Antisemitism, Antizionism, Jihadism and the Reunited Germany. News by Fred Alan Medforth
By now, most are aware of the overflowing controversy regarding the foremost beer brand in the nation, Bud Light. Many initially felt it was a prank when on April 1, the country’s inexplicable face of the trans movement, Dylan Mulvaney, revealed being feted by the beer brand. Mulvaney’s face is seen beaming from a printed beer can, and a few videos came out of the spokesmodel cavorting in a bathtub, displaying Dylan’s usual histrionics with Bud Light cans on a carousel in the background.
It was all real, as this new advertising partnership commemorated Mulvaney celebrating the one-year anniversary of being a woman. That such a thing is considered notable in the culture is already odd, and a famed brand attaching itself to such is even more of a departure from common sense. The backlash has been notable and more than just social media cranks. One merchandiser for a distributor posted a video on the lack of sales he was seeing in stores. The company stock took a one-day -3% hit as the realization of the backlash began to be felt.
It will take some time to see just how realistic this impact will be, probably over the span of a few quarters, but this rather rapid and rabid backlash cannot be viewed as a positive in any capacity. The question becomes, though, just what was the intent of the beer label in taking this step? While Mulvaney has been developing a brand that has delivered personal success, how beneficial have the corporate partnerships actually become?
Dylan has been tabbed to sell a makeup brand, and there was seemingly more of an outcry from women than a benefit. Recently, Nike had Mulvaney touting the merits of a woman’s athletic bra, a curious move involving someone with little need for said product. Even the non-professional arrangements can create marketing nightmares. Mulvaney has posted videos regarding tampons, and the company Tampax in November posted a now-deleted gag tweet regarding their usage. It led to calls for boycotts of its products.
This all draws up the question of why companies are choosing this path, and in the case of Bud Light, it bears real analysis. This is not about approval/disapproval of the trans movement or the proper levels of support this faction always demands. Please, they have quite the support already. It is notable that the trans demographic claims to be marginalized while it enjoys the backing of corporate America, the media, and all the way up to seeing support from the White House. Most people would appreciate a fraction of that kind of “marginalization.”
Ultimately you need to look at the numbers.
The credit, or blame, of the Mulvaney partnership with the beer brand has fallen to the feet of Alissa Heinerscheid, Vice President of Bud Light. She is the first woman to helm the brand, and in a vid-cast interview just ahead of the Dylan Mulvaney announcement, she explained some of the moves intended for the marketing of Bud Light. The series of social signaling buzzwords she employs explains so much of where the focus of the branding seems to rest.
Heinerscheid manages to touch on so many of the issues without recognizing them at the same time. “Evolve and elevate,” “inclusivity,” and “representation” are all the types of phrases dropped by the social activist set. These are not tangible marketing strategies, however. She also denounces the “fratty” mentality attached to the brand. That mentality, mind you, had built the Bud Light name into the top-selling beer, but she sees the need to move away from that success.
She also hit on a reality for beer brands when she mentions attracting young drinkers. Beer, especially, is a product that sees an entrenched loyalty with established drinkers. So yes, she is correct in wanting to draw in emerging beer-drinking customers, but she is incorrect in thinking this is the proper course. It is far more likely that Bud Light is repelling more of those young, new beer drinkers than they are attracting with this Dylan Mulvaney partnership. Heinerscheid might want to decry the frat house methodology, but how many of those college chapters will now be looking for another brand to fuel their beer pong tournaments? The reality is in the numbers.
The number of adults in America described as transgender totals less than 1%. Now any marketer will tell you that you will never win over the entirety of a targeted group of customers. Even with an unknowable figure of how many trans beer drinkers will be swayed to take up Bud Light, that minute base means the final tally will be infinitesimally small. Now consider the number of dedicated drinkers to the label you have driven off in this marketing effort, and you begin to grasp the folly of it all.
While it might sound proper to drop words like “inclusivity” in order to align your brand with an acceptable level of virtue signaling, what is a reality is that these social media activists have a proven track record of not supporting these causes in the marketplace. Disney experienced this last year, as it offered up a number of entertainment releases with woke messaging, which were routinely avoided by audiences, leading to losses. There was the gay rom-com movie “Bros” that basically defined a woke motion picture release, and it was not even supported by the gay community, becoming one of the biggest bombs of 2022.
