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More Black Americans died from San Francisco's drug experiment in one year than died from the Tuskegee experiment in 40 years

Michael Shellenberger
michaelshellenberger.substack.com
Mon, 11 Oct 2021 00:00 UTC
Rockey
© Gabrielle Lurie/The ChronicleRockey uses crystal meth • Ellis Street, San Francisco
For over a decade, the city of San Francisco has been carrying out an experiment. What happens when thousands of drug addicts are not only permitted to use heroin, fentanyl and meth publicly, but also enabled to do so? The results are in: hundreds of them die annually. Last year, 712 people in San Francisco died from drug overdoses or poisoning, and this year a similar number are on track to do so.

Worse, cities around the country, from Seattle and Los Angeles to Philadelphia and Boston, have been copying San Francisco's approach. Partly as a result of these supposedly progressive policies, 93,000 people in the US died in 2021 from illicit drugs, a more than five-fold increase from the 17,000 people killed by illicit drugs in 2000.

For most of my adult life, I was sympathetic to the progressive liberalization agenda. In the late 1990s, I worked with organizations funded by George Soros and others to decriminalize drugs, give clean needles to addicts to prevent the spread of HIV-AIDS, and subsidize housing for the homeless. But as drug deaths rose, and the drug-fueled homeless problem worsened, I decided to take a closer look at the problem.

What I discovered shocked me. Rather than arresting hard drug users when they break laws, and giving them the choice of jail or drug treatment, the only strategy proven to work, the city of San Francisco provides addicts with the cash, housing and drug paraphernalia they need to purchase and use deadly drugs.
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Arrow Up

Government to introduce new levies on gas in green energy strategy - report

Martina Bet
Independent
Sat, 09 Oct 2021 00:00 UTC
gas container frame
© Dominic Lipinski/PA/PA WireDisused gas holder Central London
Energy bills could go up even further for UK customers amid reports the Government is planning to introduce new charges on gas.

According to The Times, a new strategy will be published before the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow next month, which commits the Government to cutting the price of electricity and imposing a levy on gas bills to fund low-carbon heating.

On Monday, the Prime Minister said Britain was aiming to produce "clean power" by 2035 as part of the country's goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions; and earlier this week, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng insisted that by decarbonising the UK's power supply, the Government would ensure that households are less vulnerable to swings in fossil fuel markets.

The Government will release a series of consultations before going ahead with the plan, which is likely to start in 2023 and could add £170 a year to gas bills, the paper reported.

The strategy will reportedly include measures to boost the sale of heat pumps, which according to the GMB union costs £8,750 on average before VAT - the equivalent to almost a third (31%) of the average household's entire annual income.

A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy told the Times:
"We'll set out our upcoming heat and buildings strategy shortly. No decisions have been made."
It comes as rising energy costs have prompted industry leaders to warn the Government their factories could stop production or permanently close.

Comment: Yet another green delusion leaves the people in further jeopardy with unprecedented times ahead. But that was probably the point.

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Alarm Clock

UK Steel warns of imminent crisis due to 'extraordinary' electricity prices

Evgeny Mikhaylov
Sputnik
Mon, 11 Oct 2021 18:22 UTC
britain steel plant
© AFP / Lindsey ParnabyThe sun rises behind the British Steel - Scunthorpe plant in north Lincolnshire, north east England on September 28, 2016
According to the industry association, the ongoing crisis may force plants into expensive shutdowns, which could damage equipment, increase costs and ultimately lead to "poorer environmental performance with higher emissions".

UK Steel warned on Monday that spiking electricity prices could result in skyrocketing emissions and lead to chaos in supply chains.

"These extraordinary electricity prices are leading to smaller or wiped-out profits and thus to less reinvestment," UK Steel said in a briefing document. "With winter approaching, demand for gas and electricity will rise, and prices could get higher, which will make it impossible to profitably make steel".

Comment: Britain still wrestling with 'unprecedented demand' for fuel, as govt ministers contradict themselves over when crisis will end

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Sheriff

Milestone case: Italian court sides with nurse wrongly suspended for refusing COVID-19 jab

Pierre Boralevi
Life Site News
Mon, 11 Oct 2021 14:07 UTC
rom italy green pass vaccination protest
© AP
A civil court has sided with a nurse who was suspended without pay after she refused the COVID-19 vaccine.

