Monthly Archives: January 2021

A Belfast church is closing its doors through Wednesday amid fears that liberal churches could be targets before Joe Bidens inauguration.

That message from the Unitarian Universalist Church of Belfast comes at a time of heightened tension in the United States as Donald Trump is set to leave the presidency this week.

There is a collective anxiety in our country following the events at the capital on January 6th and I know our giant UU hearts feel every bit of it. Lets be sure we take the time we need to remain connected to one another and to take care of ourselves, the church said in a Saturday message to its congregation.

The church made the decision to close after the Maine Council of Churches warned about potential threats to churches perceived as liberal. The council stressed no threats had been made against specific churches, but only relayed a message from the United Church of Christ, which had received credible warnings from police.

The nation has been wracked by tension in the wake of the violence that shook the nations capital on Jan. 6, when a mob that included Republican Party officials, GOP political donors, far-right militants, white supremacists and QAnon adherents stormed the Capitol as Congress began certifying Bidens Electoral College win.

Five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died as a result of the riot.

Since the Capitol riot, the FBI has warned every state that armed protests could pop up in state capitals from coast to coast from Jan. 16 to at least Jan. 20 in response to Bidens inauguration. Gov. Janet Mills has activated the Maine National Guard to reinforce security around the State House in Augusta if needed.

In response, the Bangor School Department said Friday it wont show the Democrats inauguration in the classroom because of fears of violence. Students, though, will have a chance to view and discuss the inauguration later when appropriate in the curriculum.

Belfast has seen minor confrontations in recent days between anti-mask and anti-shutdown protesters and others. Regular protests have been held at a street corner in the coastal city, and a Jan. 3 confrontation ended with a pedestrian being pushed into an intersection. The man wasnt hurt, and no charges have been filed in that case.

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Belfast church closes amid fears 'liberal' churches could be targeted before inauguration - Bangor Daily News

Liberal Arts alumnus Brian Davis continues to be a shining example to Penn State students and alumni for his social justice efforts.

Brian Davis ('18, African American studies) is currently associate director for diversity and inclusion at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco, California.

IMAGE: Provided by Brian Davis

Davis, who received his bachelors degree in African American studies in 2018, was known on campus for his involvement and activism in social justice and continuous work for the betterment of others. He was president of the Social Justice Coalition, a coalition of State College and Penn State social justice organizations dedicated to ending racism and marginalization at Penn State; he also served as the community/faculty outreach director and evening celebration director for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration.

Several study and volunteer abroad experiences in places like Port-au-Prince, Haiti and Willemstad, Curacao, enabled him to serve as a peer adviser for Penn States Education Abroad Office. He also coordinated an initiative to collect water for Flint, Michigan in 2016, organizing trips from State College to Flint to deliver water and distributing over 5,000 bottles of water to Flint residents.

Davis was recognized several times for his extraordinary efforts while a Penn State student. He received the Rock Ethics Institutes Stand Up Award, Penn States Jackson Lethbridge Tolerance Award, and the Universitys Eric A. Walker Award, which is given annually to the student who has contributed most to enhancing the reputation of the University through extracurricular activities. He also gave a TEDTalk at TEDxPsu in 2017, Dismantling Contemporary Police Brutality Through the Lens of Basketball, which explored issues surrounding inequality, racism, and the criminal justice system.

Davis says his liberal arts education greatly influenced his social justice work; he credits the Department of African American Studies for equipping him with skills that allowed him to grow and succeed as an educator, human rights activist, and scholar. The department curriculum and professors gave me a space to find my voice and how I related to the world, and the critical lens to examine the issues affecting society, he explained. The program was so holistic, professors often invited students over to their homes to discuss books, life, and build a strong student community. The classroom conversations were so transformative, I used to hate when class was over.

It was also through the program that Davis met one of his closest mentors: Nan Woodruff, Penn State professor of African American studies and modern U.S. history. Dr. Woodruff taught me to read critically, how to engage with the text, how to write like a scholar, and how to ask critical and theoretical questions, he said. She helped me with my own racial identity formation with texts that helped me find myself within historical and contemporary contexts. And after taking me under her wing, she gave me more than 200 books to start my own personal library at the start of my junior year.

