Reader’s Links for August 25, 2020

Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.

This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.

So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.

This is the new Samizdat. We must use it while we can.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

85 Replies to “Reader’s Links for August 25, 2020”

  1. My G-d, we’ve been had!

    MPS @MichaelPSenger
    1/5 This @nytimes article by @paulmozur
    is a smoking gun on the genesis of the coronavirus lockdowns.
    According to the article, the CCP launched a massive social media campaign in ITALY to advertise its coronavirus lockdown measures in early March.…

    8/5 Though CCP’s influence operations in media, politics, and academia were surreptitious, its stance in support of global adoption of COVID lockdowns was explicit. Here is China’s foreign spokesperson promoting strict social distancing among children…

    13/5 Twitter responded the following day by saying they’d removed the 170,000 accounts in this campaign. https://nytimes.com/2020/06/11/technology/twitter-chinese-misinformation.html…

    But Twitter lied. These fake CCP accounts, and presumably hundreds of thousands of others, are still doing CCP’s bidding. fake French Tweets …

    18/ @WHO was instrumental in pushing world leaders to adopt China’s lockdowns and insisting lockdowns not be lifted until strict tracing criteria were met.

    Bruce Aylward is the same WHO leader who disconnected a live interview when asked about Taiwan.…

    22/ The bold-faced lie of lockdowns is “China controlled the virus.” It’s an obvious lie—China’s data is manifestly forged. But CCP normalizes this Orwellian lie by demanding every elite publication and journal repeat it, transforming the snake oil of lockdowns into “science.”…

    25/ India is a key rival of China, so CCP disinformation there is especially nasty.
    On March 23, CCP’s army of fake accounts implored PM
    @PMOIndia to lock down India and order the army to “shoot on sight” to enforce it. The next day, Modi announced a destructive lockdown.
    https://twitter.com/MichaelPSenger/status/1270925788389486593

    • The narrative flipped, all of a sudden to wall-to-wall BLM, police brutality. How’d that happen? Who all was in on this scam? FBI Wray?

      5/5 The sheer scale of this operation and the number of accounts involved, and its influence around the world, is really remarkable. Thousands of accounts tweeting incessantly about COVID hysteria, then pivoting to incessant BLM and anti-police propaganda, in every country.

      6/5 The day after @paulmozur’s NYT article was published, @Twitter suspended over 170,000 fake Chinese accounts. But none of the fake accounts involved in the ring described above were suspended. This problem is much larger than Twitter acknowledges.

      7/5 More than 50 NIH scientists fired due to China ties. Hundreds more under investigation.By co-opting scientists and academics while aggressively promoting lockdowns through social media propaganda, China made lockdown pseudoscience seem sound.

      https://twitter.com/MichaelPSenger/status/1270925788389486593

  2. How many soft underbellies will we give to these CCP bastards before we smarten up? Suspend Twitter, Facebook, and every other hostile tech outfit immediately citing national security concerns. Look how well they are imposing their narratives on us. Wreaking havoc on your enemy’s society on a grand scale never came as cheap as this. This almost seems like the purest, most concentrated of firehoses.

    Then we have, as a direct result, western police behavior becoming markedly communist.
    https://summit.news/2020/08/24/spain-women-beaten-by-police-for-not-properly-wearing-face-masks/
    How many incidents like this have we seen lately? Where are the so-called human rights protection rackets that spring up from the leftist manure piles now? Where is the Dystopian asshole “human rights” lawyer who monitors this very site for predation and profit lest a Norse Radish (aka Lucy?) or anyone else slips up? Enough.

    The cop swinging the baton in the story above feels justified and empowered to do what she is doing even though it is wrong. I will call her Kate to keep the peace.

    • “The cop swinging the baton in the story above feels justified and empowered to do what she is doing even though it is wrong.”

      What is a small person to do? If she were six feet tall, she could restrain them. But she is not. Weapons simply extend what she has not got to ensure compliance. If children were used by the Socialists to patrol the streets, they would deploy their guns every time.

      “I will call her Kate to keep the peace.”

      This over-zealousness may not be her own, because tourism is a substantial income, and a clean bill of health is what the country desperately needs right now.

      • “…this over-zealousness may not be her own…”

        Of all people, PC, you? No ownership?

        The greater good is not served by handing our conscience to Big Brother for safe keeping. Tourism is not served by scientism-justified lockdowns. Maybe these women are tourists. Have a great holiday.

        The cop is the State. The baton swung is the virus. The people struck are resistance to the State.

        • And again, if the real numbers told us this virus justified the power grabs we are seeing I’d understand the need. But the mortality numbers don’t support the behavior of this cop, nor the nonsense foisted by msm. Look at the Twitter scam Yucki posted. We’re being played.

          • So, debating a short video of a police officer at work, with no context: is at best speculative, and at worst Spanish Lives Matter.

            George Floyd complained that he could not breath when standing up, and demanded to be lying down. If the knee to the back was not excessive, then officers were thinking this was simply the same complaint as before, and already called an ambulance.

            But the retarded, had thought this was the first time the officers had been informed, and jumped to the willing belief of a racist murder to advance Black Lives Matter.

            And so here, were two women apparently not complying with an order from an officer.

            A pending arrest would be appropriate with a call for backup waaayyy before a batton strike. Because without personal danger, whatever caused this Pope to punch someone in the face who insulted her mother, it certainly wasn’t Christ.

            And so both the Pope and the Officer may just had the islamic call to impose their wills, employing the dhimmi-sharia of intimidation and fear, for compliance and control. Tourists will tell other tourists. Policing then becomes easy.

            A Kate or a Policy. The body cam may reveal.

        • “Of all people, PC, you? No ownership?”

          Shock and Awe.

          Standard practise.

          Harm and then step far away. Watch them shout or watch them cry.

        • Blame the left and their PC culture, smaller officers including smaller male officers shouldn’t be put in situation where their lack of physical size and strength require a rapid escalation in violence.

          We all know that the weapons issued to the police are meant to “increase” the force available to the police to allow them to dominate the people who are causing the trouble. Bad Cops and Cop hating Politicians have imposed excessive regulations on the police about the use of force. This is why the Suburban neighborhoods are forming militias to protect them selves from the mob.

          • Cops and military, like pro athletes, have to meet certain physical standards to do the job properly. This is what happens when diversity is the be-all and end-all.

            I shudder just thinking about the symphony orchestras and cardiac care units of the future.

  3. Joint Russia-Turkey Patrol Comes Under Fire in Idlib (sputniknews, Aug 25, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202008251080270855-joint-russia-turkey-patrol-comes-under-fire-in-idlib-russian-military-says/

    “Last week, the Russian centre for Syrian reconciliation stated that Turkish troops were hit by an unidentified explosive device while patrolling a highway in Syria’s Idlib.

