OBVIOUSLY NOT GREEN PARTY MINISTER

German minister urges clampdown on illegal climate protests

Louis Oelofse

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wants activists who break the law to be arrested and prosecuted. It comes amid a wave of civil disobedience acts by activists demanding tougher measures to combat the climate crisis.

Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on Thursday took to Twitter to express her "full support" for a "police clampdown" on illegal climate protests if they block paths for emergency vehicles.

"These activists place themselves above the law and resort to means that do not benefit the important cause of climate protection, but instead do considerable damage," she told the German Press Agency (dpa).

She said climate activists who break the law, "must be prosecuted quickly and consequently."

"When crimes are committed and other people are endangered, then every limit of legitimate protest has been breached," the Social Democrat politician said.

Faeser specifically mentioned an incident in Berlin earlier in the week during which two protesters had glued themselves to a gantry sign on the city's autobahn.

Police said the two men, who are part of the group Last Generation, allegedly slowed emergency services' response to a severe traffic accident.

A cyclist, who had been run over by a cement mixer, was in intensive care following the collision and was declared brain dead on Thursday.

Berlin's fire brigade said the emergency vehicle was delayed due to heavy traffic but said it could not conclusively blame it on the protesters' actions. A Berlin paramedic told Buzzfeed that as he understood from colleagues on the scene, the patient was reached and treated before the delayed vehicle's arrival and in this specific instance the time lost probably did not affect the medical outcome.

Last Generation expressed regrets over the cyclist's condition but said they "interrupt everyday life because we are in an emergency.

"The government's course is deadly, self-destructive and leading us to climate chaos," the group wrote on Twitter.

Police union urges surveillance

Over the past few weeks, climate activists across Europe have thrown soup and mashed potatoes and glued themselves to celebrated artworks from Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" to Claude Monet's "Haystacks".

They have sprayed orange paint on buildings, including the headquarters of Germany's ruling coalition parties — the Social Democrats, Greens and Free Democrats — demanding tougher measures to combat the climate crisis.

In each case, the protesters were detained for their actions.

Climate activists create security nightmare for museums

02:43

The German Police Union (GdP) says that is not enough, they urged the government to act more decisively against activists that, "are increasingly resorting to criminal means."

The GdP chairperson, Jochen Kopelke, said the union was concerned that activist groups were being infiltrated by extremist groups.

He did not cite in any specific examples but said, "unchecked radicalization can lead first to extremism, then to terrorism. We don't want that, it must not happen here."

He called for police surveillance of certain groups.
German president warns activists risk losing public support for climate demands

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is on an official visit to South Korea, said the acts of civil disobedience might be hurting the climate activists' cause.

"The question is whether what we are seeing these days, food being thrown at valuable paintings, or people sticking themselves to the street, really helps the climate goal," Steinmeier said during a visit to Kyoto.

"I'm afraid it will undermine the broad social support to take more decisive climate protection or more specifically rob us of the opportunity to increase this support even more," he added.

In a speech at the Doshisha University in Kyoto he said "shock-induced paralysis or angry protests," wont succeed in containing the climate crisis.

Includes reporting from dpa.

Edited by: Mark Hallam

Greta Thunberg interview: world on climate precipice but activism offers hope

Channel 4 News

4 days ago

In an extended interview with Channel 4 News, as she launches The Climate Book, Greta Thunberg speaks about how she deals with online trolls and why she feels hopeful about the fight against climate change even as the world approaches a “precipice”. 

Plastic recycling a 'myth' as packaging explodes

NATURE AND ENVIRONMENT

GLOBAL ISSUES

Stuart Braun
11/02/2022November 2, 2022

Major companies are falling short on their commitments to recycle and reduce plastic, a fossil fuel byproduct, even as Coca-Cola sponsors this year's climate conference.

https://p.dw.com/p/4IxDb

When it was announced that Coca-Cola would be a major sponsor of the COP27 climate summit starting next week in Egypt, climate campaigners and activists quickly accused the company of greenwashing.

"This is greenwashing from Coca-Cola, plain and simple, all whilst they fill the ocean with plastic pollution and emit huge volumes of carbon by using virgin oil in their production of plastic packaging," said Amy Slack, head of campaigns and policy for UK-based ocean activists, Surfers Against Sewage.

Coca-Cola produces around 120 billion oil-based plastic bottles annually, according to anti-plastics campaigners Break Free from Plastics. Around 99% of the bottles are produced with fossil fuels, which is worsening climate change and fueling big oil's expansion into plastics amid the clean energy transition, say Greenpeace.

Despite a promise by Coca-Cola to reduce its emissions by 25% by 2030, a large majority of its containers are not recycled.

Surfers Against Sewage said that of the packaging waste collected on clean-ups across the UK, one-fifth carries the Coca-Cola brand.

With so little recycled of the 400 million tons of plastic waste created annually, according to the World Economic Forum, Coca-Cola is the pinnacle of a much broader problem. In the US, for example, only around 5% of plastic waste is recycled, noted Greenpeace in a report released last week that calls out the "failed, toxic plastic recycling myth."

