Parts of South Africa are experiencing severe shortages of basic food supplies and gasoline in the wake of the recent riots. During the unrest rioters blocked major transportation arteries and burned down retailers and warehouses.
In other news, three of the sixty Democrat state legislators who fled Texas for D.C. to deny Republicans a quorum have tested positive for COVID-19.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, JW, László, MM, Reader from Chicago, SS, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
IMF: Greek Economy to Grow by 3.3% This Year, 5.4% in 2022
The Greek economy is projected to grow by 3.3% this year and 5.4% in 2022, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its staff report on Greece released on Friday.
The IMF said that simulations of the macroeconomic impact of Greek government fiscal support measures indicate that government measures would help contain the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the non-financial companies sector.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
President Joe Biden’s son Hunter may sell some of his artwork (one painting is on the right) for nearly half a million dollars. But a Maryland art professor said that those paintings are worth about $497,000 less than the asking price.
“How much of that value is due to the art itself? That’s easy: None of it,” Jeffry Cudlin told the Washington Examiner.
The paintings “might fetch between $850-$3,000 for a buyer,” the Washington Examinerreported. Cudlin said the art would “hang over someone’s couch.”
“They’re fine decorative amateur work,” the Maryland Institute College of Art professor said. “Hey, everybody needs a hobby!”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Critical Race Theory, Transgender Participation Bills Pending
COLUMBUS — Three pending bills in the Ohio House of Representatives here address a couple of controversial subjects that spark emotion on opposing sides of the related debates.
Two bills (House Bill 322 and House Bill 327) concern the teaching of what has been referred to as “critical race theory (CRT)” in Ohio’s public schools while the other (House Bill 61) concerns transgender persons’ participation in girl’s and women’s sports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Disney Moves 2,000 Jobs From California to ‘Florida’s Business-Friendly Climate’
The Walt Disney Company announced that it will be moving 2,000 jobs from its headquarters in California to a new campus around Lake Nona in Orlando, Florida, according to Fox News.
In a letter to employees, Josh D’Amaro, the chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, said: “Florida is known for its rich culture of hospitality and active lifestyle as well as a lower cost of living with no state income tax.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Engineer Hired by Town of Surfside Says His Access to the Collapse Site Has Been Curtailed
(CNN) An engineer who was hired by Surfside, Florida, to analyze last month’s residential building collapse said he was denied access to the site because police agencies are investigating the scene.
“Until they do their job, we can’t go in to do samples of materials and take those samples and test them to understand what the various components of the building that came down was,” structural engineer Allyn Kilsheimer told CNN’s Ana Cabrera on Friday.
“What I’d like to have the access to first is the basement slab of the building, to go in there to do the exploratory testing of the ground, the power foundations and all that stuff to understand,” he added…
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
Facebook Employees Were Caught Spying on Users
In a story that shows just how much detail Facebook has on the lives of its users, a new report says that Facebook fired 52 employees who were involved in obtaining location data of women they were romantically interested in.
Male programmers were able to view women’s whereabouts, personal messages, deleted photographs, and more because of their access to user data through Facebook’s internal systems.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
FB Oversight Board Member Says Free Speech “Is Not an Absolute Human Right”
A member of Facebook’s Oversight Board said that freedom of expression is not an “absolute right,” arguing it has to be balanced against other freedoms.
The Oversight Board was set up over a year ago to act as some kind of Supreme Court for Facebook’s content moderation decisions. However, critics argue it was created so that Facebook executives can distance themselves from politically sensitive content moderation decisions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
It’s About ‘Freedom’: Cuban Americans Says Shortages Don’t Explain Protests
MIAMI — As Cubans took to the streets to protest in numbers not seen since before the 1959 Revolution, Cuban Americans are challenging the view that the demonstrations are just about economic frustration.
While Cubans expressed anger over shortages in food and medicine, rising inflation and power outages — amid the challenges of Covid-19— many of the chants throughout the island called for political change and included expressions such as “libertad” (liberty), “We want change” and “Down with the dictatorship.”
