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EU's top court slaps down Hungarian law on NGO transparency imposed amid Budapest feud with Soros over 'political meddling'


RT
Thu, 18 Jun 2020 18:04 UTC
juncker billboard soros
© REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo
A Hungary government billboard accusing then-European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker of pushing migration plans encouraged by George Soros
A 2017 Hungarian law on the transparency of foreign funding for NGOs, imposed in response to what Budapest called meddling by billionaire George Soros, violates EU laws, the union's top court has ruled.

The Hungarian law required non-governmental organizations operating in the country to disclose foreign funding exceeding about $1,600. Such NGOs were supposed to register with the Hungarian courts, make the names of its foreign donors public, and report the fact that foreign funding had been received on their websites.

In a ruling reported on Thursday, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) said the law imposed "discriminatory and unjustified restrictions with regard to both the organizations at issue and the persons granting them such support." Hungary had breached several articles of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, as well as violating its obligations on the free movement of capital within the EU, the court ruled.

Comment: Previously:

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NPC

Portland protesters barricade streets and declare new 'autonomous zone' outside mayor's residence


RT
Thu, 18 Jun 2020 18:00 UTC

Comment: You've been introduced to 'C.H.A.Z.' in Seattle. Now meet 'G.A.Z.'...


portland protest
© REUTERS/Terray Sylvester
Anarchists, protesters and activists have taken to the streets of Portland once again, this time establishing an "autonomous zone" outside the mayor's home, after their demands were not met at a city hall meeting.

Portland City Council voted to cut $15 million from the Portland Police Bureau budget, eliminating some 107 full-time positions, though mostly via vacancies and retirements, according to local media reports.

However, the protesters - who'd gathered in their thousands across the city for the 20th consecutive night in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, calling for racial justice and police reform - were not appeased by the budget cuts. In response, they established at least one new self-rule area in the city - the Glisan Autonomous Zone, outside Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler's home.
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Light Sabers

German prosecutors accuse Russian government of ordering killing in Berlin


RFE/RL
Thu, 18 Jun 2020 17:48 UTC
Zelimkhan Khangoshvili

Zelimkhan Khangoshvili
Prosecutors in Germany have filed murder charges against a Russian national accused of the slaying of a Georgian man in Berlin last year and said the Russian government ordered the killing.

The killing in broad daylight on August 23 in the German capital strained ties between Moscow and Berlin. In December, Germany expelled two Russian diplomats, citing a lack of cooperation with its probe.

In a statement on June 18, German federal prosecutors filed charges of murder and a violation of weapons laws against a Russian citizen they identified Vadim K., alias Vadim S.

They said that, at some point before mid-July last year, "state agencies of the central government of the Russian Federation" tasked him with "liquidating" the victim, Tornike K., who has been identified in reports on the killing as Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a Georgian citizen of Chechen ethnicity who fought against Russian troops in Chechnya.

Comment: Previously:

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Red Flag

Alarming number of US soldiers have severe reactions to vaccines, health officer suspects military experimenting on troops


WLWT5
Tue, 08 May 2007 12:53 UTC
vaccine injuries soldiers, US military vaccines
Target 5 has discovered that an alarming number of U.S. troops are having severe reactions to some of the vaccines they receive in preparation for going overseas.

"This is the worst cover-up in the history of the military," said an unidentified military health officer who fears for his job.

A shot from a syringe is leaving some U.S. servicemen and women on the brink of death.

"When the issue, I believe, of the use of the vaccine comes out, I believe it will make the Walter Reed scandal pale in comparison," said the health officer.

Lance Corporal David Fey, 20, has dialysis three days a week. His kidneys are failing, his military career is over, and he feels like his country abandoned him.

Comment: The following 2007 news video documents the number of troops having severe reactions to vaccines:

A growing number of scientists are providing evidence that Covid-19 was engineered in a lab. While many are pointing the finger at China, some epidemiologists suspect that US soldiers were infected via an experimental vaccine and may have unwittingly carried the virus to China during the military games last October. Considering the military's past history, this is a distinct possibility:

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Red Flag

UK jobless claims surge by more than half a million in May amid COVID-19 fallout


Sputnik
Tue, 16 Jun 2020 17:42 UTC
job center
© AP Photo / LEFTERIS PITARAKIS
The over two-month lockdown has expectedly had a heavy toll on British citizens' employment, prompting Whitehall to introduce an all-embracing furlough scheme to cover wages until October 2020 and a special supportive programme for the self-employed.

Claims for jobless benefits went up by 529,000 across Britain last month, taking the total claimant count to 2.8 million, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday, adding that the figure for April was revised up to more than one million.

