Reader’s Links for March 19, 2021

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

94 Replies to “Reader’s Links for March 19, 2021”

  1. A fun read before bed, smile guaranteed.

    EXCLUSIVE: Putin Humiliated Biden in Moscow Meeting, Reveals Obama-Era White House Stenographer.

    – Joe Biden is lying about his 2011 dealings with Vladimir Putin in Moscow, and the Russian president isn’t putting up with it. I know this because I was an eyewitness to the events of that day. Events that Washington, D.C.’s media have failed to press Biden on – and that give an extraordinary insight into how our now-president was humiliated by his Russian counterparts.-

    ENJOY: https://thenationalpulse.com/analysis/putin-humiliated-biden-in-moscow-meeting/

    • BTW, this humiliating episode for Biden proves he indeed has Alzheimer. Refer to Biden’s daring recent insult to Putin.

  2. Rebel News reporting outside the Vancouver Courthouse where father jailed for speaking out about his daughter. (Being given life altering hormones without his consent).

  3. Here is part of an article about growing food insecurity leading to increased political pressures. I’ve taken just a piece because it is too long, but there’s enough here to get the point, I think.

    Civil strife may be on an over-priced menu in many locations this summer:

    …Of course, all cows stand on four legs, and any one of the factors above could play out individually for any one commodity to significant effect. Yet as with any cow, where one leg goes, the others usually follow.

    In short, if we were to see bad weather; and protectionism/sustainability-related regulations; and further heavy buying from China; and a surge in Wall Street speculation then it is hard to say just how high prices could reach before demand destruction kicked in.

    (4) Food Security
    The impact on food security should be obvious: indeed, it already is:

    In the MENA countries –the highest per capita consumers of bread– the 30% increase in international wheat prices seen so far in 2021 leaves them just shy of levels seen during the revolutionary Arab Spring;

    Asia’s burgeoning middle class is grappling with 30-50% increases in pork, cooking oil, sugar, and dairy prices; and

    Africa, with lower GDP per capita, has an even clearer predicament.

    Yet in our dream, things get worse. The impact of price increases will fall disproportionately on poorer, importing countries, reversing the improved economic outlook for some of the new global middle class – and even lower income deciles in the wealthiest countries would feel it. We attempted to summarise these risks with simple snapshots.

    World Bank data from 2017 show USD income per capita around the world at purchasing power parity. The same data also show the amount spent on food per capita. One can then calculate the percentage of income allocated to food (see Figure 10). Obviously, the figures vary between wealthy regions, such as North America, and poorer ones, like Africa, where the differential is over a factor of four.

    Holding income figures constant (as this is just an indicative exercise), we then change agri commodity inflation. Although such agri price changes have and will vary by commodity, we use the aggregate index as a base to avoid having to break down the complexities of varying national diet patterns.

    As we showed, since 2017, agri commodity inflation has been substantial (45%). We then project a hypothetical doubling of the agri commodity basket for our ‘lean cows’ dream on top.

    We must then consider how much of the change in price in the agri commodity basket is actually passed on to higher food prices. One might be surprised how little of the cost of the foods we eat actually reflects the raw ingredients as opposed to labour, rent, logistics, etc. (See Figure 11.)

    Keeping all of these factors unchanged, we presume that agri commodity inflation of around 100% would translate into recorded global food price inflation of around 12%. This reflects OECD food inflation of 6-8% in recent scarcity events, while recognizing that in some sectors and markets this has tended to be higher, in particular for import dependent countries.

    As can be seen in Figure 12, on a regional basis we can see that for East Asia and the Pacific, the percentage of individual incomes spent on food rises from 9.3% to 10.4%; in Europe and central Asia from 8.6% to 9.6%, Latin America from 11.5% to 12.9%; the Middle East the same 11.5% to 12.9%; North America 5.1% to 5.7%; South Asia from 16.9% to 19.0%; and sub-Saharan Africa from 20.7% to 23.2%.

    Of course, the actual impact may be less given incomes would have risen in most places in the past four years in line with GDP growth – but then again Covid-19 could well have seen these gains partially reversed in many locations.

    To put this into perspective, one also needs to consider where a crisis threshold lies in terms of food affordability.

    Although this again varies for a number of reasons, if one selects the 20% of income as the key level, double the world average, then the global impact of this ‘dream’ agri commodity price shift cannot be understated.

