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Transgender character coming to Marvel movies

Lia Eustachewich
New York Post
Thu, 02 Jan 2020 09:48 UTC
the avengers marvel
© Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Evere
The Marvel Cinematic Universe will soon welcome a transgender character, studio honcho Kevin Fiege revealed in a new interview.

Speaking at the New York Film Academy on Saturday, the Marvel Studios president was asked if there were any plans to add more LGBTQ characters, specifically transgender ones, to its roster.

"Yes, absolutely yes," he replied during a Q&A session, according to ET Canada. "And very soon. In a movie that we're shooting right now."

Comment: How the LGBTQ community sees this as anything other than pandering is beyond us. This isn't progress, it's a transparent corporate marketing strategy (and a poor one, at that). It should be seen as an insult.

See also:

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Red Flag

Ukrainian nationalists hold torchlight parade to celebrate Nazi collaborator's birthday


RT
Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00 UTC
Heil Bandera Ukraine torch
© Reuters / Valentyn Ogirenko
Thousands of nationalists In Kiev have celebrated the New Year with torchlight parades in honor of Stepan Bandera, a WWII nationalist regarded by modern Ukrainians as a hero and by Poles, Jews and Russians as a war criminal.

Blue-and-yellow Ukrainian national flags mingled with the red-and-black banners of Bandera's Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and its armed wing, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), responsible for the mass murder and persecution during the last years of the Second World War in what is today western Ukraine.

Comment: Ukraine: Cult of Stepan Bandera is not a detail, it's a cornerstone

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Robot

From dream to reality: Skolkovo, Russia's 'Silicon Valley', to mark 10-year anniversary by launching new projects


RT
Wed, 01 Jan 2020 20:51 UTC
russia skolkovo silicon valley
© Facebook / The Skolkovo Foundation
Skolkovo Technopark
Russia's Skolkovo innovation center, which is marking 10 years since its founding, has ambitious plans for 2020 and beyond to continue promoting technology and helping small innovative startups grow into profitable companies.

Skolkovo Technopark was built from scratch almost a decade ago to create a platform for research and innovation in key spheres such as energy, IT, space, biomedicine, and nuclear technology. Now the complex has facilities spread around 800,000 square meters and hosts around 500 startups, while there are an additional 1,500 enterprises beyond its campus. Skolkovo hosts around 50 research centers employing more than 15,000 people.

"Ten years ago Skolkovo was a dream, and now it's a reality. We have proven that Russia has interesting startups, which can create products for global market and overcome competitors," the chairman of the Board of Skolkovo Foundation, Igor Drozdov, wrote in December.
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People 2

Reuters poll: Hong Kongers 'support protester demands' but only a minority wants independence from China

James Pomfret
Reuters
Thu, 02 Jan 2020 11:34 UTC

Comment: Right there, we see a glaring contradiction: the protesters' core demand, of late, is complete independence for Hong Kong from China, so the majority that supports the protest movement supports the EARLIER protests, not the more recent violent rioting...


Protesters Hong Kong New Years 2020.

Anti-government protesters in Hong Kong continue their demands in 2020.
Hong Kong's protest movement is supported by 59% of city residents polled in a survey conducted for Reuters by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, with more than a third of respondents saying they had attended an anti-government demonstration.

Supporters of the protests outnumbered opponents by a ratio of nearly two to one, with 30% percent saying they were opposed. Of those polled, 57% said they favored the resignation of Carrie Lam, the city's leader. Lam was a particular target of the anti-government demonstrations that gripped Hong Kong for most of 2019 after she attempted to push through a deeply unpopular extradition bill.

Nevertheless, only 17% expressed support for seeking independence from China, and 20% were opposed to "the current path of one country, two systems" - the arrangement under which Hong Kong is governed by Beijing.

Comment: It would appear that, while there is strong evidence for foreign meddling in Hong Kong - likely reflected by those rioters infamous for their wanton vandalism and extreme violence - these colour revolution attempts wouldn't get off the ground were they not based on the genuine grievances of the people. However, as it stands, the majority are not seeking to totally overthrow the current model, they, like the protest movements in the West, are rallying against deteriorating living conditions, the divide between rich and poor, and an increasingly detached and unaccountable establishment.

See also: Roaring Twenties: 'Global impeachment' and the end of the era of liberal globalization

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Brick Wall

FBI investigating Ghislaine Maxwell and others who 'facilitated' Epstein

Mark Hosenball
Reuters
Fri, 27 Dec 2019 12:19 UTC
Epstein and Maxwell
© New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services/UNTV/Handout via REUTERS
Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (L) and longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell in this combination photo.
The FBI is investigating British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and several other people linked to U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, according to two law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation.

They said a principal focus of the FBI's investigation is Maxwell, a longtime associate of Epstein, and other "people who facilitated" Epstein's allegedly illegal behavior.

Maxwell has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing. Her lawyers Jeffrey Pagliuca and Ty Gee did not respond to a request for comment.

Comment: Does anyone actually trust the FBI to be unbiased in their investigation? We'll probably see a few patsies or low-level offenders get taken down while the real players remain protected and continuing business as usual. This is how these things work.

