UK - Betting analysis firm Oddschecker has compiled odds data on Thursday’s election. Oddschecker are currently forecasting a majority for Boris Johnson and the Conservatives. According to its analysis, the Conservatives are on track to win 352 seats in this election. The Tories are followed by Labour, who are projected to win 212 seats - a drop of 50 seats for the party since 2017. The SNP are forecast to win 43 seats in this election, gaining eight since 2017. The Liberal Democrats are predicted to win 17 seats, an increase by five. The Green party is forecast to keep hold of their one seat, while the Brexit Party are not predicted to win any seats.

USA - It’s a symptom of a sick & confused world when adults make children their leaders. The willingness of adults to listen to teenagers rather than themselves is a sign of a deep societal crisis in the West. Edward Felsenthal, the editor-in-chief of TIME boasted that 16-year-old Greta Thunberg is the magazine’s youngest choice to be named Person of the Year. I was not the least bit surprised – by now it would have been an upset if the headline-making environmentalist failed to reap yet another publicity reward – but still alarmed.

GERMANY - The largest arms producers in the USA and Western Europe, including German companies, have further increased their already predominant share of global arms production, as can be seen in the analysis published yesterday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute SIPRI. Currently the production of military hardware is also massively expanding in Germany. The armaments division of the Düsseldorf-based Rheinmetall Group was able to boost its sales by 11.8 percent in the first nine months of this year. The increase of defense budget is promising business in the billions. German arms exports are also rising dramatically.

TURKEY - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has thrown yet another jab at the European Union, saying that the bloc is experiencing a shortage of political role models, something which he described as a “leadership void.” Top European politicians are apparently not respected that much by Erdogan; he struggled to name at least one single leader whom he deems to be an “example” for others to follow. “Europe is experiencing a serious leadership crisis, there’s leadership void,” Erdogan said on Tuesday.

USA - A new study claims that social justice general education at American universities costs students and their parents approximately $10 billion every year. The study was conducted to show the grip that the social justice ideology has on academia. According to a report by The College Fix, a new study by David Randall of the National Association of Scholars suggests that America spends billions on social justice college courses. Randall’s study examines the costs of mandated social justice courses at institutions around the country. At many universities and colleges around the country, students are required to enroll in courses that push progressive agendas. Some schools even have an explicit social justice requirement for students that can be filled by taking courses that promote progressive politics.

USA - Homelessness has been on the rise in California, and has skyrocketed since the Camp and Carr fires devastated the state. Officials throughout California have grappled with various ways to deal with the ongoing crisis, however, in the Northern California city of Redding, Mayor Julie Winter has sent a state-of-emergency request to Governor Gavin Newsom, approved by the Redding City Council last week, that requests the right to involuntarily detain people into homeless shelters.

Out of an estimated 1,500 active volcanoes on Earth, 50 or so erupt every year, spewing steam, ash, toxic gases, and lava. Just yesterday, December 9, at least six people were killed in an eruption on New Zealand’s volcanic White Island. In 2019, other active volcanoes included Anak Krakatau in Indonesia, Reventador in Ecuador, Mount Etna in Italy, Villarrica in Chile, Piton de la Fournaise on Réunion Island, Popocatépetl in Mexico, Raikoke in Russia, and more.

UK - The polarized electorate now has a critical choice to make - but it seems unlikely the result, whatever it may be, will heal deep and toxic divisions that could last a generation or more. The 20th century saw Britain fight alongside and against Europeans and then help make the prosperous peace into the 21st century. This election will help determine where Britain’s formal relationship with the European Union lands and what the impact will be on all walks of life.

USA - To those who have been paying attention, it is no secret that the US government has been lying to its citizens for centuries. From granting the power to coin money to the private Federal Reserve to the war on terror to the endless wars spawned by the war on terror, the United States government should change its official language from English — to lie. On Monday, these lies were released in the form of documents obtained by WaPo which prove a vast conspiracy by United States government officials to deceive the American people into thinking the war in Afghanistan was winnable. Spoiler alert: every single one of the insiders in DC knew without a doubt that it was not but have been lying to you.

USA - In ancient Babylon, a newly enthroned king would declare a jubilee, wiping out the population’s debts. In modern America, a faint echo of that idea - call it jubilee-lite - is catching on. The US relies on consumer spending for growth – but it hasn’t been delivering significantly higher wages. Household borrowing has filled the gap, with low interest rates making it affordable. And that’s not unique to America. Steadily growing debts of one kind or another are weighing on economies all over the world.

USA - Democrat Harvard Attorney Alan Dershowitz says the current impeachment process taking place in the Democrat-led House is unconstitutional. Dershowitz said, “It would be unconstitutional for President Trump to be impeached on the current record. It would be an utter abuse of the power of Congress. The constitution sets out four criteria for impeaching a President; treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors. Unless one of those criteria is met, Congress does not have the authority to impeach, and if they do, their impeachment would be void.”

USA - If you think Wichita, Kansas and Omaha, Nebraska to be conservative Middle America instead of playgrounds of the Left, you are sadly mistaken. On December 15 (Wichita) and 16 (Omaha), the Orpheum Theater in the two cities will host “A Drag Queen Christmas” — a show that makes a mockery of the birth of Jesus with prancing men wearing hideous makeup and draped in clothes eschewed by real women. TFP Student Action has issued this warning: A “Drag Queen Christmas” show is scheduled to take place on December 16, 2019 at Orpheum Theater in Omaha, Nebraska [and Wichita, Kansas]. Such performances feature men dressed in scanty “drag” mocking Christmas, and often performing immoral behavior. To make matters worse, while the performance warns of this “naughty” behavior, it also says that “all ages welcome”!

UK - Merriam-Webster has named "they" its word of the year. The US dictionary also recently added a new definition of "they", reflecting its use as a singular personal pronoun for non-binary people. Searches for "they" on Merriam-Webster's website were 313% higher this year than they were in 2018. British pop star Sam Smith came out as non-binary in March, and in September confirmed on Instagram that their pronouns were "they/them". Announcing their pronouns, Smith wrote: "I understand there will be many mistakes and misgendering, but all I ask is you please please try. I hope you can see me like I see myself now." A number of other high-profile non-binary figures were also in the news this year.

FRANCE - The mayor of a rural French community has taken the rather extreme and outlandish decision to ban residents from “dying in their homes on Saturdays, Sundays and on public holidays” due to a lack of doctors in the area. La Gresle is a community of roughly 850 people on the outskirts of Lyon which, like many rural communities across France, suffers an acute dearth of doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners. The problem came to a head early this December after no doctor could be found to record official medical details following the death of an elderly nursing home resident. The mayor's office said in a statement that the “absurd order” was in response to “the absurdity of the [healthcare] system.”

UK - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has shown a willingness to make risky bets — with mixed results. His latest election gamble: “get Brexit done,” or become the shortest-serving prime minister in nearly two centuries. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson holds a double-digit lead in opinion polls as Britain prepares to vote Thursday in a crucial general election that will determine Brexit’s fate. If reflected in the election, the lead would be enough to give him a comfortable majority — though a recent narrowing of the lead reflected in some polls is enough to keep the outcome uncertain.