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News

Why are some US police forces equipped like military units? – The Guardian

But these are just a small taste of the military-grade arsenal that law enforcement officers have at their disposal – with the military handing them hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of equipment, from mine-resistant vehicles and airplanes, to grenade launchers and rifles.

Since 1997, the US Department of Defense has transferred more than $7.2bn in military equipment to law enforcement agencies. 

This is through the 1033 programme, which funnels excess military equipment to police forces for a fraction of the original cost.

https://archive.today/2020.06.05-125833/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/05/why-are-some-us-police-forces-equipped-like-military-units

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News

Government plans to make some coronavirus laws permanent – Evening Standard

Remaining restrictions on travel could be reviewed before Easter but some laws introduced during the pandemic will be made permanent, according to the Government’s plan for living with coronavirus.

The legal requirement to isolate is to be scrapped within days as the Prime Minister vowed to remove “all remaining domestic restrictions in law”.

The Government’s Living with Covid plan sets out its intention for other legal provisions to remain indefinitely, while others will be reviewed at a later date.

https://web.archive.org/web/20220227103341/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/government-prime-minister-regulations-england-courts-b983765.html

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News

‘Explosive questions’: Court demands data from Austrian health ministry justifying Covid-19 rules – news.com.au

Austria’s powerful Constitutional Court has demanded detailed data from the country’s Health Ministry justifying the government’s coronavirus response.

The 14-member court issued 10 sets of questions to the Health Ministry on January 26 in order to prepare for a “possible oral hearing” into a number of complaints it has received against Austria’s Covid-19 measures.

http://archive.today/2022.01.31-174331/https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/health/explosive-questions-court-demands-data-from-austrian-health-ministry-justifying-covid19-rules/news-story/c3fd996e8e382ede7bb69fbc4c87f699

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News

Email proves Downing Street staff held drinks party at height of lockdown – itv News

Downing Street staff were invited to a drinks party in the Number 10 garden during the height of nationwide lockdown to “make the most of the lovely weather”.

An email shared exclusively with ITV News provides the first evidence of a party on May 20, 2020, when the rest of the country was banned from meeting more than one other person outdoors.

http://archive.today/2022.01.10-175851/https://www.itv.com/news/2022-01-10/email-proves-downing-street-staff-held-drinks-party-at-height-of-lockdown

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News

Australian cop quits after bombshell interview, claims most colleagues ‘suffering’ & don’t want to enforce tough Covid-19 rules – RT

A female officer with Victoria Police, who served for 16 years, has resigned in protest against the use of police to enforce Covid-19 rules, saying in an interview that a “great majority” of her colleagues shared her sentiments.

…Some rough behavior by the police during the pandemic might be partially explained by the enforcement approach taken by Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews, Mitchell suggested. “I think that the reason, or the issue, in why perhaps police [are] feeling more emboldened to act the way they are in relation to these harsher actions is because of the messaging that comes from Dan [Andrews],” who tells the law enforcers what to do “on a daily basis,” she said.

http://archive.today/2021.10.10-112001/https://www.rt.com/news/537063-victoria-police-quits-coronavirus/

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Opinion

No FDA-Approved COVID-19 Shots Available – Liberty Counsel

WASHINGTON, D.C. – There are currently no fully FDA-approved licensed COVID shots available. All COVID shots remain under federal Emergency Use Authorization, meaning individuals have the “option to accept or refuse” the product.

On September 22, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent a follow-up letter to the original approval to Pfizer pharmaceutical company that stated, “having concluded that revising this EUA is appropriate to protect the public health or safety under section 564(g)(2) of the Act, FDA is reissuing the August 23, 2021 letter of authorization in its entirety with revisions incorporated to authorize for emergency use the administration of a single booster dose of COMIRNATY.”

