[Bleep]holes And Other Stories

It appears that President Trump may have stepped into some [bleep] and set off a [bleep]storm by calling Haiti and some African countries "[bleep]holes", and indicating a preference for immigrants from Norway instead of those "[bleep]hole" countries.  As reported by Ed Morrisey at HotAir, the president allegedly used this language during a meeting about immigration policy, but later denied doing so, but Senator Dick Durban (D-Ill) says that Trump did indeed use the term "[bleep]holes".  According to the New York Post, GOP lawmakers don't recall the president using such terms.  Make of it what you will, but I will set forth my reaction.

If the president really did use some form of the s-word, my advice would be that he should adjust his language to say what he wants without being vulgar.  It's certainly not politically correct to call countries "[bleep]holes" even when they deserve it, but being politically incorrect doesn't require talking like a jerk.  Trump's enemies will hate his guts no matter what, but he doesn't have to help them.  On the other hand, some perspective might be in order.  Which is worse, calling a country a [bleep]hole, or a country really being a [bleep]hole?

Some people on Twitter have found a story, reported by the Independent, for example, in which then-President Obama faulted U.K. Prime Minister Cameron for allowing Libya to become a "[bleep] show" after the ouster of Muammar Ghadafi.  Of course, whether he himself had contributed to making Libya a "[bleep] show" by helping to oust Gha-daffyduck in the first place didn't seem to occur to Obama.  But in any event, foul language from Obama does not excuse foul language from Trump.

One thing that should be obvious about immigration is that allowing people to move from Haiti, Norway, or anywhere else is not to change much of anything in those countries.  This means that if a country is a [bleep]hole, it will still be a [bleep]hole after a small number of its people leave for the United States.  As for Norway, I'm not sure that taking people from a continent which is experiencing sub-replacement fertility might not be all that beneficial, either.
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Here's some other [bleep] in the news:

From The Washington Free Beacon, there has been a decline in prison population going on three years.

From KAKE, a convicted murderer in Missouri, who raped and killed a ten-year-old girl, gets the ultimate penalty.

From Independent Women's Forum, in Seattle, how the minimum wage hike killed the five-dollar footlong sub.

From Russia Today, a British woman in Dubai faces jail time for being in the vicinity of a fight.

From iNews, the Great Mosque in Brussels is said to be an "Islamist hub".

From the Express, Greece has 20 percent unemployment.

From Voice Of Europe, a man claiming to be a "child refugee" goes on vacation in the Middle East after getting his Swedish residency permit.  (It was so bad back home that he had to leave, but now that he has left, it's safe enough for him to visit?)

From France24, the new German coalition government will take in 200,000 refugees each year.  (The story comes via Defend Europa.  Does this mean that Chancellor Merkel has successfully formed a new coalition?)

From Hungary Journal, Hungarian mayors want to prevent Hungarian native George Soros from setting up offices in Hungary.  (via Voice Of Europe)

From Sputnik International, according to a British MEP, forcing Poland to take in migrants may push Poland out of the E.U.

From Middle East Monitor, forty-odd African migrants are prevented from storming into Ceuta by Moroccan security forces.  (Ceuta is a Spanish city in Africa, separated from Morocco only by a border wall.)

From the Independent, police in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England have arrested 20 men for alleged involvement in a rape grooming gang.

From the NL Times, in 2017, Dutch police discharged their firearms 23 times, killing 4 suspects.

From National Review, Republicans should say "no" to Joe.

From Brinkwire, in response to President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, three American imams call for the death of Jews.

From Breitbart London, left-wing pro-immigrant bias shows up in the French media.

From Modern Ghana, an imam urges the Ghanaian government to not give rights to homosexuals.  (The last three stories come via The Religion Of Peace.)

From Politico, Trump extends the nuclear deal with Iran.  (via the New York Post)

From the New York Post, 80-year-old woman 1 - thug who tried to take her purse 0.  (She thus gets the "badass" label.)

And from Health24, why people go to sleep in strange places.

Thursday Links

As temperatures get even warmer around here, which is a sign of global warming, er, climate change just as much as recent cold temperatures were, here are some various things going on:

From Fox Business, the store I sometimes call Sam's Asian Imports is giving its employees bonuses of up to $1,000.  (I used to call them Sam's Chinese Imports until I started noticing other Asian countries of origin on their products' tags.)

