UN condemns executions of Russian POWs by Ukrainians
RT | February 10, 2023
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is aware of recently-emerged footage apparently showing the execution of Russian soldiers who had surrendered by Ukrainian troops, a spokeswoman for the UN watchdog, Marta Hurtado, has said.
“We have raised concerns about the treatment of prisoners of war, including alleged killings of POWs by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense,” Hurtado told TASS in a statement on Friday.
The graphic video in question surfaced earlier this week, filmed by an armed individual speaking Ukrainian and demanding answers from three men in military uniforms lying on the ground. After failing to elicit a coherent response from them, the man shoots one of the men in the head multiple times at point blank range.
One of the men, lying motionless on the ground, also has visible blood around his head, apparently getting shot and killed before the video started. A fellow Ukrainian soldier appeared to try to reason with the gunman, pointing out that the third captive was holding a grenade. The killer briefly showed his face at the very end of the video, concluding it with an obscenity and ‘Glory to Ukraine’ slogan, which is commonly associated with World War II-era Nazi collaborators but is widely used in present-day Ukraine.
Russia to probe alleged POW executions by ‘Ukrainian nationalists’READ MORE: Russia to probe alleged POW executions by ‘Ukrainian nationalists’
Additional footage seemingly filmed in the immediate aftermath of the incident showed the killer trying to provide excuses to justify his actions. The UN is aware of this footage as well, Hurtado said, adding that none of the excuses actually have merit.
“We are also aware of another video that has appeared on social media platforms that includes additional footage of the original incident and also appears to show a Ukrainian soldier confessing [to] the killing and trying to justify it by alleging that the victims refused to surrender or that they were part of the Wagner Group military and security contractors fighting on behalf of the Russian Federation,” the spokeswoman said. “These excuses do not provide justification for the soldier’s actions under international humanitarian law.”
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the killing of unarmed soldiers who surrendered is a “widespread practice” by Kiev’s troops, and multiple incidents of this sort have occurred amid the ongoing conflict, with some of them published online by the killers themselves. The Russian Investigative Committee said on Thursday that the footage appeared to show the recent murder of three Russian POWs by “Ukrainian nationalists,” pledging to investigate further and identify the perpetrators.
Biden Preparing to Ask US Congress for Biggest Defense Budget in History: Report
Sputnik – 10.02.2023
WASHINGTON – Joe Biden is preparing to ask Congress for the biggest Defense Department budget in history despite concerns about the US hitting its debt ceiling before lawmakers raise it – a request that will include funding to restock munition stockpiles to support Ukraine, where both sides are expending thousands of rounds a day.
The Biden administration is very close to finalizing a topline number for the Defense Department as part of its 2024 budget request set to be released next month, a US media reported, citing Pentagon Comptroller Michael McCord.
“I do expect it will be a bigger number than Congress provided last year,” McCord is quoted as saying in an interview. The Pentagon will invest in munitions to restock the US’ arsenal and continue supporting Ukraine, McCord also reportedly said, where thousands of rounds a day are being expended by both sides.
Biden’s budget proposal comes as the US approaches its debt ceiling without a clear plan by Congress to raise the limit, posing a potential risk to the country’s credit rating and economic future.
US ‘lying’ about Nord Stream expose – Moscow
RT | February 10, 2023
Attempts by the US State Department to brush off Seymour Hersh’s article about the sabotage of Nord Stream pipelines as “nonsense” are overt lies that display shocking ignorance of American history, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on Friday.
The veteran investigative journalist reported on Wednesday that the US was behind the destruction of the Baltic Sea pipelines in September 2022. American divers planted charges under the cover of a NATO exercise, and a Norwegian airplane detonated them remotely when the time came, Hersh wrote.
“It would not be typical for us to engage allies and partners on something that is utter and complete nonsense,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Thursday, answering a question about Hersh’s article.
Zakharova said she was astonished by Price’s audacity to call “nonsense” what US President Joe Biden and Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland openly described as their preferred outcome.
“The US is once again lying live on air, openly mocking journalists who asked fully justified questions,” Zakharova said.