Many Cuban Americans say that should not be glossed over.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
LA County Sheriff Won’t Enforce Indoor Mask Mandate: ‘Not Backed by Science’
On Friday, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said that the indoor mask mandate going into effect Saturday night will not be enforced by the department.
Californians have been going maskless for a month, despite once having the strictest lockdowns in the country. But, due to the spike in COVID-19 cases countrywide, local authorities feel the need to repeal that freedom once again.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Let Them Die: ‘ Virginia PTA Official Resign Over Comments at Critical Race Theory Rally
An official with the Virginia Parent-Teacher Association resigned after she was heard in a video saying “Let them die,” a comment some felt was aimed at parents at a rally to oppose critical race theory.
Michelle Leete, who worked as the Virginia PTA’s vice president of training, said she did not mean to wish death on parents who are opposed to teaching race history in schools. Instead, she told the Washington Post, she hoped the parents’ right-wing “ideals” would die. However, the damage was already done.
The Virginia PTA announced on Saturday that it had requested and received Leete’s resignation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Los Angeles Pharmacy Worker Killed While Confronting Shoplifters
At around 8:45pm in the Glassell Park neighborhood of LA, an employee at a local Rite Aid was killed when trying to stop two shoplifters from running away.
The two suspect at the time was apparently accompanying each other and went to leave the store with items they hadn’t paid for in their possession. One of the two suspects opened fire on the employee, fatally wounding him. The employee, who at this time shall remain anonymous, died on the spot.
According to the NY Post, retailers are reeling this year from the spike in crime, saying that many of the incidents of theft in their stores are perpetrated by adults who are “professional” thieves.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NASA Warns: ‘Wobbling’ Moon to Exacerbate Devastating Worldwide Flooding
A “wobble” in the Moon’s orbit is set to attribute in part to an onslaught ‘dramatic’ increase in floods expected to start in the mid-2030’s, according to scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The report, produced by the NASA Sea Level Change Team at the University of Hawaii and published in the Nature Climate Change journal, predicts a potential rapid increase in the frequency of flooding at high tide along coastal regions.
The study by NASA says that the lunar cycle combined with rising sea levels is set to drive major tidal flooding events.
The report cites the “wobble” of the Moon’s orbit as a contributing factor in potential disastrous flooding.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Pictures: Images Released in Investigation of Deadly Surfside Condo Collapse
The National Institute of Standards and Technology said their work is now focused on ensuring information and evidence is identified, collected and preserved
Investigators looking into the cause of the collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside released several new photos and video from the site Friday, the first images up close of debris being held as evidence that may help determine the cause of the tragedy.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology said their work is now focused on ensuring information and evidence is identified, collected and preserved…
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
NJ Woman Ordered to Remove ‘F**k Biden’ Lawn Signs — or Face $250 Daily Fines
A New Jersey woman has been ordered to remove a number of profane signs attacking President Biden or face a $250 a day fine.
In his ruling, Roselle Park Municipal Court Judge Gary Bundy said the right of free speech was not absolute and that signs which read “f—k Biden” were in violation of local ordinances banning public obscenity.
“This is not a case about politics. It is a case, pure and simple, about language,” Bundy said, NJ.com reported. “It is clear from state law and statutes that we cannot simply put up the umbrella of the First Amendment and say everything and anything is protected speech.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ohio Gov. Dewine Signs Bill Banning Schools From Mandating Coronavirus Vaccines
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has signed legislation that prevents public schools and colleges in the state from requiring people to get a vaccine that has not been fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The bill takes effect in 90 days and specifically targets the coronavirus vaccine — which was approved by the FDA for emergency use. House Bill 244 prohibits public schools, colleges, and universities in Ohio from requiring “an individual to receive a vaccine for which the United States Food and Drug Administration has not granted full approval.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Penn State University said Saturday it would remove a quote by the late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro from a campus building following a campaign led by Erik Suarez, an international student at PSU who experienced the effects of a communist regime firsthand in his native Venezuela.
