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"Slums of the future" expected following England's radical property reforms

Tom Wall
The Guardian
Sun, 05 Jul 2020 07:15 UTC
bojo
© Reuters
Boris Johnson lays a brick during a visit to a Barratt Homes development in Bedford, last November. The prime minister has backed plans to allow buildings to be repurposed without full planning permission.
Thousands of tiny, substandard "rabbit-hutch" flats could be created in commercial buildings left empty by the coronavirus economic slowdown under planning reforms championed by Boris Johnson.

University College London professor Ben Clifford - who recently completed a government review of housing produced outside the conventional planning system - said allowing developers to turn a wider range of commercial properties into flats without planning checks could lead to a wave of substandard conversions.

"Unless there are proper safeguards, we could see even more poor-quality, tiny flats being crammed into commercial buildings lacking amenities and green space," he said. "These could be what others have rightly called the slums of the future."

Comment: As an example of what's considered acceptable housing for a family in Britain these days:



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Quenelle - Golden

Trump claims media is reporting high Covid-19 numbers to misinform people about mortality rate


RT
Sat, 04 Jul 2020 21:14 UTC

Comment: Trump, by the way, grokked this from the beginning. But like all world leaders, he apparently had to go do whatever they told him to, or else...


Covid testing
© Reuters/David Ryder.
People get tested for Covid-19 in Seattle, Washington
President Donald Trump has tweeted that the high number of Covid-19 cases in the US is actually a good thing as it is due to expanded testing, but the "fake news media" refuses to cover the shrinking mortality rate.

"Cases, Cases, Cases! If we didn't test so much and so successfully, we would have very few cases. If you test 40,000,000 people, you are going to have many cases that, without the testing (like other countries), would not show up every night on the Fake Evening News," the president tweeted on Saturday.

He continued, "In a certain way, our tremendous Testing success gives the Fake News Media all they want, CASES. In the meantime, Deaths and the all important Mortality Rate goes down. You don't hear about that from the Fake News, and you never will. Anybody need any Ventilators???"
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Fire

Latest incident: Transformer explosion triggers a fire at Iran's Zargan power station


RT
Sat, 04 Jul 2020 18:11 UTC
Iranian power station blaze
© Twitter/MohamadAhwaze
Iranian power station blaze
A large blaze has erupted at a power station in southwest Iran, causing brief electricity outages in the area. The incident is the latest in the string of mishaps at strategic facilities across the country.

The fire broke out on Saturday at the Zargan plant, located in the city of Ahvaz. Footage from the scene, which has been circulating online, shows a large column of black smoke coming from the facility.


A fire department official told local media that the blaze was caused by a transformer, which exploded after overheating. The fire was promptly contained by firefighters, limiting damage to the facility.

Comment: There seems to be unusually close timing for a cluster of similar incidents, all of which could be as indicated...or something more? Benny Gantz weighs in:
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz has hinted that recent explosions, which took place in Iran over the last few weeks, might not be related to Israel's activities. While he acknowledged that Tel Aviv does undertake some efforts against the Islamic Republic, not everything bad that happens in Iran is necessarily the result of Israel's actions, the official stressed.

"A nuclear Iran is a threat to the world and the region, as well as a threat to Israel. And we will do everything to prevent that from happening [...] Everyone can be suspicious of us all the time. But not every event that happens in Iran is connected to us."

At the same time, the defence minister refused to "refer to any individual event" in his speech, only saying that Israel will do anything in its power to "prevent Iran from spreading terror".
See also:

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Che Guevara

Huge group of armed Black protesters march on Confederate monument in Georgia

Bob Brigham
Raw Story
Sat, 04 Jul 2020 19:39 UTC
nfac black militia
Armed black protesters marched in Geogia on Independence Day to protest one of the largest Confederate monuments in the world.

"Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial, a nine-story-high bas-relief sculpture carved into a sprawling rock face northeast of Atlanta, is perhaps the South's most audacious monument to its pro-slavery legacy still intact," Reuters reported on Friday. "The monument - which reopens on Independence Day weekend after the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to close for weeks - has faced renewed calls for removal since the May 25 killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died during an arrest by a white police officer who pinned his neck to the ground with a knee."

Upon reopening, a huge group of armed Black protesters marched through Stone Mountain.

Here are some of the scenes from the protests:


Comment: Some more clips of the march:



Official response so far:
Despite many on social media reacting to clips of the Saturday demonstration with worry, officials say the protesters conducted their business peacefully.

"It's a public park, a state park. We have these protests on both sides of the issue from time to time. We respect people's First Amendment right," John Bankhead, a spokesman for the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, told WXIA-TV.


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Attention

Third day of riots in Portland as protesters besiege federal courthouse

Joshua Rhett Miller
New York Post
Fri, 03 Jul 2020 17:54 UTC
portland riot
© TWITTER/ @GRAVEMORGAN/via REUTERS
A police officer runs among tear gas in Portland.
Portland police used tear gas against protesters who had erected barricades and shot fireworks at the Hatfield Federal Courthouse in the city. Friday was the third riot in Portland this week.

Several hundred activists marched on Friday evening into the streets around the courthouse in downtown Portland, bearing makeshift shields and diverse materials they used to erect some barricades, police said.

In the early hours of Saturday, the situation became increasingly volatile, with Portland police declaring a riot at around 4am local time. Officers deployed tear gas and pushed the protesters away from the courthouse.