Davis is currently the associate director of equity and inclusion at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco, California. In this role, he helps shape diversity and inclusion policies and initiatives, including the Magis High School Program a program that ensures underrepresented students in higher education, first-generation college-bound students, and students of color at St. Ignatius have access to all resources, cultural support and education during their four years of high school. Davis is also currently pursuing a masters degree in human rights education at the University of San Francisco, providing him with the opportunity to build off his work while a student at Penn State and continue to fight for social justice.

My liberal arts education and skills prepared me for life after graduation by giving me the tools and leadership experience needed to create systematic change in every role I've held, Davis said. Having a liberal arts degree from Penn State sets you apart from other college graduates because the degree program is designed strategically to help you critically think about the ways in which you want to show up for the world, for others, and for yourself. It allowed me to travel to different countries to study governments, education systems, and ways of life and examine the ways I can bring those things back into my career; it also helped me become a better thinker and writer, and helped me shape and mold myself for the inclusive and equitable world I imagine.

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Liberal arts degree gave alumnus 'space to find my voice,' help others - Penn State News

David Melding. Picture by the National Assembly (CC BY 2.0)

The Tory Senedd candidate selection process has not kind to liberal Conservatives according to one of the partys MSs.

David Melding, a Member of the Senedd for South Wales Central, has spoken out following the news that pro-devolution MS Suzy Davies lost her place on top of the regional list for the winnable South West Wales seat.

Mr Melding, who is stepping down at the next election, and is also pro-devolution, said that he was particularly grieved to see her outstanding and insightful service so meagerly rewarded.

Ms Davies has insisted that it wasnt down to a devo-related cull and said that it was just good old fashioned local party dynamics.

Mr Melding said: With respect and congratulations to those selected the WCPs selection process has not been kind to liberal Conservatives. Particularly grieved to see Suzy Davies outstanding and insightful service so meagerly rewarded.

Party dynamics

Suzy Davies said: Thanks all for such kind messages re SWW list changes. Ive really appreciated it. I know some choose to see this as some sort of devo-related cull, but it really was just good old fashioned local party dynamics. I know my successor will be as keen on a Tory Welsh Gov as l am.

Labour Senedd member Huw Irranca-Davies said: The Conservative Party in Wales in its candidate selections are erasing women, liberal Tories, & supporters of devolution.

The Party of Nick Bourne (& David Melding & Suzy Davies etc) is dying right in front of us. For Wales, read English Tory Party: Wales branch office.

Nation.Cymru revealed before Christmas that candidates on the South Wales Central regional list, including key Conservative campaign strategist Chris Thorne, and Calum Davies (Suzy Davies son), promised to Abolish the Senedd in their pitch to members.

Suzy Davies ousting from the top of the list is the second surprise result of the selection process after Jonathan Morgan, who has previously represented the party in Cardiff Bay and is currently an advisor to party leader Paul Davies, was not shortlisted for South Wales Central.

See more here:

Tory Senedd candidate selection 'not kind to liberal Conservatives' - Nation.Cymru

Eric TrumpEric TrumpTrump considers pardons for former New York Assembly Speaker, Lil Wayne: NYT Manhattan DA expands probe into Trump company to include family estate: report Third bank cuts ties with Trump after Capitol riot MORE criticized businesses that have cut ties with the Trump Organization after the mob attack on the Capitol last week, blaming it on "cancel culture" in an interview.

We live in the age of cancel culture, but this isnt something that started this week. It is something that they have been doing to us and others for years, Trump told The Associated Press in aninterviewon Tuesday. If you disagree with them, if they dont like you, they try and cancel you.

A number of businesses have cut ties with the Trump Organization since last week's ugly events. President TrumpDonald TrumpGiuliani used provisional ballot to vote in 2020 election, same method he disparaged in fighting to overturn results Trump gets lowest job approval rating in final days as president Fox News' DC managing editor Bill Sammon to retire MORE has been widely blamed for inciting the mob that stormed the Capitol, but he has shown no regret for his actions and insisted he did nothing wrong.

