A spokesman for the Taliban advised Afghan women to stay home from work, because soldiers on the streets have not been trained to respect them. Meanwhile, the US embassy in Afghanistan advised American citizens to leave the area around the airport in Kabul, due to the threat of terror attacks by the Islamic State.
In other news, Delta Airlines is planning to impose a $200 monthly fine on any employees who have not been “vaccinated”.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to acuara, Dean, Fjordman, Insubria, Reader from Chicago, 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.
Illinoisans Paid Almost as Much on Unemployment as at Work
Authored by Bryce Hill via RealClearPolicy.com
Illinois’ unemployment rate reached 7.2% in July, yet many businesses are struggling to find workers.
We’ve all seen the “help wanted” signs at businesses and social media posts asking us to be kind to those who did show up to work. With the vaccine readily available to anyone ages 12 and older, why are people hesitant to go back to work?
The answer, in part, lies in the benefits Illinoisans are receiving.
According to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, the average Illinoisan earns approximately $55,770 per year at work.
Meanwhile, the Illinois Policy Institute found if that person stayed home with their kids and collected unemployment, they could earn $51,627.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Get the F*** Out!”: Antifa Attacks Female Reporter in Portland
Authored by Matt Taibbi via TK News
This past Sunday, while covering a protest in Portland, Oregon for our video partner News2Share, a reporter named Maranie Staab was attacked by members of an Antifa-affiliated group. After complaining about a report she’d done in Colombia in conjunction with TK News, they maced her, shot paint at her, and threw her to the ground.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
by Daniel Horowitz
It’s the 800-pound gorilla in the pandemic. The debate over forced vaccination with an ever-waning vaccine is cresting right around the time when the debate should be moot for a lot of people. Among the most fraudulent messages of the CDC’s campaign of deceit is to force the vaccine on those with prior infection, who have a greater degree of protection against all versions of the virus than those with any of the vaccines. It’s time to set the record straight once and for all that natural immunity to SARS-CoV-2 is broader, more durable, and longer-lasting than any of the shots on the market today. Our policies must reflect that reality.
It should be noted that this exercise is not even necessary now that our own government concedes that immunity from the vaccines, particularly the Pfizer shot, wanes each month. With the Mayo Clinic researchers suggesting, based on old data that likely got even worse since, that Pfizer’s efficacy against infection is only 42%, there is no reason to even attempt to compare this degree of immunity to the near-perfect immunity of prior infection, even against Delta. It should be obvious to any intellectually honest person that an unvaccinated individual with prior infection is exponentially safer to be around than someone who had the vaccines but not prior infection.
Remember, a significant portion of the population already got infected, and when the latest Delta wave is over in the South, the region will likely reach clear supermajorities of the population with immunity, as was found in India following the circulation of this very contagious strain of the virus.
Now consider the fact that studies have shown those with prior infection are associated with 4.4x increased odds of clinically significant side effects following mRNA vaccination. Thus, it is as scandalous as it is unnecessary to vaccinate those with prior infection, even if one supports vaccination for those without prior immunity. But as you can imagine, that would take a massive share of the market off the table from the greedy hands of Big Pharma.
To that end, it’s important to clarify once and for all, based on the current academic literature, that yes, people with prior infection are indeed immune, more so than those with vaccines. Here is just a small list of some of the more recent studies, which demonstrate the effectiveness of natural immunity — even from mild infection — much later into the pandemic than the study window of the vaccines:…
| — Hat tip: acuara | [Return to headlines] |
1st Sentence to be Handed Down in Michigan Gov’s Kidnap Plot
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Prosecutors preparing for the first prison sentence in an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are loudly signaling to five other defendants that a key insider has shared extraordinary details about the operation.
Ty Garbin cooperated within weeks of being arrested, willingly putting a “target on his back to begin his own redemption,” the government said in a court filing.
Prosecutors want U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker to take it into consideration Wednesday when he sentences Garbin for conspiracy. The government is recommending a nine-year prison term, a long stretch but one that would be even longer if he had not assisted investigators after being charged.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Alabama Woman Wears Space Helmet to School Board Meeting to Protest Mandatory Masking
A group of parents showed up at a Mobile County Public School System school board meeting in Alabama on Monday to protest the district’s mandatory mask policy. One of the two dozen protestors in attendance was a woman who wore a space helmet to protest this policy.
According to WPMI News, the woman wearing the helmet was part of a group called Parent’s Choice Mobile County Schools. The founder of the group said the woman was wearing the helmet as a form of sarcasm to protest the mandatory mask policy.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Billings Parents and Students Turn Out in Protest of School Mask Mandate
BILLINGS — On Tuesday evening, hundreds of people gathered on the Yellowstone County Courthouse lawn in support of optional masking in the Billings Public Schools.
