Tag Archives: Embassy

Is This The New US Ambassador To Jamaica + His Wife?!

A photo allegedly showing the new US ambassador to Jamaica and his wife at a party has gone viral on social media! Take a look at the viral photo, and find out what the facts really are!

Updated @ 2023-07-31 : Added fact check video, and photo of Joyce Perry
Originally posted @ 2023-07-29

Claim : This Is New US Ambassador To Jamaica + His Wife!

This photo that allegedly shows the new US ambassador to Jamaica and his wife at a party has gone viral on social media, with people claiming that Jamaica has refused to accredit them as a couple because they are gay!

George Njoroge : The new US Ambassador to Jamaica and his ‘wife’. Jamaica is refusing to accredit them as a couple as they don’t recognise gay marriages.

The US in turn is refusing to renew the diplomatic status of Jamaican Ambassador to US and Consulate General in Miami… A diplomatic row is brewing 😅

JustSociety : This is the new US ambassador to Jamaica and his wife. Jamaica is in a rage over this but the US says they will cut off all aid to Jamaica if they do not let him and his wife go there to do their job. 🤷

That Lunda Guy : The New US ambassador to Jamaica with his wife, Jamaica refusing to accredit them as Jamaica doesn’t recognize gay marriages. The Us is planning to close down Jamaican consulate in Miami.

Truth : This Is Not The US Ambassador To Jamaica + His Wife!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS designed to disparage the LGBT community, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Jamaica Refused To Accredit Spouse Of US Diplomat

First, let me start by pointing out that this fake photo appears to be circulating over claims that the Jamaican government is refusing to accredit the spouse of an incoming US diplomat, because same-sex marriage is not recognised in Jamaica.

The Jamaican media also claimed that the US State Department has retaliated by refusing to extend the stay of some Jamaican diplomats.

Jamaican authorities, including Jamaican Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kamina Johnson Smith, allegedly argued that accrediting the gay spouse of that US diplomat would be in breach of the Jamaican constitution.

However, the Jamaican ambassador to the United States, Audrey Marks, has downplayed those reports, saying that US denials to the extension for serving diplomats are nothing new, and not related to the current diplomatic spat.

Over the past two years, we have requested a few extensions, and some were denied. The fact is that the USA gave two years’ notice of this policy change, and many persons who were or will be affected have been here for well over five years.

Such long-term stays in the US were never the intent of these work visas when they were issued, so this policy is an effort by the USA to return to the diplomatic accreditations’ original intent. As a government, we agree and respect this policy position.

Marks also explained that the US requested to extend diplomatic privileges and immunity to the same-sex spouse on June 20, 2023. Jamaica declined the request on July 5, and contrary to claims, the United States did not repeat their request:

Based on the foregoing, and the timeliness of the response, it is clear that the request by the United States was not ignored and contrary to reports, no ‘second demand’ was made.

Fact #2 : That Was Photo Of Conchita Wurst + Andre Karsai

The viral photo is actually of famous Austrian singer and drag queen, Conchita Wurst, and her business manager and the executive director of her company, Andre Karsai.

Conchita is actually the drag queen persona of Thomas Neuwirth, with a fictional backstory – Conchita was born in the mountains of Colombia, and married to French burlesque dancer Jacques Patriaque (Neuwirth’s actual friend)

He says this Conchita Wurst persona is similar to Beyoncé’s Sasha Fierce alter-ego, and uses it as a way to protect his private life.

Neuwirth is gay but not a trans woman. He uses the he/him pronouns when referring to himself, but uses she/her to describe his Conchita Wurst character.

Conchita Wurst is best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. She also had a cameo in the 2020 movie, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.

Here is an interesting fact about the character’s name. Conchita is a Spanish slang word for vagina, while Wurst is a German slang word for penis. So Conchita Wurst literally means vagina penis!

In 2019, Neuwirth introduced a new mononymous persona called WURST, which would allow for a “more masculine expression”.

Fact #3 : That Photo Was Taken At 2019 Vienna Opera Ball

The viral photo was taken at the Vienna Opera Ball that took place 28 February, 2019, by Jeff Mangione of Kurier magazine. Here is Conchita Wurst with the Austrian Minister of Justice, Dr. Josef Moser.