Suarez, a 22-year-old student who fled deteriorating conditions under Venezuela’s socialist government to attend Penn State, said he was inspired to speak out against communism after witnessing mass protests in Cuba by citizens seeking basic supplies like food and water. He described his discovery of the quote on display in Penn State’s Paul Robeson Cultural Center, a student resource building, as a “big shock.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Protests Held Across Metro Detroit Over Vaccine Mandate for Henry Ford Hospital Employees
DETROIT — Protests were held outside Henry Ford Health System hospitals Saturday by those who feel the new vaccine mandate crosses a line.
The rallies for health care workers across Metro Detroit weren’t to celebrate the work in beating back coronavirus, but to push to likely further the spread by fighting the mandate that all Henry Ford Health System employees need to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 10.
While some of the protesters were front line workers, most of them were not and were protesting against the vaccine as a dangerous new COVID variant spreads.
Protests were held in Detroit, Clinton Township, West Bloomfield and Wyandotte.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Protests Continue Across South Florida in Show of Solidarity for Those Suffering in Cuba
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — As days of protests are ongoing in many parts of the island nation of Cuba, people in South Florida are taking to the streets in solidarity.
A march was held Saturday in Hialeah for human rights in Cuba.
That’s what those involved called the amazing show of unity.
Local 10’s Hatzel Vela joined the hundreds in Hialeah marching along West 16th Avenue for more than ten blocks on Saturday morning.
Along the march, the crowd sang songs that have become synonymous to the Cuban struggle.
It marked the seventh consecutive day of protests since the unprecedented uprising in Havana last weekend.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ranking Republicans Form “Form Freedom From Big Tech Caucus”
Several Republicans in the House have launched a caucus that will focus on fighting Big Tech’s censorship and its ever growing power.
“Big Tech companies operate under an ‘America last’ mindset that has negatively affected consumers and small businesses across the country while benefiting China and entrenching their gatekeeper power,” said Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) in a press release announcing the caucus.
Buck and Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) will serve as co-chairs of the caucus, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) is the vice-chair, while Reps. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Burgess Owens are listed as founding members.
The press release lists seven points the caucus will focus on to take on Big Tech.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Reps. Gaetz, Greene Stage Brief ‘Free Speech’ Rally in Riverside
After three Southern California venues canceled their planned America First rally amid growing protests, Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene held a “Free Speech Peaceful Protest” of their own Saturday evening, July 17, at Riverside City Hall.
They spoke before a cheering crowd — estimated at more than 300 — waving Greene and Gaetz signs.
Greene took the microphone first, saying “the America First message is for everyone.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sen. Marco Rubio Offers to Help Pro-Communism BLM Activists Emigrate to Cuba
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) had a lot to say on Twitter in the past several hours regarding the current oppressive situation in Cuba and Black Lives Matter leaders who support the island’s totalitarian regime.
“My office stands ready to help the leaders of the Black Lives Matter organization emigrate to #Cuba,” the GOP senator tweeted Thursday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Three Texas Democrats Who Fled to Washington DC Test Positive for COVID-19
Three Texas House Democrats who fled the state this week to protest a bill tested positive for COVID-19 in Washington DC.
According to the Austin American-Statesman, one member learned of their positive test result late last night, and two additional members found out this Saturday morning. All three members used a rapid test and are now double-checking with a PCR Coronavirus test kit, as the latter is seen as more accurate.
It’s noted most of the “nearly 60 lawmakers” in this group are staying at the same hotel.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: #SOSCuba Protestors From Florida Gather Outside the White House
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WFLA) — Hundreds of people protested outside the Cuban embassy in Washington D.C. Saturday to show their support for protesters in Cuba.
