
Iran says it had court order to seize Chevron tanker
DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran said on Thursday it had a court order to seize a tanker in Gulf waters a day
1970-01-01 08:00

Fighting to free the women and children enslaved by IS
Yazidi groups are still looking for thousands of women and children who were enslaved.
1970-01-01 08:00

Soaring Interest Rates Are Quietly Transforming Oil Markets
For oil bulls, one of the biggest caps on prices this year is turning into a tailwind. Oil’s
1970-01-01 08:00

Pentagon to tighten controls after classified documents leak
The defence department wants a new office for insider threats and systems to detect electronic devices.
1970-01-01 08:00

US Navy intervened to stop Iran seizing two tankers in Gulf of Oman, US defense official says
The US Navy intervened to stop Iranian Navy ships attempting to seize two oil tankers in separate incidents in the Gulf of Oman early on Wednesday morning, according to a US defense official.
1970-01-01 08:00

Who is Pearl Davis? The YouTuber dubbed the 'female Andrew Tate'
The thought of being likened to Andrew Tate would send shudders down the spines of many. But for YouTube personality Pearl Davis it’s all in a day’s work. The proudly “anti-feminist” influencer has become a darling of the far-right right for her outspoken views on everything from why divorce should be banned to why women shouldn’t vote. The 26-year-old’s inflammatory opinions have earned her 1.55 million followers on YouTube and almost 220,000 on Twitter. She racked up around 930,000 on TikTok before she was banned from the platform entirely. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Still, this hasn’t stopped her interviews and sound-bites from flooding the video-sharing site and, much like Tate before her, Davis’s expulsion from the platform seems to have fuelled interest in her content. So who exactly is the controversial commentator who’s now known as “the female Andrew Tate”? And how did she become toxic masculinity’s new star? Who is she? Davis, who’s full name is Hannah Pearl Davis, was born in the suburbs of Chicago as one of ten children, including three adopted siblings – one of whom was a “homeless kid” on her brother’s football team. In a lengthy interview for the ‘Anything Goes With James English’ podcast Davis, who is now based in London, said she’d had a happy upbringing and was very “family-oriented”. She began making content for TikTok and YouTube around two years ago, starting off with reaction videos in which she repeatedly refers to herself as the “Whitest girl in the world”. Whitest Girl in the World Reacts to Megan the Stallion "Big Ole Freak" youtu.be Speaking to Insider back in March, she explained that she was inspired to pursue a media career thanks to the likes of famous right-wingers Ben Shapiro and Thomas Sowell. Now, she hosts her own live YouTube show called ‘The Pregame’, covering topics such as what makes women “wifeable” and, inevitably, the so-called “Matrix”. Davis has touted herself as a proponent of what’s been dubbed the “red pill” movement, which is essentially a Reddit-based group that believes that society and nature favour women over men. How did she make a name for herself? She had already amassed something of a cult following thanks to her promotion of ultra-conservative, anti-”woke” beliefs. However, her popularity saw a sharp increase following Tate’s arrest on sex trafficking charges back in December. Tate had been a guest on her ‘Pregame’ show shortly before he was taken into custody in Romania. Since then her YouTube following has jumped from around 800,000 subscribers to 1.54 million, according to the analytics tool SocialBlade. For anyone wondering how she feels about being branded “the female Andrew Tate”, she answered the question directly when it was put to her by none other than Piers Morgan. In an interview for his Talk TV show on Monday, Morgan asked Davis how she felt about the moniker, to which she replied: “I take it as a compliment. I’m a fan of Andrew Tate.” Admitting that she wasn’t a fan of “everything” Tate had ever said, however, she then added: “Overall, his message is good. Overall. I think he's been absolutely phenomenal for young men.” What have been some of her most controversial comments? Besides declaring that Tate has been “absolutely phenomenal for young men”, Davis has churned out countless contentious assessments and opinions. According to Davis, her most viral clip centred on a discussion she had with a group of women in which she asked whether “most girls [...] think they’re hotter than they are”. She then pointed to one of her guests, and branded her a two or three out of 10 on looks, saying “she could easily be a six if she lost weight”. “I’m a 10” Modern Woman Humbled www.youtube.com This is just one example of Davis’s focus on women’s looks and how that informs their relationships with men. In one clip, she suggested that women don’t deserve to be with successful men if they’re obese, and in another, she said that it’s a woman’s fault if her male partner cheats. "A lot of you guys are s***ty wives," she said in a video last year, which has since been removed by TikTok. In an attempt to define what makes a “s***ty wife”, she went on: “You don’t cook for your man, you belittle him, you nag on him all the time, you don’t treat him like a man.” She then continued: “You don’t have sex with him, and when he goes looking outside of the relationship because, at the end of the day, he doesn’t want to get divorced, you put all the blame on him and don’t take any accountability for your part to play in it.” In another video, seen by Insider, she said that when unmarried women get pregnant it is "99.9999 per cent the woman's fault." Does Davis admit that she’s a misogynist? No, amazingly, she insists that she "doesn’t hate women”. And, instead, says she is simply fighting men’s corner because there’s “not a lot of empathy” for them online. "Men are discriminated against in society by the legal system and feminists at large," she told Insider. "The women that follow me watch it because they too see the larger issue, men watch it because finally there is a form of media that advocates for men." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00

