Girl Volleyball Player Suffers Serious Head Injury After Transgender Hits Her With 70 MPH Ball

Horrific moment female high school volleyball player suffers serious head injury after transgender girl in rival team smashed '70mph' ball at her head and struck her

• During a girls' volleyball tournament last month, a Highlands High volleyball player who was biologically male, pelted a player in the forehead with the ball 
• The Hiwassee Dam player, a biological girl, suffered severe head and neck injuries, together long-term concussion symptoms, including vision problems
• It's estimated that the ball was moving at 70mph - and was described as 'abnormally' fast by one bystander 

Footage of a North Carolina girl's high school volleyball match has emerged in which a player suffered a serious injury after a transgender "girl" spiked a ball at her opponent, striking her in the head. 

The physical injuries suffered by the female student-athlete at Hiwassee Dam High School were to her head and neck, but the action has since had far-reaching implications for how the game is played in the state after news spread how the offending shot had been played by a biological male.

The Cherokee County school board has subsequently voted 5-1 to forfeit all matches for its schools' women's volleyball teams against Highlands School, for whom the trans player appeared for, as a result of the incident. 

It's estimated that the volleyball was spiked at 70mph - and was described as 'abnormally' fast by one bystander. 

During a girls' volleyball tournament last month, a Highlands High volleyball player, seen right, who was biologically male, pelted a player in the forehead with the ball

A transgender girl, seen right, could be seen spiking a ball at her opponent striking her in the head

The board appeared to dance around the controversial subject of trans people playing sports for the teams whose sex they were not born into. 

Indeed, the board did not refer to any players' sexuality but instead cited concerns over safety.

'The County will not participate in any volleyball games, varsity or junior varsity, against Highlands due to safety concerns,' the minutes from the board's meeting read. 

The athletic director from Hiwassee Dam High School, David Payne, was present at the meeting commented that 'a statement needs to be made that it [was] unfair and unsafe' for teams to compete against Highlands.

The Hiwassee Dam player, a biological girl, seen left, fell to the floor after being hit on the head

The girl can be seen sprawled out on the floor of the court. She suffered severe head and neck injuries, together long-term concussion symptoms, including vision problems

He noted, however, that there were 'mixed feelings' from players and parents involved.

'There is a competitive advantage and a safety concern for certain teams — it's not the same for all teams,' Vice Chair Jeff Martin added. 'I can tell you that the board wasn't searching out this kind of thing. It was brought to our attention based on safety concerns. 

'The biggest thing for us, especially after seeing the video of the injury, we felt very strongly that it was a safety concern,' board member Jeff Tatham said. 'I think most of the board members also felt like there's a competitive advantage issue.'

'The county will not participate in any volleyball games, varsity or junior varsity, against Highlands due to safety concerns,' the board declared.

Teammates rushed to the girls' aide following the powerful shot which floored her

The game came to a halt whist team medics rushed to the side of the high school athlete

The Hiwassee Dam female player is still suffering from long-term concussion symptoms including problems with her vision and has not been cleared to play.

A 2015 study of volleyball players explained how males are significantly more effective than females at 'attacking' the ball toward their opponent's side. 

The body of males also allows for greater momentum and power on jump ball returns.

Tragedy in Italy: Pizzeria That Invented the Margherita Ordered to Close

Outrage in Italy as iconic pizzeria that invented the Margherita pizza in 1889 is ordered to CLOSE – for breaking health and safety rules

• Antica Pizzeria Brandi has been staple for number of tourists over the years 
• Owner Eduardo Pagnani hoping to deal with deficiencies and reopen soon 
• The Margherita pizza was created there in 1889 in honour of Queen Margherita 

Italians are furious after the legendary pizzeria that invented the Margherita pizza in 1889 was ordered to shut its doors yesterday for breaking health and safety rules. 

The Antica Pizzeria Brandi in Naples has long been a staple for tourists visiting the city and has hosted a number of famous guests over the years. 

But the restaurant, the oldest pizzeria in the world having opened its doors in 1760, was asked to close by the authorities.

