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Celerity's Journal
May 15, 2021
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/13/texas-heartbeat-abortion-six-weeks/
snip
Bill that would ban abortion at six weeks heads to governor's desk to become Texas law
Gov. Greg Abbott has said he intends to sign the bill.https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/13/texas-heartbeat-abortion-six-weeks/
snip
May 15, 2021
Chef Romy Gill shares her recipe for dairy-free greens.
https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/how-to-make-vegan-saag
The best part about saag is the first splutter of cumin or mustard seeds crackling in lugs of clarified butter. The golden pool of ghee melts away and absorbs the woodiness of the spices that it then translates onto the greens that will soon come rolling down. But all that is about to change as we talk about vegan saag. Indian cuisine plays with a variety of saags (a Hindi word for greens). The queen is sarson or mustard, a North Indian variety that hits the market mainly during winters and pairs best with maize flour rotis. There is nutrition-loaded cholai or amaranth greens that I like to load up on thanks to its vitamin-rich mineral content. In Kashmir, they eat haak; a little lower, in Kumaoni cuisine, bichu buti or stinging nettle rules the roost, while the cuisine of Andhra Pradesh turns gongura (red sorrel) into a stir fry, curry, pickle, and everything in between. In North East India, you’ll find mosundori (fish mint) and tita mora (jute plant), all this while the ubiquitous palak (spinach) literally finds a way in most Indian cuisines.
“I grew up eating sarson ka saag cooked in a Punjabi-style and love the Kashmiri haak as much,” says Chef Romy Gill, cookbook author of Zaika: Vegan Recipes From India. The interesting thing about saags is that they are more or less cooked similarly, dropped in a tempering until they wilt away in a morning-glory-in-an-Asian-stir-fry kind of a way, or pulverized and served with cubes of meat, vegetables, or cottage cheese. But Chef Gill learned how to adapt saag into vegan ways, focusing instead on the flavors of the greens versus the richness of dairy or meat that goes into them. Here’s her take on the classic Indian palak paneer. Weekend projects mean more messes to clean up. Tackle them without harsh chemicals with Clorox Compostable Cleaning Wipes, which are made from a plant-based cloth. They’re safe to use around kids, pets, and food, so they’re a versatile solution to all your biggest spills — letting you get back to work.
snip
Weekend Project: Make Indian Saag Into a Vegan Dish With a Few Easy Steps
Chef Romy Gill shares her recipe for dairy-free greens.
https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/how-to-make-vegan-saag
The best part about saag is the first splutter of cumin or mustard seeds crackling in lugs of clarified butter. The golden pool of ghee melts away and absorbs the woodiness of the spices that it then translates onto the greens that will soon come rolling down. But all that is about to change as we talk about vegan saag. Indian cuisine plays with a variety of saags (a Hindi word for greens). The queen is sarson or mustard, a North Indian variety that hits the market mainly during winters and pairs best with maize flour rotis. There is nutrition-loaded cholai or amaranth greens that I like to load up on thanks to its vitamin-rich mineral content. In Kashmir, they eat haak; a little lower, in Kumaoni cuisine, bichu buti or stinging nettle rules the roost, while the cuisine of Andhra Pradesh turns gongura (red sorrel) into a stir fry, curry, pickle, and everything in between. In North East India, you’ll find mosundori (fish mint) and tita mora (jute plant), all this while the ubiquitous palak (spinach) literally finds a way in most Indian cuisines.
“I grew up eating sarson ka saag cooked in a Punjabi-style and love the Kashmiri haak as much,” says Chef Romy Gill, cookbook author of Zaika: Vegan Recipes From India. The interesting thing about saags is that they are more or less cooked similarly, dropped in a tempering until they wilt away in a morning-glory-in-an-Asian-stir-fry kind of a way, or pulverized and served with cubes of meat, vegetables, or cottage cheese. But Chef Gill learned how to adapt saag into vegan ways, focusing instead on the flavors of the greens versus the richness of dairy or meat that goes into them. Here’s her take on the classic Indian palak paneer. Weekend projects mean more messes to clean up. Tackle them without harsh chemicals with Clorox Compostable Cleaning Wipes, which are made from a plant-based cloth. They’re safe to use around kids, pets, and food, so they’re a versatile solution to all your biggest spills — letting you get back to work.
snip
May 14, 2021
https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19vaccine/92439
Back in March, we published in JAMA and reported here in MedPage Today that only 17% of immunosuppressed transplant patients -- in stark contrast to 100% of immunocompetent people -- mounted detectable antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 after the first dose of mRNA vaccine. Our report was among the top five most read articles in JAMA, and generated substantial -- and understandable -- concern among communities of immunosuppressed people. As a transplant surgeon, I was frustrated and frightened for my patients, and my Johns Hopkins colleagues and I eagerly awaited the results looking at antibody response after full two-dose vaccination. The moment many transplant patients and physicians have been waiting for has finally arrived, but unfortunately the news is not great. We have now published in JAMA second-dose data from our national study of vaccine immune responses in immunosuppressed solid organ transplant recipients.
