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Lockdown farce to continue in England's North-West, 'confused' Health Secretary faces backlash

Will Taylor
Yahoo
Fri, 31 Jul 2020 12:00 UTC
Manchester covid
© REUTERS/Molly Darlington
A sign seen outside a bar as the area faces local restrictions in a bid to avoid a local Covid-19 lockdown, in Manchester, Britain, July 31, 2020.
Boris Johnson has scrapped a series of lockdown-easing measures which had been planned for this weekend amid fears of a second wave of coronavirus.

The changes, which were due to come in to effect from Saturday, would have seen facilities such as bowling alleys, casinos and ice rinks welcome back customers in England - but these have now been delayed.

Indoor performances, weddings of parties up to 30, and pilots of outdoor sports events with spectators - which were also all planned to go ahead from 1 August - are all postponed until 15 August.

Boris Johnson made the announcement on Friday.

Comment: RT reports on the growing resentment over the illogical and contradictory advice:
New Covid-19 lockdown rules in North West England 'crystal clear,' UK health minister says. Mess & 's**t show,' people reply

UK Health Sec. Matt Hancock is facing a furious backlash after claiming new guidance rushed out by the UK government on Thursday night regarding lockdown rules for some areas of North West England, were "absolutely crystal clear."

During an interview with Sky News on Friday, Hancock defended the government's rushed late night announcement in relation to restrictions being imposed on parts of Greater Manchester, East Lancashire and West Yorkshire in response to spikes in cases of coronavirus.

Hancock rejected claims the new guidance was confusing, insisting they were "crystal clear," and designed to cause as little disruption as possible. He said the rules had been put in place to cut transmission of the deadly disease from household to household.

The ban - which took effect from midnight at three hours' notice - restricts the mixing of two known households or more in all indoor settings, be they homes or social spaces like pubs, cafes, restaurants. However people in the affected areas will still be allowed to mix with strangers in these venues - and even go on holiday with another household.

UK media reported that some local public health directors didn't know about the new guidance until Hancock made an announcement in a short video clip after 9pm BST on Thursday.

The government eventually published the guidance at 22 minutes past midnight. Notably, while people will be handed a £100 fine for breaking the rules, the law to enforce this doesn't yet exist.

Chaos reigned for people in the affected regions of the North West with accusations of mixed messages and nonsensical new rules, which spilled over into Friday morning. Many people on Twitter have taken issue with who households can and cannot interact with and where.

One commenter tweeted: "So you can't go round to each other's house anymore.. but you can all meet up at the pub and go on holiday together."

Another person suggested that the new guidance was all about safeguarding "profits" made by business to the detriment of families socialising.



Others branded the government's handling of the coronavirus crisis as a "s**t show," urging British PM Boris Johnson's administration to focus on the ultimate fix, such as improving their much maligned Covid-19 test and trace system.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham - who is responsible for one of the affected regions - told Sky News that he supported the restrictions to stop people dying of coronavirus.

However, in what was perhaps a veiled dig at Hancock, he said UK ministers had "a habit of saying something and then it being a few hours until the detail emerges."
Even a BBC interviewer couldn't avoid but point out that even the Health Minister sounded confused:


See also: UK: Three times more people dying of flu than coronavirus

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Bullseye

UK: Three times more people dying of flu than coronavirus

Emma Brazel
Metro
Wed, 22 Jul 2020 09:40 UTC
UK hospital
© PA/Getty
New ONS figures show 917 flu and pneumonia deaths were registered for the week ending on July 10, compared to 366 Covid-19 deaths
Nearly three times as many people are now dying of flu and pneumonia than with coronavirus in England and Wales, new figures have revealed. Numbers published by the Office For National Statistics show 917 flu and pneumonia deaths were registered for the week ending on July 10.

In comparison, 366 people died that week after testing positive for Covid-19 - the lowest number of deaths involving the virus in the last 16 weeks and a 31.2% decrease compared with the previous week, which saw 532 deaths.

Overall, the number of deaths registered in the same week was 6.1% (560 deaths) below the five-year average - the fourth consecutive week it has been below average.

