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Chinese city of 13 million shuts down again to avoid COVID 'explosion'


VOA / AFP
Tue, 05 Jul 2022 11:45 UTC
beijing lockdown
© AFP/Noel CelisA security guard wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) stands at an entrance to a residential area under lockdown due to Covid-19 coronavirus restrictions in Beijing.
Businesses, schools and restaurants in Xi'an will close for one week, officials said Tuesday, after the Chinese city logged a handful of COVID-19 cases as outbreaks nationwide strain Beijing's zero-tolerance virus approach.

China is the last major economy wedded to a zero-COVID strategy, deploying snap lockdowns, quarantines and travel curbs in a bid to weed out new infections.

Xi'an — a historic city of 13 million that endured a month-long lockdown at the end of last year — has reported 18 cases since Saturday in a cluster driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant, according to official notices.

City official Zhang Xuedong said at a Tuesday press conference that Xi'an would implement "seven-day temporary control measures" that would "allow society to quieten down as much as possible, reduce mobility... and cut the risk of cross-infection".

Comment: See also: Shanghai imposes 'snap lockdown' for mass virus testing

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Yellow Vest

Dutch farmers protest across the country in response to proposed environmental laws

Hannah Nightingale
The Post Millennial
Thu, 07 Jul 2022 01:01 UTC
dutch farmer protest
Farmers all across the Netherlands have banded together in recent weeks to protest newly proposed emission cuts that would devastate the livestock industry, with farmers shutting down major city centers, distribution centers, airports, and more across the small European country.

On Tuesday evening, police fired upon farmers in their tractors.


Police said that they were responding to a "threatening situation" in which farmers were attempting to drive their tractors into officers and service vehicles at just before 11 pm.

According to Friesland police, officers issued warning shots as well as more targeted shots.

One tractor was shot, with the tractor being stopped shortly after. Three people were arrested, and no injuries were reported.

Due to shots being fired, The Rijksrecherche, the Dutch government's internal investigator, has been requested to conduct an investigation into the matter.

Comment: Similar protests happened in 2019 and here we are again.

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No Entry

80% of Iranians use tools to circumvent internet restrictions - MP


RFE/RL
Thu, 07 Jul 2022 23:42 UTC
Iran internet phone
FILE PHOTO: The Cyberspace Protection Bill would hand control of Iran's Internet gateways to the armed forces and criminalize the use of VPNs.
A member of the Iranian parliament says that about 80 percent of Iranians use tools on their mobile phones to bypass Internet filtering and censorship.

In an interview with ILNA news agency on July 6, Gholamreza Nouri Qazaljeh said that many popular websites in Iran are filtered to the extent that even children and teenagers "have to have tools to pass the filter for their normal work."

"Statistics show that nearly 80 percent of Iranians have installed anti-filter and VPN (virtual private network) on their phones, while the statistics of its use in Europe are below 10 percent," he added in the interview, which was about the so-called Cyberspace Protection Bill.

Comment: Western citizens have been forced to do the same to access sites like Sputnik. However, there are no tools to circumvent the establishments censorship of dissenting voices on platforms like YouTube and Twitter; except, of course, for those users to move to less totalitarian platforms.

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Red Flag

One in every 30 kids in US has autism — a 50% jump from 2017

Hannah Sparks
NY Post
Wed, 06 Jul 2022 18:28 UTC
autism
© Getty Images/Maskot
The number of young people living with autism spectrum disorder is growing rapidly.

A new study has revealed a nearly 52% spike in autism spectrum disorder prevalence among children and teens in the US between 2017 and 2020.

Now, one in every 30 kids will be diagnosed with the developmental disorder, which presents a range of behavioral and cognitive symptoms.

The findings from public health researchers at Guangdong Pharmaceutical University in China were published in JAMA Pediatrics Monday.

Study authors did not discuss potential causes for the stark rise, though many experts have attributed the increase to greater awareness of the condition among parents and doctors.
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USA

Ukraine's endemic corruption problems are suddenly forgotten as hungry Western investors smell 'reconstruction' profits

Rachel Marsden
RT
Thu, 07 Jul 2022 18:20 UTC
Ukraine Reform Conference at Lancaster House in London
© AP Photo/Frank AugsteinSpecial police forces guard the entrance ahead of a Ukraine Reform Conference at Lancaster House in London, Thursday, July 6, 2017
The annual Ukraine Reform Conference has, since 2017, brought together Western officials and their local 'civil society' foot soldiers to discuss ways that Ukraine can reduce its rampant corruption. But this year, before getting underway this week in Lugano, Switzerland, it underwent a name change to the Ukraine Recovery Conference.

Perhaps drawing attention to the existence of the country's endemic corruption isn't convenient for those looking to avoid heavy criminal penalties set up to explicitly prevent investment that fuels corruption?

Simply changing the marketing of the conference does nothing to alter the reality. If anything, it's counterproductive for Ukraine itself and serves to enable and perpetuate serious systemic problems that prevent the country from progressing.
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Mr. Potato

Rhode Island state senator discusses 'nip slips,' twerks upside down in bizarre, sexually charged video series to promote campaign

Cortney Weil
The Blaze
Wed, 06 Jul 2022 17:29 UTC
Tiara Mack twerk
© Twitter/ @MackDistrict6
Rhode Island state Senator Tiara Mack, a Democrat, has made a rather unusual pitch to voters ahead of the state primary election to be held in a couple of months.

