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Michigan Governor's Covid orders tossed by state's top court

Alex Ebert
Bloomberg
Fri, 02 Oct 2020 23:40 UTC
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
© Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
Dozens of Michigan executive orders issued by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to fight the coronavirus pandemic are unconstitutional, the state's high court ruled Friday in a split decision.

Four of the seven justices ruled that the 1945 statute giving Whitmer (D) unilateral power to issue orders addressing the pandemic violated the state constitution because the law delegated too much power to the governor's office.

The Michigan Supreme Court ruling invalidates orders ranging from business restrictions to mask mandates, and will require Whitmer to compromise with Republicans on any health emergency orders that extend 28 days.

Comment: See also:

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Cell Phone

Secret recordings show Melania Trump was frustrated about criticism of Trump 2018 border separation policy: CNN

Justine Coleman
The Hill
Thu, 01 Oct 2020 23:20 UTC
melania trump
First lady Melania Trump expressed frustration that she received criticism for the Trump administration's 2018 border separation policy, according to secret recordings released by CNN on Thursday.

The first lady's former friend and senior adviser Stephanie Winston Wolkoff secretly recorded the first lady after she left the White House, according to CNN.

"They say I'm complicit. I'm the same like him, I support him. I don't say enough I don't do enough where I am," Melania Trump said.

Comment:








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X

Joe Biden again tries to distance himself from the Green New Deal, trips over his own website

Doug P.
twitchy
Wed, 30 Sep 2020 16:49 UTC
joe biden
As we told you last night during the presidential debate, Joe Biden was asked about the Left's Green New Deal, and he said the plan "pays for itself" but was then asked if he supports the GND, and the reply was "no."

Today Biden was again asked about the Green New Deal, and he explained that it "is not a bad deal" but instead he backs the "Biden Green Deal":


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Chess

Explosive stakes on Armenia-Azerbaijan chessboard

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
Thu, 01 Oct 2020 00:00 UTC
Armenian soldier
Pulling Russia back into the Nagorno-Karabakh morass means more Turkish freedom of action in other war theaters

Few geopolitical hot spots across the planet may rival the Caucasus: that intractable, tribal Tower of Babel, throughout History a contentious crossroads of empires from the Levant and nomads from the Eurasian steppes. And it gets even messier when one adds the fog of war.

To try to shed some light into the current Armenia-Azerbaijan face off, let's crisscross the basic facts with some essential deep background.

Late last month Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan's proverbial "strongman", in power since 2003, launched a de facto war on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh held by Armenia.

At the collapse of the USSR, Nagorno-Karabakh had a mixed population of Azeri Shi'ites and Armenian Christians. Yet even before the collapse the Azerbaijani Army and Armenian independentists were already at war (1988-1994), which yielded a grim balance of 30,000 dead and roughly a million wounded.

The Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence in 1991: but that was not recognized by the "international community". Finally there was a ceasefire in 1994 - with Nagorno-Karabakh entering the gray area/no man's land of "frozen conflict".

Comment: See: Armenia says ready to engage with OSCE to re-establish Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire, and other updates

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Che Guevara

Psychiatrist says Julian Assange is hearing voices and at high risk of suicide

John Vibes
Activist Post
Tue, 22 Sep 2020 00:00 UTC
Julian Assange
© Reuters
WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange leaves Westminster Magistrates Court in London, Britain January 13, 2020
At a recent extradition hearing for Julian Assange, a psychiatrist testified that the embattled Wikileaks founder is experiencing strong hallucinations and is at a high risk of suicide. Professor Michael Kopelman, an emeritus professor of neuropsychiatry at King's College London, said that Assange has been hearing voices and has confessed to a priest that he was making preparations to kill himself. These preparations included drafting his will and writing a goodbye letter to his family and friends.

On Tuesday, at the Old Bailey courthouse in London, Professor Kopelman testified that he visited Assange over 20 times and has become concerned about his mental and physical health.

"He reported auditory hallucinations, which were voices either inside or outside his head, somatic hallucinations, funny bodily experiences, these have now disappeared. He also has a long history of musical hallucinations, which is maybe a separate phenomenon, that got worse when he was in prison," Kopelman said.

Comment: Really makes you wonder why so many whistleblowers seem to experience some sort of debilitating mental breakdown while in prison. Could it be a warning to anyone else not to step out of line? See also:

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Bad Guys

Armenia says ready to engage with OSCE to re-establish Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire, and other updates


Reuters
Sat, 03 Oct 2020 00:18 UTC
azeri military
© Reuters / Azerbaijani Defense Ministry
Armenia's foreign ministry said on Friday it was ready to engage with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to re-establish a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, where fighting has been raging since Sunday.

France, Russia and the United States, co-chairs of the OSCE's Minsk Group, set up in 1992 to mediate in the conflict between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenians over the mountainous enclave in the South Caucasus, called for an immediate ceasefire on Thursday. But Turkey said the three big powers should have no role in peace moves.

Comment: Armenia says it shot down an Azeri drone over its capital, and a man reportedly died from an airstrike inside Armenia, suggesting the Azeris might be taking the fight from NKR into Armenia itself. After shelling on the capital, Armenia put its national army units on full combat alert. Two French journalists for Le Monde were seriously injured in an Azeri airstrike while covering the war. RT captured footage of aftermath of an attack on the NKR capital.


Macron, citing 'credible information', asserted that Syrian jihadists are indeed fighting in NKR.

According to Turkey's FM Cagusoglu, Azerbaijan has not requested assistance, but Turkey "would not hesitate to do so" if asked. One of the sole leaders NOT calling for peace, Erdogan expressed his hope that Azerbaijan will press on with the offensive until NKR region is free from "Armenian occupation."