“We are not anti-vaccine. We are not anti-masks. We are standing up here saying we want everyone to be able to make the choice that is right for their family. We want everyone to be able to choose what they want to do,” Luke Hudson told the crowd.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CDC’s Eviction Moratorium: Supreme Court Set to Rule on Constitutionality of Extension
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to rule any day whether the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) eviction moratorium extension is constitutional.
With millions of Americans struggling to pay rent, the CDC is touting the moratorium that is in effect through Oct. 3. The goal is to keep people off the street during the coronaviruspandemic.
In some cases, mom-and-pop landlords with one or two tenants say not being able to evict is emotionally and financially paralyzing.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chicago Police Union ‘100% Against’ Vaccine Mandate for Officers: ‘Hell, No’
After Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said all city employees would “absolutely” be required to be vaccinated, the leading police union vowed to take action in court against if such mandate is announced.
“We are 100% against mandated vaccines for our members,” Chicago Fraternal Order of Police president John Catanzara, whose union represents rank-and-file police officers, said in a statement to Fox 32.
“This vaccine has no studies for long-term side effects or consequences. None,” he continued in a similar statement to the Chicago Sun Times on Tuesday. “To mandate anybody to get that vaccine, without that data as a baseline, amongst other issues, is a ‘Hell, no’ for us.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Coronavirus Update NYC: Municipal Unions Protest Vaccination Mandates
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — Union workers protested outside City Hall on Wednesday against vaccination mandates requiring them to get a COVID-19 shot or risk losing their jobs.
The latest numbers from New York City show that nearly 97% of people hospitalized with coronavirus right now are unvaccinated.
Of New York City’s entire municipal workforce, the NYPD has among the lowest vaccination rates at just under 50%.
But effective next month, every city worker — from police officers and firefighters to office workers, public schoolteachers and hospital staff — must be vaccinated or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Delta to Impose $200 Monthly Fine on Unvaccinated Employees
Delta Airlines will fine employees who refuse to take the Covid-19 vaccine $200 per month, which will be applied towards the company sponsored healthcare plan.
The airline will become the first major US company to levy a penalty for unvaccinated employees, according to Bloomberg.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Demonstrators Gather Outside Cheyenne Mountain Junior High to Protest District Mask Mandate
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) — Waving signs reading “Unmask our kids,” “God given right to breathe,” and “My body, my choice,” demonstrators gathered outside Cheyenne Mountain Junior High Wednesday to protest the district’s recent mask mandate.
Cheyenne Mountain District 12’s mandate went into effect late last week and requires all students, staff and school visitors to wear masks indoors. As with all things COVID, it was met with mixed reactions, with some parents standing in full support of the move and others, like Mary Anne Fiddler, believing it’s a step too far.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Health Care Workers Protest State’s Vaccine Mandate at Stony Brook University Hospital
A series of protests are planned at several Suffolk hospitals against vaccine mandates for health care workers.
The first one took place at Stony Brook University Hospital Wednesday. Close to 300 people, including health care workers, made their voices heard at the rally.
Protesters chanted, “Stop the mandate, we do not consent.”
The group, New Yorkers Against Medical Mandates, stood in support with health care workers who are against the vaccine mandate.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kanye West’s Chicago Concert to be Free of COVID Testing, Vaccine Requirements
Award-winning singer Kanye West will not require attendees to submit coronavirus vaccinations or negative test results at his upcoming concert on Thursday in Chicago.
In order to abide by West’s wishes, the city of Chicago reduced capacity from 63,000 to 38,000 fans for Kanye’s “Donda” concert that’s set to take place at Soldier Field on August 26.
According to Chicago Park District spokeswoman Michele Lemons, the city’s decision to reduce capacity shows that Chicago is committed to COVID-19 precautions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Captain Christian Granucci of the Los Angeles Fire Department is under investigation for posting an online video criticizing LA’s vaccine mandate for city employees. The fire captain described the mandate as tyranny.
In a statement, the LAFD said that it “was made aware of the video posted on social media,” after Twitter users called for him to be fired.
The statement added that while the department respects “the individual’s right to his opinion, he is not authorized to speak on behalf of the Department.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Loudoun County residents are asking a court to remove school board member Beth Barts, representing a significant escalation at one of the epicenters in the battle over critical race theory (CRT).
Filed in Loudoun’s circuit court in Virginia, Wednesday’s petition represents the culmination of a months-long effort by residents to recall seven board members who reportedly belonged to a secret, “anti-racist” Facebook group. That was one of a “litany” of charges the petition cited in calling for Barts’ removal.