And this was her Instagram post at Wiener Opernball 2019 :

Fact #4 : No Evidence US Is Closing Jamaica Consulate In Miami

Embassies and consulates are legally considered to be the territory of the country they represent. Therefore, the Jamaica consulate in Miami is legally Jamaican territory.

While the US can order the closure of embassies and consulates, and expel the foreign diplomatic staff, this only happens when there is a serious deterioration of relations.

There is no evidence that the US is planning to order the closure of the Jamaican consulate in Miami.

Fact #5 : US Ambassador To Jamaica Is N. Nick Perry

The US Ambassador to Jamaica is Noah Nickolas Perry, who assumed his office on May 13, 2022, after being confirmed in the US Senate on March 10, 2022.

To be clear – he remains the US Ambassador to Jamaica. Furthermore, he is not in a same-sex marriage – his wife is Joyce Perry, who bore him two children.

Vice President Kamala Harris administers the oat of office for US Ambassador to Jamaica N. Nick Perry, with his wife, Joyce Perry, holding the family bible, May 9, 2022

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

Recommended Reading

Go Back To > Fact Check | Celebrity | Tech ARP

Support Tech ARP!

Please support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or donating to our fund. Thank you!

Did Western Ambassadors Evacuate Before Turkey Earthquake?!

Leave a reply

Did Western countries collude to strike Turkey with an earthquake, and evacuated their embassies and ambassadors before it happened?!

Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Western Ambassadors Evacuated Before Turkey Earthquake!

Conspiracy theorists are claiming that Western countries colluded to strike Turkey with an earthquake, and evacuated their embassies and ambassadors before it happened!

UPDATED: List of the countries with leading ambassadors that left Turkey 24 hrs before the earthquakes struck.

1. USA
2 Canada
3. Britain
4. Germany
5. Belgium
6. Italy
7. Holland
8. France
9. Denmark
10. Australia

Coincidence? 👀

The earthquake was caused by a DEW (Direct Energy Weapon) that beamed onto the fault lines. 2 anomalies suggest that the earthquake was man-made. 1) Quakes of such magnitude are usually deep – around 30km deep. These were shallow, about 10 km.

2) There were 2 high magnitude quakes one after another – 7.8 and 7.5 on the Richter scale. Very unusual. There were hardly any other aftershocks between or after the second quake. Turkey has been trying to leave NATO, and has also been blocking Finland’s and Sweden’s entry into NATO. The quakes were a warning to Turkey to behave or else.

Another anomaly was that 15-20 minutes before the first quake, all the underground gas and oil pipelines in that region were shut off.

Show less

Even David “Avocado” Wolfe got in on this conspiracy theory :

List of countries that pulled their ambassadors out of Turkey 24 hours before the earthquake.

✓Canada
✓USA
✓Britain
✓Germany
✓Belgium
✓Italy
✓Holland
✓France

Nothing suspicious here
-Black Conspiracy Reality

No Evidence Western Ambassadors Evacuated Before Turkey Earthquake!

This is just FAKE NEWS created by conspiracy theorists to capitalise on the massive earthquake that devastated Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023.

Fact #1 : No Evidence Western Ambassadors Evacuated Before Earthquake

While conspiracy theorists confidently rattle off the list of eight countries, they did not actually provide any evidence that those countries evacuated their ambassadors.

There is no evidence, whether from credible media reports, or even social media posts, that any ambassador fled Turkey just before the earthquake hit.

Fact #2 : Six Of The Embassies Refuted The Claim

Reuters reached out to all eight embassies in Turkey about these claims that they were evacuated before the earthquake, and six responded.

Representatives of the embassies of Canada, Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherland, and France, told Reuters by email that the allegations are false. The US and Belgian embassies in Turkey have yet to respond.

Fact #3 : Western Ambassadors Seen In Turkey After Earthquake

Several Western ambassadors were seen in photos taken soon after the massive earthquake hit Turkey (here, here, here, here, here, and here).

Fact #4 : Embassies Temporarily Closed Over Terror Threats

The viral claims are sometimes linked to an article by Arab News, which point to the closure of Western embassies three days before the earthquake hit Turkey and Syria.

However, anyone who bothered to read the article would realise that those countries temporarily closed their embassies or issued travel warnings, following a series of far-right protests in Europe, which included several incidents of burning copies of the Quran.

