Tag: disney

Report: U.S. Is the World’s Largest Debtor to China — Thanks to Amazon, Disney, and Tesla

A report published on Tuesday by the AidData research lab at William & Mary university in Williamsburg, Virginia, found that the United States is the largest recipient of loans from China.

The report, entitled Chasing China: Learning to Play by Beijing’s Global Lending Rules, found that 1,193 Chinese banks, investment companies, and government institutions loaned $2.2 trillion to recipients in 179 countries between 2000 and 2023.

AidData researchers drew two surprising conclusions from their research: “China’s overseas lending portfolio is vastly larger than previously understood,” and its loans to the developed world are an order of magnitude larger than widely believed.

The common image of Chinese loans is banks pumping huge loans to Third World countries through China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The ostensible purpose of BRI was to help developing countries build vital infrastructure, but the projects are often criticized as unprofitable “debt traps” approved by spendthrift local governments that saddle the borrowing nations with debts to Beijing they can never repay.

Whatever the flaws of BRI might be, AidData determined that only about 20 percent of China’s titanic lending portfolio involves infrastructure projects in developing nations. Meanwhile, the amount China loans to developed nations “skyrocketed from 12% to 76%” between 2000 and 2023. Ten of the top 20 destinations for Chinese loans are “high-income” countries.

“Another major discovery is that Chinese state-owned creditors have bankrolled approximately 10,000 projects and activities in 72 high-income countries to the tune of nearly $1 trillion,” the report said.

“Much of the lending to wealthy countries is focused on critical infrastructure, critical minerals, and the acquisition of high-tech assets like semiconductor companies,” noted AidData’s lead author, Brad Parks.

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Director of Disney’s private Caribbean island, 65, charged with raping American woman, 29, on the beach

The director of Disney’s Castaway Cay private cruise ship island in the Bahamas has been charged with raping an American woman on a beach, the Daily Mail can exclusively reveal. 

Gursel Sahibas, 65, is accused of indecently assaulting the 29-year-old victim when they went for a swim at the shipwreck-themed resort.

Sources say the woman repeatedly begged him to stop but it has been claimed that married Sahinbas continued to grope her while they were in the ocean.

She returned to her native Florida following the alleged attack on September 22, but reported it to Bahamian officials based in the US one week later.

Her written complaint was passed to the Royal Bahamas Police Force and Sahinbas was arrested by cops from Great Abaco, the nearest island to 1,000-acre Castaway Cay.

The accused appeared in a Nassau court Thursday morning on rape and indecent assault charges where he was granted $15,000 cash bail and ordered not to contact the victim.

His attorney Tamika Roberts said Sahinbas was a British national who wanted to return to his home in Liverpool, northwest England.

Judge Petra Hanna agreed but said he must come back to the Bahamas for a January 21 hearing.

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Sen. Chuck Schumer Says Jimmy Kimmel Must Stay on Air to Save Democracy — Then Urges Him to Sue Disney

Senator Chuck Schumer has warned that Jimmy Kimmel must remain on air to protect American democracy.

Disney confirmed on Wednesday night that Kimmel’s show will be suspended indefinitely after comments he made about last week’s assassination of Charlie Kirk at the hands of a disturbed left-wing student.

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them — and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel remarked during Monday night’s show.

“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” said Andrew Alford, President of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, in a statement on Wednesday.

Schumer, who is currently America’s most powerful elected Democrat, is urging Kimmel to take the matter to court.

“America is meant to be a bastion of free speech,” Schumer wrote on the X platform. “Everybody across the political spectrum should be speaking out to stop what’s happening to Jimmy Kimmel.”

“This is about protecting democracy,” he continued. “This must go to court.”

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British man charged over mock Disneyland wedding to child had been investigated by BBC

The British paedophile charged in connection with organising a “mock wedding” to a child in Disneyland Paris is Jacky Jhaj, who was found guilty of sexual activity with two 15-year-olds in 2016, the BBC understands.

Jhaj, 39, has been charged in connection with organising the fake ceremony on Saturday, in which a nine-year-old Ukrainian girl was due to feature as his bride.

He was arrested when police were called on Saturday morning by an actor who said he had been hired by Jhaj to play the father of the bride.

The BBC has previously investigated how Jhaj was able to hire hundreds of children to act as his fawning fans at a fake film premiere in London’s Leicester Square in 2023.

Some of the children, who had been hired from casting agencies, were as young as six.

Teenage girls told the BBC that they had been asked to scream for him and try to touch him, without being told his real identity by the agencies.

Then in June last year, Jhaj was seen giving gifts to children outside dance auditions for another production – he was recognised by a parent who had seen the BBC article.

