Another Meeting And A Tour Of Minneapolis

Today I met for lunch with another friend from the blogosphere, who calls himself RZ, which is short for "Reactionariez".  Like Holger, with whom I had breakfast yesterday, he was a host on the erstwhile internet platform BlogTalkRadio.  He now has a show on Mixlr called "Ideas Are Bulletproof Radio".  Both of them live in the Minneapolis area and sometimes hang out together in real life.  We had lunch at Frenchman's Pub in the city of Richfield, which unlike Fat Nat's Eggs, has no website of its own, just a page on Facebook.

After eating, RZ took me on a little tour of Minneapolis.  He drove us up Chicago Avenue, including a section thereof named George Perry Floyd Square.  It was in this area that a criminal named George Floyd died while being restrained by a police officer's knee on his neck.  Near the north end of the square is this monument, apparently created by or in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.  On its base is the symbol which the Minneapolis-born musician known as Prince sometimes used as his name.

Staying Around The Twin Cities

Instead of setting out on a long drive from my undisclosed location, today I went on two shorter trips.  The first was to have breakfast with a friend from the blogosphere who calls himself Holger, after a legendary Danish king.  I used to listen to his show on BlogTalkRadio, back when the platform still existed.  He also has his own blog, Holger Awakens, but stopped posting in early 2021.  I first met him in person at a rally on the mall in Washington, D.C. back in 2011, along with a bunch of other fellow right wingnuts.  But in the near future, if you're in the Twin Cities area and get hungry for some breakfast, you can try out Fat Nat's Eggs.

Later in the day, I decided to go take a hike across another bridge.  This one is called Old Cedar Avenue Bridge, and spans part of Long Meadow Lake.  Like the bridge in Stillwater that I crossed a few days ago, it has middle lanes for cyclists and outer lanes for pedestrians.

Sunday Links

On a cool clear Sunday, here are some things going on:

From National Review, the latest NBC poll shows former President Trump defeating President Biden in 2024.

From Townhall, neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic groups are on the rise, with the same horrible message.

From The Washington Free Beacon, a review of a book about the 1968 presidential election.

From NewsBusters, taxpayer-funded PBS and NPR promote a book by Brian Stelter, in which he trashes Fox News.

From American Thinker, understanding the mindset of people who always vote Democrat.

From TCW Defending Freedom, the common raven is a "magnificent flying machine".  (The first blog to which I contributed, And Rightly So, was created by a woman in New Hampshire who called herself Raven.)

From Jewish News Syndicate, President Erdoğan tells the Turkish parliament that Israel will soon be destroyed.

From The Times Of Israel, the University of Alberta fires the head of its campus sexual assault center who signed onto an open letter denying rapes committed by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel.

From the Daily Mail, Houthi rebels from Yemen hijack a cargo ship belonging to a company of which an Israeli tycoon is a partial owner.

From Gatestone Institute, when neutrality is wrong, and the problem with moral equivalence.

From The Stream, by releasing the tapes from the Capitol riot, Speaker Johnson (R-LA) may have saved the U.S.

From The Daily Signal, six takeaways from Trump's speech at his rally in Idaho.

From BizPac Review, a male playing on a female volleyball team reportedly taunts a female opponent with a lewd remark about his anatomy.

From the Daily Caller, will New York City politicians destroy Wall Street with taxes?

From the New York Post, the complete winners list at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards.

From Breitbart, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) endorses Trump.

From Newsmax, a freeway in Los Angeles closed due to arson is expected to reopen tomorrow.  (If you live in or commute to the Los Angeles area, will you hold your breath?)

And from Pro Football Talk, after the game between the Washington Commanders and the New York Giants, FedEx Field has some technical difficulties.  (via the New York Post)

Stories For Valentine's Day

As we celebrate love and marriage on the feast day of a third-century Roman saint, here are some things going on:

From National Review, no, "love your enemies" is not "fascism".

From FrontpageMag, how a small group of patriotic Americans in Grand Forks, North Dakota stood up to the Chinese Communist Party, and won.

From Townhall, according to an opinion column, President Biden has told some "damnable" lies about Catholicism.

From The Washington Free Beacon, Senator Diane Feinstein (D-Cal) decides to not run for reelection in 2024.

From The Federalist, true believers in the organization Black Lives Matter finally realize that they've been scammed.

From American Thinker, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) once again earns the nickname "Grahamnesty".  (I learned of this term listening to the BlogTalkRadio show "Southern Sense", whose host lives in South Carolina and is thus one of Graham's constituents.  To learn more about her, go to this blog's archives for January 2019 and the post "Beaufort, With A Local Resident".)

From CNS News, according to Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark), "the American people deserve an explanation from the president" about what he thinks the recent unidentified flying objects are.

From NewsBusters, despite continued fallout, the media go Sergeant Schultz about the train disaster in East Palestine, Ohio.

From Canada Free Press and the "I'm not saying it's aliens" department, are Americans being prepared for a fake alien invasion?

From TeleSUR, Peruvian security forces are investigated over a massacre in the city of Ayacucho.

From TCW Defending Freedom, the real duty that the U.K.'s King Charles III has to his people.

From Snouts in the Trough, a previously unnoticed trick from the "climate catastrophists".

From Free West Media, it's springtime for nuclear power in the E.U. and Sweden.

From Polskie Radio, two Dutch NATO F-35 fighter jets intercept three Russian military jets near Poland and escort them away.  (If you read Polish better than I do, read the story at Polska Agencja Prasowa.)