Her various activities on social media and email have led residents to accuse Barts of violating multiple facets of state and local policies that govern members’ conduct. For example, the lawsuit alleges that Barts and other members effectively held illegal meetings by participating in exclusive Facebook groups and emails. Barts specifically has been accused of violating county policy by disrespecting fellow board members and showing a disregard for public concern on various issues.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
On Tuesday night, a concerned community member told the Orange County school board in California that ethnic studies is being used as a “trojan horse” to usher in “extreme gender in doctrinarian.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
More Protests Follow Mask Orders in Oakland, Ottawa Counties
PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — Protesters turned out Wednesday in a large suburban Detroit county, a day after officials said masks would be required in schools, the latest local mandate linked to rising COVID-19 cases.
On the other side of Michigan, more than 100 parents and kids showed up Tuesday night in Ottawa County, equally upset with a recent mask order for students through 6th grade. They held signs that said, “Our Kids Our Choice” and “Parents Know Best!”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘My Body, My Choice’ Protestors Rally Outside Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Against Vaccine Mandate
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) Protesters are rallying outside Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette following the decision to issue a mandated COVID-19 vaccine for their health care workers.
Not everyone there is a health care worker, many people say they are just here to support them.
The people I spoke with say this rally is about the freedom of choice.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Mexico Healthcare Workers Protest Against COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KFOX14) — Some New Mexico healthcare workers are protesting the mandate that requires health workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham mandated that all healthcare workers must be vaccinated by August 27.
Healthcare workers are holding the protest at the corner of Main Street and Picacho Street in Las Cruces.
The healthcare workers who are protesting believe taking away people’s choice and informed consent violates medical codes of ethics as well as fundamental human rights, the constitution and the Nuremberg Code.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rittenhouse Lawyer: Defense Donors None of State’s Business
An attorney for the Illinois teen accused of killing two men and wounding a third during a protest in Wisconsin last summer, says he doesn’t know who donated to his client’s defense and therefore cannot produce any names.
Attorney Mark Richards was responding to a motion filed by prosecutors last week requesting a list of people who donated cash to help Kyle Rittenhouse, who is accused in the shootings in Kenosha last summer.
Following Rittenhouse’s arrest, conservatives who portrayed him as an American patriot contributed millions of dollars to his legal defense fund and enabled him to post $2 million bail.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Soviet Socialism Saved and Improved Millions of Lives’? One CA Professor Thinks So
A professor at Riverside City College in California expressed his support for “Soviet Socialism” in a recent tweet, saying that “a revolution doesn’t happen without violence.”
“The reality is that Soviet socialism saved and improved tens of millions of lives,” Bair wrote in response to criticism of Vladimir Lenin.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Video: Tucker Carlson Warns “Elitist Authoritarians” Are Intent on Making US All “Shut Up and Obey”
Fox News host Tucker Carlson issued a stark warning Tuesday, emphasising that “we’re seeing now what happens when countries tolerate authoritarians, even for a moment” as people worldwide are being told to submit to increasingly draconian “rules” in the wake of the pandemic.
Carlson noted “Has there ever been a clearer window into the society they’re trying to build? Our formerly middle-class nation now has a serf class. They’re the ones wearing the masks, being forced to take drugs they don’t want, being told not to communicate with one another, except through digital channels the Democratic Party controls.”
He continued, “We now have two groups of Americans, not a broad middle. The favored and the unfavored. The saved and the damned. The vaccinated and the unvaccinated. That’s how the architects of all this see the country.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Washington Post national correspondent Philip Bump downplayed New York’s jarring update to its data of coronavirus deaths.
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, who was sworn into office on Tuesday following the resignation of her predecessor Andrew Cuomo, acknowledged on Wednesday that there were nearly 12,000 COVID deaths that were not counted by the Cuomo administration, going from 43,400 to 55,400, based on death certificates that were submitted to the CDC.
“The public deserves a clear, honest picture of what’s happening. And that’s whether it’s good or bad, they need to know the truth. And that’s how we restore confidence,” Hochul vowed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Washington School Introduced Invasive Ankle Bracelets for COVID Tracing
A public high school in the state of Washington was making student athletes, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, wear ankle monitors for the purposes of social distancing and contact tracing.
The story was brought to the spotlight by the mother of a 15-year-old girl in Eatonville High School’s volleyball team.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Breaking: Trudeau’s Gender Equality Minister Refers to Taliban as ‘Our Brothers’
Liberal Minister for Gender Equality Maryam Monsef referred to the Taliban as “our brothers” during a press conference providing updates on the situation in Afghanistan on Wednesday.