Artist who used to collect Barbies boasts a room full of dolls worth £19,000
A Gothic artist has dedicated an entire room in her house into a "shrine" for her "creepy doll" collection, as she believes it “makes life so much more interesting and fun”. Victoria Grossman, 53, began collecting Barbie dolls in her 20s, and since watching the horror film Annabelle she “became fascinated with creepy dolls,” so began collecting and creating them – she has sold more than 400 of her handmade dolls. Victoria has spent a staggering £19,000 on her collection, which includes over 300 dolls made from “porcelain with Gothic painted features”, which she hopes people think are “haunted” – her favourite frightening figurine is a hand-painted Wednesday Addams. Victoria’s dolls typically have “mysterious eyes”, Victorian style clothes and “menacing expressions”, and despite their scary appearance her loved ones are “big fans” of her collection. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Victoria’s creations have been featured in a movie, Dementia 13, after a producer approached her at a doll convention and bought three dolls. Victoria said it was “amazing to see them on screen”. “Collecting just makes life so much more interesting and fun – I could not see a life without collecting,” Victoria told PA Real Life. “I love the hunt and love displaying them – I want to see my stuff, I want people to see them and get inspired, and maybe start a collection of whatever turns them on.” Victoria began collecting Barbie dolls in her 20s, building a collection of more than 200 figurines, but this eventually turned into a fascination with creepy dolls. She said: “One day, I saw this Gothic doll on the television, and I thought it was so different and, being an artist, I wanted to recreate the doll – so, I did, and it was great, but I didn’t think much of it. “It wasn’t until I saw Annabelle, the horror movie, in 2014, that I became fascinated with creepy dolls. “I decided to recreate her, and I put her up on eBay, and it sold for like 120 dollars to someone in Las Vegas, and then I started to collect creepy dolls.” Over time, Victoria has accumulated over 300 horrifying dolls worth approximately £19,000 ($25,000) and keeps the majority of them on display in her studio. She said: “I’m not into anything gory – I like them to look artistically creepy as if you have found them in an attic, and I want people to think they’re haunted dolls. “Most of them are porcelain with Gothic painted features like mysterious eyes, Victorian style clothes, menacing expressions.” Victoria’s loved ones are very supportive of her unusual collection, she said: “My son has grown up with it, so he doesn’t think much of it, but he loves them; he thinks they are really cool. “When people come to the house, they instantly want to see the doll room or doll shrine, and my family always want to bring their friends over to show them off. “They all love to take pictures of them, they’re big fans – it’s the same at conventions. As well as frightening dolls, Victoria also has a collection of celebrity memorabilia worth more than £78,000 ($100,000). She said: “I have Barbra Streisand’s vanity, which is gigantic and beautiful. “One of my prized possessions is Madonna’s jewellery which she wore on the Like A Virgin album cover – I have the pin that’s on her bustier and the bracelet from the inside cover. “I used to go to Sotheby’s and Christie’s auction houses in New York for celebrity items in my twenties and thirties.” Alongside collecting, Victoria continued making dolls, which she sells for £118 ($150) apiece online and at conventions. She explained the process: “So the base is a regular porcelain doll, and you put a base paint on them, maybe some crackling on their face to make it look old and weathered. “I often paint on top of their eyes, especially when I’m making it into a character, like Pennywise from the movie It. “I make the clothes by hand – for example, when I made Wednesday Addams, which is my favourite doll that I own, I handmade all of her clothes and stockings, braided her hair, and painted on make-up.” Victoria has sold more than 400 dolls to date and has customers all over the world. She said: “I had no idea it was such a popular thing – I started taking them to conventions, and they did really well, I made the equivalent of £500. “One of my clients has around 40 of my dolls – it’s addictive, you can’t just have one. “Most of my customers buy the dolls for their Halloween display and end up adding to their collection and become full-on collectors.” Victoria’s dolls have even been featured in a movie – she explained: “When I was at a convention, a producer came up to me and said, ‘I love your dolls, I would love to put them in a movie’, and I just thought he was kidding. “But, they later came to the house, and they bought three dolls – they starred in a movie called Dementia 13 in 2017, it was amazing to see them on screen.” Looking to the future, Victoria is hoping to extend her collection to reborn dolls – dolls which are hyperrealistic portrayals of babies. She said: “To buy reborn realistic dolls is usually over $1,000, but I’d love to sculpt one and make an entire doll out of clay – I wouldn’t treat it like a baby like some people do, though.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00

