Society's ChildS


NPC

Christmas carol rewritten to be more 'inclusive' pushes 'woke, unbiblical agenda'

christmas carol
© TelegraphThe lyrics of the classic carol were rewritten to say: 'God rest you also, women'
A Christmas carol rewritten to be more "inclusive" to women and queer people has prompted a row within the Church of England, after critics said the move was an attempt to "push political ideology".

The traditional 17th century carol God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen features lyrics about Jesus's birth and the joy of the shepherds and Mary.

However, at carol service on Monday, an alternate version of the lyrics was printed in the order of service to feature "new inclusive words for a traditional hymn".

All Saints with Holy Trinity in Loughborough used the carol with updated lyrics that removed reference to Christ as saviour and to Satan, instead referring to "queer and questioning" and "women, who by men have been erased".

Megaphone

National FOP president blames 'pandering prosecutors' and 'cynical politicians' for increased violence against police

Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies
© Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesLos Angeles County Sheriff's deputies joined hundreds of law enforcement personnel for a memorial service held for El Monte police officers Sgt. Michael Paredes, and officer Joseph Santana, both fatally shot in the line of duty, June 30, 2022
The National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) released a report Wednesday morning compiling the attacks on law enforcement over the past year.

With 10 days left in 2022, the National FOP reports 323 officers have been shot in the line of duty this year. Of those shot, 60 have died. Those statistics do not include the situations where officers were shot at, but not injured.

In response to the report, National FOP President Patrick Yoes labeled this past year as "one of the most dangerous years for law enforcement in recent history."

Yoes said the uptick in violence toward police officers, and the crime crisis in general, is a result of criminals feeling emboldened by the "failed policies of pandering prosecutors and cynical politicians."

Eye 2

Ex-NYU admin siphoned $3.5M in grants and blew cash on herself — including an $80K pool: prosecutors

Cindy Tappe
© Steven HirschCindy Tappe, 57, was charged with diverting funds.
A former New York University director of finance allegedly siphoned $3.5 million in state funding and blew a chunk of the cash on herself — including on an $80,000 pool for her Connecticut home, prosecutors said Monday.

Cindy Tappe, 57, was charged with diverting funds from New York State Education Department grants into shell companies over a six-year scheme that was discovered in 2018, when she left NYU, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

Some of the embezzled money went to expenses related to the grants or reimbursements for NYU employees — but at least $660,000 ended up in Tappe's own pockets, according to the indictment.

She allegedly spent the dough on personal expenses, such as the pool and renovations on her home in Westport, Connecticut.

Footprints

Up to 200,000 Poles to be called up for military training next year

soldiers
© Master Sgt. Artur Zakrzewski/Poland
Up to 200,000 people can be called up for military exercises in Poland next year, including some who have never put their name forward for service but are deemed to have "useful skills". However, a senior military official has explained that only a "minimal" number will actually be summoned.

The exercises can last up to 90 days, and failure to attend is punishable by jail or a fine. During that period, reservists receive an army salary, which would in many cases be a private's pay of 117.13 zloty (around €25) per day.

The pool of people who can be called up are those aged 55 and under who have been through so-called military qualification, which is compulsory for all men turning 19 and during which the candidate's health category and fitness for military service are determined.

Under a homeland defence law adopted earlier this year, the qualification obligation also applies to women graduating from medical and veterinary schools, as well as from psychology courses.

Heart - Black

Eyes wide shut on the Balenciaga scandal

Balenciaga
© Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket / Gettyimages.ru
The scandal provoked by Balenciaga's latest advertisement campaigns can be seen as superfluous or understandable, but the real scandal may lie in the way some media outlets have been covering it.

In November 2022, Balenciaga posted an ad campaign on Instagram that featured children holding teddy bears dressed in BDSM gear, and another one in which a bag sits amongst papers that include a text from a Supreme Court opinion in the Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition case. The case examined whether laws banning the promotion of child pornography were in line with the First Amendment. The French luxury company apologized, deleted the posts together with its entire Instagram account and took legal action against the set designer, arguing that he was solely responsible. They have, however, already dropped it.

The scandal was as intense as it was brief. People got into analyzing the pictures more closely, even spotting what they interpreted as a drawing of the devil, the name of Baal and a "Satanic cult" cloak. Others focused on social media posts by Balenciaga designer Lotta Volkova, which apparently include imagery reminiscent of the controversial teddy bear ads, as well as gore and other questionable content (Volkova has since stated she hasn't worked with Balenciaga since 2017 and condemns child abuse in any form). Even Kim Kardashian got emotional, though she didn't go as far as to cut her own ties with Balenciaga. Like with the Epstein-Maxwell case, all the elements are in place for the concerned public to loudly denounce child abuse by powerful people.