Among 658 COVID-19-naïve participants who received the full two-dose series of mRNA vaccines, 46% (compared to 83% after just one dose) still had no detectable antibodies, and even among those with detectable antibodies, the levels were still somewhat low. The situation is worse among those taking anti-metabolites: for this group, 57% had no antibodies after full vaccination, compared to 32% with no antibodies among those not taking anti-metabolites. Unfortunately, this blunted antibody response seems to correlate with diminished protective immunity. We are seeing in our own patients, and hearing from around the country, many cases of transplant patients receiving a full vaccine series, thinking they are immune, believing that the CDC guidelines for vaccinated people apply to them, relaxing the masking and distancing behaviours that have protected them for over a year, and sadly finding themselves hospitalized with a new COVID-19 infection. Some have even died. This is highly problematic.
We need more effort and action to spread the word that vaccination does not necessarily mean immunity in this vulnerable population. So, what should our transplant patients do in light of these findings? First and foremost, they should continue to practice all the protective behaviours they have thus far practiced. While the rest of the world is celebrating the new freedoms that come with vaccination, unfortunately the time is not yet right for transplant patients to do so. Eventually we will understand the immune response to vaccines in our patients enough to relax these restrictions, but right now we only know the impact on antibody response (with very little understanding of memory B cell and T cell response, which are both important), and what we know is not encouraging. Transplant patients should also make sure that everyone around them gets vaccinated, so at least their environments are safer. And, of course, this is yet another reason that everyone should want to get vaccinated -- to protect the vulnerable who cannot achieve immunity for themselves, and ultimately help reach herd immunity.
So, what is next? Will other platforms perform better? If someone had no, or limited, immune response to two doses, will a third dose help? Should the third dose be of the sample platform or a different platform? Is it reasonable for some patients to reduce immunosuppression, risking rejection, just to achieve an immune response? How do B cell and T cell responses look in immunosuppressed people? In the meantime, should people with no vaccine response receive pre-exposure exogenous antibody preparations for interim protection? We continue to strive to answer these questions, and enrolment in our study remains open and ongoing.
snip
Op-Ed: Are the Immunosuppressed Responding to Two Doses?
— Our new study on transplant patients suggests it's not yet safe for them to relax restrictionshttps://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19vaccine/92439
Back in March, we published in JAMA and reported here in MedPage Today that only 17% of immunosuppressed transplant patients -- in stark contrast to 100% of immunocompetent people -- mounted detectable antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 after the first dose of mRNA vaccine. Our report was among the top five most read articles in JAMA, and generated substantial -- and understandable -- concern among communities of immunosuppressed people. As a transplant surgeon, I was frustrated and frightened for my patients, and my Johns Hopkins colleagues and I eagerly awaited the results looking at antibody response after full two-dose vaccination. The moment many transplant patients and physicians have been waiting for has finally arrived, but unfortunately the news is not great. We have now published in JAMA second-dose data from our national study of vaccine immune responses in immunosuppressed solid organ transplant recipients.
Among 658 COVID-19-naïve participants who received the full two-dose series of mRNA vaccines, 46% (compared to 83% after just one dose) still had no detectable antibodies, and even among those with detectable antibodies, the levels were still somewhat low. The situation is worse among those taking anti-metabolites: for this group, 57% had no antibodies after full vaccination, compared to 32% with no antibodies among those not taking anti-metabolites. Unfortunately, this blunted antibody response seems to correlate with diminished protective immunity. We are seeing in our own patients, and hearing from around the country, many cases of transplant patients receiving a full vaccine series, thinking they are immune, believing that the CDC guidelines for vaccinated people apply to them, relaxing the masking and distancing behaviours that have protected them for over a year, and sadly finding themselves hospitalized with a new COVID-19 infection. Some have even died. This is highly problematic.
We need more effort and action to spread the word that vaccination does not necessarily mean immunity in this vulnerable population. So, what should our transplant patients do in light of these findings? First and foremost, they should continue to practice all the protective behaviours they have thus far practiced. While the rest of the world is celebrating the new freedoms that come with vaccination, unfortunately the time is not yet right for transplant patients to do so. Eventually we will understand the immune response to vaccines in our patients enough to relax these restrictions, but right now we only know the impact on antibody response (with very little understanding of memory B cell and T cell response, which are both important), and what we know is not encouraging. Transplant patients should also make sure that everyone around them gets vaccinated, so at least their environments are safer. And, of course, this is yet another reason that everyone should want to get vaccinated -- to protect the vulnerable who cannot achieve immunity for themselves, and ultimately help reach herd immunity.