    The Russian military reported on Tuesday that a joint Russia-Turkey patrol came under fire in Idlib, Syria. The incident resulted in an armoured vehicle being damaged and two Russian servicemen being slightly injured.

    “On August 25, during the 23d joint Russian-Turkish patrol along the M-4 highway in the vicinity of the Urum al-Joz settlement in the Idlib de-escalation zone’s southern part, the patrol motorcade was fired upon from a hand anti-tank grenade launcher. As a result, an armoured personnel carrier of the Russian military police was damaged. Two Russian servicemen sustained light concussions,” the centre said.
    According to the press release, the Russian and Turkish commanders in Syria are currently cooperating with the Syrian security forces to determine which one of the armed groups present in Idlib could have been behind the attack.

    Turkey and Russia started joint patrolling of the M4 highway, which connects the Syrian provinces of Latakia and Aleppo, on 15 March. The initial route was shortened shortly afterwards because of provocations staged by local rebels.

    According to the Russian centre for Syrian reconciliation, the terrorists had been trying to use civilians, women and children included, as human shields.

    DETAILS TO FOLLOW”

  4. Turkish Police Detain Daesh Militant Plotting Terrorist Attack in Istanbul, Reports Say (sputniknews, Aug 25, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202008251080270467-turkish-police-detain-daesh-militant-plotting-terrorist-attack-in-istanbul-reports-say/

    “The Istanbul police have detained a member of the Daesh* terrorist organization, who was plotting a terrorist attack in the city, the Turkish Daily Sabah newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing a law enforcement source.

    According to the media outlet, citing police, the militant arrived in Istanbul from the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep and checked in a hotel in the Kucukcekmece district. He then traveled to the Taksim area of central Istanbul to choose a location for the terrorist attack.

    The newspaper shared a video from surveillance cameras showing the militant walking through the crowded streets.

    The militant was subsequently detained in his hotel room. The media outlet added that the police had found a submachine gun with four magazines there.

    *Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia”

  5. The British Library Urged White Staff to Support BLM and Diane Abbott (breitbart, Aug 25, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/08/25/british-library-urged-white-staff-support-blm-diane-abbott/

    “The taxpayer-funded British Library has been urging white staff to support the Black Lives Matter movement and hard-left Labour politician Diane Abbott.

    Conservative parliamentarians have been disturbed by the national library sending an internal email to “fellow white colleagues” which, according to The Telegraph, urged staff to give money to Black Lives Matter funds for bailing so-called protesters and to back a petition organised by the Stand Up to Racism activist organisation and controversial Labour politician Diane Abbott.

    The email describes “ways that white people can support the Black Lives Matter movement through both action and education”, with The Telegraph reporting that this “included copious reading material on slavery, policing, and prison in the U.S., alongside a chart outlining overt and covert forms of ‘white supremacy’.”

    The newspaper also claims the email pushed white staff to read books outlining their supposed racial privilege and “the works of Marxist authors”.

    “I don’t think taxpayers want to fund this kind of divisive activity,” commented Conservative MP Neil O’Brien.

    “Taxpayer-funded institutions should not be pushing highly contentious materials like this on their staff,” he said.

    “Identity politics is unhealthy and unhelpful. I cannot understand how these people don’t see that,” added colleague Ben Bradley MP.

    However, the leadership of O’Brien and Bradley’s party has also been pursuing social justice identity politics with some enthusiasm in recent weeks, with the Home Office — led by the notionally no-nonsense Priti Patel — failing to deport foreign grooming gang rapists or prevent illegal boat migrants from crossing the English Channel in unprecedented numbers, but finding the time to unveil a radical new racial re-education policy for its staff…”

  6. #DefundTheBBC: Woke Broadcaster Scraps Lyrics of ‘Rule Britannia’ From ‘Last Night’ After BLM Pressure (breitbart, Aug 25, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/08/25/defundthebbc-woke-broadcaster-scraps-the-lyrics-of-rule-britannia-from-last-night-after-blm-pressure/

    “The BBC announced on Monday night that its broadcast for Last Night of the Proms will feature lyricless versions of the patriotic songs Rule, Britannia! and Land of Hope and Glory, bowing to pressure from the Black Lives Matter movement.

    In a statement, BBC Proms said that orchestral versions of the two songs will be performed without an audience — in light of restrictions placed on the event by the Chinese coronavirus — on the 12th of September.

    “The Proms will reinvent the Last Night in this extraordinary year so that it respects the traditions and spirit of the event whilst adapting to very different circumstances at this moment in time,” the statement said.

    “With much reduced musical forces and no live audience, the Proms will curate a concert that includes familiar, patriotic elements such as Jerusalem and the National Anthem, and bring in new moments capturing the mood of this unique time, including You’ll Never Walk Alone, presenting a poignant and inclusive event for 2020,” the statement went on.

    The speculation that the BBC would scrap the two songs has resulted in widespread condemnation and calls to ‘defund’ Britain’s publicly funded broadcaster. The decision to perform the Rule, Britannia! and Land of Hope and Glory sans lyrics has done little to quell the public outrage.

    Arch Brexiteer Nigel Farage commented that “the only thing that needs cancelling is the BBC itself.”.

    The chairman of the Brexit Party, Richard Tice wrote: “If [the] BBC wants to cancel our patriotism & our history by not singing Rule Britannia & Land of Hope & Glory, so I want to cancel my license fee. They are in breach of their contract with the British people #DefundTheBBC.”

    Former Brexit Party MEP Martin Daubney said that the decision is “another nail in the coffin for the BBC as they cowardly buckle & remove the lyrics to “patriotic” songs such as Rule Britannia at the Proms.”

    Daubney questioned: “Why does the BBC hate Britain, our flag & our heritage?”, and said the move was “pure, provocative cultural vandalism!”

    The former MEP went on to call on the British public to “organise a huge, rowdy choir to turn up at the BBC and sing Rule Britannia & God Save The Queen for hours on end? With brass band & drums? Played through a giant PA? An alternative Proms – a People’s Proms – to counter the BBC’s woke, censored version!”

    A source within the BBC told The Times that the handling of the Last Night of The Proms fiasco by the broadcaster’s management as a bunch of “white guys in a panic” trying to appease the Black Lives Matter movement.

    The decision to remove the lyrics from the songs is said to be a result of pressure from Ukrainian-born Finnish citizen Dalia Stasevska — the conductor of this year’s Last Night performance — who was said to be a “big supporter of Black Lives Matter and thinks a ceremony without an audience [due to coronavirus restrictions] is the perfect moment to bring change.”…”

  7. Turkey’s Erdogan Hosts Hamas Delegation with Wanted Terrorist (breitbart, Aug 25, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2020/08/25/turkeys-erdogan-hosts-hamas-delegation-with-wanted-terrorist/

    “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an hosted a large delegation of Hamas leaders, including a wanted terrorist, in Ankara over the weekend.