From Accuracy In Media, the media are still "cherry picking" stories to support their view on global warming, er, climate change.

From Breitbart's National Security, Julian Assange is now a citizen of Ecuador.  (If you read Spanish, you can also read the story at El Universo.)

From Sputnik International, on the other hand, the U.K. will not grant Assange diplomatic status.

From TechRadar, a robot teaches kids how to code.

From The Daily Caller, President Trump signs a bill to give the Border Patrol $9 million to combat the importation of fentanyl.

From Voice Of Europe, Malmö, Sweden has become so dangerous that even refugee want to leave.

From Breitbart London, an Italian party says, "Slaves of Europe?  No Thanks!"

From the Express, protesters in Bulgaria burn the E.U. flag.

From the NL Times, the Dutch government has stopped four terror attacks since 2011.

From The Local SE, according to his son, the man killed by a hand grenade in Sweden thought it was a toy.

From France24, Trump say that the U.S. might "conceivably" rejoin the Paris agreement.

From Deutsche Welle, seven southern E.U. countries promise to improve their migration policy.

From Philly(dot)com, the Trump administration allows states to require recipients of Medicaid to work.

From FrontpageMag, why the Democrats really oppose a border wall.

From National Review, Steve Martin's new play Meteor Shower is one of his best works ever.

From Variety, Patricia Hearst blasts two documentaries about her kidnapping.

From the Detroit Free Press, the 2018 Women's March won't feature last year's headgear.  (via The Washington Free Beacon and Townhall)

From the Daily Mail, comics legend Stan Lee is accused of sexual misconduct.

From WKRN, a Tennessee university cancels an event over the allegedly "anti-Muslim" views of one of its speakers.

From DNA, Hindus in Mithi, Pakistan face pressure to convert or leave.  (Yes, there are Hindus in Pakistan, just as there are Muslims in India.)

From the New York Post, 17 members of MS-13 are arrested in Long Island.

From Forbes, Jon Gruden is a "weird choice" to (again) coach the Raiders.

And from The Mercury News, some ugly, weird or offensive wine labels.

Wednesday Links

Here are some things going on, starting with the latest bomb threat (with commentary from yours truly):

From Russia Today, trains were halted today in Salzburg, Austria due to a bomb alert.

From the Express, the worst country in which to be a Christian is (click to find out).

From National Review, some judicial overreach.

From Hungary Journal, the Hungarian government gets some support from my neck of the woods.  (via Voice Of Europe)

From The Daily Caller, only 13 percent of polled voters think that Fire and Fury is credible.

From FrontpageMag, a leaked memo shows why Democrats support DACA.  (I'm pretty much convinced that if DACA recipients came from ethnic groups whose American citizen members supported Republicans or leaned right, the Dems would want them to be treated in the same manner as the Clinton administration treated Elian Gonzales.)

From The Guardian, a Spanish woman testifies in a Moroccan court for allegedly colluding with human traffickers.  (The migrants going into Europe are not simply migrating.  They are being trafficked.)

From Breitbart London, an ISIS sympathizer in London planned to bomb "smart people".  (Whether he could find any, of course, is another matter.  The story cites The Times, which is behind a paywall.)

From Bloomberg, Czech President Zeman pledges to continue supporting Prime Minister Babis.

From Sputnik International, the E.U. has warned that some business may be shut down if there is no deal over Brexit.

From Voice Of Europe, according to a German study, almost 30 percent of Muslims "would fight and die for Islam".  (If you read German, read more at Welt.)

From Politico, the new Austria interior minister promises "very very tough asylum policies".  (via Voice Of Europe)

From El País, two leaders of the Catalan separatist movement each take a step back.

From The Local CH, President Trump will attend the economic conference in Davos, Switzerland.

From the NL Times, the new U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands won't retract his story that Dutch politicians were set on fire.

From Al Arabiya, a senior Iranian cleric goes to Germany for medical treatment.

From the Greek Reporter, the Greek parliament allows Muslims to have "optional" sharia.

From Reuters, in Tunisia, 237 people are arrested in connection with attacks on police stations, government buildings, and a Jewish school.

From Townhall, "temporary" should really mean "temporary".

