It’s really brave of her to have a vagina.

Especially because of the patriarchy.

AP:

The European Union on Thursday awarded its top human rights prize to the Belarus opposition movement and its leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, for their challenge to President Alexander Lukashenko’s long, hard-line reign.

During a speech at the European Parliament, president David Sassoli praised the Sakharov Prize laureates for their “courage, resilience and determination.”

“They have stood and still stay strong in the face of a much stronger adversary. But they have on their side something that brute force can never defeat, and this is the truth,” Sassoli said.

The 27-nation bloc agreed this month to impose sanctions against officials suspected of election misconduct and a brutal security crackdown on protesters in Belarus. The EU has warned it is ready to sanction Lukashenko himself if he fails to enter into talks with the opposition and order an end to the repression launched after a disputed election.

In a series of recommendations adopted this week, EU lawmakers said sanctions need to include Lukashenko and called for new elections to be held under international supervision. MEPs also stated that “Tsikhanouskaya’s Coordination Council is the legitimate representative of the people.”

So democracy.

Such vagina.

Wow.

A shocking case of animal cruelty out of Montgomery County, where a Baltimore City cop is accused of choking his girlfriend’s dog to death.

The officer–a five-year veteran with the force–is suspended without pay after beating the dog with a mop and strangling it to death.

For five years, Baltimore City police officer Alec Eugene Taylor has protected and served the city of Baltimore–until now. He is charged with animal cruelty and abuse.

According to Montgomery County Police, Taylor, 27, killed his girlfriend’s 7-month-old Jack Russell Terrier, named Rocko, for relieving himself on the carpet of their Silver Spring apartment.

“I think he should be put in jail for a long time,” said one man.

Taylor tells investigators he used a mop not only to retrieve the dog from behind the dryer but as a weapon to beat the helpless animal before using his bare hands to choke the dog to death.

Montgomery County Police say the Baltimore City cop then took a picture of the dead dog and actually sent it to his girlfriend before dumping the pup in a dumpster.

“I think that is really sad because I love animals, mostly dogs, because dogs are my favorite,” said one person.

In a statement, Baltimore City police officials say, “Allegations of animal cruelty are taken seriously by the Baltimore police department. Significant emphasis has been placed on training investigators to handle animal abuse incidents in Baltimore.”

Investigators say Taylor told his girlfriend he was sick of cleaning up after the dog.

Taylor turned himself into police on Wednesday.

At the request of his girlfriend, Taylor retrieved the dog from the dumpster and she buried it in a park.