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Rape Threat for Women Travelers in Asia
CHIANG RAI – A long list of attacks on women in several countries says be careful, Bali is often thought of as a paradise on earth, but for one Australian woman, that oasis turned into a dark hell earlier this week. The woman was attacked and raped at knifepoint in the villa where she was staying with family.
This horror is a female traveler’s nightmare, and unfortunately falls into a pattern of sexual violence that has occurred against female travelers in various parts of Asia. A high-profile case that occurred in Krabi, Thailand, in July 2012, highlighted the potential dangers for single female travelers. In that incident, a Dutch woman was raped by a local man and police made few moves to help her until the situation began to draw international attention.
The reactions of Thai officials in the rape case of a young Dutch tourist in KrabiIndia in particular has been drawing heat recently, due to a spate of highly-publicized rape cases. The gang rape and subsequent death of a 23-year-old female student in New Delhi sparked outrage all over the world. That furor had hardly died down before news broke about a Swiss tourist who was gang raped in a forest in Madhya Pradesh. A few days later a British woman was injured fleeing a sex attack in the tourist city of Agra. These horrors highlight something many former travelers to India complain about – the culture of sexual aggression against women.
One traveler who has spent extensive time in India and Thailand said that she noticed a radical difference between the time she spent in India with her boyfriend, and that which she spent traveling with a female friend.
Wishing to remain anonymous, she said: “The very first day I began traveling without my boyfriend, my breast was blatantly grabbed from a passerby on the sidewalk, who laughed in my face when I yelled in an attempt to lash out back at him. A security guard at a nearby hotel looked on and didn’t make a move. I definitely noticed an increase in the ‘accidental touching’ or groping that would occur in any overcrowded, public area.”
According to the UK’s Telegraph, India has seen a 35 percent decline in tourism numbers since the New Delhi rape. Amid increased public outcry over sexual violence – including two rapes of five-year-old girls in April, one of whom died in hospital this week – travelers are wary of visiting the country, which has developed a reputation for groping and aggression.
Six men accused of raping a Swiss tourist who was cycling with her husband in central IndiaThe Bangkok Post reported that women who may have been planning to venture to India are now seeing Thailand as a more viable vacation option, but travelers aren’t always safe there, either. In addition to the Dutch tourist who was raped in Krabi, a young Scottish woman was allegedly raped by a Thai man after she was out drinking one night, while in early January three Thai men were arrested for the alleged rape of two Russian tourists in Pattaya. An Israeli tourist was also allegedly raped on her way home from a Full Moon party on Koh Phangan in October 2012.
It is important to note that the danger lies not only with local men but fellow foreigners as well. In February, a Dutch tourist was allegedly raped by three Danish men in Chiang Mai, one of whom she had been hanging out with at a bar earlier in the night.
The Thai police’s treatment of foreign rape victims is notoriously poor. Convictions are hard to come by and many victims complain that their allegations are often met with skepticism and the inference that the assault was somehow their fault.
It’s not coincidence that many of these incidents occur after late nights of drinking and partying, but to use that as an excuse for the rapists’ behavior, as many often do, is cruel and misses the point entirely. The underlying issue is that rape occurs so frequently on a global scale, and that these rapists seemingly take no issue with forcing a woman to have sex against her will, or take advantage when she is not in a position to give her consent.
Dutch tourist was allegedly raped by three Danish men in Chiang MaiHeather Thompson, a 27-year-old teacher who has lived in Chiang Mai for two years and has visited Bali, said she feels safe in both places but regularly exercises the same caution she would at home in London. She acknowledged the rapes that had occurred in both places, but pointed out that these are the same dangers that exist in major cities.
“Having grown up in London, near areas where rapes, muggings and murders had taken place, Chiang Mai is a comparatively much safer environment,” she said. “However, no place is free of crime. Locals warned me when I arrived of places and people to steer clear of, and I still use my streetwise attitude I have always used in London and take precautions like avoiding walking down dark [alleys] on my own, never leaving my drinks unattended and being wary of strangers.”
Ruby Brayman, a 24-year-old traveler who has been backpacking through Southeast Asia, said she takes a measured approach to deciding where to visit and what to do once she is there. Brayman will travel to Bali this month, and said this week’s rape incident will not change her plans.