It is not intolerant to suggest that this was a complete marketing misfire; there are basic demographic realities to look at. When you make Dylan Mulvaney the national face of your brand, you will receive a national response. It is not transphobic to say this was a mistake, but the move may have been profit-phobic.
https://www.frontpagemag.com/the-bud-light-debacle-was-by-design/
by Giulio Meotti
The principal of a high school in Drammen, Norway, did not want Muslim students to leave the classroom to pray during Ramadan. She apologized when several of them reacted violently and now she is threatened with death. Hanne Merete Hagby is the principal of the high school, which has 30 percent Muslim students. “It’s not okay to leave class or be late because of it,” she wrote. She deleted the post after two hours.
An appointment to “lynch” the principal is published on the social network. The police had to be there to protect her.
Welcome to the Europe of tomorrow!
Imagine schools that are 50-80 percent Muslim, such as those in many districts in Oslo, Marseille, Paris, Birmingham, Cologne, Hamburg, Malmö, Vienna, Rotterdam, Brussels. Should they close during Ramadan because students think they should be in prayer rooms instead of classrooms?
It is Aftenposten – the first Norwegian newspaper which for decades has promoted generous and non-critical views on immigration – that decided to publish a report that contradicts what they themselves and their “experts” have claimed would happen. Journalists visited Kuben High School, where 76 percent of students have a mother tongue other than Norwegian. At Bjørnholt VGS, the figure is 92 percent. “In 50 primary schools in Oslo, more than 50 percent of pupils have a mother tongue other than Norwegian.”
Let’s change country. Same story.
A teacher at a Catholic high school in Angers, France, has been indicted by the prosecution for “inciting racial or religious discrimination,” reports Le Parisien. What did he do? During a lesson in this Catholic school, the professor said that “Catholic schools should continue to teach students of the Catholic faith” and that “France is a Catholic country”. The teacher, contacted by Le Monde, explained: “I teach law and the history of law which has a lot to do with Catholicism and Christianity. A student told me that in France there is no religion, but that there is only I reminded him that we are in a Catholic school, that once in my place priests and nuns taught and that the students were Catholics”. The principal recalls that “20 percent of our students are Muslims,” and he observes, you need to show respect! The professor declares that he is afraid of being “the next Samuel Paty”.
It is not surprising that the high schools of Nantes, in France, organize visits to the local mosques.
When the Evian brand published a seemingly banal message, “retweet if you have already had a liter of Evian today”, the ad unleashed a real hate campaign for the Danone subsidiary. Evian is accused of racism. Thus, the brand has decided to apologize. Why? The advertisement coincided with Ramadan, when the obligation to fast is in force.
Speaking to the Journal du dimanche, former head of France’s internal secret service (DGSE) Pierre Brochand this week says: “Multi-religious societies are all bound to tear each other apart. It’s a difficult world, where no one does anyone any favors. The nation is a circle of trust that immigration undermines. The keystone of social trust is the welfare state, which is incompatible with the free movement of people”.
Bronchand says the problem is not immigration itself, but Islamic immigration. “The first wave of migration lasted a century with the arrival of immigrants of Euro-Christian origin, discreet, industrious, grateful, regulated by the economy and who were trying to assimilate. The unsurpassed model of successful fusion. The second started in the 1970s and has only increased. It is a settlement that is not calibrated by either work or politics. Only by individual rights subject only to supranational law. A freewheeling flow that overwhelms us. The cultural gap that separates us from these newcomers has no equivalent in our history. They all come from the Third World, from societies in crisis where what reigns is uncivilized behavior, violence and corruption. Most are Muslims. Today there are 25 times more Muslims in France than in the 1960s. Islam is a total civilization, proud, warlike, offensive, militant, which has suffered from being humiliated by the West for two centuries. Globalization has given him an opportunity, the volcano has awakened”.
Europe is Pompei.