    Figure 13 shows the total number of countries in each region that were already at risk of food insecurity using the World Bank’s 2017 data compared to the number projected ahead using our “lean cows” assumption. As can be seen, Central Asia sees 1 additional country slip into food scarcity; Latin America 1; MENA 1; and Africa 2. Again, this is presuming a 12% increase in food prices: if more lean cows were to emerge, more people would also get leaner.

    Even as is, 42 countries globally would be food insecure: and a staggering 102 countries would see a relative decline in their purchasing power of food, representing a step backwards down the pyramid – Maslow’s pyramid of basic needs. We would be back below 2011 levels in terms of food affordability, representing over a lost decade in the fight against hunger.

    At the very least, steady progress experienced by much of the emerging world’s middle class could be frozen or reversed. That’s a process we have seen end in populism in Western economies already.

    ‘Yum’ Kippur?

    We are talking here about a potential surge in parts of the agri-commodity complex. However, our global macro inflation thesis remains very different.

    We continue to recognise the significant near-term upwards price pressures in many areas of the economy, which stem from a combination of base effects, Covid-related supply disruptions, genuine demand increases – or shifts, and looming US fiscal stimulus. Yet as we have argued for many years, structurally one only sees inflation sustained if either supply is too weak (and outside agri commodities and semiconductors, this is not an issue), or demand too strong – and workers still do not have the bargaining power to push for pay rises in most sectors of most economies. The present US fiscal stimulus does not address this issue at all.

    Indeed, the greater likelihood is still that after an upwards surge in H1 2021, there will be a downshift in aggregate inflation pressures again into 2022. Were we to see a bounce in the US dollar on the back of higher long end US rates, this would exacerbate that trend: it could also partially weigh against some of the bullish agri-commodity trends we consider.

    Moreover, were we to see an economic slump after the current US fiscal ‘sugar rush’, then presumably agri commodity prices would come under further downward pressure: note that previous spikes have often been rapidly followed by just such a slump. (More like seven lean then seven fat months in that case!) In that case, the Wall Street speculation we have already underlined would also be rapidly reversed: and what has helped make for fat markets would then make for lean ones. In short, volatility would be amplified in both directions.

    Nonetheless, let’s dream agri commodity prices stay high for structural/political factors even as aggregate inflation falls back due to a weak global economy. We have seen something similar to this hypothetical backdrop previously if one shifts the kind of oil one is thinking of.

    Indeed, think of the oil price spike experienced after the Yom Kippur War of 1973 and Arab oil producers responding with reduced supply into what was then a far more Keynesian, fiscally-driven world economy.

    WTI oil, for example, jumped from USD3.56 in July 1973 to USD4.31 at the end of that year –a 21% increase– and then again to UDS10.11 –a 293% increase from the July 1973 price– at the start of 1974 in response to Arab oil-state’s actions (see Figure 13). This necessarily pushed general inflation much higher in tandem globally.

    As we know, the demand-led policies of Western economies, which were still far more regulated, far less globalised, and had far stronger unions at that time, led to inflation-matching pay rises, so setting off a wage-price spiral. Consequently, oil prices marched as high as USD39.50 –a 390% increase over January 1974 and 1,109% over July 1973– before eventually declining.

    What is critical to recall is that this episode was arguably the key political driver of the structural reforms put in place to globalise and liberalise Western economies in order reduce the power of labour in favour of capital, capping inflation pressures in the process. With global populism rising, and critics pointing out those reforms have gone too far, producing socio-economic problems of an entirely different but just as damaging kind, the key hypothetical to ponder is this:

    Could a sustained rise in agri-commodity prices prompt a political backlash away from neoliberalism and back towards deglobalisation and regulation? Could the Yom Kippur-driven reforms be reversed by a ‘Yum’ Kippur?

    Of course, nobody knows. However, you don’t have to be Joseph to see that political developments such as Brexit, and obvious examples of agri protectionism, mean it would be dangerously naïve to rule this risk out entirely.

    This in itself would then open up a new discussion of what such a structural shift might mean for the increasingly-turbulent geopolitical backdrop, and how that then might flow back to markets.

    After all, there was open talked of an Arab “oil weapon” after the 1970s: and the emergence of the “Petro-dollar” was intimately linked to how the huge oil surpluses Arab states then began to accumulate were recycled: in short, into the US, in exchange for US military protection.

    This brings us firmly to geopolitics.

