Reader’s Links for March 22, 2021

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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

87 Replies to “Reader’s Links for March 22, 2021”

    • AXIOS – Scoop: Inside a crowded border patrol tent in Donna, Texas

      Exclusive photos from inside a U.S. Customs and Border Protection temporary overflow facility in Donna, Texas, reveal the crowded, makeshift conditions at the border as the government’s longer-term child shelters and family detention centers fill up.

      Why it matters: Each of eight “pods” in the so-called soft-sided facility has a 260-person occupancy, said Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), who provided the photos to Axios to raise awareness about the situation.

      But as of Sunday, he said, one pod held more than 400 unaccompanied male minors.

      more :

      https://www.axios.com/photos-overcrowded-border-patrol-migrant-tents-0525a96b-0dc8-473f-b59c-38b0b3e52760.html

  2. – N. Korean (aka China) diplomats leave embassy in Malaysia after ties are severed: reports –

    SEOUL, March 21 (Yonhap) — North Korean diplomats left their mission in Malaysia on Sunday, just a few days after Pyongyang said it would cut ties with the Southeast Asian country over its citizen’s U.S. extradition, local news media said.

    According to news reports by Malaysian media, a bus carrying 33 people, including North Korean diplomats, officials and their families, departed for the airport from the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur at about 11 a.m. (Malaysian time).

    Before leaving the mission, the North Korean Embassy’s charge d’affaires Kim Yu-song issued a statement criticizing Malaysia for extraditing its citizen to the United States last week.

    He said the deportation case is an outcome of the U.S.-led conspiracy against North Korea and has undermined the basis of the bilateral relationship between North Korea and Malaysia.

    Last Friday, Pyongyang said it was severing diplomatic relations with Kuala Lumpur after Malaysia decided to extradite a North Korean man accused of money laundering to the United States.

    In immediate response, the Malaysian government denounced North Korea’s move and ordered all diplomatic staff at the North Korean mission in Kuala Lumpur to leave the country within 48 hours. It also said it would close its embassy in Pyongyang.

    https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20210321001400315

  4. This is the same trick Soros pulled with “Syrian refugees”, funneling them up through the Balkans, compelling Orban to proclaim that a country without borders is no longer a country. Now under Biden all the human smuggling routes developed by Iran and Russia through Brazil, Venezuela and up through Central America will bring terrorists and every other form of human waste into North America. Canada will get them, too. It is also a human tragedy that poor Central and South Americans who are law-abiding but impoverished will suffer from exploitative crooks, all abetted by this administration and its globalist cronies.

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/border-patrol-in-rio-grande-valley-releasing-illegal-crossers-into-us-without-court-date

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/border-patrol-in-rio-grande-valley-releasing-illegal-crossers-into-us-without-court-date

  5. Exclusive: EU taps Chinese technology linked to Muslim internment camps in Xinjiang
    In the fight against coronavirus, the EU is using thermal cameras produced by Chinese tech giant Hikvision. The firm has been linked to the oppression of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in China’s Xinjiang province.
    https://www.dw.com/en/exclusive-eu-taps-chinese-technology-linked-to-muslim-internment-camps-in-xinjiang/a-55362125
    Two EU institutions are using technology produced by China’s Hikvision, a firm that has been accused of providing surveillance equipment to Muslim internment camps in the country’s northwest Xinjiang province.

    Hikvision describes itself as “the world’s leading video surveillance products supplier.”

    The Chinese tech giant has its European base in the Netherlands and has not been subject to any EU sanctions or blacklist measures.

    Officials at the European Parliament and the European Commission acquired the company’s thermal imaging cameras as part of the fight against the spread of the new coronavirus.

    The gadgets can detect a high temperature or fever, which is a common symptom of COVID-19.

    Anyone with a temperature of more than 37.7°C (99.86°F) is denied entry.

    Ministers, parliamentarians, senior diplomats, and staffers are asked to briefly stare into one of Hikvision’s cameras as soon as they enter the buildings in question.

    Many will have been unaware they will come face to face with a firm accused of contributing to human rights abuses in China.
    Trump blacklisted Hikvision last year

    US President Donald Trump’s administration decided to blacklist the Chinese company in October last year.

    Washington added Hikvision to what is known as the US Entity List, a register of companies believed to pose a threat to national security or US foreign policy interests.

    The move bans American companies from doing business with the firm without the government’s approval.

    In return, Hikvision is effectively barred from buying American products or software.

    The Trump administration says the company has been “implicated in the implementation of China’s campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention and high-technology surveillance against Uighurs, Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups.”

    Read more: US blacklists 28 Chinese companies over Xinjiang ‘rights abuses’

    The US also accuses the company of being linked to the Chinese military, a charge the tech giant denies.
    European Parliament, Commission turn to Hikvision

    The allegations surrounding Hikvision’s business dealings in Xinjiang are in the public domain.

    Yet staff at the EU institutions acquired the company’s thermographic cameras when they brought in new coronavirus safety measures to fight the pandemic.

    The cameras have been placed at entrances throughout the European Parliament.

    A DW journalist also saw similar Hikvision equipment installed at the European Commission’s main offices, the Berlaymont and Charlemagne buildings, in the heart of the Belgian capital’s European quarter.
    Two staffers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the EU’s executive arm will bring in more thermal screening hardware at other offices in the Belgian capital. The Commission has some 60 buildings in Brussels.

