News in Brief - June 5 2023

Lockdown sceptic Molly Kingsley: ‘I was cast as an extremist but I’ve since been proved right’

The mother of two wanted to stand up for parents and children during the pandemic, but was branded an anti-vaxxer

By Camilla TomineyDaily Telegraph, 5 June 2023

Molly Kingsley: 'The anti-vax slur is deliberately delegitimising' Credit: David Rose

For lockdown sceptic Molly Kingsley, the discovery that she was spied on by the Government in an attempt to curtail discussion of its controversial coronavirus policies has been nothing short of horrifying.

The mother of two, 44, was disgusted to find out articles she had written for this newspaper cautioning against school closures, the wearing of face masks in classrooms and the vaccination of children had been flagged by the Counter-Disinformation Unit (CDU), set up by ministers to tackle supposed domestic “threats”.

Yet having endured three years of hatred and abuse for standing up for parents and children during the pandemic, she wasn’t surprised to read Saturday’s Daily Telegraph’s expose, revealing that as well as covertly monitoring lockdown critics with artificial intelligence – social media firms may have used technology to stop certain posts being promoted, circulated or widely shared after being pinpointed by the CDU or its counterpart in the Cabinet Office.

Some posts were even removed from social media altogether following meetings of the Counter-Disinformation Policy Forum, which brought together civil servants from the DCMS and technology giants – including Facebook and Google – as well as the BBC to discuss how to limit the spread of what was considered Covid-19 disinformation. ...

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Russia Says It Put Down Major Ukrainian Offensive Hours After It Began 

by Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge

Monday, Jun 05, 2023 - 03:50 PM

Did Ukraine forces just attempt to kick off their much anticipated major counteroffensive, only to have it put down immediately after it began? 

That's what the Russian Defense Ministry (MoD) suggested early Monday in announcing that Ukraine began a "large-scale offensive" in mounting attacks along five sections of the frontlines in the eastern Donbas region. But Russia said it thwarted the major attack and that some 250 Ukrainian troops were killed, which included Ukraine sending six mechanized and two tank battalions to Russian-controlled southern Donetsk.

"On the morning of June 4, the enemy launched a large-scale offensive in five sectors of the front in the South Donetsk direction," the MoD statement began. "The enemy has failed to reach its goals and was unsuccessful."

Illustrative: Ukrainian tanks previously near Chasiv Yar, Ukraine. via Reuters

It added that in total the attacking forces lost six tanks, three infantry vehicles, and 21 armored vehicles in what would mark a significant defeat if confirmed. "The enemy’s goal was to breach our defenses in what they assumed was the most vulnerable section of the frontline," the Russian military statement continued.  ... Continue reading >>>

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If You Stand In The Way Of Their Agenda, You Will Pay A Price

Authored by Michael Snyder via The End of The American Dream blog,

The cultural environment that we live in has become insanely oppressive, and I am about to share an example with you that perfectly demonstrates this.

A few days ago, a high school student in a rural area of Idaho told his fellow students that “guys are guys and girls are girls”, and the fallout from that statement proceeded to create a firestorm of controversy that is making headlines all over the nation.  Sadly, the truth is that we now live in a society where anyone that tries to resist the new culture that is being imposed on all of us must be severely punished. 

Dissent is simply not allowed, and Kellogg High School senior Travis Lohr found that out the hard way… ... Continue reading >>>

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Solar panels - an eco-disaster waiting to happen?

 BBC News

Image source, Laurent Julliand

By Daniel Gordon

The Climate Question podcast, BBC Sounds

While they are being promoted around the world as a crucial weapon in reducing carbon emissions, solar panels only have a lifespan of up to 25 years.

Experts say billions of panels will eventually all need to be disposed of and replaced.

"The world has installed more than one terawatt of solar capacity. Ordinary solar panels have a capacity of about 400W, so if you count both rooftops and solar farms, there could be as many as 2.5 billion solar panels.," says Dr Rong Deng, an expert in solar panel recycling at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

According to the British government, there are tens of millions of solar panels in the UK. But the specialist infrastructure to scrap and recycle them is lacking.

Energy experts are calling for urgent government action to prevent a looming global environmental disaster.

"It's going to be a waste mountain by 2050, unless we get recycling chains going now," says Ute Collier, deputy director of the International Renewable Energy Agency.

"We're producing more and more solar panels - which is great - but how are we going to deal with the waste?" she asks. ... Continue reading >>>

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World Health Assembly Cites Need to ‘Restrict Personal Liberties’ and Expand WHO’s Emergency Powers

 Childrens Health Defense

The World Health Organization this week concluded its 76th World Health Assembly without ratifying a new pandemic treaty or the proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations, but members did issue new calls to “restrict personal liberties” during health emergencies.

                        

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The World Health Organization (WHO) this week concluded its 76th World Health Assembly (WHA) without ratifying a new pandemic treaty or the proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR).

However, the meetings, held May 21-30 in Geneva, Switzerland, did include announcements about new WHO bodies created to respond to pandemic threats and new calls to “restrict personal liberties” during health emergencies.

The meetings also included circulation of the new “bureau’s text” of the pandemic treaty, dated May 22, but the WHA did not make available an updated document for the proposed IHR amendments.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged member states to reach an agreement on both instruments by 2024.

Independent journalist James Roguski, who has extensively tracked the pandemic treaty and IHR amendment negotiations, described this year’s WHA as “a big theatrical production.”

“You can focus on a million details and forget that what they are doing is negotiating these documents,” Roguski told The Defender. “It’s a dog and pony show.”

Roguski said it was always the WHO’s plan not to ratify the treaty and amendments during the WHA meetings, despite warnings to the contrary by some analysts whom he accused of “fearmongering.” It was “always their schedule … they’ve been saying all along they’re shooting for 2024,” he said. ... Continue reading >>>

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