The Antica Pizzeria Brandi in Naples, pictured, has long been a staple for tourists visiting the Italian city and has hosted a number of famous guests over the years. But the restaurant, the oldest pizzeria in the world, was asked to close by authorities.

Antica Pizzeria Brandi immediately began work on cooperating with what the health authority recommended.

According to Pagnani and those who work with him, findings by the health authority would be about 'minor' issues.

Owner Eduardo Pagnani is looking to reopen as early as possible, according to a press release from his lawyer. It is possible that he will welcome customers back next weekend.

Customers were told of the closure via an announcement on social media which was posted in multiple languages. 

Antica Pizzeria Brandi said the restaurant was undergoing 'extraordinary' maintenance until at least Friday. 

People were left shocked by the announcement and showed their solidarity with the owner and the staff.

The closure has made waves in the whole of Naples among tourists and other restaurants.

Naples is still full of tourists due to ongoing hot weather in October. 

The Antica Pizzeria Brandi in Naples has long been a staple for tourists visiting the Italian city and has hosted a number of famous guests over the years. But the restaurant, the oldest pizzeria in the world, was asked to close by authorities

Antonio Pace, president of the True Neapolitan Pizza Association told Ansa: 'The measure affects not only Brandi, but the story of Margherita and an entire system that revolves around pizza and which has recovered from three years of suffering, first for the pandemic and then for the expensive bill.

 'I do not know the merits of the alleged defaults- but it seems to me a severe measure. I think we could have been less energetic and allowed a little more time to comply'. 

Mr Pace is concerned that the closure of Antica Pizzeria Brandi will affect the whole industry and its image as it will be read about around the world.  

When was the Margherita pizza invented? 

Modern pizza can be traced to Naples in the early 19th century, its story really dates to the flatbreads of the ancient Etruscans who settled in Italy in the 8th century BC.  

From archeological remains, we know that they made a sort of thick dough from ground grains, which was baked beneath hot ashes and then topped with seasoned oils, herbs, and other available ingredients. The Romans called these ash cakes, panus focus, which evolved into the Italian word, focaccia. 

Even the word pizza is older than our concept of modern pizza. Until the 19th century, the word was used to refer to any round-shaped breads and desserts, like 'pizza di Pasqua'  (panettone-shaped cheesy Easter bread) and 'pizza dolce teramana ' (a round, layered sponge cake traditional in Abruzzo).

In Pellegrino Artusi's famed 1890s cookbook La Scienza in Cucina e l’Arte di Mangiar Bene (Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well) ) there are three recipes for pizza, all of them sweet. 

From at least the early 1500s, small round flatbreads topped with herbs and oil, referred to as pizza, were a popular street food in Naples. Later that century, after their introduction from the New World, tomatoes would top the pizza. 

This style was called pizza marinara (fisherman's wife pizza), so named because it was traditionally prepared by a seaman's wife upon his return from a fishing trip.

Antica Pizza Brandi opened in 1760 and has a plaque outside which reveals that it was where the margherita was invented in 1889. 

Chef of the restaurant at the time, Raffaele Esposito, created the dish in honour of the Queen of Italy, Margherita of Savoy.

The recipe was also created for Italian unification and toppings symbolise this as they represent the colours of the flag- tomatoes (red), mozzarella (white) and basil (green).  

Toppings which were already used in Naples were mixed to create the pizza.  

The most commonly used toppings were recorded in 1866 by Francesco De Bourcard. 

These included: garlic, oil, salt, grated cheese, basil, mozzarella and tomato. 

Ohio Supreme Court Suspends Democrat Judge Due to “Unprecedented” Behavior

 

Source: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/10/ohio-supreme-court-suspends-democrat-judge-due-unprecedented-behavior-removes-cleveland-municipal-court-bench-temporarily-strips-law-license/

Judge Pinkey S. Carr, a Democrat who has served on the Cleveland Municipal Court bench for almost a decade, was removed from her position on Tuesday after the Ohio Supreme Court found that she had committed more than 100 acts of misconduct, Cleveland reported.

