Today marks the anniversary of Charlemagne, King of the Franks and the first of the barbarians monarchs to be crowned Emperor of the West in Rome. Charlemagne helped create the medieval and modern world in so many ways, one of which was to sacrilise kingship. The proto-Germanic word kuningaz had once been far less majestic — closer to “chief” — but increasingly the role of monarch would have a sacred quality.
McCarthyism fashionable again in Hollywood?
“…This is the same celebrity class that weighs in on, well, everything — immigration, voting rights, diversity, gun laws, Black Lives Matter. You name the issue, and stars have plenty to say about it. Heck, they can’t stop talking … except when the subject turns to free speech, apparently.
How ironic, since it’s the one issue they’re the most qualified to explore.”
Who will tell the greens there is no Battery Fairy?
For the longest while I have been asking, “Where do environmentalists and Democrats think all these batteries for our oil-free transportation fleet are going to come from?” It seems they think there is a Battery Fairy out there somewhere who will magically supply the ginormous battery capacity, and additional supply of electricity to charge them, in order to deliver us to our blessed fossil-fuel-free future.
FUREY: Canadians deserve more open debate about lockdowns
The other week Brian Lilley and I engaged in a video debate about lockdowns that was posted to YouTube.
My perspective was, broadly speaking, that many of the current restrictions in Ontario aren’t really necessary and they need to be rolled back. I won’t speak for Brian — you can find the video online to hear what we both had to say — but he had a differing opinion from some of the points I made.
Soft on Crime
A Biden administration policy of weak policing and lax prosecution would be a disaster for the nation’s cities.
Criminal justice in America is at a crossroads. The ongoing debate about racial justice in policing, incarceration, and prosecution became a national fixation following the May 2020 death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis. Since then, it has remained a flash point in our politics.
The election of Democrat Joe Biden, whose party is aligned with Black Lives Matter, who called Antifa “an idea,” and who cites “systemic racism” as the major problem facing black Americans, will make the next four years challenging for proponents of effective policing. This challenge will be felt not only by those on the thinning blue line but also by those living in deteriorating urban enclaves that saw homicides and shootings spike in the second half of last year.
Experts warn of China’s growing media influence in Africa
From infrastructure development to trade, film, and education — there’s no doubt China’s presence in Africa is having a significant influence on the continent.
But how has China been winning the so-called ‘war of hearts and minds’ of more than one billion Africans?
“For China, propaganda has positive connotations, it is seen as a proactive tool in educating and shaping opinions to contribute to a ‘harmonious society,'” Ivana Karaskova, an expert on Chinese foreign and security policy, said during a virtual panel discussionon Friday. The event, dubbed ‘Telling China’s story well — Beijing’s attempts to reign into media in Africa and Europe,’ was organized by the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS).
Twitter Axes Group for Hate Speech About HHS Official‘s Biological Sex
A Christian organization has been suspended from the Twitter social media platform for stating Dr. Rachel Levine’s, assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), biological sex.
“Republicans Need To Suffer”: Drake Professor Triggers Free Speech Debate With Hateful Tweets Against Men and Conservatives
There is a free speech debate at Drake University over hateful and vulgar tweets from Associate English Professor Beth Younger, who called for Republicans “to suffer.” We have seen increasing vulgar attacks from academics, including such high-profile figures as Laurence Tribe in the last few years. Notably, Twitter did not suspend Younger’s account for calling for harm to all Republicans. I do not believe that she should be barred from social media or fired from Drake as a matter of free speech. Even with professors who have justified the murder of conservatives or killing police are protected in such hateful expressions. The solution to such hate speech is more (and better) speech. I would rather we denounce such speech than censor it.
h/t Marvin
France: Feminist collective Némésis carries out anti-Islamization “No Hijab Day” protest
The images are striking, and the communication polished. This Sunday, January 31, in the morning, about thirty feminist activists from the Némésis collective gathered on the Place du Trocadéro, in Paris. Notable detail: the thirty young women all wore the “niqab”, the full Muslim veil. The event was organized on the occasion of “No Hijab Day”, a day without the veil created by an English feminist in February 2020 to protest against … the “hijab day”, a day promoting the Islamic veil. In addition to wearing the niqab, the Némesis activists displayed a banner “The French in 50 years? #NoHijabDay ” directly referring to the Islamization of France.
Le collectif @NemesisNemesi18 mène une action #nohijabday et l’islamisation au Trocadéro Alice, présidente du groupe, est interpellée par la police. #hijabday pic.twitter.com/zrbZKQfs6n
— Valeurs actuelles ن (@Valeurs) January 31, 2021
Bravo Ladies! – Note Google translate.
Gendarmes flee from “youths”
Les Flics try to make an arrest but are chased away.
La #Police fait respecter les lois de la #République!
Des #policiers qui veulent faire leur job, tentent d'interpeller des individus.
Ils sont pris à partie par une horde d'individus déterminés à en découdre.
Ils s'échapperont in extremis, sans être blessé.
Jusque quand? pic.twitter.com/qsAg2ToYUu— Commissaires de Police SICP (@SICPCommissaire) January 30, 2021
France is Le Fecked!
GUNTER: Conservatives tried to get tough on gun crime — the Liberals and NDP blocked them
Remember last May when the Trudeau Liberals used the Nova Scotia mass killing as an excuse to ban 1,500 models of “military-style” rifles and shotguns owned by law-abiding Canadians? (That number has since crept up to 9,500 models and perhaps 400,000 individual guns.)
The justification given for this largest firearms confiscation in Canadian history was public safety. Somehow taking long guns away from hunters, farmers and skeet shooters was going to encourage drug dealers and gang members to stop using handguns to kill one another.
Payette resignation shines light on generous pension, expense account for former GGs
OTTAWA — Taxpayers will continue paying Julie Payette a generous pension and an even heftier expense account for the rest of her life, even though she served just three years as governor general and resigned under a cloud.
As a former governor general, she’s entitled to an annual pension of nearly $150,000.
And she’s entitled to claim up to $206,000 a year — for life and even six months after — to cover expenses incurred as a result of ongoing responsibilities related to her former office.
Washington Post: Trump ‘Must Never Have’ His Own Presidential Library
The horrible January 6 riot on Capitol Hill provided grist to the most fervent Trump haters to want to take everything away from him that they can. Washington Post architecture critic Philip Kennicott fulminated on the front page of Sunday’s Arts & Style section under the headline “Trump wants a presidential library. He must never have one.”
As this choleric “Critic’s Notebook” article went inside the paper, the headline was “A Trump presidential library is a terrible — and dangerous — idea.”
Canadians in Hong Kong are pawns caught in China’s game
Beijing’s announcement that it will no longer recognize the British national (overseas) passport as a valid travel document will send chills through Chinese-Canadians living in Hong Kong.
But the broader context is a delicate political game over the future of millions of Hong Kongers who hold dual nationality. At least one Chinese-Canadian has already been caught up in the political intrigue.