    The delegation included Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri, a wanted terrorist with a $5 million bounty on his head.

    Al-Arouri has been linked to several terrorist attacks against Israelis, including the 2014 kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank, which he praised as a “heroic operation.”

    The meeting also included Hamas’ overseas leader Maher Salah, Hamas head of Arab and Islamic religions, Ezzat al-Rihiq, and Hamas representative in Turkey, Jihad Yaghmor.

    The delegation met with the Turkish prime minister to discuss the U.S.-brokered normalization agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which both sides deeply oppose.

    Hamas and Turkey’s ruling party have roots in the Muslim Brotherhood. Erdogan in the past has panned the U.S. for “working with terrorists” in Syria, over U.S. support for Kurdish fighters combating ISIS.

    Hamas head Ismael Haniyeh “congratulated Erdogan on the advent of a new Hijri year, discovery of a new natural-gas field and the reopening of the Aya Sofia Mosque,” according to a statement released by the terror group.

    The Aya Sofia Mosque was one of two ancient churches that Turkey turned into mosques recently, causing a storm of controversy.

    Hamas also said it was working against Israel’s “Judaization of Jerusalem.”

    According to the UK’s Telegraph newspaper, Turkey has granted citizenship to senior operatives of a Hamas terrorist cell. The paper also reported that Hamas plotted terror attacks from Turkish soil.”

      • A VERY big deal evolving: An axis of non-Arab, neo-imperialist regimes is coalescing. Turkey and Iran are cooperating and threatening the region. China is a behind the scenes player; Russia flits around, trying to look important.

        Four things to remember:

        1) Terrorist proxy wars are cheap. The relative poverty of Turkey and Iran is NOT reassuring. Mercs and jihadis cost next to nothing. Drone technology is so advanced, a drone launched by Houthis last Sept. knocked out 5% of the world oil supply.
        https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-oil-attack-this-is-the-big-one-11568480576

        2) The religious angle is window-dressing. Nothing to do with Sunni vs Shia. The Syrian war has been about pipelines, not shrines. France is promoting Iran’s Hezbollah in Lebanon, Christians don’t have a sponsor.

        3) Supporting the “poor Palestinians” and hating da joooz is PR. Expedient. MB-media eat it up, vomit it out on headlines around the globe. (China controls more media than even the fantasy Jews depicted in the Elders of Zion forgery.)

        Identity-wise, “Pan-Islamic” is even more flimsy than “Pan Arab”. Pals are Arabs, the Turks and Persians are as beloved as the lefty Jews in the West who say Kaddish for Hamas-niks.

      • The Iran-Turkey Alliance: A Plan for Regional Domination?
        {snips}
        Iran and Turkey: Axis in the Making?
        The first indication of strengthening ties relates to Turkey’s support for Hamas, which, to date, has been largely supported by the Islamic Republic. There have been a series of meetings in recent weeks between Turkish President Recep Erdogan and Hamas members….

        Treaties, Revolution and Rapprochement
        In 1926, Iran and Turkey signed a “Treaty of Friendship.” In 1932, they agreed to formalize the contours… 1937 Treaty of Saadabad [Iraq + Afghanistan]; 1955… 1964…

        Turkey and Iran have been longtime commercial partners, with bilateral trade currently topping $30 billion per year. Millions of tourists … Azerbaijanis of Turkish origin making up the second largest ethnicity in Iran, and Kurds, an ethnic group with roots in Iran, comprising the second largest ethnicity in Turkey.

        Rising Economies, Rising Tensions?
        Both Turkey and Iran have been struggling economically in recent years. The currencies of both countries have plummeted in value against the dollar. But their leaders have reason to feel emboldened regarding the respective directions they are headed in.…

        However, the economic upswing in both countries could lead to struggles between the two since they have taken different sides in Syria, Libya and Armenia, and they may use their new wealth to become even more involved in these conflicts.

        Or, as recent developments have indicated, strengthened economies could lead to a reconciliation, as the two consolidate their radical axis against Israel even as more moderate Arab states are on a path towards normalizing relations with Israel.…
        https://honestreporting.com/iran-turkey-axis-plan-regional-domination/

  8. Swiss Told to Integrate With Foreigners Because ‘Mass Migration Can’t be Stopped’ (breitbart, Aug 25, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/08/25/swiss-classes-integrate-mass-migration/

    “Swiss people need to take classes on integrating with foreigners in order to get used to “becoming a minority” in their own country, a sociologist has said.

    Ganga Jey Aratnam, who migrated to Switzerland 25 years ago, told an interview with Tages-Anzeiger that mass migration to the Swiss nation “is a one-way street, there is no going back”.

    Switzerland’s native people should let go of the country’s historic customs and traditions as its population is replaced and come to recognise “hyper-diversity” as the national culture, the Sri Lankan academic said, arguing that “Swiss culture is not lost, it is developing”.

    Asked whether he recognised that such a transition might be “overwhelming” for na(t)ive Swiss people, Aratnam responded: “That’s why I think there should be integration courses for locals.”

    “We already have integration courses for immigrants. That is a good thing. Such courses are also necessary for locals because they are slowly becoming a minority.”

    It is “in [Swiss people’s] interest” to get more familiarised with migrants, according to the sociologist, who asserted that “if the locals do not adapt, they will become losers in their own country”.

    Illustrating such ‘losers’, he pointed to the example of elderly people who might “struggle” with foreigners then become “frustrated” when they are housed in a retirement home where 90 per cent of the staff comes from abroad.

    Questioned by the Swiss-German language daily on whether mass migration could at least be “slowed”, the University of Basel scholar was insistent that once the door is opened to population transfers from the third world, it cannot be closed.

    “Once diversity is achieved, there is no stopping it,” he said, noting that family reunification and other ‘human rights’-related policy means migration from the Global South will continue to rise no matter what national laws a government tries to put in place.

    In addition, Aratnam noted that migrant women have “on average more [children] than Swiss women”.

    “Immigration can no longer be stopped even with new laws [because this would be] in opposition to human rights, European integration and our economic structure,” he claimed.

    However, Aratnam acknowledged in the interview that Japan was an example of a country that “has achieved a great deal of prosperity without migration”.

    Upon Tages-Anzeiger pointing out that ‘around 90 percent of asylum seekers receive social assistance’’, and how ‘the majority of Eritreans in Switzerland do not work, even after years’, the former athlete merely insisted that “more efforts are needed”, alleging that “there is considerable untapped potential here”.

    Breitbart London has previously reported on the dismal economic performance of many migrant groups in Switzerland, with figures revealing many have welfare dependency rates of more than 50 per cent.

