Society's ChildS


Yellow Vest

Development of 'sacred' mountain in Russia's Bashkortostan halted following violent clashes between protesters & police

Kushtau
© WikipediaMount Kushtau
Authorities in Russia's Bashkortostan have suspended work on Mount Kushtau, a limestone peak considered one of the region's most symbolic natural sights, after violent clashes between protesters, police, and private security.

Some locals in the republic, where Bashkirs - an indigenous, mostly Sunni Muslim, Turkic ethnic group - make up about a third of the population, consider the area to be 'sacred.' Kushtau is one of Bashkortostan's four 'shikhans' - solitary peaks, surrounded by flat steppe. They believe its future is threatened by industrial development.

In August 2019, the Bashkir Soda Company (BSC), one of Russia's largest chemical companies, received permission to extract the limestone from the mountain. Without access to new rock, the business could shut down in 2022 due to a lack of raw materials, threatening the jobs of many residents of the nearest big city, Sterlitamak. The decision has angered some locals, who are fearful that Kushtau will have the same fate as one of the other shikhans, Shakhtau, which has been mined by the company and has almost disappeared.

Info

Berlin mulls taking US threats over Nord Stream 2 to UN - head of German Energy Committee to RT

Nord Stream 2, UN building
© REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov; Carlo AllegriFILE PHOTOS
Germany is looking at bringing in the UN over Washington's threats of sanctions against the Russian-led pipeline, saying the US pressure runs contrary to international law.

Klaus Ernst, the chairman of the Bundestag Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy, signaled during an interview with RT Deutsch that it is unacceptable when one country, for example, the United States, prescribes to another sovereign country or the European Union how to resolve the issue of its own energy supply.

The politician said that this "is contrary to any reasonable relationship." He added that if sanctions were imposed by the United States, it would be a violation of international law.
It is a violation [of the international law] to threaten the country's sovereignty using extraterritorial sanctions. After all these sanctions do not apply to the United States, they concern the European Union.
Ernst said that the draconian sanctions, that would affect every company contributing to, or involved in, building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, are an affront to the sovereignty of the EU as a whole - which will draw a response from Brussels. Germany, on its part, does not sit idly.

"The next measure, which we are also discussing, is about raising this issue at the UN level," Ernst revealed. Other options include "lodging complaints with the relevant [international] courts," the MP told, adding, "we'll see what they decide."

Bad Guys

Fury rages as presumed BLM mob assault apparent trans woman, beat man unconscious

trans woman attacked by blm portland
© Twitter / slickp72
Online commentators are outraged and disgusted after video of violence from Portland was shared online purporting to show protesters robbing and assaulting an apparent white trans woman before beating a white man unconscious.

The disturbing footage purports to show a prolonged and extremely violent series of street attacks by a group of alleged BLM protesters against various individuals. The attackers were described as "a roving gang of blm thugs" while others said they actually stood for "Beating Looting and Murdering."

The spate of violent gang attacks apparently started when a white person described as a trans woman was robbed and beaten by a group of people.

Comment: The mayhem continued for the 81st day in Portland:

The 80th night of Black Lives Matter protests in Portland turned violent, with police declaring yet another riot as demonstrators threw rocks and projectiles at officers and their vehicles. Police said two cops were hospitalized.

More than 200 people showed up to an anti-police brutality protest in East Portland on Saturday night. What began as peaceful demonstration later turned violent as protesters began moving into residential areas, throwing rocks and projectiles at police property and officers.



According to a police statement, two officers were hospitalized following Saturday night's incidents, after both the cops were hit with a 10-pound rock. Police say the rock was thrown by an individual with clothing bearing the word "press."

During the clashes, some activists reportedly painted graffiti on the Penumbra Kelly Building, which is used by law enforcement. Police said another protester spray-painted over a security camera at the building.



Bad Guys

Whitewashing tyranny: Forced isolation may be the only way to stop resurgence of virus

COVID quarantine building
© Bloomberg
Flare-ups from Australia to Japan show the world hasn't learned an early lesson from the coronavirus crisis: to stop the spread, those with mild or symptom-free coronavirus infections must be forced to isolate, both from their communities and family.

In Australia, where Victoria state has been reporting record deaths, some 3,000 checks last month on people who should have been isolating at home found 800 were out and about. In Japan, where the virus has roared back, people are staying home but aren't in isolation: 40 per cent of elderly patients are getting sick from family members in the same apartments.


Comment: A deliberate framing of the facts that makes forced isolation appear to be the only solution. It's not, but that is what the PTB want people to think so they can have an even finer order of control over people.


The failure to effectively manage contagious people with mild or no symptoms is a driving factor behind some of the world's worst resurgences. But lessons from Italy, South Korea and others that have successfully contained large-scale outbreaks show that there's a tried-and-tested approach to cutting off transmission: move them out of their homes into centralized facilities while they get over their infections, which usually doesn't require longer than a few weeks.