Comment: The lockdown has led to unprecedented death and incalculable destruction to the economy, and their claims that it was because of the dangers of the coronavirus, by their own admission, does not hold water; so it begs the question, what is the real motivation behind the lockdowns? And check out SOTT radio's:

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Cell Phone

Twitter permanently bans former KKK leader David Duke

Marina Pitofsky
The Hill
Fri, 31 Jul 2020 10:51 UTC
former KKK leader david duke

Former leader of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke leaves the Louisiana Secretary of State's office after filing to run as a Republican for United States Senate in Baton Rouge.
Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke has been banned from Twitter for breaking the social media site's rules against hate speech.

A Twitter spokesperson confirmed in a statement to The Hill on Friday that Duke's account was "permanently suspended for repeated violations of the Twitter Rules on hateful conduct."

It was not immediately clear if a specific tweet or post caused Duke to be removed from the site. Twitter's ban on hateful conduct prohibits users from promoting violent behavior or threatening people based on religious affiliation, race, ethnic origin and more.

Comment: See also:

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USA

NBA: Orlando Magic's Jonathan Isaac is first player not to kneel for anthem since restart


BBC
Sat, 01 Aug 2020 08:19 UTC
jonathan isaac

Jonathan Isaac stands for the national anthem before the Orlando Magic's victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac became the first NBA player not to kneel during the national anthem since the league resumed on Thursday.

Later on Friday San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich and assistant coach Becky Hammon also stood.

On Thursday all players from the four teams in action all knelt during the pre-match anthem.

Comment: See also:

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Arrow Up

As Europe masks up, the Netherlands dithers

Eline Schaart and Ashleigh Furlong
Politico
Thu, 30 Jul 2020 13:04 UTC
Kalverstraat Amsterdam
© Olaf Kraak/AFP via Getty Images
Tourists walk at Kalverstraat, a shopping street in Amsterdam on July 25, 2020
The Dutch government is unyielding on masks.

While Europeans almost everywhere else have been required to wear masks in public places to stop the spread of the coronavirus, they're considered an annoyance in the Netherlands.

"From a medical point of view, there is no evidence of a medical effect of wearing face masks, so we decided not to impose a national obligation," said Dutch Medical Care Minister Tamara van Ark late Wednesday, after a meeting with health experts and mayors.

The meeting comes after the mayors of Amsterdam and Rotterdam called last week for a compulsory mask rule in some busy areas, following a recent rise in the number of infections in those cities.

Van Ark said that cities are free to "experiment with a toolbox of measures," including mandatory masks, if deemed necessary.

The Dutch announcement stands in stark contrast to the growing consensus across Europe that masks should be worn in places where social distancing is difficult. Last week, Belgium announced plans to mandate face masks in more public places, and in England they have become compulsory in shops.

Comment: See also: "No proven effectiveness": Dutch government will NOT force public to wear masks - Minister for Medical care

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Blackbox

Ukraine to seek extradition of alleged Russian mercenaries detained in Belarus, Moscow calls for their release


RFE/RL
Sat, 01 Aug 2020 02:41 UTC
Wagner, Vagner Group mercenaries detained

Screenshot from the Belarus’s state-run news agency Belta shows Belarusian KGB agents arresting the alleged Russian mercenaries
Kyiv says it will seek the extradition of alleged contractors from the Russian private military company Vagner being held in Belarus as Moscow demanded their release, saying they were in transit and headed to Turkey.

Belarusian authorities have launched an investigation against 33 Russian contractors from Vagner who were detained earlier this week. Authorities allege they wanted to destabilize the country ahead of the August 9 presidential election.

Moscow has vehemently rejected Minsk's claims, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying on July 31 that the 33 men were in transit to Istanbul before flying to "a third country."

"Their stay is connected neither to Belarus itself nor its internal affairs," Peskov told reporters, calling for their release.

Comment: More from Al-Jazeera:

Kremlin demands release of Russians held in Belarus
Peskov confirmed the Russian men were "employees of a private security company" who were staying temporarily in Belarus before travelling onwards to Istanbul.

"They missed their plane," he said. "They had tickets to Istanbul."

A senior Belarusian investigator said in televised comments that the men's plans for onward travel were just "an alibi," Tut.by news site reported.

"As the investigation has found out, they did not plan to fly there (to Istanbul)," the head of the investigative team, Alexander Agafonov, was reported as saying in an interview with national television.

The men gave "contradictory" answers, he added.

Eleven of them said they intended to fly to Venezuela, 15 to Turkey, two to Cuba and one to Syria. One "did not know where he was flying to" and the rest refused to testify, Agafonov said.