Monsef, an Afghan Canadian, said: “I want to take this opportunity to speak to our brothers the Taliban; we call on you to ensure the safe and secure passage of any individual in Afghanistan out of the country. We call on you to immediately stop the violence, the genocide, the femicide, the destruction of infrastructure, including heritage buildings.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
British Columbia Announces Vaccine Passports, With No Exemptions Allowed
Citizens attending social and recreational venues and activities in British Columbia, Canada, will need to show a vaccine passport starting September 13, 2021.
In a further blow to civil liberties in the region, no exemptions will be allowed. Citizens will not be exempt from the vaccine passport program, even for medical or religious reasons.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trudeau Minister Raises Eyebrows by Calling Taliban ‘Our Brothers’
Canada’s minister for women and gender equality referred to the Taliban as “our brothers” during a virtual news conference Wednesday morning. “I want to take this opportunity to speak to our brothers, the Taliban,” Maryam Monsef said. “We call on you to ensure the safe and secure passage of any individual in Afghanistan out of the country.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
A group of over 200 businesses, faith, and political leaders in Britain have joined with doctors and healthcare staff to denounce any imposition of vaccine passports.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Reclaim and Reform (formerly the Brexit Party) parties, alongside NHS staff, entrepreneurs, business leaders, sports professionals, media personalities, musicians set out the ‘Together Declaration’, which states that the introduction of vaccine passports or any form of digital identification would compromise the rights and freedoms of the British people.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Beer: Germany Top Producer in Europe
Followed by Poland with 3.8 bn litres produced. Slovakia up
05 August, 10:22
(ANSA) — BELGRADE, AUG 5 — Germany was the top producer of beer in the European Union in 2020, with 7.5 billion litres or 24% of the total EU production, Eurostat informed today. “In other words, about one in every four beers containing alcohol produced in the EU originated from Germany,” Eurostat said.
Germany was followed by Poland with 3.8 bn litres produced (12% of total EU production), Spain (3.3 bn litres produced, or 10%), the Netherlands (2.5 bn litres, or 8%), France (2.1 bn litres, or 7%), Czechia (1.8 bn litres, or 6%) and Romania (1.7 bn litres, or 5%).
Last year, Slovakia recorded the largest increase in the production of beer containing alcohol (+25%), followed by Greece, Lithuania and France (all +3%). The beer production in Italy almost halved in 2020 (-46% compared with 2019). Large decreases were also observed in Croatia (-29%), Spain (-14%), Hungary (-13%) and Austria (-11%).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Catholic Church’s Latest Scandal: Reports of Priests Using Grindr in US and in Vatican
A series of reports from the conservative Catholic blog “The Pillar” show priests at various levels of the Catholic hierarchy in the US and the Vatican are using the gay dating app Grindr.
The Pillar released three reports over a three-day timeframe, one on July 20, the next on July 23, and the 27th.
The first report detailed Reverend Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill of the general secretary of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops resigned after “it found evidence the priest engaged in serial sexual misconduct, while he held a critical oversight role in the Catholic Church’s response to the recent spate of sexual abuse and misconduct scandals.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany’s Social Democrats Are Polling Ahead of Merkel’s Bloc for the First Time in 15 Years
LONDON — The upcoming election in Germany has now become even more unpredictable.
Voters are heading to the ballot box on Sept. 26 and the latest poll, carried out by Forsa, shows support for the Social Democratic Party, SPD, increased to 23% of the vote. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative alliance of the CDU/CSU, meanwhile, dipped to 22%. It is the first time in 15 years that the SPD has overtaken the CDU/CSU alliance in the polls.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: FDI Rejects Centre-Right Federation
‘But prepared for weekly whips meet to correct govt policy’
(ANSA) — ROME, AUG 19 — Giorgia Meloni’s nationalist opposition Brothers of Italy (FdI) party rejects rightwing League leader Matteo Salvini’s proposal for the centre right to form a federation also including ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right Forza Italia (FI) party, FdI sources said Thursday.
Both the League and FI back former European central banker Mario Draghi’s national-unity government while FdI is the only major party that has opted to oppose it.
“A federation between the parties that support Draghi makes sense,” the FdI sources said, “but it does not involve Brothers of Italy, which is in opposition to the government.
“We are disposed, on the other hand, to have a weekly meeting of the centre-right whips to strengthen the colaition’s ideas on government policies, which have hitherto been too inclined to the left”.
Nationalist League leader Salvini has called for the federation to be set up before the end of September.
Three-time ex-premier and media mogul Berlusconi, on the other hand, says he prefers a single centre-right party to be formed by the League, FdI and FI teaming up.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Nigel Farage, former Brexit party leader, slammed the Biden administration’s Afghanistan blunder Tuesday, arguing the crisis has led his country of Britain feeling “betrayed.” Under Biden, Farage told “Fox & Friends First” that “there is no way a British parliament right now would vote for military cooperation with America.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Northern Ireland doctor has been suspended over a YouTube video (now only available on Odysee after being deleted by YouTube) where she expressed concerns about young people taking the COVID-19 vaccine.
A Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) investigation is being carried out as a result of concern raised over Dr. McCloskey’s comments in the video.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Police Break Up 100-Strong Party at Protected Natural Park in Elche
Illegal drinking sessions continue to rage on in Alicante province with police in Elche and Novelda forced to break up massive gatherings of young people playing loud music, drinking and flouting anti-Covid measures.
Late Saturday night (August 21), police surprised around 100 revellers who had congregated in the protected Clot de Galvany de Arenales del Sol in Elche — a natural area which has become a magnet for young people who meet up for drinking sessions, known as botellones.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: ‘You’re the Issue!’ Extinction Rebellion Protester Slammed in Fiery Climate Change Row
EXTINCTION REBELLION activist Richard Power Sayeed erupted at commentator Dominique Samuels who calmly tried to explain to him why the population does not have a positive view of the group.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Extinction Rebellion: Nearly 200 Arrests Over Four Days
Nearly 200 people have been arrested at Extinction Rebellion demonstrations in London over the past four days.
On Wednesday, the climate change protesters blocked off roads near Oxford Circus, glued themselves to a giant table and formed a human chain around the area cordoned off by police.
Dozens were carried to police vans by officers who used loudspeakers to warn the crowd to leave or risk arrest.
At least 10,000 people congregated near the rallies since they began on Sunday.
Currently, 196 people have been arrested on suspicion of a variety of offences.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Extinction Rebellion Protesters Block Oxford Circus After Gluing Themselves to Giant Pink Table
Police have removed climate change protesters from a demonstration in central London after they glued themselves to a giant pink table.
Extinction Rebellion protesters blocked roads near Oxford Circus and refused to move when officers asked them to.
Authorities then moved in when they fixed themselves to the table and also made a human chain surrounding a cordoned area.
Officers were seen carrying dozens of people to police vans.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Home Secretary Priti Patel used false data about the number of illegal raves taking place to justify increased police powers during the coronavirus lockdown, according to a new report by Mixmag.
The revelations date back to 28th August 2020, when Patel introduced new legislation to bolster the ability of police forces to combat crime, citing a need to curb Unlicensed Music Events (UMEs) in a bid to cut transmission of COVID-19 and safeguard public health.
[Comment: Priti Patel, instead of cracking down on people who peacefully get together for a good time, should be cracking down on migrants crossing the English Channel.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
WWF Launches Campaign Against Plastic Bags in Tunisia
But producers oppose move due to lack of compensation
(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, JULY 5 — The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) has launched in Tunisia a campaign to “change together our attitude” and “say no to plastic bags”, to celebrate Plastic Bag Free Day on July 3, which aims to eliminate single-use plastic bags worldwide.
WWF said on social media that Tunisia recycles some 20,000 tons of plastic a year in plastic bags while the country produces three billion plastic bags a year and imports another 1.2 billion. The WWF also expressed regret over the lack of implementation of decree 32 from January 16, 2020, which bans the free distribution of single-use plastic bags of a depth of less than 40 micron in public and private commercial spaces, and in pharmacies, starting in January 2021.
But while plastic bags continue to ruin the natural landscape of the country, the lobby of producers is opposing a ban on their use in Tunisia, the organization stressed. The union representing plastic producers and transformers justified opposition to decree 32-2020 with the fact that the environment ministry did not implement agreements on subsidies for producers affected by the measure and the absence of technical support enabling them to adapt to new technologies for the production of biodegradable bags.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Hints That Vaccine Passports Will in the Future Only be Given to Those Who’ve Had Boosters
Israel’s COVID-19 vaccine passport, the “Green Pass,” might soon only be available to people who have received the two doses of the vaccines and a booster shot.
On Tuesday, Israel’s minister for health, Nitzan Horowitz hinted that the country was reaching a point where the vaccine passports would only make sense for people who had been triple-vaccinated.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Russian media correspondent, Murad Gazdiev, arrived at Kabul airport this week to report on the ground and was shocked by the deteriorating conditions and continued spiraling crisis. “We’ve just arrived at Kabul airport. American troops call what is happening here ‘World War Z,’ referring to the zombie movie starring Brad Pitt. It is clear why,” he narrated.
“The situation is horrendous. The entire airport is littered with bullet casings and flash-bang grenades,” he continued. “Everything, absolutely everything is covered in barbed wire. The entire runway is lined with barbed wire.” And there are tragic scenes of desperate Afghan civilians standing outside the airport walls in knee-deep sewage.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Americans at Kabul Airport Gates Urged by US Embassy in Afghanistan to ‘Leave Immediately’
The United States embassy in Afghanistan has issued a statement warning Americans trapped in the country not to travel to the airport due to security threats.