    Data gathered and published by the Federal Statistical Office and the State Secretariat for Migration revealed that 83.7 per cent of Somalis in Switzerland rely on state income, compared to 2.3 per cent of Swiss people and just 0.6 per cent of Japanese nationals.”

  9. “Ok, class,” said the teacher, “we’re going to play a little game. It’s called ‘Here’s What I Look Like, Guess What I Am.’ Ready?”

    The children nodded their heads.

    “Goood. Now before we begin I will ask how many of you work in government?”

    Ten children raised their hands.

    “How many of you have a PhD or Masters degree?”

    Eight children raised their hands.

    “How many of you are lawyers or doctors or accountants?”

    Six raised their hands. “Oooo, gooood,” said the teacher. Then she held up the picture book for all to see. The children sat on the floor in a semi-circle.”

    “I’m green and small and I say ‘ribbit-ribbit.’ Guess what I am.” Little Johnny raised his hand. “Yes Johnny?”

    “Froggy!” said Johnny excitedly. Johnny had a PhD in social work.

    “Very goood,” said the teacher. She flipped to the next page. “I’m big and tall with a veeery long neck.”

    “A giraffe!” blurted Megan.

    “Oooo, excellent,” said the teacher. Little Megan had a degree in Chinese Women’s Studies. The teacher turned the page. “I have spots all over and run really, really fast.”

    “You’re a cheetah!” shouted Jeremy. Jeremy was a police office with a degree in Criminology.

    The teacher flipped to the next picture. The class was silent. Some shook their heads. “Anyone? Anyone?” the teacher asked. No response. “C’mon, now, children. I know you know what this is, now surely someone can tell me what animal this is.”

    Then, at the very back of the group, a little hand rose up very slowly and meekly. His name was Ralph and he was a plumber. His pants were always falling down so you could see the crack of his ass. With his other hand and index finger he was digging for gold up his nose.

    “Ah, Ralph,” said the teacher cheerfully. “Now stop picking your nose and tell the class what this is a picture of.”

    Ralph cleared his voice. “It’s a picture of a communist insurgency advanced and enabled by a massive disinformation campaign?”

    The teacher stood up and walked around the circle to Ralph, placing a shiny blue star on his forehead. “Veeery gooood, Ralph.”

    https://twitter.com/BGOnTheScene

  10. Mark and Patricia McCloskey’s full remarks at the GOP Convention
    Trump War Room – August 24, 2020

    • GOP Convention KickOff 2020, Conway Exit and Weekend Recap w/ Author Brenden Dilley – August 24, 2020 – warning cussing
      Topics include and begin @ 17:34 BLM – China – Hullabaloo Steve and Benny Johnson
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H752PqR6Vzs

      Do the people in Joe Biden’s hometown actually know anything about him? – Team Trump – August 24, 2020

      • Kai told benny johnson while on the streets in Joe Biden’s hometown. Team Trump – August 23, 2020

  11. Some #commerçants of #Palavas (34) came to blows with “young people from the Parisian suburbs” who came to #vacances in the zone. Several brawls broke out yesterday at #PalavasLesFlots. ( Midi Free) #Hérault ”
    https://twitter.com/Gefira_org/status/1297480597103882240

    #Lyon : a man arrested with a loaded submachine gun, in the middle of the street
    https://twitter.com/Gefira_org/status/1296776340516077569

    Paris: We must disarm the police
    https://twitter.com/Gefira_org/status/1295596038712176642

    Many similar tweets/retweets on that channel. Some of it quite horrifying:
    https://twitter.com/Gefira_org

  12. Paris: Riot Police Storm Bar Over No Social Distancing

    While actual riots were taking place across the rest of the city.

    Footage out of Paris, France shows riot police storming a bar and beating people with truncheons because they were not properly ‘social distancing’.

    The incident occurred during the Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, which the bar-goers were watching on television.

    Around a dozen fully kitted out riot cops raided the bar and violently removed people from the premises.

    “According to Paris police officials, the crowd was dispersed because some people were not wearing face coverings or were failing to follow social distancing rules,” reports Sky News.
    More than 200 people receive a police caution for not wearing face masks.

    The incident is made even more bizarre by the fact that the people inside the bar were behaving peacefully, while actual riots were taking place across the rest of the city.

    According to RT, the streets of the French capital “descended into chaos, with multiple incidents of vandalism and looting.”

    You’d think maintaining basic law and order while protecting people and property from violent criminals would be a higher priority than ensuring people in a bar are standing far enough away from each other, but in the age of COVID hysteria apparently not.

    https://summit.news/2020/08/24/paris-riot-police-storm-bar-over-no-social-distancing/

  13. Pakistan-Based Hackers Allegedly Break into Personal Website of India’s Federal Minister (sputniknews, Aug 25, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/world/202008251080273713-pakistan-based-hackers-allegedly-break-into-personal-website-of-indias-federal-minister/

    “Arch-rivals Indian and Pakistan often accuse each other of waging cyber warfare. Last year, Pakistan’s Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry claimed India was using cyberspace as a weapon, saying New Delhi has launched a cyberwar against Islamabad.

    Pakistan-based hackers reportedly targeted the personal website of central Minister of State for Home Affairs G. Kishan Reddy on Indian Independence Day (15 August), the minister’s office revealed to ANI on Tuesday…”

  14. Iran Blasts Pompeo for Trying to ‘Flood Region With US Weapons’ Amid Talk of More Arms for UAE (sputniknews, Aug 25, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202008251080271137-iran-blasts-pompeo-for-trying-to-flood-region-with-us-weapons-amid-talk-of-more-arms-for-uae/

    “US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, where he promised to “continue to honour” the US commitment to ensure Israel’s “qualitative military edge” against its neighbours. Pompeo made the comments amid reports that the US is looking to sell F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates.

    Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has taken to Twitter to attack Mike Pompeo over his remarks during his trip to Israel, calling him an “outlaw” official who “has no qualms about violating his own country’s laws”.

    “Standing next to World’s #1 nuclear threat, he declares his desire to flood our region with even more US weapons – all while trying to impede the lawful normalisation of Iran’s defence cooperation with the world,” Zarif wrote, referring to the US review of plans to sell advanced weapons to Abu Dhabi, and its opposition to the United Nations arms embargo against Iran.

    To drive his point home, Zarif posted screengrabs of an article on the Trump administration’s sale of drone systems to Saudi Arabia and the UAE despite internal opposition, and Pompeo’s promise to Israel about an American commitment to preserving Tel Aviv’s ‘qualitative advantage’ in weapons.

    During his meeting with Pompeo on Monday, Netanyahu said he had been assured that the US would continue to work to preserve Israel’s military advantage in relation to its neighbours. His comments came amid reports of strong opposition by Tel Aviv to the sale of F-35 fighter jets and other advanced weapons to Abu Dhabi and other Arab countries, even those making peace with Israel. Last week, US President Donald Trump confirmed that the UAE was interested in buying F-35s, and that the matter was “under review”.

