Society's Child
If the 2020 presidential election cycle has shown us one thing it's that the US has an issue with tolerance at the moment. While tribalism is prevalent in both major political parties, it is the anti-Trump crowd that has proven themselves to have a particular issue with women and black voters who express opinions that break their narrative of the Republican Party equaling white supremacy.
Kirstie Alley is the latest to burst out of the leftist bubble of Hollywood and target liberals. The 'Cheers' star has faced near-constant criticism on social media for her support of Donald Trump, and she appeared on Fox News' 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' on Sunday to slam CNN for fear-mongering when it comes to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The head of the city's administration, Alexander Beglov, called on locals to respect the measures already in force, such as wearing masks and gloves, saying "if we do not fully comply with the requirements of epidemic safety, if we do not use protective equipment everywhere, we will, unfortunately, have to introduce strict restrictions."
His warning comes after the city recorded 944 new cases of the virus on Tuesday morning. Russia, as well as much of Europe, is currently experiencing a heightened number of Covid-19 infections, with a total of 18,648 diagnoses recorded across the country on Monday. Since the pandemic began last spring, the country has confirmed a total of 1,673,686 cases.
But first, and perhaps most importantly, why did Sweden decide to follow such an aberrant path?
Actually, to be honest, Sweden could never have done otherwise. The Swedish constitution declares that Swedes have the right to move freely within Sweden, and to leave the country if they so wish. There is a law, the Swedish infectious diseases act, which allows certain limited restrictions to be put in place, but it doesn't allow for a general lockdown. And the power of the state to enforce restrictions on individuals is heavily limited. That is likely the main reason why the Swedish response to covid-19 has been so much more limited than that seen in other countries.
Do I think Swedish politicians are wiser than politicians in other countries? No, of course not. But while some other governments probably caved under internal pressure from their own media and external pressure from other governments and international organizations, the Swedish government couldn't have caved even if it had wanted to.
Large parts of Swedish mainstream media have actually been very pro-lockdown from the start, and have been much more in line with foreign media than they have been with the Swedish state. As an example, on March 13th, at the start of the pandemic, Peter Wolodarski, editor of Sweden's biggest daily broadsheet newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, demanded a lockdown in line with other countries. And tabloids have been full of scare stories. As in every other western country, Swedish media have been feeding people a daily dose of case numbers and death statistics that are never placed in any context. So, while media in most other countries have been marching in lockstep with their national governments, that has not been the case in Sweden.
Non-essential flights to Thessaloniki, the Mediterranean country's second-largest city, have been suspended, with residents there only permitted to leave their homes for specific reasons and obliged to notify authorities first via text message.
The government is also expanding night-time curfews both in the newly locked-down areas and some of the other most populous parts of the country, while bars, restaurants, museums, and theaters are being shut for a month.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal pointed the finger at Galkina as the source of information for former British spy Christopher Steele's report, which was publicly released by Buzzfeed, in 2017. Initially funded by the US Democratic Party, the information was meant to discredit Trump by showing him as being compromised by Russians.
It suggested that the President used Moscow's help to win the 2016 US Presidential election. It led to years of political chaos in the US, and the protracted 'Mueller Investigation,' which failed to find evidence to support the assertions.
According to Galkina, the dossier was likely entirely invented by her former classmate Igor Danchenko, who added her name to improve its credibility. Danchenko is a Russian emigre in the US, who has worked for Washington think tank industry.
"Donald Trump is not an Adolf Hitler," Lee announced on Monday through Twitter, then diving into a rant where she seemingly argued the infamous dictator is more "competent" than Trump.
"At least Hitler improved the daily life of his followers, had discipline, and required more of himself to gain the respect of his followers. Even with the same pathology, there are varying degrees of competence."
After a wave of criticism, Lee deleted her tweet and then defended herself by saying she was not actually arguing that Hitler is "better" than Trump.

Police block a street near Schwedenplatz square after exchanges of gunfire in Vienna, Austria on November 2, 2020.
Two people were killed and fifteen hospitalised - seven with serious injuries - in the attack on the Austrian capital on Monday night, mayor Michael Ludwig told the national broadcaster ORF.
One of the deceased is a suspected perpetrator shot dead by police, and an officer is among the wounded, police said, as their counterparts in neighbouring Czech Republic enacted random border checks in case the perpetrators attempted to flee northwards.
Officials urged those on the streets to "take shelter" and warned the public not to leave their homes or use public transport, as interior minister Karl Nehammer said the "armed and dangerous" perpetrators were mobile and being hunted by special forces units.
The attacks - which come on the eve of a "hard" national lockdown - were all in the vicinity of the city's central synagogue near the Danube river, but it is not clear whether the place of worship was a target amid reports of shots being fired at those sitting outside the bars nearby.
A source that has always been reliable was able to photograph an Antifa flyer:
Comment: And right out of the radicals' mouths:
Hundreds of high school students in the French capital protested against inadequate social distancing and coronavirus transmission mitigation measures on Tuesday, a day after schools reopened for a new term across France - less than one week after the country entered its second lockdown amid a surge in Covid-19 cases.
The students used trash cans to block the entrances to at least ten schools in the capital, with some of the worst tensions seen at The Colbert high school in the city's 10th arrondissement and the Sophie-Germain school in the 4th arrondissement.
Comment: It's unlikely that these city-dwelling students reflect the thinking of the majority in France. However, what is revealed in their comments is that these restrictions are inconsistent and nonsensical.
See also: More than 400 people arrested at anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne
In a video message, Ghani, who once lectured at the university, announced a national day of mourning to honor the victims and offered his "condolences and profound sympathies to the nation" and the families of the victims.
"My heart is still beating for this academic institution," he said. "Today's attack has left us grief-stricken."
Gunmen barged into Kabul University in the morning, killing students in their classrooms and firing on others as they fled, officials and witnesses said, in what was the second attack on an educational institution in the capital in just over a week.
The three attackers killed at least 22 people, including students, and wounded 22 others before Afghan security forces shot the gunmen dead, the health ministry said.















Comment: There were unconfirmed reports about a possible hostage situation. The number of attackers remains unknown, and whether or not it involved the same attackers moving to six locations, or multiple groups/individuals.
Various shots of the attacks have made their way to social media:
Several videos allege to show the capture of some of the perpetrators. Unconfirmed if any are just suspects, or people unconnected with the attacks.
More updates:
UPDATE (11/3): Overnight the death count rose to 5, including an elderly man, woman, young passerby and a waitress. 22 were injured. Police are still looking for "at least one" gunman on the run. The dead attacker has been identified as 20-year-old ISIS wannabe Kujtim Fezjulai, an Austrian-North Macedonian. Shortly before the attack, he posted this selfie online:
Kujtim Fezjulai poses with a barrage of weapons