The ruling was given by the Tribunal of Milan on September 16, following the appeal of the Italian nurse, who was not named. She had been suspended without pay in February because she refused to receive the jab in defiance of a vaccine mandate imposed by her employer. The tribunal called the suspension "illegitimate" and ordered the employer to pay the nurse her full wages with interest and arrears. The decision overturns previous court rulings for similar cases.

It is the first time in Italy that a court of law has ruled in favor of an employee in a case of a suspension or a dismissal for failure to vaccinate.

Comment: See also:

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Broom

Libya's rival combatants sign deal to remove foreign fighters & mercenaries - UN


RFE/RL
Sun, 10 Oct 2021 07:47 UTC
fighters Libya
A UN official has estimated there have been at least 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries in Libya over recent years, including Russians, Syrians, Sudanese, and Chadians.
The rival sides in the Libyan conflict signed an initial deal on the pullout of foreign fighters and mercenaries from the war-torn country, UN mediators said.

The UN mission said on October 9 that a 10-member joint military commission, with five representatives from each side, signed a "gradual and balanced" withdrawal deal at the end of three-day talks facilitated by the UN in Geneva.

The UN special envoy for Libya, Jan Kubis, said the deal "responds to the overwhelming demand of the Libyan people and creates a positive momentum that should be built upon to move forward towards a stable and democratic stage."

Comment: One wonders just where they're planning on deploying these Western-backed mercenaries next: And check out SOTT radio's:

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Yellow Vest

Best of the Web: Rebellion? Southwest Airlines cancels 1,800 flights, blames 'bad weather' - Meanwhile pilots file court order against Biden's vax mandate

Leslie Josephs
CNBC
Sun, 10 Oct 2021 09:48 UTC
Southwest Airlines
© Robyn Beck | AFP | Getty ImagesPassengers deplane from a Southwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas at Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, California, Oct. 10, 2021. Southwest Airlines canceled more than 1,000 flights Sunday, as part of a major weekend service disruption that the carrier attributed to bad weather, air traffic control and its own shortage of available staff.
Southwest Airlines canceled more than 1,800 flights this weekend, disrupting the travel plans of thousands of customers and stranding flight crews — the airline blamed the meltdown on a combination of bad weather, air traffic control and its own shortage of available staff.

"I know this is incredibly difficult for all of you, and our Customers are not happy," Alan Kasher executive vice president of daily flight operations told staff in a note on Sunday, which was seen by CNBC.

The airline said initial problems on bad weather and an "FAA-imposed air traffic management program" were to blame.

Comment: USA Today reported yesterday:
Stranded Southwest passengers across the country are struggling with a second day of mass flight cancellations by the nation's largest domestic airline.

The U.S. airports with the the heaviest flight cancellations for departures and arrivals Sunday are all big Southwest "hubs," even if the airline doesn't refer to them as such: Denver, Baltimore, Dallas Love Field, Las Vegas and Chicago Midway.

Southwest's Sunday cancellation are on top of 808 cancellations on Saturday, or nearly one in four flights. This during a busy travel weekend given a federal holiday on Monday.

Southwest Airlines
© Dawn Gilbertson, USA TODAYThe Southwest Airlines rebooking line at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Sunday, Oct. 10. Southwest Airlines has canceled more than 1,000 Sunday flights across the country after canceling 800 on Saturday.
Southwest has not commented on speculation about other possible causes, including opposition to a vaccine mandate the airline announced a week ago following the federal vaccine mandate announced in mid-September by President Joe Biden.

"Southwest Airlines must join our industry peers in complying with the federal government's COVID-19 vaccination directive," Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said on Oct. 4.

Casey Murray, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) blamed the flight woes on staffing and a "poorly run operation." He said the rate of pilots calling in sick has not spiked this weekend. He said nearly three out of four pilots working Saturday had trips rerouted due to the flight woes.

The fall travel troubles for Southwest follow a rough summer for the airline's operation. The airline's executives have repeatedly said their top priority is getting Southwest's operation back on track. The airline is hiring thousands of workers to help with a staffing shortage.
For more, check out the following Tweets:



Our current take: the Southwest snafu IS about mandatory vaccines. But the Jacksonville airport situation is not so clear. We heard directly from an ATC employee there that it was more to do with a single positive case that required "disinfection" of the entire tower area. Which would mean flights were cancelled there for ANOTHER reason stemming from government fecklessness and tyranny.

