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Toronto: Alleged scissors attack on 11yo girl's hijab that triggered outcry 'did not happen', say police

hijab attack Toronto
© Chris Helgren / Reuters
Khawlah Noman, 11, speaks to reporters with her mother at Pauline Johnson Junior Public School, after she told police that a man cut her hijab with scissors in Toronto, Ontario, Canada January 12, 2018.
Toronto police have confirmed that an alleged scissors attack on a schoolgirl's hijab, which sparked widespread outrage including a public condemnation by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was a hoax.

An 11-year-old girl claimed on Friday that a man twice tried to cut off her hijab as she walked to school with her brother. Police say the investigation is now concluded and "the events described in the original news release did not happen." It's still not clear why the girl reported the false incident.

The story captured national attention and was denounced by Prime Minister Trudeau, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Toronto Mayor John Tory.

Comment: Very curious that the police have said they will not be commenting further while the public is left without any clue as to why an 11 year old girl would lie about something like this. From the Toronto Sun:
"I won't speculate how it arose or who was involved, but the investigation has concluded," [police spokesman Mark] Pugash said.
The lack of any further information is frustrating, to say the least.


Cross

Pope Francis warns world is 'one accident' away from nuclear holocaust, 'we are at the very limit'

Pope Francis speaks to reporters onboard the plane for his trip to Chile and Peru January 15, 2018
© Alessandro Bianchi / Reuters
Pope Francis speaks to reporters onboard the plane for his trip to Chile and Peru January 15, 2018
Pope Francis has warned that the world is just "one accident" away from a nuclear holocaust the likes of which we have never seen, drawing on imagery from the Second World War to illustrate his point.

Following Hawaii's ballistic missile attack false alarm last week, which raised fears of a possible nuclear exchange with North Korea, the Pope was asked whether he felt there was any real danger of nuclear war.

"I think we are at the very limit. I am really afraid of this. One accident is enough to precipitate things," he replied.

Health

Swedish government warns citizens: Be prepared for at least a week without help

The Swedish Government Is Warning Citizens: Be Prepared For At Least A Week Without Help
© MSB
The Swedish Government Issues Warning To Citizens
The Swedish government is warning its citizens to be prepared to survive on their own for at least a week, which is unusual advice for Sweden to dispense. Is there trouble on the horizon?

Shortly before Christmas, the Swedish government quietly published a paper called "Resilience." Initially, the requirement had been for people to be prepared for 3 days without help, but it seems like that was a baby step. The government itself wants to be prepared for a 3-month long civil emergency and they're urging citizens to take responsibility, too.

It really makes you wonder what is looming ahead, doesn't it?

Stock Down

What happened to world reserve currencies during previous periods of transition?

dollar reserve currency
The decline of the US dollar hegemony is ever so clear today and this article aims to provide the reader with what exactly happened during past periods of reserve currency transitions. Historically, when a reserve currency transitioned over to a new one, it marked a pivotal change for the world. The economic paradigm shifted and the rules of the game changed. This time will be no different when the US dollar loses its status as the reserve currency!

The transition process of the world reserve currency brings much uncertainty

Throughout history, a transition of the reserve currencies has always brought about turmoil and uncertainty in financial markets. One country's decline, and the subsequent rise of another, marks a radical transformation for the world, especially as market demand shifts. The country that dominates global commerce during any given period is usually marked with the status of having the reserve currency. Spain and Portugal dominated the 15th and 16th centuries, the Netherlands the 17th century, France and Britain the 18th and 19th centuries, and the US dominated the 20th century.

Comment: With the US trillions of dollars in debt, and other major powers looking for alternatives, it does seem that we are nearing the end of the US dollar as the world's reserve currency. See also:


Fire

Terrorism ruled out after explosion causes building collapse and multiple injuries in Antwerp, Belgium

Explosion Antwerp Belgium
Several people have been wounded after an explosion caused damage to a number of buildings in Antwerp, Belgium. Police believe the incident is not terrorism related.

At least one building collapsed after an explosion rocked the Paardenmarkt area in Antwerp on Monday night. The explosion at the Italian restaurant Primavera was so powerful that it caused damage to three buildings.

Crusader

Orthodox TV hits the airwaves, Russian style

Tsargrad TV's studios
© Petr Antonov
Inside Tsargrad TV's studios, dominated by a cathedral cupola
Meet Konstantin Malofeev - the devout and fervently pro-Putin founder of Orthodox channel Tsargrad TV

On a sunny afternoon in Moscow, the Russian tycoon Konstantin Malofeev is holding court in the studios of his newly launched television channel Tsargrad TV, dressed in a designer suit, a blue silk handkerchief peeking from his breast pocket. Above him is a makeshift cathedral cupola weighing in at half a tonne. Behind him are 24ft-high windows through which the Kremlin's red towers are visible, their glass communist stars glistening.