Many protesters in D.C. are members of the exile community in the U.S. and traveled overnight all the way from Miami. After going to the embassy, protesters shouted for President Joe Biden to help Cubans left on the island.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
YouTube has reinstated a video it censored of a school board meeting in Lake Forest, Illinois, which featured several concerned parents speaking out against mask mandates on their children.
“Upon further review, we’re reinstating the Lake Forest School District’s video,” a YouTube spokesperson told Breitbart News. “We have policies in place to allow content that might otherwise violate our policies as long as it includes educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic (EDSA) context.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trudeau’s Liberals and O’Toole’s Conservatives Neck and Neck in New Federal Poll
Active speculation that the country is no more than a month away from a federal election campaign means political leaders are already trying to pierce the long-deserved summer reverie of Canadian voters.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
British Women’s Football Team Vows to Kneel for BLM at Tokyo Olympics
(AP) — The British women’s soccer team will take a knee before kickoff at the Tokyo Olympics.
The players have been performing the anti-racism stance with their separate teams over the last year and the IOC relaxed its rules this month to allow Olympic athletes to make such gestures of protest in the field of play at the Tokyo Games.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
COVID-19 News: England Unlocking is ‘Unethical’, Say 1200 Scientists
Plan to lift majority of restrictions in England is a threat to the world, say scientists and health leaders
More than 1200 scientists have now backed a letter in the journal The Lancet saying that the UK’s plan to lift most coronavirus restrictions in England on 19 July is an “unethical experiment”, which poses a serious threat to the rest of the world. The letter argues that lifting restrictions at a time when infection rates are rising could increase the chance of new vaccine-resistant coronavirus variants emerging. “Because of our position as a global travel hub, any variant that becomes dominant in the UK will likely spread to the rest of the globe,” Christina Pagel at University College London said during an emergency summit of scientists and doctors on 16 July.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
European States Restricting Ability of Unvaccinated to Live Normal Lives in Jab Drive
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — European nations are scrambling to ramp up vaccination drives, using a carrot-and-stick approach to persuade the reluctant to get their shots as the more transmissible delta variant drives a surge in infections.
Greece became the latest to enact new restrictions on Friday, requiring proof of vaccination or recent recovery from COVID-19 for access to indoor restaurants, cafes, bars and movie theatres. Children can enter with negative tests.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Thousands Protest Against Vaccination, COVID Passes
PARIS — (AP) — Over 100,000 people protested across France on Saturday against the government’s latest measures to push people to get vaccinated and curb rising infections by the delta variant of the coronavirus.
In Paris, separate protest marches by the far-right and the far-left wound through different parts of the city. Demonstrations were also held in Strasbourg in the east, Lille in the north, Montpellier in the south and elsewhere.
Thousands of people answered calls to take to the streets by Florian Philippot, a fringe far-right politician and former right hand of Marine Le Pen who announced earlier this month that he would run in the 2022 presidential election. Gathered a stone’s throw away from the Louvre Museum, protesters chanted “Macron, clear off!”, “Freedom,” and banged metal spoons on saucepans.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pope Francis Reverses Benedict, Reimposes Restrictions on Latin Mass
ROME — Pope Francis cracked down Friday on the spread of the old Latin Mass, reversing one of Pope Benedict XVI’s signature decisions in a major challenge to traditionalist Catholics who immediately decried it as an attack on them and the ancient liturgy.
Francis reimposed restrictions on celebrating the Latin Mass that Benedict relaxed in 2007, and went further to limit its use. The pontiff said he was taking action because Benedict’s reform had become a source of division in the church and been exploited by Catholics opposed to the Second Vatican Council, the 1960s meetings that modernized the church and its liturgy.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: Policewoman Reported Being Chased by ‘Drone’, Turned Out to be Planet Jupiter
A Scottish policewoman who believed she was being chased by a drone was left red-faced when she fled back to her station, where senior officers told her the pursuing object was in fact the planet Jupiter.
The Glasgow-based officer, who has not been named but has reportedly served with Police Scotland for two years, called law enforcement on the public 101 number while on duty to complain that an object in the sky was “following her” along the M8 motorway, and that, despite her best efforts, she “couldn’t lose it”.
[Comment: This article has over 200 comments.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Farmers Hire Security After Animal Rights Activist Threats
Swedish farmers working with animals say they have been forced to hire security companies to watch over their farms after threats from animal rights extremists.
The claims were made after a recent study found that as many as one in three farmers in Sweden have been subjected to theft, while one in four say they have reported trespassing on their farms.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tokyo 2020: Hungarian Athlete Canceled Her Olympic Participation — This is Why She Decided to Do So
[Translated with Deepl translator free version]
Julia Schmid, a kayak-canoe slalom qualifier, has withdrawn from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games following the decision of the Hungarian Olympic Committee (MOB) that only athletes protected against Covid-19 can be members of the Hungarian team.
On 9 July, the Hungarian Olympic Committee (MOB) decided that only athletes protected against Covid-19 can be part of the Hungarian team at the Tokyo Olympics. Subsequently, Julia Schmid, who has a reallocated quota in slalom kayaking, announced that she will not participate in the Olympics for this reason, and the Hungarian Olympic Committee withdraws her entry for the competition starting on 28 July,” the MOB said in a statement on Saturday, indicating that they would not comment further on the matter.
No Hungarians have competed in the slalom so far, and towards the Austrian-born Julia Schmid the expectation would have been a fair participation.
With Schmid’s withdrawal, the Hungarian team has 173 attendees at the Tokyo Olympics, which starts next Friday. (MTI)
| — Hat tip: László | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Graffiti on Black Footballer’s Mural ‘Not Racial’ Admit Police
Police have said that graffiti sprayed on a mural of Marcus Rashford after the England football player missed a penalty in the Euro 2020 finals against Italy is “not believed to be of a racial nature”, contradicting BBC reporting.
Greater Manchester Police made the statement on Thursday night, three days after it launched an investigation into alleged “racially aggravated damage” to the oversized mural on the side of a building in Rashford’s hometown of Withington.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: McDonald’s Blockade: Arrests as Animal Rebellion Protest Continues
Four people have been arrested as activists continue a third day of protests outside one of McDonald’s main UK suppliers.
Animal Rebellion supporters set up a blockade at OSI Food Solutions in S
horpe on Thursday over demands the fast food giant become plant-based.
As well as the arrests, Humberside Police said nine people had been reported for summons.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Police Issue Fine Warning After Tip-Off of COVID-19 Rule-Breaking Rave This Weekend
Police have issued a fine warning after receiving a tip-off that a Covid-19 rule-breaking rave is planned this weekend.
They say they have received information that an unlicensed music event may be planned for the North Warwickshire area.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Parents Fight to Save Daughter on Life Support After UK Court Demands They Pull Plug
An international tug-of-war has broken out over a desperately ill 2-year-old girl in England, where an American dad is fighting British doctors who want to pull the plug on her life support.
Severely brain-damaged at birth, little Alta Fixsler has been on a ventilator her entire life, requires a feeding tube and suffers from seizures. She cannot maintain a core body temperature, or even blink, at times needing her eyes taped shut.
Her doctors at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital believe Alta has “no conscious awareness,” and English courts have backed the medical experts’ decision to let Alta die.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Three Rape Gang Groomers Jailed for Raping Schoolgirl in Huddersfield
Banaras Hussain, Mohammed Akram, and Talish Mahmood Ahmed have been jailed for grooming and raping a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl in Huddersfield, England.
