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Believe all women? New York Times only remembers its journalistic skepticism when it’s Biden in the crosshairs

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For anyone running for office in modern America, accusations of sexual assault are par for the course. But when it comes to weighing up these accusations, the US’ mainstream paper of record applies some very uneven standards.

Take Joe Biden, the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee. If doubts weren’t already raised by his fondness for sniffing women, the emergence last month of a sexual assault allegation against the former vice president could have caused a major headache for his campaign.

Yet amid the coronavirus pandemic, and given the political leanings of most media outlets, the scandal barely registered.

The Intercept ran a story in March on how Tara Reade, a former Senate staffer, claimed that in 1993 Biden pushed her against a wall, groped her, and penetrated her with his fingers. Reade had spoken up about the alleged incident a year earlier, but was met with accusations that she was doing Russia’s bidding. The US media was still doing ‘Russiagate’ back then, remember?

The story was ignored by every single mainstream TV news network for more than a week. Few print news sites covered it. The New York Times only ran the story this Sunday, in a feature-length article dismissing the allegations entirely.

The NYT’s investigation “found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Mr. Biden.” The paper noted that Reade’s peers on Capitol Hill “did not recall any talk of such an incident or similar behavior by Mr. Biden toward her or any women,” though she did reportedly tell her family and a friend. Biden’s campaign manager was given a lengthy paragraph to tout her boss’ tireless work for women’s rights. Reade is described as being “a bit naive” at the time of the alleged assault, and in light of her filing a police report on Thursday, the Times ever so helpfully reminded its readers that “filing a false police report may be punishable by a fine and imprisonment.”

Furthermore, the Times brought up allegations that Reade “was a Russian agent,” and spends three paragraphs outlining sexual assault allegations against Donald Trump “that went far beyond the accusations against Mr. Biden.”

Without a hint of irony, the Times capped the story off with a tweet saying “we found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Biden, beyond hugs, kisses and touching that women previously said made them uncomfortable.” So no sexual assault, beyond an extensive history of what many consider sexual harassment. Right.

The tweet was later deleted, with the Times retracting its “imprecise language.”

It’s nice to know that, even in an age where politicians – including Biden himself – recite platitudes like “#BelieveAllWomen,” newspapers like the New York Times are still willing to cast a cynical eye on claims like Reade’s, without letting emotion obscure the facts. And it’s nice to know that they apply the same treatment to every such claim, regardless of the political affiliation of the accused.

Actually, no – nothing could be further from the truth.

When Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was accused of sexual assault during his confirmation process in 2018, the Times threw away its detective’s fedora and donned its pink pussyhat. Kavanaugh was first accused of forcing himself on Christine Blasey Ford while the pair were in high school in 1982, and then of exposing himself to Deborah Ramirez when the two were at a university party a year later.

When further accusations surfaced – none of which were ever corroborated – the Times didn’t poke holes in the women’s stories. Instead, Kavanaugh’s denials were given a single line each time. Rather than carry out a dispassionate investigation, the NYT painted a picture of a privileged Ivy-Leaguer free to assault women at will. “Brett Kavanaugh Fit In With the Privileged Kids. She Did Not,” read the headline above a story on Ramirez’ college days.

The story itself later had to be amended, after it emerged that one of the claims against Kavanaugh in it – that he thrust his penis into a female student’s hand – was entirely unsupported.

Instead of neutrally evaluating the facts, the NYT asked teenagers how they felt about the accusations against Kavanaugh. Even after his confirmation to the Supreme Court, the Times’ writers dug up a list of Kavanaugh’s old contacts and wrote a book about his school days. The FBI’s investigation, they wrote, was “too short and too limited in scope to quell doubts about the judge’s character as a young man.”

Will Biden be given the same treatment? Will the New York Times’ journalists search for more Tara Reades and exhume the diaries of Biden’s Senate staffers looking for the slightest whiff of impropriety? Will they release a scratch ‘n’ sniff adventure series documenting his wandering hands at Washington functions?

Statutes of limitations expire, and neither Biden nor Kavanaugh will ever stand in court to answer for their supposed misdeeds. With Lady Justice sitting this one out, both men will instead be judged in the court of public opinion. However, in this court, judgment is handed down by the likes of the New York Times, and the fairness of the trial seems to depend largely on the accused’s relationship with President Trump.

A little consistency would be a welcome change.

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Erdogan election defeat would be ‘revenge’ – Syrian Kurds

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The YPG claims the Turkish president failing to win another term would be payback for Ankara’s counter-terrorism operations in Syria

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s defeat in this month’s presidential election would serve as “revenge” for Türkiye’s military operations in Syria, a top official of the People’s Defense Units (YPG) has said.

Salih Muslim, one of the leaders of the YPG — a Syrian militant group affiliated with the Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and designated by Ankara as a terrorist organization — said in an interview with Medya Haber Kurdish TV channel that his organization has grown frustrated with Türkiye’s counterterrorism operations ongoing in the northern part of Syria since 2016, Daily Sabah reported.