From CNN, Congressman Darrell Issa says "enough for one lifetime".

From ABC13, the "Snapchat shooter" appears in court.  (The story comes via the New York Post.  He is accused of shooting other than in the photographic sense.)

From Page Six, the Weiners are not getting divorced, after all.

From RedState, the government of Seattle learns about trying to dictate people's lives.

And from CNET, I'm not saying it's aliens, but something even stranger.

UPDATE:  From the Daily News, the Weiners are still getting divorced, but it will be settled out of court, to protect their young son.  (via The Daily Caller)

Links For A Somewhat Mild Tuesday

As winter relents and a relative heat wave sends temperatures around here into the 40's, here are some things going on:

From The American Conservative, how to brighten up January.

From Philly(dot)com, President Trump suggests a "two-phase" immigration deal.

From The Daily Caller, Trump regards the wall as "non-negotiable".

From the Washington Examiner, former sheriff Joe Arpaio will run for the Senate from Arizona.

From The Federalist, coming out as a Republican was more difficult than coming out as gay.

From The Telegraph, according to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, his country's intelligence services have helped stop terror attacks involving airplanes.

From the Express, France gets a record number of asylum requests.

From La Stampa, Italians have intolerance for migrants.

From Breitbart London, young Italians support Eurosceptic parties.

From Voice Of Europe, "how a German children's channel promotes child marriages with migrants".

From Politico, in the scandal over Sudanese migrants, Belgium's government won't fall, for now.

From The European Post, the Teatro del Maggio in Florence re-writes the ending of the opera Carmen.

From Politics Home, E.U. Commission President Junker says that there will be no second referendum on Brexit.

From the Derby Telegraph, a would-be terrorist in Derby was a "strict Muslim".  (Unlike other stories I've found from this site, this one is not about things left behind in public accommodations.)

From American Thinker, the "strange bedfellows": leftists and Islamists.

From Gatestone Institute, the war against firefighters and police in France.

From the New York Post, Representative Steve Scalise (R-Lou) will undergo another surgery tomorrow.

And from Scientific American, the weird tubular structures on Mars are probably not caused by any sort of life.

Various And Sundry

Other than the previously posted election of Frank Beamer to the College Football Hall of Fame, some other various and sundry things have been going on.  But as I may have mentioned before, "sundry" is not to be confused with "sun-dry", especially since there hasn't been enough sun around today to dry anything.  So here are some of those things:

From USA Today, charges against the Bundys are dropped "with prejudice".

From National Review, liberals stay silent as FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is subjected to racist attacks.

From Sky News, a couple who met online are convicted of plotting an ISIS-inspired attack.

From CNN, Luke Skywalker's mother, well actually the actress who portrays her, has to point out that the Golden Globe nominees for best director are all male.  (Yes, I used the term "actress".)

From Voice Of Europe, German TV unleashes propaganda against Poland.  (Tak, to gniewa mię, I mean, yes, this angers me.)

From Defend Europa, a Sardinia left-wing politician allegedly wants to bring migrants into Sardinia to replace the population.  (via Voice Of Europe)

From Breitbart London, France marks the third anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks.

From Russia Today, German Chancellor Merkel and the Social Democrats are still at odds.

From Time, 64 migrants are feared dead trying to cross the Mediterranean, after their dinghy sinks.

From the CPH Post, asylum-seekers go from Denmark to Germany.

From Sputnik International, Greece reportedly suspends the asylum status of a Turkish pilot.

From The Guardian, the Belgian government risks collapse over the deportation of 100 people back to Sudan.

From Newsweek, pro-ISIS jihadis share pirated links to Fire and Fury.

From Hürriyet Daily News and the "try not to laugh" department, a Turkish academic claims that Noah called his son on a cell phone.  (Does anyone know where those ante-diluvian cell towers were?)

From WION, a Pakistani academic joins a terrorist group.

From The Daily Caller, protests in Iran could signal hope for the Middle East.

From Townhall, President Trump signs an EO expanding broadband in rural America.

From The Mercury News, New England has experienced some weird weather.

From The Verge, Toyota unveils the self-driving e-Palette.

And from the New York Post, a family is reunited with their lost cat, after 15 years.