Leeds Crown Court heard during the trial that the girl was raped in her primary school playground and even in her own bedroom after one of the groomers, Mohammed Akram, clambered up the drainpipe of her house.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Thailand: Gatherings Prohibited Due to COVID-19 Before Planned Protests
For the safety of its citizens and to protect from the spread of Covid-19, the greater Bangkok area Covid-19 command centre has banned any activities or gatherings that involve more than 5 people. The ban on gatherings comes coincidentally just hours before planned mass anti-government protests in the capital, scheduled for today.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Co-ordinated rallies have erupted across Sydney demanding tough Covid lockdown restrictions be lifted — with trucks blockading the city’s bridges and protesters clashing with police.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Three removalists allegedly knew they were infected with coronavirus before they drove out of southwest Sydney, stopping at several towns on their way to Molong, in NSW’s central west.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A public health alert has been issued after a large number of new sites across Sydney were exposed to coronavirus — along with a busy truck stop in northern NSW.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Seedy bachelors are offering cheap or free rental in exchange for sex by desperate women and gay me, with the dubious practice believed to be at record levels in Perth.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Milk, Meat, Sugar and Bread: The Impact of the KZN Riots
Parts of South Africa have begun cleaning up after a devastating looting spree that gripped KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, but the ripple effect will be felt in the country’s food value chains for months to come.
The lengthy closure of the key N3 highway linking Durban and Gauteng, as well as fuel shortages, have severely disrupted the food supply chain.
“In South Africa, a notable share of agricultural goods is transported by road. For instance, in the grain industry, on average, 75% of production is transported by road,” agricultural experts Marlene Louw, Tracy Davids, Wandile Sihlobo and Kandas Cloete say in an essay.
The Durban harbour has also been affected by the riots, which means that the entry of fertilisers, cereals, animal and vegetable fats, plastics and plastic products, into South Africa has been affected — which will hit the production of food.
In addition, many workers in the agricultural sector in KwaZulu-Natal have not been able to come to work, further exacerbating the problems.
The impact of the crisis on supplies of bread, milk, meat and sugar is among the biggest concerns…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
South Africa Mops Up After Violent Protests Shake the Nation
Clean-up operations continue in South Africa after violent unrest was stemmed by military intervention, with major roads reopened across KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces.
At least 212 people died during a week of mayhem, hundreds of shops were looted, and key infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, potentially slowing South Africa’s recovery from 2020’s downturn.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa authorized the deployment of 25,000 troops to restore calm. The month-long operation is expected to cost 615.7 million rand ($42.7 million).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Cuba Resorting to Citizen Spies, Plainclothes Cops to Crush Dissent
After stemming historic protests across Cuba by shutting down digital communications this week, the island’s beleaguered Communist government is now beefing up a more traditional way of stifling opposition — citizen spies.
The rapid-response brigades, which are made up of civilian snitches — neighbors, co-workers and plainclothes cops loyal to the regime — are out in force after protesters demanding food, medicine and freedom took to the streets beginning July 11, according to dissident bloggers on the island.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
U.S.-Backed Tech Restores Internet to More Than 1 Million Cubans Amid Uprisings Against Gov’t
Readers may recall after Arab Spring a decade ago. There was intense debate over the role social media platforms had on the uprisings. With summer uprisings in Cuba, the communist government has discovered ways to cut the internet off to millions of residents, so organized protesting on social media is near impossible.
Let’s take a step back to early last week when reports of the Cuban regime used China-made technology systems to block internet and cell phone service to prevent pictures and videos of what was happening on the ground published online near impossible for the outside world to see. The regime also blocked popular social media channels that would make organized protesting impossible.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Calls DACA Ruling ‘Deeply Disappointing, ‘ Vows DOJ Will Appeal Decision
On Sunday, President Joe Biden responded to a Friday court decision that effectively discontinued the DACA program, saying it was “deeply disappointing.”
DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program implemented under the Obama administration back in 2012.
Under the program, children and young adults under the age of 25 who came to the country as minors were granted immunity from deportation and work permits, in order to legally reside and work within US territory.
