The rest of the results of the Democrat caucuses in Iowa have finally been released. They show Pete Buttigieg very slightly ahead of Comrade Bernie Sanders in the number of delegates, but Comrade Sanders won the popular vote, and has declared victory. Joe Biden did get enough votes to send any Iowa delegates to the convention.
In other news, the official death toll in China for the Wuhan Coronavirus has risen to 636. Meanwhile, 61 cases of the virus have been diagnosed in a cruise ship quarantined off the shores of Japan.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Reader from Chicago, SS, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
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Poland’s Unemployment Edges Up to 5.5 Percent in January — Stats Office
Poland’s unemployment rate rose to 5.5 percent in January 2020 from 5.2 percent a month earlier, Deputy Family, Labour and Social Policy Minister Stanislaw Szwed said on Thursday.
Szwed added that the ministry expects the country’s unemployment rate to decrease in the coming months.
The number of unemployed people registered at labour offices in January amounted to 920,000, the deputy minister said.
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U.S. stocks closed higher Thursday, seizing a fresh round of records, after the market got another shot of confidence from promised trade tariff reductions.
How did benchmarks fare?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.30% closed up 88.92 points, or 0.3%, to settle at 29,379.77, after carving out a intraday record at 29,408.05. The S&P 500 index SPX, +0.33% rose 11.09 points, or 0.3% to settle at 3,345.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.67% advanced 63.47 points, or 0.7% to settle at 9,572.15. All three indexes closed at new records.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nigel Farage met President Donald Trump Thursday evening at the White House, prompting him to observe “there should be great things ahead for our two countries.”
The Brexit veteran revealed the visit to the Oval Office where he had a “great meeting” with President Trump amid a week of meetings and events in the United States for the British political trailblazer.
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DNC Chairman Calls for Recanvass of Iowa Caucuses
Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez on Thursday called for the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) to conduct a recanvass after the state’s caucuses earlier this week were mired in confusion and have yet to produce a definitive result.
Perez cited difficulties with the delegate selection plan and concern over public trust in the results of Monday’s caucuses after nearly three days of controversy.
“Enough is enough,” Perez tweeted Thursday. “In light of the problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and in order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Farage in America: ‘We Beat Them on Brexit, And Trump Will Beat Them at the Election!’
Bureaucracy has been lording it over democracy in the West for too long, but now the nation-state is winning, Nigel Farage has said in a speech in the United States at which he was presented with an honorary doctorate of laws for his support of freedom.
Speaking at the Liberty University convocation Wednesday, Brexit leader Nigel Farage reflected on the progress of the United Kingdom extracting itself from the European Union, the Trump Presidency, the impact of these on the Western world, and even gave advice to young, right-leaning people on how to influence the world.
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Gab is a decentralized and open-source US social network with a focus on free speech and individual liberty.
The platform differentiates itself from dominant, centralized networks by insisting on decentralization, that allows users control over their data and the way they interact online — specifically, “free from woke left-wing Silicon Valley morality policing.”
In an age when the issue of free speech is increasingly plaguing the likes of Twitter or Facebook — Gab promises to ensure that all speech protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution is allowed on its network.
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Harvey Weinstein Trial: Prosecution Rests After Two Weeks of Graphic Testimony
The prosecution in Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault trial rested its case Thursday following more than two weeks of graphic, emotional testimony from six of the more than 80 women who have accused the former film mogul of sexual assault and harassment.
The criminal charges at the center of the trial are based on allegations from two women: Mimi Haley, a former “Project Runway” production assistant, who alleges Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in his Manhattan apartment in 2006, and Jessica Mann, a former aspiring actress, who alleges he raped her in 2013.
But prosecutors were permitted to call other accusers to testify in a bid to show Weinstein, 67, is a serial sexual predator who lured and abused women over decades. If he is convicted, he could go to prison for the rest of his life.
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The Iowa Democratic Party announced that 100 percent of precincts were finally reporting results late Thursday night — 72 hours after the state’s first-in-the-nation caucuses concluded on Monday, and after numerous irregularities led the head of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to call for a complete recanvass.