From Radio Prague, apartment prices decrease in the Czech Republic for the first time since 2013.

From The Slovak Spectator, Christmas shopping by Slovaks made them poorer, but helped Slovakia's economy.

From Daily News Hungary, a Hungarian military jet collides with an airport tanker in the U.S.  (If you read Hungarian, read the story at 24HU.)

From Hungary Today, Hungary's new child protection law is under attack.  (If you read Hungarian, read the story at Mandiner.)

From About Hungary, according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjarto, peace talks are the only way to save lives in Ukraine.

From Russia Today, the Russian government reacts to the "spy balloon" episode in the U.S.

From Sputnik International, the Russian government claims that the Ukrainian government is planning to set off a dirty bomb and blame it on Russia.

From The Moscow Times, Wagner group leader Yevgeny Progozhin admits being behind Russia's infamous troll farms.

From EuroNews, the E.U. puts Russia on its blacklist of tax havens.

From Romania-Insider, a magnitude-5.7 earthquake strikes in Gorj County, Romania.  (If you read Romanian, read the story at Biziday.)

From Novinite, Bulgarians celebrate Tryphon Zarezan as a holiday of love and wine.  (Tryphon was a martyr and saint venerated by the Eastern Orthodox Church.)

From The Sofia Globe, according to U.S. sanctions coordination chief Jim O'Brien, sanctions against corrupt Bulgarian officials are necessary.

From Radio Bulgaria, a look at the Archaeological Museum in Sandanski, Bulgaria.

From Balkan Insight, Serbia and Montenegro demand an explanation after Moldovan President Maia Sandu claims that citizens of those countries and of Russia and Belarus tried to oust the Moldovan government.

From ReMix, more on President Sandu's claim of a Russian-backed effort to overthrow the Moldovan government.

From Euractiv, decoding France's proposed pension reforms.

From The North Africa Post, muzzling his critics, Tunisian President Kais Saied follows the example of the Algerian government.

From The New Arab, the dual heritage of Hebron/Al-Khalil, West Bank.

From the Daily Mail, three men convicted of stealing gas cylinders in Omdurman, Sudan are sentenced to have their hands amputated.

From Palestinian Media Watch, Fatah praises a terrorist who killed two young boys.

From Gatestone Institute, is the E.U. making more empty promises?

From The Stream, the ad campaign "He gets us" doesn't "get" Jesus.

From The Daily Signal, inflation in January was "hotter than expected".

From The American Conservative, cracking down on legal gun owners.

From The Western Journal, the news outlet CNN accidentally reveals what it thinks of the little people.

From The Detroit News, the Michigan State University mass shooter pleaded guilty to a gun-related offense in 2019, but was not sent to prison.  (via The Western Journal)

From BizPac Review, more on the Michigan State University shootings and the deceased suspect.

From The Daily Wire, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper tries out a new alleged lie about Hunter Biden's laptop.

From the Daily Caller, CNN host Don Lemon grills security official John Kirby for dodging a question about a missile that was shot at an object floating over Lake Huron but missed.

From the New York Post, Ukraine boasts about casualties inflicted on Russian troops, but is also losing a lot of its own.

From Breitbart, the U.S. military says that it has recovered sensors and other "significant debris" from the downed Chinese balloon.

From Newsmax, according to a report, Russia has been holding 6,000 Ukrainian children for "reeducation".

And from the Genesius Times, CNN reports that the nation mourns the horrible tragedy that the aforementioned Michigan State University shooter wasn't white.

A Sasquatch's Dozen For Fathers Day

Here on Fathers Day, besides my recent walk into downtown Gatlinburg, are some things going on:

From National Review, the international swimming federation FINA bans some males from women's competitions.

From Townhall, pro-abortion protesters gather outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

From The Washington Free Beacon, a review of One Damn Thing After Another by former Attorney General Bill Bar.

From the Washington Examiner, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) refuses to support a proposed gun bill he gets to read it.  (This desire to read legislation before supporting it shouldn't be news.  It should be standard procedure.)

From American Thinker, the only kind of rape in which the left supports blaming the victim.

From LifeZette, CNN could get rid of hosts Don Lemon and Brian Stelter.

From NewsBusters, CBS anchor Margaret Brennan grills presidential economic advisor Brian Deese on the Biden administration's wrong predictions on inflation.

From OpIndia, an Islamic scholar confirms true what Indian politician Nupur Sharma said about the prophet Mohammed.

From The Stream, why pro-abortion people insist that pro-life arguments are religious.  (When I blogged for AndRightlySo, its founder, who called herself Raven, was an ardent pro-lifer, but was not religious.  If anything, her opinion of religion was rather negative, but she was very much against abortion.)

From The Daily Signal, for the modern left, "a chicken in every pot" has evolved into "a drag queen in every school".

From Breitbart, the alliance led by President Emmanuel Macron is projected to win the most seats in the French parliament, but to not have a majority.

And from the Omaha World-Herald, about 6,000 bees are safely removed from the inside wall of a house in Omaha, Nebraska.  (via the New York Post)

Tuesday Tidings - Part 2

As a Tuesday that has turned mild and sunny hangs around, here are some more things going on:

From Morocco World News, according to Reporters Without Borders, Moroccan journalists are in a "difficult situation".

From Hürriyet Daily News, according to Turkish President Erdoğan, the coronavirus pandemic is the world's biggest crisis since World War II.