On page 6, footnote 12 of that letter the FDA clearly states, “Although COMIRNATY (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) is approved to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 16 years of age and older, there is not sufficient approved vaccine available for distribution to this population in its entirety at the time of reissuance of this EUA. Additionally, there are no products that are approved to prevent COVID-19 in individuals age 12 through 15, or to provide: an additional dose to the immunocompromised population, or a booster dose to the authorized population described in this EUA” (emphasis added). 

https://lc.org/newsroom/details/100821-no-fda-approved-covid19-shots-available

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News

EXCLUSIVE: Ethical Policing in Victoria – Discernable

Acting Senior Sergeant Krystle Mitchell is a sworn member of the Victoria Police in Australia. She has served Victorians for 16 years as a police officer including 6 years at Professional Standards Command – the division responsible for investigating police misconduct, corruption, discrimination and freedom of information, referring investigations to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) where appropriate.

Acting Senior Sergeant Mitchell cites ethical conflicts as the reason for speaking publicly about conduct of Victoria Police officers, their Chief Commissioner – Shane Patton, their Minister – the Hon. Lisa Neville MP, and ultimately their Premier – the Hon. Daniel Andrews MP. She feels she can no longer remain silent with the division between police and community is growing, and totally ignored by the leadership of both the police and government.

Despite a promise to focus on ‘Community Policing’ and ‘Back to Basics’ policing by Shane Patton, Acting Senior Sergeant Mitchell has witnessed the opposite trajectory during the Covid-19 pandemic and is reminding her colleagues that ultimately they will individually be held accountable for their actions, and are still subject to s 462A of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) which forbids the disproportionate use of force.

She is also calling for Victoria Police to remain consistent to the values, ethics and decision making frameworks (such as SELF) that it used to demand of its members a mere 2 years ago.

Backup mirrors:

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Opinion

How councils became parallel police forces – Spiked

But over the past 20 years, local authorities have started to take a more police-like role. They issue an increasing number of penalties, carry out patrols, and issue new legal orders. This trend has been furthered under Covid, with new powers and funding to issue legal orders and penalties, and a new patrolling role for ‘Covid marshals’, who ensure businesses and individuals are following social-distancing rules. Over time, local authorities have also been increasingly released from legal and governmental checks on how powers are used, meaning that they now hold remarkable power over the lives of citizens.

https://www.spiked-online.com/2021/07/05/how-councils-became-parallel-police-forces/

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News

Exclusive: Children being given vaccine as councils ‘go rogue’ – The Telegraph

Children are being vaccinated against Covid before an official decision on whether youngsters should be given the jab, The Telegraph can disclose.

Councils and GPs in virus hotspots are defying current government rules by giving the vaccine to 16- and 17-year-olds without underlying health conditions.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/07/02/children-vaccinated-councils-go-rogue/

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Opinion

Child vaccination implications for fully informed consent – HART

HART continues to be deeply concerned to hear various MPs and SAGE representatives calling for children to be vaccinated against COVID-19 despite the lack of long-term safety data. Disturbing language has been used by teaching unions implying that the use of ‘peer pressure’ could be harnessed to boost take up among school children, even though such coercion would be unethical, not to mention contrary to UK and International Laws and Declarations.

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Videos

Covid Whistleblower Service: Francis Hoar Launches the Covid19 Assembly’s “Speak Out” Service – Covid19 Assembly

The ‘Speak Out’ service is available to witnesses with information about ALL aspects of the pandemic response, not just Covid death reporting. Professional legal advice will be given free-of-charge* to eligible applicants at the start of their process and everything will be fully confidential. Those with information on any Covid related practices of concern are encouraged to come forward as a matter of urgency by completing the form on the “Speak Out” page of the website below.

Go to the Covid19 Assembly Speak Out Service

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News

Miscarriages of justice under coronavirus laws ‘going unchallenged’ as court hearings bypassed – The Independent

Hundreds of people may have been wrongly convicted of coronavirus offences under a controversial system that bypasses court hearings, analysis by The Independent suggests.

Thousands of charges for allegedly breaching lockdown restrictions and rules around gatherings have been processed under the Single Justice Procedure, which sees one magistrate decide cases based largely on police evidence.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/coronavirus-fines-laws-letters-court-prosecution-b1856653.html

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Videos

James talks to Dr Reiner Fuellmich about Nuremberg 2 – James Delingpole

James talks to German-American lawyer Dr Reiner Fuellmich about Nuremberg 2 and why those involved in the Coronavirus scare should be tried for crimes against humanity.