Washington also has a history of targeting civilian petrochemical infrastructure, Zakharova noted, citing the 1983 CIA sabotage of a pipeline in Nicaragua as an example.
“You did this, you do this, and you will do this until you’re stopped,” the spokeswoman added.
As for bringing allies and partners into “nonsense,” Zakharova argued that this was precisely what “trans-Atlantic solidarity” means in practice, referring to the 2003 invasion of Iraq as one example.
“Twenty years ago, Secretary of State Colin Powell brought to the UN Security Council a vial of something, and called [on] allies and partners to invade a sovereign state, without any evidence, over claims that proved to be utter nonsense. Ned, do you know your own department’s history?” Zakharova said. “I have no doubts that at the State Department they are bad with the history of their own country. That’s why we are where we are.”
Explosions that damaged both Nord Stream pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm cut off the flow of Russian natural gas to Germany. US officials tried to blame Russia for the blasts, while expressing delight at the destruction and calling it an “opportunity” for Europe. The White House has denounced Hersh’s report as “utterly false and complete fiction.”
Zakharova noted that Denmark and Sweden had refused Russian offers to assist with the investigation, while Norway declined to provide aid citing EU sanctions, adding that this shows the three governments were not interested in finding out the truth, but rather covering it up.
Republicans push to end Ukraine aid
RT | February 10, 2023
Republicans in Congress have introduced a resolution seeking to halt US aid to Ukraine, citing the massive cost to taxpayers, the risk of escalation with Moscow, and the toll on America’s own arsenal after some $30 billion in arms transfers.
Led by Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, 11 Republicans put forward the “Ukraine Fatigue Resolution” on Thursday, which states that Washington “must end its military and financial aid to Ukraine” while urging “all combatants to reach a peace agreement.”
“President Joe Biden must have forgotten his prediction from March 2022, suggesting that arming Ukraine with military equipment will escalate the conflict to ‘World War III,’” Gaetz said in a press release announcing the resolution. “We must suspend all foreign aid for the war in Ukraine and demand that all combatants in this conflict reach a peace agreement immediately.”
Arguing that the United States is in a period of “managed decline,” Gaetz said the problems will only get worse if the government continues to “hemorrhage taxpayer dollars” in a foreign conflict.
The resolution includes a list outlining the staggering American military largesse for Ukrainian forces since last year, stating that “munitions donated to Ukraine have severely depleted United States stockpiles, weakening United States readiness in the event of conflict.” It went on to cite a recent report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies which found that, at the current rate of production, it will take more than 12 years to replenish the US stock of Javelin missiles, underscoring the strain on American arsenals.
Moreover, the lawmakers argued military support to Kiev was “inadvertently contributing to civilian casualties” on all sides, echoing previous comments from Gaetz, who has said the weapons would only “prolong the killing.”
Long a vocal critic of US aid to Ukraine, Gaetz’s resolution was joined by 10 Republican co-sponsors, among them Reps. Thomas Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, Anna Paulina Luna, Mary Miller, Barry Moore, Ralph Norman and Matt Rosendale.
Though a growing number of House Republicans are increasingly wary of the aid – among them House Speaker Kevin McCarthy – senior lawmakers in the Senate have been more supportive. In December, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell declared that “providing assistance for Ukrainians to defeat the Russians is the number one priority for the United States right now,” claiming that view was broadly shared among the GOP.
EU applicant government to be replaced
Moldova’s prime minister has stepped down amid allegations of crackdowns on dissent
RT | February 10, 2023
Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita resigned on Friday, which means that the entire cabinet of the economically-troubled and politically-unstable nation will have to change.
Gavrilita did not divulge the reasons behind her decision in her farewell speech, which focused on what she described as the achievements of her team during her short-lived tenure.
“I am proud to have accelerated infrastructure projects that were stagnating due to incompetence and corruption,” the politician said. Her government “preserved peace and economic stability” despite efforts by “agents of destabilization,” she added.