That decision to temporarily close the embassies came right after Turkish police arrested 15 Daesh suspects who were accused of targeting consulates and non-Muslim houses of worship.

The closure of the embassies had nothing to do with the earthquake that came three days later. There is also no evidence that any ambassador or embassy employee was evacuated from Turkey over these security threats.

I should also point out that the US embassy in Turkey did not close over these perceived terror threats.

Fact #5 : Directed Energy Weapons Did Not Cause Earthquake

There is no evidence that Western countries used Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) to cause the earthquake on February 6, 2023.

Directed Energy Weapons is a “catch-all” term referring to weapons that use energy, instead of projectiles, like laser, microwave, particle beams, and sound beams.

While it sounds impressive, directed energy weapons are nowhere near powerful enough to cause earthquakes. Their power also decreases exponentially with range, so they can only be used at relatively close ranges.

Fact #6 : Only Turkey + Iran Claim To Have Directed Energy Weapons

Quite a number of countries are developing directed energy weapons, including China, the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

However, only Turkey and Iran claim to have actually deployed such weapons, with Turkey claiming the first use of directed energy weapons in combat, when it used its ALKA directed-energy weapon to shoot down a Wing Loong II UAV in Libya in August 2019.

The ALKA directed energy weapon has a peak power output of 50 kW, and is designed to destroy drones using its laser at up to 500 m distance, and electromagnetic systems at up to 1 km distance.

Fact #7 : There Were Over 2,100 Aftershocks

The claim that there were “hardly any other aftershocks” is nonsense. A total of 2,109 aftershocks were recorded from 6 to 12 February. By 20 February, over 6,000 aftershocks were recorded.

On top of that, over 320 of those aftershocks had a magnitude of 4.0, with 25 of them recorded within six hours of the main tremor.

Fact #8 : Turkey Is Not Trying To Leave NATO

The claim that Turkey is trying to leave NATO is nonsense.

On January 23, 2023, a Turkish politician called Ethem Sancak said that Turkey might leave NATO in 5-6 months over provocative actions by other NATO members.

However, two days later, a spokesperson for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, Omer Celik, refuted the claim:

We face such things in every election (calls for ending Turkey’s membership of NATO). These are not the things that we will worry about. Those who call for terminating Turkey’s membership of NATO do not talk sense.

This is out of the question. We are one of the founding countries of NATO. They have no right to say such things. What they say would be a luxury for NATO.

I should point out that leaving NATO would automatically open the door for Finland and Sweden to be accepted as a member state, as Turkey is the only country objecting to their ascension.

That is one of the many reasons why Turkey won’t be leaving NATO quite so soon, even if they are thinking about it – Turkey would lose its veto leverage over Finland and Sweden.

Fact #9 : Gas + Oil Pipelines Shut Down After Earthquake

The claim that gas and oil pipelines were shut down 15-20 minutes before the earthquake struck is false. Oil and gas pipelines were shut down after the earthquake, not before.

If they were shut down before the earthquake, that would imply that the Turkish government was in cahoots with the dastardly Western governments using directed energy weapons to punish them for wanting to leave NATO which would deprive Turkey of its ability to blackmail Finland and Sweden.

Can you now see how idiotic such a conspiracy theory sounds, when you lay out the trail of nonsense in the open?

Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and SUPPORT our work!

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

Support Tech ARP!

Please support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or donating to our fund. Thank you!

Fake News : New Malaysia Travel Ban On 23 Countries!

Leave a reply

Please note that the new travel ban by Malaysia on 23 countries with high COVID-19 cases is FAKE NEWS!

Here is what you need to know!

Claim : Malaysia Travel Ban On 23 Countries!

On 7 January 2022, people started sharing a screenshot of a travel advisory by the Embassy of Malaysia in Berlin, Germany.

Please skip to the next section for the facts…

Embassy of Malaysia, Berlin

TRAVEL ADVISORY
ENTRY RESTRICTIONS ON FOREIGN TRAVELERS TO MALAYSIA

Effective from 08 January 2022, the Government of Malaysia is imposing travel restrictions into Malaysia on foreign travellers who are travelling from countries that have recorded over 150,000 COVID-19 cases as listed below:

United States of America
The United Kingdom
Brazil
Bangladesh
India
Saudi Arabia
Russia
Pakistan
Peru
France
Colombia
Turkey
South Africa
Italy
Mexico
Germany
Spain
Iraq
Argentina
The Philippines
Chile
Indonesia
Iran

The entry restrictions include travellers who are citizens of/holders of long-term passes of the countries listed above who are residing in or travelling from those countries.