    A European Commission spokesperson, however, told DW that Hikvision equipment will not be used for the rest of the buildings.

    Hikvision has faced repeated accusations over its alleged links to brutal “re-education camps” in Xinjiang.

    A leaked German Foreign Ministry report, obtained by DW in January of this year, said an estimated 1 million Uighurs in China are being detained without trial.

    Ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority groups are also being imprisoned, the report said.

    In July this year, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the detention centers “concentration camps” — a term disputed by Beijing.
    [..]

    Also see
    https://www.politico.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20201027-letter-Svenja-Hahn-to-Sassoli-Hikvision.pdf

  6. An interesting speech about the corona crisis and Xi Jinping by a Chinese dissident, addressing the EU parliament.

    https://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/197880/Speech+remarks%20for%20publication_Jianli%20YANG.pdf
    The mishandling of the epidemic on the part of the CCP government, and its consequences for the entire Chinese society, has everything to do with Xi’s totalitarian politics. Everything that is going wrong in this crisis could have gone wrong under the CCP rule without Xi Jinping, as we learned in 2003 when SARS plagued China, but it is significantly much worse under Xi.
    [..]
    Xi has also turned left ideologically, striking fear into intellectuals, journalists, and private businesspeople. Returning to Mao-style rule by terror, Xi is intent on controlling every aspect of people’s lives. At the 19th party congress that kick-started his second term in power, Xi evoked a famous saying by the late Chairman Mao Zedong: “Party, government, military, civilian, academic; east, west, south, north, and the center, the party leads everything.” In addition to absolute control of political power, it ensures that the party state will monopolize the key economic sectors.Under Xi, the CCP’s stability-maintenance machine has become more efficient and more totalitarian. Censorship was once fragmented across agencies, with cracks that nimble journalists and netizens could exploit to circulate information. Now the censors are more consolidated and centralized. A potent new Cyber Administration, run by a leading small group that Xi chairs, aims to win what Xi calls the “struggle for public opinion.”
    [..]

  7. BBC – “Separatist fighters” ( MUSLIM JIHADISTS ) in Philippines enter politics after peace deal –

    A recent peace deal between separatist fighters and the Philippine government has led to the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.

    After decades of conflict, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is now transitioning to politics, helping to establish a fledgling regional parliament in return for the decommissioning of firearms.

    But with other “factions” still at war with state forces, can the peace hold?

  8. Sky News UK – PM warns of third COVID-19 wave

    Boris Johnson has warned that a third COVID wave hitting Europe will also affect the UK at some point.

    France and Germany have been put into lockdown amid surging COVID-19 cases.

    The PM said: ‘People in this country should be under no illusions that previous experience has taught us that when a wave hits our friends, I’m afraid it washes up on our shores as well.’

  9. CNBCAstraZeneca U.S. president explains trial data, plans for filing for U.S. approval

    The findings of a large U.S. trial have shown that the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford is 79% effective in preventing symptomatic illness and 100% effective against severe disease and hospitalization.

    The safety and efficacy analysis of the AstraZeneca vaccine, published Monday, was based on 32,449 participants across 88 trial centers in the U.S., Peru and Chile.

    Data from the late-stage human trial study reaffirms that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and highly effective.

    By comparison, Moderna’s vaccine has been found to be more than 94% effective in preventing Covid and Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine was found to be 95% effective.

    AstraZeneca said it will continue to analyze the data and prepare for the primary analysis to be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization in the coming weeks.

    The results come shortly after several countries temporarily suspended the use of the shot following reports of blood clots in some vaccinated people. Health experts sharply criticized the move, citing a lack of data, while analysts expressed concern about the impact on vaccine uptake as the virus continues to spread.

    Germany, France, Italy and Spain are among those to have resumed use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after Europe’s drug regulator said its initial investigation of possible side effects concluded the shot is safe and effective.

    The World Health Organization and the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis have recommended that countries continue to use the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

    AstraZeneca said in a release Monday that an independent board identified no safety concerns related to the shot. It also conducted a specific review of blood clots as well as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, an extremely rare blood clot in the brain, with the help of an independent neurologist.

    The data safety monitoring board “found no increased risk of thrombosis or events characterised by thrombosis among the 21,583 participants receiving at least one dose of the vaccine. The specific search for CVST found no events in this trial.”

    AstraZeneca to file for emergency use next month

    “We are thrilled by the results we have disclosed this morning,” Ruud Dobber, executive vice president of AstraZeneca’s biopharmaceuticals business unit, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday.

    “The plan is to file in the first half of April for the emergency use authorization and, of course, then it is in the hands of the FDA how fast they can decide about the approval. Assuming that the approval will take place in a fast way, we hope to deliver 30 million doses instantly after the EUA for Americans to get vaccinated,” Dobber said.

    When asked how AstraZeneca would tackle the prospect of lingering safety concerns following reports of blood clots in some vaccinated people, Dobber replied: “As always, and I think I speak on behalf of all manufacturers, patient safety is our number one priority.”

    “It was very pleasing to see that even with a magnifying glass the data safety monitoring board didn’t see any imbalance between the vaccinated group and the placebo group. So, that gives us a lot of confidence.

    • yahoo – AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine found to be 79% effective with no increased risk of blood clotting

    • Source of blood clots identified

      Researchers say they have found source of blood clots once tied to AstraZeneca vaccine.

