Ciao Pookie, thanks for the toons!

Mornin' & my pleasure, Jimino!

 As countries tighten anti-gay laws, more and more LGBTQ+ migrants seek safety and asylum in Europe
Story by VERONICA ANDREA SAUCHELLI, MARIA GRAZIA MURRU and GIADA ZAMPANO, Associated Press • 11h


RIETI, Italy (AP) — Ella Anthony knew it was time to leave her native Nigeria when she escaped an abusive, forced marriage only to face angry relatives who threatened to turn her in to police because she was gay.
 
Ella Anthony and her partner Doris Ezuruike Chinons show photos of themselves during an interview in their house in Passo Corese, near Rome, Monday, March 11, 2024. Knowing that she faced a possible prison term since Nigeria criminalizes same-sex relationships, Anthony fled with her partner to Libya in 2014 and then Italy, where they both won asylum. Their claim? That they had a well-founded fear of anti-LGBTQ+ persecution back home. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Ella Anthony and her partner Doris Ezuruike Chinons show photos of themselves during an interview in their house in Passo Corese, near Rome, Monday, March 11, 2024. Knowing that she faced a possible prison term since Nigeria criminalizes same-sex relationships, Anthony fled with her partner to Libya in 2014 and then Italy, where they both won asylum. Their claim? That they had a well-founded fear of anti-LGBTQ+ persecution back home. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
© Provided by The Associated Press

Since Nigeria criminalizes same-sex relationships, Anthony fled a possible prison term and headed with her partner to Libya in 2014 and then Italy, where they both won asylum. Their claim? That they had a well-founded fear of anti-LGBTQ+ persecution back home.

While many of the hundreds of thousands of migrants who arrive in Italy from Africa and the Mideast are escaping war, conflict and poverty, an increasing number are fleeing possible prison terms and death sentences in their home countries because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, advocates say.
 
And despite huge obstacles to win asylum on LGBTQ+ grounds, Anthony and her partner, Doris Ezuruike Chinonso. are proof that it can be done, even if the challenges remain significant for so-called “rainbow refugees” like them.

“Certainly life here in Italy isn’t 100% what we want. But let’s say it’s 80% better than in my country,” Chinonso, 34, said with Anthony by her side at their home in Rieti, north of Rome. In Nigeria, “if you’re lucky you end up prison. If you’re not lucky, they kill you,” she said.
 
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/as-countries-tighten-anti-gay-laws-more-and-more-lgbtq-migrants-seek-safety-and-asylum-in-europe/ar-BB1mtqN2?cvid=377ea4cb5993428a87b827e3f2da074c&ei=32

I've been a pseudo-met for close to 50 years, and I always refer to one example of who was among the best of all at climatology......

Dr. William Gray of Colorada State was renown for his devekopment of tools for tropical weather predicition at the macro level.  He also probably knew more of how the atmosphere, weather patterns, and how other earth science impacted weather on earth than anyone else. 

His periodic forecasts were the benchmark of what was expected each hurricane season.  But, when he shunned the climate scam, the MSM and complicit scammers shunned him back into oblivion.

p.s.

Just saw that Dr. Gray died a month ago, today.  The fact that someone that famous died almost anonymously, speaks volumes.

U.S. housing construction rises 5.7% but still misses economist estimates

The gold market is struggling to attract new bullish momentum even as the U.S. housing market struggles to stabilize and weak construction activity continues to threaten economic growth.

Housing starts rose 5.7% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.36 million units, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. However, the data came in lower than expected, as economists looked for a rate of 1.42 million units.

Despite the monthly increase, the report said that housing construction compared to last year is down 0.6%.

The gold market is not seeing much reaction to the latest housing market data as investors take some profits after prices tested resistance just below $2,400 an ounce. June gold futures last traded at $2,387.70 an ounce, down 0.30% on the day.

A decline in building permits issued last month does not bode well for a sustained recovery in the housing market anytime soon. The report said that building permits for future homebuilding declined 3.0% to a rate of 1.44 million last month, compared to March’s revised estimate of 1.485 million permits.  ..........................

https://www.kitco.com/news/article/2024-05-16/us-housing-construction-rises-57-still-misses-economist-estimates

From the "dream on" department:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr
@RobertKennedyJr
I’m happy to report that I will meet the criteria to participate in the @CNN debate before the June 20 deadline. I look forward to holding Presidents Biden and Trump accountable for their records in Atlanta on June 27 to give Americans the debate they deserve. #KennedyShanahan24
5:51 PM · May 15, 2024