Family

Georgia's Stacey Abrams flamed by ex-staffers, media over cutting pay to campaign team right after loss: 'it was messed up'

stacy abrams
© Dustin Chambers/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesStacey Abrams speaks during a campaign event in Reynolds, Georgia, on June 4, 2022. Abrams lost her second bid for governor in November.
'People have told me they have no idea how they're going to pay their rent in January,' one staffer told Axios

Democrat Stacey Abrams, who raised more than $100 million in her second failed attempt to become governor of Georgia, seems to have left more than a few disgruntled staffers in her wake.

Multiple staffers told Axios that they stopped receiving pay one week after Abrams lost to Gov. Brian Kemp, R., with some staffers telling the outlet that they were struggling to even make rent on time.

"People have told me they have no idea how they're going to pay their rent in January," one former staffer told Axios. "It was more than unfortunate. It was messed up."

Axios reported that "money became so tight that most of the 180 full-time staffers were given an abrupt paycheck cutoff date — just a week after the November election."

Comment: Abrams' two failed bids for the Georgia governorship have been embarrassing circuses. Enough already.


Bullseye

'Wokeness smothers creativity': An interview with John Cleese

John Cleese
© James D. Morgan/GettyComedian emeritus John Cleese
The Monty Python legend on giving offense and getting laughs

In a career that has spanned seven decades — and included such classic shows and movies as Monty Python's Flying Circus, Fawlty Towers, Life of Brian, and A Fish Called Wanda — the comedian John Cleese has relentlessly satirized politics and religion while stretching the boundaries of decorum and good taste.

Now 83, Cleese — who studied law at the University of Cambridge — has set his sights on political correctness, which he says is the enemy not only of humor but of creative thinking in all areas of human activity. "There are people sitting there who are deliberately waiting for the thrill of being offended," he says, emphasizing the importance of paying attention to context, without which irony and sarcasm can't be properly understood.

Reason's Nick Gillespie caught up with Cleese at FreedomFest, an annual July gathering in Las Vegas. Cleese was the keynote speaker, there to discuss creativity, which was the subject of his 2020 book of the same name. It's a myth "that creativity is something you have to be born with," he argues, contending that "you can teach people how to create circumstances in which they will become creative."

Attention

Medication shortage: Walgreens, CVS and others limiting purchases of children's pain relief medicine as respiratory illnesses rise

medication shortages
© Cindy Krischer Goodman/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Getty ImagesA surge in flu and respiratory illnesses are creating medication shortages, including this South Florida pharmacy with no children's Tylenol in stock on Friday, Dec. 9, 2022.
Pharmacies are limiting purchases of children's pain relief medication as respiratory illnesses continue spreading throughout the United States, including the flu, RSV, and COVID-19.

CVS Pharmacy put a two-product limit on purchases of all children's pain relief products in stores and online.

"We're committed to meeting our customers' needs and are working with our suppliers to ensure continued access to these items," a CVS spokesperson told Fox Business.

Heart - Black

German climate activists cut top off Christmas tree

German activists Christmas tree
© Reuters /Christian Mang"Letzte Generation" (Last Generation) activists cut the top of a Christmas tree at Brandenburg Gate, in Berlin, Germany, December 21, 2022.
German activists chopped the top off a Christmas tree next to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on Wednesday, their latest protest pushing for greater action to combat the climate crisis.

Two women from campaign group "Last Generation" used a mechanical platform to ascend to the top of the 15-metre (49-foot) tree and sawed off a two-metre section.

A banner attached to the platform read: "This is only the tip of the Christmas tree."

Brandishing the sawn-off section, activist Lilli Gomez said: "In Germany, we are so far only seeing the tip of the underlying disaster.

"While all of Germany is spending the week getting the best presents from the biggest shops, others are wondering where they will get water to drink, after droughts and floods destroyed their crops."

Comment: It is little wonder that the soulless ideology of climate change would drive adherents toward destroying a cultural symbol of good will toward others.


Blue Planet

Deutsche Bank: "A certain degree of eco-dictatorship will be necessary"

Deutsche Bank
© REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Izabella Kaminska, formerly the Editor of the FT's Alphaville and now the Editor of the Blind Spot, has flagged up an alarming passage in a document published in January 2021 by Deutsche Bank Research entitled 'What we must do to Rebuild'. Eric Heyman has written the section about the tough choices the EU must face it if's to meet its goal of achieving 'climate neutrality' by 2050 - Net Zero, in other words - and says the following:

Comment: The climate/eco-fascists pushing for de-industrialization of the Western world will continue with this agenda until "you will own nothing and be happy":