2025 commitment to 'reuse, recycle and compost' won't be met

As plastic waste multiples, the companies that produce it have long claimed that their packaging will soon be largely recyclable or biodegradable.

In a statement released last month following the furor over its COP 27 sponsorship, Coca-Cola said it shares "the goal of eliminating waste from the ocean," and plans to "to collect and recycle a bottle or can for every one we sell" by 2030.

"Our support for COP27 is in line with our science-based target to reduce absolute carbon emissions 25 per cent by 2030, and our ambition for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050," the statement added.

But campaigners question the whole recycling premise.

"Corporations like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé, and Unilever have worked with industry front groups to promote plastic recycling as the solution to plastic waste for decades," said Lisa Ramsden, Greenpeace USA Senior Plastics Campaigner. "But the data is clear: practically speaking, most plastic is just not recyclable."

Nonetheless, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Unilever are among more than 80 corporate signatories to the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment that aims to either eliminate plastic waste or make it part of a sustainable circular economy.

Founded in 2018 by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation — a UK-based charity committed to creating a circular economy — and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the commitment's key target is for signatories to only sell reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025.

A progress report released today acknowledges, however, that the target won't be met.

 

No 'credible path forward'

According to Sander Defruyt, who leads the New Plastics Economy initiative that co-manages the Global Commitment, the failure to meet the key target is widespread among signatories that represent more than 20% of the global plastic packaging market.

"There is a lack of a credible pathway forward," said Defruyt, referring primarily to an ongoing reliance on flexible packaging used in snack, confectionery and personal care products. The problem "is a lack of worldwide consensus" on finding alternatives.

Around 16% of signatories' packaging is flexible packaging that is "super-efficient" at preserving goods, said Defruyt, but remains largely unrecyclable at scale. Flexible packaging such as chip packets or single-use shampoo sachets represents 40% of all plastic packaging globally. "It's incredibly hard to deal with," Defruyt added, noting that recycling rates peak at about 30% in a select few western European countries.

While in Europe at least, a single-use plastics ban will limit some of this packaging, it will be difficult to put a strict ban on flexible packaging "because it is so widespread," Defruyt noted.

Even if the 2022 Global Commitment progress report had some good news, with the share of post-consumer recycled content rising from 4.8% in 2018 to 10.0% in 2021, the level of virgin plastic use increased in 2021 after two years of decline.

The increase hints at skyrocketing demand for products whose plastic packaging cannot be recycled fast enough.

"This reinforces the need for businesses to decouple growth from the use of plastic packaging," stated the Global Commitment progress report.

Recyclability and compostability can help create a more circular economy for waste, but curbing growth will require a "fundamental rethink" of how products are sold and packaged.

A June report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) projects that global plastic use and waste will nearly triple by 2060. Even if plastic recycling does increase in that time, global plastic pollution is still expected to double.

Plastic bottles can't be recycled fast enough to combat fast-rising packaging production

Image: Joy Saha/ZUMA Wire/IMAGO

Recycling isn't the answer

"We can't recycle our way out of this mess — we need holistic system change," said Inger Andersen, executive director at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

Lisa Ramsden notes that recycling rates are "reducing dramatically" in the US, in part because China stopped accepting North American plastic waste in 2019 — around 7 million tons of it annually.

So much plastic is being produced that it's anyway "impossible to collect," she added. The hundreds of billions of PET plastic drink bottles produced annually are theoretically recyclable but sorting out PET from diverse and often contaminated plastic waste is not economically viable.

"The real solution is to switch to systems of reuse and refill," Ramsden said.

But while Coca-Cola has committed to reusing 25% of plastic bottles by 2030 — a program in Latin America has already achieved 16% bottle reuse — Ramsden fears this will be offset by a massive rise in the production of non-reusable bottles.
A global plastics treaty

The ultimate answer, she says, could lie in a legally binding Global Treaty to End Plastic Pollution, which is to be negotiated in November following the UN climate summit.

Endorsed by major polluters such as The Coca-Cola Company, Nestle and Pepsico, the treaty aims to enshrine a global regime of regulations and plastic reduction targets. The deal could become "a key moment in the plastic waste fight," Ramsden said.

For DeFruyt, if the principle of "extended producer responsibility" can be enshrined in the treaty it could also importantly force corporate polluters to pay for and implement recycling or reuse programs.

Tim Schauenberg contributed reporting to this article.
Edited by: Sarah Steffen

Thrown away in Haiti

SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER😈

Joe Manchin tells CEOs it's 'foolish' for them to give money to political candidates while 'asking nothing in return'

bmetzger@insider.com (Bryan Metzger) - 

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia speaks with Thomas McMillen, CEO of the LEAD1 Association, during an event on October 26, 2021 in Washington, DC. 

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin addressed a room full of top CEOs on Thursday morning.

He gave them advice on engaging with a "dysfunctional" political system: "Quit writing checks to everybody."

He said that by "asking nothing in return" for political donations, CEOs were "supporting bad behavior."