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X

'Pedophile dad caught with scores of clips of babies being raped' is freed from jail

Jimmy McCloskey
Metro
Wed, 25 Dec 2019 14:50 UTC
Trevor Fraley pedophile
© Butler County Jail/Local12
Trevor Fraley has been freed on bail despite allegedly being found with 1,000 horrific child abuse photos and videos.
A suspected pedophile father caught with over 1,000 child abuse videos including clips of babies in diapers being raped has been freed on bail.

Trevor Fraley, 24, posted $500,000 bond Monday, despite sheriff Richard Jones, from Butler County in Ohio branding the child sex abuse material 'the most terrible thing I have ever seen.'

Jones added: 'It's things you would have nightmares about if you've even seen it.

'It's that bad.'

Comment: This is just vile. And the fact that this guy is out walking the streets on bail is even more egregious. Merry Christmas.

See also:

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Cross

Alleged abuse victim accused of killing priest by ramming crucifix down his throat

Jon Levine
New York Post
Sat, 28 Dec 2019 09:22 UTC
catholic priest bible rosary
© Shutterstock
A teenager in northern France is accused of killing a priest who allegedly abused him — by ramming a crucifix down the cleric's throat.

Roger Matassoli, 91, had been accused of molesting at least four people during a decades-long career with the French Roman Catholic church, FranceInfo reported.

The perpetrator was identified only as Alexandre V., who worked as a housekeeper at the priest's home in Agnetz, Oise, northern France and was busted by police as he tried to escape the residence. The priest was also accused of molesting Alexandre's father.

Comment: See also:

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Star of David

Jewish teen robbed at knife-point on Brooklyn bus: cops

Tina Moore and Ebony Bowden
New York Post
Wed, 01 Jan 2020 13:04 UTC
Brooklyn city bus
© Christopher Sadowski
A Jewish teen riding a bus in Brooklyn was threatened at knife-point by two assailants who snatched his earbuds and yarmulke while making anti-Semitic remarks Tuesday, police said.

The attempted robbery in Sheepshead Bay is at least the 11th reported anti-Semitic attack on city streets in the past week and follows a horrific stabbing attack at a synagogue in Monsey on Saturday night.

Zachary Hershkovich, 15, was on the MTA's B3 bus on Tuesday when two strangers flashed a knife at him and removed his earbuds and yarmulke, the skullcap worn in public by Orthodox Jewish men, police said.

Comment: See also:

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Fire

Explosion at petrol station in Russia's Chelyabinsk region caught on video


Sputnik
Mon, 30 Dec 2019 22:43 UTC
petrol station chelyabinsk
© Ruptly
Eyewitnesses caught on video a powerful explosion that rocked a local gas station in the town of Satka, in Russia's Chelyabinsk region. The video, which went viral on social media, shows the ignition and the blast. Another video file shows from a different angle shows only the moment of the explosion.

According to local media, citing netizens, the incident occurred on Monday evening. Netizens have claimed on social media that not long before the blast hit the station, a strong odor of gas was noticeable in the area.

Comment: On 9th December, a few weeks before the above incident, footage of a similar explosion was captured on video at a petrol station in Saudi Arabia:


See also: SOTT Exclusive: The growing threat of underground fires and explosions

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Cult

The Vegan Crusade: UK activist wants to make veganism protected like a religion, unleashing the zealots


RT
Thu, 02 Jan 2020 11:08 UTC
peta
© Paul Hackett / Reuters
British 'ethical vegan' Jordi Casamitjana hopes to have his whole movement recognized by an employment tribunal as a protected belief, similar to a religious faith - which could give vegan zealots free rein in the workplace.

Casamitjana says he was fired from his job because of his beliefs - he disclosed to other employees at the League Against Cruel Sports that it invested its pension funds in firms involved in animal testing. He couldn't leave well enough alone because he is an 'ethical vegan' - someone who doesn't just avoid animal products, but also holds veganism as a "philosophy and a belief system", and, apparently, feels the need to spread it around.

During hearings on Thursday and Friday, Casamitjana hopes to convince an Employment Tribunal that his beliefs should enjoy the same status as long-established religions such as Christianity, Judaism or Islam. Beyond merely vindicating the man in his job dispute, the process could end up opening the door to endowing veganism with the authority of the sacred.

In an era where lifestyle identity and politics dominate public life in the Western world, there is a constant tendency to transform individual beliefs into a sacred cause. Vegans are only the latest of a long line of life-style warriors who have demanded that their beliefs should enjoy the legal protection afforded by the Equality Act. In response to these demands, the courts have adopted a relatively relaxed attitude towards dishing out protected status. In 2011, a court ruled that belief in the sanctity of animal life should be protected. As a result of recent rulings, the status was bestowed on the conviction that fox hunting is evil, and the belief that it is possible to communicate with the dead using psychic powers.

Comment: Though they might not realize it, the persons suffering the most from a plant-based diet are the vegans themselves and their potential or actual offspring:

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