    Israel is the largest recipient of US military aid, and has been provided over $3 billion in military assistance each year since 1985. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the country was the twelfth-largest buyer of US military equipment between 2008 and 2018, spending $2.91 billion on US arms. During the same period, the UAE purchased some $7.6 billion in US weapons, while Saudi Arabia bought over $13.7 billion worth of American arms.

    Speaking in Tehran on Monday, Zarif also took aim at Abu Dhabi over its planned peace deal with Israel, warning the country that it could not “buy” its security.

    “The United Arab Emirates has turned to Israel to buy security, while Israel is unable to keep even itself secure,” he said. “You cannot be secure if your neighbours are not secure.”

    According to Zarif, countries which neighbour one another have no other option but to get along. “No one can be crossed out from the region, but foreign powers can be expelled,” he said.

    Iranian authorities slammed the Israel-US normalisation deal after it was announced last week. President Hassan Rouhani called it a “huge mistake” and a “treasonous act” against the Palestinians, while Iran’s military warned that the agreement would force the Islamic Republic to change its posture toward Abu Dhabi.

    On Tuesday, Axios reported that UAE authorities had cancelled a planned trilateral meeting with officials from the US and Israel in protest over Netanyahu’s firm opposition to the sale of F-35s to Abu Dhabi.”

  15. Greece Vows to Defend Rights in Med From Turkey as Berlin Warns ‘Little Spark Can Cause Catastrophe’ (sputniknews, Aug 25, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/202008251080271633-greece-vows-to-defend-its-sovereign-rights-amid-mediterranean-drilling-row-with-turkey/

    “The NATO allies have competing claims to wide swathes of potentially hydrocarbon-rich areas in the eastern Mediterranean, with tensions escalating earlier this month after Turkey began exploratory drilling in an area south of Antalya claimed by Greece.

    Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias issued a warning to Turkey on Tuesday amid the ongoing escalation of tensions over the territorial dispute in the Mediterranean, stressing that Athens is prepared to “defend its sovereign rights,” and accusing Ankara of continuing “provocations” and “violations of international law” despite calls by neighbours to de-escalate.

    Speaking to reporters after meeting with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Dendias said his country was prepared to hold a dialogue with Turkey on the gas drilling dispute, but “not under threats” from Ankara.

    Dendias added that Germany and the European Union are “standing in solidarity” with Greece.

    Maas traveled to Athens on Tuesday to discuss the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean with Dendias. He is expected to travel to Ankara later for separate talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

    ‘Little Spark Can Cause Catastrophe’
    Speaking in Athens, Maas called “the current situation in the eastern Mediterranean…equivalent to playing with fire,” and warned that “every little spark can lead to catastrophe.”

    Also Tuesday, Greek Minister of State Giorgos Gerapetritis said Athens would not engage in any discussions with Turkey related to the drilling dispute or security issues as long as Ankara continues to pressure the region militarily. He demanded that Turkey abandon ‘all aggressive actions’ before dialogue can take place.

    Greece and Turkey are holding separate naval drills near one another in the eastern Mediterranean off the Greek island of Crete on Tuesday. Greece announced the drills Sunday after Turkey issued a Navtex advisory extending the surveying activities of the Oruc Reis ship until August 27. Ankara responded Monday, accusing Athens of “sowing chaos” and announcing its own drills.

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Greece Monday that Athens would be ‘the only victim of a negative scenario’ in case of an escalation, and promised that Ankara would not take one step back in its drilling activities in Greece-claimed waters.

    Turkey has already stepped up its military activities in the region, not only in the Mediterranean but in the Aegean Sea as well, home to a long-standing territorial dispute between the two NATO allies. On Sunday, Turkey’s defence ministry announced war games in the Aegean involving F-16 fighter jets. Earlier, the Greek Navy reported an intensification of Turkish submarine activity off the Greek coast, and the scrambling of Greek Air Force aircraft to comb the Aegean with anti-submarine sonar.

    Greek and Turkish warships reportedly collided with one another in an incident near the Oruc Reis on August 12, with warships from both countries continuing to patrol the area.

    Greek-Turkish Apple of Discord
    The recent escalation of tensions between Greece and Turkey centers around the Oruc Reis’s drilling activities south of Antalya and west of Cyprus in maritime territories claimed by Greece. The seismic research ship began its drilling in the area just days after Greece and Egypt signed a maritime agreement designating large areas of the eastern Mediterranean part of their exclusive economic zones on August 6.

    Greece and Egypt signed their agreement several months after Turkey and the Turkish-backed Libyan government in Tripoli concluded their own exclusive economic zone deal cutting through Crete and other Greek islands. Both sides have dismissed one another’s agreements as “illegitimate” or “illegal.””

  16. Sweden: Vandals Profane Christian Church 7 Days in Row (breitbart, Aug 25, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/faith/2020/08/25/sweden-vandals-profane-christian-church-7-days-in-row/

    “Vandals desecrated the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malmö (southern Sweden) seven days in a row this month, breaking windows and demolishing a statue of Jesus.

    The attentive folks at L’Observatoire de la Christianophobie reported Monday that for the week ending August 18, the church — located in the district of Västra Skrävlinge — was repeatedly profaned and is now protected by a nightly patrol.

    Among the damage, a statue of Jesus was destroyed inside the church building and over the course of the week some 30 church windows were smashed with stones. The perpetrators also hurled other objects into the church through the broken windows.

    In the aftermath of the incidents, the church suspended religious services to allow the building to be cleaned of the large amount of broken glass that had accumulated on the pews. In the meantime, the church was obliged to hold Sunday services outdoors, but this past Sunday the church managed to return to holding worship indoors again.

    The Västra Skrävlinge church’s supervising priest, Mikael Göth, said that the escalating destruction has caused concern among his congregation. “People are distraught, anxious, and worried for their safety,” Göth said. “We are grieving.”

    “We got a wave of seven nights in a row — or nights,” Göth said. “They went to church, smashed windows, made a disturbance, and knocked over the statue. Now we have guards and the police are involved.”

    It is still unclear who is behind the vandalism, Göth said. “At the moment we are not speculating about that. We just hope we can stop it.”

    “A church is a church,” he added. “It means much more than just the building; it is a place where you feel protected. So when this happens it is distressing.”

    The district of Västra Skrävlinge attained international notoriety in 2016 when a local Muslim, Osama Krayem, became one of Europe’s most hunted men and eventually was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the coordinated terrorist attacks in Brussels that killed thirty-two civilians and injured more than 300 others.

    In April of that year, Belgian police apprehended the 23-year-old — who by then had assumed the new ISIS-given identity of Naim al-Hamed — in Brussels, on suspicion of buying the bags used to hide the bombs in the Brussels metro. During his interrogation, Krayem confessed that he was the second metro bomber, claiming he felt regret at the last moment and so never tried to detonate his suicide bomb.