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia offered some oddly-worded advice to a gathering of business titans on Thursday: don't give money to politicians without expecting something in return.

The remarks came at the conclusion of his appearance at the Fortune CEO Initiative, where he was interviewed virtually by Fortune Media CEO Alan Murray about his support for the Inflation Reduction Act, his efforts towards passing permitting reform, and the notion of bipartisanship.

Murray concluded the conversation by asking the West Virginia senator, who's much more friendly with big business than other members of his party, how the business community could "better engage" with a "somewhat dysfunctional political system."

"Quit writing checks to everybody," Manchin replied.

He expanded, contrasting the investments that CEOs make in the business world with the money that they contribute to political candidates' campaign accounts.

"They've done that by taking risks, expecting returns on investment," he said. "The investments you've made in politics from the Democrat side, and the Republican side, by asking nothing in return, is a foolish investment because you would never do that in your business world or your private life."

Manchin, a conservative Democrat who has caused headaches for his party by opposing aspects of President Joe Biden's economic and climate agenda, has had his own political contributions from Republicans and corporate executives come under scrutiny over the course of the last year.

Following the initial publication of this article, the West Virginia's senator's communications director, Sam Runyon, sought to clarify Manchin's remarks.

"It is absurd to suggest Senator Manchin was advocating for a quid pro quo," she said in a statement to Insider. "He has long advocated for increased transparency in campaign finances and has repeatedly made the point that both voters and donors should hold elected officials accountable when they simply obstruct progress instead of looking for lasting, bipartisan solutions that put our country ahead of partisan politics."

Manchin suggested on Thursday that CEOs were making political contributions based on broader ideological dynamics — referencing Democrats who are "too liberal" or Republicans who voted against certifying the 2020 election results.

"You say, well, this side's better than that side, yeah, I'll give them money, sure. I don't like that side. They're too liberal," he continued. "I don't like this side because they're deniers, they can't accept the truth or the facts — back and forth."

He told the group that they should engage with politicians directly.

"Why don't you do this: tell a politician when they come to you, say, 'listen, I'm sorry, I don't give checks. I don't give a donation or a contribution to any politician, but I'm willing to make an investment," he said. "What should I expect from you? What are you going to do? What have you done in your political life, and what will you do if this is your first time? Tell me so I can make a decision on whether I want to invest in you, because I can expect something in return."

Manchin added that political contributions from CEOs are fueling "bad behavior" by politicians, suggesting a broader point about political dysfunction.

"Alan, we can't fix it in Washington. I'm telling you, we cannot fix it. You know why?" he said. "You all are supporting bad behavior. You're giving checks to bad behavior."

NGO SOS Méditerranée asks France, Spain and Greece for help in disembarking more than 200 migrants

Daniel Stewart - Yesterday - News 360


The French NGO SOS Méditerranée has asked Thursday for help to the governments of France, Spain and Greece to disembark the 234 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean and who are on board the rescue ship 'Ocean Viking' waiting to reach a safe harbor.


The 'Ocean Viking' rescue ship - 

Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images via Z / DPA

The organization has warned that this is a matter of urgency in the face of possible deteriorating weather conditions. "Strong winds and high waves are expected later this week," the NGO said in a statement.

It has thus lamented that "supplies are running low" almost two weeks after SOS Méditerranée made the first request to dock at a safe port. While the first choice was Italy, the recent change of government and the anti-migration statements made by the new top Italian politicians have significantly reduced the possibilities.

Related video: Migrant rescue by Greek coastguard

Duration 0:58

View on Watch

This Wednesday, the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, expressed his refusal to allow the entry of migrants rescued by ships of various NGOs in the Mediterranean and asked that the countries of origin of these ships be the ones to receive the migrants.

This is why the organization has turned to other countries such as France, Spain and Greece, which "are in a better position to provide aid and a safe harbor." However, the organization has clarified that "they are not looking for France to open a port for them" but simply to "contribute to finding a solution".

Since the beginning of 2022, some 1,700 people have disappeared in the Mediterranean, 1,287 of them in the central area, which is already the most dangerous migratory route in the world, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Italian government data indicate that almost 86,000 people arrived by sea in Italy between January and November 2022, half of whom are from Tunisia, Egypt and Bangladesh. In the same period of 2021, the figure was around 53,000, while in 2020 it was 28,300.

Germany urges Italy to help migrants stranded onboard NGO boats

Issued on: 04/11/2022 - 

01:24

Migrants are rescued by crew members of NGO rescue ship 'Ocean Viking' in the Mediterranean Sea, October 26, 2022. © Camille Martin Juan/SOS MEDITE via Reuters

Text by: NEWS WIRES|
Video by: Seema GUPTA

Germany has urged Italy to help migrants who have been onboard a German-flagged NGO boat for more than a week, saying charity vessels operating in the Mediterranean play an important role in saving lives at sea.

Three ships run by charities, including Germany's SOS Humanity, have been at sea off Italy for more than a week, carrying almost 1,000 migrants.

They said all their requests to dock have so far proved unsuccessful.

Giorgia Meloni, Italy's new rightist prime minister, said the flag nations of the charity ships in question should take care of the migrants currently stranded at sea, after her government threatened to ban them from entering its waters.

In an emailed statement seen by Reuters, the German embassy in Rome said there were currently 104 unaccompanied minors on the German-flagged ship Humanity 1.

"Many of them need medical care. We have asked the Italian government to provide help quickly," said the embassy statement, issued on Wednesday evening.

Earlier last week, Italy sent letters to the embassies of Germany and Norway saying the conduct of two NGO ships flying their flags was not in line with national security rules, border control and the fight against illegal immigration.

The German embassy replied saying its government believed "civil organisations" rescuing migrants at sea "make an important contribution to saving lives in the Mediterranean".

"Rescuing people in mortal danger is the most important thing," the German statement said.

Charity SOS Mediterranee, whose boat is currently carrying 234 people, said the weather was set to worsen at sea in the coming days and asked Greece, France or Spain to provide help as Malta and Italy had not responded to docking requests.

Italy's foreign ministry said it asked Germany to provide detailed information about conditions aboard the Humanity 1, and pledged to provide emergency assistance should it be necessary.

(REUTERS)

Girl’s message in a bottle fuels anger at U.K. asylum conditions

Karla Adam, William Booth - 

LONDON — A young girl’s plaintive message in a bottle tossed over the fence of a migrant processing center has become the latest event roiling British public opinion over the system handling illegal migration.


 Henry Nicholls/Reuters

The call for help on Wednesday, from the overcrowded center which she described as a “prison,” came after a newspaper reported that a busload of recently arrived migrants, wearing blankets and flip flops, had simply been dumped off at night by authorities at a London train station.

The incidents took place against a backdrop of a man on Saturday throwing at least two gasoline bombs at the walls of another migrant processing center near the port city of Dover on the English coast. The assailant was later found dead in a nearby parking lot. Anti-terrorism police assigned to the case said the attack appeared driven by “some form of hate-filled grievance.”Migration row intensifies between U.K. and France after English Channel deaths

The British government is struggling to produce a cogent strategy to humanely slow the flow of illegal migrants, as the number of attempted entries surge. Criminal gangs smuggle migrants via shipping containers, trains and ferries, and in dangerous small rubber rafts that motor across the rough English Channel.

Around 38,000 people have been detained so far in 2022 crossing the narrow but perilous channel in boats from French beaches, the highest number since record keeping began.

Last year, the total was 28,526 people, while in 2020 it was 8,404. In August, on a single day, 1,295 people attempted the trip in 27 boats.

The trip has proven deadly for some. In a single incident in November 2021, at least 27 migrants died while attempting the crossing. Most of them were from the Kurdish region of Iraq.

Public sentiment about immigration has changed dramatically since the 2016 Brexit vote when politicians promised the United Kingdom would be able to “take back control” of its borders and curb both illegal and legal immigration.

At the time of the vote, Brits said that immigration was the most important issue facing the country — today they are more likely to tell pollsters that the economy, health care and the environment are priorities.



An aerial view shows the Manston short-term holding center for migrants, near Ramsgate, south east England on Nov. 2, 2022.© William Edwards/AFP/Getty Images

Related video: UK government slammed for 'wretched' migrant centre conditions

The British government is under particular pressure over conditions at Manston, a former Royal Air Force base in southeast England that is running at more than double its capacity, and where the girl with the message is living.

Her letter was shoved into a bottle and thrown to a photographer working for Press Association, the British news agency, on the other side of the fence.

The migrants are supposed to be processed within 24 hours, but the message said there over 50 families who had stayed there for over 30 days.

“We are in a difficult life now … we fill like we’re in prison … Some of us very sick … We really need your help. Please help us,” she wrote in broken English.

Local leaders have said there were close to 4,000 migrants at the center over the weekend even though the facility was designed for 1,600.

Meanwhile, the Guardian newspaper reported that a bus load of migrants from the same center were dropped off at Victoria train station during the night, with many having nowhere to go.

Danial Abbas, a volunteer with the homelessness charity Under One Sky, told the BBC his charity happened to be at the station when they saw a group of people who appeared “highly distressed, disoriented and lost … and simply turning to anyone and everyone on the street to help.”

The Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who is in charge of immigration, visited both centers in Dover and Manston on Thursday but news reporters were not invited on the trip.


People onboard a bus are driven away from an immigration processing center in Manston, Britain, Wednesday.© Henry Nicholls/Reuters

After getting the migrants clothes and food, his charity contacted staff at the Home Office who then took them by taxi to hotel accommodation.

Britain’s Home Office officials said in an emailed statement that “the welfare of those in our care is of the utmost importance and people are only released from Manston when we have assurances that they have accommodation to go to.

“We worked at pace to find accommodation for the individuals as soon as we were notified, and they are now in accommodation and being supported.”

Currently, the British government wants to send refugees and migrants to Africa, in a controversial move embraced by many in the Conservative Party but denounced as cruel and illegal by critics.