Comment: A tried-and-tested approach that doesn't always work: Mystery: Argentine sailors infected with virus after 35 days at sea


Comment: It's not necessarily forced isolation that is the real problem here. The bigger issue is people acquiescencing to government demands for ever greater control over their lives, liberties, and freedoms. For with each acquiescence to government demands for power, the more demands for power the government will make.

People are already limited in who they can or cannot visit, when, for how long, and so forth because of this virus mania. Now they're wanting to throw people into make-shift prisons for several weeks at least for the "offense" of catching a virus with a death rate of the seasonal flu. How much more will people willingly give up before they realize they've been fleeced?


Megaphone

Thousands protest in Bangkok against government and monarchy

Bangkok  protest
© APPro-democracy activist and student leaders greet supporters after a protest rally at Democracy Monument in Bangkok on Sunday.
More than 10,000 people rallied in the Thai capital of Bangkok on Sunday, one of the biggest gatherings yet among anti-government protesters demanding an end to the military-led administration and calling for the monarchy's powers to be reined in.

Demonstrators in masks and carrying placards assembled at the Democracy Monument, which commemorates the 1932 revolution that ended absolute monarchy. They held up three fingers to reflect their demands for a dissolution of parliament, the end of threats to civil liberties and for a new constitution.

"We're not just a movement on social media anymore. We're out here calling for real change and they have to listen," said Chanita Chananusorrasit, a 24-year-old law graduate who attended the protest. "We want a charter that belongs to all people, not just the military."

Comment: See also: 'He went mad': Soldier livestreams his rampage through shopping mall in Thailand, killing 30, injuring 58


Calendar

New Zealand election postponed four weeks due to COVID-19 pandemic says PM

Jacinda Ardern
© Getty ImagesNew Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern
The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, announced that the election in the country had been moved to 17 October, due to the coronavirus pandemic, and noted that she would not again change the date.

Jacinda Ardern said during a Sunday press conference that there is no suggestion that New Zealand would lift the coronavirus-caused restrictions until 19 September, the initial election date. She noted that the
"participation of voters, ensuring a fair election and certainty that the election is held in a timely way, are all key considerations.

"The Electoral Commission have actually prepared for a range of circumstances including since April, holding the election at level 2. I do think it's a decision that needs to stick and the changes should not be made again", Ardern asserted, saying that "COVID is the world's new normal".

Comment: New Zealand has negligible cases and infinitesimal small number of deaths attributed to COVID-19. It's recent return to lockdown and postponement of the election suggest a gross over-reaction on the part of its leadership to take caution to unrealistic limits at the (real) expense and health of the people.
The PM's decision comes after a 102-day lapse of virus transmission:
Since the first new cases were detected on Tuesday, the Auckland cluster has grown to 58 cases. Of the nine new cases, seven are confirmed to be linked to the cluster. The total number of active cases in the country is 78, with five people now in hospital. There have now been a total of 1280 cases and 22 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

The NZ Electoral Commission had been planning for an election being held under a stage-two lockdown - which limits gathering to 100 people - since April.

Ardern played down the pressure brought to bear by her coalition partner, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who on Sunday called for the poll to be delayed.

The main opposition National party and the ACT party had also called for the delay. Ardern's other coalition partners, the Greens, had not supported a delay but have now backed the Prime Minister's decision.

National's leader Judith Collins said:
"It was always National's view that to have a fair, democratic election we needed to deal with this second wave of COVID-19 so politicians from all parties had a reasonable chance to present their policies, and the public felt comfortable engaging with the campaign without putting their health at risk".
Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield has previously suggested a possible link between the Auckland outbreak, which appears to have begun at an Americold food storage facility in Mt Wellington, and an Americold facility in Melbourne that was linked to four Victorian cases. "We still don't have any particular clues as to what the origin of the outbreak is."

Ardern's government on Monday also extended its wage subsidy scheme, at a cost of about $NZ510 million ($464 million) to protect 470,000 jobs, and mortgage deferral program.
And, on came the 'apples to oranges' Ardern-Trump comparisons:
Online pundits have quickly drawn parallels between the situation in the two countries, arguing that people should hold Ardern to the same standards as Trump, when he was labeled a "dictator" and "fascist" for toying with the idea.




See also:


Footprints

Barr: Liberals will 'escape the consequences' of demonizing police, but inner city folks won't, 'that's not caring about black lives

AG Bill Barr
© Twitter.comUS AG William Barr
On Thursday's broadcast of the Fox News Channel's Hannity, Attorney General William Barr praised outgoing Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best and stated that "unless we support the police, we're not going to have a police force. These communities are not going to have the safety." He further stated that "a lot of the liberals will buy themselves out of that. They'll go to resort towns and so forth, and they'll escape the consequences of it. But the people in the inner cities won't. ... That's not caring about black lives."

AG Barr [relevant remarks begin around 6:00]


Briefcase

Julian Assange court case delayed again in bizarre circumstances

free Assange sign
© Kirsty Wigglesworth/APSign holder at Westminster Magistrates Court, London, Aug. 14, 2020.
There were bizarre scenes at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London today, as the extradition process of Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange (present via videophone from Belmarsh prison) was again delayed.