    And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

    5) Not Just Any Dream Will Do
    After all, let’s not forget that Egypt was the ancient world’s superpower because of its grain harvests: the flow-through from food prices to geopolitics today should be obvious:

    First, weaker states could find themselves at risk of significant instability: it’s not a coincidence the last global agri commodity price surge coincided with the Arab Spring. Given even developed economies have experienced major socio-political unrest, the risks should be self-evident. In short, an agri commodity price spike, like Covid-19, could be an accelerant to pre-existing political trends.

    Second, we live in a new age of Great Power politics, centred around an unfolding US-China rivalry, in which US food production and a Chinese food deficit plays no small part. Would higher agri prices mean the US-China Phase One Trade Deal holds, or breaks, for example?

    More broadly, a key question is whether an agri commodity price shift higher would help force changes in the structure of the global economy and financial system. We have covered the likelihood of a paradigm shift away from the USD many times, and have always been highly sceptical. Yet hunger is a powerful incentive for action.

    Such a ‘lean’ backdrop could accelerate efforts to shift the global trading system away from the USD. Both China and Europe could push for adoption of alternative payments systems, or at the very least for commodity pricing in EUR or CNY.

    China is already trying to boost local agri production and diversify its agri imports. However, it would require an entire network of major agri producing countries to make a FX/trading paradigm shift away from the USD in tandem with it in order to break free from the US(D) yoke in agri markets. Until then China would remain in a relatively weaker position vis-à-vis the US on this key front. Its huge appetite for agri commodities (and by extension, USD) would remain: and if it were to continue to snap up global agri supplies, then resentment could rise against it too along with said prices.

    On one hand, this suggests a weaker CNY, as we saw under previous periods of structural stress (over exports to the US, and technology controls): on the other hand, a stronger CNY would help make agri imports cheaper. In short, China would have difficult strategic choices to make, with each option coming with major trade-offs.

    Europe would be better placed in terms of food security due to its comfortable agri surplus and high incomes. It also has plans to broaden the international usage of EUR. Yet its twin Achilles’ Heels are still that relies on a US-controlled Eurodollar and a US-owned defence umbrella.

    Emergent global middle powers would have to adapt to a multipolar, volatile geopolitical environment, and ponder what food (in)security means for their own strategic positioning: for exporters and importers it obviously implies very different opportunities/risks. More concretely, would they side with the US or China if forced to make a choice in the global trade/FX paradigm?

    Meanwhile, there would likely be a new “Race for Africa”. China has been extremely active there in recent years; so has Russia; and Turkey; and the EU sees itself as having a major role in both Africa and the Middle East. America is also likely to be involved, albeit under the guise of national security – which in a way it of course is.

    Ultimately, however, just as the gold-pegged USD segued to a new, bigger fiat role as the “Petro-dollar”, backed by US military might, so the stronger global “Eurodollar” would be supported by the US being a major net food producer and exporter (and military power). Indeed, global food insecurity would underline the extent to which the US can ride out food price cycles that batter other economies, supporting its hegemon status.

    For countries unable to afford food imports priced in USD, the US would be in the position to bail them out with FX swaps or loans as it saw geopolitically advantageous – or to support multilateral organisations doing the same. It might not be able to produce extra food at short notice, but it could produce the USD to buy existing food, even if it forced prices to spiral even higher in the process.

    Yet at the same time, however, global resentment of the US would likely rise if these actions did not materialise; and/or on the perception that the old adage of “the dollar is our money and your problem” were the US starting point. How much global patience would there be for the Fed (and US government) to echo Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I have a dream” on equality if the global outcome was greater food insecurity? How does one sell helping the poorest in one of the world’s richest economies if it also hurts the poor in the world’s poorest economies?

    In short, it is the stuff of (bad) dreams: but high global food prices would deepen and widen pre-exiting geopolitical fault lines, and open up new ones. This could easily flow back to agri commodity markets in a reflexive process.

    What Dreams May Come
    Although nobody’s dreams correctly tell the future, there appears a worrying risk that many individual factors (weather, politics, China, and Wall Street) could individually –and in a worst case, collectively– push up global agri commodity prices significantly on top of the marked increase that we have already seen in 2021 to date.

    Were this to prove the case, food insecurity would obviously increase, with the impact potentially felt by billions, most so in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia: we would face a potential lost decade for reducing food insecurity and improvements in disposable income; and the rapid growth of their middle classes could be stunted for years. In terms of food affordability, 42 countries would be worryingly insecure, and 102 would be worse off than they were in 2011.

    Critically, this would not be something the current global political economy would passively accept. Shortages of luxuries or electronics are one thing: food is quite another. Rising populism among a weakened middle class in the West, 2020’s scramble for PPE, and 2021’s dash for vaccines already all show just how easily the rules of the global trading order can be up-ended when local politics dictates.

