Good morning everyone, we’ve officially all made it halfway through the week. Celebrate with a new RantCrush entry as a reward! Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

Aleppo Ceasefire Broken a Few Hours After it Was Reached

Last night, Russia declared that the battle over Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, was over. Rebel fighters and government forces reportedly reached a deal, which meant that evacuations were set to start this morning at 5 A.M. and the remaining rebels were to be transported to rebel-held territory. But this morning, fighting resumed and the evacuations were delayed.

An end to the fighting in Aleppo would be a huge development in the five-year-long war in Syria. The deal came just as the remaining citizens in Aleppo had lost all hope, and many sent out videos saying their goodbyes on social media. There have also been reports that government forces have entered buildings and executed civilians. It’s unclear what will happen next.

This is Aleppo: https://t.co/iresAnLQ55

— Jeffrey Goldberg (@JeffreyGoldberg) December 14, 2016

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post RantCrush Top 5: December 14, 2016 appeared first on Law Street.

You’ve probably seen some coverage of it in the last few days: a man named Daryush Valizadeh, more commonly known as Roosh V., has been advocating for international meet ups of his readers this weekend. Roosh V. founded the site called “Return of Kings” and purports to be the leader of a movement called “neomasculinity,” as well as an accomplished “pick-up artist.” But his arguably most controversial position–the legalization of rape on private property–drew international attention. In light of the widespread criticism, leaders and advocates rallied against the meet ups, and they have since been cancelled.

The meet ups were supposed to be on February 6, all over the world. According to the Return of Kings site, there were to be 165 meetings in 43 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. While Return of Kings originally publicly gave instructions for how to find the meet ups, after protests began, the organizers began to privatize the meet ups and required that prospective attendees prove that they were legitimately fans of the site (or one of Roosh V.’s other exploits) by one of three means:

• If you’ve left a non-hater comment on ROK or RooshV.com using your Disqus account before January 15.
• If you have an active account on RVF that is at least three months old.
• If you can provide a screenshot receipt of one of my books (Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, Paypal, etc) that was purchased before January 15.

Eventually, the meetings were cancelled altogether; according to a message posted by Roosh V. yesterday:

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post MRA Group Making Waves: What’s Up with all These Return of Kings Meet Ups? appeared first on Law Street.