Mrs. Kasha Davis on the importance of drag queens reading books to kids
Reading is what? Fundamental.

www.queerty.com/mrs-kasha-davis-importance-drag-queens-reading-books-kids-20171111?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes Team Robbed At Gunpoint In Brazil
Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes teammates have been robbed at gunpoint ahead of the Formula One race in Brazil in an incident the world champion said had left them “shaken”.

The sportsman tweeted soon after midday on Saturday that some of his team were “held up at gun point [sic]” after they were leaving the circuit in Sao Paulo on Friday night.

He said gun shots were fired and one person had a weapon held to their head in an incident that was, “so upsetting to hear”.

Mercedes confirmed valuables were taken from the team but said “everyone was unharmed”.

Some of my team were held up at gun point last night leaving the circuit here in Brazil. Gun shots fired, gun held at ones head. This is so upsetting to hear. Please say a prayer for my guys who are here as professionals today even if shaken.

November 11, 2017
In a later tweet Hamilton lamented the level of danger surrounding the event saying, “this happens every single year here”, and called on F1 teams to “do more” to protect those involved in the sport.

Mercedes-AMG F1 replied to the tweet thread saying it works with “specialist security advisors and train our personnel in case incidents like this occur”.

The team added: “But last night has shown there is even more we can do – as a team and as a sport.”

We operate with specialist security advisors and train our personnel in case incidents like this occur. But as last night has shown, there is even more we can do – as a team and as a sport.

November 11, 2017
Hold-ups are a known risk for teams in Sao Paulo and around the Interlagos circuit and police escorts are used for drivers travelling to and form their hotels.

In 2010 Jenson Button was the victim of an attempted robbery and in Mexico last year a Mercedes team member was robbed while travelling by car from the airport to his hotel.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/lewis-hamilton-mercedes_uk_5a06fb7de4b01d21c83ec3f0

Train Passengers Warned To Plan Christmas Journeys Early After Network Rail Announces Hundreds Of Rail Works
Train passengers have been warned to plan their journeys home for Christmas early this year, with some routes set to be “heavily affected” after Network Rail announced more than 250 sets of festive engineering works. 

London Paddington station will be closed for four days from Christmas Eve due to the improvement scheme, while Great Western Railway is advising passengers to complete any festive trips by December 23. 

Routes across London, Essex, Glasgow, Lancashire, Kent and East Sussex are also set to be shut, with rail replacement buses to be used on many of the disrupted lines.

But Network Rail said that despite the fact that 50% more work will be carried out this year compared to Christmas 2016, 95% of the network will remain unaffected. 

According to the company – which owns most of the rail network in England, Scotland and Wales – the Christmas programme will result in thousands of new services and trains for passengers in 2018. 

visit Network Rail. 

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/train-passengers_uk_5a06ec90e4b01d21c83ebf7f

Bringing the Transgender Veterans Community Together

A Facebook group unites disparate service members in the age of Trump.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2017/11/11/bringing-transgender-veterans-community-together

Local Cuts Risk ‘Disaster’ For National Security, Warns Terror Police Chief
Cuts to local policing risk a “disaster” for maintaining national security, one of the country’s leading counter-terrorism officers has reportedly warned.

Neil Basu, the senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism policing, said teams tackling Islamist and neo-Nazi extremists become “divorced from the frontline” when bobbies are taken off the beat.

Two decades of work in neighbourhood policing, a vital source of intelligence on terrorist plots, is “in danger of disappearing”, he told The Guardian.

“For me, that is a national security issue,” he said.

Basu’s comments come after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick’s warning that the UK’s largest police force is under “unprecedented” pressure.

The Met is tackling an increase in crime with far fewer officers while continuing to find ways of making millions of pounds of savings, the commissioner said.

Meanwhile the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has called on Chancellor Philip Hammond to end a “police funding crisis” in his upcoming Budget.

The UK has experienced five terror attacks in 2017 when the threat “went absolutely stratospheric”, Basu said.

At least one plot was reportedly foiled hours before an attack was put into action after police received a community tip-off.

“When we don’t have those people we will become so divorced from the frontline, and the frontline of communities, that will be a disaster for policing in this country,” Basu said.

Asked by The Guardian if it would threaten national security, he said: “Yes, because where’s the intelligence coming from?”

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/terror-police-chief_uk_5a06ca25e4b01d21c83eb99b

Brothers On The Run After Failing To Return To Maghaberry Prison After Funeral
Two prisoners have gone on the run in Northern Ireland after failing to return from compassionate bail.

Brothers Charles Valliday, 45, and James Valliday, 51, did not return to Maghaberry prison on Thursday under conditions allowing them to attend a relative’s funeral.

Detective Superintendent Jason Murphy of the PSNI said: “Charles and James Valliday, who are awaiting trial for serious offences, were last seen at 10am yesterday in the area of St Jude’s Chapel on the Falls Road where they attended a relative’s funeral.

“James is described as 5ft 9ins in height, of medium build with short, dark brown hair and blue eyes. He has a tattoo on his left arm – a scroll saying ‘mum and dad’.

“Charles is described as 5ft 9ins in height, of stocky build, with short, brown hair, protruding ears and green eyes. He has a tattoo on his left arm – a bulldog, panther and snake – and a fish tattoo on his right arm.

“They have a history of violence and I would urge the public not to approach them but to contact police immediately.”

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/brothers-on-the-run-l_uk_5a06acfbe4b01d21c83eab58