    Born in Västra Skrävlinge, Osama Krayem grew up as part of the local Muslim community in the Rosengård district in Malmö but eventually enrolled as a fighter with the Islamic State in Syria.”

  17. Former Danish Minister: Non-Western Migration Has Harmed Denmark More Than Helped (breitbart, Aug 25, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/08/25/former-danish-minister-non-western-migration-has-harmed-denmark-more-than-helped/

    “Former Danish Immigration and Integration Minister Inger Støjberg has claimed that mass migration from non-western countries has harmed Denmark far more than benefited it.

    The former minister highlighted several major issues she associates with mass migration, including rising levels of crime and the growing problem Denmark with migrant gang violence.

    “A very clear problem brought about by non-Western immigration is crime. There is a strong over-representation of criminals from non-Western countries,” she wrote in an op-ed for Danish tabloid B.T.

    “There is a marked over-representation of immigrants or descendants from non-Western countries in Danish prisons,” she said and added, “Immigrants and descendants from non-Western countries are overall overrepresented by 255 per cent relative to their actual share of the population in Denmark.”

    Earlier this year, a report from the think tank Unitos revealed that Somali migrant men were the most likely to engage in criminal behaviour, with an estimated 62 per cent having been convicted of a crime by the age of 30.

    For Lebanese migrants, the rate was 60 per cent and for Moroccans, it was 52 per cent, with native Danes sitting at 18 per cent.

    Støjberg also noted that crimes are becoming more and more serious, including random assaults and shootings. In neighbouring Sweden, researchers have also determined that violent and serious crime had also come up in the last 20 years by measuring the Crime Harm Index (CHI) of the country.

    Sweden also has a major issue with criminal gangs, some of which are led by individuals of migrant backgrounds, such as in the capital of Stockholm.

    Støjberg claimed that in Denmark, immigrant gangs have been preying on the homeless and forcing them to sell drugs, extorting them for government welfare money and even cutting off people’s fingers who disobey them.

    “It is absolutely scandalous to treat society’s most vulnerable in this way, and it shows the cynicism and lack of order and respect these foreigners have towards the rest of Danish society,” she said.

    “There is really only one solution to these hardened criminal aliens: expulsion from Denmark!” she said and argued rehabilitation programmes were “wasted” om migrant gang members.

    “They laugh at us when, in the best sense, we try to incorporate them into society, because the point is precisely that they do not want to be part of Denmark,” she wrote and added, “But the grin disappears and turns into despair and tears when they first sit in the dock in court with a deportation sentence hanging over their heads.””

  18. Battle looms in Mozambique over extremists’ control of port (abcnews, Aug 25, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/battle-looms-mozambique-extremists-control-port-72590532

    “The stinging success of Mozambique’s Islamic extremist rebels in seizing and holding a northern port city signals to the government, neighboring countries and the world that Africa has yet another insurgency hotspot.

    A battle looms as the government is expected to launch its forces to regain control of Mocimboa da Praia, a strategic port in northeastern Mozambique that was captured by the extremists earlier this month.

    The Islamic State Central African Province showed new levels of organization, strategy, manpower and weaponry in the days-long battle to win control of the port earlier this month.

    The extremists’ victory in Mocimboa adds to the obstacles facing the multi-billion dollar international investments to exploit the massive deposits of liquified natural gas in northern Mozambique.

    Mocimboa, in Mozambique’s northernmost Cabo Delgado province, is a centuries-old port on Indian Ocean trade routes and close to the border with Tanzania. It’s the third time this year that the rebels have taken control of Mocimboa and the longest time that they have held the city of an estimated 30,000 people.

    The rebels started as a ragtag group near Mocimboa in 2017 and since then have grown in strength to carry out a campaign of violence in villages in coastal districts of Cabo Delgado, killing more than 1,500 people, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. They have now pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

    This year, the insurgents have repeatedly attacked — and taken — the city center of Mocímboa da Praia, first in March, then in June, and now in August. This time, on August 10, they also won control of the port.

    “The fall of Mocímboa da Praia is a major strategic victory for the insurgents,” said Eric Morier-Genoud, a historian at Queen’s University Belfast, “as well as a personal victory. Many insurgent leaders come from this town and made a comeback on their own terms,” he said. “They took five days to capture the town and its port, showing determination, organization and good planning.”

    The attack on the town was “highly sophisticated,” according to military analyst and former South Africa army colonel Johann Smith. Before starting their five-day assault at the beginning of August, the extremists carried out preliminary “attacks on government forces’ positions around Mocímboa da Praia,” Smith said, and they cleared out “suburbs of the town to get most civilian residents to leave the area.”

    Then from August 5 through 10, the insurgents fought with government troops in Mocímboa. They ambushed a convoy of reinforcements traveling to Mocímboa from the garrison town of Mueda. More than 50 young army recruits were killed by insurgents in the ambush that happened at the village of Awasse, according to several sources.

    The government forces were supported by helicopter gunships flown by the South African mercenary company Dyck Advisory Group, but their efforts were hampered by the need to return to the provincial capital, Pemba, to refuel. The helicopters also dropped supplies – including ammunition – too far from where it was needed, according to the Zitamar news agency.

    By August 11, the port had been taken by the insurgents, who also fired on government vessels, preventing them from bringing reinforcements to hold the town, Defence Minister Jaime Neto said in a press conference.

    The extremists have held the port city for nearly two weeks, setting up what will likely be a bruising battle.

    “The Mozambican military will recapture Mocímboa da Praia. The question is when and how,” said expert Morier-Genoud. “Once they do, the question will also be how will the army hold onto the town. The present organization and logistics of the army clearly failed to secure the town this time round.”

    With all phone lines and internet access cut to Mocimboa, it is hard to guess what the insurgents will do, he said.

    ”We know they told the population that they were planning on staying in Mocímboa da Praia for good,” he said. “If this is indeed their plan, then they will militarily secure the town and neighboring areas and start developing something of an administration – presumably along Shariah rule lines.”

    tHowever, Professor Yussuf Adam, a Mozambican academic with decades of research in Cabo Delgado, reckons the insurgents may not focus on holding Mocimboa but instead “will continue with their strike-and-run tactics, and will select targets which will contribute to lock down the logistics of the northern part of Cabo Delgado.”

    He said the rebels may avoid trying to control areas where they can be bombarded by air.

    “They will attack again and again,” said Adam. “It will depend on the capacity of the government forces to transform a war of movement of the guerrillas, into a war of positions.”

    Beyond getting continued help from the mercenaries of the Dyck group, Mozambique has avoided asking for outside assistance and looks to continue that stance even as it takes over the rotating presidency this month of the regional bloc, the 16-nation Southern African Development Community.