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Magnify

WHO urges Russia NOT to impose new lockdown due to mental health concerns, Kremlin had no plans to


RT
Fri, 02 Oct 2020 19:18 UTC
russia mask
© Sputnik / Alexander Galperin
Passengers of the St. Petersburg metro in masks.
Despite a dramatic spike in daily reported coronavirus infections over the past week, the World Health Organization's representative in Russia has cautioned against the idea of re-introducing harsh restrictions in the country.

Melita Vujnovic warned on Friday that prolonged lockdowns influence the human mental state, and therefore should be avoided at all costs. Russia imposed one of world's toughest quarantines following the first serious outbreaks of Covid-19 in March, and many Russians fear the harsh winter in most of the country will make a repeat hard for people to bear.

"The local authorities know the current epidemiological situation better (than I do). But a major lockdown must be avoided at all costs. People must realize and bear their personal responsibility: keep maximum social distance, disinfect hands, wear masks," Vujnovic told news outlet Forbes. "This is also a business's task to protect employees and clients, to increase distance between them and so on. Local restrictions may be a solution, but, of course, we cannot rule out introduction of other necessary measures,"

Comment: See also: Man breaks out of quarantine using bedsheet, later detained by police, in Auckland, New Zealand

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Penis Pump

'Forgive me, Father, for I am white': UK Labour leader absolves himself of the sin of whiteness with unconscious bias training

Frank Furedi
RT
Fri, 02 Oct 2020 17:35 UTC
Keir Starmer
© Twitter / @Keir_Starmer
The British Labour leader enthusiastically prostrated himself before the gods of woke to purge his soul of racism, but this is not harmless virtue-signaling, it is promotion of dangerous indoctrination.

When it comes to taking pride in your achievement, the leader of the British Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer, sets the bar rather low. This is why his spokesman has actually bothered to inform the world that Starmer has passed his unconscious bias training course.

In reality, anyone who is prepared to humiliate themselves and listen to a moral entrepreneur lecture them about their bias and unwitting racism can pass their unconscious bias training.

All you have to do is nod your head, acknowledge that you, along with all white people, are unwittingly racist and confess to a time when you used your white privilege, and you will get your course certificate. As Starmer no doubt understands, what's important about the ritual of unconscious bias training is your willingness to participate and subjugate yourself to a few hours of humiliation.

Comment: Meanwhile in the US, Trump is rightly pulling all funding from this divisive, nonsense: Trump bans 'divisive, anti-American' diversity training

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Snakes in Suits

Bullying legal threat shows that frustrated EU is being outmaneuvered by UK dirty tricks in Brexit negotiations

Damian Wilson
RT
Thu, 01 Oct 2020 16:31 UTC
EU Union jack flag britain
© Getty Images / Bloomberg Creative
As the Brexit endgame moves ever closer, the EU says it will sue the British government over its intention to breach the Withdrawal Agreement. But it's a hollow threat borne out of exasperation over the UK's tactics.

As the European Union launches legal proceedings against the UK over its stated intention to breach the agreement, in reality the bullies of Brussels are simply trying to pile on the pressure until a deal is finalized or we leave without one.

Hollow threats are a go-to weapon in the EU arsenal.

Because it looks like a deal of some description will happen after all the ill humor of 2020. Despite sticking points, behind-the-scenes briefings and a broad disagreement about how to approach an agreement, this latest move is really just for show.

Comment: See also: Still Confused About Brexit? It's Actually Pretty Simple...

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Snakes in Suits

Macron drafts new 'secularism' laws that outlaw homeschooling, claims to be fighting 'Islamic separatism'


France24
Fri, 02 Oct 2020 09:49 UTC
Macron
© Eric Feferberg / AFP
FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron poses in the courtyard of the Zitouna mosque in the Tunisian capital Tunis. February 2018.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday said his government will unveil a proposed law to fight "Islamist separatism" later this year, a particularly sensitive issue in a country strongly attached to secularism.

In a keenly-awaited speech in the Paris region, the French president detailed plans for a law to fight what he identifies as the favouring of religious laws over France's republican, secular values - a stance he calls "separatism".


Comment: So these laws target ALL religions, not just Islam?


Macron described Islam as "a religion that is in crisis all over the world today" as he focused his keynote address on the battle against Islamic radicalism in France.

Comment: And how best to focus on the secular French republic than to provide opportunities for students to learn Arabic:
More Arabic will be taught in French schools and extra resources will be directed at studying the Muslim civilization, the country's leader Emmanuel Macron said. The measures are part of the strategy to fight Islamic radicalism.

In his speech on Friday, the president highlighted the importance of preventing radicalization in the country's Muslim communities. He said that "more Arabic language will be taught in schools or as part of extended day programs." Macron explained that authorities must put an end to young people learning the language "from groups that offer them the worst and manipulate them."

"Arabic, just like many other languages, is a treasure of our children, of their families," Macron said, stressing that the state must support "the emergence of a better understanding of Islam."

The president announced that the government will create the "Scientific Institute of Islamology" along with new positions in higher education to conduct research on "the Muslim civilization, the Mediterranean Sea region and Africa." On top of that, more funding will go to the Foundation of Islam for France, which was established in 2016 to promote "progressive Islam," according to its mission statement.

Aside from various outreach initiatives, Macron vowed to continue defending secularism as one of the key principles of modern France. He said that the government would prepare a bill that would strengthen a 1905 law that officially separated the church from the state.
As with most of Macron's manoeuvres it's likely that these laws will be used to target all kinds of groups and introduce various oppressive measures. And it seems that homeschooling is the first victim.

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