Ukraine plane: Iran facing legal action over downing of Flight PS752
Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and the UK are seeking damages for the families of the 176 victims.
1970-01-01 08:00

Iran taken to World Court over downing of passenger plane
AMSTERDAM Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and Britain have asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to open proceedings against
1970-01-01 08:00

Israel Ends West Bank Military Raid That Killed 12 Palestinians
Israel said it’s withdrawn more than 1,000 troops from the Palestinian refugee camp of Jenin, after sending them
1970-01-01 08:00

Israel Aims at More Targets as West Bank Fighting Persists
Israel’s military said it has identified 10 additional targets to destroy in Jenin before pulling out of a
1970-01-01 08:00

Andrew Tate’s manager says influencer has "no respect" for Adin Ross
Andrew Tate’s manager has hit out at Adin Ross, saying he has “no respect” for the streamer. Ross has been associated with Tate since he first came to prominence last year. He was even on the visitor list while he was in custody in Romania. Now, the unnamed manager who works for Tate and his brother Tristan has spoken about him and said that he doesn't believe Ross isn’t worthy of Tate’s time. Speaking to internet personality Sneako on a podcast, the manager said: “Man I had no respect for the guy before. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “Look if you’re going to have access to powerful motivators and powerful clear feedback from someone like Tate and you’re still going to choose drugs, gambling, hedonism then I really couldn’t care.” The manager could be referring to Ross’s past experiences with opioid addiction, which he has been vocal about with his followers in the past. He added: “As far as I’m concerned, he’s a nothing person. As far as I’m concerned people like that don’t exist, they’re not worth my time. I don’t consume their content if you even call it that. “Those sorts of people don’t even exist in my reality, and I would encourage young men to do the same.” The two social media influencers exchanged some back-and-forth on social media last year before meeting up in Dubai to film a live stream together. After Tate's arrest, Ross went on a podcast and called his friendship with Tate "genuine" and voiced support for his friend. "People don't really understand that this all happening actually affects me because it's like, that's my friend," Ross said. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00