The German government is looking to grant powers to courts to block the social media accounts of citizens who engage in ‘digital violence’.
Earlier this week, the Federal Ministry of Justice called for the creation of a “law against digital violence” under which German courts could ban social media accounts of individual users and even force companies to unmask their identity if the account was anonymous.
The proposal would target those who are deemed to be “notorious violators in the digital space”, particularly anonymous trolls, the Tagesschau broadcaster reported.
The ministry said that the drastic measure of a court banning an account should only be taken if other methods, such as censoring an indivdual post, have been exhausted. The government agency went on to say that the state bans should only be put into place for a “reasonable period of time.”
Ulf Buermeyer, a lawyer and chairman of the dubiously named Society for Civil Liberties, celebrated the government’s censorious plans, saying: “Why should you be able to offend someone?”.
Buermeyer argued that the measure was necessary as merely deleting an offensive post has little impact on deterence as it often has spread widely on the internet before being taken down and therefore blocking accounts may be more impactful in preventing such speech.
The legislation would come on top of the draconian Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) in Germany, which already requires social media companies to remove “illegal content” such as hate speech or insults.
Earlier this month, the Federal Ministry of Justice announced that it had opened up legal proceedings against Twitter over alleged failures to censor hate speech and insults on its platform under the NetzDG legislation, which carries with it a potential fine of up to 50 million euros.
“The Internet is not a law-free space,” Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said. “Platforms must not simply accept it if their services are misused to distribute criminal content.”
Germany is home to some of the strictest speech codes in the Western world, with it being illegal in the country — on penalty of up to two years in prison — to “violate the human dignity” of others by “insulting, maliciously maligning or defaming a group defined by its national, racial, religious or ethnic origin, ideology, disability or sexual orientation.”
Due to seven pro and contra rallies, Vienna has been in a state of emergency around the LGBTQ quarter since the early hours of the morning. One of the usual woke drag queen readings for the sexual LGBTGQ infiltration of children has been taking place there since 10am.
The police are on site with a large contingent, because despite all the left-wing interventions (by the Greens and the SPÖ), no prohibitions were issued. The Rosa-Lilla-Villa has been cordoned off with barriers since 7 am.
The mood on site was heated, but there were no incidents for the time being. Embarrassing for the Rosa-Lila-Villa, which apologised to the residents “for any inconvenience”. By rehashing the old stereotype of “right-wing extremists”:
“The protest and speeches of the extremists could become loud and chaotic. We regret that they are putting the neighbourhood in this particular kind of predicament.”
https://unser-mitteleuropa.com/anti-lbtgq-kulturkampf-in-wien-gegen-dragqueen-lesung-eskaliert/
Angry chants, pig noises and blaring car horns echoed down Coventry Road as police were chased away trying to speak to pop-up market traders. On what was supposed to be a night of community engagement in Ramadan, crowds turned on officials responding to concerns about anti-social behaviour on the Small Heath-based road.
West Midlands Police officers, Trading Standards, Environmental Health and Licensing teams led a joint operation on the busy road to address complaints of alleged illegal vendors. The action came following a mass of complaints from residents, who claimed Ramadan turned into ’30 days of hell’ on Coventry Road.
Nearby businesses, imams and MPs have previously shared their worries about increased traffic congestion, anti-social behaviour, littering and alleged illegal street vendors making life difficult for local residents.
In response to complaints, WMP announced they would visit the nightly markets to engage with street vendors and take action if necessary. But the first night ended in chaos as angry crowds shouted, swore and shoved officers. The operation had to be abandoned after just an hour and a half.
In dramatic video, captured by BirminghamLive, crowds of people can be seen circling officials who were trying to speak to street vendors. Angry chants of ‘get out of here’ and ‘we don’t want you’ were shouted, as WMP and Trading Standards were pushed and swore at. Crowned were even heard making “oink” noises around WMP officers.
One official claimed someone in the crowd kicked him. Smartphones were in the air as bustling crowds tried to capture footage of the operation, some amused by the chaos with others questioning what was happening.
