In the news

Sunni vs Shiite.

It's not sectarianism in this case. It's because they're the equivalent of petulant children with explosives. If they can't have it, no one can.

I think this is similar to failing to understand why Catholics and Protestants have been known to kill each other.

Hadn't seen this until now but it's good

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2017/jun/19/martin-rowson-on-the-finsbury-park-attack-cartoon

Most Kurds are also Sunni, although they're often more liberal in their interpretation of Islam than others in the region.

The austere strain of Islam that ISIS emerged from thinks that respect for old buildings is tantamount to idolatry. Plus ISIS knows it winds the rest of the world up when they blow things up.

The Saudis are similarly dismissive of ancient artefacts and have demolished quite a few historic buildings in Mecca to make way for fancy shiny hotels for Hajis. Fun fact: they also bury their kings wrapped in a sheet in unmarked graves.

Some interesting material here (published today)

http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/

And some country-specific info

http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/survey/2017/united-kingdom-2017/

So if I fired a gun close to the head just to scare someone, and it blew their brains out, what would I be guilty of?

Manslaughter. You might well end up in proson for as long as you would for murder, but lacking the mens rea to kill someone, mean that it cannot be murder.

The Daily Mail in 1966

lacking the intent to kill perhaps. Though having an intent to scare/punish/even damage rather than just being careless or neglectful. Is there no distinction in law. A driver who carelessly doesn't look would be treated the same as a driver who wished to scare/punish?

Doesn't apply to driving. You can kill someone and say you didn't see them and get away scott free. Its basically the law

They probably still believe they abide by that, but it's a shame that the bar of "public interest" has been dropped so far by the majority of the media.

Downing street says 600 buildings have similar cladding. Did this scandal just dramatically get a lot bigger ?

600?!

Privatisation at work...

No shocks here, just resignation over how shitty it is that things haven't changed after the Heygate.

https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/the-london-council-evicting-homeowners-to-make-way-for-luxury-flats

House of Cards thing doing the rounds on social meejia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUoljO0Gcck

(Soz, for shitty clickbait title)

I think with the DM, their definition of 'public' is confined to those within the building.

Exactly - IS are actually Sunni extremists (at least by origin). But they just blew up one of the most sacred Sunni sites in Iraq.

So @croft that's the right question. But the answer is that they are just hypocritical cunts.

Guess they figured they'd rather the Iraqis took a pile of rubble than fly their flag from the minaret.

Like I said, they think venerating old things is idolatrous.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40367686

Court slaps down DWP on benefit cuts to single parents. Yay!

I also heard that it was at this mosque that IS/Daesh proclaimed their (thankfully shortlived) Caliphate. To have the flag raised signifying their defeat on the same building would have been a complete humiliation.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destruction_of_early_Islamic_heritage_sites_in_Saudi_Arabia

It was, as well as being an important centre of operations apparently.

This was, at best, tactical. Had nothing to do with religion (beyond their beliefs not preventing it).

DUP seem happy, I'm sure the conservatives will be getting great value for money..

That's uncanny.

More on ISIS not liking old things, including mosques.

http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/060320151

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/150702-ISIS-Palmyra-destruction-salafism-sunni-shiite-sufi-Islamic-State/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/24/palmyra-syria-isis-destruction-of-treasures-feared