    Defence Minister Jaime Neto said recently that the only help Mozambique requests of its neighboring countries “is vigilance at the borders to prevent bandits from entering our territory.””

  19. This is the new normal.
    Ian Miles Cheong – August 25, 2020 – Twitter
    Laith’s comment:
    This is in DC. The BLM Group was harassing outdoor patrons. Getting them to raise their fist in solidarity. This couple refused and the lady is shaming him. I think the man put the mask on to protect himself bc she was in his face.
    https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1298236145008926720

  20. #82 Communist Infiltration of American Universities | Doris Liu and China’s Confucius Institute

  21. 14 families washed away in sleep in China; Xinjiang lockdown 40 days, people locked in handcuffs

  22. [Exclusive] Xi’s Leadership Threatened; Uyghur Women Force to Marry Chinese Men For Gene Washing

    • People are complaining about all of the worlds currencies being fiat currencies and now the Chinese are expecting the world to accept a different type of fiat currency as the worlds reserve currency. I don’t see any digital currency being widely accept as a reserve currency.

  23. (Richard: This one is a good time to remind people that this is probably Indian Propaganda but Propaganda sources like this are good ways to send signals/messages to the enemy.)

    India’s CDS Gen. Bipin Rawat has a message for China

    • The last time China stirred up trouble on the Line of Actual Control they were drawing the worlds attention away from their crackdown on Hong Kong. They also used the trouble excuse to move more men and equipment into that area.

      With this is mind is China playing the same game again? Are they planning some move in a different area around Taiwan, the Islands Near Nam or another nation in that region?

      They could be trying to take the minds of the Chinese people off the food shortage and the problems caused by the Wuhan Flu and the floods.

      I don’t know if they are planning any military move in that region but it wasn’t that long ago that Pakistan bragged about having around 250 nuclear warheads and missiles that could reach well over half of India. Was this just Islamic Bragging or did Pakistan follow Chinese orders to remind India they have nuclear enemies on two borders?

  24. WATCH: Maximo Alvarez’s full speech at the Republican National Convention | 2020 RNC Night 1 – PBS – August 24, 2020

  25. Russia and Iran’s Dangerous Energy Gambit in the Caucasus

    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: There are signs that the current escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, far from being incidental to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, is driven by Russia’s and Iran’s economic warfare against a competing state and the need to return Europe to dependency on their oil and gas in light of US sanctions. Armenia benefits from the bellicose activity thanks to a sophisticated information warfare campaign in a heated US election year that has been unmatched thus far by Azerbaijan. But Baku can still turn its underdog position around by pursuing an assertive and affirmative policy against aggressors on military, political, media, and legal fronts.

    https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/russia-iran-azerbaijan-armenia/

  26. California’s Green Energy Dark Age

    The real color of ‘green energy’ is black.

    The Bay Area has the single largest concentration of ‘green’ businesses in the country. It was also the first to feel California’s rolling outages caused by the state’s messy infrastructure of solar panels and wind turbines, faulty and erratic, tied together by ‘virtual power plants’.

    The real color of ‘green energy’ is black.

    The Bay Area and surrounding areas are ground zero for the massive graft and grift of ‘green energy’ businesses with companies selling, reselling, manufacturing, consulting, certifying and investing in the bubble crowded in skyscrapers and office parks next to each other. And some of those ‘green’ businesses went dark when a wind farm failed and the power outages rolled out.

    The real victims of the evening outages in northern California were senior citizens tethered to breathing machines who sat in the dark, watching the remaining battery power and hoping they would survive, families taking the elevator down only to be trapped inside, restaurants, already battered by lockdowns and riots, losing power and watching food go bad and customers leave.

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/08/californias-green-energy-dark-age-daniel-greenfield/

  27. Armed Citizens RISE UP in Kenosha to DEFEND Businesses from Rioters as Gun Ownership SKYROCKETS!!!

  28. (Richard: This is an Indian TV/youtube channel, I don’t know how good they are.)

    Kim Jong-Un in coma with North Korea passing power to sister: Reports

  29. zero hedge –Russia Declassifies Footage Of Biggest Nuke Ever Tested: “Mushroom Cloud 7 Times Higher Than Everest”

    ====================================================
    The documentary film was released and posted on August 20 on the YouTube channel of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation in connection with the celebration of 75 years of nuclear industry.

    The film, edited in classic Soviet-style propaganda, shows all preparation procedures.

    With a yield of 50 megatons (50 million tons), equal to around 3,800 Hiroshima bombs, the weapon was set off over Novaya Zemlya on October 30, 1961.

    The film shows how the modified Tu-95 bomber plane was coated with a special white reflective paint to protect it from the heat caused by thermal radiation from the explosion. Measurement equipment was attached all over and a second plane flew beside, filming and monitoring radiation samples.

    https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/security/2020/08/rosatom-releases-previously-classified-documentary-video-50-mt-novaya-zemlya-test
    ==========================================================

    https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/tsar-bomba-russia-declassifies-footage-most-powerful-nuke-ever-tested

    • Clip focusing on the new blast footage showing multiple angles and distances from detonation site, which makes up the final minutes of the full declassified documentary:

  30. University of Toronto research to explore racism in health care during pandemic

    A new research project will look at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on racialized communities as well as existing biases in the health-care system.

    The national project was launched by Roberta Timothy, an assistant professor with the University of Toronto’s Institute for Pandemics.

    Timothy says many members of the Black and Indigenous communities already avoid interacting with the health-care system mostly due to experiences with racism and biases.

    During a global pandemic, Timothy says that can have grave consequences for the well-being of those communities.

    “People will seek help when it’s an emergency and by then it’s too late,” she says. “Because of the bias, because of anti-black racism, because of violence they experience, their health becomes more at risk.”

    Timothy says there’s a need for more data to effectively understand the impact of COVID-19 on racialized communities.

    The Ontario government refused to collect race-based data earlier in the pandemic, but it was forced to change course in June. Now it mandates the collection of data around race, income, household size and language when following up with people who’ve been infected with COVID-19.

    A spokesman for the Ministry of Health said the government is engaging with people from racialized communities and other health equity experts regarding the data collection.

    “We plan to share findings of this data collection, informed by this engagement,” David Jensen said in an email.

    Jensen said the ministry is concerned about the spread of the virus in “certain groups of people and in certain neighbourhoods,” and would welcome additional insights and information about how COVID-19 is affecting racialized communities.

    Early data compiled by Toronto Public Health showed that 83 per cent of COVID-19 cases occurred in racialized people. Black people represented 21 per cent of cases in Toronto, but only nine per cent of the city’s population.

    “There is growing evidence in North America and beyond that racialized people and people living in lower-income households are more likely to be affected by COVID-19,” said Dr. Christine Navarro, associate medical officer of health for Toronto.

