Barefoot Ivanka Trump dons a modest metallic silk gown and a headscarf while touring Dubai's biggest mosque after speaking at a women's conference
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8007561/Ivanka-Trump-Abu-Dhabi-ahead-womens-conference.html




A little bit of political ass coverage for Daddy, I suppose.

Something interesting I came across.

Mumps cases at highest level in a decade as a result of 'anti-vax information', says government
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/mumps-rise-data-illness-outbreak-public-health-england-symptoms-glands-swelling-a9335226.html

The number of recorded cases of mumps has soared to its highest level in a decade, new figures have shown.

Mumps is a contagious infection that causes the glands on the side of the face to swell painfully, the NHS explains.

A person’s risk of contracting mumps can be reduced exponentially by having an MMR vaccine, which protects against mumps, measles and rubella.

...

'There will be dad and mum': Putin rules out Russia legalising gay marriage
https://www.todayonline.com/world/there-will-be-dad-and-mum-putin-rules-out-russia-legalising-gay-marriage
Today <<== This is a Singapore based news site.

MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Russia would not legalise gay marriage as long as he was in the Kremlin.

...

During his two decades in power, Putin has closely aligned himself with the Orthodox Church and sought to distance Russia from liberal Western values, including attitudes towards homosexuality and gender fluidity.

He made the comments as he met a state commission to discuss changes to Russia's constitution.

...

Context (I have been following this):

The venue is what we would call a constitutional convention. The main purpose is to consolidate Putin's power, but he is leaving the door open to liberalizing this and that as a sweetener.

But as he makes clear, not for gays.

It really is the Orthodox church behind this.

Video of Chinese man caning Kenyan worker sparks outrage
https://www.citynews1130.com/2020/02/09/video-of-chinese-man-caning-kenyan-worker-sparks-outrage/

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya police say four Chinese migrant workers have been arrested following a widely circulated video appearing to show one of them caning a Kenyan worker for arriving late at a restaurant they all work in.

The video has led to outrage by many Kenyans on social media who likened it to the treatment of Kenyans by British colonists or slavery.

Police said three of those arrested Sunday have no valid work permits while one had an expired visitors visa. Authorities said Deng Hailan, the suspect who appeared to be caning the Kenyan, works as a chef at the Chez Wou restaurant in Nairobi but does not have a valid work permit.

Kenya, as well as other African nations, has seen an increase in Chinese workers and investment.

China’s outreach to African nations aims to build trade, investment and political ties with a continent often seen as overlooked by the U.S. and other Western nations. That has provided lucrative opportunities for Chinese businesses. African nations have been often happy to accept China’s investment offers, which come without demands for safeguards against corruption, waste or environmental damage.

First same-sex marriage takes place in Northern Ireland
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/feb/11/first-same-sex-marriage-northern-ireland-belfast-robyn-peoples-sharni-edwards

A Belfast couple have tied the knot in the first same-sex marriage to take place in Northern Ireland.

Robyn Peoples, 26, and Sharni Edwards, 27, made history at a ceremony in a hotel in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, on Tuesday afternoon. Their marriage came after a law change in the region.

The day marks their sixth anniversary as a couple and they had booked a civil partnership ceremony at the Loughshore hotel months before the legislation was passed last summer.

...

A little good news.

When White Women Wanted a Monument to Black ‘Mammies’ (NY Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/opinion/sunday/confederate-monuments-mammy.html

In 1923, a group of white women wanted to build what they called a “monument to the faithful colored mammies” in Washington. These women, members of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, pressed lawmakers in Congress to introduce a bill. The Senate passed it, but the bill stalled in the House after fierce opposition from black women, including Mary Church Terrell and Hallie Quinn Brown, members of the National Association of Colored Women.

...

Never heard of this guy before, and very likely neither has Trump, but the Trump connection is far from contrived.

Inspired by Trump, Mike Heath Announces Launch of ‘F*ggots are Maggots’ Tour
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/inspired-by-trump-mike-heath-announces-launch-of-faggots-are-maggots-tour/

...

“I’m going to do a world tour,” Heath announced. “The theme is ‘Faggots are Maggots.’ The tour is inspired by the work of Donald Trump. This isn’t satire. I’m serious. I started supporting Donald Trump early in the 2016 primary for one reason: He insults his enemies. He makes things personal that deserve to be personal. The decades of leftists being the only ones allowed to make everything personal are over. It’s long past time for WASP manners to take a back seat to the truth. Long past time.”

“Faggots are indeed maggots,” he continued. “Maggots consume the rancid flesh of rotting dead things. Faggots are no different.”

Heath said that he intends to launch his tour in Washington, D.C., on June 26, 2020, which is the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Obergefell ruling that legalized same-sex marriage, and then take the tour to every capital in all 50 states.

“The subtitle for my world tour in 2020 is ‘Stump for Trump,'” Heath said. “We all need to stump from Trump or it’s all going to be over.”

...