In April, the former prime minister, Boris Johnson, announced his government had signed a $160 million deal with Rwanda to accept Britain’s illegal migrants.

The idea is to put all or most adult migrants who arrive illegally on British shores — including asylum seekers — onto planes to fly 4,000 miles away to East Africa, where they could live and work while their claims were assessed or leave if they preferred to return to their home countries. They would not come to Britain.

Johnson hailed the policy as a “world model” and said other Western nations would adopt it. He said the government’s goal was “to break the business model” of the smuggling gangs, which can make $400,000 for each launch of an unseaworthy dinghy. He said he was sending a message that people who cross illegally “risk ending up not in the U.K. but in Rwanda.”

The new government, led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, has vowed to pursue the Rwanda strategy.

The first flight to Rwanda was canceled in June, after a last-minute order by the European Court of Human Rights. The policy is now being reviewed in British high courts.


People holding signs attend a vigil calling for the immigration processing center to be closed in Manston, Britain, Wednesday.© Henry Nicholls/Reuters

British government admits Manston migrant detention center is operating illegally

Daniel Stewart - Yesterday


The UK authorities have admitted Thursday that the Manston migrant detention center in the county of Kent has been operating illegally, a statement that comes after all the alarms were raised due to the overcrowding suffered by thousands of people inside.


Rescue of migrants in the English Channel - 

GENDARMERÍA NACIONAL FRANCESA

The center was created to house a maximum of 1,600 people for periods of only 24 hours while the first steps were taken to apply for asylum in the country. However, the center currently holds up to 4,000 migrants who report inhumane conditions and have been in the center for weeks.

The Secretary of State for Climate, Graham Stuart, has acknowledged that "no one is comfortable" with what has happened and has assured that the Home Office is working to resolve the situation even though the Government claims to be meeting "all the basic needs" of the migrants in Manston.

Speaking to Sky News television, Stuart said the asylum system is "overstretched" with the large number of cross-Channel arrivals in small boats. "It's not where we want them to be right now, but we have to look at how to sort it out. Thousands of hotel rooms have been made available, but it is unacceptable to the British people and we need to do more to tackle the people smugglers to stem what has become an unprecedented wave of migration," he asserted.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman is scheduled to visit Dover this afternoon. Braverman has come under heavy pressure in the face of criticism of her for allegedly allowing the conditions for migrants at the center in question to worsen.

Braverman has been accused of allowing the situation to spiral out of control after a dozen asylum seekers from Manston were left with no place to stay. Her words have also raised controversy after she spoke of an "invasion" of migrants and alluded to "Albanian criminals".

The Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, has condemned these statements and has accused the United Kingdom of "falsely" attacking the country's citizens and pointing to them as the cause of "the problems of crime that the United Kingdom has", according to statements reported by the BBC.

Although he admitted that the territory "was once a model to follow when it came to integrating minorities", he warned that it has now become a "madhouse".

Ancient stone tunnel discovered in Egypt

M Arwayahya - Yesterday

The undated photo shows an alabaster head discovered during archaeological excavations in Alexandria, Egypt. (Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities/Handout via Xinhua)


Ancient stone tunnel discovered in Egypt© Provided by XINHUA

CAIRO, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Thursday the discovery of a stone tunnel, 13 meters beneath the land surface, two alabaster heads, and several potteries in the coastal city of Alexandria, northern Egypt.

An Egyptian-Dominican archaeological mission found the tunnel in the temple of Taposiris Magna, which was a city established by Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus between 280 and 270 BC, the ministry said in a statement, adding that the tunnel is 1,305 meters in length and 2 meters in height.

"Near the temple, archaeologists found two heads of alabaster, one is for a person from the Ptolemaic era, from 305 to 30 BC, while the other is for a sphinx," the statement said.


Ancient stone tunnel discovered in Egypt© Provided by XINHUA

The undated photo shows a view of a stone tunnel discovered during archaeological excavations in Alexandria, Egypt. (Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities/Handout via Xinhua)

During the excavations and the archaeological survey of the tunnel, a part of the tunnel was discovered submerged under the water of the Mediterranean Sea, it added.

Muhammad Mustafa, an archaeological expert, told Xinhua that earthquakes and climate change are behind the drowning of antiquities in Alexandria. ■

THE WORLD OF TOPSY TURVY

FOX News

Pastor acquitted after being arrested when police helicopter found church gathering outside during pandemic

Canadian pastor facing four years of jail time for inciting people to come to church
Duration 4:27 View on Watch   WITHOUT MASKING, DURING PROVINCIAL LOCKDOWN 

 

A Canadian pastor who was arrested twice in 2021 for continuing to congregate with his church in Calgary, Alberta, during the pandemic was acquitted of the public health-related charges against him Tuesday.

The Provincial Court of Alberta tossed out charges against Pastor Tim Stephens alleging he violated provincial public health orders regarding physical distancing, his attorneys at the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) announced in a press release.