So, what is next? Will other platforms perform better? If someone had no, or limited, immune response to two doses, will a third dose help? Should the third dose be of the sample platform or a different platform? Is it reasonable for some patients to reduce immunosuppression, risking rejection, just to achieve an immune response? How do B cell and T cell responses look in immunosuppressed people? In the meantime, should people with no vaccine response receive pre-exposure exogenous antibody preparations for interim protection? We continue to strive to answer these questions, and enrolment in our study remains open and ongoing.
snip
May 14, 2021
https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/simple-mills-1000-prizes-for-your-home-garden
This Company Wants to Give You $1,000 to Start an Organic Home Garden
Money doesn’t grow on trees, but this is pretty close.https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/simple-mills-1000-prizes-for-your-home-garden
Everyone’s looking for another excuse to get outside right about now. And while gardening is a great way to accomplish that and feel productive doing it, starting a garden is neither easy nor cheap. There’s not much anyone can do about your lackluster green thumb, but Simple Mills wants to help cut costs and get you on your way to a bountiful backyard garden.
The healthy snack company is celebrating the launch of its new Organic Seed Flour Cracker with a new initiative: The “It Starts at Home” program. Through it, Simple Mills hopes to encourage snackers to make small changes toward decreasing their carbon footprint and giving back to Mother Earth, like starting a garden.
All you have to do is head over to this link, enter your information by May 19, and be patient. May we suggest a snack break? Simple Mills will select ten winners and cover the costs of starting their very own organic garden. The company will give each winner a $1,000 gift card to put toward the garden, which is no small potatoes. Winners will be selected at random, so you’ll just have to hope your name gets plucked from the many that will likely be entered.
Imagine how good it’ll feel to bite into something you grew yourself.
The healthy snack company is celebrating the launch of its new Organic Seed Flour Cracker with a new initiative: The “It Starts at Home” program. Through it, Simple Mills hopes to encourage snackers to make small changes toward decreasing their carbon footprint and giving back to Mother Earth, like starting a garden.
All you have to do is head over to this link, enter your information by May 19, and be patient. May we suggest a snack break? Simple Mills will select ten winners and cover the costs of starting their very own organic garden. The company will give each winner a $1,000 gift card to put toward the garden, which is no small potatoes. Winners will be selected at random, so you’ll just have to hope your name gets plucked from the many that will likely be entered.
Imagine how good it’ll feel to bite into something you grew yourself.
May 14, 2021
The Senate Rules Committee, chaired by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, began work Tuesday on S. 1, the groundbreaking voting rights bill known as the "For the People Act." It's the companion bill to H.R. 1, which passed the House back in early March. The legislation would counter the rash of voter suppression laws that states have rushed to pass this year, and would tackle elections integrity on three fronts: removing barriers to ballot access for all voters; fighting the influence of dark money by requiring organizations to disclose large donors and creating a matching system for small campaign donations; and banning congressional gerrymandering by requiring that every state create a nonpartisan redistricting commission subject to nonpartisan redistricting criteria.
Of course the response of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and his vast dark money network is to pour nearly $2 million of that dark money into an ad campaign to defeat the reforms. Another one of the supposed nonprofits tied to McConnell, One Nation, is running radio and TV ads in states that Republicans are targeting for 2022—New Hampshire, Arizona, Nevada—and where Democratic senators are already giving the GOP an assist, namely Arizona and West Virginia. In fact, the ad running in Arizona actually applauds Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema for helping the Republicans.
"We think this week's markup in the Senate Rules Committee will be an important inflection point in senators' understanding of the issue, in public awareness of S. 1," Steven Law, the president of One Nation and former chief of staff to McConnell, told Politico. "This advocacy blitz, which starts on Tuesday, is designed to amplify all of that." He promises that this is just the beginning of his group's efforts to swamp the Senate. They are also not the only group doing so, with the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Heritage Action running ads around the country. Meanwhile, West Virgina Sen. Manchin and Sinema are not backing away from their position that preserving the Jim Crow-era filibuster is more important than preserving the foundational idea of 232 years of constitutional rule in the U.S. (with evolution and amendments): one person, one vote.