Shopify decided to take Trumps official store off their platform, PGA of America took away its namesake championship from Trumps Bedminster, the British Open said they wont play at a Trump golf course and New York City is canceling contracts with the Trump organization.

One of Trumps biggest lenders, Deutsche Bank, said it would no longer be lending to him.

The House is voting on Wednesday to impeach Trump over the riot, and some Republicans are likely to back Democrats in the vote.

Eric Trump spoke at the protest before the attack happened to tell the crowd to have some backbone. Show some fight. Learn from Donald Trump.

Trump told the AP:You have a man who would get followed to the ends of the Earth by a hundred million Americans. He created the greatest political movement in American history and his opportunities are endless.

When the AP asked Trump if he thought his father was responsible for inciting the crowd during the riot, he hung up.

Original post:

Eric Trump: Business cancellations part of liberal 'cancel culture' | TheHill - The Hill

OTTAWAIt was a notable pledge in the Liberal partys 2019 election platform, a signal that climate change must be confronted, the era of oil is ending, and that the federal government would take seriously what that meant for Canadas fossil-fuel workers.

But 15 months later, as the Western-based sector faces the new U.S. presidents expected decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline, there is no sign the Liberals promised Just Transition Act is coming any time soon.

And thats a problem for tens of thousands of workers in Alberta and Saskatchewan who could be adrift as the world shifts from emissions-heavy oil to cleaner energy, says Jim Stanford, an economist who is director of the Centre for Future Work.

I know the government has been talking about a Just Transition Act and they should bring it in immediately and they should give it money in this next budget, Stanford told the Star by phone last week.

Government has to indicate clearly that this is a change thats going to happen over the next couple of decades, and were going to be there to support people all the way, he said. If they do that, then this can be done without personal or community sacrifice.

Seamus ORegan, the federal natural resources minister, was not available for an interview in recent days, according to his office. Asked why the bill hasnt been tabled and when it will be introduced, ORegans press secretary Ian Cameron would only say by email that the minister is committed to fully implementing the mandate he received from the prime minister.

ORegans mandate letter from December 2019 called on him to help advance legislation to support the future and livelihood of workers and their communities in the transition to a low-carbon global economy.

Asked again Monday about the transition bill in relation to the impending U.S. decision over Keystone XL, ORegans office provided a statement from the minister that said Ottawa is still making the case for the pipeline with the American government. It did not mention the promised transition legislation.

Canadian oil is produced under strong environmental and climate policy frameworks, and this project will not only strengthen the vital Canada-U.S. energy relationship, but create thousands of good jobs for workers on both sides of the border, ORegan said

Since returning to power with a minority government in October 2019, there has been scant reference to the legislation on Parliament Hill. The phrase Just Transition Act has been uttered just five times during debates and committee, according to the site Open Parliament. The governments revamped, $15-billion climate plan unveiled in December also did not mention the bill, though it did say the government would at every turn, focus on workers and their careers in a fair and just transition to a stronger and cleaner economy.

Kathryn Harrison, a political science professor at the University of British Columbia, said that promise is politically challenging on two levels. The first involves political opponents like the federal Conservatives and premiers of Alberta and Saskatchewan, all ardent supporters of Canadas oil industry and critics of Ottawas climate policies, which they argue are unduly harmful to the sector. Talking about just transition acknowledges that there will be a decline in Canadas oil industry, and that is very politically contentious, she said.

The second challenge relates to a contradiction within the Liberal governments own policies, she said. The government champions the Paris Agreement and vows Canada will achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, but it spending billions of dollars in public money to twin the Trans Mountain pipeline, for instance.

Meanwhile, the industry itself sees no need for a transition. Tim McMillan, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, spoke to the Star last week about the first positive forecast for his industry since annual spending in the sector started plummeting from $80 billion in 2014. This year, the association predicts investment in Canadas oil and gas sector will be around $27 billion more than $3 billion higher than what it was in 2020.

McMillan said its a welcome prognosis after a rough ride through the pandemic, which struck last March just as a dispute between Russia and Saudi Arabia sent the price for oil on the world market to the bottom of the barrel. He also pointed to the International Energy Agency, which predicts growing global demand for oil could peak within a decade but stay flat through the 2030s.

