Society's ChildS


Heart - Black

Despairing America: The astonishing psychological cost of lockdown

Sandy Szwarc
American Institute For Economic Research
Wed, 30 Dec 2020 00:00 UTC
lockdown graphic
Recently, a series of special health alerts and reports have come out warning of growing numbers of people and a country at the breaking point. Sadly, little of that information has reached the public.

American people are crying out for help and dying − not from a virus with an "infection fatality rate" of 0.15-0.2% across all age groups, and 0.03 to 0.04% in those under 70 years old. (This means, 99.96% of nearly everyone who gets the virus lives.) No, the desperation and distress are in response to the government's unprecedented mandates and lockdowns.

Masking, isolation, business closures, shuttered churches, ended normal school classes, seniors confined secluded in nursing homes, people left to die alone in hospitals, sporting events ended, music silenced, jobs and livelihoods destroyed. American life has been cancelled - from Easter to Memorial Day, 4th of July to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and now New Year's..

Many people have lost everything and now face losing their country. The level of despair is palpable. Growing numbers have lost the ability to cope.

What would happen as a result of these unprecedented government mandates was well known. They cannot say they didn't know or that it wasn't anticipated.

Comment: The stark ignorance "informing" the mandates, the lockdowns, and all the rest - amounts to criminal negligence.

See also:

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Pirates

Seattle Antifa group demands government pay for rooms in motel takeover

Bob Price
Breitbart
Thu, 31 Dec 2020 02:13 UTC
Travelodge in Fife, WA
© Screenshot via King5 News
An Antifa group in Seattle explains how they are helping a local motel owner by not paying rent. The group is occupying 15 of the Travelodge's rooms after checking in and paying only the first night's rent.

A spokesperson for a Seattle-area Antifa group known as Tacoma Housing Now said they are trying to help the owner of a Fife, Washington, Travelodge by occupying rooms that could otherwise be booked to someone else, according to a video tweeted by KING5 reporter Sebastian Robertson.


"We paid for the first night and now we're demanding that the city and county pay for the other nights we've been here," spokesperson Rebecca Parson told the reporter.
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Attention

Locked out: DC hotel where Proud Boys often stayed will close Jan. 4 to 6 during Trump rally

Gary Du
The Epoch Times
Wed, 30 Dec 2020 00:16 UTC
proud boys washington dc december 2020
© Erin Scott/ReutersPolice officers stand in formation to separate members of the Proud Boys and counter protesters in downtown Washington on Dec. 12, 2020.
Hotel Harrington in Washington, D.C., where the Proud Boys often stayed in the past few months, announced it would be closed during the pro-Trump demonstration planned for next week for the safety of visitors and employees.

The hotel said in a statement posted on Facebook on Monday that the venue will be closed from Jan. 4-6 to all visitors except long-term dwellers. Management said the hotel would organize refunds for all visitors who have made pre-paid reservations.

Comment:

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Yoda

Heroes of scholarship: Top 10 ACADEMIC targets of cancel culture in 2020


RT
Wed, 30 Dec 2020 22:46 UTC
Washington Square NYU new york city
© WikipediaWashington Square Park, with its gateway arch, is surrounded largely by NYU buildings and plays an integral role in the University's campus life.
This year, attempts to defenestrate people for voicing their opinions reached new heights of absurdity. And academia was no exception. This list comprises the top 10 academic targets of cancel culture, as selected by yours truly.

Academics are supposed to be engaged in the disinterested pursuit of truth. And universities are meant to be places where you attack the argument, not the man. But in recent years, many scholars in the English-speaking world have found themselves embroiled in controversies just for expressing an unorthodox opinion or - in one case - pronouncing a Chinese word correctly. The individuals below were all targeted for cancellation in 2020. Some were investigated by their employers, others lost book contracts, speaking engagements and even university positions.
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X

Manhattan appeals court blocks Cuomo's limits on religious gatherings

Rebecca Rosenberg, Tamar Lapin
New York Post
Mon, 28 Dec 2020 08:37 UTC
cuomo
© Reuters/Andrew KellyNew York Governor Andrew Cuomo
The federal appeals court in Manhattan on Monday struck down New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's pandemic-related executive order setting capacity limits at houses of worship -because it "discriminates against religion on its face."

The three-judge panel on the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit unanimously sided with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, the Orthodox Jewish group Agudath Israel of America and two synagogues who had sued Cuomo over the Oct. 6. attendance caps.

"The restrictions challenged here specially and disproportionately burden religious exercise," and violate the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, Circuit Judge Michael Park wrote in the ruling. "We conclude that [Cuomo's] Order discriminates against religion on its face."