Pinkey Carr was removed from the bench and had her law license suspended for committing “unprecedented” levels of misconduct, according to the justices.

The misconduct includes falsifying court documents, disrespectful treatment, lies, and wearing inappropriate clothes in court, such as “spandex shorts” and tank tops, sending someone to jail for rolling their eyes, and demonstrating her “abuse” of power.

The justices voted 5-2 to indefinitely suspend Carr’s law license and to immediately “cease and desist” practicing law.

She will also be suspended from judicial office without pay.

“Carr’s unprecedented misconduct involved more than 100 stipulated incidents that occurred over a period of approximately two years and encompassed repeated acts of dishonesty; the blatant and systematic disregard of due process, the law, court orders, and local rules; the disrespectful treatment of court staff and litigants; and the abuse of capias warrants and the court’s contempt power,” the Supreme Court opinion said. “That misconduct warrants an indefinite suspension from the practice of law.”

Carr stated that her unethical behavior was the result of menopause and sleep apnea caused by a generalized anxiety illness.

Cleveland reported.

According to the court’s opinion, Carr has been indefinitely suspended from practicing law in Ohio and suspended from judicial office without pay while she is suspended. In order to vacate the suspension and be reinstated, the court said Carr will be required to submit a report from a qualified healthcare professional stating that she is “able to return to the competent, ethical and professional practice of law.”

An indefinite suspension isn’t as severe as it sounds. Carr is able to reapply for her law license in two years if she proves to the supreme court she has dealt with her issues. Koblentz said he assumes she will be reapplying.

In December 2021, the Board of Professional Conduct filed a report detailing a slew of misconduct allegations that it said occurred between 2017 and 2020.

The 58-page report detailed the multiple instances of Carr’s misconduct and put everything into five categories:

• Issuance Capiases and False Statements
• Ex Parte Communications, Improper Plea Bargaining, Arbitrary Dispositions
• Improper use of Capiases and Bond to Compel Payment of Fines and Court Costs
• Public Confidence, Lack of Decorum and Dignity Consistent with Judicial Office
• Abuse of Contempt Power and Failure to Recuse

To summarize just a few off the issues of misconduct listed, the board said Carr allegedly did the following:

• During the start of the pandemic when the courthouse activity was suspended, she didn’t reschedule her cases and issued warrants for defendants who failed to appear. She rewarded defendants who did appear by waiving fines.
• Lied to two media outlets, claiming she had not issued warrants for people who did not come to court.
• Routinely conducting hearings without the prosecutor present “to avoid compliance with procedural safeguards without interference from the city’s legal counsel. “
• Recommended pleas to unrepresented defendants with no prosecutor present, accepted pleas without explanation or discussion, routinely dismissed cases after unilaterally entering no contest pleas on behalf of defendants, and waived fines and costs without inquiry as to defendants’ ability to pay.
• ignored the court’s established procedure to set up contracts to pay fines and costs at the time of sentencing. Set her own “Ability to Pay Hearings” without notifying the defendant or clerk’s office, then would issue a capias ordering the arrest of the defendant and set a bond.
• Wore inappropriate clothing to her courtroom, including T-shirts, shorts, tank tops and sneakers.
• Made frequent references to “Paradise Valley,” a Starz television series about a Mississippi strip club, when speaking with her staff and defendants, “all this while lawyers and their clients waited to have their matters resolved and the public watched.”
• Routinely spoke in an “undignified manner,” made jokes about accepting bribes and kickbacks from defendants.

Read the article here.

Hat Tip Jeff

Stacey Abrams: To Fight Inflation, Have an Abortion

Stacey Abrams suggests abortions are a way to fight inflation: Georgia Democrat says 'having children is why you’re worried about' rising prices - and you can't separate 'unwanted pregnancies' from 'economic issues'

• The Georgia gubernatorial candidate appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe
• Abrams insisted that reproductive rights are tied to economic welfare 
• 'You cannot divorce an unwanted pregnancy from the economic realities of having a child,' the voting rights activist said
• Democrats across the country are trying to energize voters on the fallout of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 

Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams insisted that abortion rights and today's economic issues are intertwined during a TV interview on Wednesday morning.