From Turkish Minute, Turkey will reportedly extend its two-day lockdown in 31 provinces to four days.

From Rûdaw, according to Amnesty International, executions in Iraq almost doubled in 2019.

From In-Cyprus, coronavirus lockdown violators get fined in Paphos, Cyprus.

From The Syrian Observer, more than 36,000 displaced persons return to their home towns and villages in Aleppo, Syria and the region of Idleb.

From Arutz Sheva, Israel will observe a general closure on its Independence Day.

From The Times Of Israel, Blue and White leader Gantz admits that his decision to join Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is unpopular, but was needed to fight against the coronavirus.

From The Jerusalem Post, an IDF vehicle is attacked in a Haredi neighborhood in Jerusalem while delivering relief.

From YNetNews, Israel will test for coronavirus antibodies.

From the Egypt Independent, Egypt starts a trial of plasma therapy for severe coronavirus cases.

From Egypt Today, the Egyptian cabinet denies issuing decisions on curfew for Ramadan.

From the Ethiopian Monitor, Ethiopian Cargo adds a Pharma Wing so that it can deliver medical supplies globally.

From the Saudi Gazette, Saudi Arabia revises its curfew timings for Ramadan.

From StepFeed, some Ramadan initiatives from "icons of change".

From The New Arab, Muslims in Lebanon prepare for a difficult Ramadan under coronavirus lockdown.

From Radio Farda, the Iranian army introduces new and upgraded drones.

From IranWire, the Revolutionary Guards interrogate a prominent Iranian trial lawyer.

From Dawn, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan responds to questions about his decision to allow mosques to stay open.

From The Express Tribune, Imran is tested for the coronavirus, after meeting with foundation chairman who tested positive.

From Pakistan Today, Imran warns that mosques will be shut down if worshipers don't follow the government's directives.

From Khaama Press, Afghans dealing with parallel governments are not astounded by the birth of a two-headed calf.

From The Hans India, a coronavirus patient given plasma treatment shows improvement and is taken off his ventilator.

From the Hindustan Times, India's health ministry advises the states to test everyone admitted into hospitals for the coronavirus.

From ANI, the Maharashtra state government relaxes its coronavirus lockdowns in the cities of Mumbai and Pune.

From India Today, according to the leader of Oblighi Jamaat, coronavirus survivors should donate blood plasma.

From the Dhaka Tribune, Bangladesh considers extending its coronavirus lockdown.

From the Daily Mirror, according to Sri Lanka's defense secretary, everyone involved in the Easter Sunday terror attacks will soon be brought "to the book".

From the Colombo Page, the Sri Lankan government orders all liquor stores to close.

From Maldives Insider, the Maldivian capital of Male records a daily high of 17 new coronavirus cases.

From The Jakarta Post, Indonesian weapons maker Pindad develops medical devices and protective gear.

From The Straits Times, Singapore extends its coronavirus "circuit breaker" measures until June 1st.

From the Borneo Post, the Malaysian government starts distributing face masks to the states of Sabah and Sarawak.  (These two states are on the island of Borneo.  Malaysia's other states are on the Malay peninsula.)

From Free Malaysia Today, 41 Myanmar workers are caught celebrating the "Songkran" festival in violation of Malaysia's Movement Control Order, and thus face fines and deportation.

From The Mainichi, according to a Japanese government panel, a magnitude-9 earthquake in the sea trenches off Japan's coast could produce a 30-meter-high tsunami.

And from Holger Awakens, Israel stands still on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Goodbye, Kel Fritzi

I've been saddened to learn that a fellow blogger who was very active on BlogTalkRadio passed away in August.  Known as Kel Fritzi, she had her own BTR network Red Fox Blogger, and was one of the rotating hosts on the network Global Patriot Radio.  Besides her regular duties, she very often sat in with other hosts.  Because Kel was Canadian, and joined in on shows hosted by Americans and British BTR users, I thought of her as someone who held the platform's Anglosphere together.

Kel was a solid conservative and a defender of the West from radical Islam, and was no mere keyboard warrior.  She traveled to England to take part in an EDL demonstration, and to give moral support to another BTR host who was in legal trouble for allegedly harassing a Muslim on social media.  I don't think that Kel was an Islamophobe, because she didn't fear Islam.  Instead, I wouldn't have blamed it for fearing her.  (Her speech at the EDL demonstration is included in another tribute to Kel, at Holger Awakens.)  She was also no fan of her country's prime minister, whom she called the "shiny pony".

Links For Presidents Day

Today we honor the men who have occupied the highest office in the land.  The observance evolved from George Washington's birthday (2/22), and perhaps was influenced by Lincoln's birthday (2/12), since both occurred in February.  It should be noted that Washington's birthday was originally on 2/11, but was changed because the British and their colonies switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian one.  Of course, besides Washington and Lincoln, you can also honor such men as Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon, and William Harrison, who died just a month after being inaugurated.  (He is thus, in my opinion, the least bad president we've had.)  Meanwhile, here are some things going on:

From National Review, some questions for people who believed Jussie Smollett.

From NewsBusters, the 11 worst reactions of Smollett's hoax.

From Townhall, Democrats don't want ICE to find out when illegal aliens try to buy guns.

From the Washington Examiner, protesters take over and vandalize a Border Patrol museum in El Paso, Texas.

From The Federalist, leftist organizations smear a Wisconsin judge for being Christian.

From American Thinker, mainly by not enforcing laws, President Obama "made mincemeat of the Constitution".