    “While the exact reasons for this have yet to be fully understood, we believe it is related to both poverty and racism.”

    Timothy’s project will collect more data about how Black and Indigenous people interact with the health-care system, but also about economic impacts, evictions, support networks and essential work being done by marginalized communities.

    “An underlying part of the project is not only to bring better data, but to support the community in strategizing and finding interventions to find how we get through this,” said Timothy.

    Rudayna Bahubeshi, a Toronto resident and post-graduate student in public policy, says she has first-hand experience with racism in the health-care system. During a stint in a mood disorder ward when she was 18, Bahubeshi said a nurse mistook her for a 30-year-old patient _ the only other Black person in the ward at the time _ and tried to make her take the other person’s medication.

    Bahubeshi says she argued but was ignored, and believes her race was a factor in the way she was treated by staff. She says the nurse only realized the mistake when the other patient happened to walk by.

    In another hospital visit during the pandemic, Bahubeshi says she was taken to a “COVID ward” because she had fever. She says staff would not answer simple questions about whether there were risks involved with using a shared washroom, or about the fact that some staff weren’t wearing PPE.

    “The way she (the nurse) was engaging with me was very much that I was the problem,” says Bahubeshi. “When I talked to a doctor afterwards they told me I was fully in the right and that was unacceptable.”

    Bahubeshi says experiences like those erode her trust in the public health system and its ability to provide quality care for her. She says more data about the experience of Black people in health care will be a first step in the right direction.

    “The fact that we don’t have race-based data is a way we’ve decided that Black communities are not a priority,” said Bahubeshi.

    Timothy’s national project is set to begin in a few months, and will involve surveys and focus groups among Black and Indigenous Canadians.

    https://toronto.citynews.ca/2020/08/25/university-of-toronto-research-to-explore-racism-in-health-care-during-pandemic-2/

  31. Sources: Suspect In Custody After Punching Woman During Mass At Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter
    CBS Philly – August 24, 2020

    • Philadelphia Police Identify Woman Who Punched Reader During Mass – CBS Philly – August 24, 2020

  32. PJ Media – The FDA Gets Tough Questions About Hydroxychloroquine From Republican Senators

    The debate over hydroxychloroquine has faded from the forefront as big tech has worked to suppress information and silence the voices of doctors and researchers promoting it. However, it appears the controversy over the drug has encouraged some senators to take a closer look, and it seems they are asking the FDA the right questions.

    Senators Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Mike Lee (R-Utah) sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn explicitly asking about the agency’s handling of information regarding the drug and its use during the pandemic. Doctors and researchers advocating for hydroxychloroquine are recommending it be used in high-risk outpatients.

    In the letter to Hahn, the senators are asking about specific actions the agency has taken regarding hydroxychloroquine. The current FDA guidance is that it should not be used outside the hospital setting for COVID-19, and the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) has been withdrawn. Given the safety profile of the medication and the fact it is used daily on an outpatient basis around the world for malaria prevention, malaria treatment, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus, this guidance is ridiculous on its face.

    How Many Lives Will the Health Experts’™ Bizarre Hydroxychloroquine Disinformation Campaign Cost?
    The recommended duration of hydroxychloroquine treatment for COVID-19 is between five and seven days at FDA approved dosages. In a sane world, a doctor may prescribe drugs off-label at approved dosages if they think a medication may be useful for a patient’s symptoms. However, 2020 is not sane, and now the FDA interference has led to medical boards, hospital systems, and politicians banning the use of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19. These actions are unprecedented in the doctor-patient relationship.

    Finally, these senators are standing up for that relationship and demanding clarity from the FDA. From the letter:

    However, we have heard from licensed physicians that have had a far different experience with the FDA’s approach. The physicians are concerned about the FDA’s decision to revoke the March 28th EUA for HCQ and CQ for treatment of COVID-19. They have described the clear differences between inpatient and outpatient treatments and how this decision has affected their ability to treat patients in different settings. The physicians have warned that the FDA’s EUA revocation of HCQ and CQ has led to misinformation and confusion across the country. Some states have restricted the ability of physicians to write and pharmacies to fill HCQ and CQ prescriptions under longstanding and well-established authority to prescribe FDA approved drugs off-label with a patient’s informed consent and according to their clinical judgement.

    The Politicization of COVID-19 Science Is Dangerous and Inexcusable

    To better understand the FDA’s actions, the letter requests four specific pieces of information:

    1. Studies or data that definitively shows prescribing hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine within seven days of COVID-19 symptoms is ineffective or harmful.

    2. Produce studies or data on the use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine for COVID-19 in outpatient settings under a doctor’s care, including as a preventative. They specifically exclude late-stage studies involving hospitalized patients.

    3. Provide any public statements issued by the FDA to clarify the agency does not regulate the practice of medicine and explaining state governments may not regulate or prohibit the sale of the drugs.

    4. Information on potential treatments for COVID-19 that have been used internationally and whether the FDA has approved those for use in the United States. If not, the senators want to know what steps are being taken to ensure they are.

    These requests are a kick in the derriere to the bureaucracy. It is unconscionable for the FDA not to clarify their role in the practice of medicine and even worse for them to remain silent in the face of other entities trying to interfere with it. While it does not appear they have ever made a statement like the one the senators are requesting, hopefully, one will be forthcoming.

    Hydroxychloroquine Helps Contain COVID-19 Cases: New Evidence and a Major Retraction
    It would be even more concerning if the agency withdrew the EUA based on the debunked Lancet study and has done nothing to correct their position. In an extensive search, I can find no studies indicating that short-term outpatient use of hydroxychloroquine at approved dosages is dangerous or deadly. It will be surprising if the FDA has one.

    Dr. Harvey Risch, an epidemiologist from Yale, has done a review of these studies and arrived at the conclusion that treatment with hydroxychloroquine is effective for high-risk outpatients. Dr. Risch told Mark Levin on “Life, Liberty, and Levin” Sunday that it was some of the most convincing data he has seen in his career:

    Clearly, President Trump has not given up on the potential this drug combination may hold. Dr. Risch’s assessment is clear. For high-risk patients over 65 or with pre-existing conditions, the outpatient use of the hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and azithromycin combination has shown a significant reduction in hospitalizations and death rates.

    He asserts that we have let politics overrule science, and it is costing thousands of lives. Hopefully, senators pressuring the FDA will cause significant movement and clarity. The FDA owes its response by the end of business tomorrow. If the misinformation can be effectively cleared up, it will be a game-changer. The senators must continue to press the FDA and restore the doctor-patient relationship.

    pjmedia(dot)com/news-and-politics/stacey-lennox/2020/08/24/the-fda-gets-tough-questions-about-hydroxychloroquine-from-republican-senators-n829877