The state party’s numbers showed that Pete Buttigieg would be awarded 564.012 SDEs, or state delegate equivalents, while Bernie Sanders would receive 562.497 SDEs. Sanders held a sizeable popular vote lead, though, and finished ahead of Buttigieg by a 43,671 to 37,557 vote margin. He fell behind in delegates due to Iowa’s unusual voting system that gave different delegate weights to different precincts.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Joe Biden Shut Down by Climate Hecklers During New Hampshire Campaign Stop
Presidential candidate Joe Biden was heckled by climate protesters during a campaign event in New Hampshire despite promising them he would “get rid of fossil fuels.”
Biden was talking about Medicare for All but the subject was swiftly changed by the protesters, who began yelling about eliminating fossil fuels.
After falsely suggesting that the protesters were in fact Trump supporters, Biden subsequently responded, “We are going to get rid of fossil fuels.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Rules in Favor of Carl Benjamin Over Akilah in “SJW Levels of Awareness” YouTube Video
It’s almost election time once again in the US, but one legal controversy that arose from the 2016 presidential ballot’s aftermath — as it played out on social media, among two YouTube creators — just got its court outcome now.
Fair use under US copyright law, such as it is, is a tough nut to crack even at best of times.
It allows for limited use of copyrighted content without permission, if the purpose is to provide commentary, criticism, or parody.
It took nearly three years for a federal court in Manhattan to rule to dismiss a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by Akilah Hughes — a US YouTuber — against Benjamin — a UK YouTuber.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Man Who Threatened San Francisco GOP Chairman Identified as School Social Worker
A protestor recorded threatening to harm a San Francisco GOP chairman in a viral video has been identified as a local hip-hop DJ and public school social worker.
Stefan Goldstone, who performs as “DJ Sake-1,” accosted John Dennis, 56, last Saturday at the Civic Center in downtown San Francisco during a cleanup event organized by Trump-supporting activist, Scott Pressler. Mr. Dennis is running as the Republican candidate against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
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Mic Drop: Trump Blasts ‘Dishonest and Corrupt’ Democrats, Romney at National Prayer Breakfast
At the 2020 National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., Thursday morning, President Donald Trump made a unique entrance when he lifted up copies of USA Today and The Washington Post featuring headlines touting his acquittal on their front pages. His gesture was met with applause from the crowd.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Michael Avenatti Saw Nike Shakedown as Financial ‘Light at End of Tunnel’: Witness
The youth basketball coach at the center of Michael Avenatti’s Nike bribery case testified Thursday that he felt “totally betrayed” that the lawyer allegedly tried to extort the sportswear giant — while Avenatti’s former office manager said her boss considered the plan a “light at the end of the tunnel” amid financial woes.
“I trusted him as my lawyer,” said California Supreme basketball coach Gary Franklin, Avenatti’s client during the alleged March 2019 attempt to shake down Nike for more than $20 million. “This is not how I wanted things handled.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sanders Defiantly Declares Victory in Disputed Iowa Contest, Amid Caucus Confusion
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Three days after the Iowa caucuses, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont declared victory over rival Pete Buttigieg by pointing to his lead in raw votes, although the results so far indicate Buttigieg has won more delegates.
The race has not yet been called in Iowa, as some precinct results still have not been released by the state party. But speaking to reporters Thursday at a news conference at his campaign headquarters in New Hampshire, Sanders thanked Iowans “for the very strong victory they gave us at the Iowa caucuses on Monday night.”
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Two Lansing Men Have Now Pleaded Guilty to Conspiring to Supporting Islamic State
GRAND RAPIDS — A second Lansing man accused of planning to join the Islamic State group has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge.
Mohamud Abdikadir Muse pleaded guilty on Thursday to conspiring to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization, specifically to the Islamic State. He originally pleaded not guilty last year.
As part of a plea agreement, Muse acknowledged he had recorded a video pledging loyalty to the Islamic State and that he had planned to travel to Somalia at some point last year to join the terrorist organization.