From CNS News, Geraldo Rivera claims to be a fan of both President Trump and congresscritter AOC.

From LifeZette and the "get it through your thick skulls" department, the government is supposed to serve the people, not the other way around.

From FrontpageMag, the tangled web woven by Jussie Smollett.

From The Conservative Woman, how the kids protesting climate change can practice what they preach.  (To my pleasant shock, the article actually mentions China and its emissions, something with which most climate change believers don't appear to have any problem.)

From the Express, according to one Brexiteer, Britons have had enough of the E.U.'s arrogance.

From the Evening Standard, a boat carrying 19 migrants is intercepted off the coast of Dover, England.

From the (U.K.) Independent, seven MPs quit the Labour Party, with possibly more to follow.

From the (Irish) Independent, according to Tánaiste Simon Coveney, Ireland is spending "hundreds of millions of euros" on a no-deal Brexit.

From the Irish Examiner, Coverney also says that Ireland will not be "steamrolled" over the border backstop with the U.K.

From France24, French women who had escaped from ISIS want to go home.

From RFI, French MPs try to deal with rising anti-Semitism.

From VRT NWS, who are the Belgian ISIS fighters?

From the NL Times, despite protests, Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport will keep growing.  (Hopefully, they'll get enough gates to accommodate planes which land early, as the one I was on two years ago.)

From Dutch News, a proposal by Dutch politician Geert Wilders, which would prevent dual nationals from voting, is not likely to be enacted.

From Deutsche Welle, Germany and France agree to an arms export pact.

From Radio Poland, tensions between Polish and Israeli leaders cause the cancellation of a Visegrad summit in Israel.

From Radio Praha, the E.U. space program is preparing for an expansion in Prague.

From The Slovak Spectator, halal-certified baby foods will be produced in Nové Zámky, Slovakia.  (Due to the similarity between Slovak and Polish, I'm pretty sure that the city's name means "new castles".)

From the Hungary Journal, some new allies would welcome Hungarian Prime Minister Orban.  (If you read Hungarian, read the story at Azonnali.)

From Daily News Hungary, Hungarian opposition MPs walk out of parliament and visit a Suzuki factory.

From Hungary Today, the Hungarian government is launching an "information campaign" about the E.U.'s immigration plan.

From About Hungary, two corporations will team up to build a solar energy plant near Győr, Hungary.

From CBC News, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau's principal secretary Gerald Butts resigns.  (This story was discussed during the BTR show of Kel the Red Fox Blogger.)

From Global News, the United We Roll Convoy gets closer to Ottawa, Canada.

From Mexico News Daily, cocaine smuggling by boat from Columbia to Mexico triples in four years.  (The site has informed me that I have only two pages left for this month, so it looks like I won't be able to link stories from this site all that often.  This is dismaying because this site is the first one from Mexico that I've been able to use.)

From El País, about 200,000 people in Barcelona protest against the trials of Catalan separatist leaders.

From Morocco World News, jihadis released from Moroccan prisons show a high rate of recidivism.

From Total Croatia News, a Croatian NGO strongly objects to the criminalization of speech.

From Ekathimerini, since 2016, more than 7,000 Turks have applied for asylum in Greece.

From the Greek Reporter, two Greek women prepare top climb Mount Everest.

From Hürriyet Daily News, Turkish President Erdoğan turns down a call from the U.S. to not purchase Russian S-400 air defense systems.

From Turkish Minute, according to Turkish Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu, 3.6 million Syrians live in Turkey.

From Rûdaw, women will lead Kurdistan's regional parliament for the first time since it was established.

From Arutz Sheva, Israel and the U.K. sign a trade agreement.

From The Times Of Israel, five Palestinians are arrested clashing with police officers.

From The Jerusalem Post, a judge bans Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu from being photographed with IDF soldiers.

From YNetNews, the Sea of Galilee is expected to rise to a level which removes restrictions on pumping.

From the Egypt Independent, Egypt again deals with locusts.

From Egypt Today, two policemen are killed in a suicide bombing near the Al Azhar mosque in Cairo.

From Radio Farda, Iranian authorities reveal a huge stash of "banned books".

From Dawn, three Kashmiris and four Indian soldiers are killed in a gun battle Pulwama, Kashmir.  (This is where the recent suicide bombing which killed over 40 Indian soldiers occurred.)

From The Express Tribune, Saudi Arabian Prince Mohammad orders the release of 2,107 Pakistani prisoners from Saudi jails.

From The Manila Times, an imam in Zamboanga City, Philippines kills his own mother and two sisters.

From Gatestone Institute, multiculturalism in Germany during January 2019.

From AZ Central, tourists to the Grand Canyon have been exposed to radiation for almost 20 years.  (via The Daily Caller)

From Twitchy, noted Jew-hater Louis Farrakhan blames Jews for using him to break up the women's movement.

From The Blaze, what really happened when a kid reportedly was arrested for not standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

From Accuracy in Media, while Trump declares a border emergency, another migrant caravan arrives.

From Breitbart, leaked photos show migrants overwhelming a border facility.

From LifeNews, more polled women than men oppose late-term abortions.

From the Tampa Bay Times, was there one shooting per week in Florida during 2018?

From Fox News, five inconvenient truths about communist thug Che Guevara.

And from the New York Post, a Fordham professor finds that his 30-year-old Apple computer still works.

Links For A Rainy Monday

Today, the dreaded rainy day and Monday have coincided, much to the chagrin of the Carpenters.  Besides the dreary weather, here are some things going on:

From FrontpageMag, some left-wingers can't (or won't) distinguish between blackface makeup and coal dust or soot.

