Just had a Tory volunteer tell me that I should be concerned about
@jeremycorbyn
’s manifesto plans to “nationalise all of the press and end free speech”. He wasn’t pleased that, as a journo, I could call him out on this. Why is
@Offord4Hendon
’s office peddling misinformation?
We need a period of reflection about how we, the public (and the media), treat celebrities who are clearly suffering. We said we’d do it after Amy Winehouse but we clearly haven’t learned our lesson.
This is why Holocaust awareness and education is still so important.
23% of Americans think the Holocaust is a myth.
63% of respondents did not know 6 million Jews were murdered.
Eleven per cent believe that Jews caused the Holocaust.
🏰 Last week, I visited the "fairytale" French castles being used to house refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.
It restored my faith in humanity after a particularly depressing news cycle.
For those with eating disorders who are finding the Nikki Grahame news particularly sad, know that there is help out there.
Here are some numbers that might be helpful.
Alireza had dreams of fleeing Iran and living a life where he could love freely and wear makeup without the fear of persecution.
But his life was cut tragically short, just a week before his escape, when his family allegedly beheaded him.
"Palestinian citizens of Israel who happen to be LGBTQ are still subject to being treated as second-class citizens, and just because they're queer does not make them immune to all that,"
@Elias_Jahshan
.
An LGBTQ film festival in Tel Aviv, set to begin on November 11, is facing accusations of "pinkwashing."
Palestinian activists, like
@Elias_Jahshan
, say it should be boycotted.
But celebrities, including Billy Porter and Mila Kunis, want it to go ahead.
"The boycott would draw attention to how Israel is not the haven for LGBTQ people in the Middle East it purports to be," said
@Elias_Jahshan
. "Sure, it's legal and there are lots of rights and a fair amount of equality... but that's only on paper."
Hendon has a slim majority of just over 1,000 votes.
The local Tory association is clearly running scared - and, for that reason, are spreading lies. This shows a total disdain for democracy.
Mary Trump told me that Ivanka Trump is focused on pursuits other than running for office.
"I think she and her husband are more interested in staying away long enough in the hopes that people forget what horrible human beings they are," she said.
FACT CHECK: Nothing in manifesto about nationalisation of press. Only references to press ownership is ensuring Ofcom is better "able to safeguard a healthy plurality of media ownership".
Also, before the inevitable, I'm not doing this because I love Corbyn. I've criticised him plenty in the past. I shared this because it is a total affront on democracy to fib your way to a seat in the Commons.
My grandfather left Germany after Kristallnacht and moved to Belsize Park. He would be horrified to see the similarities to 1938 in what became his safe haven.
New: IDF says it will *not* investigate its claim of babies being beheaded at Kfar Aza because it would be "disrespectful for the dead."
A spox said testimony from a soldier who handled bodies is enough evidence.
Read more:
Guédelon Castle (left) and Château de Saint-Fargeau (right) have become sanctuaries for 30 refugees since Russia invaded Ukraine.
They're tucked away in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of France.
I spoke to the girlfriend of the Russian artist Alexandra Skochilenko. The couple has been communicating by sending letters through a lawyer.
The letters, which Insider reviewed, paint a grim picture of life inside a Russian jail.
The Russian artist Alexandra Skochilenko who allegedly sneaked anti-war messages onto supermarket price tags is being bullied in a detention centre and denied medical treatment, her girlfriend told
@thisisinsider
.
Here's what's happening. 👇
I went to Ukraine's embassy in London, where a steady stream of young men was turning to volunteer their services to join President Zelensky's international legion and fight against the Russian invasion.
Iran spied on her for months, bribed her family members, and plotted to kidnap her from her Brooklyn home.
But despite this traumatic ordeal,
@AlinejadMasih
told me: "I'm not scared."
I spoke to three families who have returned to Ukraine because they could no longer afford to indefinitely pay for housing while they waited for the UK visas to come through.
I alway find it mental how Kate is the “fairytale” princess and Meghan is a “ruthless social climber” when Kate literally gave up a place at Edinburgh, took a gap year and reapplied to St Andrews after she found out that Prince William was going there. Mysoginoir, plain & simple.
Tonight is the long-awaited
#DragRace
finale.
I had the opportunity to speak to the *incredible*
@gottmik
about gender dysphoria and being a role model for young trans folks.
So, of course, I'm
#TeamGottmik
.
Kristi, Max, and their kids were invited to stay at Guédelon.
"We didn't know what Guédelon was. We just thought it was a house that was empty," Kristi said. "But when we arrived, we were in admiration."
They described it as a "fairytale" & "magical."
The majority of my family were murdered. My grandma lived through unspeakable horrors in Auschwitz. My family is still suffering from the Holocaust. Don’t you DARE treat this as a competition. We should be allies, not tearing each other down.
In France, I met Kristi and Max. They were on their way back from a vacation in Dubai when the war broke out. Their plane was diverted to Moldova. They never returned home.
"'Refugees' used to be just a word for us, and now we are refugees," Kristi said.
Andrius Sidlauskas, one of the first guests at St-Fargeau, told me his family was welcomed with food, wine, and generally overwhelming generosity.
"It really does put your faith back into humanity," he said.
Thank you everyone. I’m absolutely fine - just felt the need to call it out. They were drunk and just looking to cause trouble. I don’t think they were particularly trying to target me as a Jew - it’s just vile that they’d use that language and nobody intervened.
Sarah Preston, an English woman who works at the castles, is lovingly referred to by the refugees as an "angel."
She has been working endless hours (during her time off) to find refugees to stay there and to get them visas or accommodation in France.
👀 UPDATE: The job has been removed, despite the deadline for applications being at the end of the month.
It appears before it expired, they removed reference to Molly-Mae and increased the lower salary range to £20,0000.
~some personal news~
I’m *really* excited to be joining
@businessinsider
next month as a weekend news reporter.
Looking forward to doing what I love at a publication I’ve avidly read for years.
🥳
Kristi and Max seemed to be struggling when I met them. Kristi told me how she cries whenever her daughter Emma isn't looking.
But organized distractions at Guédelon (horse riding, picnics etc) "relax our souls," she said.
"It's the Wild West 2.0, but this time with automatics."
In Custer County, CO, armed, transgender anarchists run a 35-acre alpaca farm.
But their arrival in the deeply conservative community, which is represented by Lauren Boebert, caused a stir.
Nearby, other families were staying at St-Fargeau.
Built in 1453, it has housed bishops, wealthy merchants, aristocracy, and French royalty. Now, it's a home for the refugees of Putin's war.
So
@TwitterSupport
has started removing Wiley’s tweets. But they still have tweets up like “Jewish people you think you are too important I am sick of you.” Clearly violates the rules. The only answer is to permanently suspend his account. He will continue tweeting hate speech.
While you’re here...
It has been 122 days since Breonna Taylor was murdered in her own home. The officers who killed her are still walking free.
#JusticeForBreonnaTaylor