Muse, 25, faces up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervision once released. He also may lose his citizenship.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
68 Years of Service for Queen Elizabeth II Who Ascended the Throne This Day in 1952
68 years ago, a princess climbed a tree and came down a Queen — so beginning a remarkable reign of unbroken service for the world’s longest-reigning monarch.
Then-princess Elizabeth had flown to Kenya for an official visit in January 1952, leaving behind her unwell father — King George VI, stricken with lung cancer — in England as she did so. During her stay, the Princess and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh slept at the exclusive Treetops Hotel in Nyeri, Kenya, the rooms perched atop ancient fig trees.
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Anti-Brexit Scottish Govt Finance Boss Bombarded Schoolboy With Creepy Texts
The Scottish Government’s finance minister, Derek Mackay, has resigned just hours before he was due to deliver the Scottish budget, after he was exposed for sending a deluge of messages to a schoolboy he found online.
Mackay, Member of the Scottish Parliament — roughly equivalent to a state legislature in the United States — for Renfrewshire North & West and, until today, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy, and Fair Work in Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon’s devolved executive, bombarded the Glasgow schoolboy, 16, with messages on Instagram and Facebook after contacting him out of the blue.
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Belgium: Afghan Man Convicted of Assaulting Teenage Girl
A criminal court in West Flanders, Belgium has sentenced a military-aged male from Afghanistan to eight months in prison for sexually assaulting a teenage girl on the train.
Earlier this week, Irfanullah M, aged 33, was convicted of assaulting a 16-year-old girl on the train between Roeselare and Kortrijk back in January of 2019, Het Laatste Nieuws reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French Teen Girl Who Received Death Threats Does Not Regret Anti-Islam Statements
French teenager Mila, a 16-year-old who received a torrent of abuse and death threats after she had made anti-Islam statements on social media, said this week that she did not regret her choice of words.
Mila spoke in public for the first time since the affair began on Monday evening on French television and defended her choice of words saying: “I did nothing wrong.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Free Democrat (FDP) politician Thomas Kemmerich breifly became the new Minister-President of the German state of Thuringia after the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) cooperated with the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) for the first time.
Mr Kemmerich received just one more vote than his rival, former Thuringia Minister-President Bodo Ramelow of the far-left Die Linke, and has become only the second-ever regional leader for the FDP since the end of the Second World War.
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Hungary First European Country to Join U.S.-Led Religious Freedom Alliance
Hungary become the first European Union member state to join the new International Religious Freedom Alliance launched by U.S. President Donald Trump, announced Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjartó on Wednesday.
“We are proud that Hungary became the first European country to join the new international alliance set up by the United States,” he said. The organization — a “network of like-minded countries fully committed to advancing freedom of religion or belief around the world” — held its inaugural meeting Wednesday in Washington, DC.
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Hungary: Retail Sales Rise 6% in 2019
Retail sales in Hungary climbed 6.7 percent year on year in December, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Wednesday.
Adjusted for calendar year effects, retail sales increased by 6.1 percent.
Adjusted food sales rose 4.7 percent, while non-food sales climbed by 8.6 percent and vehicle fuel sales were up 2.6 percent.
For the full year, retail sales rose 6.0 percent, as food sales increased by 3.4pc, non-food sales climbed 9.2 percent and vehicle fuel sales were up 6.0 percent.
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Hungary: Industrial Output Rises 5 % in 2019 Despite Drop in December
Output of Hungary’s industrial sector dropped by an annual 1.2 percent in December last year, dropping for the first time since June, albeit from a high base, data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Thursday show.
In the base period, industrial output had risen by an annual 6.4 percent.
Working day-adjusted data showed a 3.7 percent annual increase for the same month.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary: Coronavirus: Nearly 900 Passengers Screened at Budapest Airport So Far
So far, nearly 900 passengers arriving on direct flights from China have been screened for coronavirus at Budapest’s Liszt Ferenc Airport, the facility’s communications chief told a press conference on Wednesday.
Katalin Valentinyi said that passengers from China are tested for fever, and persons with a body temperature of 38 C or higher are isolated for further testing. Once infection is suspected, airport emergency staff disinfect the aircraft and all areas the patient has been in contact with, she added.