“Now, we have an opportunity in our hands,” Muslim said, stressing that the YPG is eager to see Erdogan unseated. “It’s the first time we have such a thing happening in elections.” He added that “If we can win at the ballot box, we will take all the revenge from [the defeat of] one person.”

Muslim’s statement comes as several members of the YPG and the PKK have openly expressed support for Erdogan’s main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, as the two head into a runoff election on May 28. In the previous round, held on May 14, both candidates failed to secure an outright majority with Erdogan gaining just over 49.4% of the vote while Kilicdaroglu received 44.96%.

Kilicdaroglu has vowed to mend Ankara’s relations with NATO and revive Türkiye’s EU membership talks, which have been effectively stalled since 2016. He has also accused Russia of spreading “conspiracies” and “deep fakes” apparently referring to footage circulating online purportedly linking him to the PKK, and told Moscow to get its “hands off the Turkish state.” Russia has rejected the accusations.

Somalis cheer on Türkiye’s Erdogan to win re-election

Erdogan has repeatedly accused his rival of “colluding with terrorists” and threatening to undo Türkiye’s achievements in its war on terror. He has also blasted Kilicdaroglu for trying to “detach” the country from Russia.

Türkiye has been waging low-intensity warfare against Kurdish militias along its Syrian and Iraqi borders for four decades, in a back-and-forth campaign that has claimed the lives of over 40,000 people.

The PKK and its affiliates have been waging an insurgency since 1984 demanding political and cultural autonomy with the final goal of establishing an independent Kurdish State, laying claim to territories in southeast Türkiye and northern parts of Iraq and Syria.

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Chinese special envoy meets with Zelensky

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Li Hui visited Kiev to share Beijing’s views on a political settlement to the Ukraine crisis

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has met with China’s newly appointed special envoy for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, who traveled to Kiev to convey Beijing’s views on a diplomatic resolution to Ukraine’s conflict with Russia.

According to a statement published on Thursday by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Li held talks with Zelensky as well as the head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, Andrey Yermak, Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, and representatives from several other ministries.

Beijing said both sides had agreed that the recent phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Zelensky had outlined the direction for future relations between their two nations, which it stated should be built on mutual respect and sincerity.

During his trip, Li reiterated that Beijing is willing to serve as a peace broker to help reach a political resolution to the conflict with Russia, based on the principles outlined in a 12-point roadmap published by China in late February.

“There is no panacea in resolving the crisis. All parties need to start from themselves, accumulate mutual trust, and create conditions for ending the war and engaging in peace talks,” Li said, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s statement.

The special envoy’s two-day trip to Ukraine is the first leg of a wider European tour, during which he is expected to visit Poland, France, Germany, and Russia. Beijing has explained that the trip aims to promote communication toward “a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.”

Hungary backs Chinese plan for Ukraine

China’s peace efforts have been welcomed by Russia as well as some European nations such as Hungary, and have been praised for acknowledging the national interests of both parties.

The roadmap, however, has been criticized by some in the West. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg claimed that China lacked “credibility” as it has refused to condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell insisted that “the only thing that can be called a peace plan is Zelensky’s proposal.”

The Ukrainian president has demanded that Russia must withdraw from territories that Kiev claims as its own, as well as pay war reparations and face an international tribunal. The Kremlin has dismissed the initiative, claiming it does not take into consideration “the realities on the ground,” including the new status of four former Ukrainian regions as part of Russia.

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Pakistan’s top court orders release of former PM Imran Khan

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Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ordered the release of former prime minister Imran Khan, whose arrest earlier this week triggered deadly protests across the country, Geo TV news channel has reported.

The court considered an appeal by Khan’s legal team on Thursday, ruling that the arrest of the opposition figure was illegal, according to the broadcaster.

The leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was detained on an order from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday as soon as he arrived at a lower court in connection with a graft case against him. He has been held at a police compound in the capital, Islamabad, since then.

Khan’s spokesperson told Al Jazeera that the 70-year-old was apprehended in court before he could even appear before the judges, which was “in violation of all laws.” The PTI party claimed that it was not an arrest, but “an abduction,” and called on its supporters to take the streets.

Pakistan deploys army after Imran Khan’s arrest

Pakistan has been gripped by violent protests for the last three days, with demonstrators clashing with security forces and setting government buildings on fire in major cities across the country. The government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has deployed the military in an attempt to curb the unrest.

Some 2,500 of Khan’s supporters, including some top figures in his party, have been arrested so far. Local media have reported at least 11 protesters killed and hundreds of police officers wounded.

Numerous criminal cases have been launched against Khan since his removal from office after a no-confidence vote in April 2022. The PTI leader, who remains highly popular in the country, denies all accusations against him.

The politician claimed a year ago that he had been deposed as a result of a US-led “international conspiracy” and accused his opponents of receiving money from foreign forces.

Khan has been making active attempts to return to power since then, staging massive rallies across the country. The former premier survived an assassination attempt last November, escaping with a non-life-threatening leg wound after several bullets were fired at him.

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