From Townhall, if the left wants to deal with climate change, they should limit immigration from the Third World.

From National Review, Senator Kamala Harris (D-Cal) announces her support of legalizing recreational marijuana.

From The Washington Free Beacon, Robert O'Rourke's high school yearbooks show no evidence of the nickname "Beto".

From the Washington Examiner, new congresscritter Ilham Omar (D-MN) is faulted for her anti-Semitic statements, from her fellow Democrats.

From The Federalist, five life lessons from Dolly Parton.

From American Thinker, in the U.S., there are the hidden substates of Illegalia.

From CBC News, a new species of insect found in British Columbia may have survived the ice age.

From Global News, the Canadian prime minister's office is under investigation for alleged interference in the SNC-Lavalin case.  (H/T Kel the Red Fox for putting this in her BTR chatroom.)

From CTV News, Ontario police free 43 people from "modern day slavery".

From Mexico News Daily, the Santa Rosa fuel theft gang expands their territory.

From the Express, does U.K. Prime Minister May have a secret Brexit strategy?

From the Evening Standard, please wake up, Your Honor.

From the Independent, is May running down the clock?

From the Irish Examiner, four statues stolen from a castle in Cork have been found in an outhouse in County Clare.

From RFI, some French driving instructors decide to make driving more difficult.

From El País, Spanish right-wingers protest against Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

From The Portugal News, Portugal will raise its retirement age in 2020.

From SwissInfo, should Switzerland end its law against blasphemy?

From ANSA, the president of Slovenia protests a statement by Italian leader Salvini equating the Foibe to Auschwitz.

From Malta Today, lawyers representing the NGO Sea-Watch claim that authorities their power by not letting the Sea-Watch 3 leave Malta.

From Total Croatia News, Croatian Deputy Speaker Milijan Brkić condemns a statement about "Italian" Istria and Dalmatia.

From Ekathimerini, about 2,075 migrants arrived in the Greek islands during January.

From the Greek Reporter, the Greek port of Piraeus signs a memorandum of understanding with the Italians ports of Venice and Chioggia.

From Independent Balkan News Agency, Kosovo and North Macedonia sign a memorandum of cooperation regarding energy.

From Russia Today, a large white trespasser walks through an apartment building in northern Russia.

From Sputnik International, a court in Moscow gives two ISIS terrorists 15 years in prison.

From the Hungary Journal, according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjarto, relations between Hungary and the U.S. are on the mend.

From Daily News Hungary, Hungarian opposition parties criticize Prime Minister Orban's State Of The Nation speech.

From About Hungary, eight out of ten Hungarians support their government's new family plan.

From Radio Praha, a look at Czech composer Anton Dvořák's visit to the United States.

From Radio Poland, Poland detains a Russian Chechen for suspected terrorism support.

From the NL Times, a leaky tanker causes a large part of the Netherlands to stink.

From Dutch News, young climate protesters will meet with Dutch Prime Minister Rutte tomorrow.

From VRT NWS, in Belgium, get your own slightly used bus.

From Hürriyet Daily News, Turkish President Erdoğan launches a war on "food terrorism".

From Turkish Minute, an old man is sentenced to read Erdoğan's biography, for insulting him, and 27 people are detained for visiting recently released Gülen-linked suspects.

From Rûdaw, French women fleeing an ISIS hideout say that more foreigners are still trapped inside.

From Arutz Sheva, Iran claims that Israel has sent IDF soldiers into Afghanistan.

From The Times Of Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu warns Iran that attacking Israel will cause this anniversary to be their last.

From The Jerusalem Post, an imam faults the "far-left" for waging a "war on free speech".

From YNetNews, Israeli teenager Ori Ansbacher was not killed by the occupation.

From the Egypt Independent, a stolen Egyptian statue is retrieved from the Netherlands.

From Radio Farda, Iran's 40th anniversary celebration is "lackluster".

From Asharq Al-Awsat, an imam in Tehran claims that Iran "has the formula for building a nuclear bomb".

From Khamma Press, an Afghan spokesman blames the ongoing conflict on "stubborn" Taliban leaders.

From 9News, western women escape from the clutches of ISIS.

From Culture Watch, "on burqa bans".

From Gatestone Institute, in the U.K., a defeat is dressed up as victory.

From LifeZette, President Trump holds his first rally of this year very close to Mexico.

From CNS News, a theater in San Francisco will host a comedy event entitled "Not My [censored] President", using taxpayer money.

From the New York Post, due to freezing rain, an orchard in Sparta, Michigan produces "ghost apples".

And from The Babylon Bee, Virginia's high-ranking Democrats offer to resign if they're caught in a "real scandal", such as wearing a MAGA hat.

"Why Trump Won" And Other Stories

I ran across this video put on YouTube by the user PragerU.  It also was discussed on Kel the Red Fox Blogger's BlogTalkRadio show.  The speaker is former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who explains the difference between people who can live anywhere and people who do not have this option.  You could even call them, respectively, the globalists and the nationalists.



You can also watch the video directly on YouTube.
****
In other stories:

From CNS News, Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) doesn't have much of a chance to primary President Trump, at least in New Hampshire.  (This gives me a chance to use the "Romney" label, which I used frequently during the 2012 presidential campaign, but not very often since then.)

From LifeZette, Catholics in New York express their anger at New York's new abortion law.