Frank Beamer Elected To College Football Hall Of Fame

Retired Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.  It was his first time on the ballot.  To be eligible, a retired coach must have stepped down at least three years earlier, or be at least 70 year old.  Beamer is now 71, and stepped down from his position two year ago.  He was 238-121-1 at Virginia Tech and 280-143-4 overall.  He had also been head football coach at Murray State, where his successor Justin Fuente would later play.

Read more at Hokiesports, TechSideline, The Roanoke Times, SB Nation and The Virginian-Pilot.

Sunday Links, And A Tweet

As usual, I'm looking for stories to pass on to you, the readers.  But first, let me see if I can correctly embed a Tweet.

It's hilarious watching men who dress-up like women, and women who dress-up like huge vaginas, and a party who says there's 68 genders, question the President's mental capacity. #FakeTapper #StephenMiller

— 🇺🇸 Cris 🇺🇸 (@ThePatriot143) January 7, 2018

I thought that there were only 58 genders, but I still see the man's point.
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Other than the previously reported explosion near a Stockholm subway station, here are some things going on:

From WRAL, it's going to get warmer this coming week.

From The Daily Caller, the wearer of the MAGA dress might run for Congress.

From The Daily Signal, an article about Justice Clarence Thomas, written by Mrs. Thomas.

From BizPac Review, women attending the Golden Globes have a "bizarre" plan to out sexual predators.

From Fox News, an illegal alien who manages a restaurant in Illinois faces a deportation hearing in 2021.  (Doesn't the Bill of Rights say something about a "speedy trial"?)

From the Los Angeles Times, the LAFD launches the "SOBER unit" program.

From The Media Line, despite the fall of ISIS, Yazidis are still being persecuted.  (via Assyrian National News Agency)

From the New York Post, former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been arrested for allegedly inciting violence.  (I used to refer to him as "Mad-mood I'm-a-dim-wit-job" or variations thereof.  Yes, I plead guilty to making fun of his name.)

From Voice Of Europe, the leader of the AfD party says that the enemies of German freedom should be deported.

From Sputnik International, illegal immigration into Germany from the Nordic countries increased 35 percent during the first 10 months of 2017.

From the Express, Germans are skeptical that Chancellor Angela Merkel can form a coalition government.  (The article uses the spelling "sceptical", which my spell-checker doesn't like.)

From Russia Today, some Germans want a new election, with Merkel off the ballot.

From VOA, migrants in Ventimiglia, Italy try to cross into France.

From ZeroHedge, Wikileaks publishes the entire book Fire and Fury as a pdf.

From The Guardian, Iran bans English lessons in elementary schools.

From NYOOOZ, thousands run and bike in the Dawn To Dusk Marathon in Chenai, India.  (The article's date is January 8.  It's already Monday over there.)

From Gatestone Institute, some speech restrictions enforced in the West are in line with sharia.

From AL(dot)com, the NCAA football championship game will be "a little weird" for a current Georgia assistant coach.

From the Derby Telegraph, some things left at East Midlands Airport.  (This might be a follow-up to a recent story about things being left behind in hotels.)

And from Twitchy, no, former Bill O.J. Simpson did not attend today's playoff game.

Explosion Near Swedish Subway Station Kills One

This morning in Stockholm, Sweden, two people were injured when one of them picked up an object which then exploded, outside the Varby Gard subway station.  The 60-year-old man who handled the object, possibly a hand grenade, was taken to a hospital, where he later died from his injuries.  A 45-year-old woman, who reportedly may have been the man's wife, was also injured.  Police are saying that the incident was not related to terrorism.

Read more at The Local SE, the Daily Mail, the Mirror, the Independent and the Sunday Express.

I can see how this event is not act of terrorism, but it begs a question.  Who would just leave a hand grenade or a small IED (or whatever the thing was) lying around?  I've heard that grenades have been found in Sweden, and wonder where somebody over there is getting them.  Here in the United States, even with our Second Amendment, civilians are generally not allowed to possess hand grenades.

Two Tributes, And Other Stories

Here are some things in the news during the first weekend of 2018:

First up, comedian and actor Jerry van Dyke has died at his ranch in Arkansas, at age 86.  He reportedly had been having health problems since being in a car accident two years ago.  Read more at TMZ (via Fox News) and Variety.

From The Washington Times, astronaut John Young, who commanded Apollo 16 in 1972 and the maiden flight of the space shutter Challenger in 1981, has died from pneumonia at age 87.

