December, 2019

The country's health ministry announced Tuesday that the number of babies born in 2019 fell by an estimated 5.9% this year, to 864,000. It's the first time since 1899, when the government began tracking the data, that the number has dipped below 900,000, according to The Asahi Shimbun.
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What accounts for the steep drop in births? The health ministry points to the declining numbers of people of reproductive age, as the offspring of baby boomers get older.

That joins other factors — namely the immense burden shouldered by Japanese women to do housework and child care by themselves, and a culture that makes it difficult to both have a job outside the home and be a mother. Younger generations of Japanese women have increasingly opted to continue working, rather than get married, have children and give up their careers...

The wounded man, described as “beaten up real bad,” was sent to Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center. He told masjid officials the attackers were wearing red and black, the recognized colors of the Bloods.
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Some Taqwa members suggested the mosque be closed until the threat was past. The idea was quickly dismissed by Ali Karim, who serves directly under the mosque’s imam, Siraj Wahhaj. “We can’t close the Masjid,” Karim reportedly stated. “You got to arm yourself, so we are going to be armed. We have to protect the Masjid by whatever means necessary. We must be protected.”
[...]
The source explained that the Bloods consider themselves as “dogs,” and that anyone with whom they have a conflict is “food.”

“Now, once you’re considered ‘food,’ that means you’re ‘food’ for all the Bloods factions, not just the faction that is targeting you.” “Somebody is going to get shot, I know that much,” the source said. “That’s why you can’t put these (MCP) cars in those type of hoods. You’re going to the wrong neighborhood with that s—. You’re going to have a war. So why do it? The longer they keep doing this, this war is going to spread.”...

This is going to be a subject to follow. Two minority groups who are not afraid of one another targeting each other with guns in a 2A infringing state. New York has all sorts of racial and ethnic "community patrols", just like this Muslim one. The original was "Shomrim", a Jewish patrol. A Brooklyn Asian patrol exists as well.

A merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! pic.twitter.com/FOcMKZM87x

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) December 24, 2019

Details of what the test involved were vague but, according to the Ministry of Communications, ordinary users did not notice any changes. The results will now be presented to President Putin. The BBC reports: The initiative involves restricting the points at which Russia's version of the net connects to its global counterpart, giving the government more control over what its citizens can access. "Sadly, the Russian direction of travel is just another step in the increasing breaking-up of the internet," said Prof Alan Woodward, a computer scientist at the University of Surrey...

The royal family attended the main Christmas Day church service at 11 a.m. in Sandringham in Norfolk, while the Duke of York went to an earlier service at 9 a.m., the BBC reported. He was also absent when members of the family went to greet the public at the conclusion of the service.

Wishing you all a very #MerryChristmas! May your day be filled with peace, love and happiness! pic.twitter.com/yE6Vejihfo

— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) December 25, 2019

The latest attacks, which happened just after midnight and within two hours of each other, involved a bulk carrier and a tanker. The pirates tied up crew members as they attempted to rob the ships but left empty-handed when the alarm was sounded in both instances.

One aspiring politician is accused of getting her bribe in a coffee cup chock-full of $100 bills. Another, a mayoral hopeful, of receiving his at his campaign headquarters in a bag stuffed with $10,000. There was also a councilman who accepted a cash-stuffed envelope from a man who explicitly asked for a “quid pro quo,” according to a court document, and an official who funneled thousands of dollars into a charity he ran, then diverted the money for personal use. These were among the allegations made in the eight political corruption cases announced by New Jersey prosecutors...

Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, who is due to go on trial on predatory sexual assault charges in Manhattan next month, is now facing more heat from prosecutors in California.

Trudeau has selected 11 communities for Mass Immigration test run

Vernon will go from 40,000 after 150 years to 130,000 by 2028https://t.co/eNwNbWA5DR#Bcpoli @DelfingKyle

— Bill Tufts (@BillTufts) December 24, 2019

Canada had their chance, and they re-elected him.

Behn made international headlines in December 2017 when he claimed that actor Kevin Spacey had groped him at the afterparty for a Nobel Peace Prize concert in 2007. Behn said the two were talking for about 5 minutes before Spacey put his hand under the table and touched him.

“We had a great talk. He sat right beside me,” Behn was quoted as saying in a radio interview. “After five minutes he said, ‘hey, let’s go outside and have a cigarette.’ Then he puts his hand under the table and grabs me by the balls.” Behn said he brushed it off by telling him: “Er, maybe later.”...

“In some ways, the children are regaining the status of the first generation that they have lost while migrating,” said Jennifer Lee, a professor of sociology at Columbia University... When they do become entrepreneurs, these children tend to work in industries like tech or consulting, rather than in food service or nail salons...

...the disgraced public official and his Michael Bloomberg-bought allies in the General Assembly now want the state’s hard-working taxpayers to foot the bill for their unconstitutional schemes. The budget bill (HB30) includes an appropriation of a quarter million dollars to carry out a host of gun control measures that Northam and his anti-gun allies hope to enact.

The $250,000 is appropriated to the Corrections Special Reserve Fund in order to provide for the “increase in the operating cost of adult correctional facilities resulting from the enactment” of Northam’s gun control measures.

Together, Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg have poured nearly $200 million into television and digital advertising alone, with the former New York mayor spending an unprecedented $120 million in the roughly three weeks since he joined the presidential race. That’s more than double the combined ad spending of every single non-billionaire candidate in the Democratic field this entire year.

The government agency estimates that on any given day, around 553,000 Americans are homeless. A third of those are families with young children. African Americans and those with disabilities are particularly likely to become homeless.

Yet these distressing numbers are sure to be underestimates of the true problem as they do not include the many more sleeping in vehicles or other makeshift accommodation, sofa surfing or relying on friends. Around 1.5 million people sleep at a shelter annually, according to figures from the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Furthermore, the 500,000 number itself is likely an underestimate...

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Seongchan “Steven” Yun, was charged with providing a false document to a federal agency and now faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison, according to the United States Department of Justice. Investigators found Yun had the parts shipped to KSC and created false certifications asserting the steel tubing conformed to all of NASA’s requirements...