Latest news with #proHamas
Daily Mail
10-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Microsoft pulls major conference from Seattle over safety fears
Seattle's reputation as a center for global innovation is in tatters as the Democrat-run city's rampant crime and drug-addled homeless problem has driven a major tech conference out of the Pacific North West for first time in almost a decade. Microsoft will relocate its flagship Build conference from 2026 following mounting concerns over dystopian scenes of open-air drug markets and violence, which have dramatically changed the character of Seattle since the company's first conference in the city in 2017. The decision, confirmed in a statement from the company, follows mounting concerns over public safety, visible drug use, and deteriorating conditions in the city's downtown. This year's event also faced disruptions when pro-Hamas protesters vandalized the convention center and attempted to enter the venue. An internal email from Visit Seattle, the city's tourism agency, said that both Microsoft leadership and event attendees had expressed alarm about the downtown area surrounding the Hyatt Regency and the Arch Building on 8th Street - key locations for the annual developer conference. 'The customers cited the general uncleanliness of the street scene, visibility of individuals engaging in drug use, and unhoused individuals, including the recurring tent in the Arch Tunnel,' the email, obtained by journalist Jonathan Choe, stated. Despite efforts to keep the conference in the city by Visit Seattle and local authorities - including the Seattle Police Department, the Downtown Seattle Association, and the city's Care Team - Microsoft's concerns ultimately proved decisive. 'Unfortunately for Build, it was a contributing factor to their final decision to move out of Seattle,' the agency wrote. The loss of Build represents a significant hit to Seattle's convention and tourism economy, which has long relied on major tech events to draw visitors and business. Seattle restaurateur David Meinert also confirmed the news in a Facebook post, citing feedback from attendees about the open-air drug use, the large number of tents lining the streets, and the aggressive homeless population. 'Mayor Bruce Harrell's downtown activation plan is not having the success he claims,' Meinert wrote. 'I can tell you firsthand how poorly the massive spending on different city agencies is going, due to the inability for them to communicate and work together. It's 100% about lack of leadership.' Microsoft acknowledged the change in a formal statement: 'Our plans for Build 2026 have changed, but our vision to empower builders and developers at a major event next year remains the same. We thank the city and the community for their support over the years.' Build has been held in Seattle since 2017, drawing thousands of developers and tech leaders from around the world. Its departure underscores growing unease among corporate leaders about the state of downtown Seattle. The Build conference typically attracts thousands of developers from around the world. Acknowledging the impact of the decision, Visit Seattle described Microsoft's departure as a 'huge loss for the city.' This development follows a pattern of businesses leaving downtown Seattle. Starbucks has closed several stores, with former CEO Howard Schultz attributing the closures to public safety issues and what he termed failed leadership . 'At the local state and federal level, these governments... and leaders, mayors and governors, and city councils have advocated their responsibility in fighting crime & addressing mental illness,' Schultz stated. Other major retailers, including Target, Nike, and Hard Rock Cafe , have also closed their downtown locations. Amazon Go has similarly shut down its stores in the area, citing underperformance. The situation has drawn comparisons to San Francisco, another city that has faced challenges with crime, homelessness, and business retention. In May, Seattle was the site of violent clashes between Christian activists and counter-protesters. The Seattle Police Department (SPD) reported 23 arrests at a 'Mayday USA' rally. 'Police working to keep two different groups apart, witnessed multiple people inside one group throw items at the opposing group,' SPD said. 'Officers immediately moved to arrest the people responsible... resulting in even more arrests.' Public safety in Seattle has been a contentious issue for several years. In 2020, then-Police Chief Carmen Best expressed a desire for officers to return to the East Precinct, which had been abandoned during protests that led to the creation of the 'Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone' (CHAZ). Her stance contrasted with that of then-Mayor Jenny Durkan, who favored a more hands-off approach. When asked how long she anticipated the protest zone would last, Durkan told CNN, 'I don't know. We could have a summer of love.' The 'autonomous zone' was established after clashes between police and protesters following the death of George Floyd, during which law enforcement used crowd control measures such as stun grenades and tear gas. While some reports described lawlessness in the CHAZ, authorities at the time also noted a 'block party atmosphere.' Protesters stated their intention to occupy the area until their demands, including police funding cuts, were met.