    • ‘No pork in our vaccine’, clarifies AstraZeneca

      AstraZeneca has said its COVID-19 vaccine does not contain any pork-derived ingredients.

      AstraZeneca’s Indonesia director Rizman Abudaeri said, “At all stages of the production process, this virus vector vaccine does not use nor come in contact with pork-derived products or other animal products.”

    • reuters – AstraZeneca U.S. trial data gives vaccine a boost

      AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine performed better than expected in a major late-stage trial potentially paving the way for its emergency authorization in the United States and bolstering confidence in the shot after numerous setbacks in Europe.

    • Propaganda: Dr Fauci Children’s Book On The Way

      Creepy CNN clown Stelter fawns over publication, takes credit for propelling Fauci to fame

      CNN weirdo Brian Stelter announced with Glee Sunday that Dr Anthony Fauci is the subject of a new children’s book titled “Dr. Fauci: How A Boy From Brooklyn Became America’s Doctor,” prompting many to immediately label it a propaganda campaign.

      Stelter claimed that the book, written by Kate Messner and published by Simon & Schuster, “tells you something about media,” appearing to take credit for the thing.

      In a follow up written article, Stelter described Fauci as being “immortalized” in the book, with Messner noting “I’m really hopeful that curious kids who read this book — those we’re counting on to solve tomorrow’s scientific challenges — will see themselves in the pages of Dr. Fauci’s story and set their goals just as high.”

      Fauci, who has repeatedly flip flopped and lied about the use of masks and admitted that there is no science behind lockdowns, has been ever present on CNN and every other pro-lockdown news bilge station for the past year.

      The book was reportedly written with Fauci’s input and consultation.

      The book publisher’s website states “Before he was Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci was a curious boy in Brooklyn, delivering prescriptions from his father’s pharmacy on his blue Schwinn bicycle.”

      It continues, “His father and immigrant grandfather taught Anthony to ask questions, consider all the data, and never give up—and Anthony’s ability to stay curious and to communicate with people would serve him his entire life.”

      https://summit.news/2021/03/22/propaganda-dr-fauci-childrens-book-on-the-way/

    • NYT – Some U.S. Muslim groups try to spread the word that getting a Covid shot won’t break the Ramadan fast.

      With Ramadan less than a month away, some Muslim organizations in the United States have begun addressing a critical question: whether the dawn-to-dusk Ramadan fast prohibits Muslims from receiving vaccine injections during daylight hours.

      The executive director of the Islamic Society of North America, Basharat Saleem, said that numerous scholars of Islamic law had been consulted on the matter.

      “The answer is no,” he said. “It does not break the fast.”

      The group joined with dozens of others last year in organizing a National Muslim Task Force on Covid-19, which has taken advisement from Muslim jurists. They were in general agreement, Mr. Saleem said, that getting a Covid-19 vaccine was acceptable during Ramadan or at any other time. A shot “will not invalidate the fast because it has no nutritional value and it is injected into the muscle,” the task force announced, a ruling that in the past has covered flu shots and other vaccinations.

      Whether vaccinations are permitted during Ramadan is not only a concern among Muslims, 🙂 🙂 🙂 and perhaps not even the chief one; there have been questions around the world as well about the presence of forbidden ingredients, such as pork products, in the vaccines. Some have also expressed misgivings about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine similar to those of some Catholic leaders, given that cells used in its development and production had a remote connection to abortion.

      Muslim health care workers, even those who have been publicly urging people to get vaccinated, have acknowledged the ethical difficulties.

      “These decisions are a matter of personal conscience,” said Dr. Hasan Shanawani, the president of American Muslim Health Professionals and a practicing pulmonologist in Michigan. But the preservation of life is one of the highest principles in Islam, he said, and given the current scarcity of vaccines in many places, the ethics, to him, were straightforward.

      Declining a vaccine means “potentially putting all of us at risk,” said Dr. Shanawani, who has treated hundreds of Covid-19 patients over the past year. “Take the vaccine that’s available to you. Allah is the most forgiving.” When the present emergency has passed, he added, then a person can be more discriminating about which vaccine to take.

      Haaris Ahmad, the president of a large and diverse mosque in the Detroit suburbs, said he had heard all of these concerns. He has assured members of the mosque that scholars are in broad agreement that a vaccination would not break the Ramadan fast, and he has also told people that if the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is the only readily available option, they should take it.

      But he also acknowledged that people would rather not have to think about these things, especially during the holiest month of the Muslim calendar. So his mosque is hosting a vaccine clinic next Monday night, which would allow people to get in two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine just before Ramadan begins in mid-April. And while the event was initially advertised with general language about vaccines, Mr. Ahmad said, the latest flier includes more explicit guidance about what will not be on offer at the clinic: “NOTE,” it reads, “Not J&J.”

      https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/21/world/ramadan-covid-vaccine.html

      ==================================================

      EXPERT ADVICE FOR A HEALTHY RAMADAN 2021 DURING COVID-19 FROM INTERNATIONAL SOS

      Ahead of the Ramadan season, anticipated to begin on 12 April until 13 May, International SOS, provides health tips for employees observing the holy month during the COVID-19 pandemic. The world’s leading health and security services company advises organisations to continue to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of their employees and share the advice.

