BEWARE...SOME DAYS ARE NOT VERY PRETTY. I GET CRABBY LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE DO. AND I DO SPEAK MY MIND.
DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO TRUE, REAL, EVERYDAY FEELINGS LIKE MINE.(But I think you would enjoy it)
DON'T FORGET...FREEDOM OF SPEECH !
Chinese virologist who claimed coronavirus was created in a lab and fled to US has been suspended by Twitter
James Crump
Dr Li-Meng Yan speaking to Tucker Carlson on Tuesday ((Fox News))Twitter has suspended the account of a Chinese virologist who claimed that Covid-19 was “man-made” and created in a Wuhan lab.
Dr
Li-Meng Yan, who claims to be a post-doctoral researcher at the
University of Hong Kong School of Public Health, had her Twitter account
suspended by the social media site earlier this week.
The
virologist, who had more than 60,000 followers on Twitter before her
account was suspended, made headlines this week when she claimed to have
evidence that the Chinese government was involved in creating the
virus, which has so far killed more than 936,156 people worldwide. She
claims she fled to LA and is now in hiding in the U.S.
Twitter
introduced a policy in May to label posts that contain information about
Covid-19, which has been disputed or is controversial.
The
site said the policy was introduced to “provide additional explanations
or clarifications in situations where the risks of harm associated with
a tweet are less severe but where people may still be confused or
misled by the content.”
Twitter did not appear to label any of Dr Yan’s tweets, but instead suspended her account. A spokesperson told Newsweek that Twitter does not comment on individual accounts.
Dr
Yan made the claims about the origins of Covid-19 in a report alongside
three other colleagues, which appeared to be affiliated with the Rule
of Law Society, a group founded by president Donald Trump’s former
national security adviser Steven Bannon, according to Newsweek.
The report, which has not been peer-reviewed, read: “Natural origin theory, although widely accepted, lacks substantial support.
“The
alternative theory that the virus may have come from a research
laboratory is, however, strictly censored on peer-reviewed scientific
journals.”
The researchers claimed to have evidence that showed
that Covid-19 was created in a lab, but the report did not appear to
shed new information on the virus.
The University of Hong Kong
disputed the findings and released a statement to ITV, where they wrote:
“Dr Yan's statement does not accord with the key facts as we understand
them. They have no scientific basis but resemble hearsay."
Dr Yan also appeared on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight on Tuesday to talk about the report, and was referred to as a “whistleblower.”
She
told host Tucker Carlson that the virus is “man-made” and claimed: “I
have evidence to show why they can do it, what they have done, how [they
did it].”
Dr Yan added: “The scientific world also keeps
silent...works together with the Chinese Communist Party, they don't
want people to know his truth.
“That's why I get suspended, I get suppressed, I am the target that Chinese Communist Party wants disappeared.”
The interview was uploaded to the Tucker Carlson Tonight
Facebook page, but the social media site labelled it, and wrote: “The
primary claims in the information are factually inaccurate.”
Facebook
linked to three stories from Factcheck.org and USA Today to debunk Dr
Yan’s claims that the virus was man-made, according to Newsweek.
Dr Yan’s interview on Tucker Carlson Tonight was still available to watch on YouTube at the time of writing.
Read more
Jerry
Harris from 'Cheer' has been charged with producing child porn. He
admitted receiving explicit photos from minors, court records show.
Tricia L. Nadolny, Marisa Kwiatkowski and Daniel Connolly, USA TODAY
Celebrity cheerleader Jerry Harris has been arrested by the FBI and charged with producing child pornography, the U.S. attorney's office
said Thursday. According to federal court records, Harris admitted to
agents that he solicited and received explicit messages on Snapchat from
at least 10 to 15 individuals he knew were minors, had sex with a
15-year-old at a cheerleading competition in 2019 and offered a
17-year-old money in exchange for nude photos.
Harris, who
experienced a meteoric rise to fame this year when he was featured in
Netflix’s “Cheer” docuseries, has been under investigation by the FBI
for soliciting photos and sex from minors.