From National Review, the recent government shutdown shows us how irrelevant much of the federal government is to most people's lives.

From Townhall, get it through your thick skulls that they hate you.

From The Washington Free Beacon, "why Democratic socialists support totalitarian regimes".

From the Washington Examiner, some facts omitted by Senator Kamala Harris (D-Cal) in her recent speech in Oakland.

From The Federalist, why do Democrats smear Venezuela's interim president, when he's the type of person they normally adore?

From American Thinker, is it immoral to oppose a border wall?

From FrontpageMag, "exterminating whitey".

From Voice Of Europe, the African tradition of breast-ironing is on the rise in the U.K.

From the Express, what different areas within the U.K. think of a no-deal Brexit.

From the Evening Standard, Prime Minister May and Boris Johnson (figuratively) knock heads.

From the Independent, May hints that she may demand the removal of the Irish backstop.

From Global News, the U.S. will announce charges related to the Chinese company Huawei.

From CTV News, a Kingston, Ontario youth facing terrorism charges is scheduled to make an appearance in court.

From France24, a look at town hall meetings inspired by the "yellow vest" movement.

From RFI, are France's riot police getting too violent?

From VRT NWS, supermarket workers in Sint-Truiden, Belgium unpack bananas and find cocaine.

From the NL Times, about 100 young people attack police in Boxtel, Netherlands with fireworks, cans and food.

From Dutch News, the Dutch party D66 launches a plan for Brits and Dutchmen living in each other's country to obtain dual citizenship.  (Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau is allowed to use the term "Dutchpeople".)

From Deutsche Welle, Denmark starts building a border fence with Germany - to keep out pigs.

From Radio Poland, an exhibit opens in Brussels to honor Poles who helped liberate Belgium in World War II.  (In Ypres, Belgium on the Cloth Hall, there is a plaque which honors the Polish troops who helped take that city from the Germans, which is inscribed in Flemish, French and Polish.  Because I know a bit of the last two languages, I could pretty much make out what it says during my visit there in 2005.)

From The Slovak Spectator, beware the fake coin.

From the Hungary Journal, Hungarian official Zoltan Kovacs accuses pro-migration forces of "hijacking" E.U. institutions.

From Hungary Today, according to a spokesman for the Fidesz party, pro-migration countries should take in a Syrian convicted of terror offenses.

From Daily News Hungary, Hungary gets quacking.

From About Hungary, Vodaphone will provide free technological training for female students.

From Russia Today, most polled Russians oppose giving four of the Kuril Islands to Japan.

From Sputnik International, investigators determine the cause of a fire on two tankers in the Kerch Strait.

From Independent Balkan News Agency, according to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, the deal to rename FYROM solves a big gridlock problem.

From Ekathimerini, in a "thinly disguised warning against Turkey", Greece promises to defend its territorial integrity.

From the Greek Reporter, Greece raises its minimum wage.

From Total Croatia News, the Croatian and Serbian cultural ministers meet.

From ANSA, a delegation from the Democratic Party boards the migrant rescue ship Sea-Watch 3.  (This is the Italian Democratic Party, which does not include Hillary Clinton or Chuck Schumer.)

From El País, with no E.U. policy in sight, Spanish authorities review their own migration rules.

From Hürriyet Daily News, according to President Erdoğan, four million Syrians will return to safe zones set up by Turkey.

From Turkish Minute, 11 more people are detained over alleged Gülen links.

From Rûdaw, according to the co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council, Turkey's record on "safe" areas in Syria isn't very good.

From Arutz Sheva, the number of Jews living in Judea and Samaria has increased by just over 20 percent in five years.

From The Times Of Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is scheduled to talk to Russian diplomats tomorrow.

From The Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu decides to evict international observers from Hebron, West Bank.

From Radio Farda, in Iran, there is "no end in sight" for child marriages.

From Dawn, Islamabad braces for trouble as Pakistan's supreme court prepares to hear a petition to overturn the acquittal of Asia Bibi.  (This site spells her first name "Aasia".)

From Khaama Press, Afghani President Ashraf Ghani urges the Taliban to talk directly with his government.

From Yeni Şafak, according to Turkey's top religious leader, a smoker can never become an imam.

From the Business Standard, a Malaysian company produces an Islam-compliant web browser.

From Fox News, a group of Border Patrol wives in Texas invite Speaker Pelosi to visit their town.  (via The Blaze)

From WPVI-TV, the Speaker finally invites the President to deliver the SOTU.

From the New York Post, how to celebrate the Year Of The Pig.  (Pass the bacon, please.)

And from The Babylon Bee, instead of the Super Bowl, CBS will broadcast a four-hour lecture on toxic masculinity.

Beaufort, With A Local Resident

Earlier today, I drove to Beaufort, to see the town and meet a friend.  For several years, I've been listening to the BlogTalkRadio host Annie Ubelis, a.k.a. the Radio Chick, on her show called "Southern Sense".  (She also has her own website.)  Today, I got to meet her at a local restaurant in her adopted home town.  In other words, it was one of those times when someone in the blogosphere turns into a real person.  Afterwards, she turned me loose to explore the town.  At Annie's suggestion, I walked to the Beaufort Arsenal, which was originally built in 1799 and is now a museum.  Here's the long side of the arsenal, the wall surrounding its courtyard extending along the street.

Friday Fuss And Fun

It's the last Friday of 2018, with its own set of things going on.  The first two stories, both from Israel, were Tweeted by Gadi Adelman, so he gets the H/T.  Starting with those, here are today's stories:

From Arutz Sheva, what if the Six-Day War had not taken place?

From YNetNews, a balloon bomb lands in a kindergarten yard in Israel near the Gaza border.

From The Times Of Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu arrives in Brazil, where he will meet with President-elect Bolsonaro.

From the Egypt Independent, three Jewish cemeteries in Alexandria will be protected under Egyptian antiquities law.

From Al Jazeera, a roadside bomb kills two Vietnamese tourists near the Giza pyramids.

From Rûdaw, the Syrian army enters Manbij.

From Hürriyet Daily News, tourist visits to Turkey during the first 11 months of 2018 have increased by 22 percent over 2017.

From Turkish Minute, 15 military officers are arrested after communicating via pay phone.

From Ekathimerini, a man is arrested near Thessaloniki, Greece for allegedly transporting illegal irregular migrants.

From the Greek Reporter, the issue of FYROM"s name will be a major factor in Greek politics in 2019.

From Independent Balkan News Agency, this year has seen a record high number of mafia-related murders in Serbia.

From Total Croatia News, the U.S. Congress approves Israel selling F-16s to Croatia.

From the Malta Independent, the Sea-Watch 3 receives a distress call from another ship carrying migrants.

From Malta Today, NGOs call on Malta to accept migrants.

From ANSA, 9.8 million tourists are expected to celebrate the New Year in Italy.

From El País, the ship Open Arms arrives in Spain with 311 migrants.

From France24, "yellow vest" activists plan to protest tomorrow and on New Year's Eve.

From the Express, U.K. Home Secretary Sajid Javid admits that the migrant crisis is "out of control".

From the Evening Standard, 12 migrants from Syria and Iran are rescued from the English Channel.  (The reason given for all these people for migrating is that their countries are torn by war.  While this is certainly true for Syria, what war is currently being fought in Iran?)

From BBC News, will next year be one of rising knife crime?

From the Independent, the Royal Mail apologizes for issuing a stamp commemorating D-Day with a photo of U.S. troops landing in Indonesia.  (There has to be a bad joke similar to the Germans bombing Pearl Harbor in there somewhere.)

From VRT NWS, although Belgium has been on the Euro for 17 years, some people are still acquiring Euros for Belgian Francs.

From the NL Times, for the third time in a week, an ATM is bombed in Amsterdam.

From Dutch News, the Netherlands asks for help finding a port where the Sea-Watch 3 may dock.

From Deutsche Welle, a German who tried to join ISIS is charged in the death of a five-year-old girl she held as a slave.

From Radio Poland, two Czech foundations raise money for the families of the 12 Poles killed at a coal mine in Karvina, Czech Republic.

From the Slovak Spectator, according to a poll, these were the ten most momentous events of 2018.

From the Hungary Journal, Hungarian State Secretary Bence Retvari calls mass immigration "dangerous".

From Daily New Hungary, a Hungarian court sentences five members of a Slovak gang to several years in prison for multiple burglaries.

From Hungary Today, pictures of Transylvania from hundreds of years ago.

From About Hungary, Hungary has a goal of increasing the number of marriages and children.

From Russia Today, vandals in Saint Petersburg, Russia make Christmas trees look like klansmen.

From Dawn, Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff ratifies the death sentences given to 22 terrorists.

From The Jakarta Post, in Vietnam, six men are arrested for killing and eating an endangered monkey.

From Citizen Digital, a former al-Shabaab spokesman is running for office in Somalia.

From CBC News, a "Canadian detained in China has returned home".

From Global News, waiter, there's a rat in my soup.

From FrontpageMag, their person of the year.

From National Review, Democrats hate the border wall because President Trump loves it.

From Townhall, the mayor of Oakland has no regrets about warning illegal aliens about ICE.

From The Washington Free Beacon, former (and possibly future) Speaker Pelosi finds a comfortable place to spend time during the shutdown.

From the Washington Examiner, Ohio legislators override Governor John Kasich's veto of a self-defense gun use bill.

From The Federalist, America's biggest rival isn't Russia, but China.

From AP News, Latino support for the Republicans remains steady, even with Trump's talk on immigration.  (Perhaps some people realize that being against illegal immigrants is not the same thing as being bigoted toward Hispanics.  The story comes via American Thinker.)

From LifeZette, the illegal alien wanted for the murder of Police Corporal Ronil Singh has been apprehended.

From CNS News, for the third straight year, a town on Long Island offers a gun exchange for toy guns.

From the New York Post, NYPD officers couldn't hide their shock at an explosion occurring at a power substation.

And from The Babylon Bee, the Grinch arrives to steal Christmas decorations, but finds that he's too late.

Monday Mania

Starting with some stuff from our friends to the north, here are some things going on.

From Global News, Statistics Canada delays its plan to obtain the banking information of 500,000 Canadian households.  (This was posted in the chatroom of the BlogTalkRadio show of Kel the Red Fox Blogger.)

From CBC News, Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques and two colleagues arrive at the International Space Station.

From CTV News, a restaurant in Ontario with a name similar to one in Virginia which refused to serve the White House press secretary is still doing well.

From the Express, six parties issue contempt proceedings in an effort to get Prime Minister May to disclose legal advice obtained from the U.K. Attorney General.

From BBC News, according to the above-mentioned Attorney General, the Brexit backstop plan "is a calculated risk".

From the Evening Standard, former FLOTUS Michelle Obama revisits a school in London.

From Politicalite, membership in UKIP has passed 26,000.  (via Voice Of Europe)

From the Independent, several Tory MPs claim that the advice from the Attorney General confirms their fears about the Brexit deal.

From France24, "yellow vest" protesters block fuel depots while teenagers block schools.

From RFI, how bad is the "yellow vest" movement?

From The Portugal News, there must be an environmental impact assessment before lithium mining is allowed.

From El País, in elections in the Spanish region of Andalusia, Socialists lose legislative seats while the "far right" party Vox takes 12.  (As I may have mentioned in one of my "Random Musings" posts, I would like a see an explanation of the differences between "right" and "far right", by those who use the latter label.)

From SwissInfo, Switzerland does not have, and is not ready to introduce, tax withholding from paychecks.

From ANSA, according to Goldman Sachs, Italy could have a recession next year.

From the Malta Independent, a woman in Attard, Malta is fined because her cats caused a nuisance.

From Malta Today, Malta allows 11 migrants rescued by a Spanish fishing boat to disembark.

From Ekathimerini, according to the governor of the Bank of Greece, the Greek economy is "not out of the woods yet".

From the Greek Reporter, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras calls for World War II reparations from Germany.

From Independent Balkan News Agency, the atmosphere of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Hercegovina is called "the most polluted on the planet".  (Yes, even worse than Beijing, China.)

From Novinite, Sofia, Bulgaria's air is dirty, too, and is the worst in three of its districts.

From Total Croatia News, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visits Zagreb.

From Daily News Hungary, more on Orban's visit to Croatia.

From Hungary Today, the Central European University will leave Budapest.

From About Hungary, the Visegrad 4 will help Tunisia strengthen its border controls.

From The Slovak Spectator, 12 Greenpeace activists who were arrested after protesting on a mining tower will be prosecuted in custody.  (As a descendant of Slovak coal miners, I would almost certainly be disqualified from sitting as a lay judge - Slovakia's closest equivalent to jurors - in their trials, due to obvious pro-miner bias.  For an explanation of "lay judge", go here and scroll down to the heading "Judiciary" and see the fourth paragraph under that heading.)

From Radio Praha, the Czech government will announce its "national investment plan".

From Radio Poland, builders excavating for a new Metro station in Warsaw find mammoth bones.

From Deutsche Welle, Germany's disability commissioner calls for voting rights to be extended to the country's 85,000 disabled people.

From the NL Times, Dutch support for Zwarte Piet is decreasing, and a man dressed as Zwarte Piet is wanted for allegedly shooting at a car.  (Such action is bound to make Piet's support dwindle even further.)

From Dutch News, nine Dutch consumers of natural gas from the Groningen field are told to switch to other gas within five years.

From VRT NWS, the U.N. compact for migration produces "stormy weather" for Belgium's cabinet.

From Russia Today, Russia completes trials of its anti-artillery system, named "Penicillin".

From Sputnik International, the 24 Ukrainian sailors who allegedly illegally crossed Russia's border face up to six years in prison.

From Hürriyet Daily News, due to the "yellow vest" protests, Turkey issues a travel warning for France.

From Turkish Minute, inflation in Turkey went down in November, due to tax cuts and discounts.

From Arutz Sheva, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu warns Lebanon to rein in Hezbollah.

From The Times Of Israel, thousands of Israelis get ready to strike in protest of domestic violence.

From The Jerusalem Post, Jerusalem engages in some "American-style holiday cheer".

From Rûdaw, traditional pottery in Iraq faces competition from plastic.

From The Express Tribune, President Trump seeks support from Pakistan in talks with the Taliban.

From This Is Money, a sharia-compliant robo-investor is launched in the U.K.

From i24News, a Hamas court sentences six Gazans to death for collaboration with Israel.

From Inquirer(dot)Net, an Egyptian actress says that her dress wasn't meant to offend anyone.  (Did I offend anyone by using the female-specific word "actress", just as in the article?  If so, I don't give a flying you-know-what.)

From Albawaba, a video from ISIS shows an 11-year-old boy threatening to cut off heads.

From Gatestone Institute, "why Iran funds Palestinian terrorists".

From FrontpageMag, does leaving Islam amount to a race-change operation?  (The article's writer is a former Muslim.)

From National Review, which type of conservative masculinity should we respect, that of Bush the Elder or that of Trump?

From Townhall, a conservative writer files a criminal complaint against Special Counsel Mueller.

From The Washington Free Beacon, Chinese leader Xi Jinping promises Trump that China will designate fentanyl as a controlled substance.

From the Washington Examiner, SCOTUS refuses to hear an environmental challenge to Trump's border wall.

From The Daily Caller, environmentalists demand that Senator Schumer (D-NY) not allow Senator Manchin (D-WV) to be the lead Democrat on the Energy Committee.

From LifeZette, an old white woman supports an old white man to run for president in 2020.  (Both are actually older than the current president.)

From The Denver Channel and the "what the heck is going on?" department, for the third time this year, a car is driven into the same Denver restaurant.  (via The Daily Caller)

From The Washington Times, 63 percent of non-citizen households in America are on welfare.  (The story comes via Numbers USA.  I don't see any breakdown between legal and illegal non-citizens.)

From the Rolling Stone, supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) are ready to draft him again.  (via Legal Insurrection)

From CNS News, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is "hopeful" on President Trump's dealing with China on trade.

And from The Babylon Bee, John MacArthur and Ben Shapiro show off their dancing skills.