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Swedish Municipality to Ban Islamic Headscarves at Schools
The local government in the town of Skurup in southeast Sweden has decided to implement a ban on Islamic headscarves at primary and secondary schools.
The new policy is indicative of a seismic shift currently underway in Sweden which has seen the national populist Sweden Democrats — a party that has been boycotted by the globalist center-right and left for years — become the country’s most popular party, Sveriges Radio reports.
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UK Begins Courting Rest of the World for ‘High Priority’ Trade Deals
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has headed to Australia to begin a tour of south Pacific nations to open discussion for the UK’s “high-priority” trade deals.
While the prospect of a U.S.-UK free trade agreement has been dominating discussion of post-Brexit negotiations, Boris Johnson’s Conservative government has made clear it seeks to build trading relationships around the world, including nations with whom the UK has historic relationships such as former colonies and the Commonwealth.
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UK: BoJo Admits He ‘Doesn’t Get’ Climate Change, Says Fired Adviser
Boris Johnson admitted he “doesn’t really get” climate change, the former president of a United Nations environmental summit being hosted by Britain said in a blistering attack today.
Claire O’Neill, who was fired by No 10 last week, was scathing about the Government’s green credentials, saying it was “playing at Oxford United levels and we need to be Liverpool.”
She also said the Prime Minister could not be trusted to keep his promises.
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UK: Conservative Party Caves to BuzzFeed, Forces MP to Apologize for Talking to Orban & Salvini
The UK Conservative Party forced one of their MPs into a groveling apology after BuzzFeed complained that he had attended a conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Italy’s Matteo Salvini.
Yes, really.
MP Daniel Kawczynski spoke at the National Conservatism Conference in Rome at an event entitled “God, Honor, Country: President Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, and the Freedom of Nations.”
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UK: Emergency Law Aims to Stop Next Terror Release
Ministers are aiming to pass emergency legislation to block the automatic early release of convicted terror offenders before the next one is due to be freed in three weeks’ time.
Sunderland shopkeeper Mohammed Zahir Khan, 42, is expected to be released on 28 February after serving half of his sentence for encouraging terrorism.
An official said legislation would be introduced to the Commons on Tuesday.
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UK: Farage Second-Most Popular Party Leader, Twice as Popular as Corbyn: Poll
A poll has revealed that Nigel Farage is the second-most popular party leader, and nearly twice as popular as Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn.
The poll by Sky News asked “are you satisfied with the performance of the following [party leader]”, with respondents giving a 30 per cent positive rating for Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage. That figure rises to 54 per cent for those who voted to leave the EU in 2016.
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UK: Tory Remainers Hammond and Clarke Nominated for Peerages
Two Remain-backing MPs who had the Conservative Party whip removed for voting against Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Brexit have been nominated for peerages.
Prime Minister Johnson nominated the former MPs Philip Hammond, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer and Prime Minister Theresa May’s right-hand man, and Tory grandee and Europhile activist Ken Clarke.
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UK: Why Are Dangerous Jihadists Being Released Early From Prison?
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to toughen sentencing guidelines for convicted terrorists after a newly-released prisoner carried out a jihadist attack in London.
On February 2, Sudesh Amman, a 20-year-old jihadist from Harrow in north-west London, stabbed two people in a knife rampage on Streatham High Road before he was shot dead by police. He had been released from prison just days earlier after serving less than half of his sentence for terrorism offenses.
Amman, who was carrying a 10-inch kitchen knife, wearing a fake suicide bomber vest, and shouting “Allahu Akbar” (“Allah is the Greatest”), had been under active police surveillance at the time of the attack, which London police described as an “Islamist-related terrorist incident.”
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The World Health Organisation has urged the nation to improve surveillance, case detection and preparations at appointed health facilities in case the deadly disease comes ashore.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT. An Australian man was stabbed in a terror attack and rushed to hospital on the back of a moped in the Maldives at 7pm on Tuesday.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Maldives Police Arrest 3 Men in Suspected ISIS Stabbing Attack
Three men who may have connections to the Islamic State terrorist group were arrested in the Maldives on Thursday following a stabbing attack there that left three injured.