We think Canada can and should play a leadership role in that supply and that Canada should be setting its sight on a fairly strong growth target for investment into the energy sector, McMillan said.

Stanford, the economist from the Centre for Future Work, sees a different trend. In a report published Monday with the organization Environmental Defence, Stanford charts how Canadas fossil fuel industries lost 50,000 jobs since 2014 and still employed about 170,000 workers in 2019. He predicts that, as renewable energy gains steam and countries around the world try to reduce emissions, Canadas oil sector could virtually disappear in another 20 years.

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Thats why he argues the country needs to support workers in the industry. He calls on Ottawa to spend $1 billion per year, starting in 2021, and said the transition could be designed so that the vast majority of current employees can work out their careers and retire without being replaced, while younger ones can receive sizable government support around $250,000 each to relocate and train to work in new industries.

But the key is co-ordination, which is why a framework in the form of national legislation would help, he said. The hard reality is theyre going to face that uprooting, said Stanford. Its the delaying and denying that makes this challenge so much worse than it needs to be.

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The Liberals promised help for oil workers as their jobs disappear. So where is it? - Toronto Star

Campaign signs began to appear on St. Johns streets last Friday morning on the eve of the first anniversary of a ferocious winter storm that paralyzed eastern Newfoundland and became known as Snowmageddon. The record-breaking snowfall led to a declaration of a state of emergency and the intervention of the Canadian Forces to restore a semblance of everyday life.

Later on Friday, as the supper-hour TV-news programs went to air and a storm packing 100 km/h winds bore down on St. Johns, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey announced there would be a winter election.

The election comes in the midst of a pandemic in a financially beleaguered province that faces insolvency without Ottawas assistance, except, this year, it wont be the Canadian Forces coming to the rescue, it will be the Bank of Canada. At dissolution, Fureys Liberal party held 19 of the 40 seats in the provincial House of Assembly. The Progressive Conservative opposition led by lawyer Ches Crosbie, son of the late John Crosbie, (a longtime provincial and federal cabinet minister), held 15 seats. The remaining six seats are divided between three New Democrats and three Independents.

Fureys tenure in elected office can be measured in months three, to be exact. Furey, a surgeon and son of Canadian Sen. George Furey, inherited a provincial debt he has described as crushing in a province whose economic outlook he calls dire. In announcing the election last Friday, Furey called this moment the provinces darkest economic hour. As he looked into the cameras and read from a teleprompter, Furey told voters this election is about leadership, that all we need is courage, and I am ready.

READ MORE: Incoming premier Dr. Andrew Furey says everything is on the table to cure N.L.s disastrous debt

After Fureys announcement, Crosbie stood in front of the TV cameras and told voters that Newfoundland and Labrador is teetering on the edge of financial ruin, hanging on by (its) fingernails, and facing a once-in-a-lifetime economic emergency. The election, said Crosbie, is about jobs and growth, and who has a plan to bring back jobs.

When Furey was running for the Liberal party leadership in August, he talked about re-imagining and right-sizing government. What that would look like has become the task of an economic-recovery team he assembled under the direction of Moya Greene. Greene, a St. Johns native, headed Canada Post, later the United Kingdoms Royal Mail, and comes with a reputation for privatization. Whether that reputation is deserved or not, the recovery team has already lost one member, a representative of the provincial Federation of Labour, who described Greenes team as window dressing.

Shortly after accepting the position with the recovery team, Greene acknowledged there would be trade-offs, which is understood by most voters as a euphemism for service cuts. Whether that means cuts to health care, ferry services, or property taxes in rural communities where there are currently few voters, we wont know until the recovery team submits an interim report expected by Feb. 28, two weeks after election day on Feb. 13.

Crosbie is telling voters that Furey has a secret plan. The opposition leader calls it a slash-and-burn agenda. In an August interview with iPolitics, Furey, borrowing from his experience as a surgeon, observed that, sometimes, it is necessary to cut off a leg to save a patient.

On Friday, Crosbie replied by saying hed like his doctor to tell me if he plans on cutting off my limbs before I have an amputation.