Her critics immediately accused the progressive activist of offering abortion as a way to fight out-of-control inflation that's currently plaguing Americans across the country.

She was asked on MSNBC's Morning Joe, 'I would assume, maybe incorrectly, but while abortion is an issue - it nowhere reaches the level of interest of voters in terms of the cost of gas, food, bread, milk, things like that...what could you do as governor to alleviate the concerns of Georgia voters about those livability, daily, hourly issues that they're confronted with?'

Abrams pivoted the conversation back to abortion rights, countering that whether or not to have a child is an economic issue as much as a reproductive issue.

'Let’s be clear - having children is why you’re worried about your price for gas, it’s why you’re worried about how much food costs,' the Georgia Democrat said.

'You cannot divorce pregnancy from the economic realities of having a child.'

Stacey Abrams told MSNBC on Wednesday morning that abortion rights cannot be 'separated' from economic issues

'We don’t have the luxury of separating them out,' Abrams said. 

'Having a child is absolutely an economic issue.'

Former Trump press secretary Kayleigh McEnany reacted to Abrams' sentiments on Twitter: 'This is truly sick! Unbelievable...' 

'Wait a minute, [Stacey Abrams] believes and want you to believe having an abortion is a good way to drive down the cost of gas and food? DAMN!' wrote former Georgia Republican House hopeful Vernon Jones.

Atlanta-based minister and podcast host Darrell B. Harrison added that Abrams 'makes Margaret Sanger look like Mother Teresa.'

Newsweek editor Josh Hammer dismissed her comments as 'Positively ghoulish.' 

Poll: Republican J.D. Vance Shows 4-Point Lead over Democrat Tim Ryan

Source: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/10/19/cygnal-poll-republican-j-d-vance-shows-4-point-lead-over-democrat-tim-ryan/

Republican J.D. Vance has a four-point lead over Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan in the race to fill Ohio’s open United States Senate seat, according to the latest polling by Cygnal released on Wednesday.

The Cygnal polling found that Vance leads Ryan by four percent, 47.3 percent of the 1,438 likely general election voters to 43.2 percent, with 9.5 percent still undecided roughly three weeks before the election.

Ultimately, Noah Rudnick, the data scientist who fielded the poll, believes that Vance is boosted by Biden’s low favorables in the state, even though Tim Ryan has a slight lead with independents.

The polling found that Ryan has an eight-point lead among the independents in the state, but Vance leads 73 percent to 19 percent, with those who have an unfavorable view of President Joe Biden.

In the Buckeye State, the president’s favorability is severely underwater, with 59.8 percent viewing him unfavorably while only 37.9 percent had a favorable view of him.

Additionally, the polling from Cygnal found that only 25 percent of the likely general election voters think the country is headed in the right direction. In comparison, an overwhelming majority of 69.5 percent say the country is going in the wrong direction.

Furthermore, on the generic ballot, a Republican candidate led by over ten points with 52.5 percent of the vote, while only 41.1 percent said they would vote for the Democrats. Another 6.5 percent said they were unsure.

The polling was conducted from October 14 to 18, with 1,438 likely general election voters, and saw a 2.58 percent margin of error.

Ohio’s U.S. Senate race is critical for the Republicans’ chance to retake the majority in the 2022 midterm elections. With Ohio currently being represented by a Republican, it is crucial for the party to keep the seat.

The Senate is currently divided 50-50 between the parties, with Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris being the tie-breaking vote. Senate Republicans must hold seats in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania and net at least one seat to put the GOP back in the majority and hinder President Joe Biden’s agenda.

The Ohio Senate election, along with other races throughout the country, takes place on November 8.