      Dr Olivier Barles, Regional Medical Director at International SOS said “Guidelines on physical distancing, mask wearing, and hand hygiene still apply this year. Even though vaccinations against COVID-19 have started in many places, the pandemic is still not over yet. Therefore, when it is safe for healthy people to fast during Ramadan, those guidelines are important to follow to help prevent infection and Believers can still live their Ramadan to its fullest, while being cautious in regard to the COVID-19 risk.

      While there have been concerns raised over whether receiving the COVID-19 vaccine would break the fast, the majority of Islamic scholarly bodies have confirmed that ‘Receiving the COVID-19 vaccination as an intramuscular injection, the only route for the vaccines currently available, does not invalidate the fast.’ and some regions are planning to facilitate night-time jabs during Ramadan.”

      Top tips for a Healthy Ramadan (full explanations below):

      Do not skimp on rest and/or sleep
      Stagger your hydration
      Eat healthy and nutritious meals
      Do more in the morning
      Don’t stop exercising

      In addition, individuals suffering from chronic illnesses should consult their doctors on how to manage regular medication and to ensure it is safe for them to fast.

      Dr Barles continues, “Like last year, International SOS still urges people to avoid gatherings and practice social distancing of at least 1-2 meters (3-6 feet). People that are COVID-19 positive but that are asymptomatic should isolate at home. They may still be able to fast in Ramadan, but should seek their doctor’s advice.

      In any case, it is always and particularly important to identify persons at risk of severe form of COVID-19, such as the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions (e.g. cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease or cancer), to respect the social distancing and respect hand and general hygiene measures. However, people who are affected by COVID-19 may wish to consider the religious license to break their fast in consultation with their doctor.”

      Ramadan will see Muslims around the world observing daytime fasting for a period of 30 days, abstaining from meals and drinks, while spending large portions of their time in prayers. The fast begins with a light meal known as ‘Suhour’, consumed at dawn before Imsak time, and ends at sunset, when they break the fast with an evening meal of Iftar. Daylight hours during Ramadan this year will average around 16 hours in London, 14 hours in Dubai and 12 hours in Kuala Lumpur.

      The end of Ramadan will be marked with a celebration of Eid al-Fitr on 13 May 2021, when Muslims typically attend their local mosque for Eid prayer and host great feasts with their family and friends throughout the day. However, as the pandemic situation continues to evolve, different restrictions are still in place for communal worships and public gatherings in most regions globally are still prohibited.

      ==============================================
      International SOS’ top five tips for employees observing the fast this Ramadan are:

      1. Do not skimp on rest and/or sleep – Ramadan is a time of increased prayer. Though it may be tempting to stay up late for Suhour and only sleep after Imsak, you should still aim to get at least 8 hours of sleep during every 24-hour period, even if this is accumulated over several separate periods of rest. A well-rested body and mind will make it easier for you to concentrate at work and have more energy throughout the day.

      2. Stagger your hydration – Thirst can be one of the most challenging symptoms of fasting, leading us to chug plenty of water and liquids as soon as we break our fast and then just before Imsak. However, rehydration should be a cumulative process. The best way to rehydrate fasting bodies and maintain this hydration for longer is to pace your liquid intake by consuming at least 2 litres of water – one or two glasses at a time – between Iftar and Imsak. It also helps to cut down on caffeinated drinks at night, and to top up your liquid intake with soups, fruits and vegetables rich in water, such as cucumbers and watermelon.

      3. Eat healthy and nutritious meals – Fasting will cause a change of habit in eating and your food intake frequency. It is vital to fulfil your vitamin and mineral needs to maintain a strong immune system. Be mindful of your salt and sugar intake. After a full day of fasting, avoid satisfying cravings with soda and energy drinks which are high in sugar. Instead, opt for the unprocessed food such as fruits, and consume complex carbohydrates such as rice, bread and wholegrains alongside vegetables, which will keep you fuller for longer. As for salt intake, it is worth keeping in mind that having moderately savoury foods with water can help you retain some hydration for longer. However, consuming too much salt will have an adverse effect and contribute to thirst and dehydration during the day. Too much salt can affect blood pressure, so go easy on salty snacks such as popcorn and salted nuts at night.

      4. Do more in the morning – Where possible, schedule more difficult tasks requiring greater concentration or physical effort in the morning, when you will have more energy. International SOS encourages businesses each year to schedule important meetings during the first half of the day, when fasting employees will have more energy and will be better able to retain new information.

      5. Don’t stop exercising – Although you may feel more tired and understandably less active while fasting, skipping regular exercise for a full month is unhealthy, particularly as most of your food intake will be consumed at night. Moderate exercise is advisable and will also help you feel less sluggish. Just remember to wait a couple of hours after Iftar before doing an activity.

      International SOS also reminds its members and employees to be mindful of the following guidelines to have a safe Ramadan amidst Coronavirus outbreak:

      Follow the general hygiene measures strictly.

      1. Wash your hands frequently, regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water.

      2. Wash all the fruits and vegetables before consumption.

      3. Maintain social distancing at least 2 meters (6 feet) and avoid gatherings with friends and relatives during Breaking Fast (Iftar), Suhoor times and stay at home.