Manchin, who obviously is no scholar of history or current events, defends his opposition to restoring and expanding voting rights by saying "How in the world could you, with the tension we have right now, allow a voting bill to restructure the voting of America on a partisan line?" Because nothing that's happening in Republican states has restructured voting in America on partisan lines? The Republican legislature in Texas didn't just make voting harder for people of color because of partisanship? Keeping probably Democratic voters out of the polls wasn't behind the legislation Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last week—live ON FOX NEWS? Manchin further insists upon giving credence to Trump's Big Lie, insisting that the fact that maybe 25% of the voting public is so gullible or so venal as to say the 2020 election was stolen from Republicans means that Democrats can't save democracy. "January 6 changed me. I never thought in my life, I never read in history books to where our form of government had been attacked, at our seat of government, which is Washington, D.C., at our Capitol, by our own people," Manchin told CNN.
snip
McConnell dark money group thanks Sinema for her filibuster help, which is a big problem
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/5/11/2029998/-Senate-fight-for-fair-elections-begins-with-Manchin-and-Sinema-playing-McConnell-s-toolsThe Senate Rules Committee, chaired by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, began work Tuesday on S. 1, the groundbreaking voting rights bill known as the "For the People Act." It's the companion bill to H.R. 1, which passed the House back in early March. The legislation would counter the rash of voter suppression laws that states have rushed to pass this year, and would tackle elections integrity on three fronts: removing barriers to ballot access for all voters; fighting the influence of dark money by requiring organizations to disclose large donors and creating a matching system for small campaign donations; and banning congressional gerrymandering by requiring that every state create a nonpartisan redistricting commission subject to nonpartisan redistricting criteria.
Of course the response of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and his vast dark money network is to pour nearly $2 million of that dark money into an ad campaign to defeat the reforms. Another one of the supposed nonprofits tied to McConnell, One Nation, is running radio and TV ads in states that Republicans are targeting for 2022—New Hampshire, Arizona, Nevada—and where Democratic senators are already giving the GOP an assist, namely Arizona and West Virginia. In fact, the ad running in Arizona actually applauds Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema for helping the Republicans.
"We think this week's markup in the Senate Rules Committee will be an important inflection point in senators' understanding of the issue, in public awareness of S. 1," Steven Law, the president of One Nation and former chief of staff to McConnell, told Politico. "This advocacy blitz, which starts on Tuesday, is designed to amplify all of that." He promises that this is just the beginning of his group's efforts to swamp the Senate. They are also not the only group doing so, with the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Heritage Action running ads around the country. Meanwhile, West Virgina Sen. Manchin and Sinema are not backing away from their position that preserving the Jim Crow-era filibuster is more important than preserving the foundational idea of 232 years of constitutional rule in the U.S. (with evolution and amendments): one person, one vote.
Manchin, who obviously is no scholar of history or current events, defends his opposition to restoring and expanding voting rights by saying "How in the world could you, with the tension we have right now, allow a voting bill to restructure the voting of America on a partisan line?" Because nothing that's happening in Republican states has restructured voting in America on partisan lines? The Republican legislature in Texas didn't just make voting harder for people of color because of partisanship? Keeping probably Democratic voters out of the polls wasn't behind the legislation Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last week—live ON FOX NEWS? Manchin further insists upon giving credence to Trump's Big Lie, insisting that the fact that maybe 25% of the voting public is so gullible or so venal as to say the 2020 election was stolen from Republicans means that Democrats can't save democracy. "January 6 changed me. I never thought in my life, I never read in history books to where our form of government had been attacked, at our seat of government, which is Washington, D.C., at our Capitol, by our own people," Manchin told CNN.
snip
May 14, 2021
https://www.thelocal.se/20210513/sweden-will-get-as-tough-as-denmark-on-immigration-sweden-democrat-leader-on-end-of-pariah-status/
“Denmark was the same way as Sweden, and then it just changed overnight, and that will happen in Sweden too,” Jimmie Åkesson said, saying that his party would push for an even harsher regime than that of Sweden’s neighbour, which has drawn criticism from the United Nations, European Union and human rights groups for its decision to rule much of Syria ‘safe’, and then strip Syrians of residency rights. “We actually in Sweden need a stricter policy than Denmark, because we have much bigger problems. I don’t think it’s possible to just decrease immigration to Danish levels anymore,” Åkesson said. “We need to take it further.”
The members of the Liberal Party voted at the end of March in favour of joining a minority government formed with the support of the Sweden Democrats. This means that three out of the four centre-right parties that together ruled Sweden up until 2014 have now dropped their opposition to working with the Sweden Democrats, which has long been tainted by the neo-Nazi backgrounds of some early members. “Our goal is to be a part of the government,” Åkesson said of the negotiations coming after next year’s election. “But we also realise that maybe that’s not possible this time. Maybe we have to show that we are a party that wants to take responsibility for real.”