    All of this would only exacerbate geopolitical tensions that are already evident across various locations.

    Moreover it could, in some scenarios, such as last seen in the 1970s, shift our global political economy and financial architecture in new (or rather, old) directions: at least it may see attempts at such, even if not successful.

    Food for thought (Joseph), as we consider how Pharaoh this rally still has to run.

    • Johnnyu: Do you have a link for this?

      And I do agree that food insecurity will be a problem. Venezuela taught us well, “Eat Rabbit”. A hungry people is a dangerous people.

      All these eco-groups, social justice et al people can’t think out-of-the-box. They applaud grabbing precious green spaces for unreliable and destructive windmills and massive solar installations in the name of ‘renewable’ energy but don’t realize the impact of their deeds on the environment. They don’t even know where battery components come from and which country they become slave to.

      Food: we see this already. Prices rising, at times even doubling, while all types of bread are stable in price.

        • SQUIRREL STEW WITH PAPRIKA AND GREENS

          Ingredients
          3 squirrels, cut into serving pieces
          Salt
          Flour for dusting
          1/3 cup olive oil
          2 cups sliced onion
          3 garlic cloves, minced
          1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
          1 cup white wine
          1/4 cup cider vinegar
          1 heaping teaspoon dried savory or oregano
          1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
          1 heaping tablespoon paprika
          2 to 3 cups of whole peeled tomatoes, torn into large pieces
          1 pound smoked sausage, such as kielbasa or linguica, sliced into bite-sized pieces
          1 pound greens, kale, chard, collards, wild greens, etc
          black pepper to taste

          Instructions
          1. Salt the squirrel pieces well and then dust in flour. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy, lidded pot over medium-high heat. Brown the squirrels in batches, being sure to not overcrowd the pot. Move the browned pieces to a plate or cutting board while you cook the rest.

          2. When the squirrels have been nicely browned, remove them all from the pot and add the onion. Saute the onion until it just begins to brown on the edges, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the tomato paste, mix well and cook this for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often.

          3. Pour in the white wine, vinegar and about 1 quart of water. Add the savory, red pepper flakes and paprika, then the torn-up tomatoes, then the squirrel. Mix well and bring to a simmer. Add salt to taste and cook gently until the squirrel wants to fall off the bone, about 90 minutes. Fish out all the squirrel pieces and pull them off the bone — this makes the stew a lot easier to eat. Return them to the pot.

          4. Add the smoked sausage and the greens and cook until the greens are done, about 10 minutes (If you are using collards, they need more than 10 minutes to cook so adjust accordingly). Add salt, black pepper, chile and vinegar to taste and serve with crusty bread.

          https://honest-food.net/squirrel-stew-recipe-paprika/

  4. The Kadyrov regiment posts an IG video where they basically tell Putin if he doesn’t stop @novaya_gazeta ‘s investigations into allegations of torture by the regiment, “one of us” may be forced to take things into his hands to stop it.
    Original video here:
    https://www.instagram.com/tv/CMhmywYoD0L/?igshid=8xfs6094jh40

    Thread discussing context and implications:
    https://twitter.com/RGTyler/status/1372480126781382656
    https://twitter.com/RGTyler/status/1372480130363314177
    https://twitter.com/RGTyler/status/1372480134440161282
    https://twitter.com/RGTyler/status/1372481482804101120
    https://twitter.com/RGTyler/status/1372484010316865536

    It’s not the first time either:
    https://twitter.com/YorukIsik/status/1250054049778610178

    • This looks to be a new variation of the old Cloud Seeding to produce rain, I don’t know if it will work but it makes more sense then the normal theories about weather control.

  5. Malaysia regrets North Korea’s decision to sever diplomatic ties
    216 views
    •Mar 19, 2021

  6. Netanyahu’s message to Biden is absolutely clear, we always have Russia to back us up

  7. Myanmar Coup: People fear they are being tracked using Chinese technology | World English News

  8. Bangladesh Hindu village attack: 24 suspects arrested, 2 lawsuits filed | English World News | WION

  9. World Business Watch: Air taxi startup Volocopter eyes fresh funding, SPAC an option | English News

    • Vlad you might want to pass on to Brad that all politicians are by definition “Crooks, Liars and Horses Asses.” Some of them can raise above their natural level and become statesmen but not many will even try to achieve this goal.