If Fureys choice of an election date means he goes to the polls before trade-offs are announced meaning limbs are designated for amputation and the government brings in an austerity budget then he wouldnt be the first political leader to go to the polls before bearing bad news. Furey, however, has three other reasons to call an election sooner rather than later.

First, according to a public opinion poll published in the fall, Furey enjoyed a 32-point lead over Crosbie.

Second, Furey and the provinces team of health-care professionals have led a pandemic response that is the envy of other provinces. Since Jan. 1, there have been only five new cases of COVID-19 identified in the province, all of them travel-related. There is no community spread of the coronavirus in Newfoundland and Labrador. There is no stay-at-home order, no curfews, and schools and daycares are open.

Last, New Brunswick, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan have all held elections during the pandemic that resulted in wins for the governing party, and, in the case of New Brunswick and B.C., minority governments won majorities. Barroom betting in Newfoundland and Labrador suggests a similar outcome is likely on Feb. 13.

This story was copy-edited after publication, on Jan. 18 at 4:07 p.m.

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Andrew Furey's Liberals roll the dice with a winter election in NL - iPolitics.ca

THE Oldham Liberal Democrats have condemned the Conservative government which they claim has "derailed plans" for significant investment in northern rail services.

The government has decided that Transport for the North will lose 40 per cent of its core funding, down to 6million from 10m, and a fifth of its total annual support, in the next financial year.

The Department of Transport has also cancelled plans to introduce contactless ticketing, like Londons Oyster card system, across the North of England.

Cllr Howard Sykes, leader of Oldham Councils Liberal Democrat group, who also serves as one of Oldhams representatives on the board of Transport for Greater Manchester, the latest news is a significant blow.

He said: While the London Crossrail project receives ever more government funding, Northern rail services are being starved of cash. This government once talked about creating a Northern Powerhouse, but there is little chance of that when we have an antiquated and inadequate railway system that cannot meet the needs of our business community and commuters.

It took decades to divest ourselves of the appalling Pacer trains which where only removed from service a couple of months ago. It looks like it might take decades more before passengers travelling between our Northern towns and cities may experience a twenty first century rail service. If the Conservatives are to have any credibility when they talk of levelling up the North, then they need to give us more cash not less.

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On the wrong track: Oldham Liberal Democrats condemn cuts to Northern rail investment - theoldhamtimes.co.uk

The Mumbai Police leaked the private WhatsApp chats of Arnab Goswami on the internet in order to embarrass the Republic TV Editor. This prompted the left-liberal lobby and the Opposition parties to allege that the media baron was aware of top-secret information pertaining to national security. All such claims were made based on selective portions of the chat about the Balakot airstrikes. The falsehood created such a storm that even Pakistan couldnt help but salvage the situation for its anti-India propaganda.

In one snippet of the leaked Whatsapp chat, Arnab Goswami said, Bigger than a normal airstrike. And at the same time something major on Kashmir. On Pakistan, the government is confident of striking in a way that people will be elated. Exact words used. However, it must be mentioned that the said information was already out in the public domain. Even Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made it clear that Pakistan would pay for the terror attack in Pulwama.

But for the left-liberal ecosystem, the facts of the case are irrelevant. With the primary objective to target Arnab Goswami, they are hellbent on portraying his casual chat as a compromise with national security and a definitive tipoff by PM Modi. By applying the same liberal logic, we find that several people must have been tipped off by the Prime Minister for them to implore the possibility of a precision airstrike, prior to the actual strike.

10 days ahead of the Balakot airstrike on February 16, defence analyst Ajai Shukla tweeted, Boarding an Indian Air Force flight to Exercise Vayu Shakti in Pokhran to watch IAF fighters unload tens of tonnes of high explosive on dummy targets200 km due south of Bahawalpur, the Jaish e Mohammed headquarters.

The defence analyst was seen explicitly dropping hints about the possibility of a precision airstrike by India, and the training carried out as part of the operations.

In a video uploaded by the left propagandist website, The Wire, on its Youtube channel, Ajai Shukla was heard saying, Everybody is talking about air strikes but it is a manned method of going in. And again, you are sending a manned pilot into the harms way. Not just escalate but with the risk that you might be captured or probably dead and made into a spectacle.