When the Danish People’s Party twenty years ago gained a similar kingmaker position over the centre-Right Liberal party, it used its leverage to drive through what it boasted was Europe’s strictest immigration policy. Public opinion in Denmark has since shifted so dramatically that even the left-wing Social Democrat government frequently takes positions on immigration to the right of those taken by right-wing governments in other Western European countries.
It is seeking, for instance, to send Syrian refugees back into the hands of the brutal regime of President Bashar al-Assad, and to house refugees in an African or Middle Eastern country while their cases are processed. “The Danish example is a very good example because they showed that they could have really great influence, even though they were not in the government,” Åkesson said. “I’m sure we will go that far. We have had public opinion in our favour, and that’s been the case for decades. The problem has been that the old parties haven’t followed that opinion.”
snip
Jimmie Åkesson interview: ‘If you don’t want to be part of Sweden, then you cannot live here’
The so-called cordon sanitaire that long barred the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats from real political influence is now well and truly gone. The Local spoke to the party's leader Jimmie Åkesson about how he thinks he can now change Swedish politics and policies around migration.
https://www.thelocal.se/20210513/jimmie-akesson-interview-if-you-dont-want-to-be-part-of-sweden-then-you-cannot-live-here/
snip
https://twitter.com/TheLocalSweden/status/1202244806614777856
https://twitter.com/TheLocalSweden/status/1379451465220063237
https://twitter.com/TheLocalSweden/status/1038900831217758215
'Sweden will get much tougher on immigration': Sweden Democrat leader on end of pariah status
Sweden is set to follow the course set by its neighbour Denmark and see a marked shift in public rhetoric and ever-stricter policies on migration and refugees, now that the populist Sweden Democrat party has shaken off its pariah status, the party's leader Jimmie Åkesson has told The Local in an interview.https://www.thelocal.se/20210513/sweden-will-get-as-tough-as-denmark-on-immigration-sweden-democrat-leader-on-end-of-pariah-status/
“Denmark was the same way as Sweden, and then it just changed overnight, and that will happen in Sweden too,” Jimmie Åkesson said, saying that his party would push for an even harsher regime than that of Sweden’s neighbour, which has drawn criticism from the United Nations, European Union and human rights groups for its decision to rule much of Syria ‘safe’, and then strip Syrians of residency rights. “We actually in Sweden need a stricter policy than Denmark, because we have much bigger problems. I don’t think it’s possible to just decrease immigration to Danish levels anymore,” Åkesson said. “We need to take it further.”
The members of the Liberal Party voted at the end of March in favour of joining a minority government formed with the support of the Sweden Democrats. This means that three out of the four centre-right parties that together ruled Sweden up until 2014 have now dropped their opposition to working with the Sweden Democrats, which has long been tainted by the neo-Nazi backgrounds of some early members. “Our goal is to be a part of the government,” Åkesson said of the negotiations coming after next year’s election. “But we also realise that maybe that’s not possible this time. Maybe we have to show that we are a party that wants to take responsibility for real.”
When the Danish People’s Party twenty years ago gained a similar kingmaker position over the centre-Right Liberal party, it used its leverage to drive through what it boasted was Europe’s strictest immigration policy. Public opinion in Denmark has since shifted so dramatically that even the left-wing Social Democrat government frequently takes positions on immigration to the right of those taken by right-wing governments in other Western European countries.
It is seeking, for instance, to send Syrian refugees back into the hands of the brutal regime of President Bashar al-Assad, and to house refugees in an African or Middle Eastern country while their cases are processed. “The Danish example is a very good example because they showed that they could have really great influence, even though they were not in the government,” Åkesson said. “I’m sure we will go that far. We have had public opinion in our favour, and that’s been the case for decades. The problem has been that the old parties haven’t followed that opinion.”
snip
Jimmie Åkesson interview: ‘If you don’t want to be part of Sweden, then you cannot live here’
The so-called cordon sanitaire that long barred the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats from real political influence is now well and truly gone. The Local spoke to the party's leader Jimmie Åkesson about how he thinks he can now change Swedish politics and policies around migration.