      4. Stay informed and follow the advice given by your healthcare provider and health authorities.

      https://www.internationalsos.com/news-releases/expert-advice-for-a-healthy-ramadan-2021-during-covid-19-from-international-sos-mar-16-2021

    • CDC Director Warns of Significant Rise in Covid Cases in Some Parts of U.S.

      “We must find the fortitude to hang in there for just a little bit longer,” Walensky said at a White House COVID briefing.

      “We are at a critical point in this pandemic – a fork in the road – where we as a country must decide which road to take,” she said.

    • CBC – U.S. trial shows AstraZeneca vaccine safe, effective

      AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine provided strong protection against disease in a U.S. study.

      Scientists found no increased risk of clots among the more than 20,000 people who got at least one dose.

      .... she will wait her turn...

    • Police hunt down violators of anti-covid measures in Venezuela

      “I must wear a face mask,” repeat a couple of Venezuelan boys to insistent police officers as the country faces a second wave of Covid-19 infections.

      The officers form part of a squad that tours the city of Los Teques just outside of Caracas to ensure shop closing hours, quarantines and mask-wearing are respected.

    • BRAZIL – Bolsonaro supporters take swipe at Covid on leader’s 66th birthday

      …. Brazilians continue to share unfounded virus skepticism

  12. Pompeo explains why Yi and Jaichi wiped the floor with Blinken and Sullivan in the Alaska dialogues

  14. Virus variants found to be deadlier, more contagious; some may thwart vaccines

    Antibodies induced by the Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE vaccines are dramatically less effective at neutralizing some of the most worrying coronavirus variants…

    Researchers obtained blood samples from 99 individuals who had received one or two doses of either vaccine and tested their vaccine-induced antibodies against virus replicas engineered to mimic 10 globally circulating variants. [in VITRO, NOT people} Five of the 10 variants were “highly resistant to neutralization,” even when volunteers had received both doses of the vaccines…

    “While studies of the New York variant are ongoing, our findings suggest that similar variants harboring E484K may be harder for vaccine-induced antibodies to neutralize,” said study leader Alejandro Balazs of Harvard University and the Massachusetts General Hospital.…

    The coronavirus variant first identified in the UK, known as B.1.1.7, is deadlier than other variants circulating there… Overall, the risk of death with B.1.1.7 was 67% higher than the risk with other variants in England….

    As with earlier variants, patients’ risk of death increased with age, male gender, and pre-existing medical conditions. B.1.1.7 is now prevalent across Europe and predicted to become prevalent in the United States.

    Variant identified in Brazil is doubly infectious

    Between November and January in Manaus, Brazil, the frequency of COVID-19 cases involving the P.1 coronavirus variant increased from non-existent to 73%, and the number of infections there quadrupled compared to what the city experienced in the first wave of the pandemic…

    To avoid infection, new CPR technique adds distance

    To avoid coronavirus infection during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), medical professionals can increase their distance from the patient by doing chest compressions using the unshod heel of the FOOT[!] – known as leg-heel compression – instead of their hands…

    https://jp.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-science-idINKBN2B92U7

    • Study: Pfizer vaccine less effective against South African mutation

      “Our findings show that the effectiveness of the vaccine against the South African strain is lower, although it still exists,” says lead researcher Prof. Ran Tauba of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics at the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.…

      The findings indicate that the vaccine provides protection levels 11 times higher than the protection levels observed in patients who recovered and were not vaccinated. Also, relative to recovering patients, the first vaccine dose increased the level of protection against infection with the wild strain by 6 times, and the second vaccine dose resulted in a further 2-fold increase in the body’s ability to neutralize the virus.

      The study found that the effectiveness of the vaccine against the South African strain is 7 times lower relative to its effectiveness against the original strain or the British strain.

      https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/298976

      whack-a-mole

  17. Philippines WARN to sink them! Huge Chinese ‘fishing fleet’ alarms Philippines

    • Duterte’s kind of a nut. He’s got sensible military around him, though. They quietly check in with their USA counterparts. But these days I don’t have 100% confidence in our own DoD.

  19. Phillipines demands withdrawal of over 200 Chinese vessels from South China Sea |Latest English News

  20. Russian jets hit Syrian cities near Turkish border | Syrian army | Middle-East | Latest English News

    • Idlib.
      Cleaning out a septic pocket of “moderate jihadis”.
      Piecemeal, a game for the filthy Turk and Putin. Keep the pot on simmer; it’s more fun.

  21. Russia condemns UK’s vision to scale up nuclear warheads | Russian envoy | Latest English News

    • UK plans to increase nuclear warheads to 260 by 2030 | Russia-UK relations | Latest English News

  22. Moscow recalls its envoy to US for emergency consultation | Anatoly Antonov | Russia | World News

  24. William A. Haseltine (well-known and respected in these parts):
    Third Generation Covid-19 Variant Described In The Philippines

    This example goes to show the flexibility and extent of variant capabilities. Vaccines currently in distribution are much less capable of garnering neutralization in the [strains from South Africa and Brazil].

    Recently released data on the AstraZeneca vaccine indicate neutralization efficacy of only 10% [!!]. This is notable as the [variants from Brazil, Japan, and now the Philippines] all bear significant commonality with the [variant from South Africa]. There is a substantial possibility that the vaccine would struggle with these other variants as well.

    Development of new vaccines to cater to these variants is already underway. However, who is to say that those second-generation vaccines will be capable of neutralizing the [variants from Japan or the Philippines]? Perhaps then a third-generation vaccine will be developed, and the game of whack-a-mole continues.