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News

All prosecutions under the Coronavirus Act have now been dropped, CPS admits – The Telegraph

Not a single person has been successfully prosecuted under the Coronavirus Act despite almost 300 people being charged, it has emerged.

Figures released by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) following a 12 month review, revealed that all 270 cases had been dropped before making it to court.

The vast majority of prosecutions were withdrawn because the police – confused by the constantly changing laws – had charged people with the wrong offence.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/05/13/prosecutions-coronavirus-act-have-now-dropped-cps-admits/

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Opinion

Despotic laws can — even should — be ignored – Jonathan Sumption, The Spectator

The retired Justice of the Supreme Court admits breaking lockdown regulations and seems willing to countenance civil disobedience

…So most readers will turn first to Sumption’s final chapter, about the Covid pandemic. His target is not just the government and its decision to exercise ‘coercive powers over its citizens on a scale never previously attempted [and] with minimal parliamentary involvement’. He also blames the public for voluntarily surrendering their liberty ‘out of fear of some external threat’ — and MPs for agreeing to work remotely. Because this chapter was written as a lecture in October, it makes no mention of the government’s successful vaccination programme. His prediction that ‘Britain seems likely to suffer greater economic damage than almost every other European country’ is one he might now reconsider.

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/despotic-laws-can-even-should-be-ignored-says-jonathan-sumption

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News

Face masks in classroom risk causing children ‘physical and psychological harm’ – The Telegraph

There is a “prima facie risk” of harm to secondary school pupils from wearing masks during lessons due to the impact it has on their ability to breathe properly, according to lawyers acting for a 12-year-old girl against the Trust that runs her school.

http://archive.today/2021.05.01-013849/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/04/30/face-masks-classroom-risk-causing-children-physical-psychological/

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Videos

Lockdown legacy facing future generations – Dr Rob Verkerk, Pandemic Podcast

Rob Verkerk, Founder, Executive and Scientific Director of the Alliance for Natural Health International, a scientist who has for 30 years been exploring positive ways to span the gulfs between science and the law, between academia and industry, and between governments and their people.

Backup mirror:

Mirrored on odysee.com

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Videos

Sketch Notes On a Pandemic – Lord Sumption

Lord Sumption is one of the most decorated legal minds in the United Kingdom, and has used his vast experience in the law to highlight adverse effects of lockdown policies which he believes have caused so much suffering.

Sketch Notes On…’ A brand new Podcast hosted by Lucy Johnston and Matt Gibson of the Sunday Express in topical conversation with special guests.

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News

Revealed: Every single prosecution under government’s Coronavirus Act has been overturned

Every single one of the 246 prosecutions launched so far under a draconian coronavirus law has been done so incorrectly, the latest figures show.

The Coronavirus Act was introduced by the government in March last year, at the start of the pandemic. It contains emergency powers, such as banning mass gatherings and enforced screening for people deemed infectious, to restrict the spread of the virus.

The latest Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) figures for January, which showed all 14 people accused of breaching the Act last month had been wrongly charged, means there have now been 246 incorrect prosecutions since it was introduced.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/every-single-coronavirus-prosecution-overturned-174116157.html

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Publications

COVID-19 and the Political Economy of Mass Hysteria – MDPI

In this article, we aim to develop a political economy of mass hysteria. Using the background of COVID-19, we study past mass hysteria. Negative information which is spread through mass media repetitively can affect public health negatively in the form of nocebo effects and mass hysteria. We argue that mass and digital media in connection with the state may have had adverse consequences during the COVID-19 crisis. The resulting collective hysteria may have contributed to policy errors by governments not in line with health recommendations. While mass hysteria can occur in societies with a minimal state, we show that there exist certain self-corrective mechanisms and limits to the harm inflicted, such as sacrosanct private property rights. However, mass hysteria can be exacerbated and self-reinforcing when the negative information comes from an authoritative source, when the media are politicized, and social networks make the negative information omnipresent. We conclude that the negative long-term effects of mass hysteria are exacerbated by the size of the state.

http://archive.today/2021.02.09-004023/https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1376/htm