The men allegedly targeted two Chinese nationals and an Australian on the island of Hulhumale Tuesday night, one of whom was a tourist, according to Sky News. The Maldives Police Service said it was now investigating a video circulating on social media “claiming to be related” to the violence.
“We are continuously monitoring the status of the victims of this heinous attack,” police added in a statement. “Their condition is reported to be stable.”
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61 Coronavirus Cases Confirmed on Cruise Ship Off Japan, Israelis on Board
Another 41 people on a cruise liner off Japan tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total confirmed from the ship to 61, Japan’s health minister said on Friday, with thousands of passengers confined to cabins as testing continues. Among the passengers on the ship are between 15-17 Israelis who are currently under quarantine, according to the Foreign Ministry. However, it is unclear if any of them were infected.
The cruise ship, Diamond Princess, and the roughly 3,700 people aboard have been under two-week quarantine since arriving back at the port of Yokohama, just south of Tokyo, on Monday night, after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong was diagnosed with the virus.
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Coronavirus Live Updates: Trump and Xi Talk on the Phone, China Death Toll Hits 636
This is a live blog. Please check back for updates.
All times below are in Beijing time.
11:43 am: Trump and Xi speak on the phone
Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on the phone Friday morning Beijing time, state broadcaster CCTV said.
The two leaders talked about the spread of the virus, and Xi said China is doing all it can to fight the outbreak, according to the state-owned broadcaster.
“(Xi said) we have full confidence and full ability to overcome the epidemic. The long-term good prospects of China’s economic development will not change,” the report said, according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese text. — Cheng
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Dr. Li Wenliang, Who Was Reprimanded for Warning People of Coronavirus on Weibo, Has Died
For all the media attention that the coronavirus has been getting, there’s been little coverage of the first person to discover it and warn about it.
Over the last couple of hours, several Chinese sources reported that Dr. Li Wenliang, 34-year-old ophthalmologist at Wuhan City Central Hospital, has died.
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Tencent, the second largest company in China, may have inadvertently leaked the true extent of the coronavirus death toll as more than 24,000, more than 80 times higher than the official figure.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Report: Chinese People Selling Used Face Masks Found in Trash
A New Zealander who lives in China told the New Zealand Herald that “everything has fallen apart” and some Chinese people are selling used face masks found in trash cans.
The man, who lives in northeast China with his wife and two children, told the newspaper, “It’s getting worse by the day … everything has fallen apart here.”
The eyewitness was speaking on condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisals from the Chinese government, which has threatened people with 15 years jail time for spreading “misinformation” about the coronavirus.
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WeChat Users in China, Who Were Banned for Talking About Coronavirus, Beg for Their Accounts Back
Most people in the west are familiar with Tencent through their gaming ventures, namely PUBG, which was published under their name even though they only own 11.5% of it.
Over the last decade, they’ve also purchased 100% of Riot Games, 84% of Supercell, 80% of Grinding Gear Games, 40% of Epic Games, 5% of Ubisoft, 5% of Activision Blizzard, and more.
Tencent is actually much more than that in China.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
YouTube Demonetizes Popular South Korean Channel Clark TV for Reporting on Coronavirus
YouTube has angered South Korean netizens after it demonetized a popular YouTube channel that was covering the coronavirus outbreak.
While China took the major hit with nearly 25,000 coronavirus infections, South Korea has also fallen prey to the infection with 15 confirmed cases.
At such a juncture, South Koreans naturally wanted to keep a close eye on the latest developments.