USA TODAY reported Monday
that the initial criminal investigation was based on allegations
brought by 14-year-old twin brothers. In interviews with USA TODAY, the
boys described a pattern of harassment, both online and at cheer
competitions, that started when they were 13 and Harris was 19. They
said it continued for more than a year. On Monday the FBI executed a
search warrant at Harris' Naperville, Illinois, home. Since then, agents
have interviewed other minors about their interactions with Harris,
court records show.
Harris, 21, could not immediately be reached for comment. His arrest was first reported by the Chicago Tribune.
Kristen,
the mother of 14-year-old brothers Charlie and Sam, told USA TODAY she
filed reports with Fort Worth, Texas, police on July 10 and the FBI on
Aug. 8. USA TODAY agreed to withhold the family’s last name because the
boys are minors and alleging abuse.
The family provided USA TODAY
with screenshots from five text and social media conversations between
the boys and accounts they say belong to Harris. Several of the
screenshots include messages explicitly requesting nude photos or sex.
In one conversation on Snapchat, an account with the name “.jerry
harris” responded to a photo of Charlie stretching his leg above his
head.
“Do it naked and take a video and show me,” Harris replied privately, according to a screenshot provided to USA TODAY.
Harris
is also accused of asking one of the brothers to have sex with him in
2019 at two cheerleading competitions. Charlie said he declined both
times.
Varsity, which runs those competitions, on Aug. 1 also
reported the allegations to police in Florida and Texas, according to
letters obtained by USA TODAY. In the letters, Varsity’s Chief Legal
Officer Burton Brillhart said the company had learned of “inappropriate
sexual conduct” allegations against Harris and had banned him “from
having any affiliation with Varsity Brands or any of its subsidiaries or
affiliates, now and in the future.”
Kristen and the boys on
Monday filed a lawsuit against Harris, Varsity, the U.S. All Star
Federation and the Cheer Athletics gym at which Harris has cheered. In
it, the family accuses Harris of sexual misconduct and the cheer
organizations of negligence and failures to protect the boys from abuse.
The lawsuit also claims Harris sexually exploited others in the cheer
community.
"We are grateful that the U.S. Attorney and the FBI
have taken swift action to protect children by investigating, arresting
and charging Jerry Harris," attorney Sarah Klein, who represents the
family, said in a statement. "This was made possible because our
clients’ mother had the courage to report Harris to the FBI as well as
the Fort Worth Police Department and provided evidentiary proof of the
manipulation, sexual harassment, abuse, and exploitation that her sons
had suffered."
Harris, who grew up in Illinois and has cheered
since he was a child, gained national prominence in January through
“Cheer,” the docuseries that follows Texas’ Navarro College cheerleaders
in their quest for a national title. Viewers were drawn to his lively
personality and ability to remain positive despite personal challenges,
including the loss of his mother to cancer.
In the months that
followed, Harris met Oprah Winfrey, interviewed celebrities on the red
carpet of the Oscars and filmed a short video with former Vice President
Joe Biden. Harris’ Instagram page has 1.2 million followers.
If
convicted, Harris faces 15 to 30 years in federal prison. The U.S.
attorney's office encouraged others who may be "a victim of sexual
exploitation by Jeremiah Harris" to contact the FBI at (312) 421-6700.
This article will be updated. Tricia
L. Nadolny and Marisa Kwiatkowski are reporters on USA TODAY’s national
investigative team. Tricia can be reached tnadolny@usatoday.com or
@TriciaNadolny. Marisa can be reached at mkwiatko@usatoday.com,
@IndyMarisaK or by phone, Signal or WhatsApp at (317) 207-2855.
2 California deputies shot in apparent ambush; anger and protests follow
Associated Press
COMPTON,
Calif. — The shooting of two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies in
an apparent ambush prompted a manhunt for the shooter, reaction from the
president and protests outside the hospital where the wounded deputies
were being treated Saturday night in California.
The 31-year-old
female deputy and 24-year-old male deputy both underwent surgery
Saturday evening, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said in a late-night news
conference. Both graduated from the academy 14 months ago, he said.
The
deputies were shot while sitting in their patrol car at a Metro rail
station and were able to radio for help, the sheriff said. Villanueva,
whose department has come under fire during recent protests over racial
unrest, expressed frustration over anti-police sentiment as he urged
people to pray for the officers.
“It pisses me off. It dismays me at the same time,” he said.