“Because of security threats outside the gates of Kabul airport, we are advising U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time unless you receive individual instructions from a U.S. government representative to do so,” the statement from the embassy reads.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
British operations to extract passport holders, as well as Afghan migrants coming to the United Kingdom, will end in a matter of hours, it is claimed, with the British armed forces and consular staff to withdraw over the weekend ahead of Joe Biden and the Taliban’s 31st deadline.
While the pace of evacuations being effected by British forces appears to be accelerating, the chance of a deadline extension from either the United States — which is facilitating Western control of Kabul airport for now — and the Taliban appears to remain off the table, despite British pleas.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NBC News: Afghans Using Fraudulent American Passports to Try to Get to U.S.
Some Afghans at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, are using American passports that do not belong to them in an attempt to be approved for resettlement in the United States, NBC News reports.
At the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, NBC News reports that State Department officials have detailed five cases where Afghans attempted to use fraudulent American passports to try to get on flights bound for the U.S.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Halts Afghan Evacuation Airlift, Citing Safety Concerns
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland said Wednesday it halted its airlift evacuations from Kabul’s international airport over safety concerns, as Western nations prepare to end operations helping those fleeing the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan ahead of America’s looming withdrawal.
The decision comes as U.S. President Joe Biden declared the day before that he is sticking to his Aug. 31 deadline for completing the risky airlift from Kabul.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Psaki Caught Flat-Footed by Question About California Students Stranded in Afghanistan
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was caught flat-footed during the daily press briefing when she was asked about a group of California students who are trapped in Afghanistan.
Psaki was asked Wednesday if she knew about an LA Times report that a group of students and their parents from California’s El Cajon Valley School District are currently stranded in Afghanistan.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Push Taliban Towards Dialogue Says Conte
Must focus on helping those who remain in country says M5S chief
(ANSA) — ROME, AUG 24 — The West must try to push the Taliban into dialogue in order to protect Afghans who helped western forces, 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader and ex premier Giuseppe Conte said Tuesday.
“The Taliban must demonstrate they are open to dialogue, and the latest news do not suggest there will be a change,” Conte told the annual meeting of influential Catholic activist group Comunione e Liberazione in Rimini.
“But we have no alternative except to create a compact stance to try to force the Taliban to talk to ensure protection for the people who will remain,” he said.
“We are working on the evacuation plan but it will end in a few days,” Conte said referring to the US deadline of August 31 for pulling its last soldiers out and ending the airlifts.
“We must work on humanitarian corridors and worry about those who remain”.
The US’s allies are expected to push for an extension of the August 31 deadline at a G7 meeting later Tuesday.
Conte has been criticised, mainly by rightwing politicians, for calling for talks with the Taliban.
The Islamist extremists have said they will be more moderate than in their previous brutal regime but there have been reports of militants beating women activists working for Milan charity Pangea and whipping young men for wearing jeans.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Rand Paul Knocks Biden on ‘Terrible’ Afghanistan Withdrawal, Says We Stayed ‘Too Long’
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Tuesday that President Biden did a ‘terrible job’ with the Afghanistan withdrawal, but asserted that the problem wasn’t leaving, but rather staying too long.
RAND PAUL: I think Biden did a terrible job in the withdrawal. So, no I don’t think it was executed very well at all. But, we did need to leave and there has been a consensus for a decade or more to leave. So, the problem isn’t in leaving—the problem is that we stayed too long. The longer we stayed the more the expectations were, but the more complacent the Afghans grew as we fought their battles. Year after year we fought their battles and so they had to step up and when the time came—you know instead of James Madison or Monroe rallying the troops in 1812—the guy got on a plane and flew out immediately and left the country and all his soldiers laid down their arms.
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Reuters Photojournalist Left Behind Enemy Lines Killed and Mutilated by Taliban
Danish Siddiqui, an award winning Reuters photojournalist working in Afghanistan covering the Taliban takeover of the country, has reportedly been killed and mutilated by Taliban fighters.
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Russia Begins Evacuation of Over 500 People From Afghanistan, Holds Military Exercise in Tajikistan
Russia on Wednesday initiated the evacuation of more than 500 people from Afghanistan. The exercise will involve Russians and citizens of Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.
In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the evacuation will be carried out using four military transport aircraft. The operation is being carried out as per the orders of President Vladimir Putin, the statement went on to say.
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Secretary Blinken Puts a Number on Americans Currently Stuck in Afghanistan
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that he believes less than 1,000 American citizens are still in Afghanistan and attempting to leave.