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NPC

CNN story on cervical cancer screening goes full PC: Avoids using the word 'women', substitutes 'individuals with a cervix'

Dave Urbanski
The Blaze
Sat, 01 Aug 2020 02:38 UTC
CNN sign
© Shutterstock
Observers have a field day

A CNN story on cervical cancer screening begins with this sentence: "Individuals with a cervix are now recommended to start cervical cancers screening at 25 and continue through age 65, with the primary human papillomavirus (HPV) testing every five years as the preferred method of testing, according to a new guideline released Thursday by the American Cancer Society."

Also a word search revealed that the Thursday story doesn't refer to "women" or "woman" a single time.

What was the reaction?

Comment: The ratio (comments to retweets) properly bites on this bit of woke puffery. CNN had it coming.
CNN tweet individuals cervix
© CNN/Twitter


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Eye 1

Ghislaine Maxwell trained underage girls as sex slaves, documents allege

Victoria Bekiempis
The Guardian
Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:56 UTC
ghislaine maxwell cries bail hearing

Ghislaine Maxwell at her bail hearing
Ghislaine Maxwell sexually abused underage girls and joined Jeffrey Epstein in directing Virginia Roberts Giuffre to be sexually abused by others, Giuffre claimed in a cache of documents that has been unsealed in the US.

She "trained me as a sex slave", Giuffre is quoted as saying.

The documents were part of now-settled civil litigation against the British socialite and include claims about her alleged involvement in the sex-trafficking scheme of Epstein, her longtime confidant and a convicted sex offender.

The documents stem from a 2015 civil action brought against Maxwell by Giuffre, who has claimed Maxwell lured her into Epstein's orbit as a teenager under the guise of offering work as a masseuse.

She said the couple subsequently pressured her into having sex with numerous rich or notable men, including Prince Andrew, US politicians, wealthy entrepreneurs, a famous scientist, and a fashion designer.

Comment:

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Megaphone

Tens of thousands rally in Belarus despite pre-election crackdown


AlJazeera
Fri, 31 Jul 2020 00:00 UTC
Supporters of presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya
© Sergei Gapon/AFP
Supporters of presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya attend her campaign rally in Minsk
Supporters of the president's top election rival rally in Minsk despite an increasing crackdown on the opposition.

Tens of thousands of supporters of President Alexander Lukashenko's top election rival have rallied in the Belarusian capital Minsk despite an increasing crackdown on the opposition.

The rally came on Thursday as Belarus authorities accused top members of the opposition of collaborating with Russian fighters to destabilise the country.

Backers of political novice Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a stay-at-home mother-of-two, packed a Minsk square in what appeared to be the largest opposition protest in the country in 10 years.

Protesters waved flags and balloons emblazoned with the opposition's campaign symbols - a victory sign, a clenched fist, and a heart. "Change!" - read one of the placards.

The human rights organisation Vyasna said at least 63,000 people had turned out.

Comment: So the "let's blame Russia for election interference" canard has evidently spread to Belarus too.

See also:

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Handcuffs

Ex-US Marine sentenced to 9 years in Russian prison for drunken assault on two Moscow police officers


RT
Thu, 30 Jul 2020 17:38 UTC
Trevor Reed
© Reuters/Tatyana Makeyeva
US ex-Marine Trevor Reed is escorted before a court hearing in Moscow, Russia.
Texan Trevor Reed, a 29-year-old student and former US Marine, has been found guilty of attacking two police officers and handed a nine year jail sentence by a Moscow court, prompting media speculation about a "prisoner swap."

The former marine has been accused of attacking the officers last summer while drunk after attending a party. According to the prosecutors, some Moscow residents called the police when they saw a rowdy troublemaker arguing with two women. The drunk man, who turned out to be Reed, tried to resist arrest.

It was inside the police car that the man suddenly became aggressive and elbowed one officer while tugging on the arm of another - the driver - making the car swerve. The judge said in his verdict that they suffered "mental and physical harm."

The American arrived in Moscow last year to learn Russian and visit his girlfriend, Alina Tsybulnik. A lawyer herself, Tsybulnik told the US media that it was one of her colleagues who called the police after Reed celebrated during a night out with his friends and her co-workers - supposedly because the American was "in a bad state." Reed, who spent almost a year in pre-trial detention, maintained he had no memory of that night's events at all. He also pleaded not guilty precisely because he had no recollection of the incident.
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