The latest decision is part of continuing efforts by the Government of Malaysia to contain the spread of COVID-19 and in view of the recent increase in the number of imported COVID-19 cases detected at international points of entry to Malaysia among travellers coming from the listed countries. The restriction is a temporary measure and will be reviewed regularly.

Show less

Truth : There Is No Such Travel Ban!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS being created and circulated on WhatsApp and social media, and here are the facts…

Fact #1 : This Travel Advisory Was Forged

This travel advisory was forged from the original September 2020 travel advisory.

Back then, the government of Malaysia announced the temporary travel ban on those 23 countries, that would start on 7 September 2021.

The original travel advisory was edited, with the new date added to make it look like it’s new. But it was a very poor photo-editing job.

If you look carefully, the 08 January 2022, date is not only in bold , but of a different type of font and a much larger size.

Note : Here is the screenshot that went viral. I added a FAKE overlay to prevent further abuse.

Fact #2 : Embassy of Malaysia In Berlin Confirms It Is Fake

The Embassy of Berlin in Malaysia confirmed that the viral travel advisory is FAKE.

ANNOUNCEMENT

The Embassy of Malaysia, Berlin would like to warn the public that there has been a fake news being circulated regarding travel advisory by the Embassy of Malaysia, Berlin on entry restriction on foreign travelers [sic] to Malaysia.

We condemn the actions of those who maliciously spread fake news which can have an adverse effect and concern to the public. The public is advice [sic] to validate the source before circulating any news.

Thank you.

Embassy of Malaysia, Berlin
7 January 2022

Fact #3 : Malaysia Currently Has No Travel Ban

There is currently no travel ban in Malaysia.

In fact, Malaysia just ended a temporary travel ban of 8 countries, on 27 December 2021, due to the risk of Omicron variant.

There is currently only a list of 18 countries that are considered high-risk due to the Omicron variant.

Australia
The United States of America
The United Kingdom
Norway
France
Denmark
Canada
Nigeria
India
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
Botswana
Eswatini
Lesotho
Mozambique
Namibia
Zimbabwe
Malawi

Travellers from those 18 high-risk countries can still travel to Malaysia, but they must comply with the following additional restrictions :

Negative COVID-19 PCR test within 2 days before departure
COVID-19 PCR test on arrival in Malaysia
Wear a digital tracker on arrival in Malaysia
Mandatory quarantine of 7 days or 10 days, depending on vaccination status, either at home or at a quarantine centre, subject to approval.
Additional PCR test on Day 5 (for 7-day quarantine) or Day 8 (for 10-day quarantine).
Risk assessment on the last day of quarantine, which may be extended if you are symptomatic.
You will only be free from the quarantine on Day 8 or Day 11, if there is no quarantine extension and the Day 5 or Day 8 PCR test is negative.
Travellers from the United Kingdom have the additional requirement of conducting daily RTK-Ag tests during their quarantine, which must be reported in MySejahtera.

Now that you know the truth, please SHARE this fact check with your family and friends, so they won’t get fooled by it!

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

Go Back To > Travel | Fact Check | Tech ARP

Support Tech ARP!

Please support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or donating to our fund. Thank you!

Can Donald Trump Really Blame Iran For Rocket Attack?

Leave a reply

Donald Trump just accused Iran of the rocket attack on the US embassy in Baghdad, threatening retaliation!

Take a look at the picture of three rockets he posted, and find out what the facts really are!

Donald Trump : Iran Responsible For Rocket Attack On US Embassy

Even in the waning days of his Presidency, Donald Trump isn’t quite done with Iran.

In a new threat against the Islamic Republic of Iran, Trump posted a picture of three unfired rockets, which he claimed were from Iran.

Our embassy in Baghdad got hit Sunday by several rockets. Three rockets failed to launch. Guess where they were from: IRAN. Now we hear chatter of additional attacks against Americans in Iraq…Some friendly health advice to Iran: If one American is killed, I will hold Iran responsible. Think it over.

As Trump isn’t a very popular president outside of his fanatical base (no kidding), there is much skepticism about his post.