Daily Mail
10-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Microsoft pulls major tech conference from dystopian Democrat city over rampant crime and drug-addled homeless
Seattle's reputation as a center for global innovation is in tatters as the Democrat-run city's rampant crime and drug-addled homeless problem has driven a major tech conference out of the Pacific North West for first time in almost a decade. Microsoft will relocate its flagship Build conference from 2026 following mounting concerns over dystopian scenes of open-air drug markets and violence, which have dramatically changed the character of Seattle since the company's first conference in the city in 2017. The decision, confirmed in a statement from the company, follows mounting concerns over public safety, visible drug use, and deteriorating conditions in the city's downtown. This year's event also faced disruptions when pro-Hamas protesters vandalized the convention center and attempted to enter the venue. An internal email from Visit Seattle, the city's tourism agency, said that both Microsoft leadership and event attendees had expressed alarm about the downtown area surrounding the Hyatt Regency and the Arch Building on 8th Street - key locations for the annual developer conference. 'The customers cited the general uncleanliness of the street scene, visibility of individuals engaging in drug use, and unhoused individuals, including the recurring tent in the Arch Tunnel,' the email, obtained by journalist Jonathan Choe, stated. Despite efforts to keep the conference in the city by Visit Seattle and local authorities - including the Seattle Police Department, the Downtown Seattle Association, and the city's Care Team - Microsoft's concerns ultimately proved decisive. 'Unfortunately for Build, it was a contributing factor to their final decision to move out of Seattle,' the agency wrote. The loss of Build represents a significant hit to Seattle's convention and tourism economy, which has long relied on major tech events to draw visitors and business. Protesters remove a man because he was bothering other protesters at the self-proclaimed Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) during a protest against racial inequality and call for defunding of Seattle police on in June 2020 Seattle restaurateur David Meinert also confirmed the news in a Facebook post, citing feedback from attendees about the open-air drug use, the large number of tents lining the streets, and the aggressive homeless population. 'Mayor Bruce Harrell's downtown activation plan is not having the success he claims,' Meinert wrote. 'I can tell you firsthand how poorly the massive spending on different city agencies is going, due to the inability for them to communicate and work together. It's 100% about lack of leadership.' Microsoft acknowledged the change in a formal statement: 'Our plans for Build 2026 have changed, but our vision to empower builders and developers at a major event next year remains the same. We thank the city and the community for their support over the years.' Build has been held in Seattle since 2017, drawing thousands of developers and tech leaders from around the world. Its departure underscores growing unease among corporate leaders about the state of downtown Seattle. The Build conference typically attracts thousands of developers from around the world. Seattle restaurateur David Meinert also confirmed the news in a Facebook post, citing feedback from attendees about the open-air drug use, the large number of tents lining the streets, and the aggressive homeless population Acknowledging the impact of the decision, Visit Seattle described Microsoft's departure as a 'huge loss for the city.' This development follows a pattern of businesses leaving downtown Seattle. Starbucks has closed several stores, with former CEO Howard Schultz attributing the closures to public safety issues and what he termed failed leadership. 'At the local state and federal level, these governments... and leaders, mayors and governors, and city councils have advocated their responsibility in fighting crime & addressing mental illness,' Schultz stated. Other major retailers, including Target, Nike, and Hard Rock Cafe, have also closed their downtown locations. Amazon Go has similarly shut down its stores in the area, citing underperformance. The situation has drawn comparisons to San Francisco, another city that has faced challenges with crime, homelessness, and business retention. In May, Seattle was the site of violent clashes between Christian activists and counter-protesters. The Seattle Police Department (SPD) reported 23 arrests at a 'Mayday USA' rally. 'Police working to keep two different groups apart, witnessed multiple people inside one group throw items at the opposing group,' SPD said. 'Officers immediately moved to arrest the people responsible... resulting in even more arrests.' Public safety in Seattle has been a contentious issue for several years. In 2020, then-Police Chief Carmen Best expressed a desire for officers to return to the East Precinct, which had been abandoned during protests that led to the creation of the 'Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone' (CHAZ). Her stance contrasted with that of then-Mayor Jenny Durkan, who favored a more hands-off approach. When asked how long she anticipated the protest zone would last, Durkan told CNN, 'I don't know. We could have a summer of love.' The 'autonomous zone' was established after clashes between police and protesters following the death of George Floyd, during which law enforcement used crowd control measures such as stun grenades and tear gas. While some reports described lawlessness in the CHAZ, authorities at the time also noted a 'block party atmosphere.' Protesters stated their intention to occupy the area until their demands, including police funding cuts, were met.