One resident on video allegedly tried to calm the crowds down by shouting ‘please everybody give a little bit of respect to people here, please lads, come on’. As officials tried to move up and down the road, however, crowds continued to follow and surround them.
As they were being followed by crowds, Mohammed Tariq, a Senior Trading Standards Officer, said: “As you can see we tried to engage with them, we are here to support what they are doing but they have got to do it legally.
“You cannot just set up stalls on the public highway and do this, we can just hear all the reactions in the background now, obviously they are not taking any of our advice or anything like that.”
The interview was cut short as crowds began to shout too loud.
Although the operation was meant to last until ‘early hours of Sunday’, officials had to flee into Morrison’s Car Park after crowds became too hostile. Crowds cheered as officials jumped into cars and drove away, but not before kicking vehicles as they exited the car park.
As an officer tried to enter a police van, members of the crowd tried to open the van door again. Prior to the operation, Sergeant James Newton, Supervisor for Small Heath and Highgate, said: “The purpose is to enforce legislation around illegal pop-up trading tents, nuisance, anti-social behaviour and general increase. We have seen a marked increase of dissatisfaction from the local community about illegal trading, which creates heavy foot flow in the area and has a direct impact on the local community.
“The ultimate goal is to reassure the public, we are here responding to complaints from residents, so it is only right that they see a visible presence. The issue runs much deeper than turning up and solving the problem in 20 minutes, it is more deep-rooted than turning up and moving people along.
“It’s something that needs regulating on a longer-term period. There is going to be an increased police presence over the next seven days.”
When asked if they wanted to shut the markets down, Tony Quigley, head of services for Birmingham Trading Standards, responded: “It’s not about that, the local community are saying it is just getting too much now.
“We get it is a holy month and that people want to enjoy themselves, but it doesn’t stop the fact that people are operating illegally. The goal today is to engage with street traders, explain what the issues are find out if they are operating illegally.”
Officers’ announcement stated the visits would ‘continue at other times up to and including Chand Raat-the night before Eid, which this year will be either 21 or 22 April.’ It is unknown if the operation will continue after last night.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/ramadan-chaos-coventry-road-police-26708886
By Breason Jacak
Especially among conservative circles, it is easy to see how works published or written longer ago than the current year might come under harsh scrutiny from the editors of large publishing houses. It is not the time to panic just yet. However, with Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming becoming subject to rewrites and censorship as well as large retailers banning certain books from their platforms, it might be time to ponder what books you have been meaning to buy before you either cannot or it has been altered past the author’s intent. Granted, while some of these books are politically controversial, it would be foolish to suppose that any such censorious instincts end at politics or the hot-button topic of the minute.
Therefore, with a focus on literature and entertainment, let’s dive in to four books I’d ask you to consider before to acquire while they are unmolested and purchasable.
On April 15, Hindu and Muslim students at a college in Anand in Gujarat clashed after Hindu students objected to eve-teasing by a Muslim student. As per reports, when Hindu students stopped a Muslim student from eve teasing, he brought his friends and started fighting. The Muslim students also raised ‘Allahu Akbar’ slogans on the college premises. The incident took place in the commerce college of Anand.
Reportedly some students were injured during the clash. The police were informed about the incident after they reached the college and controlled the situation. Local newspaper Naya Padkar reported that on the morning of April 15, a group of Hindu students was sitting in the college. They noticed a Muslim student was allegedly harassing a Hindu female student and laughing at her. It has become a regular thing in college. Hindu students rushed to the girl’s rescue. They scolded the Muslim student and warned him not to repeat it.
The Muslim student got agitated and called his friends on the college premises. They raised “Allahu Akbar” slogans on the premises which resulted in the clash. The Muslim student claimed that Hindu students forced him to chant “Jai Shri Ram” and said when he did not raise the slogan, Hindu students harassed him.
Reports suggest that a clash happened at the college canteen on the same day but they came to a compromise. However, in the afternoon, they again got into a scuffle. One student was reportedly injured and rushed to the hospital.
Anand DGP JN Panchal and his team reached the college and controlled the situation.
https://www.opindia.com/2023/04/anand-allahu-akbar-chants-raised-anand-college/