  10. Atlanta Shootings Prove Universal Background Checks Like HR8 Will Not Prevent Gun Violence

  11. WION Dispatch: Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin arrives in India on a 3-day visit | US-India defence ties

  12. WION Dispatch: Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin arrives in India on a 3-day visit | US-India defence ties
    1,737 views
    •Mar 19, 2021

  13. Myanmar Coup: Min Aung Hlaing attends ASEAN Defence meet | Latest World English News |International
    15,688 views
    •Mar 19, 2021

    • Russia is pushing the bombers into Japanese territory to force them to divide their forces limiting what they can use against China.

  14. Singapore’s Power Problem: Inside Our Immense Energy Consumption | Climate Change: A Wicked Problem

  15. Yemen: Public anger grows as protesters storm the Presidential Palace in Aden | Latest English News

  16. The world dearly misses Trump as China thrashes a feeble Biden administration in Alaska talks

    • Xi is waiting to see how Biden’s handlers react, if they do nothing the chance of an invasion of Taiwan is greatly increased. If they just bluster the chance of an invasion is greatly increased. If they try to act tough many Chinese politicians and military personal will suffer injuries from laughing so hard.

    • Public rebukes at Alaska Summit, US accuses China of ‘grandstanding’ | World WION News

  17. In incredible dissent, federal judge launches broadside attack on SCOTUS precedent protecting left-wing press
    Chris Pandolfo
    5-6 minutes

    A federal judge called for a landmark Supreme Court decision on freedom of the press and libel laws to be overturned in a fiery dissent decrying “bias against the Republican Party,” blasting the near “one-party control” of legacy news media, slamming Silicon Valley’s censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop story, and warning that the current state of American media is “a threat to a viable democracy.”

    U.S. Circuit Judge Laurence H. Silberman, a Reagan appointee, launched a broad attack on the Supreme Court’s unwillingness to revisit precedent and the news media in a dissent in Tah v. Global Witness — a defamation case. After arguing against the court majority’s ruling on the merits of the case, Silberman was “prompted to urge the overruling of New York Times v. Sullivan” — a landmark ruling that established what a plaintiff must show to prove a claim of defamation or libel made against a publisher.

    https://www.theblaze.com/news/federal-judge-attacks-scotus-precedent-protecting-left-wing-press?utm_source=theblaze-breaking&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20210319Trending-DissentScotus&utm_term=ACTIVE%20LIST%20-%20TheBlaze%20Breaking%20News

  18. Students defend professor under fire for expressing concern about anti-white sentiment on campus
    Phil Shiver
    4-5 minutes

    Students at the University of Vermont are coming to the defense of a professor who is facing calls for his termination after sounding the alarm about a growing anti-white sentiment at the school.
    What’s the background?

    Aaron Kindsvatter, a professor of counseling at UVM’s College of Education and Social Services, came under fire from some students and faculty last week after he posted a video on YouTube titled, “Racism and the Secular Religion at the University of Vermont.”

    In the video — which has now been viewed nearly 30,000 times — Kindsvatter lamented the growth of what he considers a dangerous and discriminatory ideology on campus that pins society’s problems on “whiteness.”

    He recalled that he “first heard of whiteness when a colleague offered to help [him] with it, like it was some kind of disease,” adding that the conversation “was a dehumanizing experience.”

    Kindsvatter added that while he didn’t expect the ideology to endure on campus, to his dismay, it began to flourish. He specifically cited a July teach-in on confronting whiteness held on campus as an instance “in which a number of vague social ills were associated in a causal way with people of a particular race.”

    https://www.theblaze.com/news/students-defend-professor-concerned-about-anti-white-sentiment?utm_source=theblaze-breaking&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20210319Trending-DissentScotus&utm_term=ACTIVE%20LIST%20-%20TheBlaze%20Breaking%20News

  19. oe Biden’s Nominee Just Got Caught – She Owns Stock In A Company That Pays Mexicans $1.30/Hour
    Ben Dutka
    4-5 minutes

    Joe Biden’s Nominee Just Got Caught – She Owns Stock In A Company That Pays Mexicans $1.30/Hour

    For a long time now, Democrats have been pushing for the $15/hour minimum wage. They believe it’s necessary to pay low-income workers what they call a “living wage.”

    President Joe Biden’s pick for associate attorney general, Vanita Gupta, has voiced her support for this move in the past. In fact, she’s been quite vocal about being a $15/hour proponent.

    But it seems her family doesn’t necessarily practice what she preaches.