Approximately 700,000 are estimated to have been granted protection under the program and hundreds of thousands more are deemed eligible.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Estonia Sending €200,000 Aid to Lithuania Amid Migrant Influx
Estonia is providing €200,000-worth of assistance to Lithuania, to help the southernmost Baltic State in dealing with an upsurge in numbers crossing its border with Belarus.
The aid is to be financed by the foreign ministry, via funds earmarked for humanitarian aid.
Foreign minister Eva-Maria Liimets (Center) said that: “First, Estonia is going to the aid of a close neighbor”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Florida Gov. DeSantis to Visit Texas-Mexico Border for Security Briefing
The governor of Florida is Texas-bound.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he will host Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for a border security briefing on Saturday in Del Rio, Texas, according to a media advisory from the governor’s office.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Frontex: 11,100 People Attempted to Enter Europe Illegally in June
A total of 11,150 people attempted to reach European countries in an unlawful way through its external borders in June 2021, marking a 69 per cent increase compared to the same period last year figures, according to the recent report of the European Union Protection Border Agency Frontex.
The agency has revealed that the number of illegal border crossings at Europe’s external borders reached more than 61,000 in the first six months of 2021, or 59 per cent more than the total from a year ago, based on preliminary calculations, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gang That Trafficked Hundreds With Fake French ID Cards Caught in Spain
Police have arrested 18 members of a gang who smuggled more than 400 illegal Albanian immigrants into the UK and the US using fake French identity cards.
The operation was led by the Spanish National Police and Europe’s crime agency, Europol, to break up the international crime group.
The arrests took place in the seaport of Tarragona, in Spain’s north-east.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Greece Supports Lithuania Combating Migration Issues at External Borders With Belarus
The Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said that the country understands Lithuania’s experience with migrant issues, as the latter is facing an influx of migrants who are attempting to reach Lithuania illegally.
The comments followed the meeting of both prime ministers in Athens, which came after the Lithuanian and EU officials accused Belarus of using illegal migrants to pressure the European Union due to bloc’s sanctions, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Protestors Block Immigration Reporting Centre in London
Protestors blocked the entrance to an immigration centre in London while calling on the government to end its “dehumanising” reporting process.
The protest took place at Becket House, Southwark, on Thursday afternoon as similar scenes unfolded at reporting centres around the country, including in Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.
Migrants awaiting permission to remain in the UK have been released on bail from their detention centre and are required to report to immigration detention centres on a regular basis.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Commission Begins Legal Action Against Hungary and Poland Over LGBT Issues
The European Commission will start legal proceedings against Hungary and Poland after accusing the conservative countries of violating the rights of LGBT people.
The unelected commission stated in a press release on Thursday that in the case of Hungary, the legal procedure was related to several issues, including a newly adopted law banning the teaching of gender ideology or homosexuality to children.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Los Angeles Spa Becomes Scene of Protests Following Alleged Transgender Disrobing Incident
Protesters and counter-protesters descended on a Korean spa in Los Angeles that became the latest culture war flashpoint just weeks ago when a customer complained that a transgender woman allegedly disrobed in the women’s area.
Antifa counter-protesters clashed with baton-wielding LAPD officers near the spa on Saturday, according to videos posted by independent journalist Brendan Gutenschwager.
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No Exoplanet Can Sustain Life as We Know it on Earth, Study Reveals
A new study of exoplanets — planets beyond our solar system — has revealed that none of them, despite previously thought to be habitable, may have the right Earth-like conditions needed to sustain life. The researchers focussed on understanding the conditions required for oxygen-based photosynthesis that allows complex biospheres found on Earth to flourish. Even though the number of planets in our own Milky Way galaxy has been confirmed in thousands, those with conditions similar to Earth and in the habitable zone are not very common, the study stated. A habitable zone means the region around a star where the temperature is just right for liquid water to exist on the planet’s surface.
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Why are the most alien far out inept governments in the history of Europe since the Middle Ages allowed to continue without challenge. Just look at the knuckle draggers like the insane hairdresser Boris de Clown deformity lie cheat and steal.