.com reports: Polish law requires telecom companies to retain metadata on its users and allows nine different law enforcement agencies (an exceptionally large number) to demand it.

Pretty much all that Americans – and much of the West – get to hear about Russian President Putin is heavy-handed propaganda often read over images of him riding shirtless on a horse. He’s either a bully or a buffoon. But editors of a popular German newspaper encountered a much more sophisticated figure, writes Gilbert…

On Friday, we brought you the latest in a series of cartoons and pictographs designed by European authorities to help Mid-East refugees better understand European society.

Judging from the integration “guides”, migrants are having a hard time coming to terms with quite a few things, but the two main problems appear to be publicly beating women and small children and randomly groping women’s behinds.

A suspect is in custody after five people were killed and two seriously injured in a school shooting at a remote village in the northern province of Saskatchewan, according to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. CBC News reports: “Obviously this is every parent’s worst nightmare,” Trudeau said Friday in a brief statement from Davos, Switzerland. A suspect is in custody, he said, and the situation was under control. Trudeau also thanked first responders who reacted “quickly and bravely” in what he called a “tragic and terrible day.” La Loche is a community of about 3,000.

Last week, we brought you two cartoons designed by European authorities to help “teach” Mid-East refugees what sort of behavior is acceptable at public venues.

The first was a flyer created in Austria that Switzerland intends to distribute ahead of the upcoming Lucerne carnival. The leaflet outlines a number of acceptable behaviors such as shaking hands and mediating arguments while making it clear with giant red Xs that flying into a blind rage and open-hand slapping women and children isn’t something that’s generally tolerated in polite society.