Gavrilita announced her resignation after holding a meeting with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who accepted it immediately. In a Facebook post, the president thanked the former PM for her efforts in governing Moldova at a time of “unprecedented challenges.”
The outgoing cabinet took the helm in August 2021, after the Sandu-founded Party of Action and Solidarity won a snap election a month earlier. Rumors about the government’s imminent collapse have been swirling in Moldova since Monday.
For months last year, the government in Chisinau faced mass protests over rising energy prices and worsening standards of living, which followed a feud with Russian gas giant Gazprom over the terms of fuel supplies. The demonstrations also had a political aspect, as the government was accused of cracking down on the opposition.
Former president Igor Dodon, whom Sandu beat at the ballot box in 2020, is facing a number of criminal charges, ranging from corruption and illegal campaign financing to falsifying medical documents. His supporters believe the investigations are politically motivated, since Dodon, an advocate of good relations with Russia, has been criticizing Sandu’s pro-Western stance.
Amid the protests, the government forced several Russian-language media outlets to go off air when it refused to renew their broadcasting licenses in December. Since October, Moldova has been living in a state of emergency, which the opposition claims is just a method of preventing mass gatherings of discontent citizens.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov assessed last week that Moldova may become “a new Ukraine” in the sense of adopting anti-Russian policies despite how much they may hurt the country. He said Sandu was a major factor, because she was ready to do “practically anything” to further her pro-Western agenda.
Last June, the EU granted Moldova a candidate status alongside fellow applicant Ukraine.
European Parliament embraces war criminal Zelensky
Man in green receives standing ovation for his torture and murder of ethnic Russians
Frontnieuws | February 9, 2023
On Thursday, Reuters reported that Zelensky and his entourage in Europe “were told at a summit by several leaders of the European Union that they were ready to supply Kiev with fighter jets to help fight the Russian invasion.”
“The issue of long-range weapons and fighter jets for Ukraine has been resolved,” said Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff. “Details to follow.”
The “taboo” of sending weapons that can reach hundreds of miles into Russia will soon be broken, according to Reuters, the “news agency” that collaborated with the CIA , writes Kurt Nimmo.
“Mr Zelensky received standing ovations before, during and after his speech to European lawmakers,” reports The Hindu. “He held up an EU flag after his speech and the whole legislature stood in gloomy silence as the Ukrainian national anthem and then the European anthem ‘Ode to Joy’ were played.”
More an ode to mass murder.
Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, said the “next step” is to provide “long-range systems” and fighter jets to the ultra-nationalists. Metsola said the “reaction” to Russian efforts to denazify and disarm the Kiev regime “must be proportionate to the threat, and the threat is existential.”
Metsola, who was elevated to President of the European Parliament by a secret vote of MEPs (not European citizens), is taking the war to the next level.
The EU encourages the ultra-nationalist regime in Kiev to continue its ethnic cleansing, torture, rape and other war crimes in the Donbas and wherever Ukrainians dare to speak Russian, attend an Orthodox church, celebrate Russian traditions or speak out against atrocities committed by neo-Nazi thugs.
Metsola and her associates should be required to read “War Crimes by the Armed and Security Forces of Ukraine: Torture and Inhumane Treatment,” a second report on neo-Nazi war crimes in Ukraine by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
The PDF document reveals in gruesome detail the war crimes committed by the Ukrainian state following the US government-orchestrated coup in Kiev that brought openly neo-Nazis to power.
From the data collected since the first report of the Foundation for Democracy Studies, it can be concluded that torture and inhumane treatment by the Security Forces of Ukraine (SBU), the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the National Guard and other formations within the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine, as well as by illegal armed groups, such as the Right Sector, have not only continued, but are actually increasing in size and becoming systematic.
According to the report,
The prisoners were electrocuted, and brutally beaten with various objects (iron bars, baseball bats, sticks, rifle butts, bayonet knives, rubber bats) for several days at a time.
Techniques widely used by the Ukrainian armed forces and security services include waterboarding, strangling with a “Banderist garrotte” and other types of strangulation.
In some cases, prisoners were sent to minefields for intimidation and run over with military vehicles, leading to their deaths.