https://www.thelocal.se/20210513/jimmie-akesson-interview-if-you-dont-want-to-be-part-of-sweden-then-you-cannot-live-here/
In early May, the former pariah party teamed up with the right-wing Moderate, Liberal, and Christian Democrat parties to propose a joint proposal on migration, once a topic where any coordination with the Sweden Democrats would have been off-limits for any party. The membership of the centrist Liberal Party in March voted for a new policy position, under which the party would be willing to join a government backed by the Sweden Democrats. And less than four years after Anna Kinberg Batra was ousted as leader of the Moderates for daring to suggest even talking with the Sweden Democrats, her successor Ulf Kristersson argues that on subjects such as immigration and crime, the two parties think alike. The former centre-right “Alliance” of the Moderates, Liberals, Christian Democrats and the Centre Party had already crumbled after the 2018 election over disagreement on whether or not to rely on the tacit support of the Sweden Democrats – a populist party with roots in neo-Nazi groups in the 1980s – to clear the way for a centre-right government. Now all but the Centre Party has decided that they are now willing to do so, the way is open to Kristersson becoming prime minister in Sweden with the backing of the Sweden Democrats, following next year’s election. But that would almost certainly give the anti-immigration party the power to fell the government at will. In an interview with The Local’s contributor Richard Orange, carried out over Skype from his home in Sölvesborg, southern Sweden, Åkesson said that he planned to use this power responsibly.
You and three of the former Alliance parties recently presented a new migration policy. What is the significance of that?
I think that was a very important signal to the governing parties that we now have the four opposition parties that are able to negotiate and to make proposals in common. I think it shows that there is an alternative in the next election, and while we don’t have the same views on everything, we can negotiate and are able to make common proposals. That’s the most important thing, I think, even though this will probably not pass. I don’t think this is a very good proposal. Actually, I want to take it much further. But this was what was possible. The big value here is the signal that we are able to negotiate and make common proposals. But of course, if I win the election, I have my policies that are much better, I think.
I think that was a very important signal to the governing parties that we now have the four opposition parties that are able to negotiate and to make proposals in common. I think it shows that there is an alternative in the next election, and while we don’t have the same views on everything, we can negotiate and are able to make common proposals. That’s the most important thing, I think, even though this will probably not pass. I don’t think this is a very good proposal. Actually, I want to take it much further. But this was what was possible. The big value here is the signal that we are able to negotiate and make common proposals. But of course, if I win the election, I have my policies that are much better, I think.
Before the last election, populist parties were on the rise everywhere, and there’s an argument that now the pandemic has made people want safe, centrist, dependable leaders, the Angela Merkels of the world, and that parties like yours will struggle. Do you think that’s true?
We have managed quite well, even though we have lost some votes to the Social Democrats. But I was actually a bit afraid at the beginning of the pandemic that we would lose a lot. Of course, it has strengthened the Social Democrats very much, and I think you’re right that people are seeking experienced leaders, but I think we still have a good starting point. There will be no problems for us to go into the next election and win back at least some of those who left us for the Social Democrats, because in the election campaign there will be a lot of debates about migration policy and how to push back crime. We haven’t really had that debate during the pandemic, but I’m sure it will come back, because that’s the reality for many voters, so they will demand that we discuss it during the campaign.
We have managed quite well, even though we have lost some votes to the Social Democrats. But I was actually a bit afraid at the beginning of the pandemic that we would lose a lot. Of course, it has strengthened the Social Democrats very much, and I think you’re right that people are seeking experienced leaders, but I think we still have a good starting point. There will be no problems for us to go into the next election and win back at least some of those who left us for the Social Democrats, because in the election campaign there will be a lot of debates about migration policy and how to push back crime. We haven’t really had that debate during the pandemic, but I’m sure it will come back, because that’s the reality for many voters, so they will demand that we discuss it during the campaign.
I’ve been in Sweden about 10 years, and in that time, the attitude to migration has changed significantly. It’s only three years ago that Anna Kinberg Batra had to resign just because she said she wanted to hold some discussions with your party. What’s changed?
Maybe sh
e was before her time, or maybe she did it in the wrong way. Ulf Kristersson has managed to say almost the same things and take it further, and he also got his party with him, which Anna Kinberg Batra didn’t. She was quite a weak leader in that party actually, and I think a big part of the party wanted to get rid of her, and they took advantage of that opportunity. I think after Kinberg Batra resigned, the Moderates got a lot of people working for them that have a different view on us and on the most important issues. Ulf Kristersson has different advisors. It’s that simple. But I think it would have happened anyway, because the Moderate Party realises that if they want to be in government again, they need to either negotiate with us, or with the Social Democrats. That’s the alternative.
Maybe sh
e was before her time, or maybe she did it in the wrong way. Ulf Kristersson has managed to say almost the same things and take it further, and he also got his party with him, which Anna Kinberg Batra didn’t. She was quite a weak leader in that party actually, and I think a big part of the party wanted to get rid of her, and they took advantage of that opportunity. I think after Kinberg Batra resigned, the Moderates got a lot of people working for them that have a different view on us and on the most important issues. Ulf Kristersson has different advisors. It’s that simple. But I think it would have happened anyway, because the Moderate Party realises that if they want to be in government again, they need to either negotiate with us, or with the Social Democrats. That’s the alternative.
snip
https://twitter.com/TheLocalSweden/status/1202244806614777856
https://twitter.com/TheLocalSweden/status/1379451465220063237
https://twitter.com/TheLocalSweden/status/1038900831217758215
May 13, 2021
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/12/world/americas/colombia-protests-police-brutality.html
BOGOTÁ, Colombia — In Colombia’s decades-long conflict with violent rebel groups, the country’s national police often fought on the front lines, wielding tanks and helicopters as they battled guerrilla fighters and destroyed drug labs. It was a force built for war, and now it has found a new one — on the streets of Colombia’s cities, where the police stand accused of treating civilian protesters as battlefield enemies.
Demonstrations that began two weeks ago as anger over pandemic-related tax reforms have intensified and spread, turning into a collective howl of outrage over abuses by the national police force. Officers have beaten, detained and killed protesters in recent days, sometimes opening fire on peaceful demonstrations and shooting tear gas canisters from armored vehicles, according to more than a dozen interviews by The New York Times with witnesses and family members of the dead and injured.
In an interview Wednesday, President Iván Duque recognized that some officers had been violent, but said that he did not view the problem as systemic. “There have been acts of abuse of force,” he said. But “just saying that there could be any possibility that the Colombian police will be seen as a systematic abuser of human rights — well, that will be not only unfair, unjust, but without any base, any ground.”
But critics say the violence and mounting death toll indicate an urgent need for police reform. And the call to bring the police into line has struck a resounding chord in a country weary of war and atrocity at the hands of a host of paramilitaries, guerrilla fighters and security forces. “They see us as the enemy, knowing that we are citizens,” said Alexis Medina, 29, a protester who said he was detained and beaten by police officers who forced him to drink their urine. “Drink it or I’ll knock out your teeth,” he said he was told. At least 42 people have died, including one police officer, the government said Tuesday. Human Rights Watch and other organizations say the total is likely higher.
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Colombia's Police Force, Built for War, Finds a New One
Police spent decades fighting left-wing guerrillas and paramilitaries. Now, they’re cracking down on protesters, and igniting a wider demonstration movement in response.https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/12/world/americas/colombia-protests-police-brutality.html
BOGOTÁ, Colombia — In Colombia’s decades-long conflict with violent rebel groups, the country’s national police often fought on the front lines, wielding tanks and helicopters as they battled guerrilla fighters and destroyed drug labs. It was a force built for war, and now it has found a new one — on the streets of Colombia’s cities, where the police stand accused of treating civilian protesters as battlefield enemies.
Demonstrations that began two weeks ago as anger over pandemic-related tax reforms have intensified and spread, turning into a collective howl of outrage over abuses by the national police force. Officers have beaten, detained and killed protesters in recent days, sometimes opening fire on peaceful demonstrations and shooting tear gas canisters from armored vehicles, according to more than a dozen interviews by The New York Times with witnesses and family members of the dead and injured.
In an interview Wednesday, President Iván Duque recognized that some officers had been violent, but said that he did not view the problem as systemic. “There have been acts of abuse of force,” he said. But “just saying that there could be any possibility that the Colombian police will be seen as a systematic abuser of human rights — well, that will be not only unfair, unjust, but without any base, any ground.”
But critics say the violence and mounting death toll indicate an urgent need for police reform. And the call to bring the police into line has struck a resounding chord in a country weary of war and atrocity at the hands of a host of paramilitaries, guerrilla fighters and security forces. “They see us as the enemy, knowing that we are citizens,” said Alexis Medina, 29, a protester who said he was detained and beaten by police officers who forced him to drink their urine. “Drink it or I’ll knock out your teeth,” he said he was told. At least 42 people have died, including one police officer, the government said Tuesday. Human Rights Watch and other organizations say the total is likely higher.
snip
May 13, 2021
Label:
Razor Records (2) – Raz 9, Razor Records (2) – RAZ 9
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album
Country:
UK
Released:
1983
Genre:
Rock
Style:
Punk, Oi
Cock Sparrer - Riot Squad + Where Are They Now + Take 'Em All
Label:
Razor Records (2) – Raz 9, Razor Records (2) – RAZ 9
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album
Country:
UK
Released:
1983
Genre:
Rock
Style:
Punk, Oi
May 11, 2021
The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the coronavirus variant first found in India last year as a "variant of global concern". It said preliminary studies show the B.1.617 mutation spreads more easily than other variants and requires further study.
The variant has already spread to more than 30 countries, the WHO says. Three other variants from the UK, South Africa and Brazil have been given the same designation.
A mutation is elevated from a "variant of interest" to a "variant of concern" (VOC) when it shows evidence of fulfilling at least one of several criteria, including easy transmission, more severe illness, reduced neutralisation by antibodies or reduced effectiveness of treatment and vaccines.