Malofeev, who has the cheeks and figure of a man who likes a good meal, is in a buoyant mood. In a sign of his growing clout, he has just had lunch with two of the richest oligarchs on the Forbes list. Yelena Mizulina, a leading conservative senator, who has come to Tsargrad's offices, is patiently waiting for the businessman to fit in a tête-à-tête before he departs on his summer holiday.

Over the past few years, Malofeev, 41, has morphed into one of Russia's most influential businessmen and lobbyists, in part thanks to his devout Russian Orthodox faith and conservative values, now back in vogue during Vladimir Putin's third term. As the founder of private equity firm Marshall Capital Partners, Malofeev accumulated substantial personal wealth, largely through an investment in the Russian telecoms giant Rostelecom. (His friend Igor Shchegolev, a fellow Russian Orthodox and now Putin adviser, was telecoms minister at the time.) Now he is paying it back as a self-styled Christian philanthropist and one of Putin's loudest ideological supporters.

Comment: Vladimir Putin: Resistance Fighter Against Imperialism, Savior of Syria and Beacon of Hope


USA

Harder for Canadians to legally immigrate to the US due to Trump's policies and criteria

US/Canada
© Nonprofit Quarterly
It's not just immigrants from Haiti and Africa, Donald Trump's skepticism of all kinds of immigration has produced a change in culture that's forcing Canadians to jump through more hoops, over a longer period of time, to win approvals.

Canadians trying to move to the United States are regularly facing more paperwork, tougher scrutiny and longer waiting times than Canadians did before Donald Trump became president, immigration lawyers in both countries say.

Trump is known for his vocal stands against illegal immigrants, refugees, and immigrants from non-white countries he finds undesirable. At the White House on Thursday, he reportedly asked lawmakers why the U.S. has to accept immigrants from "shithole countries" like Haiti, El Salvador or African nations, instead of taking more from countries like Norway.

In fact, Trump is also making immigration harder for people from wealthy, largely white advanced economies, including America's northern neighbour.

Trump has not changed the law. Rather, said 12 lawyers contacted by the Star, his skepticism toward immigration of all kinds has produced a change in culture and policy within the bureaucracies that handle immigration cases.

Comment: It's not just Canada. A slow down on immigration across the board is part of the economic revitalization taking root in the US due to Trump's revisions and policies. Jobs are going to Americans versus migrants, wages are increasing and unemployment is dropping.


Alarm Clock

Even Ethnic Male Feminists Aren't Safe From #MeToo

Aziz Ansari
© Greg Doherty/Getty Images
Apparently not "woke" enough, Feminism eats another ally. When will they learn?
Apparently the intersectional victim hierarchy has finally been made clear. Women are at the top, even above ethnic minority males when it comes to #MeToo. At least that seems to be the lesson from the latest #MeToo allegations, this time against minority comedian and 'woke' male feminist Aziz Ansari.

Newspaper

Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer of The Cranberries dies unexpectedly at 46

Dolores O'Riordan
© AFP 2018/ GUILLAUME SOUVANT
The Irish singer-songwriter's publicist confirmed Monday that The Cranberries frontwoman had passed away in London while in town for a recording session.

A statement put out by the publicist said that O'Riordan could provide no details as to the cause of death. "Family members are devastated to hear the breaking news and have requested privacy at this very difficult time," the statement said.

Stock Down

Canadian Liberals in 2017: "No Nafta!" - Canadian Liberals in 2018: "Trump bad, save Nafta!"

No nafta

Toronto Free Trade Protest, 2017
Have thousands of Canadian citizens been duped to defend a policy that has gutted hundreds of thousands of Canadian Productive Jobs? Sadly, Yes.

Up until recently, it was still popular to hear self-proclaimed "nationalist" Canadians denouncing the destructive effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)[1]. "NAFTA kills national productivity", "NAFTA creates an addiction to cheap labor", "NAFTA empowers corporations to hold more authority than sovereign governments" were the common slogans repeated by informed citizens all across Canada for years. Today, one year after the death of the Trans Pacific Partnership (aka: "NAFTA of the Pacific") such accusations cannot be said to be fallacious by any measure as 23% of all factory jobs were lost from 2000-2014 in Canada alone and over 1 million (28%) factory jobs were lost over the same interval in the United States. Outsourcing those jobs to "cheap labor" Mexico for $1/hour employment resulted not only in an addiction to keeping Mexico as underdeveloped as possible but also resulted in a flood of illegal immigration into the United States by Mexican citizens who could no longer suffer the hopeless economic conditions thrust upon them by the Anglo-American elites[2].

Comment: See also: