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Earlier this month, government and ruling party officials agreed to introduce legislation by the year’s end that would ban the centuries-old practice. Individual lawmakers have submitted similar anti-dog meat bills in the past, but this would be the first time for the government to back such legislation. About 200 farmers, restaurant owners and others involved in the dog meat industry gathered in Thursday’s rally. They chanted slogans, sang, raised their fists and took turns making speeches criticizing the government’s move. One protester said he would kill himself if the government and governing party move ahead with the legislation. “We’ll fight. We’ll fight,” the protesters shouted. Some farmers brought dogs in cages on their trucks but were prevented from taking them to the protest site. A shoving match between some protesters and police officers occurred, with some farmers rushing to a street when a truck, apparently carrying dogs, approached. Police detained three protesters, farmers said. Police said they could not immediately confirm the detentions. Dog meat consumption is neither explicitly banned nor legalized in South Korea. But there have been calls to prohibit it over worries about South Korea’s international image and a growing public awareness of animal rights. World celebrities including American actress Kim Basinger and French actress Brigitte Bardot have called for a ban. The bill pushed by the government and governing party would phase out the dog meat industry by 2027. It would provide financial support to farmers for dismantling their facilities and opening new businesses and offer vocational training and other benefits. The anti-dog meat campaign in South Korea recently gathered new momentum as first lady Kim Keon Hee, a pet lover, repeatedly voiced her support for a ban. During Thursday’s rally, protesters made crude insults of Kim. About 700,000 to 1 million dogs are slaughtered for consumption each year, a decline from several million 10 to 20 years ago, according to the association. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/south-korean-farmers-protest-proposed-anti-dog-meat-legislation-rcna127538

Are you good at chatting up or flirting with potential partners? If so, you may already have rizz, even if you didn't know it. The Oxford word of the year, internet slang for romantic appeal or charm, is mostly used by young people. It was one of eight words on a shortlist, all chosen to reflect the mood, ethos or preoccupations of 2023. The list was narrowed down in a public vote, before Oxford lexicographers made the final decision. Other contenders ranged from Swiftie to beige flag to situationship. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67602699

you saw it here on ATRL first - popcrave posted it 3 days after: 100k+ likes

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jeff-bezos-backed-real-estate-151102586.html

Indonesian high school student gives birth while sitting her final-semester exam | South China Morning Post (scmp.com) Indonesian high school student gives birth while sitting her final-semester exam Students at SMA Negeri 1 high school at Sampang on Madura island were taking a final-semester exam when there was a commotion among the students The teacher supervising the exam warned the students to calm down, “but they were still noisy and it was followed by the sound of a baby crying”

The corruption trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel resumed on Monday, bringing back into focus the legal and political challenges he faces even as he presides over the Israeli military’s war in Gaza. Mr. Netanyahu has been on trial since 2020, accused of bestowing political favors on businessmen in exchange for expensive gifts and offering regulatory benefits to media moguls in exchange for positive news coverage. He denies the charges and has rejected calls to resign. Over the summer, lawmakers from Mr. Netanyahu’s right-wing party, Likud, introduced a bill that would have stripped the attorney general — who has been critical of him — of the ability to oversee the prosecution of government ministers, including the prime minister. The bill was later withdrawn but it came amid heightened protests that had been going on for months over the government’s efforts to assert more authority over the judiciary. NYT

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/12/02/moscow-police-raid-gay-clubs-after-extremist-ban-on-lgbt-community-a83297

With a voter turnout rate of 99.6%, it was the worst turnout for the North Korean elections in its 70 years of existence. Lowest amount of votes and lowest turnout in existence, is Kim Jong Un’s reign in danger? Is it time for his sister Kim Yo Jong to step in and take his place? Discuss below.

In California, animal rights activist and attorney Wayne Hsiung has been sentenced to 90 days in jail after he was found guilty of felony conspiracy and misdemeanor trespassing for rescuing dozens of injured and dying ducks and chickens at two factory farms in Sonoma County, California. The charges stemmed from peaceful actions at Sunrise Farms and Reichardt Duck Farm. Mirais Holden, a member of Wayne Hsiung’s legal team, spoke outside the Sonoma County courthouse after Thursday’s sentencing. Mirais Holden: “I believe that this trial will end up in the book of animal liberation, when that book is written. I’m tremendously grateful to Wayne for the sacrifice that he has made. … The injustice of the fact that a human being is being held in a cage for the supposed crime of compassion, for rescuing other sentient, feeling beings from cages, will not be lost on the world.”

Nasa now urges researchers to reach out for China’s Chang’e 5 moon samples, sidestepping the US ban, in exception to the congressional Wolf Amendment.

Sandra Day O’Connor, First Woman on the Supreme Court, Is Dead at 93 (msn.com) Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the United States Supreme Court, a rancher’s daughter who wielded great power over American law from her seat at the center of the court’s ideological spectrum, died on Friday in Phoenix. She was 93. The Supreme Court announced her death in a statement, saying the cause was complications of dementia. She grew up in Arizona and lived there most of her life. Although William H. Rehnquist, her Stanford Law School classmate, served as chief justice during much of her tenure, the Supreme Court during that crucial period was often called the O’Connor court, and Justice O’Connor was referred to, accurately, as the most powerful woman in America. Very little could happen without Justice O’Connor’s support when it came to the polarizing issues on the court’s docket, and the law regarding affirmative action, abortion, voting rights, religion, federalism, sex discrimination and other hot-button subjects was basically what Sandra Day O’Connor thought it should be.

https://euobserver.com/world/157764

https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/11/29/henry-kissinger-dead-obituary/ well hello!

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hanukkah-celebrations-cancelled-havering-gaza-b2456088.html Havering Council in east London has said it would be “unwise” for the traditional menorah, a nine-branched candelabrum lit during the eight-day Jewish holiday, to be installed outside Havering Town Hall in Romford. It said going ahead could “risk further inflaming tensions within our communities”.