Other methods of torture used by the Ukrainian armed and security forces include breaking bones, stabbing and cutting with a knife, branding with red-hot objects, and shooting various body parts with small arms.
The prisoners captured by the Ukrainian armed and security forces are held for days in freezing temperatures, without access to food or medical attention, and are often forced to swallow psychotropic substances that cause pain.
An absolute majority of prisoners are subjected to mock firing squads and threatened with the death and rape of their families.
Many of those martyred are not members of the Self-Defense Forces of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR).
The Human Rights Convention “prohibits torture in absolute terms regardless of other circumstances,” and the state that commits these violations “is responsible for the actions of all its agencies, such as the police, security forces, other law enforcement officers, and all other organs of state that have an individual under their control, whether acting by order or of their own accord,” the authors write.
In other words, there is more than enough evidence to convict the Man in Green and his ultra-nationalist associates of serious war crimes. In addition, the US government and the EU are guilty of supporting and facilitating the above crimes. Add to that the owners and managers of the war propaganda corporate media.
The EU-US war crimes collaborators are busy preventing Russia from protecting civilians in Donetsk, Luhansk, Mariupol, Melitopol, Kherson and Crimea. We can say that they are war criminals and apologists for neo-Nazi terror.
The following video is utterly disgusting: a war criminal and his collaborator in mass murder, torture and rape make a kissing face for the camera.
In a saner and less cruel world, both of these sickening creatures would be on a tribunal similar to the one that sentenced to death Martin Bormann, Hermann Goering, Wilhelm Keitel, Julius Streicher, and other inveterate Nazis.
Copyright © 2023 translation by Frontnieuws.
Ukrainian pilot: Performance of Western fighters inferior to Russian jets
By Drago Bosnic | February 10, 2023
In recent weeks, the Kiev regime intensified its efforts to acquire Western fighter jets to replace its rapidly dwindling inventory of Soviet-era aircraft. In the immediate aftermath of the Soviet dismantlement, Ukraine was left with one of the world’s largest and most advanced fighter fleets, including the then nearly brand-new Su-27 “Flanker”, one of the best air superiority aircraft ever designed. And while the ensuing post-Soviet economic collapse essentially halted any modernization efforts, Ukraine remained one of the leading European countries in heavyweight fighter jet deployment.
However, efforts to sustain (much less modernize) the country’s fleet came to nothing after the political West conducted the infamous 2014 Maidan coup and brought the Neo-Nazi junta to power. The new illegal foreign-backed authorities had trouble even with the basic maintenance, further exacerbating the Ukrainian Air Force’s troubles. Decades of deteriorating conditions for pilots and aircraft were now made even worse, as the much-needed defense ties with Russia were cut, denying the UAF access to enough spare parts and other assets necessary to keep its fleet airworthy. Hundreds of airframes were placed in long-term storage, as the country was struggling with providing funds and resources to sustain the massive Soviet legacy it was left with.
Over the next 8 years, the coup authorities conducted a thorough purge, crushing any opposition to the transformation of the country’s military into an armed wing of the Neo-Nazi regime. Only after this process was completed, the political West decided to fund sustainment and modernization efforts. However, despite years and billions of dollars invested in this endeavor, the Kiev regime forces were completely outclassed by the VKS (Russian Aerospace Forces), with Moscow fielding incomparably more capable fighter jets, including the Su-35S, a deeply modernized design based on the Su-27 still used in Ukraine, in addition to other platforms such as the superfast, high-flying MiG-31 and the brand-new Su-57.
Within only a week since the beginning of the special military operation, the vast majority of the Kiev regime’s air assets have either been destroyed or forced into hiding as the Russian military established air dominance and targeted most airbases under the junta’s control. There were still pilots trying to face the VKS, but their efforts were mostly in vain, as they would often get shot down from hundreds of kilometers away, either by Russian fighter jets or the Eurasian giant’s second-to-none long-range SAM (surface-to-air missile) systems. Moscow has both qualitative and quantitative advantages, as many of its pilots accumulated precious combat experience, including a record holder with over 800 combat sorties, a truly astounding achievement.