The department shared video of the shooting in a Twitter post showing a person open fire through the passenger-side window of the patrol car.
“The gunman walked up on the deputies and opened fire without warning or provocation,” the department stated.
The video sparked thousands of reactions, including from President Donald Trump, who responded, “Animals that must be hit hard!” Protesters gathered outside the emergency room at the hospital where the injured deputies were being treated. “To
the protesters blocking the entrance & exit of the HOSPITAL
EMERGENCY ROOM yelling “We hope they die” referring to 2 LA Sheriff’s
ambushed today in #Compton: DO NOT BLOCK EMERGENCY ENTRIES & EXITS
TO THE HOSPITAL,” the sheriff’s department tweeted. “People’s lives are at stake when ambulances can’t get through.”
A radio reporter who was near the protest scene was taken into custody, KABC-TV reported. The sheriff’s department later tweeted that the reporter interfered with the arrest of a male protester. “The
female adult, who was later identified as a member of the press, did
not identify herself as press and later admitted she did not have proper
press credentials on her person,” the department stated.
Capt. Kent Wegener said officers were blanketing the area in search of the suspect seen on the video opening fire with a pistol.
“We have a very, very generic description,” he said.
The incident happened around 7 p.m. a short distance from the Compton sheriff’s station.
Texas police group puts up billboard warning "enter at your own risk," saying Austin defunded police
Caitlin O'Kane
The
Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA) has put up two billboards
along Interstate 35 entering Austin after the city council voted last
month to cut the Austin police budget. One of them reads: "Warning!
Austin defunded police. Enter at your own risk!"
The second says, "Limited support next 20 miles," according to the association.
TMPA,
the largest law enforcement association in Texas, said on Facebook it
released the billboards – which include the hashtag #BacktheBlue – "to
raise public awareness that Austin is a defunded city."
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick backed the campaign, calling them "great new billboards" in a tweet on Wednesday, while Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted about them with the hashtag #TexasBacksTheBlue.
Abbott has called on every Texan and candidate for public office to sign a pledge
against defunding the state's police departments and post it on social
media Thursday afternoon to show support for law enforcement.
"Defunding
our police departments would invite crime into our communities and put
people in danger," reads the pledge. "That is why I pledge to support
any measure that discourages or stops efforts to defund police
departments in Texas."
Thank you to the Texas Municipal Police Association for these great new billboards that went up in Austin today. @austintexasgov ignored public safety and made a dangerous decision to #defundpolice#bigmistake#backtheblue#txlegepic.twitter.com/bGO8X1Hyur
— Dan Patrick (@DanPatrick) September 9, 2020
"Defunding
the police" has been a focal point for protesters who have taken to the
streets in recent months following the death of George Floyd at the
hands of police in Minneapolis. Some cities across the U.S. have acted
on the calls, which come as part of a wider movement against racial
injustice and police brutality. Supporters have said
"defunding" isn't about doing away with all funding for police
departments. The practice is often a reallocation of some money from law
enforcement to other services that could help the community.
In
Austin, the city council approved a $150 million cut in funding to the
Austin Police Department last month, with the majority of money being
redirected to other departments and social services, according to CBS Austin.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler and other council members argue the changes will improve public safety. He took to Twitter last month to explain the changes.
"This
budget responds to concerns expressed all over the community and
embodies our values as a city. New investment is focused on the
underlying causes of crime," he wrote.
The new budget maximizes officer effort and invests in programs and strategies to decrease crime, Adler said.
Adler
has pointed to Denver as a city that effectively transformed its police
department, CBS Austin reports. Denver is now sending mental health
professionals instead of police to respond to non-violent 911 calls.
According to Adler, none of the calls in Denver have required police
backup. This frees up officers for other police work.
While cities
like Denver and Austin call the defunding effort "reimagining public
safety," others, including Texas Governor Abbott, see it as a threat to
law and order, according to CBS Austin.
However, Adler says Austin
continues to be the safest big city in Texas. "I mean you could have a
50% increase in homicides in Austin and you still wouldn't get up to
where Fort Worth is, a smaller city than we are," the mayor said.
In
a news conference Thursday, Abbott, a Republican, was joined by other
officials who signed the pledge against defunding police departments in
the state.
