<p>In an interview with BBC radio on Monday, the United Kingdom&#8217;s leading epidemiologist Neil Ferguson, who headed up the <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida-fellowships/Imperial-College-COVID19-NPI-modelling-16-03-2020.pdf">Imperial College study</a> that significantly influenced the British government&#8217;s COVID-19 response, presented two positive messages: his team believes the epidemic is &#8220;just about slowing in the UK&#8221; after the country implemented social distancing measures, and an antibody test that will show who has developed immunity to the virus will likely be available sooner than previously expected.</p>
<p>“We think the epidemic is just about slowing in the UK right now,” Ferguson told BBC radio Monday, as reported by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-epidemic/uk-epidemic-is-slowing-and-antibody-test-could-be-ready-in-days-top-epidemiologist-says-idUSKBN21H0SA">Reuters</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;Ferguson said a third or even 40% of people do not get any symptoms. He said perhaps 2% to 3% of the United Kingdom’s population had been infected,&#8221; Reuters reports. &#8220;But Ferguson cautioned that the data was not good enough to make firm extrapolations.&#8221;</p>
<p>The epidemiologist said that the COVID-19 antibody tests, which will provide the crucial information of who has already contracted the virus and developed immunity, are in the final stages of validation and will hopefully be ready in &#8220;days rather than weeks,&#8221; the news agency reported.</p>
<p>As reported by <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/29/germany-will-issue-coronavirus-antibody-certificates-allow-quarantined/">The Telegraph</a> on Sunday, German researchers plan to introduce coronavirus &#8220;immunity certificates&#8221; for those who take antibody tests and are confirmed to have had the virus, healed and developed antibodies to combat it. Those with &#8220;immunity certificates&#8221; would be allowed to &#8220;transition into post-lockdown life.&#8221;</p>
<p>The much-cited <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida-fellowships/Imperial-College-COVID19-NPI-modelling-16-03-2020.pdf">Imperial College study</a>, which was headed up by Ferguson, presented dire potential consequences of allowing the virus to spread without action in the U.K., projecting as many as half-a-million coronavirus-related deaths in the country if the virus was allowed to go unchecked.</p>
<p>After initially taking a more hands-off approach to the pandemic, shortly after the release of the study, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed strict social-distancing measures. With those measures in place, Ferguson explained last week, their model projects that <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2238578-uk-has-enough-intensive-care-units-for-coronavirus-expert-predicts/">20,000 or fewer</a> people will die as a result of the virus.</p>
<div>
<p>The latest data from U.K. health officials is that a little over 1,200 patients in the U.K. have died thus far after testing positive for the virus. Nearly 130,000 people have been tested for the virus in the U.K., of which around 108,000 (over 80%) have tested negative. A little under 20,000 have tested positive.</p>
<p>Reuters also notes that along with working on the antibody test, the U.K. has begun to employ antigen tests for healthcare workers to allow them to determine if they have been infected or are safe to work, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/27/frontline-nhs-staff-first-to-receive-new-covid-19-antigen-tests">The Guardian</a> reported Friday.</p>
<p>&#8220;Michael Gove – standing in for the prime minister at the daily briefing after Boris Johnson was diagnosed with Covid-19 – said the testing was being trialled immediately, and that hundreds were expected to be able to access the tests over the weekend,&#8221; The Guardian reported. &#8220;The country would see a &#8216;dramatic&#8217; increase in testing next week, he added.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Increasing our testing capacity is absolutely crucial in our response to and our fight against coronavirus,&#8221; Gove said. &#8220;This is a particular priority for those who work in the health and social care sector and are working so hard to keep us all safe.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/british-pathologist-heres-why-covid-19s-death-rate-may-be-lower-than-we-feared">British Pathologist: Why COVID-19’s Death Rate May Be Lower Than We Feared</a></strong></p>
</div>


Coronavirus

UK’s Top Expert: Epidemic ‘Just About Slowing,’ Antibody Test May Be Ready In ‘Days Rather Than Weeks’

England

United Kingdom

<p>Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, shocked the world last week when they announced their plan to step away from royal duties and work to become financially independent.</p>
<p>On Saturday, Queen Elizabeth II pulled the trigger on the exiting royals, announcing that the couple will have their &#8220;His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness&#8221; titles stripped, as well as be financially cut off from royal funds, effective this spring.</p>
<p>&#8220;Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family,&#8221; the Queen said in a statement, adding that she &#8220;support[s] their wish for a more independent life.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;I want to thank them for all their dedicated work across this country, the Commonwealth and beyond, and am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family,&#8221; the statement continued.</p>
<p>The Queen concluded, &#8220;It is my whole family’s hope that today’s agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life.&#8221;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are no longer &quot;working members&quot; of the royal family, according to Buckingham Palace.</p>
<p>Queen Elizabeth II: &quot;Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/2kGoWespzx">https://t.co/2kGoWespzx</a> <a href="https://t.co/8VFlAUwHw2">pic.twitter.com/8VFlAUwHw2</a></p>
<p>&mdash; ABC News (@ABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1218606140793159680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>ABC News royal consultant <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/duke-duchess-sussex-longer-working-members-royal-family/story?id=68372425&amp;cid=social_twitter_abcn">Alastair Bruce</a> called the change &#8220;seismic,&#8221; noting that Harry has effectively abdicated his position.</p>
<p>&#8220;He was given the opportunity to serve as a member of the royal family but he has essentially abdicated from that and it’s all been put into abeyance,&#8221; said Bruce.</p>
<p>Harry and Meghan will no longer be allowed to &#8220;travel on behalf of the queen, will not receive any public money, and will not appear in the court circular,&#8221; according to the royal consultant.</p>
<p><a href="https://apnews.com/5bfcbf944904be1ce273d2d14618b624?utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter&amp;utm_campaign=SocialFlow">The Associated Press</a> reported Saturday that &#8220;the new arrangement will represent an almost complete break from life as working royals, especially for Harry. As a devoted Army veteran and servant to the crown, the prince carried out dozens of royal engagements.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Prince Harry is losing his military titles and patronages including Captain General Royal Marines, Honorary Air Commandant Royal Air Force Honington and Small Ships and Diving, Royal Naval Command: Commodore in Chief,&#8221; <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/duke-duchess-sussex-longer-working-members-royal-family/story?id=68372425&amp;cid=social_twitter_abcn">ABC News</a> noted. &#8220;He will also no longer be a Commonwealth Youth Ambassador. Harry and Meghan will keep their roles at the Queen&#8217;s Commonwealth Truth – Harry serves as president and Meghan is vice-president.&#8221;</p>
<p>According to a statement issued by the palace, Harry and Meghan will &#8220;repay Sovereign Grant expenditure for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their UK family home.&#8221;</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-48 Component-p-0-2-40">It&#8217;s unclear who will now foot the bill for Harry and Meghan&#8217;s security.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-48 Component-p-0-2-40">“There are well established independent processes to determine the need for publicly funded security,” Buckingham Palace said.</p>
<p><span class="" title="Edited">&#8220;We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen,&#8221; the couple announced earlier this month. </span></p>
<p><span class="" title="Edited">&#8220;It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment,&#8221; Harry and Meghan said. &#8220;We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. </span><span class="" title="Edited">This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity.&#8221;</span></p>
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<p></a> </p>
<p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B7EaGS_Jpb9/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">“After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity. We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support.” &#8211; The Duke and Duchess of Sussex For more information, please visit sussexroyal.com (link in bio) Image © PA</a></p>
<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sussexroyal/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> The Duke and Duchess of Sussex</a> (@sussexroyal) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2020-01-08T18:33:31+00:00">Jan 8, 2020 at 10:33am PST</time></p>
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Queen Elizabeth II

‘Seismic’: Queen Financially Cuts Off Harry And Meghan, Strips Titles. Here’s Her Statement.

Meghan Markle

Prince Harry

Queen Elizabeth

<p>Though Queen Elizabeth gave her public blessing to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in their decision to seek more independence from the royal family by splitting their time in North America, inside reports indicate something more tumultuous.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/prince-charles-is-livid-about-harry-meghans-step-down-decision/">Us Weekly</a>, royal insiders report that Prince Charles, Harry&#8217;s father, is &#8220;livid&#8221; over the announcement and blames Duchess Meghan Markle for the split. Given that the couple get 95% of their income from the Prince of Wales — $6.5 million — Prince Charles will now have to &#8220;decide to keep paying them or not,” said the insider source.</p>
<p>Despite the turmoil, neither Harry nor Meghan have shown any sign of backing down from their decision.</p>
<p><span class="s1">“They’re not having any second thoughts,” the insider said. </span></p>
<p>The reported plan now for Harry and Meghan will be to settle in Canada while keeping a vacation home in Los Angeles. They also hope to soon give baby Archie a sibling. As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/duchess-meghan-wants-to-move-to-progressive-california-but-she-doesnt-want-her-company-to-pay-california-taxes">reported</a> by The Daily Wire&#8217;s Amanda Prestigiacomo, Duchess Meghan wants to settle down in &#8220;progressive&#8221; California after Trump leaves office.</p>
<p>News of Prince Charles&#8217; anger with the situation comes just days after Queen Elizabeth announced that she supports Harry and Meghan&#8217;s decision while still working to hammer out the details of their split — they plan to gain more financial independence while still keeping their royal titles, as they carve out a &#8220;progressive&#8221; role in the family.</p>
<p>“Today my family had very constructive discussions on the future of my grandson and his family,” the British monarch <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/queen-elizabeth-gives-new-statement-on-megxit-supportive-but-still-issues-to-be-resolved">said on Monday</a>. “My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family. Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working Members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.”</p>
<p>The queen went on to say that there are “still issues to be resolved” before a final exit can be established.</p>
<p>“Harry and Meghan have made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives,” continued the queen. “It has therefore been agreed that there will be a period of transition in which the Sussexes will spend time in Canada and the UK. These are complex matters for my family to resolve, and there is some more work to be done, but I have asked for final decisions to be reached in the coming days.”</p>
<p>Though the queen expressed support in her statement, reports leading up to it told a different story, with royal insiders telling various media outlets that she was both disappointed and blindsided by the sudden decision. Steve Hilton, former senior adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron, said on <a href="http://nation.foxnews.com/deep-dive-nation/clips/?cmpid=org=NAT::ag=owned::mc=referral::src=FNC_web::cmp=article::add=DeepDive_Article_FNC_Platform" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fox Nation’s</a> <a href="http://nation.foxnews.com/deep-dive-nation/clips/?cmpid=org=NAT::ag=owned::mc=referral::src=FNC_web::cmp=article::add=DeepDive_Article_FNC_Platform" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Deep Dive”</a> that the queen’s statement is one of her most emotional.</p>
<p>“It feels like the most emotional words I’ve ever heard from the queen,” said Hilton. “It’s very interesting. It feels very personal in a way that I’ve never seen before.”</p>