The variant is being studied to establish whether it is responsible for a deadly surge in India, which is currently overwhelming hospitals and crematoriums. India reported 366,161 new infections and 3,754 deaths on Monday, down from record peaks. Experts say the actual figures could be far higher than reported.
snip
WHO says India Covid variant of 'global concern'
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-57067190The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the coronavirus variant first found in India last year as a "variant of global concern". It said preliminary studies show the B.1.617 mutation spreads more easily than other variants and requires further study.
The variant has already spread to more than 30 countries, the WHO says. Three other variants from the UK, South Africa and Brazil have been given the same designation.
A mutation is elevated from a "variant of interest" to a "variant of concern" (VOC) when it shows evidence of fulfilling at least one of several criteria, including easy transmission, more severe illness, reduced neutralisation by antibodies or reduced effectiveness of treatment and vaccines.
The variant is being studied to establish whether it is responsible for a deadly surge in India, which is currently overwhelming hospitals and crematoriums. India reported 366,161 new infections and 3,754 deaths on Monday, down from record peaks. Experts say the actual figures could be far higher than reported.
snip
May 11, 2021
A total ban will be imposed on advertising unhealthy food online, as ministers say that the pandemic has shown the need to get serious about obesity. Although proposals to put calorie labels on pints of beer and glasses of wine have been dropped, health campaigners have praised “landmark” reforms that would see tight controls on promotion and advertising of foods high...
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/queens-speech-includes-ban-on-online-junk-food-ads-to-curb-obesity-k7ghg2tg6
A total ban will be imposed on advertising unhealthy food online, as ministers say that the pandemic has shown the need to get serious about obesity. Although proposals to put calorie labels on pints of beer and glasses of wine have been dropped, health campaigners have praised “landmark” reforms that would see tight controls on promotion and advertising of foods high in sugar, salt and fat.
Discount deals for such food will be banned, as will advertising them on television before a 9pm watershed after Boris Johnson recommitted to tough action on obesity in the Queen’s Speech today. The proposals are contained in a series of 31 bills to go before parliament covering planning law reform, an expansion of police powers and a revamp of electoral law. There were concerns, however that social reform had been put on the backburner.
The Queen delivered the speech, her first major public royal engagement since the death of Prince Philip, in a socially distanced ceremony at the state opening of parliament. Under the new junk food controls, people will be rewarded with shopping vouchers for losing weight and exercising more under a “fit miles” incentive scheme to encourage healthier living.
Restaurants will be required to put calorie counts on menus, although pubs will not have to do the same on beer pumps and bottles. Johnson, who lost weight after being seriously ill with Covid-19 last year, had been wobbling over a total online advertising ban for junk food after protests from the industry and advertisers, who insisted that there was no evidence for such a far-reaching move. But today the Queen’s Speech promised a “total ban online” for junk food.
snip
Queen's Speech unveils total ban on online junk food ads
A total ban will be imposed on advertising unhealthy food online, as ministers say that the pandemic has shown the need to get serious about obesity. Although proposals to put calorie labels on pints of beer and glasses of wine have been dropped, health campaigners have praised “landmark” reforms that would see tight controls on promotion and advertising of foods high...
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/queens-speech-includes-ban-on-online-junk-food-ads-to-curb-obesity-k7ghg2tg6
A total ban will be imposed on advertising unhealthy food online, as ministers say that the pandemic has shown the need to get serious about obesity. Although proposals to put calorie labels on pints of beer and glasses of wine have been dropped, health campaigners have praised “landmark” reforms that would see tight controls on promotion and advertising of foods high in sugar, salt and fat.
Discount deals for such food will be banned, as will advertising them on television before a 9pm watershed after Boris Johnson recommitted to tough action on obesity in the Queen’s Speech today. The proposals are contained in a series of 31 bills to go before parliament covering planning law reform, an expansion of police powers and a revamp of electoral law. There were concerns, however that social reform had been put on the backburner.
The Queen delivered the speech, her first major public royal engagement since the death of Prince Philip, in a socially distanced ceremony at the state opening of parliament. Under the new junk food controls, people will be rewarded with shopping vouchers for losing weight and exercising more under a “fit miles” incentive scheme to encourage healthier living.
Restaurants will be required to put calorie counts on menus, although pubs will not have to do the same on beer pumps and bottles. Johnson, who lost weight after being seriously ill with Covid-19 last year, had been wobbling over a total online advertising ban for junk food after protests from the industry and advertisers, who insisted that there was no evidence for such a far-reaching move. But today the Queen’s Speech promised a “total ban online” for junk food.
snip
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Gender: FemaleHometown: London
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