In a series of beach-themed TikTok videos released on the Fourth of July, Sen. Mack and friends discuss "nip slips" and eating "the rich," and then Mack herself stands on her head and twerks upside down while someone off camera repeatedly expresses admiration for "that a**." She closes the video by reminding viewers to "vote Senator Mack."

Warning: Extremely suggestive content.
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Mr. Potato

UK drone squadron has no drones


RT
Mon, 04 Jul 2022 15:01 UTC
uk army drone
© Finnbarr Webster / Getty ImagesThe Parrot Anafi UAS UAV or drone is flown by a British Army soldier.
The Royal Air Force 216 Squadron hasn't carried out any trials and has only four full-time personnel, a campaign group has revealed.

The UK drone test squadron that supposedly embodies the "futuristic and ambitious" vision of the Royal Air Force (RAF) has no drones and hasn't carried out any trials since its reactivation more than two years ago, The Telegraph has reported. The article cites a response from the Ministry of Defence to freedom of information requests made by the campaign group Drone Wars UK.

In addition, 216 Squadron has only four full-time personnel assigned to it, although the unit also makes use of reservists, the response read.

Comment: See also:

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Syringe

Army cuts off more than 60K unvaccinated guard and reserve soldiers from pay and benefits

Steve Beynon
Military.com
Wed, 06 Jul 2022 00:01 UTC
oklahoma army national guard
© Pfc. Emily White/Oklahoma Army National Guard photoSoldiers with the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oklahoma Army National Guard, fire weapons over a trench during a live-fire exercise at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California, July 24, 2021.
Some 40,000 National Guard and 22,000 Reserve soldiers who refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19 are no longer allowed to participate in their military duties, also effectively cutting them off from some of their military benefits, Army officials announced Friday.

"Soldiers who refuse the vaccination order without an approved or pending exemption request are subject to adverse administrative actions, including flags, bars to service, and official reprimands," an Army spokesperson said in a statement.

The move comes in the midst of the annual training season, during which part-time soldiers are often ordered to serve from two weeks to a month with their units for summer training exercises. Those training events are usually critical for soldiers to sharpen their military skills and for unit commanders to ensure their formations are ready to deploy if needed.

Comment: Some police forces are taking the same hard line. From ZeroHedge:
San Diego is witnessing the largest exodus of police officers from the city since 2009 and the majority of them are quitting because of the city's continued obsession with covid vaccine mandates.

Perhaps the smartest move the people of Los Angeles County ever made was to elect Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who refused to enforce unconstitutional vax mandates. The decision probably saved them from losing a quarter or more of their law enforcement officers within the sheriff's department.

Contrast this with the LAPD, which was not so lucky. Officers have quit in droves or were fired, with over 2200 employees refusing to comply. This has been a repeating situation across California, and San Diego is the latest region to suffer considerable losses of LEO's over vax mandates.

More than 230 San Diego police officers have left city employment in the 2022 fiscal year alone (252 sworn deputies in 2021), totaling around 22% of all deputies in active service.
See also:

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Black Magic

Utah sheriff investigates claims of 'ritual child sexual abuse'; 120 tips received

Allan Stein
The Epoch Times
Tue, 05 Jul 2022 00:01 UTC
utah county sheriff
© Allan Stein/The Epoch TimesA Utah County Sheriff's Office cruiser sits parked at the public safety complex in Spanish Fork, Utah, on June 27, 2022.
An investigation by a Utah sheriff into allegations of "ritualistic child sexual abuse" has shocked residents as more than 120 purported victims and those who claim to know them have come forward.

The Utah County Sheriff's Office, which is leading the investigation, has solicited help from the FBI, which confirmed that it's assisting, as well as other law enforcement agencies.

The alleged abuse occurred for two decades, from 1990 through 2010. In recent weeks, dozens of witnesses have come forward with information via phone calls, text messages, and emails.

Comment: See also:

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Stock Down

Eurozone sees record spike in food prices, consumers buying less


RT
Wed, 06 Jul 2022 15:28 UTC
supermarket meat shelf
© Andy Rain/EPAConsumer costs in the 19-member currency bloc soared in June, statistics show
Consumers in the Eurozone continued to cut spending on food, drinks, and tobacco last month amid a spike in prices, EU statistics office Eurostat reported on Wednesday.

Data shows that costs rose by 8.9% last month on an annual basis, compared with 7.5% growth in May.

Despite a marginal overall increase in retail spending, sales of food, drinks, and tobacco fell on the month by 0.3%, compounding the 2.3% slump recorded in April.


Comment: At a time when they should be stocking up for when the situation really begins to bite: 'Most challenging period in history': Tajikistan's President urges citizens to stockpile 2 years worth of food amidst global instability


Comment: Some countries are warning household gas will be rationed, and to a limited extent certain food items already have been. However it's likely that, soon enough, many more items will be restricted, both because of panic buying - as happened during the lockdowns - but also because of the looming 'apocalyptic' food shortages. Which begs the question: why would the government in the Netherlands be so determined to shut down huge numbers of farmers amidst soaring food costs and shortages?

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