With the remnants of the former Ukrainian Air Force virtually wiped out, the Kiev regime is desperate to rebuild it with Western-made aircraft. However, the Neo-Nazi junta is faced with severe difficulties to achieve this goal. Logistics, training, finances and, most of all, time are the main issues preventing this. As the Russian Aerospace Forces dominate the skies, Kiev regime pilots are faced with almost certain death if they were to go up against the Eurasian giant. The Neo-Nazi junta’s intention to acquire Western fighter jets, particularly the F-16, certainly doesn’t make the Ukrainian pilots feel any safer. On the contrary, many are worried that the lightweight US-made aircraft is completely outclassed by Russian heavyweight fighter jets, such as the aforementioned Su-35, MiG-31 and Su-57.
A video taken during the summer of 2022 shows the Kiev regime pilot Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Fischer, who claimed that the F-16’s performance is significantly inferior to that of the Su-27. He based the assessment on his personal experience in flying both aircraft. “… I flew the F-16 the first day and loved it. However, in terms of performance, the Su-27 is significantly superior,” Fischer admitted. He then added that the Russian-designed jet has better flight performance in every category, including speed and maneuverability, giving it an incomparable advantage in dogfights and WVR (within visual range) engagements. The pilot concluded his remarks with an assertion that the Su-27 is “the king of dogfighting”.
It should be noted that the Su-27 jets in service with the Kiev regime forces are decades behind the newer generation derivatives used by the VKS, which operates significantly more advanced versions of the jet, such as the Su-30 and Su-35, with the latter essentially being a so-called “fifth-generation” aircraft in every aspect bar stealth. If the Ukrainian pilots themselves consider the basic Su-27 superior to F-16, then the US-made fighter stands no chance against the much more modern “Flanker” iterations used by Russia. The Su-27 jets in service with the Kiev regime were decimated by the VKS and Lieutenant Colonel Fischer himself seems to have met his untimely end flying precisely this aircraft.
Various sources, both Russian and Ukrainian, claim that the pilot was killed on June 5, 2022. Apparently, Fischer was piloting his Su-27P1M when he was shot down over the town of Orekhov in the Zaporozhye oblast (region). There is conflicting information on how exactly he was downed, with some sources claiming that his “Flanker” was struck by a Russian air-to-air missile, while others insist that the Kiev regime’s air defenses shot him down in a friendly-fire incident. Either way, Fischer’s fate, as well as his assertion that the F-16 is inferior to the Su-27 already fielded by the Kiev regime forces serve as a stark warning to other Ukrainian pilots that no Western-made jet will give them greater chances of survival, let alone an actual advantage over their Russian rivals.
Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst.
China Demands US “Explain Itself to the World” Over Nord Stream Attack Story
By Paul Joseph Watson | Summit News | February 10, 2023
China has demanded that the United States “explain itself to the world” if the revelations in Seymour Hersh’s story about US intel being responsible for destroying the Nord Stream gas pipelines are true.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist published an article this week in which he asserted that the pipelines were destroyed by the US as part of a covert operation.
According to Hersh’s sources, the explosives were planted in June 2022 by US Navy divers under the guise of the BALTOPS 22 NATO exercise and were detonated three months later with a remote signal sent by a sonar buoy.
One source told Hersh that the plotters knew the covert operation was an “act of war,” with some in the CIA and State Department warning, “Don’t do this. It’s stupid and will be a political nightmare if it comes out.”
Now Beijing is demanding that the White House address the issue, seemingly unimpressed with the Biden administration’s rather weak response to merely label the story “false”.
Earlier today, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning asserted that Washington would have to bear responsibility if the report is confirmed as accurate.
“If the conclusions of the investigation are true, then the US behavior is unacceptable,” the diplomat told reporters, adding that the US would need to “explain itself to the world community.”
The Kremlin also responded to the report by demanding a fresh international investigation into the attack, which was preceded by both Joe Biden and Victoria Nuland asserting that the pipelines would be taken out if Russia invaded Ukraine.
Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said Hersh’s article showed “the need for an open international investigation into this unprecedented attack on this critical infrastructure.”
“It’s a very important piece, which… must provoke the acceleration of the international probe. But we, on the contrary, witness attempts to silently wind down such international investigation,” he added.
Meanwhile, in Germany, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is also calling for a full inquiry.
“The Pulitzer Prize winner’s suspicions must be investigated,” wrote co-chairman of the AfD parliamentary group, Tino Chrupalla.
“Has NATO’s leading power carried out an attack on our country’s vital critical infrastructure in European waters? Then one would have to question whether the alliance guarantees security in Europe or rather endangers it. The consequence would be the withdrawal of all U.S. troops.”
Bugs go on the menu in Europe
Computing Forever
By Alex Story | Country Squire Magazine | February 4, 2023
Eating bugs used to be the preserve of small children who knew no better. However, in our fast-changing world, what would have seemed outlandish only a few years ago is now on the menu.
Indeed, only last week, the European Union passed regulation 2023/5. It allows ‘partially defatted’ powder of the house cricket (Acheta domesticus) into the food chain for human consumption.
From this month, cricket powder can be added to the following: ‘multigrain bread and rolls, crackers and breadsticks, cereal bars, dry pre-mixes for baked products, biscuits, dry stuffed and non-stuffed pasta-based products, sauces, processed potato products, legume- and vegetable- based dishes, pizza, pasta-based products, whey powder, meat analogues, soups and soup concentrates or powders, maize flour-based snacks, beer-like beverages, chocolate confectionery, nuts and oilseeds, snacks other than chips, and meat preparations, intended for the general population’.
The regulation is effective inside the European Union and, unforgivably, Northern Ireland due to the treasonable eponymous protocol.
The first thing to note is that at a European Union level regulation can be passed without being ratified by any of the 27 national parliaments remaining in the benighted organisation.
Regulations are imposed (not debated) by the European Commission. In this case, the powdered bug was imposed into the food chain of around half a billion people without debate.
Of course there would have been some discussions but these would have taken place behind closed doors, between regulators, lobby groups, eco-warriors bent on stripping Man of his meat-eating habit, and bureaucrats ever ready to test the boundaries of their unaccountable power.
There was however no open debate in parliaments about whether full-fat or even partially defatted vermin powder is what the peoples of such a varied continent really want to find in their daily consumables.
That would have required a Directive, thereby granting every parliament the ability to discuss and pass laws applicable within their national territory on the issue of ‘Bugs on the Menu’.
Which elected government would have dared pass such a law? Few with any ambition to re-election.
As the European Union and its backers have found out over time: the less democracy, the less time is wasted. Best by-pass the ballot box and impose via regulation what cannot be passed by consent in parliaments or via referendum.
The new European Union regulation notes that there are risks to eating cricket powder. It might cause ‘cases of primary sensitisation’ and its scientific paper notes a risk of anaphylactic shock, defined by the National Cancer Institute as ‘a severe and sometimes life-threatening immune system reaction to an antigen‘.
But the ‘Commission considers that no specific labelling requirements concerning the potential of Acheta domesticus to cause primary sensitisation should be included in the Union list of authorised novel foods‘. In short, no warning needed for the common European citizens.
Graciously, the European Commission does accept that you, as a consumer, ought to be told that you are eating powdered bugs so it recommends that products need to be ‘appropriately labelled’.
What does ‘appropriately’ mean in this case? European Union citizens will just have to find out in due course.
The European Commission has given a five-year monopoly to Cricket One, a group based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to procure the house cricket powder for the hapless EU consumer. (Investigative journalists, if they still exist, could have a field day looking into what led to such a deal, who invested and when.)
For those looking to the upside of our celebrated Brexit, here is one standout example of what it means to be sovereign.
Unless the law changes, and this will require parliamentary debates, we in the United Kingdom should be free, for a time, of the terrible suspicion that we are being fed powdered (even if defatted) crickets for the amusement of our elites.