The governor had limited religious gatherings to fewer than 10 people or 25 percent capacity in "red" zones, where the risk of COVID-19 was highest, and to 25 people or 33 percent capacity in slightly less risky "orange" zones. The plaintiffs argued that the restrictions trampled on their religious rights, causing them "irreparable harm," and unfairly targeted them while businesses deemed essential were allowed to operate.

The court agreed, with Park, a President Trump appointee, noting that: "No public interest is served by maintaining an unconstitutional policy when constitutional alternatives are available to achieve the same goal."

Comment: The things 'we have protection from' and the things 'we need protection from' have collided. It is always choice that defines us, unless that option has been hijacked by petty tyrants such as Cuomo.

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Stop

Top federal prosecutor resigns after Pennsylvania election fraud investigation

Zack Budryk
The Hill
Tue, 29 Dec 2020 10:36 UTC
David Freed
© The SentinelUS Attorney David Freed
The U.S. attorney who was widely criticized for the September announcement of an investigation into discarded Pennsylvania ballots announced his resignation from the Justice Department Tuesday.
"For the past three years, I have had the great fortune to work with the highly skilled attorneys and staff in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. It is an office blessed with experienced and dedicated leaders, and colleagues who truly understand the importance of working together for the benefit of their fellow citizens."
Freed previously made headlines in September when he took the highly unusual step of announcing that his office was investigating the discarding of mail-in ballots in Luzerne County. The full Justice Department press release about an ongoing investigation was highlighted as an atypical move, as was Freed's announcement that seven of the ballots were reportedly cast for President Trump.


Comment:
Freed's departure comes after three years in the district, which consists of 33 counties in Central and Northeastern PA with offices in Harrisburg, Scranton, and Williamsport.

Freed was nominated as United States Attorney by Sen. Pat Toomey (R) and Sen. Bob Casey (D), appointed by President Donald Trump in September 2017, and confirmed by the United States Senate in November 2017. His resignation will be effective midnight January 1, 2021.


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Magic Wand

Double Standard: CNN reporters admit they will go easy on the Biden-Harris administration

Julio Rosas
Townhall
Tue, 29 Dec 2020 11:40 UTC
Acosta
© AP/Evan VucciCNN reporter Jim Acosta
It is no secret CNN reporters Jim Acosta and Daniel Dale are biased journalists, but a silver lining with an incoming Biden-Harris administration is that they have to at least admit to being media hacks.

In an interview with The Atlantic about how reporters will approach covering a different administration, Acosta, who made a name for himself being an aggressive questioner and getting into verbal spats with Trump and his press team, said he will not be using the same tactic:
"The drama has made him famous, but Acosta said he doesn't expect to bring the same crusading style to his coverage of the next administration. 'I don't think the press should be trying to whip up the Biden presidency and turn it into must-see TV in a contrived way.'

"If that sounds like a double standard, Acosta told me it's not partisan — it's a matter of professional solidarity. In his view, Trump's campaign to discredit the press has constituted a 'nonstop national emergency,' one that required a defiant response. 'If being at the White House is not an experience that might merit hazard pay, then perhaps it is going to be approached differently.'"

Comment: Recriminations, sarcasm and bias treatment towards Trump were the standard encounters from two worthless individuals pretending to be news reporters.

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Pirates

Georgia judge, Stacey Abrams' sister, rules against purge of illegal voters before Senate runoffs

Vandana Rambaran
Fox News
Tue, 29 Dec 2020 19:11 UTC
Sisters Judge Leslie Gardner and Stacey Abrams georgia election fraud
Sisters: Georgia District Judge Leslie Gardner and Stacey Abrams
A Georgia judge who is the sister of Democratic politician Stacey Abrams refused to recuse herself from a crucial election case, instead ruling against the purge of 4,000 voters from state rolls before Senate runoffs.

U.S. District Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner's ruling comes after two counties voted to remove a tranche of voters' names from their rosters after two separate complaints alleged that publicly available voter registration data matched unverified change-of-address records by the U.S. Postal Service.

The complaints in Muscogee and Ben Hill counties, however, failed to prove that the voters had actually given up Georgia residences, according to reports by Politico.

Comment: RT follows up:
The ruling imposed temporary restraining orders and reversed the decisions on a request which was filed two weeks ago by a voter advocacy group called Majority Forward. The judge agreed that the NCOA list alone was not enough proof for blanket erasure from the rolls. The decisions deprived people like college students, military service members and others, who cannot be at home for the elections, from casting absentee ballots, the challengers argued. The eleven-page ruling said the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on merits of their claim in court and granted the injunction they sought.