    Last week, several sources (including Breitbart) reported that Gupta owns between $11 million and $55 million of stock in her father’s company.

    https://thepatriotjournal.com/bidens-ag-caught-stock-company/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=pjnewsletter

  20. SCHUMER on ??? ‘Make No Mistake, Democracy Reform is a Top Priority’ for Democrats | Sean Hannity
    posted by Hannity Staff – 20 hours ago
    5-6 minutes

    Senator Chuck Schumer raised the eyebrows of millions of users on social media Wednesday when he asserted that “Democracy reform” is a “top priority” for Democrats going forward.

    “Today, Senate Democrats are introducing the #ForThePeople Act to stand up to voter suppression, end dark money in politics, and re-invigorate American democracy. Make no mistake: Democracy reform is a top priority of this Congress,” posted Schumer on Twitter.

    https://hannity.com/media-room/schumer-on-make-no-mistake-democracy-reform-is-a-top-priority-for-democrats/?fbclid=IwAR1KqDvA_gci7b0xEH_tVDGG7UZcwIwdnCLMRdMpCaqBCVgf2OZowhqkKEw

    • Jesus its like that oldest of jokes, “Doctor, after the operation will I be able to play the piano?”

      -Doctor: Well of course you will

      -“Oh excellent I never could play it up to now!”

      Something like that.

  21. ‘Let’s stop the coverup & get the truth out there’ | Hunter Biden biopic author to RT

    Chris Sweeney interviews Irish director Phelim McAleer who is crowdfunding a documentary about Hunter Biden called ‘My Son Hunter’.

    The movie is slated to be released online later this year after being overwhelmed by a flood of financial support to reveal the truth about Joe Biden’s problem child.

    https://mysonhunter.com/

  22. Germany: BioNTech founders awarded with Order of Merit for contributing to pandemic containment

  23. europravda -After AstraZeneca back-and-forth, authorities could struggle to convince sceptics

    Experts fear mixed messaging over AstraZeneca’s coronavirus jab could undermine public trust and slow down immunisation campaigns.

    • ‘This is a great thing to do’: Boris Johnson receives AstraZeneca vaccine

      British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says “it’s the best thing for you, the best thing for your family and for everybody else” after receiving a first dose of AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine, at the London hospital where he fought for his life almost a year ago.

    • AstraZeneca Covid jab positives still outweigh risks: WHO

      The benefits of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine outweigh the risks, World Health Organization (WHO) experts have concluded.

      The statement followed the European Medicines Agency (EMA) giving their green light to the vaccine on Thursday.

    • Biden visits CDC, declares ‘Science is back’

      President Joe Biden visited the CDC in Atlanta Friday just as the U.S. surpassed 100 million vaccine shots. Biden told the scientists the nation owes them a “gigantic debt of gratitude” for their work trying to stop the coronavirus pandemic.

    • Italy Honors Covid Victims on Anniversary of Bergamo Army Convoy

      Italy is marking the anniversary of one of the most haunting moments of its COVID-19 emergency, the day Bergamo’s death toll reached such heights that an army convoy had to transport the dead out of the city because its cemeteries and crematoria were full.

      Italian Premier Mario Draghi visited Bergamo on Thursday to commemorate the anniversary.

      He laid a wreath at the cemetery and helped plant the first tree for a forest in memory of the more than 100,000 people who have died in the pandemic in Italy.

      The anniversary comes as much of Italy is under new lockdown amid a new surge of infections and as its halting vaccination campaign slows down further thanks to the suspension of AstraZeneca shots.

      Footage of the army convoy snaking its way through Bergamo’s valley roads on 18 March 2020 remains one of the most heart-wrenching images of the pandemic.


    • South Australia Covid-19 vaccine wrongly delivered to Western Australia

      A shipment of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines destined for South Australia has ended up being delivered to Western Australia.

    • ctv news – Severity of COVID-19 third wave depends on people not flouting restrictions says expert

      Dr. Dale Kalina, an infectious disease physician, says he is seeing people becoming more complacent on COVID-19 guidelines.

      ....Get ready for a new round of dancing staff in hospitals....

    • ctv news – COVID-19 vaccine passports will put “significant pressure” on Justin Trudeau says Nanos

    • ctv news – Miller: Variants a ‘clear and present danger’ to Indigenous communities

      Minister Marc Miller says the COVID-19 third wave and variants of concern are a ‘clear and present danger’ to Indigenous communities.