Clark TV, a popular South Korean YouTube channel with over 1.7 million subscribers, has, according to fans, so far done a commendable job on reporting legitimate news events and steering clear from unnecessary rumors and speculation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The rain bomb is due to hit Sydney within hours as storms and torrential downpours threaten to continue for a straight week.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has warned jobs could go within weeks unless the federal government stumps up cash to help businesses survive the coronavirus outbreak.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Violence has escalated in the township, dubbed ‘Doom City’, and police have flown in five extra officers to keep the peace.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A woman in New Zealand’s Auckland City Hospital heard the patient call out while being brought in for treatment on Tuesday morning.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
No nonsense cop is booted from ‘Strike Force Raptor’ and put in an admin role — after he was filmed threatening and abusing two Muslim women — amid many controversial encounters
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
German Paper Admits Most ‘Boat Migrants’ Not Real Refugees
German newspaper Die Welt has admitted that most of the migrants coming in boats across the Mediterranean are not genuine refugees and are unlikely to gain asylum status.
The paper’s political editor Marcel Leubecher made the admission in an editorial articlefor the paper this week, noting the rise of migrants crossing into Europe both into Italy across the Mediterranean and across the Aegean sea into Greece.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
…And now he’s allowed to stay in Australia
A detention centre guard who fell in love with an illegal immigrant and had his baby after he escaped custody has been cleared of any wrongdoing.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary: Military Boats Deployed to Tisza River to Defend Europe
The Hungarian government has deployed military boats to patrol the river border with Serbia to stop illegal border crossing into the country through the Tisza river, a key point of entry for migrants trying to make their way into the E.U.
Hungarian officials say that close to 100 migrant invaders are attempting to cross into Hungary illegally from Serbia and Romania every day. The military has deployed 500 soldiers alongside Hungarian police to put a stop to it, the BBC reports.
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A record 90 migrants were intercepted and brought to Dover in eight small boats today.
The figure — which includes 15 minors — is the most for a single day and eclipses the 86 who arrived in one day last August.
In the first incident off the Kent coast at 2.15am, a Border Force vessel intercepted a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) carrying five West African men from Senegal, Mali and Guinea.
In another incident around the same time, 21 men who said they were Syrian, Yemeni and Egyptian were also picked up on a RHIB.
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Orban: Not a Single Muslim Immigrant in Hungary, Declares Liberalism Over
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, during a panel discussion at the National Conservatism conference in Rome on Tuesday, declared liberalism to be over and said that not a single Muslim immigrant lives in Hungary.
During conference, which was organized by the Edmund Burke Foundation, Orban declared liberalism to be over while adding that a fresh kind government in the form of Christian democracy is needed to replace it, About Hungary reports.
The Hungarian premier highlighted two catastrophic failures of liberal western governments in the recent past: their mishandling of the 2008 global financial crisis and their current mismanagement of the ongoing migrant crisis.
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Spain: Authorities Arrest 26 Suspected of Smuggling North African Migrants
Spanish authorities early this week announced the arrests of 26 suspected people smugglers who are believed to have brought in over 900 illegal migrants from Algeria to Spain last year, earning at least 1.5 million euros in the process.
Police conducted a series of raids across Almeria and Alicante on Monday which led to the arrests of 26 of the suspected people smugglers and the confiscation of 17 vehicles. The network of smugglers spanned from Algeria to southeastern Spain, The Local reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Top Turkish Official Warns Europe of New Wave of Syrian Migrants
Europe could see a brand new wave of migrants if it fails to listen to Ankara’s warnings about the looming humanitarian crisis taking shape in Syria’s northwest Idlib province, a top spokesman for the Turkish government said on Tuesday.
The comments follow a period that saw the relentless bombardment of Idlib by Russian-backed Syrian government forces which caused around 40,000 civilians to flee their homes to move towards Syrian’s border with Turkey, Greek newspaper Ekathimerini reports.
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Byron and Keira Hordyk, who are members of the Free Reformed Church of Baldivis, had their application to be foster parents denied by Wanslea Family Services.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Censored.tv Banned From Instagram and Facebook
Censored.tv, formerly FreeSpeech.tv, founded by Vice co-founder and Proud Boy founder Gavin McInnes, has been banned across all Facebook-owned platforms, namely Facebook and Instagram.
The platform, which has roughly 15,000 monthly subscribers, is popular for its hosts, who have mostly been banned from popular platforms like Twitter and YouTube—including Gavin McInnes, Milo Yiannopolous, Joe Biggs, Laura Loomer, and Soph.