The Prince Of Wales Visits Flood-Hit Communities In South Yorkshire

REPORT: Prince Charles ‘Livid’ Over ‘Megxit’ As He Decides To ‘Keep Paying Them Or Not’

Great Britain

<p>An 8-year-old boy&#8217;s hair has become the center of a new &#8220;discrimination&#8221; debate swirling around the U.K. that has even prompted the boy&#8217;s mother to float the idea of listing him as &#8220;non-binary&#8221; in order to keep the flowing locks that helped him rise to fame on Instagram.</p>
<p>In a story covered by multiple British outlets, including the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-50916305/farouk-james-the-boy-with-very-long-hair">BBC</a> and the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7880983/Mother-declare-eight-year-old-model-son-non-binary-long-hair-school.html">Daily Mail</a>, Instagram sensation Farouk James, whose mother began a page for him when he was just 2 years old, is desperately trying to keep his long hair amid what his mother suggests are non-&#8220;tolerant&#8221; and &#8220;outdated&#8221; secondary school rules about boys&#8217; haircuts.</p>
<p>The mother of the young male model — who has over 260,000 <a href="https://www.instagram.com/faroukjames/?hl=en">Instagram</a> followers and has been flown all over the world in large part because of his unusually long hair, landing modeling gigs with the likes of Guess — is heading up a movement to force some secondary schools in England to change their grooming codes.</p>
<p class="mol-para-with-font">Appalled that the three schools her son wants to attend don&#8217;t allow boys to have long hair, his mother &#8220;began investigating different schools&#8217; rules, after planning ahead for Farouk&#8217;s applications in Year 5,&#8221; the Daily Mail reports.</p>
<p class="mol-para-with-font">&#8220;We are told we are supposed to be tolerant, and embrace diversity,&#8221; said the boy&#8217;s mom, Bonnie, 41, who&#8217;s from west London. &#8220;However this policy teaches children that they cannot be different.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Why are we teaching — at such a young age — that long hair means there is something wrong with these children?&#8221; Bonnie asked.</p>
<p class="mol-para-with-font">&#8220;I have been trying to think of loopholes, and think how can I get him in,&#8221; she said, explaining, &#8220;The mixed schools I have been looking at have policies which clearly differentiate between boys and girls.&#8221;</p>
<p class="mol-para-with-font">One action she&#8217;s considered taking to sidestep the schools&#8217; grooming policies, she said, is listing the eight-year-old as &#8220;non-binary.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Applying for a mixed school, I may just put him down as non-binary,&#8221; said the boy&#8217;s mom.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Bonnie has started a petition aimed at ending the &#8220;discriminatory&#8221; and &#8220;outdated&#8221; policies. &#8220;I thought &#8216;I have to do something about this, children&#8217;s mental health is more important,'&#8221; she explained.</p>
<p class="mol-para-with-font">Along with allowing boys to better &#8220;express themselves,&#8221; the rule change, Bonnie believes, &#8220;will also allow transgender people to be more comfortable,&#8221; the Daily Mail reports.</p>
<p>Forcing kids to cut their hair, says Bonnie, can be devastating as it is &#8220;part of their identity.&#8221;</p>
<p class="mol-para-with-font">&#8220;Parents have shown me they have had to chop their child&#8217;s hair off, and the devastation it has caused,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a part of their identity. You are asking someone to take away a huge part of themselves, to fit in to what is socially expected.&#8221;</p>
<p>As for her very young, very long-haired son&#8217;s early fame, Bonnie said it has been an inspiration for others and he has attained a &#8220;role model&#8221; status for some, &#8220;chang[ing] others children&#8217;s lives.&#8221;</p>
<p class="mol-para-with-font">&#8220;He&#8217;s become a role model for children, for boys with long hair,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Parents say they refer to Farouk&#8217;s page to give their child confidence. I&#8217;ve cried numerous times because, just from me allowing him to be himself, he has changed other children&#8217;s lives. Farouk globally can be himself, and be appreciated for who he is through Instagram.&#8221;</p>
<p class="mol-para-with-font">&#8220;But locally he is not accepted,&#8221; Bonnie stressed. &#8220;When he goes to secondary school, he is going to be told he has to change. He will be told, he is going to have to take a piece of himself away.&#8221;</p>
<p class="mol-para-with-font">The boy&#8217;s mother says she set up his Instagram page when he was just two years old after a social media influencer used a photo of young Farouk without her permission, the Daily Mail notes.</p>


Cutting hair

Mother Says She May Declare 8-Year-Old Son ‘Non Binary’ So He Doesn’t Have To Cut His Long Hair

Discrimination

Gender

LGBT

<p>The big narrative following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle&#8217;s split from the Royal Family is that Britain&#8217;s racism played a role in their decision.</p>
<p>Over at <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/10/entertainment/meghan-markle-blame-all-sides-race-trnd/index.html">CNN</a>, Lisa Respers France argued that Britons have been sending a message to Meghan Markle since the day she announced her engagement to Harry: &#8220;You aren&#8217;t one of us, and you aren&#8217;t welcome.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Meghan, a biracial, divorced American actress, was far from what many envisioned as a fairy-tale match for a beloved member of the British royal family,&#8221; wrote Respers France. &#8220;While many in the UK welcomed her, the British tabloid media and a large swath of the Twitterverse were not kind. It became so bad that Kensington Palace <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/08/europe/uk-prince-harry-meghan-markle/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">released a statement scolding the press about its treatment of her.&#8221;</a></p>
<p>Now that Meghan Markle has announced her exit, Respers France claimed that Britons have changed their questions about her from &#8220;Why are you here?&#8221; to &#8220;Where do you think you&#8217;re going.&#8221; Kehinde Andrews, an associate professor of sociology at Birmingham City University, said that Markle&#8217;s exit was partially inevitable.</p>
<p>&#8220;It was never going to end well,&#8221; said Andrews. &#8220;The British royal family is one of the premiere symbols of whiteness in the world. She was never going to be fully accepted.&#8221;</p>
<p>Likewise, Nsenga Burton, a professor at Emory University in Atlanta, said that criticism of Meghan Markle&#8217;s exit &#8212; which has now taken on a life of its own under the hashtag #Megxit &#8212; &#8220;reinforces the stereotype of black women being destructive, divisive, and unsatisfied.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;People are cool with black women as long as we go along to get along,&#8221; she said. &#8220;As soon as we start standing up for ourselves and saying, &#8216;This is not working for me,&#8217; we become the problem.&#8221;</p>
<p>Natasha Eubanks, founder and editor of <a href="https://theybf.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TheYBF.com,</a> echoed Burton&#8217;s sentiment, going further to argue that haters of Markle&#8217;s desire for &#8220;self-sovereignty&#8221; show tinges of sexism. &#8220;Having the audacity – because that&#8217;s what it is – to exhibit self-sovereignty has always been a privilege reserved for men, especially white men,&#8221; she told CNN. &#8220;Yet here is Meghan exhibiting this &#8216;audacity&#8217; and it&#8217;s being &#8230; pushed forward by a white man who happens to be her husband.&#8221;</p>
<p>The sight of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle splitting off especially &#8220;triggers people,&#8221; according to Eubank, because it places &#8220;a white Prince of royal blood and a black American woman commoner&#8221; on equal footing.</p>
<p>&#8220;That sight doesn&#8217;t sit well with everyone due to how they&#8217;ve been conditioned to view women and people of color, whether they realize it or not,&#8221; she asserted.</p>
<p>In response to the arguments, &#8220;Good Morning Britain&#8221; co-host Piers Morgan, who previously hosted &#8220;Piers Morgan Live&#8221; on CNN, roasted his former employer for using the British Royal Family drama for an escapade of &#8220;race-baiting,&#8221; arguing that Meghan Markle invited most of the bad press she received.</p>
<p>&#8220;Disgraceful race-baiting by ⁦@CNN &#8211; this is such a lie,&#8221; <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/piers-morgan-cnn-meghan-markle">Morgan said on Twitter</a>.  &#8220;Meghan’s had a LOT of very good press &amp; some bad press when she has (mostly) deserved it. But I haven’t seen anything racist published or broadcast about her in the British media. It’s a lie.&#8221;</p>
<p>Piers Morgan then shared images of British tabloids fawning over Meghan Markle since the beginning. &#8220;&#8216;Nasty racist British press had it in for Meghan from the start,'&#8221; Morgan quipped.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">&#39;Nasty racist British press had it in for Meghan from the start.&#39; <a href="https://t.co/vdKfOC5BTh">pic.twitter.com/vdKfOC5BTh</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) <a href="https://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/1215713855889907715?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
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The Duke And Duchess Of Sussex Visit Canada House