    What these variants and others around the world are underlining is the importance of not only accelerating vaccination distribution today, but also ramping up secnd- and third-generation vaccines that will be stronger, act longer, and cover broader in their protection spectrum.

    At a certain point, we must realize that public health measures must fill in the gaps left by vaccine-evasive variants. Public health measures must be continued everywhere in conjunction with vaccines. To lose all the progress vaccines may grant in six to twelve months would be a devastating blow for those ready to resume everyday life.

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamhaseltine/2021/03/18/third-generation-covid-19-variant-described-in-the-philippines/
    …..
    Why not put greater emphasis on therapeutics?

    • Viruses mutate and change very, very quickly. However, it is not really common for a viral mutation to make it more virulent, quite to the contrary. Most mutations make viruses less dangerous.

      Yes, of course, some mutations are going to make the virus more deadly or more easily spread. But these are not that frequent.

      It is therefore very puzzling that COVID-19 (AKA the CCP virus) would have so many mutations/new generations which are just as virulent, if not more so, than the original virus.

      I lack the expertise to understand what this means, but have read various hypothesies ranging from ‘this is a hyped up propaganda to keep us on perpetual lockdowns’ to ‘the only way this many mutations would be equally virulent is if the virus were engineered to mutate in specific ways, so this proves it is a bioweapon’ … to just about anything else.

      I don’t know what the reality is, but do view what we are being told with the knowledge that it is highly unlikely for a virus to evolve this way.

  25. Tensions skyrocket as ‘provocative’ Beijing swarms region with ‘militia’.

  28. There is something about Biden that liberal media is not telling us, and it will hurt the US

  29. Phillipines demands withdrawal of over 200 Chinese vessels from South China Sea |Latest English News

  30. Turkish lira hit by sacking of Central Bank Chief | Business and Economy | English news | Erdogan

  35. Lee Smith:
    Biden Torpedoes Abraham Accords Summit
    The new administration turns its back on peace between Israel and Arab states in order to pursue deal with Iran

    Plainly, the Obama-Biden team doesn’t care about interfering in Israeli elections or else Barack Obama’s State Department wouldn’t have funneled money to an NGO that campaigned against Netanyahu in 2015.

    Nor do Arab royals sitting atop petro-kingdoms have much theoretical or practical reason to worry about appearing to back one candidate against another. Smaller powers like the UAE make alliances not with factions but with states – and all parties in Israel support the Abraham Accords..…

    No, “election interference” is a staple of American political discourse. More particularly it is the rhetoric through which the Democratic Party now pushes information operations, like the Russiagate conspiracy theory holding that Russia interfered with the 2016 vote to put Trump in the White House.

    News of the canceled visit by the Israeli prime minister was eagerly pushed in the press and on social media by Obama’s [pet-jew] Israel point man Dan Shapiro through his proprietary Israel wing of the echo chamber.

    But there’s a bigger play here than interfering in Israeli politics by denying Bibi a preelection photo op with Israel’s peace partners in the Gulf.

    Their larger goal is to weaken or dismantle the Abraham Accords, which by assembling a treaty structure that binds Israel together with the Gulf states structurally interferes with the administration’s stated goal of realigning the United States with Iran – and therefore against Israel and the Gulf – by reentering Obama’s nuclear deal.

    But isn’t peace in the Middle East the collective dream of the Beltway policy establishment, left and right…?

    [A]s it turns out, “peace” has a very particular meaning for American policymakers. For the Middle East hands in the Biden administration, what matters most is completing the project many of these Obama alumni helped initiate while serving under Biden’s former boss – realignment with Iran.

    Trump didn’t just withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal…, he also designed a strategic architecture to counter Iranian influence – the Abraham Accords. To bind Israel and the Arab Gulf states, the Trump White House had to bracket the issue that previously kept these traditional American allies apart – the Palestinians. That alone earned Trump the wrath of Washington’s wise men.

    …What they didn’t understand was that making peace meant the wise men were fired.

    …The Biden administration apparently aims to sink the accords by penalizing Israel and its peace partners for getting too close, and returning the Palestinians to center stage – in order to prepare the ground for reentering the Iran deal.

    https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/biden-torpedoes-abraham-accords-summit

  37. Green organizations call on John Kerry to stop trans-Israel Gulf oil deal

    Environmental organizations and activists have written to the US special presidential envoy for climate change, John Kerry, charging that an agreement between companies in Israel and the United Arab Emirates to use Israel as a land bridge for the transport of crude oil from the Persian Gulf to European markets is “contrary to the new spirit of Israeli-US climate cooperation.”

    https://www.timesofisrael.com/green-organizations-reach-out-to-john-kerry-to-stop-trans-israel-gulf-oil-deal/
    …..
    Ketchup gigalo, compromised by family connections to the Twisted-Ragheads, continues to persue their jihad against the Jew among Nations.

  38. Iran is increasingly obsessed with defeating Saudi forces in Yemen

    Iran is investing heavily in the war in Yemen, through technical know-how and provision of weapons over the last six years, as well as political capital. Where once the Houthi rebels were portrayed as an indigenous rebel force that sprang from the mountains of Yemen, Iran is now taking ownership of the war.

    https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-is-increasingly-obsessed-with-defeating-saudi-forces-in-yemen-662775

  39. A pregnant woman has had a pillowcase thrown over her head before being punched repeatedly in the stomach during an attack in north London.