    • CNN – US plans to send vaccines to Canada. Hear local leader’s ECSTATIC REACTION

      The Biden administration is finalizing plans to send millions of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses to Mexico and Canada

    • bloomberg – Paris Enters Monthlong Lockdown as France Struggles to Contain New Covid Wave

      French President Emmanuel Macron is locking down several regions including the Paris area, slowing down the country’s economic recovery as it struggles to contain a third wave of the coronavirus epidemic.

      Only essential businesses and schools will stay open, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Thursday. The measures will start from midnight on Friday and will remain in place for four weeks.

      “It’s not good news and I know how tired you are with the succession of restrictions,” Castex said during a press conference. “These measures are vital and balanced. They aim to put the break on the virus without locking us down.”

      Like the rest of the country, the French capital has been under a nightly curfew since mid-January with cafes, restaurants, bars and theaters closed in an effort to contain a resurgence of the virus.

      But the infection rate has climbed regardless and hospitals are increasingly under strain.

      The new restrictions will be imposed in the hardest-hit 16 of France’s 100 departments, including Paris and its surroundings, and parts of the north, and could be extended to others, Castex said. Last month, officials began implementing localized restrictions in Covid-19 hotspots, shuttering first the Alpes-Maritimes region in the south and then the northern city of Dunkirk and on the weekends.

      “I’m perfectly aware of the efforts I am asking of you tonight,” Castex said. “But we can’t let this virus continue its course without doing everything to stop it.” He repeated several times the government will stick with measures that are “pragmatic, proportional, and regionalized.”

      People will be allowed to exercise outdoors within a 10 km (6.2 miles) radius of their homes, but residents of the areas identified as hardest hit are banned from traveling to other parts of the country without a compelling reason.

      Macron was facing a “cruel dilemma” over Paris, as one government official described it — lock down millions of people for a third time in a year or keep pushing the health care workers already struggling to care for rising numbers of patients.

      On Monday, the government was leaning toward keeping the status quo. To relieve the pressure on hospitals, it was hoping that transferring patients and health workers to regions where the virus is less present, cancelling non-Covid surgeries and requisitioning beds in private clinics would help avoid a lockdown.

      But on Wednesday, the head of the body that runs Paris hospitals, Martin Hirsch, said only around 10% of patients were stable enough to be transferred elsewhere and their families were reluctant to have them moved.

      Macron has been trying to avoid shuttering the entire country again, insisting that’s a last-resort given the human and financial cost for the economy, which had been performing better than peers in Europe so far this year.

      The new restrictions will take 0.2 percentage points off annual economic output, and the monthly cost of compensating furloughed workers and closed businesses will rise to 7.2 billion euros ($8.6 billion) from 6 billion euros previously, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said. The government had previously warned that another national lockdown would jeopardize its forecast for 6% economic growth this year.

      The French economy has shown greater resilience to varying government restrictions compared to the first lockdown in the spring of 2020, when activity slumped around 35% below pre-crisis levels. But unemployment will continue to rise, reaching a peak of close to 9.5% at the end of the year, according to Bank of France forecasts.

      After the European Medicines Agency said the AstraZeneca Plc shot was safe, France will resume delivering the shots which it’s counting on to help accelerate its vaccination roll-out. It had briefly suspended Astra’s use this week to assess potential side effects, following other European countries.

    • BBC – Europe braces for third wave of Covid as cases surge

      Continental Europe is preparing for a third wave of coronavirus amid a surge in new cases and a shortage of vaccines that can reduce the spread of the disease.

      Large parts of France are going into lockdown again amid a sharp rise in cases. Only 8% of the population has been vaccinated.

      Switzerland is extending its restrictions. Poland – where the surge is being driven by the variant from southern England – is going into partial lockdown.

      The German chancellor Angela Merkel has said it’s probable that restrictions will have to be reimposed.

      The vaccination programme across the EU has been slow with around 10% of the population protected so far.

      Confidence has been shaken after more than a dozen EU countries suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for a time over concerns about blood clots.

    • Germany: Merkel says she would take AstraZeneca jab as country set to speed up vaccination ?

    • Switzerland: Experts find “no overall increase in clotting” from AZ vaccine – WHO chief

      The World Health Organisation’s expert committee on COVID-19 vaccine found no evidence to support an ‘overall increase in clotting conditions’ in those inoculated with the AstraZeneca jab, the WHO chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a presser at the UN Headquarters in Geneva on Friday.