It seems that 'staff shortages' has become the go-to excuse for the havoc wrought by 19+ months of lockdowns, vaccine mandates and company mismanagement. In recent weeks we've seen everything from shipping, to fuel deliveries and farming has blamed the growing backlog and shortages blamed on 'staff shortages', only for it to come out later that this was either only partly true or the result of a much graver problem: And for more on the entirely avoidable and government-made, crisis, check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Is The Government Hyping Shortages? And is 'Vaccination Shedding' Really a Thing?



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Black Magic

Pandemic linked to rising rates of depressive and anxiety disorders


UQ news
Sat, 09 Oct 2021 07:02 UTC
Depression
© Unsplash
Cases of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders have increased by more than 25 per cent worldwide, according to a world-first study of the impact of COVID-19 on mental health.

The research, led by researchers from The University of Queensland's School of Public Health, Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (University of Washington) estimated people living in countries severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic have been most affected, especially women and younger people.

The study is the first to assess global impacts of the pandemic on major depressive and anxiety disorders, quantifying the prevalence and burden of the disorders by age, sex, and location in 204 countries and territories in 2020.

Comment: See also:

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Dollars

Your money AND your life

Edward Snowden
Continuing Ed
Sat, 09 Oct 2021 05:39 UTC
paper money
1.

This week's news, or "news," about the US Treasury's ability, or willingness, or just trial-balloon troll-suggestion to mint a one trillion dollar ($1,000,000,000,000) platinum coin in order to extend the country's debt-limit reminded me of some other monetary reading I encountered, during the sweltering summer, when it first became clear to many that the greatest impediment to any new American infrastructure bill wasn't going to be the debt-ceiling but the Congressional floor.

That reading, which I accomplished while preparing lunch with the help of my favorite infrastructure, namely electricity, was of a transcript of a speech given by one Christopher J. Waller, a freshly-minted governor of the United States' 51st and most powerful state, the Federal Reserve.

The subject of this speech? CBDCs — which aren't, unfortunately, some new form of cannabinoid that you might've missed, but instead the acronym for Central Bank Digital Currencies — the newest danger cresting the public horizon.

Now, before we go any further, let me say that it's been difficult for me to decide what exactly this speech is — whether it's a minority report or just an attempt to pander to his hosts, the American Enterprise Institute.

Comment: See also:

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Toys

'THIS is the government's priority?' California mandates gender-neutral aisles in toy stores


RT
Sun, 10 Oct 2021 14:25 UTC
Gavin Newsom
© Reuters / Brittany Hosea-SmallCalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a campaign rally in San Francisco, California, September 14, 2021
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a law requiring large toy retailers to provide gender-neutral toy sections in their stores. Critics say it's government overreach, and that Newsom has bigger issues to fix.

The bill, signed into law by Newsom on Saturday, will require toy retailers and chains with more than 500 employees to display toys traditionally marketed at girls or boys together in a special area of floor space. This area can be "labeled at the discretion of the retailer," according to the bill's text.

The bill describes the traditional labeling of toys, for example dolls for girls, trucks and guns for boys, as making "it more difficult for the consumer to compare the products and incorrectly impl[ying] that their use by one gender is inappropriate."

Stores will still be allowed to maintain separate boys and girls sections, but failing to provide a gender-neutral aisle will be punishable by fines of up to $500. Though toy manufacturers have slowly been moving to de-gender their products, California's law is the first of its kind in any US state.

Comment: See also:

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Mr. Potato

Entire school in Wyoming put on lockdown after one student refuses to wear face mask - and she gets arrested & fined over it


RT
Sun, 10 Oct 2021 20:29 UTC
teens masks
© Reuters / Nick OxfordStudents wear masks while walking to class at Santa Fe South High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, September 1, 2021
A 16-year-old high school girl was arrested and her entire school locked down, all over her refusal to wear a face mask. Her arrest caused outrage on the right, and conservatives have started chipping in to her legal defense.

Video footage captured on Thursday showed 16-year-old Grace Smith met with school officials and a police officer when she turned up at the doors of Laramie High School in Wyoming. Smith had already served two consecutive suspensions for refusing to wear a face mask in class - per school board requirements - and again attempted to enter the building unmasked.

She was given a $500 citation by a police officer, then was handcuffed and arrested when she refused to voluntarily leave the school. As Smith refused to leave, a loudspeaker announcement informed students that "we are in a lockdown, please stay in your rooms."


The arresting officer could be heard telling the teenager that the lockdown is her fault, but the teen refused to leave the building until she was led away in cuffs.
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