CNN: Racism To Blame For Meghan Markle Split

Racism

<p>A man in England claimed he discovered a fossil while out walking his two dogs.</p>
<p>The man, 54-year-old Jon Gopsill, said his dogs sniffed out the fossil on a beach in Somerset, which is in South West England. The fossil is five-and-a-half feet long and is believed to have been unearthed by recent storms, The Telegraph <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/12/16/dog-walker-discovers-65-million-year-old-fossil-pets-sniff/">reported</a>. Gopsill, the outlet reported, fancies himself an amateur archaeologist and said he believes the fossil is 65 million-years-old and may be that of an ichthyosaur.</p>
<p>Ichthyosaurs were not dinosaurs, but ancient marine vertebrates, which resembled modern-day porpoise. They first appeared during the Triassic period, <a href="https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/ichthyosauria.html">according to</a> former University of California-Berkeley post-doctoral researcher Ryosuke Motani. They reached their highest population during the Jurassic period and began to decline afterward, disappearing during the Cretaceous period, which occurred several million years before the dinosaurs were wiped out.</p>
<p>Some rare fossils have shown that ichthyosaurs gave birth to live young and never left the water. There’s no indication that they had gills, making them similar to modern-day whales.</p>
<p>Gopsill said he had previously found other fossils – mostly ammonites, and the Telegraph reported that “West Somerset’s northern bays are known for their fossil finds,” including rocks from the Jurassic and Triassic eras. The outlet reported that just last year, “part of the lower jaw of a 85-foot ichthyosaur was found in the Somerset village of Lilstock, thought to be 235 to 200 million years old.”</p>
<p>Gopsill told the outlet he reported the fossil he discovered to the Somerset Heritage and the Natural History Museum.</p>
<p>&#8220;I often go to the beach walking with my dogs and when the tide goes out we go out to the rocks because they like playing there,&#8221; Gopsill told the Telegraph. &#8220;I have always been a bit of an amateur fossil hunter and I have found a good supply of ammonites, so I always keep my eyes open.”</p>
<p>&#8220;We were at the beach when I saw this thing and thought &#8216;what&#8217;s that?&#8217; so I went a bit closer and thought &#8216;wow,&#8217;” he continued. &#8220;I thought it was obviously a fossilised sea creature, possibly an ichthyosaur. It doesn&#8217;t have a head, I have look[ed] around but I can&#8217;t find it. It has been there for at least 65 million years.”</p>
<p>&#8220;I realised straight that it was amazing, museum quality stuff, as soon as I saw it I knew I found something special. I was just blown away to see it there. It really is incredible that is has survived for such a long time and is now just there for everyone to see,” Gopsill concluded.</p>
<p>Dr. Mike Day, who curates the Earth Sciences department at the Natural History Museum, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7796945/Dog-walker-stumbles-five-half-foot-long-Jurassic-fossil-Somerset-beach.html">confirmed to The Daily Mail</a> that the fossil found by Gopsill was likely that of an ichthyosaur.</p>
<p>“Looking at this specimen, based on the number of bones in the pectoral paddle, the apparent absence of a pelvic girdle, as well as the distinctive ‘hunch’ of the back, this is likely to be the remains of an ichthyosaur,” Day told the outlet. “It is not possible to identify the exact type of ichthyosaur from these images alone however.”</p>


Ichthyosaur

A Dog Walker In The U.K. Just Found A 65 Million-Year-Old Fossil Thanks To Two Very Good Doggos

Science

<p>A new sex-ed curriculum recently instituted in some classrooms in the United Kingdom is one of the most blatant examples of institutionalized child sex abuse that we&#8217;ve seen in the West. As <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7490415/Children-young-SIX-given-compulsory-self-touching-lessons.html">the Daily Mail reports</a>, the All About Me program being unveiled in over 240 schools across the country would give very young children &#8220;rules&#8221; for &#8220;touching yourself.&#8221; The Mail offers details about these rules:</p>
<blockquote><p>Under a section called Touching Myself, teachers are advised to tell children that ‘lots of people like to tickle or stroke themselves as it might feel nice.’ They are also instructed to inform youngsters that this may include touching their ‘private parts’ and, that while some people may say this behaviour is ‘dirty,’ it is in fact ‘very normal.’</p></blockquote>
<p>It gets worse:</p>
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<p class="mol-para-with-font">In the same lesson, children are given scenarios which they must judge to be ‘OK’ or ‘not OK.’</p>
<p class="mol-para-with-font">In one, pupils are told that when a girl called Autumn ‘has a bath and is alone she likes to touch herself between her legs. It feels nice.’</p>
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<p>This is for six- and seven-year-olds, remember. Not that it would be any more appropriate for older children.</p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.curdworthprimary.co.uk/our-information/curriculum/all-about-me-sre-programme/">overview</a> of the All About Me program seems to indicate that this lesson plan will be very hands-on, in a literal sense:</p>
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<blockquote><p>Children will be given the opportunity to explore a variety of diﬀerent touch and feel sensations and allowed to decide which they like and dislike.</p></blockquote>
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<blockquote><p>By the end of the lesson, children will understand that just because they like how something feels does not mean that everyone feels the same.</p></blockquote>
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<p>By year four of the program, things get more specific:</p>
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<blockquote><p>Children will consider the rules of when it is appropriate to be naked or semi-naked and when it is appropriate to touch themselves, including self-stimulation.</p></blockquote>
<p>And in year five, the kids will have graduated to discussions about erections and wet dreams:</p>
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<blockquote><p>Children will be informed of their own personal anatomy and the development of their genitals, including wet dreams, erections, self-stimulation, and menstruation.</p></blockquote>
<p>A similar program was recently rolled out in <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/amp/news/south-africa/2019-10-30-poll-are-grade-4-pupils-ready-to-learn-about-sex-and-masturbation/">South African schools</a>, instructing kids on the wonders of masturbation, anal sex, and oral sex.</p>
<p>And lest you think we are safe from this madness here in the States, our own compulsory sex-ed curricula are not far removed from what&#8217;s described above. A recent &#8220;<a href="https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-sex-education-california-20190510-story.html">framework</a>&#8221; for sex education in California features, among other things, graphic descriptions of sodomy and bondage.</p>
<p>What we&#8217;re witnessing here is not a &#8220;slippery slope&#8221; to the normalization of pedophilia. This <em>is</em> pedophilia. There&#8217;s no more slope. We&#8217;ve reached the bottom, which isn&#8217;t to say that we can&#8217;t pull out a shovel and continue our descent. My point is simply that these &#8220;programs&#8221; are a form of widespread, institutionalized child sexual abuse. The administrators who approve this material are predators, and the teachers who teach it are complicit. The &#8220;I&#8217;m just following orders&#8221; excuse rarely gets you off the moral hook, and it certainly doesn&#8217;t in this case.</p>
<p><iframe title="Climate Protesters Officially Cross The Line | The Matt Walsh Show Ep. 378" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pLPmKtTQoIk?start=1073&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>But we should not be surprised by this. It is the inevitable consequence of allowing public schools to teach &#8220;sex-ed&#8221; in the first place. There is, it turns out, no non-creepy way for schools to handle the topic. There is no approach that isn&#8217;t at least inappropriate, and at worst abuse. That&#8217;s because schools have no business delivering lectures on sexuality, no matter what is being said about it. By broaching the subject, they are already treading on ground where they don&#8217;t belong. It&#8217;s no wonder that they marched all the way to this point.</p>
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<p>As far as schools are concerned, sex should be a purely scientific subject. Teach the kids about anatomy. Teach them where babies come from. Teach them the facts of human reproduction. That&#8217;s it. The children don&#8217;t need to hear, and should not hear, the teacher&#8217;s personal views on what kind of touching is appropriate, and what sort of sex positions are enjoyable, and &#8220;when it is appropriate to be naked or semi-naked,&#8221; whether our cultural attitudes towards sexuality are repressive, and so on. None of that constitutes objective scientific information. It is, at best, the subjective view point of the person who came up with the lesson plan. And subjective view points about sexuality have no place — <em>at all</em> — in a school.</p>
<p>This is not a pitch for &#8220;abstinence education.&#8221; Abstinence programs are certainly less creepy and less morally fraught than some of this other stuff, but I don&#8217;t want my child&#8217;s teacher to give him tips on how to avoid having sex any more than I want her giving tips on how to have it. It&#8217;s simply none of her business, either way. She is an unwelcome intruder. Just because I send my kids to school to learn the ABCs and 123s doesn&#8217;t mean I also want them to be indoctrinated into Mrs. Wilson&#8217;s personal philosophy on human sexuality. Actually I don&#8217;t send my kids to school at all — we homeschool — but the point stands.</p>
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<p>If it would be considered a gross infringement for a teacher to stand up and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the middle of algebra class, why is it any less of a gross infringement for a teacher to proclaim the Gospel of Sexual Enlightenment — the Gospel of Freud, basically — in the middle of health class? You might argue that schools &#8220;have to teach it&#8221; because parents refuse to do it themselves. But where does that end? There are many ethical, moral, and spiritual lessons that parents often fail to impart to their children. Should schools then become churches, daycare centers, therapists, spiritual gurus, and sex coaches all rolled into one, just to compensate for lackadaisical parenting? Schools don&#8217;t automatically inherit the right to teach whatever a parent doesn&#8217;t teach.</p>
<p>Besides, parents might &#8220;refuse&#8221; to teach their children how to masturbate because they, as parents, feel (rightly) that such a lesson would be extremely bizarre and inappropriate, and probably warranting a visit from CPS. It might be a teacher&#8217;s opinion that parents should teach those things, but her opinion is irrelevant. It&#8217;s also, in this case, insane. That&#8217;s why schools should stick to the academic basics. Reading, writing, arithmetic, etc. It is not their job, or their right, to go beyond that.</p>
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children in classroom

WALSH: Sex-Ed Program Teaches Six-Year-Olds How To ‘Self-Stimulate.’ This Is Why Sex-Ed Should Be Abolished.