It is pertinent to remember that the said video was posted on the same date as his tweet on February 16, 2019. Applying the liberal logic, it becomes clear that Ajai Shula was well aware of the plans of the Indian Air Force and was in fact seen doing a risk-analysis of such a military exercise, 10 days prior to the actual event.

Not just The Wire, even the Times of Islamabad was found discussing military options available to India against Pakistan, in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack. It conceded, The government is also looking at all military options available from shallow ground-based attacks and occupation of some heights along the LoC to restricted but precise airstrikes against terror and training camps in Kashmir across the border.

Given that The Times of Islamabad hit the bulls eye when it talked about India undertaking a restricted but precise airstrike against terror camps in PoK across the border, is it safe to assume that PM Modi must have therefore passed info on military plans to the Pakistani side in advance on February 18? Or was it that the airstrikes happened to be the best option available to the Indian Air Force to seamlessly take out the training camps of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir?

Even the left leaning English daily, The Hindu was found highlighting about the chances of India responding to Pakistans terror attack with a targetted airstrike. The article, by Happymon Jacob, dated February 19, 2019, was also seen pondering about Indias options after the terror attack.

While emphasising that the repetition of 2016 surgical strikes might lead to escalated tensions between the two countries, he opined, The second option is to use strike aircraft to carry out precision strikes in locations across the Line of Control (LoC).

Happymon Jacob, however, warned that the fighter jet might be intercepted by the Pakistani radar systems or result in the capture of pilots. If an aircraft is shot down or pilots are captured, it could become a bigger headache for the government, the article added.

India Today, too joined the raging conversation around Indias response to Pakistan, just a day after the terror attack in Pulwama. Journalist Rahul Kanwal claimed that the possibility of an airstrike was discussed even in the aftermath of 26/11 attacks. He claimed that a suggestion was made to then Prime Minister manmohan Singh by the then Air Chief Marshall fali Homi Major.

Kanwal went on to say that the Indian Air Force could use airborne precision-guided ammunition from the Indian side of LOC and attack key pakistani positions such as army establishments, terror hideouts or training camps, as a response to Pakistans aggression.

TOI reported on the 16th of February, two days after the Pulwama Terror attack, that precision air strikes were the favoured option going forward. The report said, The military options, short of going to war, could range from shallow ground-based attacks and occupation of some heights along the LoC to restricted but precision air strikes against non-state targets in PoK, senior military officers said.

There is growing agreement in the security establishment that carefully-calibrated airborne strikes are among the most viable and effective options to teach a lesson to Pakistan, with the ground-based surgical strikes of September 2016 having somewhat lost their element of surprise, it added.

The report went so far as to say, Fighters like Sukhoi-30MKIs, Mirage-2000s and Jaguars, armed with smart glide bombs and missiles, can be used to take out some terror camps and launch pads near the LoC from stand-off ranges without even crossing into Pakistani airspace. Preparation time for such air strikes is minimal, said an officer on the condition of anonymity.

As seen above, prior to Indias airstrike in Balakot, several news organisations such as The Wire, India Today, The Times of India and The Hindu were all discussing the possibility of an unprecedented air strike to retaliate against Pakistans support for terrorism. As explicitly stated by PM Modi himself, such a response from a strong government at the Centre was expected. This is the same reason as to why even The Times of Islamabad had also discussed about such a possibility, given that the precedent was set by the surgical strikes of 2016.

A closer look at the Whatsapp chats of Arnab Goswami makes it clear that he did not name target locations or the nature of the airstrike. In the runup to Indias military intervention on February 26, several news channels were talking about the same possibilities and none had any specific details about the Jaish-e-Mohammed training camps, or the highly valued targets or the fighter jets that were to be used.

The despicable act of the Mumbai police to selectively leak his private chats and for the left-liberal ecosystem to suggest that the casual chat was the result of a tip-off from the Prime Minister or a compromise of Indias national security is downright juvenile and ridiculous. To selectively tarnish Arnabs image over information, already available in the public domain, goes on to highlight a sinister attempt at witch hunting.

Read more from the original source:

From Times of Islamabad to The Hindu: 5 media outlets which knew about the Balakot airstrike before it happened according to liberal logic - OpIndia