Stephens was imprisoned twice last year for keeping his Fairview Baptist Church open. His second arrest, which reportedly happened after a police helicopter found his church gathering outside after police had locked their church, prompted Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., to send a letter to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urging it to consider adding Canada to its watch list.

"We are pleased that the Court has acquitted Pastor Stephens on the charges of not complying with a public health order," attorneys for Stephens said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. "Pastor Stephens was illegally arrested and imprisoned for having allegedly violated the public health orders, which have since been shown to be ineffective and harmful."

"This decision sets the record straight about the justifiability of his actions and about the importance of respecting Charter rights and freedoms," the statement added.

CANADIAN PASTOR JAILED FOR HOLDING CHURCH DURING COVID WELCOMES PARDON, BLASTS TRUDEAU

Stephens' acquittal comes weeks after Danielle Smith, Alberta's new premier, promised a plan to pardon COVID offenders in the province. Her administration follows that of Jason Kenney, who publicly apologized after his political opponents excoriated him when he was secretly photographed violating his own COVID rules 24 times during one dinner with his cabinet ministers in 2021, according to the Western Standard.

In a recent speech at her political party's annual general meeting, the new premier noted that the pastors who were arrested in Alberta ​​"come to top of mind" when she thinks of people who were unfairly penalized for disobeying the COVID rules in Canada, which has had some of the strictest mandates in the world.

CANADIAN LEADER CONSIDERS DROPPING COVID LOCKDOWN CHARGES, APOLOGIZES TO UNVACCINATED

Stephens told Fox News Digital that he regards Smith's rhetoric as "welcome news" that indicates she understands "the gross violations of religious and civil liberties of lockdowns and mandates."

"She has made it clear that this discrimination was politically motivated; that it was the political science and not the medical science that led to the persecution of churches or individuals who would not go along with the prevailing narrative as a matter of conscience or conviction," Stephens said.

"What has happened to me has only furthered the cause of Christ, and for that I rejoice," he continued. "Yet as we head into another flu season, it is a relief to know we have a leader who understands the discrimination and abuses of power over the past few years. As Christians, we pray for our leaders and that their governing would be in according to God's principles, which lead to freedom and prosperity."



Alberta Premier Danielle Smith reacts with a smile after she lost a provincial election in High River, Alberta, on April 23, 2012. REUTERS/Mike Sturk/File Photo© REUTERS/Mike Sturk/File Photo

CANADIAN PASTOR DEFIANT AS JUDGE ORDERS HIM TO PARROT ‘MEDICAL EXPERTS’ FROM PULPIT: ‘I WILL NOT OBEY’

Stephens was one of several pastors who were imprisoned in Alberta for refusing to obey the government by shuttering their churches. Pastor James Coates, who is a friend of Stephens and was the first clergyman to be jailed in Canada in the name of public health, spent more than a month in prison in 2021 after he reopened his GraceLife Community Church in Edmonton, which is about a three-hour drive north from Calgary.

Federal law enforcement later raided GraceLife's building at dawn, locked it and barricaded it behind three layers of fencing.

"I’m grateful for the leadership change and the political shift that has taken place in our province and country," Coates told Fox News Digital. "Kudos to the trucker convoy and all that they accomplished. In a sense, I think they finished what we started."

Pastor jailed in Canada for preaching during the pandemic

Coates also expressed gratitude to the new premier "for her courage in speaking up against the disgraceful way we were treated by our government. Though it brought about a wonderful occasion for the glory of Christ to be displayed, it was nevertheless a miscarriage of justice."

CANADIAN PROTESTER'S TRUCK SEIZED, BANK ACCOUNTS FROZEN OVER CONNECTION TO FREEDOM CONVOY

The pastor expressed concern that any potential pardon would "potentially get the court system off the hook in terms of having to rule on the constitutional issues."



"Kudos to the trucker convoy and all that they accomplished," Pastor James Coates told Fox News Digital. "In a sense, I think they finished what we started." FOX NEWS DIGITAL© FOX NEWS DIGITAL

"The courts having to rule on that which is outstanding could go either way in terms of setting precedent, but given the way decisions seem to be being slow-walked, there’s a growing sense of vindication," he said.

"In the end, it’s likely the government will think twice before ever repeating the injustices of the pandemic," Coates added. "So in that sense, we might be able to say, mission accomplished."

KNOW NOTHINGS

Watch: Extremist Republicans openly attack public schools teaching science, history and social studies to kids

AlterNet - 
By David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement

Kari Lake speaking in Scottsdale, Arizona in August 2021© provided by AlterNet

The Arizona Republican Party’s nominee for governor, Kari Lake, is telling supporters there’s no reason for schools to spend so much time teaching science, math, and history. If elected she would recreate public schools into factories producing young adults who can immediately enter the workforce without the benefit of understanding basic information necessary in a democratic society. In North Carolina, the dominionist Lt. Governor wants to ban the teaching of science and history in elementary schools. And a Fox News host this week claimed that social studies – classes that teach history, culture, geography, political science, philosophy, and psychology – is a fake subject, “made up by progressives.”