“The recent rape does not make me hesitant about going to Bali, but it does remind me that I am vulnerable as a female traveling solo and I need to take some extra precautions,” she said.
The debate about solo female travelers became particularly heated after an American woman was found dead in Turkey. Some commenters called women traveling alone “very reckless” and criticized women who chose to visit countries that are perceived as dangerous without a companion.
This inspired independent female travelers to band together to support safe but adventurous solo travel. For the past several months, a number of bloggers have participated in a weekly #WeGoSolo Twitter chat, in which anyone can ask questions or advice about safe travel as a woman.
The conversation is an important one, as it speaks to the worldwide issue of violence against women, and shows strength and solidarity are more likely to change the tide of this than opting to stay close to one’s home country out of fear.
“Terrible things, such as this rape in Bali, happen all over the world,” Brayman said. “As horrifying as that is, I don’t want to be too afraid to explore it.”
News
Trudeau’s Gun Grab Could Cost Taxpayers a Whopping $7 Billion
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A recent report indicates that since Trudeau’s announcement of his gun buyback program four years ago, almost none of the banned firearms have been surrendered.
The federal government plans to purchase 2,063 firearm models from retailers following the enactment of Bill C-21, which amends various Acts and introduces certain consequential changes related to firearms. It was granted royal assent on December 15 of last year.
This ban immediately criminalized the actions of federally-licensed firearms owners regarding the purchase, sale, transportation, importation, exportation, or use of hundreds of thousands of rifles and shotguns that were previously legal.
The gun ban focused on what it termed ‘assault-style weapons,’ which are, in reality, traditional semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that have enjoyed popularity among hunters and sport shooters for over a century.
In May 2020, the federal government enacted an Order-in-Council that prohibited 1,500 types of “assault-style” firearms and outlined specific components of the newly banned firearms. Property owners must adhere to the law by October 2023.
Trudeau’s Buyback Hasn’t Happened
“In the announcement regarding the ban, the prime minister stated that the government would seize the prohibited firearms, assuring that their lawful owners would be ‘grandfathered’ or compensated fairly.” “That hasn’t happened,” criminologist Gary Mauser told Rebel News.
Mauser projected expenses ranging from $2.6 billion to $6.7 billion. The figure reflects the compensation costs amounting to $756 million, as outlined by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).
“The projected expenses for gathering the illegal firearms are estimated to range from $1.6 billion to $7 billion.” “This range estimate increases to between $2.647 billion and $7 billion when compensation costs to owners are factored in,” Mauser stated.
Figures requested by Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs concerning firearms prohibited due to the May 1, 2020 Order In Council reveal that $72 million has been allocated to the firearm “buyback” program, yet not a single firearm has been confiscated to date.
In a recent revelation, Public Safety Canada disclosed that the federal government allocated a staggering $41,094,556, as prompted by an order paper question from Conservative Senator Don Plett last September, yet yielded no tangible outcomes.
An internal memo from late 2019 revealed that the Liberals projected their politically motivated harassment would incur a cost of $1.8 billion.
Enforcement efforts Questioned
By December 2023, estimates from TheGunBlog.ca indicate that the Liberals and RCMP had incurred or were responsible for approximately $30 million in personnel expenses related to the enforcement efforts. The union representing the police service previously stated that the effort to confiscate firearms is a “misdirected effort” aimed at ensuring public safety.
“This action diverts crucial personnel, resources, and funding from tackling the more pressing and escalating issue of criminal use of illegal firearms,” stated the National Police Federation (NPF).
The Canadian Sporting Arms & Ammunition Association (CSAAA), representing firearms retailers, has stated it will have “zero involvement” in the confiscation of these firearms. Even Canada Post held back from providing assistance due to safety concerns.
The consultant previously assessed that retailers are sitting on almost $1 billion worth of inventory that cannot be sold or returned to suppliers because of the Order-In-Council.
“Despite the ongoing confusion surrounding the ban, after four years, we ought to be able to address one crucial question.” Has the prohibition enhanced safety for Canadians? Mauser asks.