Does your dog think you're stupid? They surreptitiously judge you - but only if they're FEMALE

Does your dog think you're stupid? Pooches surreptitiously judge you when you make mistakes - but only if they're FEMALE, study finds

• Male and female dogs observed 'competent' and 'incompetent' actors
• The former was able to remove the lid of a container, while the latter could not
• They then watched both try to remove the lid of a container with food inside
• Female dogs looked longer at the competent actor and tried to approach them 

Getting the 'side-eye' look from your dog can certainly make it seem like they are judging you, and a new study suggests they really could be.

Research from Kyoto University, Japan found that dogs do surreptitiously judge us when we make mistakes - but only if they're female. 

Researchers set up an experiment where dogs were shown a 'competent' person who was able to open a container, and an 'incompetent' person who couldn't.

The two people were then given containers with food in to try and open, and the researchers found that female dogs looked significantly longer at, and approached the competent person.

In contrast, male dogs had no preference for either the competent or incompetent person in the food task.

The study's lead author, Hitomi Chijiiwa, said: 'Our findings show that dogs, especially female dogs, are able to identify human competence, which can influence their behaviour, particularly if food is involved. 

'Future studies should investigate the potential sex differences among dogs in the way they evaluate humans.'

A new study from Kyoto University, Japan has found that female dogs do surreptitiously judge us when we make mistakes (stock image)

The percentage of dogs choosing the Competent person. White bars represent Food condition, and black bars represents Empty condition. The dashed line indicates chance level

Judgements are known as 'social evaluations' in psychology, and studies have found that other species, such as capuchin monkeys, also make them.

Dogs have adapted to living in human society through the evolutionary process of domestication, and have learned to read our behaviour and communicate with us.

Studies have shown that they have a preference to people who are more friendly or are generous with food, however it has not been linked to competency.

For the study, published in Behavioural Processes, researchers wanted to see if dogs have the ability to socially evaluate humans based on their skillfulness.

'It could be advantageous for social animals to evaluate others based on not only social traits such as cooperativeness, but also on nonsocial traits such as skillfulness or competence, for example in observational learning contexts,' the authors wrote.

A schematic drawing of the experimental setup. In the demonstration phase, the 'competent' and 'incompetent' actors alternately took the container from the basket and tried to open it in front of the subject dog, before doing the same with new baited containers 

Dogs can tell when humans have made a mistake

Researchers at the University of Göttingen and Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. compared dogs' spontaneous reactions to intentional and unintentional human behaviour.

Dogs were separated from humans by a glass barrier, and were then either offered food that was quickly withdrawn ('unwilling'), dropped down a gap ('unable-clumsy') or blocked because the gap was too small ('unable-blocked').

Not only did the dogs wait longer in the unwilling condition than in the unable conditions, but they were also more likely to sit or lie down – actions often interpreted as appeasing behaviours – and stop wagging their tails. 

The results suggest canines can master a basic component of the Theory of Mind – the ability to read others' intentions - which was previously regarded as uniquely human. 

Read more here 

For the experiment, 30 dogs were sat in front of two actors, each of which had a container with a lid on it.

One 'competent' actor would try to open their container, and would be successful within about two seconds.

Then the second 'incompetent' actor would try to open theirs but not be able to after about five seconds.

They would next repeat these actions with two different containers, before being handed two new ones that either contained a piece of dog food or were empty.

The actors would then both attempt to open one of the new containers for 30 seconds while the dog watched, and then was allowed to approach.

The dog's interactions were filmed and subsequently analysed.

When the competent person tried to open a baited container, female dogs looked at them significantly longer than males, and were more likely to approach them. 

This suggests that female dogs can recognise different competency levels in humans to the extent that it influences their behaviour. 

Sex differences have been noted before in canines, such as how female dogs interact more with humans than males do.

The researchers say their findings suggest more research should be done into sex differences in dogs’ social evaluation abilities.

The researchers concluded: 'The present findings suggest that at least female dogs can evaluate people based on their competence in a motor task, an ability likely to be advantageous not only in social learning contexts but also when choosing partners in situations requiring cooperation.

'A question for future research is whether evaluations of competence generalize to other motor tasks, or extend to traits such as reliability or knowledgeability.'