New York Times
06-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
A Professor Was Fired for Her Politics. Is That the Future of Academia?
In January 2024, Maura Finkelstein finished teaching her first classes of the semester, unaware they would be her last as a professor. This was on a Wednesday at Muhlenberg College, a campus stippled with red doors meant to represent both hospitality and the college's Lutheran roots. As Finkelstein prepared to go home, she noticed a text from someone claiming to be the college's provost, Laura Furge. 'I had just done the online phishing training,' she told me later. 'And I was like, 'I know that if the provost texts me on an unknown number, it's spam.'' She deleted and blocked the message. Then she checked her email. There was a message from the provost there as well. 'So, I unblocked her number and called her,' she said. Furge told Finkelstein that the Department of Education had opened an investigation into Muhlenberg for potential civil rights violations. The college had yet to receive the underlying complaint, but they knew a professor had been named, and campus administrators assumed that professor was Finkelstein. It made sense. For months, students, alumni and strangers had been complaining about Finkelstein. They started a petition the previous fall, demanding that she be fired for 'dangerous pro-Hamas rhetoric' and 'blatant classroom bias against Jewish students.' As evidence, the petition, and its 8,000 signers, had offered up screenshots of Finkelstein's posts: a photo of her, on Oct. 12, in a kaffiyeh, a kaffiyeh-patterned face mask and a tank top that read 'Anti-Zionist Vibes Only,' below which she had written 'Free Gaza, free Palestine, stop the ongoing genocide by the Israeli and American war machines.' In another, on Oct. 26, she wrote, 'ISRAEL DOES NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO DEFEND ITS OCCUPATION.' Furge didn't have many details to share with Finkelstein. 'She was like, 'I wanted you to know so you didn't hear it from the press first,'' Finkelstein recalled. 'And — this is so me — I was like, 'Laura, I am always trying to help the college have different experiences.'' Furge, Finkelstein said, 'didn't really laugh.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Fox News
28-05-2025
- General
- Fox News
CONFRONTING HATE: Kennedy Shares About Clash with Pro-Hamas Protestors in Poland
Kennedy, host of the Kennedy Saves The World podcast, joined The Guy Benson Show today to reflect on her recent trip to Poland with Guy, Mollie Hemingway, Emily Compagno, and Mary Katharine Ham. After visiting concentration camps, Kennedy described her visceral reaction to pro-Hamas protestors back in Krakow, where her and other ladies on the trip called out the protestors vile behavior. Kennedy also weighed in on the now-viral moment when Brigette Macron slapped President Emmanuel Macron while deboarding a plane, which prompted absurd Russian disinformation theories (again) from the media. Listen to the full interview below! Listen to the full interview below: Listen to the full podcast below:
Fox News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Guy Benson Weighs in on SHOCKING D.C. Murders of Two Israel Embassy Staffers
While Ben Domenech joined the Guy Benson Show today to guest host, Guy Benson called us on the Guy Benson Show today to weigh in on such a heavy news day out of Washington D.C. While Guy is overseas on a trip to Poland to visit harrowing concentration camp sites and learn about antisemitism pre-WWII Europe, two disturbing target murders of two Israel embassy staffers occurred in his home city of Washington D.C. yesterday evening. Guy brought his thoughts to the show today and condemned pro-Hamas and antisemitic sentiments coming out of the left. Listen to the full segment with Guy and Ben below. Listen to the full interview below: Listen to the full podcast below: Dylan Rolfsen