    The victim, 20, who is said to be a 27-weeks-pregnant Jewish woman, fled the scene but was taken to hospital for treatment for minor injuries after the assault, the Metropolitan police said.

    CCTV footage captured last Thursday evening and shared by the Shomrim neighbourhood watch group shows the incident unfolding. A man dressed in a dark hooded jacket, dark trousers and white trainers approached the woman from behind in Stamford Hill.

    He was carrying a shopping trolley, which he left a few metres behind him, before moving forward and trying to put a pillowcase over the woman’s head and then repeatedly punching her. He then ran away.

    Shomrim, which later deleted the footage, said on Twitter: “Pregnant woman and her unborn baby survive a horrendous attack after a male suspect attacked her from behind, placed a pillow over her head and punched her in her stomach several times in a vicious unprovoked attack.”

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/mar/22/attacker-punches-pregnant-woman-stamford-hill-north-london

  40. NYC School Directs Students to Stop Referring to Parents as ‘Mom,’ ‘Dad’ to be More ‘Inclusive’

    Human Events Staff | Mar 22, 2021 | Fresh Ink | 4

    In yet another recent example of bigotry from progressives opposed to the use of conventional language and customs, one New York City school is encouraging students to stop referring to their parents as “mom” and “dad.”

    Instead, they should change the terminology Americans have been using for centuries to be more “gender inclusive.”

    Grace Church School, which charges $57,000 a year, published a 12-page memo that instructs students to do away with terms that they consider to be outdated, and replace them with “inclusive” ones.

    The memo directs the following, per the Daily Wire:

    * Instead of “boys and girls,” “guys,” “ladies,” and “gentleman,” say, “people,” “folks,” “friends,” “readers,” “mathematicians?”

    * Instead of “sweetheart/honey/similar pet names” say, “child’s name or ‘child/friend in the blue shirt.”

    * Instead of “assuming gender based on stereotypes,” people should “respectfully ask how they identify if familiar, establishing a culture of sharing affirming pronouns in class.”

    * Instead of “mom and dad,” say “grown-ups,” “folks,” or “family.”

    https://www.gopusa.com/?p=107529?omhide=true

  41. Biden: $86 Million in Hotel Rooms for Illegal Aliens; Trump responds to border crisis
    3 minutes

    Some migrant families arriving in the United States will be housed in hotels under a new program managed by nonprofit organizations, according to two people familiar with the plans, a move away from for-profit detention centers that have been criticized by Democrats and health experts.

    Endeavors, a San Antonio-based organization, will oversee what it calls “family reception sites” at hotels in Texas and Arizona, the two sources said. The organization, in partnership with other nonprofits, will initially provide beds in seven different brand-name hotels for families deemed vulnerable when caught at the border.

    https://www.gopusa.com/biden-86-million-in-hotel-rooms-for-illegal-aliens-trump-responds-to-border-crisis/?omhide=true

  43. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Monday offered a cease-fire proposal to Yemen’s Houthi rebels that includes reopening their country’s main airport, the kingdom’s latest attempt to halt years of fighting in a war that has sparked the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

    The move comes after the rebels stepped up a campaign of drone and missile attacks on the kingdom’s oil sites, briefly shaking global energy prices amid the coronavirus pandemic. It also comes as Riyadh tries to rehabilitate its image with the U.S. under President Joe Biden. Saudi Arabia has drawn internationally criticism for airstrikes killing civilians and embargoes exacerbating hunger in a nation on the brink of famine.

    Whether the plan will take hold remains another question. A unilaterally declared Saudi cease-fire collapsed last year. Fighting rages around the crucial city of Marib and the Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes as recently as Sunday targeting Yemen’s capital of Sanaa. A U.N. mission said another suspected airstrike hit a food-production company in the port city of Hodeida.

    “We want the guns to fall completely silent,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told journalists at a televised news conference in Riyadh. “It is up to the Houthis now. We are ready to go today. We hope we can have a cease-fire immediately, but the onus is on the Houthis.”

    https://apnews.com/article/saudi-arabia-cease-fire-plan-yemen-rebels-5bb3778d54227f77beea2bd017cd7554

  44. Federal Judge: Anti-GOP Media ‘Threat to Democracy’
    Erik Larson
    4 minutes

    A conservative judge on the influential federal appeals court in Washington used his dissent in a defamation case to lambaste most U.S. media outlets for trumpeting “shocking” anti-Republican views, and call for libel laws to be revised to make it easier to sue the press.

    The New York Times and The Washington Post are “virtually Democratic Party broadsheets,” while the news section of the Wall Street Journal “leans in the same direction,” said U.S. Circuit Judge Laurence Silberman, who added the major television outlets and Silicon Valley giants were similarly biased.

    “One-party control of the press and media is a threat to a viable democracy,” Silberman wrote. He exempted from his criticism of “Democratic ideological control” Fox News, The New York Post, and The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page. But he lamented that these outlets are “controlled by a single man and his son,” a reference to Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, and questioned how long they could hold out.

    https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/federal-judge-dissent-media-liberal/2021/03/20/id/1014521/

  45. TOLEDO, OH- Keep on making those donations people.

    The Daily Wire is reporting that a Toledo man who is a self-proclaimed leader of the Black Lives Matter movement in greater Atlanta stands accused of defrauding donors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations, while using a “substantial portion” of those funds for personal expenses,.