Illegally Obtained Firearms are the Problem
Statistics Canada reports a 10% increase in firearm-related violent crime between 2020 and 2022, rising from 12,614 incidents to 13,937 incidents. In that timeframe, the incidence of firearm-related violent crime increased from 33.7 incidents per 100,000 population in 2021 to 36.7 incidents the subsequent year.
“This marks the highest rate documented since the collection of comparable data began in 2009,” the criminologist explains.
Supplementary DataData indicates that firearm homicides have risen since 2020. “The issue lies not with lawfully-held firearms,” Mauser stated.
Firearms that have been banned under the Order-in-Council continue to be securely stored in the safes of their lawful owners. The individuals underwent a thorough vetting process by the RCMP and are subject to nightly monitoring to ensure there are no infractions that could pose a risk to public safety.
“The firearms involved in homicides were seldom legally owned weapons wielded by their rightful owners,” Mauser continues. The number of offenses linked to organized crime has surged from 4,810 in 2016 to a staggering 13,056 in 2020.
“If those in power … aim to diminish crime and enhance public safety, they ought to implement strategies that effectively focus on offenders and utilize our limited tax resources judiciously to reach these objectives,” he stated.
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Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding, But Still Accounting 48% Search Revenue
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Google is so closely associated with its key product that its name is a verb that signifies “search.” However, Google’s dominance in that sector is dwindling.
According to eMarketer, Google will lose control of the US search industry for the first time in decades next year.
Google will remain the dominant search player, accounting for 48% of American search advertising revenue. And, remarkably, Google is still increasing its sales in the field, despite being the dominating player in search since the early days of the George W. Bush administration. However, Amazon is growing at a quicker rate.
Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding
Amazon will hold over a quarter of US search ad dollars next year, rising to 27% by 2026, while Google will fall even more, according to eMarketer.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the forecast.
Lest you think you’ll have to switch to Bing or Yahoo, this isn’t the end of Google or anything really near.
Google is the fourth-most valued public firm in the world. Its market worth is $2.1 trillion, trailing just Apple, Microsoft, and the AI chip darling Nvidia. It also maintains its dominance in other industries, such as display advertisements, where it dominates alongside Facebook’s parent firm Meta, and video ads on YouTube.
To put those “other” firms in context, each is worth more than Delta Air Lines’ total market value. So, yeah, Google is not going anywhere.
Nonetheless, Google faces numerous dangers to its operations, particularly from antitrust regulators.
On Monday, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Google must open up its Google Play Store to competitors, dealing a significant blow to the firm in its long-running battle with Fortnite creator Epic Games. Google announced that it would appeal the verdict.
In August, a federal judge ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on search. That verdict could lead to the dissolution of the company’s search operation. Another antitrust lawsuit filed last month accuses Google of abusing its dominance in the online advertising business.
Meanwhile, European regulators have compelled Google to follow tough new standards, which have resulted in multiple $1 billion-plus fines.
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Pixa Bay
Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding
On top of that, the marketplace is becoming more difficult on its own.
TikTok, the fastest-growing social network, is expanding into the search market. And Amazon has accomplished something few other digital titans have done to date: it has established a habit.
When you want to buy anything, you usually go to Amazon, not Google. Amazon then buys adverts to push companies’ products to the top of your search results, increasing sales and earning Amazon a greater portion of the revenue. According to eMarketer, it is expected to generate $27.8 billion in search revenue in the United States next year, trailing only Google’s $62.9 billion total.
And then there’s AI, the technology that (supposedly) will change everything.
Why search in stilted language for “kendall jenner why bad bunny breakup” or “police moving violation driver rights no stop sign” when you can just ask OpenAI’s ChatGPT, “What’s going on with Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny?” in “I need help fighting a moving violation involving a stop sign that wasn’t visible.” Google is working on exactly this technology with its Gemini product, but its success is far from guaranteed, especially with Apple collaborating with OpenAI and other businesses rapidly joining the market.
A Google spokeswoman referred to a blog post from last week in which the company unveiled ads in its AI overviews (the AI-generated text that appears at the top of search results). It’s Google’s way of expressing its ability to profit on a changing marketplace while retaining its business, even as its consumers steadily transition to ask-and-answer AI and away from search.