Children

Education

Sexuality

<p><b>[WARNING: This article contains disturbing content]</b></p>
<p>On Thursday, rapper Slowthai shocked viewers when, during his performance at the Mercury Prize (a British/Irish music award show), he took off his jacket, revealing a t-shirt that read: &#8220;F*** Boris.&#8221; Boris Johnson is the current prime minister of the U.K.</p>
<p>The letters on the &#8220;F*** Boris&#8221; shirt were created using naked animations of Johnson – but that&#8217;s not all. Near the end of his rap, Slowthai yelled out: &#8220;F*** Boris Johnson! F*** everything! And there ain&#8217;t nothing great about Britain!&#8221; while holding a mock severed head of the prime minister.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>.<a href="https://twitter.com/slowthai?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@slowthai</a> held up a dummy Boris Johnson head when he appeared on stage at the ceremony to announce the winner of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MercuryPrize?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MercuryPrize</a>.</p>
<p>Read more about the politically charged ceremony here: <a href="https://t.co/qZkitbGw0d">https://t.co/qZkitbGw0d</a> <a href="https://t.co/WjdIS8Vd5s">pic.twitter.com/WjdIS8Vd5s</a></p>
<p>— Sky News (@SkyNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1174917414435246080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p>​Slowthai later posted three photos to his Instagram. The first shows the rapper wearing the t-shirt and holding the severed head. The second is a photo of the &#8220;F*** Boris&#8221; t-shirt. The third is a photo of another t-shirt in which an animated Boris Johnson is having sex with the U.K.</p>
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<p>The photos are captioned: &#8220;F*** BORIS TSHIRTS OUT NOW!!!!!! LINK IN BIO.&#8221; The Instagram post has more than 85,700 &#8220;likes&#8221; as of publication.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B2m0qDWJPFl/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">A post shared by slowthai (@slowthai)</a> on Sep 19, 2019 at 1:42pm PDT</p>
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<p>Some Instagram users offered support for Slowthai&#8217;s disturbing message. &#8220;King of the world!!!&#8221; wrote one user, while another wrote: &#8220;Babbabaaaahahaha Boris noggin!&#8221; next to a knife emoji. A third wrote: &#8220;This is amazing.&#8221;</p>
<p>Social media was buzzing with commentary, with some praising Slowthai:</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Slowthai finished his Mercury performance by pulling a dummy of Boris Johnson&#8217;s decapitated head out of a bag and shouting (for the third time), &#8220;FUCK BORIS!&#8221; Amazing.</p>
<p>Lauren Laverne: &#8220;Slowthai, with his own views there.&#8221;</p>
<p>— Laura Snapes (@laurasnapes) <a href="https://twitter.com/laurasnapes/status/1174778597057454080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
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<blockquote><p>&#8220;Slowthai finished his Mercury performance by pulling a dummy of Boris Johnson&#8217;s decapitated head out of a bag and shouting (for the third time), &#8216;F*** BORIS!&#8217; Amazing.&#8221; – Laura Snapes, deputy music editor for The Guardian</p></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Winner reveal shortly. Slowthai definitely best performance waving a Boris head and shouting f*ck Boris. No need for nuance <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/mercuryprize?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#mercuryprize</a></p>
<p>— Alex Lawson (@MrAlexLawson) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrAlexLawson/status/1174789943211806733?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
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<blockquote><p>&#8220;Winner reveal shortly. Slowthai definitely best performance waving a Boris head and shouting f*ck Boris. No need for nuance #mercuryprize.&#8221; – Alex Lawson, business news editor for London Evening Standard</p></blockquote>
<p>Others on social media condemned the rapper&#8217;s behavior:</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Slowthai holds fake decapitated Boris Johnson head at Mercury Prize 2019. Because this is just normal these days &#8211; and greeted by rapturous applause. Waiting for all politicians on all sides to condemn this 100%, no ifs, no buts. <a href="https://t.co/u6zuH41SWK">https://t.co/u6zuH41SWK</a></p>
<p>— Julia Hartley-Brewer (@JuliaHB1) <a href="https://twitter.com/JuliaHB1/status/1174979562557464576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
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<blockquote><p>&#8220;Slowthai holds fake decapitated Boris Johnson head at Mercury Prize 2019. Because this is just normal these days &#8211; and greeted by rapturous applause. Waiting for all politicians on all sides to condemn this 100%, no ifs, no buts.&#8221; – Julia Hartley-Brewer, journalist and broadcaster</p></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Could you imagine the uproar if someone on a pro brexit march wandered through the streets with a severed head of Corbyn? So why the celebration of what <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/slowthai?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#slowthai</a> done? Politicians are actually getting murdered these days&#8230;.</p>
<p>— samzala93 (@samzala93) <a href="https://twitter.com/samzala93/status/1174955632174067713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
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<blockquote><p>&#8220;Could you imagine the uproar if someone on a pro brexit march wandered through the streets with a severed head of Corbyn? So why the celebration of what #slowthai done? Politicians are actually getting murdered these days.&#8221; – @samzala93</p></blockquote>
<p>On Friday, Slowthai released an unapologetic statement on Twitter:</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p><a href="https://t.co/zQ34fz4P7D">pic.twitter.com/zQ34fz4P7D</a></p>
<p>— slowthai (@slowthai) <a href="https://twitter.com/slowthai/status/1175072098034823168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
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<blockquote><p>Last night I held a mirror up to this country and some people don&#8217;t like the reflection. Yet this is exactly where we&#8217;re being taken, cut off and at all costs. The people in power who are trying to isolate and divide us aren&#8217;t the ones who will feel its effects the hardest. They’re not the ones queuing at the food banks, not the ones navigating Universal Credit, and not the ones having to deal with systematic oppression and hate crimes at the hands of privileged politicians who say what they want without fear and consequence.</p>
<p>We as a people are not being looked after and our best interests are not being served by those in government – this is their job and they&#8217;re not doing it well enough. This &#8220;act&#8221; was a metaphor for what this government is doing to our country, except what I did was present it in plain sight. No Boris Johnsons were hurt in the making of this Slowthai performance. I don&#8217;t condone violence in any form.</p></blockquote>
<p>Prime Minister Boris Johnson has faced criticism for his role in the Brexit &#8220;Leave&#8221; campaign, as well as several personal controversies, including <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/23/africa/boris-johnson-africa-intl/index.html">multiple instances</a> in which he used language that many have called &#8220;racist.&#8221;</p>
<p>American comedian Kathy Griffin was at the center of a similar controversy back in 2017 when she posed for a photo while <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/16998/disgusting-kathy-griffin-holds-trumps-bloody-hank-berrien">holding a mock severed head</a> of President Trump.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>.<a href="https://twitter.com/kathygriffin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KathyGriffin</a>&#8216;s Trump bloody head photo defended by the photographer; &#8220;She was willing to go pretty far&#8221;: <a href="https://t.co/ZjqItmkjI6">https://t.co/ZjqItmkjI6</a> <a href="https://t.co/kxnC71EpfC">pic.twitter.com/kxnC71EpfC</a></p>
<p>— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) <a href="https://twitter.com/EW/status/869656792682377216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 30, 2017</a></p></blockquote>
</div>
<p>Griffin apologized for her actions, but was nevertheless <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kathy-griffin-fired-cnn-over-gruesome-photo-trump-n766716">fired</a> by CNN and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/18258/secret-service-interviews-kathy-griffin-over-hour-hank-berrien">investigated</a> by the Secret Service. Approximately a year later, the comedian <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/30044/watch-kathy-griffin-takes-back-trump-apology-ryan-saavedra">retracted her apology</a>, stating: &#8220;By the way, I take the apology back. F*** him!&#8221;</p>
<p>Griffin later said the following at a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/31466/kathy-griffin-i-stand-photo-trumps-severed-head-paul-bois">roundtable discussion</a> hosted by GQ: &#8220;Initially I had so many mixed feelings, and there was so much legal stuff going around. But now I feel like I just think it’s important for me to stand by that photo just because of the First Amendment.&#8221;</p>


Slowthai

Brit Rapper Pulls Out Fake Severed Head Of Prime Minister Boris Johnson At Award Show

Boris Johnson

Donald Trump

Kathy Griffin

<p>The most meaningful political story in the United States this week wasn&#8217;t unfolding in the United States. One of our potential futures was instead being played out in England, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson was fighting a pitched battle to bring the will of the people to fruition against the entrenched power of a multi-national elite.</p>
<p>Ever since a 2016 referendum in which British voters chose to leave the European Union by a 52% to 48% margin, the voters’ representatives have been doing everything they possibly can not to represent the voters. Prime Minister Teresa May swore that &#8220;Brexit means Brexit,&#8221; then managed to fashion a leave deal so bad that even Brexit supporters thought it worse than staying. After May staggered off in tears, Boris Johnson took over the premiership swearing that the Brits would be out of the EU by the October 31stdeadline — a deadline already once extended.</p>
<p>BoJo made it clear that his willingness to &#8220;crash out&#8221; on Halloween with no deal would help him negotiate a better deal with an EU that does not want to let its grip on British power go. But Parliament — with the help of a largely anti-Brexit press and elite — has so far managed to stymie Johnson&#8217;s strategy and may extend the deadline yet again — maybe forever.</p>
<p>The reason I say this is the most meaningful political story here in the U.S. is because it&#8217;s the first real test of whether the English-speaking peoples can wrest back their power of self-governance. If Brexit fails, the situation here will not look good. If it succeeds, there&#8217;s hope.</p>
<p>As Christopher Caldwell points out in his excellent Brexit piece in this summer’s issue of <em>Claremont Review of Books</em>, Britain&#8217;s entry into the E.U. did not just result in a diminution of British sovereignty over its own affairs, it also transferred power from the people&#8217;s representatives in Parliament to the elite’s representatives on and before the bench. British judges could now invalidate British law that conflicted with laws concocted in Brussels.</p>
<p>&#8220;Quangos [advisory bodies with government-appointed members] and foundations began designing cases — concerning migrants&#8217; rights, gay rights, search-and-seizure — that unraveled the centuries-old fabric woven from the rights and duties of British citizenship. A new fabric began to be woven, based (as are all such systems in Europe) on post-Civil Rights Act American law and on the litigative ethos of the American bar.&#8221;</p>
<p>Here in America, a similar shift has taken power out of the hands of our representatives in congress and put it into unelected administrative bodies like the EPA and the Department of Education. These bodies serve the same &#8220;rights&#8221; oriented obsessions of the elites — and can make rules and enforce rules in a completely unconstitutional and anti-freedom manner that, so far, has had the support of a feckless Supreme Court.</p>
<p>Legislators love this system. They no longer have to study issues and fashion laws that have a specific effect. They no longer have to take real stances that could get them voted out of office. They simply have to pose for the cameras, use big, emotional words, take money from entrenched interests and then announce that they &#8220;did something&#8221; about the big issue of the day. The &#8220;something&#8221; is some 2,000 page collection of vaguely worded gobbledygook that can be interpreted by some drone at the EPA to mean he can do whatever he wants. When the EPA guy then rules that you can&#8217;t go to the bathroom because your toilet is a public waterway, you&#8217;ve got no one to appeal to but the same petty tyrant at the EPA. Your property rights, your rights to due process, not to mention your vote, essentially mean nothing.</p>
<p>Donald Trump has done an excellent job of cutting regulations, but they&#8217;ll bounce right back once the next person, Democrat or Republican, takes his place. The entire system needs to be dismantled, probably at the level of the Supreme Court.</p>
<p>With the election of Donald Trump and with the vote for Brexit, the English-speaking peoples are demanding their age-old representative systems back. If Boris Johnson succeeds in Britain, it will be a hopeful sign. But if the combined power of the elites and their press can prevent the crash out, then Trump, instead of the change we need, may turn out to be just a bump in the road that leads to the end of the republic.</p>
<p><strong>Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/51400/haworth-americans-must-see-brexit-betrayal-warning-ian-haworth">HAWORTH: Americans Must See The Brexit Betrayal As A Warning</a></strong></p>