Texas Democrats issued their own pledge
in response to the "Back the Blue" campaign. The Democrats' "Texas
First Pledge" includes protecting public health by following scientists'
recommendations in responding to COVID-19, providing coverage for
pre-existing conditions, and supporting small businesses and education.
The party shared the pledge on Twitter and urged Abbott and Senator John Cornyn, a fellow Republican, to sign it.
As a black woman, I'm glad to see the back of Keeping Up With The Kardashians
Banseka Kayembe
Picture: (Getty)Keeping up with the Kardashians, a show centred around Kardashian-Jenner family drama, is officially coming to an end.
After
14 seasons, this particular inside view of the family’s plethora of
break-ups, divorces, marriages and babies could be closed off to the
public for good. But while fans of the show mourn its loss and remember
its iconic phrases (“don’t be f*****g rude!” anyone?), as a black woman,
I’m celebrating.
Many dislike the Kardashian-Jenners purely
because they see them as a symbol of trashy, unintelligent, shallow
entertainment. I, however, am not one for snobbery. I actually believe
that reality TV can be an interesting sociological reflection of the
world we live in. My and many other black women’s issue with the family
is about something else entirely.
The Kardashian-Jenners have
perfected the act of being “culture vultures” to an almost systematic
degree, slipping on costumes of blackness in an effort to be relevant
and edgy and making huge profits in the process.
Their
bodies ape familiar black female phenotypes in an almost cartoonish
way, from their jutting fake hips, full bums and overly injected lips.
They are widely attributed with popularising the current obsession with
having a bigger behind (remember the trend of asking “does my bum look
big in this?”) – as though this is not a feature that many black women
have naturally. Their skin is often extremely tanned; fans remarked only
a few months ago that when Kylie Jenner posted an image of herself with
a considerably darker skin tone, she looked like she was “cosplaying as
Beyonce”.
The family also adopt black hairstyles with zero respect for its origins. Kim Kardashian,
in particular, has worn Fulani braids, a specific African hairstyle and
attributed them to “Bo Derek” a white woman who appropriated the braids
in the 1970s. Kylie Jenner has also worn cornrows and clapped back at
fans who tried to point out why it was problematic – labelling it as
“just a hairstyle”. They’ve also been accused numerous times of stealing
black women’s ideas, with Khloe Kardashian’s jean fashion line Good
American coming under fire for allegedly lifting designer Destiney
Bleu’s work, which Good American and Khloe have denied.
If the allegations are true, using the creative efforts black women
without giving them credit is exactly the sort of conduct that edges
black women out of these creative markets in the first place, lessening
the scope for the recognition of black women in these fields.
One of the most haunting aspects of the family’s legacy, is, to me at least, Kim’s now-infamous Paper Magazine
cover in which she balances a champagne glass on her derriere. The
image was actually based on Jean-Paul Goude’s photo of black model
Carolina Beaumont, as part of a book called “Jungle Fever”. Beaumont
did not have the luxury of being able to escape the negative stereotype
of hyper-sexualisation or exoticised objectification that black women
bear. Whereas Kim’s cover, which also reeks of racial fetishisation and
harks back to the legacy of Saartjie Baartman, a 19th century South
African woman who was exhibited in “freak-show” displays for viewers to
marvel at her large buttocks and genitals, enables Kim to wear those
harmful tropes like a costume. As a white woman, Kim Kardashian is able
to elevate herself above these stereotypes while generating profit from
its sensationalism.
Against the backdrop of this, the
Kardashian-Jenners have, as far I’m concerned, never made any real
attempt to create a serious dialogue around the Black Lives Matter
movement, or use their white privilege – which they still get to retain
while enjoying the financial fruits of exoticising blackness – for
change. Kim’s prison reform work, though admirable in some ways, is
completely devoid of wider conversations on how systemic racism is a core aspect of the US prison system.
She chooses to highlight isolated cases of injustice, rather than
acknowledging the wider picture. Black men are incarcerated at
significantly higher rates than white men. One in three black men in the
US can expect to spend at least some time in prison and tend to receive
harsher sentencing for similar crimes compared to white men. For black
women, the imprisonment rate is twice the rate where white women are
concerned.
Their expert monetisation of blackness has had a ripple
effect – and other social media influencers have seen dollar signs too.