Two months later, and following the BBC’s further investigation, Jhaj was filmed posing naked in front of a mocked-up BBC News lorry in London which had been set on fire.

For the mock wedding at Disneyland Paris, which was to be filmed by Jhaj’s team, around 100 French extras had been recruited to take part.

The BBC understands that he appeared in front of a judge in Meaux, north-east of Paris, on Monday and was charged with fraud, breach of trust, money laundering, and identity theft and placed in pretrial detention.

Preliminary findings also stated that he had allegedly been “made-up professionally so that his face appeared totally different from his own”, according to the French prosecutor.

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Disney Refuses To Say If Man Who Posted Photos Of Women In Park Bathroom Will Be Banned

Aman dressed as a woman paraded photos of himself in 10 women’s bathrooms in Florida’s Disney World in a Tuesday Instagram post. The photos posted showed him ranking the different bathrooms on a scale of one to 10 and included other women in the background of the photos.

The man, going by the name Lilly Contino, thanked Disney for allowing him to use the women’s bathrooms, saying in his post, “Shoutout to @disneyparks for creating a safe space in the hellscape that is Florida.”

Despite the concern on the post’s comment section and on X, Disney has not taken any action to keep Contino out of the parks. When The Federalist reached out to Disney for comment, they did not respond. 

Under Florida Statute title XLVI Chapter 810 section 145, “for the amusement, entertainment…” it is a felony for anyone who “intentionally uses or intentionally installs an imaging device to secretly view, broadcast, or record a person without that person’s knowledge and consent who is dressing, undressing, or privately exposing the body, at a place and time when that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy.” 

Although Contino did not seemingly take photos of any private parts, he did take photos for entertainment reasons with women using the restroom in the background who would reasonably expect some privacy at Disney World. 

This isn’t the first time Contino has shared what some people would deem as private information to the public. The 32-year-old man posts content on Instagram about being a “trans girl on a mission”. His mission includes educating viewers on his transition process like Facial Feminization Surgery (FFS), a surgery that alters a face through sawing down the jaw bone, cutting the scalp to move the hairline lower, shaving the bone above the eye socket, and shaving down the Adam’s apple. His mission also includes taking photos in women’s bathrooms.

Despite Disney having “gender-neutral restrooms” called “companion restrooms,” Contino went into the women’s restrooms. Contino also said in a post documenting the experience that he “peed standing up,” an obvious sign that he’s probably in the wrong restroom. 

He continued to post about his “trans girl mission” in a video of him being “misgendered” at a Disney restaurant. He told the server he didn’t want the food he ordered anymore because the server said “yes sir” to him. 

Despite the server’s apology, Contino said “I don’t feel safe anymore.”

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ABC News Laying Off Staff and Completely Cutting Polling Outfit 538

The same media bloodbath that has gutted MSNBC and CNN since the 2024 election is now coming to ABC News.

The network is laying off staff and even completely cut ties to 538, the data and polling outfit created by Nate Silver, who left the network in 2023.

These recent moves came from parent company Disney, which is dealing with its own issues.

The Hill reported:

ABC News eliminating 538 amid layoffs

ABC News Group is eliminating its political arm, 538, which specializes in polling, surveys and data, amid wider layoffs at the Walt Disney parent company, according to information obtained by The Hill.

The layoffs are expected to impact 200 employees which represents under 6 percent of the staff at the company and Disney Entertainment Networks unit. Fifteen employees at 538 will be let go.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the reductions.

The move is a part of broader consolidation efforts that include changes to ABC’s on air programming, sources told The Hill.

The network’s “20/20” and “Nightline” shows are set to be merged into one broadcast segment while the “Good Morning America” production team will be shaved down into management overseen by one person, Simone Swink.

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PLOT TWIST: ABC News Rewards George Stephanopoulos With ‘Multi-Year Contract’ – Days After Trump Inflicted Humiliating Libel Loss

In a surprise move, ABC News has rewarded its anchor George Stephanopoulos with a new contract at the network.

The Los Angeles Times were the first to report that Stephanopoulos, 63, recently agreed to a “new multi-year contract to remain with the ABC News morning program, according to several people familiar with matter who were not authorized to comment publicly.”

No further details were provided about the terms of the contract, such as its length or the size of his pay package.

The Good Morning America host, who rose to political fame as a henchman of former President Bill Clinton, was sued by Donald Trump earlier this year after repeatedly claiming that he was “found liable for rape” by a Manhattan jury.

His statements were a reference to complaints made by a woman named E. Jean Carroll, who has alleged Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s. She has never provided any evidence for her claims.