Blinken said that there were 6,000 Americans who wanted to leave Afghanistan on August 14 and 4,500 of them have been evacuated within the last 10 days. He added that 500 of the remaining number have been instructed on how to leave within the last 24 hours. That leaves roughly 1,000 Americans left in the country, but Blinken said the actual number is lower for a variety of reasons, including situations where Americans want to stay or have already left and not notified the government.
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Just when it seemed the Biden Administration’s Afghanistan debacle couldn’t get any worse, The State Department texted a “final message” for Americans stranded in the country Tuesday, alerting them that they would be “without assistance”, but then deleted the warning just minutes later.
The message read, “THIS IS THE FINAL MESSAGE FOR AMERICAN CITIZENS WHO WISH TO DEPART KABUL. American citizens who choose to remain in Afghanistan should be prepared to arrange their departure without assistance from the U.S. government.”
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Swedish Journo: Climate Change Helped Taliban Take Over Afghanistan
Swedish climate correspondent Erika Bjerström has claimed that climate change has helped the Taliban take over Afghanistan as rural farmers saw increasing hardships.
Bjerström states that climate change has shrunk glaciers in the country which has interfered with crops and livestock in rural communities and forced farmers to take out loans with clan leaders that they are often unable to pay back.
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Taliban Force May be Double Biden Administration Estimates: Report
During a July 8 press conference, President Joe Biden estimated Taliban forces at approximately 75,000, and contrasted them to the 300,000 troops in the US-trained Afghan army. It now appears that those numbers were wildly off, by as much as double the estimate.
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Taliban Tell Afghan Women to Stay Home From Work Because Soldiers Are ‘Not Trained’ To Respect Them
(CNN) — Fear is mounting for women and girls in Afghanistan after the Taliban told working women to stay at home, admitting they were not safe in the hands of the militant group’s soldiers.
Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said at a news conference on Tuesday that women should not go to work for their own safety, undermining the group’s efforts to convince international observers that the group would be more tolerant towards women than when they were last in power.
The instruction came the same day that the World Bank halted funding in Afghanistan, citing concerns about the safety of women, and within hours of the UN calling for a “transparent and prompt investigation” into reports of human rights abuses since the Taliban takeover.
Mujahid said the guidance to stay at home would be temporary, and would allow the group to find ways to ensure that women are not “treated in a disrespectful way” or “God forbid, hurt.” He admitted the measure was necessary because the Taliban’s soldiers “keep changing and are not trained…
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By Omid Ghoreishi of Epoch Times
Samples from early Wuhan COVID-19 patients show the presence of genetically modified Henipah virus, an American scientist has found.
Henipah was one of the two types of viruses sent to China by Chinese-born scientists from a Canadian laboratory at the center of a controversy over the firing of the scientists and collaboration with Chinese military researchers. It is not clear whether the virus found in the Chinese samples is related to the virus samples sent by the Canadian lab, which were shipped in late March 2019.
The finding was confirmed for The Epoch Times by another qualified scientist.
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5 Reasons the EU Will Stand Behind Poland on the Issue of Migration
The conflict in Poland over accepting illegal migrants coming from Belarusian territory continues to be heated. In a rare move, EU officials are supporting the Polish government and the actions it has taken to stymie the flood of migrants.
European Commission (EC) spokesman Peter Stano recently said that the EC was working closely with Polish authorities to support Poland in efficient management of its borders. German officials have emphasized that the borders should be protected as tightly as possible. Frontex representatives have confirmed that if the need arises, they will support Polish services at the Polish-Belarusian border. When asked to evaluate the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border, EC spokesman Christian Wigand said that “we cannot accept any attempts to incite or permit illegal migration to the EU through third countries.”
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Algerian Accused of Murder and Belonging to Terrorist Organization Believed to be in Spain
Spanish populists are calling on authorities to investigate whether an Algerian man accused of belonging to a terrorist organization who is also wanted for murder has landed in Spain after escaping from North Africa by boat.
Spain’s Vox party has called on the country’s interior ministry to investigate whether Muhammad Hammali, a prominent member of the Islamist terror group Rachad, is in Spain after he allegedly murdered one individual and injured four others with Kalashnikov-style assault rifle in the Algerian town of Sidi Ali, La Gaceta reports.
“We demand that the Ministry of the Interior investigate whether this Algerian terrorist is in Spain. Our country has become a preferred destination for criminals and terrorists. They know our borders are the easiest to cross,” Vox wrote on its official Twitter account.
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AOC Says Biden Must Resettle Minimum of 200k Afghans in US
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said Tuesday that President Biden’s administration must agree to resettle a minimum of 200,000 Afghan refugees in the United States.
The self-described democratic socialist said in an interview that she supports raising the number of available Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) to 200,000 as tens of thousands of Afghans who assisted coalition forces and others who are vulnerable to Taliban reprisal struggle to flee the country.