KLAVAN: Where Britain Goes, America May Follow

Brexit

European Union

Trump Administration

<p>Last week, the school curriculum for the future King of England was released. People Magazine <a href="https://people.com/royals/prince-george-school-curriculum-thomas-battersea-2/">described</a> it as reading “like a college graduate program.”</p>
<p>Indeed, 6-year-old Prince George’s upcoming school year will be demanding. It will include “core subjects such as math, English, science, history and geography,” as well as “religious studies, French, computing, art/design technology, music, drama, P.E. and ballet,” according to People.</p>
<p>“Good Morning America” ran a segment last week on the young prince’s school subjects, with host Lara Spencer appearing to mock the boy’s apparent affinity for ballet.</p>
<p>“He looks so happy about the ballet class,” she said on air.</p>
<p>“Prince William says George absolutely loves ballet. I have news for you Prince William: We’ll see how long that lasts,” she added.</p>
<p>Spencer was then accused of “bullying” George, according to People. Broadway actress Shoshana Bean tweeted: Dear @GMA… I find @LaraSpencer response to be insensitive and her apology a cop out. Not good enough for me… is it good enough for you?? This statement needs to be made on air in the same forum she so freely judged and criticized.”</p>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Dear <a href="https://twitter.com/GMA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GMA</a> &#8230; I find <a href="https://twitter.com/LaraSpencer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LaraSpencer</a> response to be insensitive and her apology a cop out. Not good enough for me&#8230; is it good enough for you?? This statement needs to be made on air in the same forum she so freely judged and criticized.</p>
<p>— Shoshana Bean (@ShoshanaBean) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShoshanaBean/status/1164976735063953408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 23, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
</div>
<p>Bean was responding to Spencer’s apology on Friday for her remarks. She posted a photo of flowers and mountains on Instagram, writing “My deepest apologies for an insensitive comment I made during pop news on Thursday.”</p>
<p>“From ballet, which I took as a kid, to anything in life you wish to explore, I fully believe we should all pursue our passion,” she added.</p>
<p>She concluded: “Go climb your mountain and love every minute of it.”</p>
<p>People reported that George’s dance curriculum “follows the Royal Academy of Dance Pre-Primary in Dance syllabus and will develop students’ physical skills, stamina, creative, expression and musicality.”</p>
<p>“The curriculum presented in Year 2 reflects the increased ability of the children, both academically and socially,” said Helen Haslem, head of the school, on its website. “It sees the completion of the basic skills in literacy and numeracy in Key Stage 1. Individual strengths and talents begin to emerge, which you will undoubtedly begin to see.”</p>
<p>“The children are asked to become more responsible in Year 2; this may start with the children recording their own homework in their diaries,” Haslem continues. “This increasing independence allows for a smooth transition to the Prep School.”</p>
<p>George, known as George Cambridge at his school, takes a 35-minute dance lesson each week accompanied by a live pianist. The school, <a href="https://people.com/royals/prince-george-school-curriculum-thomas-battersea-2/">according to People</a>, costs $23,000 a year.</p>


Prince George

‘Good Morning America’ Host Apologizes For ‘Insensitive’ Comments About Prince George Taking Ballet

<p>Every year, England is invaded by swarms of flying ants. It happens, and people just deal with it.</p>
<p>This year, however, some of the swarms were so large that they were seen from space and mistaken for rain storms.</p>
<p>Simon King, a weather presenter and meteorologist for the BBC, tweeted that the swarms were being mistaken for rain by the weather radar.</p>
<p>“Swarms of them flying into the sky in [South England] are being picked up as rain on the radar image this morning&#8230;!”</p>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p>Flying ants!!!</p>
<p>Swarms of them flying into the sky in S Eng are being picked up as rain on the radar image this morning&#8230;!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/flyingantday?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#flyingantday</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/flyingants?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#flyingants</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/yuk?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#yuk</a> <a href="https://t.co/QGOcikqJFq">pic.twitter.com/QGOcikqJFq</a></p>
<p>— Simon King (@SimonOKing) <a href="https://twitter.com/SimonOKing/status/1151448175372357632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
</div>
<p>The official UK Met Office presented another view of the swarm. The video showed an actual storm front moving over Northwest England, and some odd movement in the Southeast.</p>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p>The latest view from space shows that our radar is picking up something that isn&#8217;t <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/precipitation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#precipitation</a> along the south coast <a href="https://t.co/N4eU9n6Z6A">pic.twitter.com/N4eU9n6Z6A</a></p>
<p>— Met Office (@metoffice) <a href="https://twitter.com/metoffice/status/1151428488299261952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
</div>
<p>The office’s Twitter account asked people what they thought it was, to which most responded: “dust.”</p>
<p>“If you said flying ants you were correct! We know this to be insect clutter (flying ants) based on inspection of raw reflectivity,” the account then tweeted.</p>
<p>AN office spokesperson <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/07/18/swarm-flying-ants-england-dense-could-seen-space/">told The Telegraph</a> that the radar mistook the ants for rain because it thought “the beams are hitting raindrops not ants.”</p>
<p>The Telegraph also reported that the ants are not harmful to humans, “but they do have a strange effect on seagulls who can appear drunk after eating a few due to formic acid they expel.”</p>
<p>CNN <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/18/uk/flying-ant-day-uk-scli-gbr-intl/index.html">reported</a> that the large swarms were not out of the ordinary, as they “merely signaled the annual arrival of what has come to be known as Flying Ant Day”:</p>
<p>Mobs of the insects descend on locations around Britain on one day every summer. The creatures sweep in and take up residence on streets, green land and in the skies before disappearing hours later.</p>
<p>The phenomena occurs because male and queen ants leave their colonies to mate when conditions are just right. And while flying ants are spotted on several days throughout the year, the vast majority pick the exact same moment to head out from their nests.</p>
<p>The ants, CNN reported, ruined two sunny and warm days this week with their mating ritual. The outlet also reported that the swarms have famously ruined certain outdoor events, such as Wimbledon, where “tennis championships struggled to maintain their focus as swarms descended onto Centre Court.”</p>
<p>The Royal Society of Biology said the swarms were helpful for the environment, as their activity “allows for more oxygen and water to reach the roots of plants and they can even improve soil fertility and help control pests.&#8221;</p>


NIGHTMARE: Flying Ant Swarms In Britain Are So Large They Can Be Seen From Space

<p>Former UKIP Leader Nigel Farage warned that it was &#8220;entirely possible&#8221; that a new right-leaning political party could form if the British Parliament forces a second vote on &#8220;Brexit,&#8221; the referendum passed by the British public to leave the European Union. </p>
<p>Speaking to <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1063646/Brexit-news-Nigel-Farage-latest-no-deal-vote-Theresa-May-UK-EU-political-party">Express</a>, the pro-Brexit leader warned, &#8220;There may well be a realignment of British politics coming out of all of this. The splits are so great now within the Conservative parliamentary party and out there in the country with many Labour voters too.&#8221;</p>
<p>While he added that it is his &#8220;first priority&#8221; <em>not </em>to start a new political party, he believes the pro-Brexit movement should be prepared in case Parliament votes to force a second referendum or makes a deal with the EU that favors the bloc. </p>
<p>&#8220;My first priority is to get Brexit and to get Brexit we can cross our fingers but at the same time prepare for what comes next,&#8221; he said. &#8220;So other political parties and a change in British politics&#8230; all entirely possible but it is not the top of my agenda.&#8221;</p>
<p>Farage opined that a new party will form if British Prime Minister Theresa May forces a deal through Parliament that favors the &#8220;Remainers,&#8221; those who oppose Brexit. Her measure failed to pass Parliament and she barely survived a vote of &#8220;no confidence&#8221; against her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/39298/british-mps-trigger-vote-no-confidence-embattled-emily-zanotti">leadership</a>. </p>
<p>&#8220;I fear when it really comes to it, Parliament may well force us into a second referendum,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Most of my colleagues say, &#8216;Nigel, don&#8217;t say it &#8211; it&#8217;s all going to be fine.&#8217; But I&#8217;m not sure it is going to be fine. My message now is let&#8217;s get ready just in case.&#8221;</p>
<p>Brexit is extremely opposed by the Left in England and the European Union. </p>
<p>VOA News <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/eu-s-oettinger-sees-chance-british-parliament-votes-for-brexit-deal-in-january/4717839.html">reports</a> that European Commissioner Guenther Oettinger expressed his dismay with how Brexit has proceeded and hopes that there will not be a messy &#8220;divorce.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;It is not entirely unlikely that the British parliament will vote for the divorce agreement in January,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There is certainly no majority for a disorderly Brexit or for a new referendum.&#8221;</p>
<p>The commissioner added that he does not believe the embattled May will be able to get a Brexit deal through Parliament by the end of March, when Britain is scheduled to officially part ways with the EU. </p>
<p>&#8220;Nevertheless, I assume that it will come to an exit at the end of March,&#8221; Oettinger said. </p>
<p>Farage has been a strong proponent of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/28161/prageru-brexit-why-britain-left-european-union-jacob-airey">Brexit</a>, even while serving as a member of European Parliament in Brussels. </p>
<p>In a June 2016 speech to EU lawmakers following Brexit&#8217;s passage, Farage did not hold back his criticism of the European Union. </p>
<p>&#8220;Isn&#8217;t it funny,&#8221; he said. &#8220;When I came here 17 years ago and I said that I wanted to lead a campaign to get Britain to leave the European Union, you all laughed at me. Well, I have to say, you&#8217;re not laughing now, are you?&#8221;</p>
<p>He added, &#8220;The biggest problem you&#8217;ve got and the main reason the UK voted the way it did is because you have by stealth and deception, and without telling the truth to the rest of the peoples of Europe, you have imposed upon them a political union.&#8221;</p>
<p>Farage resigned as the leader of the UKIP following the Brexit vote.</p>
<div> </div>


Nigel Farage Warns Tories Of New Party If Brexit Fails

Europe

Nigel Farage

<p>The Duke of Sussex did not break with tradition after all despite his wife&#8217;s reported dissatisfaction with the matter.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/39431/american-princess-meghan-markle-inspires-prince-paul-bois">reports surfaced</a> alleging that Prince Harry would be pulling out of the 40-year &#8220;Boxing Day&#8221; pheasant hunt tradition because it offended Princess Meghan&#8217;s animal rights sensibilities. Many royal commentators and inside sources said the Duke&#8217;s impending absence from the affair signified a greater rift within the family, being that he and his brother, Prince William, have typically used the hunt as a bonding experience.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-6530477/Did-Meghan-Markle-join-Prince-Harry-Boxing-Day-shoot.html">Daily Mail</a>, however, Prince Harry did indeed join in on the &#8220;Boxing Day&#8221; pheasant shoot, though a question mark still looms as to whether or not his wife Meghan attended at his side. The Kensington Palace has continually denied that Meghan Markle&#8217;s animal-loving had inspired Harry to withdraw from the hunt.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Mail&#8217;s Richard Eden revealed that Meghan had made clear she was happy for Harry to continue shooting with the rest of the royal family, as he has done since the age of 12,&#8221; reports the outlet. &#8220;There had been speculation that the &#8216;Suits&#8217; star had told Harry he could not take part in the traditional shoot, despite staying at Sandringham House as guests of the Queen.&#8221;</p>
<p>A palace source emphatically denounced the rumors in a statement to the Daily Mail. &#8220;It&#8217;s completely untrue that Her Royal Highness has banned the Duke from shooting,&#8221; said the source.</p>
<p>Contrary to the rumors that Harry has given up hunting, reports have now surfaced that he has acquired a black labrador puppy to be a gun dog. David Roper&#8211;Curzon, who has been shooting with the Prince, told Richard Eden: &#8220;[Harry] is a very good shot. Not only that, he is a great figure in supporting those who work in that industry.&#8221;</p>
<p>While Meghan Markle indeed has been described as an animal rights activist, an inside source claims that it has not affected Prince Harry&#8217;s love of shooting. &#8220;Like Harry, Meghan is very keen to promote wildlife charities and animal conservation,&#8221; the source told the Daily Mail. &#8220;However, Harry believes shooting is a sustainable field sport and she won&#8217;t stop him.&#8221;</p>
<p>The rumors of Prince Harry&#8217;s absence at this year&#8217;s &#8220;Boxing Day&#8221; shoot was not entirely without substance, however, being that he missed out on last year prior to tying the knot with Meghan Markle. The reason for that missed attendance still remains unclear. He also skipped the grouse hunt at Balmoral three months ago.</p>
<p>Upon news that Prince Harry would allegedly skip the &#8220;Boxing Day&#8221; shoot, a royal source told the Sunday Mirror that Prince William was increasingly growing concerned that Meghan was pulling Harry away from the family.</p>
<p>&#8220;William sees this as another concerning example of his brother being pulled away from his family by his new wife,&#8221; the source reportedly said. &#8220;Harry&#8217;s always loved hunting and it has provided them with a great chance to bond as brothers.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;But now it looks like Harry&#8217;s shooting days are over,&#8221; the source continued. &#8220;It&#8217;s the latest point of contention between the Princes.&#8221;</p>
<p>This Christmas, it appears that tradition wins and the royal family remains united.</p>


Tradition Wins: Prince Harry Partakes In ‘Boxing Day’ Hunting, Palace Denies Rumors Of Princess Markle’s Disapproval

<p>British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced this week that he has ordered the creation of a new commission to investigate the persecution of Christians worldwide and how England can work to relieve the issue. </p>
<p>Bishop of Truro, the Rt Reverend Philip Mounstephen, has been tasked with leading the new group. Sky News <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/foreign-secretary-uk-must-do-more-to-protect-persecuted-christians-around-the-world-11591328">reports</a> that the commission has three goals:</p>
<ul>
<li>Mapping the persecution of Christians in &#8220;key countries&#8221; in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.</li>
<li>Provide an &#8220;objective analysis&#8221; of the level of UK governmental support on offer.</li>
<li>Provide recommendations for a &#8220;cohesive and comprehensive policy response.&#8221;</li>
</ul>
<p>In an op-ed written in <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/12/26/must-not-allow-misguided-political-correctness-stop-us-helping/">The Telegraph</a>, Hunt explained that while attending his local church, he came to the realization that &#8220;others around the world are facing death, torture and imprisonment for that very right.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;It is distressingly poignant at Christmas to hear recent warnings that the persecution facing Christians across the globe is now most stark in the region of its birth,&#8221; he wrote, describing how the Middle East was at one time 20% Christian and now has shrunk to a disturbing 5%. He also cited the case of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/37835/pakistani-catholic-woman-sentenced-death-blasphemy-hank-berrien">Asia Bibi</a>, a Pakistani Catholic woman in hiding from radical Muslims after being acquitted of violating blasphemy laws, as an inspiration for the commission. </p>
<p>&#8220;Whatever the cause, we must never allow a misguided political correctness to inhibit our response to the persecution of any religious community,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;It is not in our national character to turn a blind eye to suffering. All religious minorities must be protected and the evidence demonstrates that in some countries, Christians face the greatest risk. We should be willing to state that simple fact &#8212; and adjust our policies accordingly.&#8221;</p>
<p>The commission has been met with praise from Hunt&#8217;s fellow Tories. Berwick-upon-Tweed MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan tweeted her support. &#8220;Thank you to @Jeremy_Hunt instituting a review of persecution of Christians around the world,&#8221; she tweeted. </p>
<div class="embed tweet"> </div>
<p>Scotland MEP Nosheena Mobarik echoed those sentiments on social media, saying, &#8220;Over 700,000 Rohingya people have crossed into Bangladesh to flee persecution in the last year. I thoroughly support @jeremy_hunt in his quest to bring the perpetrators of ethnic cleansing to justice.&#8221;</p>
<div class="embed tweet"> </div>
<p>This comes on the heels of reports that the Christian population in the Middle East &#8220;has dropped to less than 250,000,&#8221; as highlighted by The Daily Wire&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/39678/christians-are-borderline-extinct-middle-east-now-paul-bois">Paul Bois</a>. This is one of the regions Hunt&#8217;s commission will focus on. </p>
<p>According to a study by the watchdog group <a href="https://www.opendoorsusa.org/">Open Doors</a>, an organization that maps suffering of Christians globally, many Middle Eastern countries are marked &#8220;Extreme&#8221; or &#8220;Very High&#8221; on their &#8220;World Watch List&#8221; rankings when it comes to persecution. </p>
<p>Asia Bibi&#8217;s home country of Pakistan is listed as number five in the top ten worst countries for Christians to live. </p>
<p>&#8220;While long-standing historic churches have relative freedom in worship and religious activities, they are heavily monitored and regularly targeted for bomb attacks,&#8221; Open Doors <a href="https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/pakistan/">reported</a>. &#8220;Churches that are engaged in outreach and youth work face the worst of the persecution, although all Christians suffer from institutionalized discrimination. Occupations deemed as &#8216;dirty&#8217; and &#8216;shameful&#8217; are reserved for Christians, and many believers are victims of bonded labor. Pakistan&#8217;s notorious blasphemy laws target religious minorities but affect Christians the most, especially those who seek to evangelize.&#8221;</p>
<div> </div>
<p><iframe frameborder="0"></iframe><iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>