      “The reason the committee has recommended that the AstraZeneca vaccine benefits outweigh its risks with tremendous potential for preventing infections and deaths from COVID-19,” he said.

      “COVID-19 is a deadly disease and the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine can prevent it. It’s also important to remember that COVID-19 itself can cause blood clots and low platelets,” added the WHO chief.

      Several EU countries already resumed vaccination through AstraZeneca after a report by the European Medicines Agency concluded the vaccine is ‘safe’ and ‘effective’ and reassured the public that its benefits outweighed its side effects.

  24. The report covers the forensic audit of Dominion’s machines in Michigan’s Antrim County — which received national attention after it was discovered that 6,000 votes for President Donald Trump were “flipped” to Democrat Joe Biden due to an “error.”

    13th Circuit Court Judge Kevin Elsenheimer ordered the report’s protective order to be lifted on Monday night, allowing the details of the audit to be unsealed and released to the public.

    The data firm that conducted the forensic audit of Dominion Voting Systems determined that the machines and software in Michigan showed that they were designed to create fraud and influence election results, the report reveals.

    “We conclude that the Dominion Voting System is intentionally and purposefully designed with inherent errors to create systemic fraud and influence election results,” Russell Ramsland Jr., co-founder of Allied Security Operations Group, said in a preliminary report.

    “The system intentionally generates an enormously high number of ballot errors.”

    “The electronic ballots are then transferred for adjudication,” the report continues.

    “The intentional errors lead to bulk adjudication of ballots with no oversight, no transparency, and no audit trail.

    “This leads to voter or election fraud,” Ramsland Jr. explains.

    “Based on our study, we conclude that The Dominion Voting System should not be used in Michigan,” he added.

    “We further conclude that the results of Antrim County should not have been certified.”

    https://web.archive.org/web/20201230134955/http://bestnewshere.com/judge-releases-dominion-audit-report-system-designed-to-create-systemic-fraud/

  25. A reporter with the BBC Burmese service has been detained in Myanmar as clashes continue between security forces and protesters.

    Aung Thura was taken away by men in plain clothes while reporting outside a court in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw.

    The BBC said in a statement that it was extremely concerned and called on the authorities to help locate him.

    At least eight people are reported to have died in the most recent protests, which took place in several cities.

    Aung Thura was taken away with another reporter, Than Htike Aung, who works for the local news organisation Mizzima. Mizzima’s operating licence was revoked by the military government earlier this month.

    The men who detained the journalists arrived in an unmarked van at around midday local time (05:30 GMT) on Friday and demanded to see them. The BBC has been unable to contact Aung Thura since.

    “The BBC takes the safety of all its staff in Myanmar very seriously and we are doing everything we can to find Aung Thura,” the corporation said in a statement.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56454261

    Note: the Chinese are consolidating their position in Myanmar…India’s going to be isolated soon and I don’t see the current US Administration coming to India’s aid as China slowly but steadily string its ‘String of Pearls’.

  26. Samia Suluhu Hassan sworn-in as President of Tanzania, becoming first Muslim woman to hold the job

    Tanzania’s Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in as president on Friday, becoming the first Muslim woman head of state in the east African country. She assumed the presidency following Wednesday’s announcement of the death of President John Magufuli after a more than two-week absence from public life that drew speculation about his health.

    Hassan was sworn in at State House in the country’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam, where she called for unity and said the country needed to bury its differences and avoid pointing fingers following the death of Magufuli.

    Tanzanians gathered in front of TV screens to watch the historic moment, with some residents stating that having a Muslim woman president will empower other women, especially business owners in their growth.

    Hassan is regarded as a consensus-builder, a trait that may prove an asset in dealing with the various factions within the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party and security agencies following the announcement of Magufuli’s death.

  27. An earlier attack on Tumso Abdurakhmanov, Chechen activist. Graphic video of the aftermath, with the attacker lying in a pool of his own blood:
    https://twitter.com/NeilPHauer/status/1232753905978806274

    comment in the thread:
    “Hard to make out, but seems that the attacker says that his mother is being held hostage by those who sent him. Truly insane.”

    Article:
    An anti-Putin blogger fought off a hammer-wielding assassin in what looks like the latest in a string of bloody attacks on dissidents in Europe
    https://www.businessinsider.nl/abdurakhmanov-dissident-poland-fights-with-hammer-video-2020-2?international=true&r=US

  28. euronews – EU to reset relations with Turkey by refinancing migration deal

    European leaders will meet next week in Brussels to discuss the state of EU-Turkey relations following a fractious 2020.