Proceedings were held up this morning so Assange could converse for the first time in five months with his legal team. The prosecution team failed to turn up at the hearing because they were told events started at 3:30 p.m. Only five members of the press were allowed to enter the courtroom to monitor proceedings. Other journalists, observers, and NGOs attempting to listen via telephone could not, as they were given the number to another courtroom. One journalist who did make it inside claimed that the judge, Vanessa Baraitser, was, "clearly reading from a pre-written ruling."

Assange sat in a conference room used by the entire prison, without a mask, and was seen coughing a number of times. At one point, proceedings in the courtroom were interrupted by screaming coming from another booth in Belmarsh prison, loud enough to cause a delay. Present at the hearing, Assange's mother, Christine, warned that he would not survive extradition to the United States.

Perhaps most bizarre, however, is that the United States Department of Justice dropped its original indictment in June, just two days after Assange's defense team submitted their full and final evidence for the extradition hearing.

Comment: See also: The show trial of Julian Assange: A cruel and pseudolegal farce


Quenelle

Spaniards hold anti-mask protest in Madrid as gov adds new restrictions

man smokes a cigarette with his eyes covered by a face mask
© REUTERS/Juan MedinaA man smokes a cigarette with his eyes covered by a face mask as he takes part in a protest against the use of protective masks in Madrid, Spain August 16, 2020
Chanting "freedom", hundreds of people rallied Sunday in Madrid to protest against the mandatory use of facemasks and other restrictions imposed by the Spanish government to contain the coronavirus pandemic.


Comment: Or to slam the public into obedience towards government diktates - depending on your point of view and knowledge base.


A crowd of clapping and cheering people gathered beneath an enormous yellow and red Spanish flag that stands in the Plaza Colon in the centre of the city in response to calls on social media.

Protesters held up home-made placards featuring slogans that included "The virus does not exist", "Masks kill" and "We are not afraid".

The demonstration drew a variety of attendees, including conspiracy theorists, libertarians and opponents of vaccination.


Comment: Of course you have to be a conspiracy theorist to think and look at any information that contradicts the corporate media's propaganda about the virus (or anything else).


Pilar Martin, a 58-year-old housewife from the northeastern city of Zaragoza, said she had come to Madrid for the rally because she believed governments around the world were exaggerating the number of infections to curb people's freedoms.

Comment: Even more restrictions have been imposed in Italy as well:
Italy is to shut discos and clubs and make it compulsory to wear a mask outdoors in some areas during the night-time in the first reimposition of restrictions as cases of coronavirus pick up across the country, especially among younger people.

[...]

The new rules will start on Monday - two days after an Italian holiday when many young Italians go out dancing - and will run until early September.

Masks will be required between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. in areas close to bars and pubs and where gatherings are more likely.

"We cannot nullify the sacrifices made in past months. Our priority must be that of opening schools in September, in full safety," Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Facebook.

Speranza on Saturday urged young people to be as cautious as possible as "if they infect their parents and their grandparents, they risk creating real damage".
And following the US's lead in its oppression of religious observers, South Korea is quarantining thousands of its church members:
The coronavirus outbreak linked to the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul, the worst in nearly six months, has led to a tightening of social distancing rules. A total of 315 cases connected to the church have been confirmed so far, officials said on Monday.

[...]

Authorities have warned that the current situation is an initial stage of a large-scale transmission. "We're facing a crisis where if the current spread isn't controlled, it would bring an exponential rise in cases, which could in turn lead to the collapse of our medical system and enormous economic damage," KCDC director Jeong Eun-kyeong said.

The country's Vice Health Minister said earlier the Presbyterian church had provided inaccurate lists of its 4,000 members. While nearly 320 of them had tested positive, including Reverend Jun Kwang-hoon, more than 600 who authorities want to see in isolation were unaccounted for.

Jun, the leader of the church, is a conservative activist who has also been organizing anti-government rallies calling for the ouster of liberal President Moon Jae-in. A prosecutors' office said on Sunday it wanted Jun's bail revoked as he faces earlier charges of violating election laws.

In February, authorities struggled to contain an outbreak that emerged in a secretive Christian sect in the city of Daegu and became the country's deadliest cluster.



Rainbow

Polish nationalists and LGBT activists face off in Warsaw

warsaw lgbt
© Kuba Atys/Agencja Gazeta via REUTERSA pro-LGBT demonstrator waves a rainbow flag as Polish nationalists gather to protest against what they call "LGBT aggression" on Polish society, in Warsaw, Poland August 16, 2020.
Hundreds of Polish nationalists and defenders of LGBT rights faced off against each other on opposite sides of a street in central Warsaw on Sunday.

The nationalists burnt a rainbow flag, while the LGBT activists painted one on the street. The groups shouted abuse at each other, separated by a line of several police vans and dozens of policemen.

The nationalists' gathering was organised by a far-right movement All-Poland Youth, whose former leader, Krzysztof Bosak, won nearly 7% in the first round of a presidential election in June.

Comment: See also: