Society's ChildS


Bullseye

Texas 'free speech' university's admissions process shuns the DEI blueprint: 'We are interested in the mind'

Taylor Penley
Fox News
Fri, 29 Nov 2024 12:59 UTC
The University of Austin
© iStock, The University of AustinThe University of Austin offers a free speech alternative to more progressive universities.
Merit, excellence and intelligence (MEI) is an alternative approach to the admissions process

At this Texas university, getting accepted is "mind" over matter.

The University of Austin (UATX) - founded on free speech principles to push back against "woke" ideology - is shunning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies for what some call MEI - merit, excellence and intelligence, and it's just another way the school is shaking up higher education.

"We don't take any of that into consideration in admissions," Pano Kanelos, president of the university, told CBS News of race, ethnicity and gender. "The primary thing that we're interested in is the mind."

Merit, excellence and intelligence (MEI) centers on qualifications and abilities, particularly emphasizing the "capacity to think deeply," according to Kanelos.
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NPC

Russian physicists ousted from nuclear research in Switzerland


RT
Sun, 01 Dec 2024 15:57 UTC
Large Ion Collider Experiment CERN
© Getty Images / Dean Mouhtaropoulos / StaffA Large Ion Collider Experiment cavern and detector at CERN, April 19, 2017, Meyrin, Switzerland.
Scientific ties between hundreds of Russian scientists and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) have been halted, the Swiss-based research center said on Sunday, citing its decision to terminate a 60-year cooperation agreement 'with Moscow.

Run by its 24 member states, CERN suspended Russia's observer status in March 2022 shortly after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict. Last December, the organization said it would not extend the agreements, "together with all related protocols and addenda," that it had with Russia and close ally Belarus after the deals expired on November 30.

In September, a spokesperson for the research center said that the decision would affect up to 500 scientists affiliated with Russian institutions and around 15 Belarusian scientists.
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NPC

Milan's left-wing mayor admits city isn't safe due to 'disproportionate' levels of migrant crime

Thomas Brooke
Remix News
Fri, 29 Nov 2024 17:50 UTC
milan italy
After Italy's interior minister revealed that 65% of crimes in Milan are committed by the 20% foreign population, the left-wing mayor was forced to admit, "I won't claim Milan is a safe city, but it is making an effort to address challenges faced by all international cities"

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi has announced the deployment of 600 additional police officers to Milan, citing concerns over integration challenges and rising crime rates, particularly in areas with significant immigrant populations.

The announcement follows recent unrest in the Corvetto district, where a 19-year-old Egyptian resident, Ramy Elgaml, died in a road accident after a police chase, sparking mass protests by the considerable immigrant population.

During a meeting on security with Milan's prefect Claudio Sgaraglia and Police Chief Vittorio Pisani, Piantedosi confirmed that the reinforcements, planned before the Corvetto unrest, will enhance territorial control and improve public safety.
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MAGA

Joe Rogan: Trump survived the 'greatest media psy-op in history'

Alexander Hall
Fox News
Sat, 30 Nov 2024 17:56 UTC
Joe Rogan UFC
© Chris Unger/Zuffa LLCJoe Rogan anchors the broadcast during the UFC 281 event at Madison Square Garden on November 12, 2022 in New York City.
Joe Rogan argued that the establishment media that once was friendly to President-elect Donald Trump has since been engaged in a years-long "psy-op" to convince Americans he is dangerous.

"The Joe Rogan Experience" is one of the world's most popular podcasts, and Rogan is seen as having been one of the key players in the 2024 election, for interviewing Trump and then endorsing his bid for the presidency in the 11th hour. The podcaster has since mocked the media for losing their credibility with voters and alienating lifelong liberals like himself.

On Thursday's episode, with comedians Shane Gillis, Mark Normans, and Ari Shaffir, Rogan recalled how friendly people in entertainment and the media once were to Trump, playing clips from his 2012 appearance on "The View" where he was cheered, as well as when he went on Oprah in and she asked him about running for president.
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Bullseye

'Absolutely unconvincing': Courts uphold state bans on transgender procedures for kids

Greg Piper
Just the News
Tue, 26 Nov 2024 14:58 UTC
transgender, children, students, school
© istock
In the weeks before the Supreme Court reviews the constitutionality of Tennessee's ban on puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgical interventions for gender-confused minors, federal and state courts have upheld similar laws against so-called gender affirming care for children as a proper exercise of legislative power over medical practice.

It's a worrying sign for transgender activists and allies now reconsidering their strategy in light of pending Republican control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, likely affected by the Biden administration's imposition of gender identity over sex in federal regulations and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris's support for taxpayer-funded transgender surgeries for inmates.

Missouri's Cole County Circuit Court Judge Craig Carter on Monday issued a sweeping ruling for the Show-Me State in a challenge by families of gender-confused youth after a nine-day bench trial, finding "an almost total lack of consensus as to the medical ethics of adolescent gender dysphoria treatment" that has become "more fractured" in the past year.

Comment: Jordan Peterson's conversation with a therapist that is repudiating the entire field.



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Cross

Magnificent restoration unveiled in Notre Dame Cathedral 5 years after devastating fire

Nika Shakhnazarova
New York Post
Fri, 29 Nov 2024 13:10 UTC
notre dame restoration
© Associated PressThe newly renovated interior of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has been unveiled for the first time since reconstruction began more than five years ago.
The newly renovated interior of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has been unveiled for the first time since reconstruction began more than five years ago.

The iconic 12th-century landmark opened its sacred doors to French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday, showcasing its brand new design that pays homage to its original construction destroyed in the devastating 2019 blaze.

President Macron and his wife, first lady Brigitte Macron, were shown around inside the Gothic cathedral ahead of its official reopening next month.
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Arrow Up

Bang! 11 US states sue BlackRock, StateStreet and Vanguard for working as a cartel to reduce coal and increase electricity prices

Jo Nova
joannenova.com.au
Sat, 30 Nov 2024 02:47 UTC
Octopus Cartel
© joannenova.com.au
Finally, a strike at the heart of the Blob

Texas and 10 other US States have pressed the radioactive Antitrust legal button and filed against BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street. The states claim the money managers bought up large stakes in coal companies and then colluded to promote ESG and DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) goals that reduced coal output. The decreased supply of coal, in turn increased the cost of electricity to consumers. It was fundamentally anti-competitive behaviour. These three companies together have $26 Trillion dollars of assets under management. That's only one trillion smaller than the entire US GDP.

In this case, some of the collusion was hidden in clear view. The three money managers said they were trying to save the world and protect the people, and they joined groups like the GFANZ and Net Zero alliances like Climate Action 100+. But in the end, these three financial giants had collectively acquired close to 30% of most US Coal companies, and even though they claimed to have good intentions, the 11 State Attorney Generals argue that any extraneous claims of social benefits are irrelevant. These three companies have profited immensely while customers have been denied access to a free and open market, and have paid higher electricity bills.

In a democracy, the people are supposed to decide the policies, not the Oligarchs.

Look at the grip the three supermassive money managers had on the coal industry:
Coal Companies
© joannenova.com.au
No wonder coal companies were so pathetic at standing up for themselves, and fighting back against the climate propaganda. They were captured by the Blob and held hostage to larger goals:
BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street sued by Republican states over climate push By Jonathan Stempel and Carolina Mandl, Reuters

The defendants were accused of exploiting their market power and involvement in climate advocacy groups to pressure coal companies to slash output and reduce carbon emissions from coal by more than 50% by 2030, driving up consumers' utility bills.

"Competitive markets — not the dictates of far-flung asset managers — should determine the price Americans pay for electricity," the states said in the complaint.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office filed the lawsuit, in a statement accused the defendants of promoting an "illegal weaponization of the financial industry in service of a destructive, politicized 'environmental' agenda."

The lawsuit aims to stop these companies from voting on shareholder resolutions or acting in a way to undermine coal output and competition. The Attorney Generals also want money — calling for fines to be paid for the antitrust violation.
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Arrow Down

British transport minister resigns over fraud scandal


RT
Fri, 29 Nov 2024 11:55 UTC
Louise Haigh
© Wiktor Szymanowicz / Future Publishing via Getty ImagesFILE PHOTO: UK Secretary of State for Transport Louise Haigh during an interview.
British Transport Minister Louise Haigh has resigned after it emerged that she pleaded guilty to fraud by misrepresentation in 2014.

Haigh was appointed as shadow transport secretary for the Labour Party in 2021 and was promoted to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's cabinet after he led the party to a general election victory earlier this year.

In a letter to Starmer on Friday, she said she was tendering her resignation because "this issue will inevitably be a distraction from delivering on the work of this government," the British media reported. Starmer thanked her for her work and said he knows that Haigh still has "a huge contribution to make in the future."

Comment: It appears that Haigh ran afoul of the wrong interests. The Times reports:
It was not Haigh's first experience of controversy in government. In October she made a series of comments about P&O Ferries on the eve of a big investment meeting, calling the company a "rogue operator" and describing its behaviour as an employer as "outrageous".

P&O did not take kindly to her intervention and threatened to pull out of a £1 billion deal that was to be announced at the talks. It took interventions by Starmer and No 10 to get the investment back on track.
The Guardian goes on to report:
With P&O's parent company threatening to pull out of the investment, Downing Street distanced itself from her comments, and reports began to emerge suggesting she would be the first to be sacked in any future reshuffle. Her allies say she was left feeling isolated and bruised by the row.


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Star of David

Amsterdam mayor bans planned 'Christians for Israel' rally

Bart Schut
The Times of Israel
Tue, 26 Nov 2024 15:52 UTC
Christans for Israel rally
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema has banned a large pro-Israel protest that was planned for Thursday night at the Dutch capital's central Dam Square. Halsema's spokesperson says the mayor can't guarantee public safety.

No violence has occurred from the pro-Israeli side at any Amsterdam rally since October 7, 2023. Anti-Israeli protests, however, routinely end in clashes with police. At an earlier demonstration organized by Christians For Israel marking a year since the Hamas invasion of southern Israel, protesters on Dam Square were attacked by violent pro-Palestinian counter-protesters.

Thursday's planned demonstration may yet take place if the organizers agree on a different location, but Christians For Israel leader Roger van Oordt has so far refused to do so. Van Oordt points out the important "symbolic value" of the central square where the National Monument is located.

Comment: Video footage and eyewitness reports suggest that the recent unrest in Amsterdam has been instigated by Israelis, not against them.

Check out: Footage reveals Israeli hooligans attacked Dutch police while instigating Amsterdam unrest

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Popcorn

Vietnamese Property tycoon ordered to repay $11 billion to avoid execution


RT
Thu, 28 Nov 2024 13:34 UTC
Truong My Lan
Vietnamese property developer Truong My Lan was convicted for large-scale bribery in April and sentenced to death

A Vietnamese property tycoon convicted of large-scale fraud must return $11 billion to avoid execution by lethal injection, several media outlets have reported. The ultimatum was made by prosecutors in Ho Chi Minh City as part of Truong My Lan's appeal hearing on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.

The billionaire, aged 68, was found guilty in April of embezzling US$12.3 billion from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) as chairwoman of the real estate developer Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group (VTP). The prosecution stated that Lan effectively controlled the bank using a web of allies and shell companies.

She was sentenced to death by lethal injection for her crimes, which spanned a period of 11 years and involved bribing government officials and violating bank lending rules by issuing fraudulent loans.

During the appeal hearing, prosecutors cited the "unprecedented" losses caused by Lan's actions, which according to various estimates amount to up to 6% of Vietnam's gross domestic product.

Under Vietnamese law, the defendant must return 75% of the embezzled money to be considered for a less severe sentence.


Comment: It only makes sense for the state to recover the losses.


Comment: China is another country which carries out severe punishments for economic crimes, whereas in the West, such illegal gains are never recuperated and the guilty parties hardly suffer anything other than slight embarrassment at the most.

Could the West learn something from the East? One wonders if introducing such an approach in the West would be a useful way of sending a signal that economic criminals and bribed officials are not protected.

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