That is what ‘taking back control’ means. Let’s have more of it.
Maryland Considering Bill That Would Allow The Vaccination Of Children Without Parent’s Consent
By Tyler Durden | Zero Hedge | February 8, 2023
The State of Maryland has introduced a bill for consideration (Senate Bill 378) that would allow healthcare workers to vaccinate a child who is deemed “able to understand the benefits and potential consequences of getting vaccinated” without parental consent. The determined age of consent for a child to “choose” to be vaccinated is 14, though, such laws are often a slippery slope as guidelines and goalposts can be adjusted once a bill is passed to include even younger people.
It should be noted that Maryland law prevents children of 14 or older to refuse vaccination ordered by parents. In other words, they are considered competent enough to get vaccinated without parent’s knowledge, but not competent enough to refuse vaccination with parent’s knowledge. The push among some states to provide or legalize medical procedures on minors without advising parents has been growing in multiple sectors of healthcare the past few years, from abortions to gender affirmation surgeries.
It sounds like a remnant from two years ago when Democrat run states like New York were talking seriously about the forced internment of people who were “potential dangers” to public health. The concept of constitutional rights were going out the window and the US barely dodged an Orwellian end. Parental rights are often considered a vital barrier to state interference with vulnerable children who are easily manipulated into accepting procedures that could affect their rest of their lives.
The potential consequences are obvious – Schools and other government institutions could very easily exploit medical personnel to convince children that they MUST submit to vaccination. They could also influence minors to believe it was “all their idea.” The same scenario could involve overzealous doctors or nurses in a hospital setting. With the informed parental shield removed, the sky is the limit in terms of what the state can do to the younger generation.
Though the bill mentions that decisions by minors be made “without coercion”, a child may not be able to identify coercion when it happens. Not all manipulation requires open and obvious threats.
Democratic State Sen. Cheryl Kagan introduced Bill 378 on Wednesday. The bill is set to go before a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 22. The language is broad and seems to include all possible vaccinations rather than a set list.
Even in the case of a child voluntarily asking for medical treatments without deception, it is the job of parents to sometimes protect their kids from themselves. Without developed critical thinking skills minors require guidance to avoid rash decisions. When pressure is coming from officials with perceived authority, children are less likely to say no. The Maryland bill ignores these factors and opens the door to a wide range of abuses.
EU criticizes Twitter’s disinformation reporting, ahead of new censorship law
By Christina Maas | Reclaim The Net | February 9, 2023
Twitter has angered EU officials after it failed to submit complete reports on disinformation efforts as part of its commitment to the EU Code of Practice on Disinformation.
“I am disappointed to see that Twitter’s report lags behind others and I expect a more serious commitment to their obligations,” wrote Vera Jourova, the Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency.
The European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton, who has contacted Twitter owner Elon Musk at least twice about the Code of Practice, said “it comes as no surprise that the degree of quality vary greatly according to the resources companies have allocated to this project,” but did not mention Twitter directly.
Twitter signed the code before Musk took over late last year, and committed to sending biannual reports.
“In some areas, Twitter is unable to provide granular data due to resource constraints and data limitations,” the company said in its report. “In other areas, there are issues that are not applicable to Twitter’s service.”
The code is voluntary. However, non-compliance could put Twitter in a bad position with the EU ahead of the September 1 deadline for full compliance with the EU’s new censorship law, the Digital Services Act.
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From the Archives
Registered Israeli foreign agent driving contrived campus antisemitism crisis
By Wyatt Reed | The Grayzone | December 17, 2023
Lawsuits accusing top US universities of harboring antisemitism all originate from one source: a corporate law firm that fielded the pro-settler ex-US ambassador to Israel, and which was registered as a foreign agent of an Israeli principal as recently as 2021.
The firm now represents professional Israel lobby activists posing as victimized “Jewish students” and seeking to crush the free speech rights of Palestine solidarity activists. … continue
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- No Tricks Zone
- New Study: The Net Fossil Fuel Contribution To Rising Atmospheric CO2 Has Been Zero For 500 Years
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