Comment: Andy Ngo has been on the scene:







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USA

Michigan state passes controversial bill to microchip humans voluntarily 'to protect their privacy'


GreatGameIndia
Sat, 04 Jul 2020 19:26 UTC
Microchip
© GreatMediaIndia
The Michigan House of Representatives has passed a controversial bill to microchip humans voluntarily in the state under the guise of protecting their privacy. The Microchip Protection Act would allow Michigan employers to use microchipping of their workers with their consent. However, research has shown that RFID transponders causes cancer.

The plan to microchip humans is sponsored by Rep. Bronna Kahle under the guise of protecting the privacy of workers. The stated objective of the bill is that it will protect the privacy rights of Michigan workers and promote further growth for job providers as it relates to microchipping - a cutting-edge technology on the rise that increases workplace efficiency.
"With the way technology has increased over the years and as it continues to grow, it's important Michigan job providers balance the interests of the company with their employees' expectations of privacy."

"Microchipping has been brought up in many conversations as companies across the country are exploring cost-effective ways to increase workplace efficiency. While these miniature devices are on the rise, so are the calls of workers to have their privacy protected."

Rep. Bronna Kahle, the Republican who sponsored the bill, said in a press statement.
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Smoking

Several casinos ban indoor smoking citing COVID-19 concerns

Ed Silverstein
casino.org
Sat, 04 Jul 2020 17:36 UTC
Parx Casino
© Visit Philly
Multiple Pennsylvania gaming properties are now smoke-free after recent directives from state regulators to improve worker and player health.

Among them is The Meadows Racetrack & Casino, located in Washington, which announced on social media that smoking was "phased out in the casino" and it reopened Saturday (July 4) morning "as a 100% smoke free facility."

The decision was made after an order from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and the Pennsylvania Department of Health, according to WPXI, a local TV station.

Another Pennsylvania TV station, WGAL, reported that Hollywood Casino, located in Grantville, also banned smoking. It also follows a decision by the Department of Health and Gaming Control Board.

Comment: See also:

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USA

Donald Trump responds to calls to tear down monuments with creation of 'National Garden' of statues

Tal Axelrod
The Hill
Fri, 03 Jul 2020 00:00 UTC
Fire works at Mount rushmore
© REUTERS/Tom Brenner
South Dakota's U.S. Independence Day Mount Rushmore fireworks are launched during celebrations at Mt. Rushmore in Keystone, South Dakota, U.S., July 3, 2020.
The White House unveiled an executive order Friday evening to create a "National Garden of American Heroes" that will feature statues of prominent Americans.

The executive order, which President Trump announced during a Fourth of July celebration at Mount Rushmore, comes as the nation grapples with calls to tear down Confederate statues across the country and address other racist iconography.

"These statues are silent teachers in solid form of stone and metal. They preserve the memory of our American story and stir in us a spirit of responsibility for the chapters yet unwritten. These works of art call forth gratitude for the accomplishments and sacrifices of our exceptional fellow citizens who, despite their flaws, placed their virtues, their talents, and their lives in the service of our Nation," reads the executive order, which was disseminated by the White House.

Comment:
'Must protect our history': Trump announces creation of 'National Garden of American Heroes' monument park
...
The announcement was not without its detractors, of course, including neoconservative luminary and rabid Iraq War booster Bill Kristol, who suggested such a memorial park already exists in the form of the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where thousands of American combat veterans are buried across 624 acres. Cost also became a point of contention, with critics arguing the money would be better spent elsewhere.




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Shopping Bag

Best-selling children's author Gillian Philip is sacked after adding hashtag 'I stand with JK Rowling' to her Twitter handle

Nick Craven
Daily Mail
Sun, 05 Jul 2020 02:19 UTC
gillian phillip

Gillian Philip (pictured), a best-selling children's author, has been sacked after putting out a tweet with the hashtag #IStandWithJKRowling, amid the Harry Potter author's transgender row.
A bestselling children's author has been sacked after expressing support for fellow writer J. K. Rowling in the bitter row over transgender rights.

In the latest example of 'cancel culture', novelist Gillian Philip was last week jettisoned from her role writing titles for a major publishing company.

It came after the writer, who has penned a popular series of books for eight-to-12-year-olds, added the hashtag #IStandWithJKRowling to her Twitter handle.

Comment: Who would have guessed that in 2020, someone would lose their job for agreeing with the sentiment that only women menstruate. If anyone ever needed evidence that human culture is devolving, this would add nicely.

See also:

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Attention

Lockdown lunacy 2.0: Second wave? Not even close

J.B. Handley
jbhandleyblog.com
Mon, 29 Jun 2020 06:56 UTC
lockdown lunacy 2-0
Why did politicians ever lockdown society in the first place? Can we all agree that the stated purpose was to "flatten the curve" so our hospital system could handle the inevitable COVID-19 patients who needed care? At that point, at least, back in early March, people were behaving rationally. They accepted that you can't eradicate a virus, so let's postpone things enough to handle it. The fact is, we have done that, and so much more. The headlines are filled with dire warnings of a "second wave" and trigger-happy Governors are rolling back regulations to try to stem the tide of new cases. But, is any of it actually true and should we all be worried? No, it's not a second wave. The COVID-19 virus is on its final legs, and while I have filled this post with graphs to prove everything I just said, this is really the only graph you need to see, it's the CDC's data, over time, of deaths from COVID-19 here in the U.S., and the trend line is unmistakable:

lockdown lunacy chart 1
If virologists were driving policy about COVID-19 rather than public health officials, we'd all be Sweden right now, which means life would effectively be back to normal. The only thing our lockdowns have done at this point is prolong the agony a little bit, and encouraged Governors to make up more useless rules. Sweden's health minister understood that the only chance to beat COVID-19 was to get the Swedish population to a Herd Immunity Threshold against COVID-19, and that's exactly what they have done, so let me start there.
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