Google has long used a single catchphrase to defend itself against opponents who claim it is a monopoly abusing its power: competition is only a click away. Until recently, that seemed comically obtuse. Really? We are going to switch to Bing? Or Duck Duck Go? Give me a break.
But today, it feels more like reality.
Google is in no danger of disappearing. However, every highly dominating company faces some type of reckoning over time. GE, a Dow mainstay for more than a century, was broken up last year and is now a shell of its previous dominance. Sears declared bankruptcy in 2022 and is virtually out of business. US Steel, long the foundation of American manufacturing, is attempting to sell itself to a Japanese corporation.
SOURCE | CNN
News
The Supreme Court Turns Down Biden’s Government Appeal in a Texas Emergency Abortion Matter.
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(VOR News) – A ruling that prohibits emergency abortions that contravene the Supreme Court law in the state of Texas, which has one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the country, has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. The United States Supreme Court upheld this decision.
The justices did not provide any specifics regarding the underlying reasons for their decision to uphold an order from a lower court that declared hospitals cannot be legally obligated to administer abortions if doing so would violate the law in the state of Texas.
Institutions are not required to perform abortions, as stipulated in the decree. The common populace did not investigate any opposing viewpoints. The decision was made just weeks before a presidential election that brought abortion to the forefront of the political agenda.
This decision follows the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that ended abortion nationwide.
In response to a request from the administration of Vice President Joe Biden to overturn the lower court’s decision, the justices expressed their disapproval.
The government contends that hospitals are obligated to perform abortions in compliance with federal legislation when the health or life of an expectant patient is in an exceedingly precarious condition.
This is the case in regions where the procedure is prohibited. The difficulty hospitals in Texas and other states are experiencing in determining whether or not routine care could be in violation of stringent state laws that prohibit abortion has resulted in an increase in the number of complaints concerning pregnant women who are experiencing medical distress being turned away from emergency rooms.
The administration cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case that bore a striking resemblance to the one that was presented to it in Idaho at the beginning of the year. The justices took a limited decision in that case to allow the continuation of emergency abortions without interruption while a lawsuit was still being heard.
In contrast, Texas has been a vocal proponent of the injunction’s continued enforcement. Texas has argued that its circumstances are distinct from those of Idaho, as the state does have an exemption for situations that pose a significant hazard to the health of an expectant patient.
According to the state, the discrepancy is the result of this exemption. The state of Idaho had a provision that safeguarded a woman’s life when the issue was first broached; however, it did not include protection for her health.
Certified medical practitioners are not obligated to wait until a woman’s life is in imminent peril before they are legally permitted to perform an abortion, as determined by the state supreme court.
The state of Texas highlighted this to the Supreme Court.
Nevertheless, medical professionals have criticized the Texas statute as being perilously ambiguous, and a medical board has declined to provide a list of all the disorders that are eligible for an exception. Furthermore, the statute has been criticized for its hazardous ambiguity.
For an extended period, termination of pregnancies has been a standard procedure in medical treatment for individuals who have been experiencing significant issues. It is implemented in this manner to prevent catastrophic outcomes, such as sepsis, organ failure, and other severe scenarios.
Nevertheless, medical professionals and hospitals in Texas and other states with strict abortion laws have noted that it is uncertain whether or not these terminations could be in violation of abortion prohibitions that include the possibility of a prison sentence. This is the case in regions where abortion prohibitions are exceedingly restrictive.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which resulted in restrictions on the rights of women to have abortions in several Republican-ruled states, the Texas case was revisited in 2022.
As per the orders that were disclosed by the administration of Vice President Joe Biden, hospitals are still required to provide abortions in cases that are classified as dire emergency.
As stipulated in a piece of health care legislation, the majority of hospitals are obligated to provide medical assistance to patients who are experiencing medical distress. This is in accordance with the law.
The state of Texas maintained that hospitals should not be obligated to provide abortions throughout the litigation, as doing so would violate the state’s constitutional prohibition on abortions. In its January judgment, the 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals concurred with the state and acknowledged that the administration had exceeded its authority.
SOURCE: AP
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