British Foreign Secretary Orders Commission To Investigate Christian Persecution

Catholicism

Christianity

Middle East

Pakistan

Persecution

Radical Islam

Radical Islamic Terror

<p><em>The article has been changed since its original publication.</em></p>
<p>Meghan Markle is truly living up to her title of &#8220;The American Princess,&#8221; being that she allegedly compelled her husband, Prince Harry, into pulling out of a 40-year-old Christmas tradition because it offended her sensibilities.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6500347/Prince-Harry-snub-traditional-Royal-Family-Boxing-Day-shoot-avoid-upsetting-Meghan.html">Daily Mail</a>, Prince Harry will be skipping the &#8220;traditional Boxing Day pheasant shoot with his brother Prince William at Sandringham to avoid upsetting his animal-loving wife Meghan.&#8221;</p>
<p>Prince Charles and Prince William will be attending the traditional shoot. Prince George, William&#8217;s son, may also be in attendance. Prince Harry has participated in the event for more than 20 years; he will be missing this because his wife opposes it on the grounds of animal cruelty. His absence will undoubtedly create tension between the brothers and their wives.</p>
<p>&#8220;Harry and Prince William have enjoyed hunting together over the years and it has provided them with the opportunity to strengthen their brotherly bond,&#8221; reports the Daily Mail. &#8220;Now Royal watchers fear that Harry&#8217;s absence will only serve to deepen the reported tensions between the siblings and their wives.&#8221;</p>
<p>A royal source told the Sunday Mirror that Prince William is increasingly growing concerned that Meghan is pulling Harry away from the family.</p>
<p>&#8220;William sees this as another concerning example of his brother being pulled away from his family by his new wife,&#8221; the source reportedly said. &#8220;Harry&#8217;s always loved hunting and it has provided them with a great chance to bond as brothers.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;But now it looks like Harry&#8217;s shooting days are over,&#8221; the source continued. &#8220;It&#8217;s the latest point of contention between the Princes.&#8221;</p>
<p>Prince Harry has reportedly changed a great deal since having met Meghan Markle and began showing aversions toward hunting after she expressed disappointment with a wild boar hunt in Germany while they were dating. He declined the Boxing Day last year and skipped the grouse hunt at Balmoral three months ago.&#8203;</p>
<p>&#8220;Since then, he has also become more distant from the group of friends he grew up with,&#8221; reports the Daily Mail. &#8220;Fashion-conscious Meghan has influenced his dress sense &#8211; with Harry copying the brands she wears and becoming increasingly eco-conscious. Onlookers have remarked that Harry is looking much slimmer, claiming that he has adopted elements of her healthy and often vegan diet.&#8221;</p>
<p>Being that Meghan Markle hails from Hollywood, she has also been shown to be quite liberal on certain social issues. In July, after Ireland legalized abortion, she<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/32944/meghan-markle-pleased-ireland-legalized-abortion-paul-bois"> reportedly expressed</a> that she was &#8220;pleased&#8221; by the decision.</p>
<p>&#8220;A pleasure to meet Prince Harry &amp; the Duchess of Sussex at the British Ambassador&#8217;s Residence this evening,&#8221; Irish political leader Catherine Noone wrote on Twitter at the time. &#8220;The Duchess &amp; I had a chat about the recent referendum result. She watched with interest &amp; was pleased to see the result.&#8221;</p>
<p>The vote that legalized abortion in Ireland had the backing of virtually<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/30373/liam-neeson-pushes-abortion-ireland-we-must-stand-paul-bois"> every major Irish celebrity, </a>from the band U2 to actor Liam Neeson, not to mention immense backing from George Soros. No surprise then that royal elites like Markle would endorse such a referendum.</p>
<p>Since the British royal protocol bars the family from sharing their political opinions both privately and publicly, people on Twitter began expressing concern regarding Noone&#8217;s tweet, which then prompted her to delete the post.</p>
<p>&#8220;I deleted it because it was unintentionally misleading &#8211; the Duchess was not in any way political,&#8221; Noone told <a href="https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/meghan-markle-drawn-into-an-online-abortion-row-by-irish-senator-37103886.html">The Irish Independent</a>.</p>
<p>Though Noone has a bias, given that she <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2018/04/02/pro-abortion-politician-under-fire-for-bigoted-ageist-attack-on-elderly-catholic-priest/">supports abortion on demand</a>, other attendees of the summer party confirmed that Markle had expressed her support for abortion to them, according to <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/meghan-markle-blunders-into-irish-abortion-debate">the Daily Beast</a>.</p>
<p><em>UPDATE: Prince Harry reportedly partook in the &#8220;Boxing Day&#8221; pheasant shoot as scheduled. The royal palace also denied rumors of Meghan Markle&#8217;s disapproval. </em></p>


The American Princess: Meghan Markle Inspires Prince Harry Into Pulling Out Of 40-Year Christmas Tradition (Update: Prince Harry Participates After All)

Prince

<p>When a &#8220;teenager&#8221; from Iran joined students at Stoke High School in Ipswich (a county town of Suffolk, England), students and parents immediately noticed something was off.</p>
<p>The alleged 15-year-old boy, Siavash, was 6&#8217;1&#8221;, had stubble, a large Adam&#8217;s apple, and a hairline that some viewed as receding. Students and parents believed the &#8220;teen&#8221; was closer to 30 than 15.</p>
<p>When parents began complaining that an adult man was in school with their underage children, they say their concerns were &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6423519/Parents-dismissed-racist-school-complained-migrant-posing-15-year-old.html">dismissed as racist</a>,&#8221; according to the Daily Mail.</p>
<p>&#8220;I went in [to] complain but I was fobbed off. They are deluded and seem more worried about how the bloke might feel,&#8221; a father of two teenage students told the Mail. &#8220;I am not aware of this lad having done anything inappropriate, but it&#8217;s clearly wrong that he should be in a class with children.&#8221;</p>
<p>Another parent said she was told the man sat on a bench during lunch near teenage girls, &#8220;just looking.&#8221;</p>
<p>One student said Siavash started FaceTiming a female student, &#8220;sending her messages, asking how close she lived to the school.&#8221; The student took the messages to school officials but was told there was nothing wrong with them, according to the Mail.</p>
<p>It turns out, Siavash actually was an adult, and was removed from the school. He had told the school he fled from Iran and came to the United Kingdom with his little brother, who authorities believe actually is 12 years old. Siavash was seeking a free education while posing as a teenager.</p>
<p>As the Mail points out, Siavash benefited from Britain&#8217;s generous asylum system, which has been found to be abused by those seeking a free education by posing as minors.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Britain&#8217;s system, under which around 3,000 unaccompanied youngsters &#8212; around 80 per cent of whom are male &#8212; claim asylum each year, came under intense scrutiny in 2016 when a busload of alleged teenagers arrived in Croydon after being transferred to the UK from Calais.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>By claiming to be children, the new arrivals were entitled not just to free education, but also to places in local authority children&#8217;s homes (in areas with high migrant populations such as Kent, up to half the places in such homes are taken by unaccompanied asylum seekers).</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Yet critics have long pointed out that those rules also create an incentive for adult migrants to simply destroy ID papers and pose as vulnerable children. Indeed, several of the young men who disembarked from the coaches in Croydon appeared to be square-jawed men in their 20s or 30s.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>After this controversy, the asylum rules were tightened, and in the following year, 705 age disputes were raised. Sixty-five percent of the 618 resolved disputes found claimants over the age of 18 (who were mostly male) pretending to be children. Those handling asylum claims are now told to treat seekers who appear to be adults as adults if they lack reliable documentation, though when they are unsure, they are supposed to give the seekers the benefit of the doubt.</p>


Parents Called Racist After Pointing Out 30-Year-Old Man Is Not High School Age

Immigration

<p>The U.K.&#8217;s General Medical Council revealed Sunday that a psychologist employed for over two decades by the national healthcare system was a fraudster who&#8217;d fabricated her qualifications in the 1990s and, despite multiple warning signs, had been scamming the system and patients ever since &#8212; and getting a hefty paycheck to do it. Her decades-long fraud was only discovered when she attempted to fake the will of an elderly patient to scam $2.4 million from her family.</p>
<p>In a series of statements about the embarrassing failure to properly vet the faux-psychiatrist, who has since been sentenced to five years in prison, the GMC assured the public that they&#8217;d significantly improved their vetting process since the scam artist was hired and provided patients of the fake psychologist information on what to do if they felt they&#8217;d been harmed.</p>
<p>&#8220;We recently became aware that Zholia Alemi used a fraudulent qualification to join the medical register in 1995 and worked as a doctor until June 2017,&#8221; GMC Chief Executive Charlie Massey said in a <a href="https://www.gmc-uk.org/news/news-archive/statement-on-zholia-alemi">statement</a> Sunday. &#8220;These are serious issues and we are investigating them urgently to understand how this happened. We have brought this to the attention of police and other agencies, including NHS England, so that they may also take any necessary action to support patients and answer any questions they may have.&#8221;</p>
<p>Massey then assured patients that the GMC has already made the changes necessary to ensure that any more fraudsters get through. &#8220;Our processes are far stronger now, with rigorous testing in place to ensure those joining the register are fit to work in the UK,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;It is clear that in this case the steps taken in the 1990s were inadequate and we apologise for any risk arising to patients as a result. We are confident that, 23 years on, our systems are robust and would identify any fraudulent attempt to join the medical register. Patients deserve good care from appropriately qualified professionals and place a great deal of trust in doctors. To exploit that trust and the respected name of the profession is abhorrent.&#8221;</p>
<p>In another <a href="https://www.gmc-uk.org/news/news-archive/zholia-alemi---information-for-patients">statement</a> posted by the council, the GMC provides former patients of Alemi steps to take to submit their complaints and queries.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&amp;objectid=12162943">New Zealand Herald</a> details some of the &#8220;despicable&#8221; details of Alemi&#8217;s &#8220;two-decade deception.&#8221; Alemi, originally from New Zealand, was sentenced to five years &#8220;after eventually being found out when she was convicted of trying to fake the will of an elderly female patient,&#8221; the outlet reports. &#8220;Had she been successful, she would have stolen up to £1.3 million ($2.4m) of the woman&#8217;s fortune.&#8221;</p>
<p>Back in 1992, Alemi, now 56, told the GMC that she had a degree from University of Auckland, when in reality she&#8217;d actually flunked out in her first year. The council didn&#8217;t bother verifying the legitimacy of her forged document, so her fraudulent career was up and running.</p>
<p>&#8220;For the next 22 years, starting in 1995, she worked as a psychiatrist for the UK&#8217;s National Health Service &#8211; treating thousands of mental health patients over that period and potentially earning up to £100,000 ($188,000) a year,&#8221; the outlet reports. &#8220;She also reportedly drove a Lotus Elise sports car.&#8221;</p>
<p>A former personal assistant of Alemi, Claire Wilkinson, who worked with her from 2014 to 2015, says she&#8217;d tried to warn others about &#8220;bizarre&#8221; behavior by the fake psychiatrist.</p>
<p>&#8220;She was very money driven; she lived for money,&#8221; Wilkinson told Plymouth Live. &#8220;She would only find the wealthy men attractive &#8211; even if they weren&#8217;t attractive. She went for wealth and hierarchy.&#8221;</p>
<p>Wilkinson also says that Alemi once prescribed &#8220;electrotherapy&#8221; to treat a young girl with a troubled home life.</p>
<p>Though Wilkinson notified higher-ups, no one took action. Alemi had also been given a pass by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in 2012 &#8220;after failing to disclose a conviction for careless driving.&#8221;</p>
<p>As reported by the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6403771/Urgent-background-checks-ordered-3-000-doctors.html">Daily Mail</a>, the scam that finally got Alemi busted, after 22 years and &#8220;thousands&#8221; of patients, involved her attempt to take over two million dollars from an 84-year-old patient.</p>
<p>Alemi &#8220;was working as a locum old-age psychiatrist at Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in 2016 when she met 84-year-old Gillian Belham,&#8221; the Mail reports. &#8220;Alemi befriended Mrs Belham, but when she was accused of stealing watches from the pensioner, police discovered she had been working to take control of her finances &#8211; even deceiving some of her friends into being signatories on a new will.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Herald notes that Alemi had &#8220;entirely written out&#8221; Belham&#8217;s extended family and inserted her own grandchildren into the will. The judge who sentenced her to five years condemned her actions as &#8220;wicked.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;This was despicable, cruel criminality motivated by pure greed and you must be severely punished for it,&#8221; said Judge James Adkin.</p>