Some have pointed out that the rockets have English markings and could be American-made. Others wonder if these are even rockets – they look more like large versions of a rifle cartridge than rockets.

Rocket Attack On US Embassy : A Quick Primer

Before we look into the veracity of Trump’s claims, here’s a quick primer on the rocket attack on the US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.

At around 8:30 PM on Sunday, 20 December 2020, approximately 21 rockets were fired on the US embassy in Baghdad.

Only about half of the rockets hit the embassy compound, while the others missed and hit an Iraqi apartment complex and vehicles near the embassy.

Photo Credit : Reuters/Landov

In the end, two buildings and a gym in the embassy, vehicles outside the embassy and a generator at the apartment complex, were damaged.

There was only one injury – an Iraqi soldier – no one else died or were injured by the attack.

Is Iran Responsible For Rocket Attack On US Embassy?

Unfortunately, the answer isn’t quite so simple as yes or no, Iran did or did not fire those rockets at the US embassy in Baghdad.

Let’s take a look at the facts…

Fact #1 : Those Are 107 mm Haseb Rockets

The Haseb is an Iranian copy of the Chinese Type 63-2 – a spin-stabilised 107 mm rocket with a high-explosive (HE) warhead.

The entire rocket weighs about 18 kg, with an 8 kg cast TNT warhead and a Chinese MJ-1 (Jiàn-1) impact and graze fuse.

Fact #2 : Iran Manufactures + Uses 107mm Haseb Rockets

Haseb rockets are manufactured by Iran’s Armaments Industries Group (AIG), and used by Iranian forces as a short-ranged barrage weapon.

In this picture, IRGC commandos are seen loading a Type 63 rocket launcher mounted onto a pickup truck.

Fact #3 : The English Markings Are Genuine

Some sharp-eyed netizens noticed that rockets have English words on them, instead of Farsi or Arabic words :

107mm ROCKET
LOT : 573
DATE : 2016
N.W : 18kg
R.No. : 2103

This has led to suggestions that the rockets may be fake, or made by Americans themselves, or replicas of the real rockets used in a false flag operation.

Here you can see the actual rockets (on the left) and inert replicas of the Haseb rockets. No doubt they look very similar.

However, there is really no need for the US military to purchase replicas even for a false flag operation. Many Haseb rockets have been captured over the years.

The English markings do not mean they are American-made. The Haseb rocket is also made for export by Iran’s Armaments Industries Group (AIG), and so uses English markings.

The inert replica above has English markings, because the real Haseb rockets have English markings.

Fact #4 : Haseb Rockets Have A Very Short Range

Haseb rockets have a very short range – up to 9 kilometres, and are not very accurate.

That means they would have to be fired very close to the Baghdad Green Zone in order to have a reasonable chance of hitting the US embassy inside.

Any suggestion that Iranian forces fired them inside Baghdad itself would be ludicrous. Even if Iran wanted to strike at the Americans, they would use an allied militant group to make attribution difficult.

Fact #5 : Attribution Is Difficult

The Haseb rockets are not exclusively used by Iranian forces. They are exported to Iranian auxiliary forces and allied militant groups like the Hezbollah.

So it would not be possible for the United States to directly attribute the rocket attack to Iran, unless they capture the people who actually fired the rockets.

It could also be a rogue militant group, or even a false flag action by a rival nation-state. After all, numerous examples of the Haseb rocket have been captured by other militant groups and even countries like Israel.

In fact, Gen. Frank McKenzie, who leads the US Central Command and once warned that American forces imminent threat from Iran specifically told The Wall Street Journal,

“I do not know the degree to which Iran is complicit. We do not seek a war, and I don’t actually believe they seek one either.“

Even Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah described the rocket attack on the US embassy as “undisciplined“.

Fact #6 : We Don’t Know Who Owned Those Rockets

The three Haseb rockets that Donald Trump posted were obviously not fired.

But whether they “failed to launch” as Trump claimed, or were simply captured unfired, is unknown. Trump likely can’t tell the difference.

Unless the rocketeers were captured together with these three rockets, it would be impossible to also attribute the rocket attack to any particular group, never mind Iran.

Even so, the mere possession of these rockets does not mean that they actually launched that particular attack.

Go Back To > Fact Check | Military | Home

Support Tech ARP!

If you like our work, you can help support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!