Celebrities like the Kardashians are arguably linked to the likes of
young influencers like Emma Hallberg, a Swedish woman who presented
herself as a black mixed-race person, and later turned out to be a white
woman with an exceptionally deep tan, bronzer and a series of
curly-haired wigs. She defended herself by saying she never claimed
explicitly to be black, but in my view, it appears that she is able to
understand, just like Kris Jenner, the matriarch of the
Kardahsian-Jenner family seems to, that blackness on white women will
always be more profitable and receive more credit than blackness on
actual black women.
It’s frustrating knowing this as a black
woman. I spent years feeling like my body wasn’t good enough, because
naturally, my hips, bum and general body type didn’t fit the westerns
social ideal of being slim with European features. I grew up
understanding that I could be shunned, made fun of or viewed as
unprofessional for having my hair in natural styles, or braids. I kept
my hair in a straight style for almost a year in the first professional
job I had, for fear that I would be judged or hamper any promotional
opportunities. It’s a terrible irony that I’ve grown up being told that
whiteness is the best thing since sliced bread – yet blackness on white
women continues to be lauded while real black women face the true
consequences of being black every day.
Do I think that we’re going
to see less of the Kardashian-Jenners now that their show is coming to
an end? I suspect not, as they continue to be hugely prolific in lots of
other ways. But perhaps the end of their long reality TV reign will
signal a larger conversation around cultural appropriation, serving as a
small sign that white women using black culture for their own gain
isn’t as profitable as it used to be. Either way, I’m happy to see the
show go. Banseka Kayembe is a freelance writer living in London
and the founder of Naked Politics, an online platform that engages and
empowers young people, and amplifies their views
Read more
if you can set up ANYTHING for a colored group....("black entertainment this or that, black business for this, black girls this or that, black children this or that etc...).
Privilege my ASS, you try working three jobs at one time for YEARS.
Privilege my ass.... Work hard for what you what you want then only YOU are to blame instead of blaming everyone else when you are sitting on your ass not working and have nothing.
EVERYONE CAN succeed if YOU WORK hard enough.
Do you want more in your like? Stop bitching about it and WORK harder.
Stop asking for hand outs you lazy person.... WORK for it.
You would believe how good it makes you feel to DO IT YOURSELF.
Don't want to WORK for it? Well screw you I"ve turned my back and have walked away.
Teens Rob and Punch 74-Year-Old Woman in New York's East Village
Storyful•
The New York City Police Department (NYPD)
were seeking help identifying three teenage suspects they say robbed
and punched a 74-year-old woman in the East Village on the evening of
Thursday, September 3.
The NYPD said the
incident happened just before 7 pm outside 402 East 14th Street in
Manhattan. Security footage shows three people passing the victim, one
of whom snatched the woman’s purse, police said. As she turns to
confront them, one of them punches her in the face, knocking her to the
ground. The person who grabbed her purse dropped it and all three fled
the scene, police said.
“Although the victim sustained bruising
and swelling to her face and cuts and scrapes to her hands she refused
medical attention,” police said.
The three suspects, two males and one female, were described by the NYPD as between 14 and 18 years of age. Credit: NYPD via Storyful
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12-year-old displaying Trump sign punched several times by woman, Colorado police say
Maddie Capron
A Colorado 12-year-old was assaulted for holding a sign supporting President Donald Trump, according to media reports.
Boulder police told several local news outlets that the boy was riding his bike while carrying a Trump sign when a woman saw the sign and confronted the boy, the Boulder Daily Camera reported.
The woman drove up to the boy and said, “you want something to look at?” reported The Denver Channel. The woman then punched the boy “in the back of the head and arms several times,” according to the TV station.
“The suspect made a U-turn and approached the victim and began assaulting him because of his political banner,” investigators said, according to CBS 4. “The suspect then attempted to take the banner but was unsuccessful.”
The
boy told The Denver Channel that he was confused and “disappointed with
people who attack others solely for their political views.”
The
woman was described to be in her 20s or 30s and “wearing a tan jacket,
blue shirt and jeans,” the Daily Camera reported. She was riding a gray
or blue moped.
The case is being investigated, and no one has been arrested or cited, according to the news outlet.