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Austrian Conservative-Green Coalition Publicly at Odds Over Afghan Migrants
The Austrian government coalition of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) and the Greens are increasingly publicly at odds with each other over whether or not to take in Afghan asylum seekers.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, leader of the ÖVP, made it clear over the weekend that he is against taking in large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers from Afghanistan and argued that his country had made a “disproportionately large contribution” in recent years to settling Afghan migrants.
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Dutch Protest as Government Dumps 800 Afghan ‘Refugees’ In Small Village
Residents of a village in the Netherlands staged a major protest against the arrival of hundreds of ‘refugees’ from Afghanistan, according to reports.
The Dutch government is in the process of dumping 800 Afghans at a military camp in Harskamp, a small town with a population of approximately 3,500.
Around 250 people, many of whom were described as ‘young,’ turned out for a rally opposing the scheme, which is already being executed.
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Polish PM: We Are Dealing With Hybrid Warfare From Belarus
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki disclosed that the Polish government has evidence that Belarusian travel agencies are bringing in Middle Eastern migrants, who are then being pushed into Poland and the Baltic states.
Morawiecki, speaking in the context of recent developments in the migration crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border, said, “We are subjected to a hybrid attack and specifically prepared provocation,” during an interview for Polsat News. He added that this attack is aimed to cause chaos in Poland and the EU by using the difficult situation in the Middle East as a weaponized tool.
During the interview, the prime minister silenced all speculation concerning the origin of the migrants who are currently stranded near the Polish border.
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Spain: Three Moroccans Accused of Raping and Torturing Teen
Two Morrocan migrants have been arrested and another is on the run for allegedly drugging then raping and torturing a 19-year-old woman on the island of Formentera.
The two Moroccans, aged 32 and 37, were arrested over the weekend in connection to the alleged torture and rape of the teen, which is said to have taken place at the end of last month, while the third suspect is believed to have fled to Morocco.
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The Finns Party Leader: Our Target is Zero Asylum Seekers
The newly elected leader of Finland’s national-conservative party has expressed concern over projected demographic changes that could see Finnish people become a minority in the country’s second-largest city by the 2050s.
During remarks giving at her first policy speech as the newly elected chairperson of The Finns Party, Riikka Purra, who replaced Jussi Halla-aho after his four years in charge, drew particular attention to the party’s hardline stance on immigration, noting that it is an issue that the party is unwilling to compromise on, the Helsinki-based newspaper Yle reports.
“We oppose immigration policy that’s harmful to our country,” she said, adding that a “party which isn’t willing to tighten the immigration policy cannot be in a government with the Finns Party.”
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“Will Have Home for All Creators” — OnlyFans Reverses Planned Porn Ban
In a series of tweets, UK-based content subscription service OnlyFans reversed its announcement less than one week after it prohibited users from posting sexually explicit content starting in October due to mounting pressure from banking partners and payment providers.
The company said, “We have secured assurances necessary to support our diverse creator community and have suspended the planned October 1 policy change.” This means the site has likely made agreements with banks to pay OnlyFans’ content creators, including those who post sexually explicit videos.
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Stingle Photos is a Private and Open Source Photo App to Help You Ditch Big-Tech
Stingle Photos is an open source gallery and camera app that comes with built-in cloud backup and sync, and strong encryption and focus on security and privacy as its most notable features.
These also differentiate Stingle and promise to make it a true alternative to the likes of Google and Amazon Photos. The Android app is already available in Play Store for free, including 1 GB of free cloud storage space, while those behind it say that Stingle will soon come to iOS as well.
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It’s looking like whatever unity used to be in the west has been been well and truly washed out online into a fragmented mess of so called diversity. A letter to a UK newspaper, “The Afghans treat Christians like the Taliban treat us. We are stupid to bring people who hate us here. We already know the consequences just look at Dewsbury and London. Rip England Rip Boris”. Sick. Sick. Sick.
“soldiers on the streets have not been trained to respect them”
COME AGAIN??????
This message should be on the frontpage of every newspaper in the western world for the next ten weeks.
And it should be tattoed in the most painful way into the skin of every muslim-excusing leftwing deluded moron aka non-intelligent being looking like a human. (Sorry Baron)
https://twitter.com/AnnastaciaMP/status/1430685839994982400
I wish this was fake
According to some searches I did: No, it is not.
IRONY SARC ON
Hey, cheer up. It is all for the Greater Good. You cannot make an omelet without breaking some eggs.
Sacrifices have to be made.
In the end they will be grateful. (And those that arent, will be dead. You dont know how many unrecognised illnesses there are. Poor people. They should have gotten the jab.)
IRONY SARC OFF