The suspension of voter registrations in Muscogee County was pushed by a local Republican Party chairman. In Ben Hill County, the issue was raised by a city council member from Fitzgerald. The challenge of the suspensions was backed by the Democratic Party.

The defendants argued that the blood relation between the two gave reasonable grounds to question Judge Gardner's impartiality and asked her to recuse herself. The ruling mentions the motion as a footnote, saying the court finds "no basis for recusal," promising to elaborate further later.

During the November presidential election, Muscogee County went overwhelmingly to Joe Biden, but Donald Trump won Ben Hill County by a wide margin. The runoff elections are crucial for national politics in the US, since Republican control over the US Senate hinges on their outcome.


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Fire

26 killed, 60 injured as blast hits terminal building at airport in Yemen's Aden where new government just arrived from Saudi Arabia


Daily Sabah
Wed, 30 Dec 2020 14:06 UTC
explosion Aden airport
© ReutersDust rises after explosions hit Aden International Airport shortly after the arrival of the newly formed Yemeni government in Aden, Yemen, Dec. 30, 2020.
At least 26 people were killed and 60 more wounded in an attack on Aden International Airport, shortly after a plane carrying a newly formed government for Yemen arrived from Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, a Yemeni health official said.

A large explosion struck the airport in the southern Yemeni city of Aden as a plane carrying the newly formed Cabinet landed there, security officials said. The source of the blast was not immediately clear and no group claimed responsibility for the explosion. No one on the government plane was hurt but officials at the scene said they saw bodies lying on the tarmac and elsewhere at the airport.

The Cabinet members, including Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, as well as Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Said al-Jaber were transferred safely to the city's presidential palace, the witnesses and Saudi media said.

Images shared on social media from the scene showed rubble and broken glass strewn about near the airport building and at least two lifeless bodies, one of them charred, lying on the ground. In another image, a man was trying to help another man whose clothes were torn to get up from the ground, according to The Associated Press (AP).


Comment: At least one of the casualties was a Red Cross staff worker.

Here's footage from the attack:




Comment: The following video shows a missile making impact on the tarmac:
The first footage showing the attack on Aden Airport has appeared online. In the video, which has yet to be independently verified, a missile hits the tarmac and creates a fireball that nearly consumes a stationary vehicle nearby.

The footage also shows billowing smoke from a nearby terminal building and the apparent sound of gunfire as government and military officials, journalists, and observers duck for cover or get into vehicles in a bid to escape the carnage.


The new government's information minister blamed the attack on the Houthis, the militia group which has been in control of much of the country, including the capital of Sanaa, for over six years, and which has been targeted by a Saudi-led coalition since 2015.

[...]

The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for Wednesday's airport attack. However, the group has previously launched dozens of missile and drone attacks against Hadi loyalists, the STC and Saudi Arabia proper, hitting military facilities, airports, ports, and other infrastructure. In September 2019, the group took responsibility for a major attack on a pair of Saudi oil processing facilities which temporarily halved the kingdom's oil production.

The war in Yemen has devastated the already impoverished nation, with over 233,000 people killed, both during the fighting and as a result of a humanitarian crisis. The United Nations estimates that up to 22 million people, or three quarters of the country's population, are in dire need of humanitarian assistance, including urgent food aid.


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Eye 1

Ukrainian teenager faces JAIL over Soviet hat he picked up at flea market


RT
Wed, 30 Dec 2020 10:02 UTC
russia hat
© lv.npu.gov.uaУ Львові спіймали 19-річного киянина в шапці-вушанці
It was supposed to cover his cold ears, but a second-hand hat with a Soviet-era symbol has landed one 19-year-old Ukrainian in hot water, with police deciding that the Russian-speaking boy broke anti-communist measures.

Police in the Western Ukrainian city of Lvov reported on Monday that a criminal investigation has been launched after the teenager was detained for falling foul of strict local laws governing "the use of communist symbols on clothing." Prosecutors say they will look to charge him under rules that ban both Nazi and Soviet iconography, with the maximum penalty stretching to five years behind bars.

According to local newspaper Dilo, 'anti-terrorist' operative Igor Sholtys apprehended the young man, whose name has not been revealed, while he was out walking with a friend. He was wearing a traditional Soviet ear-flap ushanka-hat, which bore the communist hammer and sickle crest.

Comment: See also: How Ukraine's neo-Nazis are preparing to 'reintegrate' Donbass

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