From the New York Post, a refugee becomes an American.

From the Daily News, the wife of the Orlando shooter knew of his plans, as shown by her own notes.

From the Evening Standard, President Trump calls the author of Fire and Fury a "fraud".

From Breitbart London, a British pop singer alleges that the victims of grooming gangs (i.e., rape gangs) would be raped by someone else if the gangs didn't exist.

From Voice Of Europe, Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban says that 2018 "will be the year of restoring the will of the people in Europe".

From the Hungary Journal, Orban meets the minister-president of Bavaria.

From Deutsche Welle, eight migrants have died in 2018 trying to cross the Mediterranean, the first recorded this year.

From the Irish Independent, fewer migrants tried to reach Europe by sea in 2017 than in the previous year.

From the Daily Mail, more than 200 migrants invade the Spanish enclave of Melilla.

From Sputnik International, Turkish President Erdoğan's visit to Paris is protested by Kurds and Femen.

From The Guardian, Turkish Cypriots fear being considered "not Muslim enough".

From Gatestone Institute, if you hate America and the West so much, why don't you leave?

From the Express, more than half of Polish adults want Germany to pay reparations for World War II.  (The story refers only to the adults in Poland.  People of Polish descent living elsewhere, such as myself, might be another matter.)

From Politico, German conservatives propose a law under which anti-Semitic migrants would be deported.  (If you read German, read more at Welt.)

From Russia Today, Danish conservatives propose a law that would impose a curfew and ban construction of minarets.

From Townhall, "the 20 most annoying liberals of 2017".

From National Review, are relics of the Jewish Temple stored in the Vatican?

From the Derby Telegraph, some weird things left behind in Derby's hotels.

From Mother Nature Network, things we used to eat in previous decades.

And from Twitchy, fans of the Cleveland Browns put on a parade to celebrate their terrible year.

Links For National Bird Day

Today, the hashtag #NationalBirdDay appeared on Twitter.  This would include birds of all types, not just the American national bird, the bald eagle.  Of course, another "bird", the middle finger, might get some notoriety.  So as the bird flies or gets flipped, here are some things going on:

From Fox News, the illegal alien who killed Kate Steinle, convicted only on a gun possession charge, has been sentenced to time served.  He still faces federal charges, since convicted felons and illegal aliens are two categories of people who are federally banned from possessing guns.  (via The Daily Caller)

From the Military Times, the two Koreas will start talking to each other this coming Tuesday.

From Twitchy, some people don't realize that the story about President Trump watching a "gorilla channel" is a parody.  (On the other hand, if such a channel actually existed, would they show the various King Kong movies?)

From The Washington Times, two GOP Senators ask the DOJ to investigate Christoper Steele.

From LifeNews, a court strikes down a Baltimore law requiring pregnancy centers to promote abortions.  (In other words, the right to free speech includes the right not to speak.)

From Voice Of Europe, the Czech president acknowledges a conflict between European culture and immigration.

From the Express, a director of Eurasia Group warns that German Chancellor Merkle could sabotage Brexit.

From ANSA Med, over 3,100 migrants died trying to cross the Mediterranean in 2017, the lowest number in four years.  (I've said it before and I'll say it again.  One of the many perfectly non-racist and non-xenophobic reasons to oppose illegal migration is the danger to the migrants themselves.)

From Radio Poland, Germany could limit its contribution to the E.U. if Poland and Hungary don't take in migrants.

From Russia Today, despite President Macron's promise, there are still migrants on the streets of Paris.

From the Irish Mirror, some pictures of the Japanese man who was stabbed to death in Ireland by an Egyptian.  (via the Mirror)

From Breitbart London, in Italy, the right "rebounds" and the left "collapses".

From the NL Times, a Dutch parliamentarian calls for a #MeToo investigation.

From National Review, some things are indeed better than ever.

From Townhall, the unemployment rate for black Americans is the lowest ever reported.

From AL(dot)com, one of Roy Moore's accusers loses her house in a fire.  (via HotAir)

From the Evening Standard, a large white balloon in the Oxford Circus area of London goes "blowing in the wind", as Bob Dylan would say.  (via the New York Post)

And from Jalopnik, what does cold weather do to your car?