That Fox News host is Pete Hegseth, who Donald Trump, when he was president, wanted to nominate to head the Veterans Administration. Hegseth may be best-known, however, for once bragging on Fox News that he hadn’t washed his hands in over a decade.

The Arizona Republican Party’s nominee for governor, Kari Lake, is telling supporters there’s no reason for schools to spend so much time teaching science, math, and history. If elected she would recreate public schools into factories producing young adults who can immediately enter the workforce without the benefit of understanding basic information necessary in a democratic society. In North Carolina, the dominionist Lt. Governor wants to ban the teaching of science and history in elementary schools. And a Fox News host this week claimed that social studies – classes that teach history, culture, geography, political science, philosophy, and psychology – is a fake subject, “made up by progressives.”

That Fox News host is Pete Hegseth, who Donald Trump, when he was president, wanted to nominate to head the Veterans Administration. Hegseth may be best-known, however, for once bragging on Fox News that he hadn’t washed his hands in over a decade.

“Germs are not a real thing,” Hegseth said. “I can’t see them, therefore they’re not real.”

RELATED: ‘This Is Who They Are’: Critics Blast Kari Lake for Mocking Paul Pelosi After Brutally Violent Assault

“Everything about the confines of my classroom was created by progressives 100 years ago,” Hegseth told a live audience this week. “You mentioned the rows. You mentioned that approach – the bell ringing. God being removed of course, lunch breaks, lunch breaks, different subjects, Social Studies.”

That’s when Hegseth got agitated.

“The idea we’re not going to study civics, history, philosophy, theology, we’re going to create psychology and social studies and split it all up as if we can dissect human nature and through a scientific method which they’ve invented.”.

“That’s right, create more perfectible human beings by controlling how they think and what they think, all created by progressives.”

Hegseth thinks taxpayer-funded public schools should teach everything through the “lens” of God, or, more specifically, his God

“Did you take social studies? I took social studies. The progressives made it up it – it’s, it’s a made-up conglomerate of subjects meant to silo the way that we think as opposed to basing all of wisdom in God’s wisdom, in His word, and it all makes sense, looking at it through that lens.”

Social Studies, of course, includes civics and history, and philosophy. In fact, the National Council for the Social Studies offers a definition for social studies:

READ MORE: Watch: Kari Lake Ad Features Pastor Who Frames LGBTQ People as Sex-Obsessed Violent Criminals

“Social studies is the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence,” which Hegseth appears to object to.

“Within the school program, social studies provides coordinated, systematic study drawing upon such disciplines as anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology, as well as appropriate content from the humanities, mathematics, and natural sciences.”

“The primary purpose of social studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world.”

Hegseth is not alone in wanting to reduce what children learn.

Republican Kari Lake, Arizona’s GOP nominee for governor and a former TV news reporter whose entire education was in public schools, now thinks school children don’t need to learn as much as they are currently when it comes to science, math, and history.

READ MORE: ‘We the People – Not Enemies’: President Biden Urges Americans to ‘Preserve Democracy’ in Address to Nation

“I believe we are at a prime opportunity to completely re-envision how our government schools are run, because everyone’s eyes are open,” Lake told supporters at an event while campaigning with far-right white Christian nationalist U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ).

“And who says we have to have this many hours of science, this many of math and history? We can change that up,” said Lake about an entire state’s public school system that already has been “ranked worst across the 50 United States of America,” according to a report in Arizona’s KGUN 9 News.

“What does it mean to have a high school diploma? It should mean that you know some of the basics, and you also have some ability to go out and make a living. Our schools have our kids for 13 years from K through 12 and at the end of 13 years, we should have some competent adults going into the world who can make a living because there are jobs out there.”

Notice how Lake doesn’t say, “public schools,” but “government schools,” a term many on the right use to demonize public schools, expanding their belief that anything the government does is wrong, bad, or a waste of tax dollars.

Lake also sounds like she’s suggesting high school graduates are not able to get jobs because they have spent too much time learning about science, math, and history.

Then there’s far right Christian dominionist Republican Lt. Governor of North Carolina Mark Robinson, who is another extremist attacking education.

Robinson made national headlines after calling LGBTQ people “filth.”

In August MSNBC’s Ja’han Jones wrote that Robinson “may well be the most bigoted official in the United States with the least name recognition.”

Calling him “a full-on extremist,” Jones writes that Robinson And “reportedly has a new, ludicrous belief to share with the masses: Science and history shouldn’t be taught to students until they reach sixth grade.”

“First through fifth grades ‘don’t need to be teaching social studies,’ he wrote, according to local NBC affiliate WRAL-TV, which obtained an advanced copy of his upcoming book,” Jones adds, reporting that Robinson wrote: “We don’t need to be teaching science. We surely don’t need to be talking about equity and social justice.”

There’s more to Robinson’s extremist ideas on education.

Get rid of it. Or, specifically, Jones writes, Robinson has ” called for the elimination of the state’s board of education.”

