New in PJ Media:
What happens when you elect people to office who have only the most tenuous grip on reality, and actually think that Rachel Levine is a female admiral, Lia Thomas is a champion female swimmer, and Old Joe Biden is a competent, capable president of the United States? They’re finding out the hard way in Newark, N.J., these days. The city was about to become a Sister City with the nation of Kailasa and sign a cultural trade agreement with Kailasa representatives, but then a small detail ended up ruining the party: Kailasa doesn’t exist. It’s a fictional place.
Earlier this year, it was full speed ahead. In January, the India Posts English site, which offers mechanized translations of news items from the Indian press, posted a story from the Tamil-language site Dinamani: “Bilateral agreement between the United States and Kailasa!” — complete with exclamation point. The article noted that Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (son of the famed race-resentment poet Amiri Baraka) and other Newark officials had signed a “Bilateral Code of Ethics Agreement” at Newark’s City Hall with Kailasa’s Permanent Ambassador to the United Nations, Vijayapriya Nithyananda, and other representatives of Kailasa. But when you click on the link to the Tamil original, it takes you to a Tamil article all about how the whole thing was a scam, and Newark got fooled.
CBS News reported Wednesday that “the city of Newark is admitting it got scammed,” but “the city only found out about the fraud after it held an official ceremony for it.” Baraka “invited what he thought was the Hindu nation of Kailasa to Newark’s City Hall for a cultural trade agreement, but it turns out Kailasa is no nation at all; it’s a fake.” Newark residents are about as embarrassed by all this as one would expect. One said simply, “Very embarrassing for the city.” You can say that again. Another added, “I truly don’t even have words for it.” No worries: I do. Here are some of them: it’s not just an embarrassment, it’s a cautionary tale. And it’s not just a cautionary tale of what happens when you don’t do your homework. It’s a cautionary tale of what happens when you elect people because of their racial or ethnic identity rather than because of their ability to do the job. It’s a cautionary tale of what happens when you elect people who value posturing to favored groups over recognizing reality and making hard choices accordingly.
There is more. Read the rest here.
World@70 Richard says
I’ve visited Newark a few times and spent a few weeks there working on a construction job. I’m happy to say I haven’t been back in 35 years.
PRCS says
As a note: from a news story yesterday, elected officials in many other cities, scattered amongst several states–and Federal agencies–have fallen for this scam.
PRCS says
A few examples:
Tim Kaine.
Jaimie Raskin.
Canada’s Justin Trudeau.
To name but a few.
Don McKellar says
What did Swami Nithyananda, a notorious scam artist and fugitive from India, make money-wise out of this scam? How much were these imbecile left-fascists going to send him, or did send him? I’d like to know.
Keith O says
Good point Don, we never seem to hear about how much the scammers get away with when it’s Dumbocraps who get taken for a ride.
Westman says
What are the chances that these astute leaders also buy the planted stories that some unknown people, in a small yacht, blew up the Nordstream pipelines and Russia has a severe shortage of ammunition – since last summer?
Who knows, maybe Newark will buy the Newark Bay Bridge from a “woke appearing” con artist.
Keith O says
This is gold, it’s such a pity this won’t make the mainstream news.
James Lincoln says
Perhaps New Jersey would be better off if Newark were a fictional place.
Westman says
It seems much like Mayberry RFD or Lake Wobegon.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Along w/ Trenton and Camden
gershompesach says
It is—South Africa…
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Well, when they can recognize ‘states’ like Palestine, what’s wrong w/ the ‘United States of Kailasha’?