The numbers were registered at the height of the lockdown measures, which have been in place all over the country since 23 March in a bid to curb the spread of the highly contagious COVID-19 disease. The headline rate for unemployment lingered at 3.9% in the three months through April, when the number for April alone rose by 429,000, ONS said, with a large share of Brits rendered economically inactive.
Data from last week showed the economy shrank by a fifth in April, with the government now proceeding to usher in the next stage of the lockdown easing, allowing non-essential stores in England to reopen on Monday, with UK policymakers expected to announce a further expansion of their asset-purchase programme.
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Light Saber

'Myriad of fatal errors': Jordan Peterson returns to spotlight warning academia about the pitfalls of PC culture


Sputnik
Wed, 17 Jun 2020 08:43 UTC
Jordan Peterson
The Canadian professor, renowned for his conservative views on a bulk of life values, hasn't been online much in recent months, even as almost the entire world has been confined to the four walls of apartments and houses due to the corona healthcare crisis.

Jordan Peterson has returned to the spotlight after a several-month absence due to health issues, adding an update to his personal website, to the great joy of fans.

In a new post on his website, Canadian professor of psychology Jordan Peterson has warned of the pitfalls of political correctness, regarding the dangerous effects it is having in universities and on fundamental academic research.

To illustrate his viewpoint, he turns to the examples of several educational institutions, writing at length:
"I have observed the colleges and universities of the Western world devour themselves in a myriad of fatal errors over the last two decades, and take little pleasure in seeing what I knew was inevitably coming manifest itself in an increasingly comprehensive manner". He further notes that with this in mind, "the catastrophic failures of process and aim" were in no way hidden from the public view by the said institutions.

Comment: Douglas Murray: The high price Jordan Peterson has paid for telling the truth

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Briefcase

Ex-Atlanta police officer who shot Rayshard Brooks charged with felony murder, Atlanta police react with walk offs

Minyvonne Burke
NBC News
Wed, 17 Jun 2020 16:03 UTC
Ex-Atlanta police officer who shot Rayshard Brooks charged with felony murder
The former Atlanta police officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks in the parking lot of a Wendy's restaurant has been charged with felony murder, the district attorney's office announced Wednesday.

The man, Garrett Rolfe, who was fired by the Atlanta Police Department after the June 12 shooting, faces 11 total counts, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said at a news conference.

A second officer, Devin Brosnan, was placed on administrative leave. Brosnan, who is a cooperating witness for the state, faces three charges, including aggravated assault and violation of oath.

Howard said that after the shooting, Rolfe said, "I got him." Brosnan stood on Brooks' body as he was lying on the ground and Rolfe kicked him, according to the district attorney.

He asked both men to surrender by 6 p.m. Thursday.

Comment: In a new development, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation says Atlanta DA jumped the gun with Rayshar Brooks felony murder charges amid reports of police walk-out:
A state agency that has been assisting Atlanta police in investigating the killing of Rayshard Brooks has said that it was blindsided by the charges filed against a former officer amid reports of mass walk-outs on the force.

"The GBI was not aware of today's press conference before it was conducted. We were not consulted on the charges filed by the District Attorney," the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said on Wednesday.

Noting that they've made significant progress in investigating the incident, the agency said that they still need time to finish the job.

The GBI released its statement shortly after Fulton County DA Paul Howard announced the charges against former police officer Garret Rolfe, who is facing eleven charges, including that of felony murder for his role in the killing of Brooks last Friday.

[...]


Officers assigned to at least three of Atlanta's six zones have walked off in protest of the DA's decision, reports said.


"Atlanta police officers are refusing to answer the radio and walking off of the job. The county can go screw themselves. If you want a society without police we'll give you one. Let it burn!" reads a note attributed to one Atlanta officer, which has been widely cited on Twitter. RT has not been able to confirm its authenticity.


Atlanta has reportedly reached out to neighboring jurisdictions for backup, but their officers are apparently refusing to answer any calls except "officer down."


The Atlanta Police Department, however, denied the reports, saying "suggestions that multiple officers from each zone had walked off the job" were "inaccurate."The APD insisted it has "enough resources to maintain operations and remain able to respond to incidents throughout the city," while also admitting that it has been overwhelmed with calls.



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Sheriff

BlueFlu? 'Higher than usual number' of Atlanta police officers call out of work

Alexis Stevens
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wed, 17 Jun 2020 15:16 UTC
Rayshard Brooks Garrett Rolfe cop killing Atlanta
© Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rayshard Brooks (L) Officer Garrett Rolfe (R)
A "higher than usual" number of Atlanta police officers failed to show up for work Wednesday night, hours after the Fulton County District Attorney announced criminal charges for two accused in the death of Rayshard Brooks.

