Terror attack. Sympathy hashtag. Shame. Repeat.

Luke Skywalker · Mar 25, 2016

{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:

A friend of Zeynep Basak Gulsoy, who was killed in the March 13 car bomb explosion in Ankara, mourns over her coffin during a funeral ceremony in Ankara, Turkey, on March 15.(Photo: Adem Altan, AFP/Getty Images)

[h=2]Welcome to the shame game*[/h]There's still a lot we don't know about this week's deadly attacks in Brussels.*We don't know exactly how many terrorists were involved, how many are on the run,*how many people were killed*or the identities*of the victims and the missing. We do know that while we wait for answers, there is a lot of finger pointing about how we've reacted to the Islamic State's latest terrorist attack. It's a cycle we've seen before, and*it goes like this: On Twitter, we tack*on the solidarity hashtags, #JeSuisCharlie #JeSuisBruxelles.*On Facebook, we apply filters, the French flag, the Belgium flag, over our smiles, our babies, our polished poses. Then come accusations of moral hypocrisy. What about attacks in Turkey, Syria, the Ivory Coast? We battle to assign blame for selective sympathy. It’s the media. It’s the West. It’s Donald Trump. The truth, experts say, is we’re all culpable.
[h=2]Choosing which bathroom to use is not a personal choice in North Carolina[/h]Should people use the restroom that corresponds to the gender with which they identify? Or the one that corresponds with their “chromosomes and anatomy” at birth? In North Carolina, it's the latter. The city of Charlotte put in place an ordinance to allow transgender persons to choose their bathroom, but Gov. Pat McCrory quickly*signed a bill to overturn it. GOP Rep. Tim Moore, the House speaker, said Charlotte had overstepped its rights by passing the ordinance.*"When any local government goes so far as to not protect the privacy rights of folks, then the General Assembly will in fact step in," said Moore. Similar*debates are playing out in state capitals throughout the country over which restrooms*and locker rooms transgender students in public schools should use.

[h=2]The wheels of justice turn slowly, but they do turn[/h]If you don't know the name Radovan Karadzic, it's understandable. But when we hear about genocide, we pay attention.*The former Bosnian Serb leader, who had*been on*trial since 2009, was convicted of genocide and sentenced to 40 years in prison Thursday for orchestrating the deadly siege of the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, in the 1990s. Some 8,000 Muslim men and boys were rounded up and slaughtered in what became known as ethnic cleansing.*Karadzic*is*among the most famous war cases*since the Nuremberg trials of former Nazi leaders.

Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic sits in the courtroom for the reading of his verdict at the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, on March 24, 2016.*(Photo: Robin Van Lonkhuijsen, AFP/Getty Images)

[h=2]At Amazon, women make 99.9 cents for every dollar men make*— should we*round up?[/h]Amazon pays women 99.9% what it pays men. That’s pretty darn close to closing the gender gap, and a heck of a lot more than the national 79% average. Bravo, Amazon. Here’s another number: 100.1%. That’s what Amazon pays minorities, compared with white workers. What’s interesting is Amazon had fought not to release details of employee pay, but did a 180*and made the figures public — ostensibly, when it dug into the data and realized it was doing OK. FYI:*Apple pays women 99.6% of what it pays men and says it’s committed to closing the gap; Intel is at 100%.

After fighting not to release details of what male and female employees are paid, Amazon has done an about-face and made the figures public. USA TODAY

[h=2]Airline pilot charged with running 'string of brothels'[/h]Because everything's bigger in Texas, we bring you a "massive" brothel ring allegedly run by United Airlines pilot Bruce Wayne Wallis. (First, let's*pause at the name Bruce Wayne.) Court records obtained by the Houston Chronicle allege that the prostitute's*services were advertised online and that the women had to pay Wallis $400 a week in the arrangement. Police say Wallis operated*"about a half-dozen brothel apartments" with between six and 10 women in each, according to the Chronicle.*Wallis can no longer Fly*the Friendly Skies, but he is still employed with United.
[h=2]Extra Bites[/h]Conservationists just captured this rare, critically endangered rhino for the first time in 40 years. They'll take her to a protected forest.
It takes two Obamas (and some professionals) to tango:

On a fence-mending mission, President Obama holds up Argentina as an emerging world leader worthy of U.S. support. The Obamas also took a moment to dance the tango during a state dinner. (March 23) AP

Frances Bean Cobain —*the 23-year-old daughter of Courtney Love and the late Kurt Cobain —*has filed for divorce from her husband*and made it clear that he has no right to her dad's $450 million estate. Here's a throwback to Kurt feeding baby Frances.
From Tennessee to China, here are 14 insanely cheap destinations this spring.
Want the*Short List delivered straight to your inbox?*Sign up!
This is a compilation of stories from across USA TODAY.
Contributing: The Associated Press

Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed

Terror attack. Sympathy hashtag. Shame. Repeat.

Luke Skywalker

Super Moderator