The deal, which has not been formally announced, will put an end to speculation that Stephanopoulos may be axed by the network after he was the subject of a humiliating libel loss in which its parent company Disney agreed to pay out $15 million and $1 million to cover Trump’s legal fees.

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Gina Carano Scores Legal Victory as Judge Blocks Disney’s Appeal in Free Speech Battle

A California judge has ruled against Disney, denying its request to appeal a July decision that allows Gina Carano’s wrongful termination lawsuit to proceed. Additionally, the request to pause discovery during the appeal was also denied.

Gina Carano took to her social media platform, X, to announce the decision: “After the Judge DENIED Disney’s request to DISMISS my case, Disney requested permission to immediately appeal that decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and delay all discovery while that appeal takes place,” Carano posted. “Yesterday, October 16th, 2024, we learned that the Judge DENIED Disney’s unusual request.”

We obtained a copy of the order for you here.

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Disney slammed for selling $10 PBJ sandwich ‘kits’ to stranded guests during Hurricane Milton

Disney has been torn to shreds over a decision to sell peanut butter and jelly sandwich kits for $10 to guests who are stranded during Hurricane Milton.

The theme park closed down ahead of the storm’s arrival this week, but some resort guests found themselves stranded and forced to ride out the hurricane there.

On Wednesday, guests were afforded the opportunity to buy sandwich ‘kits’ for $10.

The kits included a jar of peanut butter, full loaf of bread and strawberry jam.

Initially, people  were impressed with Disney’s generosity, but upon seeing that the multi-billion dollar corporation was charging for the goodie bags, some of the goodwill turned.

‘I was thinking, oh how sweet! Then saw they were charging $10,’ one critic said in response to a TikTok video discussing the promotion.

‘My jaw literally dropped when I saw the $10,’ another added. 

Another noted that Disney ‘is a corporation’ which could ‘literally afford to just give these away.’ 

‘Disney will always make that magic money, honey,’ one said.

‘Considering how pricey the rooms are, I feel they could’ve covered that.’

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About that Secret Service Agents’ free trip to LGBTQ conference at Disneyworld …

We are in the middle of a hotly contested presidential election.  There have already been two attempted assassinations of Donald Trump. 

Reliable sources report Iran has sniper teams here to kill The Donald.  So what does the Secret Service do?  It sends needed agents to an all-expense paid LGBTQ conference at what Disney calls “The Most Magical Place on Earth.”

The Secret Service leadership finally admitted they did not assign the full complement of agents to Trump’s detail in Butler, Pennsylvania.  Only a few were fully trained Protective Detail agents. The rest of the squad came from the B-Team.  They usually spend their time chasing counterfeiters and credit card fraudsters.  The temps’ protection training was watching a two-hour video.  That’s less than a good movie and popcorn. 

The Service doesn’t have enough time or manpower to answer even the simplest questions the Congressional Committee asks. USSS leadership claims they don’t have enough money to complete their vital mission.  But they have the time, resources, and budget to solicit agents for the free four-day trip to what we Floridians call the Mouse House.

The story went public when the service’s DEI office sent a memo to every assistant director asking them to nominate candidates for this fun-in-the-sun trip to Orlando. 

Susan Crabtree of Real Clear Politics uncovered the details. She learned those assistant directors had to send a list of their preferred people to the Secret Service Office of Alternative Employment. 

You may want to stop here and think why the agency responsible for protecting the free world’s leaders needs something called “Alternative Employment,” but that’s up to you.  If I ran the Service, the employment qualifications would include good physical condition, great marksmanship, and a bad attitude, but that’s just me.  I wouldn’t concentrate on hiring agents who nap mano-mano or ladies in comfortable shoes.  

Disneyworld is a very logical place to hold this conference.  Disney’s objection to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ bill prohibiting teachers from indoctrinating students about sexual choice in the early school years went national.  Mickey has even supported Gay Days for decades.  For one magical weekend every year, the LGBTQ crowd invades Fantasyland. Participants all wear bright red t-shirts so they can identify kindred spirits.  Disney avoids any problem of straights who arrive in a red shirt feeling accosted.  It offers them free any-color-but red shirts.

Disney can be very ingenious in other ways.  Seminars usually wrap no later than 5:00 p.m,, and there is plenty to do in the evening.  When Gay Days at Disney first began, the manager of the famous Mannequins Night Club called a senior Disney executive at 10:00 p.m.  The manager was very upset.  He asked, ‘Sir, we have men dancing with men!  The families with kids are all very distraught!  What do I do?  What do I do?”

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