"The department is experiencing a higher than usual number of call outs with the incoming shift," Atlanta police posted on social media. "We have enough resources to maintain operations and remain able to respond to incidents."

On Wednesday, DA Paul Howard announced charges for the two officers. One of the two, Garrett Rolfe, was fired from the department and Devin Brosnan has been placed on administrative duty.

Neither Atlanta police nor a local union representative confirmed the number of officers involved.

Comment: Local news outlet Decaturish.com further reports:
Vince Champion, southeast regional director of the International Brotherhood of Police officers, said that police officers had stopped answering calls midshift, in response to charges against Officer Garrett Rolfe who is accused of murdering Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta.

"The union, we would never advocate this. We wouldn't advocate a blue flu," Champion said. "We don't know the numbers. Apparently we're learning that command staff are asking outlying counties for support and aren't getting it."

A spokesperson for APD called reports of a walkout "inaccurate."

"Earlier suggestions that multiple officers from each zone had walked off the job were inaccurate," the spokesperson said. "However, the department is experiencing a higher than usual number of call-outs with the incoming shift. We have enough resources to maintain operations and remain able to respond to incidents throughout the city."

Zones 3 and 6 cover south Atlanta, where Rolfe killed Rayshard Brooks after a June 12 DUI arrest turned into an altercation. Rolfe fired three bullets at Brooks as he fled with a taser in hand. Video of the shooting suggests Brooks pointed the taser at officers as he fled.

Other local media are seeing evidence of the walkout.

Atlanta INtown reports,
"A drive around Zone 6 indicated there was not the usual APD presence. A Georgia State Patrol unit was handling a two-car accident at Boulevard and Edgewood Avenue around 9 p.m. The APD's precinct at Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center appeared empty. Down in Grant Park, the Zone 3 precinct was populated by Fulton County Sheriff units."
From Twitter:



The Atlanta Police Department is reassuring the public this morning:



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Attention

The king is dead! Long live... Greta? Swedish former mayor calls for replacement of Charles XII statue with one of Thunberg


RT
Wed, 17 Jun 2020 11:07 UTC
statue King Charles XII Greta Thunberg
© Wikimedia Commons; REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer
Statue of King Charles XII in Stockholm (L) and Greta Thunberg (R)
An ex-mayor of a Swedish municipality took some heat online for suggesting that a statue of King Charles XII be pulled down, and a sculpture of Greta Thunberg or the late UN head, Dag Hammarskjold, be installed instead.

Jan Björinge, the former mayor of the Umea municipality, couldn't resist jumping in as the Black Lives Matter-inspired trend of toppling statues gained traction across the world. Joining the debate in an opinion piece for the Aftonbladet newspaper, he wondered if it was "right to allow public places to disseminate anti-democratic values" on Swedish soil.

He recalled that a number of statues of "oppressors" had been pulled down over the years, and made particular mention of Vladimir Lenin, Karl Marx, and Saddam Hussein - quite a mixed bag, in anyone's view. And Sweden, he said, had its own bronze candidate for removal, who also went by the name Karl.
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Syringe

Coronavirus vaccine developers have a problem: The virus is disappearing too fast

William Booth and Carolyn Y. Johnson
The Washington Post
Wed, 10 Jun 2020 20:51 UTC
vaccine shot syringe
The top teams rushing to develop coronavirus vaccines are alerting governments, health officials and shareholders that they may have a big problem: The outbreaks in their countries may be getting too small to quickly determine whether vaccines work.

A leader of the Oxford University group, one of the furthest ahead with human trials, admits the reality is paradoxical, even "bizarre," but said the declining numbers of new infections this summer could be one of the big hurdles vaccine developers face in the global race to beat down the virus.

Even as new cases are growing worldwide, transmission rates are falling in Britain, China and many of the hardest-hit regions in the United States — the three countries that have experimental vaccines ready to move into large-scale human testing in June, July and August.

The shrinking number of new infections in former hot spots is good news, of course. But vaccine developers need sufficient numbers of infected people, with and without symptoms, circulating in the general population — in the streets, workplaces, clinics — to test whether the vaccine protects volunteers when they are exposed.

If there's not much chance of volunteers running into someone with the virus, researchers will have to expand their efforts and potentially chase down outbreaks in other countries, delaying the prospect of a successful vaccine.

Comment: No, actually that still sounds like exploitation, especially if the vaccine comany assumes no liablity for the outcome whatsoever. See also:

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