    That allegedly included buying a house and paying a prostitute.

    https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/black-lives-matter-leader-in-greater-atlanta-indicted-for-spending-donations-on-a-house-guns-and-prostitutes/

  46. From the Facebook page of the Canadian leader of the terrorist group Hibz ut Tahrir, Mazin Abdul-Adhim

    HT Canada

    Western Dogmas about Freedom and Gender Have Enslaved British Women to Fear

    News: The death of a British woman whose body was found a week after her disappearance while walking home in London has caused outrage. “ The UK is currently facing a reckoning on gender-based violence in the wake of the murder of 33 year old Sarah Everard earlier this month and anger over the way that the London police broke up a vigil for Everard on Saturday.” According to CNN.

    The headline for the article on the 15th of March was, “Women’s Group Lose Legal Battle Over UK’s Falling Rape Prosecution as Nation Grapples with the Gender-based Violence.” Outrage is targeted at the justice system for falling conviction rates for rape cases, and outrage is also targeted at the police for aggressively breaking up a woman’s demonstration calling for justice.

    COMMENT
    The UK Office of National Statistics (OSN) stated that in 2017, the latest year’s statistics, 1 million women had been either raped or subjected to attempted rape. Women throughout the UK have shared their fears in related articles, such as this one from CNN on the 11th of March.

    Sarah Everard case prompts outpouring from women sharing stories of abuse and harassment on UK street’s . One woman said “No woman finds this shocking.
    Because we’re constantly strategizing how to prioritize our safety. Meanwhile men are just living their lives and having carefree conversations. The very idea of that kind of freedom is intoxicating to me.” Another woman said, “ This is a constant preoccupation of women and girls of all ages; I am 74 and still go through a mental risk assessment each time I am out on my own especially, but not exclusively, at night. I taught the same to my daughters. fear passed on from woman to girl thru generations.”

    A UN report entitled, Prevalence and Reporting Sexual Harassment in the UK Public Spaces” was released last week, which revealed that 86% of women experiences some sort of sexual harassment in a public space and that over 95% of the women did not report their experiences of sexual harassment. These events coincided with the 110th International Women’s Day, for which a UN report said: Endemic Violence Against Women Must have a Cause and that there must be a solution. The West does not want to accept the cause and certainly has not found any solution despite its false claims to elevate the status of women, and its attempts to impose Western values regarding women upon other cultures.

    As for Islam, the problem is understood as a natural problem arising out of the interaction between two different sexes for which a system is needed to provide harmony between both genders.

    The West has failed so miserably because it imposes its ideological view in total disagreement of biological reality. First it claimed that women and men are equal, and then it’s confusion in this respect is deepened to the extent that even the definition of gender became a subject of debate. Multiple new genders are now recognized and they are trying to pervert their own language to find new pronouns for a constellation of imagined genders. If gender itself has confused them, it is no surprise that solving problems arising from interaction between genders continues to escape them.

    Islam provided a specific social system to enable women to live fulfilled lives without fear of being abused in the streets. So much is wrong with Western Dogmas about women, and the suffering that these failed dogmas caused women to go far beyond not being able to walk in streets of London without being groped, whistled at or worse.

    Written for the Cantrell Media Office of Hibz it Tahrir by Dr. Abdullah Robin.

    I loved visiting England before the Muslim rape gangs/ migrants arrived. Oppressive attitudes in Islam allow dirty Kafirs to be raped. The huge problem the West has, is ever allowing the filthy barbarians in to our countries.

    East is East, and West is West, and never the Twain shall meet.

    • Just for you, E T, since you’re such a “fan” of Hizb ut-Tahrir:

      The Coronavirus and the Palestinians

      …On the Temple Mount, the coronavirus is also part of a theological debate. According to sources in east Jerusalem, the Hizb ut-Tahrir (Islamic Liberation Party), which is an anti-Jordanian radical party that also opposes the Palestinian Authority, planned to send a delegation to meet Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Ben Salman (and possibly the King) to request that Saudi Arabia replace Jordan as the “guardian” of the al-Aksa compound (Temple Mount).…

      https://jcpa.org/the-coronavirus-and-the-palestinians/

  47. Does Joe Biden Think We Need More Enemies?
    Patrick J. Buchanan
    5-7 minutes

    Does Joe Biden Think We Need More Enemies?

    Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

    Asked bluntly by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos if he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is “a killer,” Joe Biden answered, “Uh, I do.”

    Biden added that he once told Putin to his face that he had “no soul.”

    Biden also indicated that new sanctions would be imposed on Russia for the poisoning of dissident Alexei Navalny and for meddling in the 2020 U.S. election to allegedly help Donald Trump. Russia also faces U.S. sanctions for building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the Baltic to deliver natural gas to Germany.

    With its president being called a “killer” by the U.S. president, Russia called Ambassador Anatoly Antonov home “for consultations.” In other times, such an exchange would bring the two nations to the brink of war.

    https://www.gopusa.com/does-joe-biden-think-we-need-more-enemies/?omhide=true

  50. “It Is a Catastrophe’—Rep. Brian Babin on Biden’s Border Policy | American Thought Leaders” American Thought Leaders – March 20, 2021