“Robinson said flatly what most fact-averse conservatives won’t admit about their education crusade,” Jones continues. “They fear accurate history lessons that could inevitably lead to discussions about systemic disparities. And they fear discussions about science, which may undermine the fundamentalist Christian beliefs at the heart of the conservative movement.”

Jones sums up this entire approach to public education from the right.

“Robinson’s reported ideas about education showcase the logical endpoint of the Republican Party’s assault on lessons about social inequality: an eagerness to keep children stupid.”

TRANSHUMANS

Future humans will have deformed bodies and a 'second eyelid' due to overuse of tech

Jeff Parsons -  Metro

Cramped fingers? Crooked neck? Aching elbows?


Take a look at your future (Credit: TollFreeForwarding.com)

You, my friend, are using too much technology.

It’s time to put down the smartphone, game controller or TV remote and step away from the screen.

Or else, you could end up looking like Mindy here.

Mindy has been constructed as a vision of our future selves. She’s what we all might end up looking like because we’re all too addicted to our screens.

A research project commissioned by TollFreeForwarding.com employed a 3D designer to come up with Mindy based on common tech-related problems.

Things like spending all day in a chair hunched over a keyboard or constantly looking down at the phone in our hands.

They reckon it’ll lead to humans having a hunched back, clawed hand and – weirdly – a second eyelid which could be used to protect us against blue light.

Here’s the full list of afflictions we can expect to come our way:
Hunched back
Text claw
90-degree elbow
Second eyelid
Thicker skull
Smaller brain
Tech neck


Meet Mindy (Credit: TollFreeForwarding.com© Provided by Metro

‘Spending hours looking down at your phone strains your neck and throws your spine off balance,’ said Caleb Backe, a health and wellness expert at Maple Holistics in a statement issued alongside Mindy’s terrifying visage.

‘Consequently, the muscles in your neck have to expend extra effort to support your head. Sitting in front of the computer at the office for hours on end also means that your torso is pulled out in front of your hips rather than being stacked straight and aligned.’

That one seems rather obvious, but lets dive into a few of Mindy’s other symptoms.

Text Claw

Over time, the fingers on our hands could change because they’re so used to clutching a phone.

A recently coined condition, ‘text claw’ occurs after consistently gripping your smartphone, curling your fingers round into an unnatural position for long periods of time.


‘Take my strong hand’ (Credit: TollFreeForwarding.com)© Provided by Metro

Dr. Nikola Djordjevic from Med Alert Help expanded on the problem: ‘A few years ago, mobile internet usage surpassed desktop, and we now hold the internet in our hands.

‘However, the way we hold our phones can cause strain in certain points of contact – causing “text claw,” which is known as cubital tunnel syndrome.’

This same issue is what’s causing Mindy’s arm to be bent at 90 degrees at the elbow.

‘This syndrome is caused by pressure or the stretching of the ulnar nerve which runs in a groove on the inner side of the elbow,’ Dr Djordjevic said.

‘This causes numbness or a tingling sensation in the ring and little fingers, forearm pain, and weakness in the hands. Keeping the elbow bent for a long time – most often, while holding your phone – can stretch the nerve behind the elbow and put pressure on it.’

Tech neck


This is why posture is so important (Credit: TollFreeForwarding.com)© Provided by Metro

Returning to Mindy’s posture, the effects of technology on the neck have also given rise to a new condition – aptly named ‘tech neck’. In an article for Health Matters, Dr. K. Daniel Riew from the New York-Presbyterian Orch Spine Hospital, broke down exactly what tech neck is:

‘When you’re working on a computer or looking down at your phone, the muscles in the back of the neck have to contract to hold your head up.

‘The more you look down, the harder the muscles have to work to keep your head up. These muscles can get overly tired and sore from looking down at our smartphones and tablets or spending the majority of our working day on computers.’

Second eyelid

This is a bizarre one, but future humans could become so affected by blue screen light that we adapt to counteract it.


Well, this is just creepy (Copyright: TollFreeForwarding.com)© Provided by Metro

Kasun Ratnayake from the University of Toledo, spoke to the researchers to suggest that a ‘second eyelid’ may develop over time.

‘Humans may develop a larger inner eyelid to prevent exposure to excessive light, or the lens of the eye may be evolutionary developed such that it blocks incoming blue light but not other high wavelength lights like green, yellow or red,’ he said.

How to avoid becoming Mindy

The ways to avoid an inevitable slide into a Mindy-like future are obvious and oft-stated: take regular screen breaks and prioritise exercise in your daily routine.


Drop the screen time in favour of some exercise (Credits: Getty Images)© Provided by Metro

Of course, employers have their part to play too.

Adding initiatives to get employees not just off their seat, but actively exercising would go a long way.

‘Exercise is an obvious way to reduce stress and improve health and wellbeing for anybody, but it also inadvertently limits the use of technology as well, explained Jason Kay, CEO of Retreaver.

‘If employees spend some portion of their day exercising, then that is a welcome relief from technology.

‘Businesses can promote exercise by either buying equipment for the office or offering free gym memberships to their employees. Healthy employees will always be a benefit to any business as it helps create a positive and productive mindset.’