U.K. Health System Allowed Scam Artist To Work As Psychologist For Two Decades; Caught In ‘Wicked’ Fake Will Attempt

Health Care

<p>Students are allowed to bundle up during the winter, but only if they do so cheaply, says a high school in northwestern England.</p>
<p>The school sent a letter to parents in early November warning them that expensive coats would no longer be allowed. The headteacher of Woodchurch High School in Birkenhead said the ban would take effect after Christmas and the school was &#8220;mindful that some young people put pressure on their parents to purchase expensive items of clothing,&#8221; <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/16/uk/poverty-proof-school-gbr-scli-intl/index.html">according to CNN</a>.</p>
<p>The coats being banned are from Canada Goose and Moncler, brands that sell jackets that can cost well over $1,000.</p>
<p>&#8220;These coats cause a lot of inequality between our pupils,&#8221; headteacher Rebekah Phillips told CNN. &#8220;They stigmatize students and parents who are less well-off and struggle financially.&#8221;</p>
<p>Phillips claimed that students have told her the cost of such coats is the same as their parents&#8217; rent payments.</p>
<p>&#8220;There has been feedback from children, who say &#8216;Gosh, that is our rent for the month,'&#8221; Phillips said.</p>
<p>Phillips also said her plan to &#8220;poverty-proof&#8221; the school was well received by the students, saying one student wrote to her suggesting school shouldn&#8217;t be a place where a student&#8217;s &#8220;economic background is rubbed in their faces and distracts them from learning.&#8221;</p>
<p>Bullying prevention could have cut back on that instead of forcing rich kids to be colder.</p>
<p>One parent, Andy Treanor, told CNN the ban &#8220;did not matter&#8221; to him since &#8220;he would not spend that much on a coat&#8221; for his daughter.</p>
<p>CNN also reported that 46% of the students at Woodchurch are disadvantaged, and the school has implemented other measures to &#8220;prevent social inequality from affecting children&#8217;s performance.&#8221;</p>
<p>Two years ago, it introduced a compulsory school bag to reduce costs, after parents complained that their children were demanding branded rucksacks,&#8221; CNN reported. &#8220;The school has also cut down non-uniform days &#8212; days when students can wear their own choice of clothes to school &#8212; to once a year, after complaints of children &#8216;being put down&#8217; for the clothes they wore, the headteacher added.&#8221;</p>
<p>The school also provides free sanitary products to female students.</p>
<p>Other schools in England are also trying to help low-income students by &#8220;banning expensive pencil cases and discouraging primary school teachers from asking students what they did on the weekend, so children whose families couldn&#8217;t afford to do anything wouldn&#8217;t feel embarrassed,&#8221; CNN reported.</p>
<p>Supporters of the poverty-proofing initiatives claim low-income students are showing better attendance and that there is less bullying related to inequality.</p>


High School Bans Expensive Coats To ‘Poverty-Proof’ The School

Social Justice

<p>On Thursday, Bishop Vesey&#8217;s Grammar School Rowing Club coach, Ian Bousfield, came across something quite unusual as he arrived for practice at Powell&#8217;s Pool in Birmingham, England &#8212; a note and a rose stuck to the chain link fence.</p>
<p>The note read: &#8220;Please, can someone throw this into the lake for me? My late-husband&#8217;s ashes are in the lake and I can&#8217;t get to the lakeside in my wheelchair anymore [and] gates are locked. Have to drive back up north tonight. Thank you.&#8221;</p>
<p>Accompanying the note was a full red rose.</p>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p>This note was left on the gate at the water this afternoon. No name or number left but whoever you are, rest assured your rose is in place in the middle of the lake. <a href="https://t.co/GAQcbQRSZJ">pic.twitter.com/GAQcbQRSZJ</a></p>
<p>&#8212; BVGS Rowing (@BVGSRowing) <a href="https://twitter.com/BVGSRowing/status/1052911464456081410?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 18, 2018</a></p></blockquote>
</div>
<p>As the above tweet states, the request was met:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This note was left on the gate at the water this afternoon. No name or number left but whoever you are, rest assured your rose is in place in the middle of the lake.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The man who found the note, Bishop Vesey&#8217;s geography teacher and head of rowing, Ian Bousfield, told The Daily Wire that the note was &#8220;wedged into the handle&#8221; of the &#8220;metal gate that leads to our boathouse.&#8221;</p>
<p>Bousfield says he was touched by the request: &#8220;It was very heart wrenching when I saw it initially, and I was more than happy to fulfill the person&#8217;s wishes.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m very grateful for everyone&#8217;s kind comments on twitter,&#8221; he said, adding, &#8220;It&#8217;s very uplifting, and I have read them all.&#8221;</p>
<p>The reactions on Twitter have been near-universally grand:</p>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p>Beautiful thing to do</p>
<p>&#8212; WoodyK (@WoodyK2009) <a href="https://twitter.com/WoodyK2009/status/1053065124200792064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 18, 2018</a></p></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">
<p>Someone sitting near me must be cutting onions&#8230;</p>
<p>&#8212; (((Ross Felix))) (@DatingRev) <a href="https://twitter.com/DatingRev/status/1053683451436494848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2018</a></p></blockquote>
<p>&#8203;</p></div>
<p>Some even offered suggestions so that whoever left the note may know it was honored:</p>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">
<p>Maybe replace her note there with your own and a copy of the photo?</p>
<p>&#8212; &#1050;ay Dickinson #GTTO #JC4PM (@265kay) <a href="https://twitter.com/265kay/status/1053074232786280448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2018</a></p></blockquote>
</div>
<blockquote>
<p>&#8220;Maybe replace her note there with your own and a copy of the photo?&#8221;</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">
<p>Might be next yr sane day, someone put up a rose n note for her? Probably, the day holds a spl value and place in her heart</p>
<p>&#8212; RS (@iamrachs) <a href="https://twitter.com/iamrachs/status/1053608678106918913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2018</a></p></blockquote>
</div>
<blockquote>
<p>&#8220;Might be next [year] same day, someone put up a rose n note for her? Probably, the day holds a [special] value and place in her heart.&#8221;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As of publication, the tweet has received 153,000 &#8220;likes,&#8221; has been retweeted more than 43,000 times, and gotten approximately 1,300 replies from all over the world. The person who penned the note has yet to be identified.</p>


Rowing Coach Finds Note And Rose Left Behind By A Widow; Honors Her Request

<p>Religious freedom was dealt another victory in the United Kingdom this week, with the Supreme Court ruling that two Christian bakers were within their rights to refuse to make a same-sex wedding cake.</p>
<p>&#8220;Ashers Baking Company, based in Northern Ireland, was taken to court after it declined to take an order at its Belfast branch in 2014 from Gareth Lee, a gay rights activist,&#8221; reports <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/10/christian-bakery-wins-gay-cake-ruling-from-uk-supreme-court.html">CNBC</a>. &#8220;He had wanted the cake to include a slogan that said &#8220;support gay marriage&#8221; along with a picture of Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street. The bakery initially took the order but later canceled it and refunded Lee.&#8221;</p>
<p>Similar to the Masterpiece Cakeshop case in which baker Jack Philips was persecuted by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the Ashers Baking Company had been warned by the Northern Irish Equality Commission they were guilty of discrimination against the same-sex couple, a decision that a Belfast court upheld. On Wednesday, all five judges in the Supreme Court were unanimous in overturning the Belfast ruling.</p>
<p>&#8220;In her summary, Lady Hale, the president of the Supreme Court, said the bakery had refused to bake a cake with a message on which they disagreed, and that this was &#8216;quite different&#8217; from refusing service to a gay man with a certain political belief,&#8221; reports CNBC.</p>
<p>&#8220;The rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and to freedom of expression were clearly engaged by this case &#8230; ,&#8221; the Justices wrote. &#8220;They include the right not to be obliged to manifest beliefs one does not hold.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;The McArthurs could not refuse to provide their products to Mr. Lee because he was a gay man or because he supported gay marriage, but that was different from obliging them to supply a cake iced with a message with which they profoundly disagreed,&#8221; they continued.</p>
<p>A current <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-45789759">report</a> indicates that legal fees for both sides come to a combined total of £450,000 ($592,000).</p>
<p>Daniel McArthur, a co-owner of Ashers, told reporters outside the courthouse that the ruling is a win for freedom of conscience.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re particularly pleased that the Supreme Court emphatically accepted what we&#8217;ve said all along, we did not turn down this order because of the person who made it but because of the message itself,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The judges have given a clear signal today. &#8230; Family businesses like ours are free to focus on giving all their customers the best service they can without being forced to promote other people&#8217;s campaigns.&#8221;</p>


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