According to a reliable source, the platform’s Instagram and Facebook pages along with anyone closely related to the show, as well including show engineer Ryan Katsu Rivera, has been banned. Twitter accounts for the platform have not yet been banned.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Still Too White: Barnes & Noble Cancels ‘Race Switch’ Classic Novels
Critics complained “diversity” covers of books were “fake” because characters inside are still white
Barnes & Noble has cancelled a line of ‘diversity edition’ classic novels because critics complained they were not woke enough.
The range, slated to coincide with Black History Month, features covers of characters like Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, but with the protagonist wearing a turban, Frankenstein’s Monster with brown skin rather than green (it’s green because it’s dead…duh), and Juliet from Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet with brown skin and a headscarf.
Clearly proud of how woke it was being, B&N bragged that “For the first time ever, all parents will be able to pick up a book and see themselves in a story.”
However, the fad was quickly shot down by critics because the classic novels themselves are unchanged beyond the cover.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Straight Actress Criticized for Role in LGBT TV Show Suddenly Announces She’s “Queer”
‘Woke’ actress Jameela Jamil responded to criticism that as a straight woman she shouldn’t be cast in a new LGBT-interest TV show by suddenly announcing that she was “queer.”
Checkmate, bigots.
Jamil, who relentlessly hypes identity politics and “diversity,” is set to be a judge on a new HBO dance contest show called Legendary.
“The news prompted an online backlash from people who said The Good Place star was not representative of the black LGBT community,” reports the BBC.
Jamil reacted by tweeting a statement that she now identifies “as queer” and only revealed this now at 33-years-old because “it’s not easy within the south Asian community to be accepted.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tax the Rich: Pope Francis Calls for Global Wealth Redistribution
Tax cuts for the wealthy constitute a “structure of sin,” Pope Francis said Wednesday in a passionate address calling for international wealth redistribution.
“Every year hundreds of billions of dollars, which should be paid in taxes to fund health care and education, accumulate in tax haven accounts,” the pontiff told participants in a Vatican seminar, “thus impeding the possibility of the dignified and sustained development of all social agents.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Council to Host ‘Drag Queen Story Time’ In Heavily Muslim Populated Area of London
A council in the UK has announced it will host a series of ‘Drag Queen Story Times’ for under-5’s in Newham, an area of London that has a large Muslim population.
“The first of our Drag Queen Story Times for under 5s & their parents & carers at @NewhamLibraries this #LGBTHM20 is on Friday,” Newham Council said in a tweet. “Come & listen to fabulous stories, beautifully told.”
Images accompanying the tweet show drag queens reading to toddlers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Supermarket Forced to Apologize for Asking People Not to Steal Female Menstrual Products
A UK supermarket was forced to apologize for asking people not to steal female menstrual products, because shoplifting is apparently ‘woke’ now.
Yes, really.
It all started with a tweet which received nearly 15,000 likes.
“We really need a genuine conversation as a society about what ‘safety’ means,” commented Oonagh Ryder alongside an image of sanitary products on a shelf behind a sign which read “Help us build safer communities — report shoplifting to a member of staff.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
YouTube Pledges to Remove “Manipulated” Election-Related Videos
Wrongthink could be defined as ‘misleading voters’
Youtube announced this week that it will begin removing election-related videos that are “manipulated or doctored” with the aim of influencing voters.
The move is part of an effort by the Google owned company to be a “more reliable source” for news and to promote a “healthy political discourse”.
YouTube’s vice president of government affairs and public policy, Leslie Miller commented “…the service’s community standards prohibit content that has been technically manipulated or doctored in a way that misleads users… and may pose a serious risk of egregious harm.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
They’ll kneecap comrade kommissar Sanders. Hillary and Bloomberg will try to buy the (s)election because they think that is what Trump did.
Tulsi is on the only commiecrat with anti-war and empire message and she’ll get the Ron Paul treatment.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/news.yahoo.com/amphtml/germany-shaken-extremist-surprise-104550469.html
Did Joe BIden declare victory too? (LOL)