#covid lockdown gang member

[wolfspaw]

[mariacallous]

Organized Crime Is Surging

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about lasting changes to the world of work for many of us. So too for transnational criminal gangs, whose activity surged during and after the lockdowns that confined millions to their homes around the world, said Interpol Secretary-General Jürgen Stock in an exclusive interview with SitRep.

“The world is confronted with a dramatic surge in international organized crime in a way that, definitely, I haven’t seen in my now long 45-year career,” said Stock, who is due to step down as the chief of the international policing organization next month after 10 years in the role.

Fraudsters were quick to adapt during the pandemic, when much of life shifted online as people sheltered at home to avoid contracting the virus. “Criminals were using the internet and new technologies to approach potential victims or victims on a kind of industrial scale,” Stock said.

Instead of competing, organized crime groups are increasingly cooperating, sharing elements of the global supply chains for drug and human trafficking, environmental crime, and illegal mining, Stock added.

While there have been major successes in the form of record drug seizures in the Americas and Europe in recent years, police around the world are still struggling to keep up. “These gangs, cartels all around the world are getting more and more dangerous, more powerful, more influential,” he said, noting that violence is “increasing dramatically” at both ends of the international drug supply chain.

Working Locally, Thinking Globally

When Stock began his career as a police officer in Germany in the late 1970s, most criminals were local, and crime scenes often held crucial physical evidence. These days, he estimates that much of the crime plaguing city streets has some kind of organized crime component to it, while the internet and modern technology—such as encrypted messaging and cryptocurrency—have also challenged classical policing methods.

The global problem of transnational crime needs a global solution, said Stock: “You cannot fight these crimes by just making your borders higher. You need information exchange at the national level, regional level, and global level.”

Red Notices

Despite the Hollywood portrayal, Interpol is not an international police force. Rather, it is a forum for cooperation and information sharing for its 196 member states. Founded in Vienna, Austria, in 1923, the organization is bound by its charter to remain neutral and is expressly prohibited from getting involved in politics or activities of a military, religious, or racial nature.

This has made Interpol a vanishingly rare global forum where member states come together on an equal footing in spite of conflicts and geopolitical tensions that have gripped the globe. “We are still bringing all 196 to the table,” said Stock of the body’s members.

But having such a wide membership has also exposed the organization to accusations that its systems have been abused by authoritarian states in pursuit of political foes by issuing spurious Red Notices to request global law enforcement to provisionally arrest a person.

One of the first things that Stock did upon becoming secretary-general was implement a compliance mechanism to screen notices for any suggestion of ill intent on the part of the issuing country. He estimated that some 95 percent of arrest requests made through the organization are noncontroversial, while 5 percent have demanded further scrutiny. “That has definitely brought a trust into the system,” he said.

Six countries, including Russia, have been subject to what Stock called “corrective measures” over their suspected abuse of Interpol systems.

A New York Times investigation earlier this year found that despite these improvements, the world’s strongmen have found other ways to use information sharing through the policing organization to pursue their critics abroad. A surge in the issuance of Blue Notices, requests for information about an individual, have raised concerns about potential abuse.

Interpol members will descend on Glasgow, Scotland, on Nov. 4 for the body’s 92nd General Assembly, where its governing body will vote to endorse Valdecy Urquiza from Brazil as its next secretary-general.

[sugdenlovesdingle]

so the incoming Dutch government has (among others)

a prime minister who is not a member of a political party but basically just someone who knows the right people to get him a nice job, former head of immigration and naturalisation services

a health minister/deputy PM who used to be a member of a white power/neo nazi forum and strongly opposes late term abortion.

a minister in charge of trade and international aid (as in aid sent to other countries from the Netherlands) who wanted to cut that aid significantly or even get rid of it altogether to pay for a hair brained plan to lower health insurance costs here a few years ago, who is (or was i'm not entirely sure) a board member for an even more racist and unhinged Dutch version of fox news, believes in some ass backwards conspiracy theory that the "elite" are trying to "replace" the population with non white/non western (Jewish!) people but claims that is not nazi rhetoric but a "factual description of a demographic development" , pro zwarte piet (loooong story but basically she's pro blackface)

a minister of immigration who also believes in the replacement conspiracy theory, is also racist, has referred to Islam as despicable. She's been called out on spouting nazi bullshit and just went "it's possible it's a nazi thing, I don't know, I don't really care/think about that"

a speaker of the house who also believes in the replace conspiracy theory and has mentioned it several times as an mp. He also complained about being sick of talks about slavery when there was a discussion on whether or not the (then) prime minister and the king should officially apologise for the Dutch slavery history. July 1st is Keti koti in the Netherlands - which celebrates the end of slavery and remembers those who lost their lives during it (kind of like Juneteenth in the US) and there is an 'official' celebration/memorial service in Amsterdam where normally at least some politicians would show their face and speak. The organisation has said they don't want Bosman (that's his name) there because he's a racist asshole. He's planning to go anyway.

an MP who blatantly denies there is famine in Gaza and says 2000 aid trucks enter the Gaza strip every week.

the leader of that ^ gang who is bffs with Viktor Orbán (Hungarian PM) and the American republicans (that should tell you enough), who was going to make sure there would be 'less Moroccans' in The Hague after winning local elections there, has insulted Islam on various occasions throughout the past 20 or so years, and wants to ban people from having dual citizenship except that one guy in his own party he kinda forgot about

The daughter of an immigrant who opposes immigration and wants to stop people from bringing their family here when they've officially been told they can stay. The EXACT same law that allowed her father to bring her and her mother and siblings here after he left Turkey when she was a kid. She also claims hundreds of thousands of people do this every year - which is bullshit, but she 'didn't do it on purpose' so it's ok.

a minister of housing who actively opposed building plans in her city. And also who nobody takes seriously because she got kicked out of her old party for openly criticising their covid policies during lockdown. Comedians love her because she says stupid shit all the time that they can use to make fun of her.

the leader of the farmers party who can't do maths, won't let anyone run the numbers on her party's plans because it's "not important what things cost or how they'd be paid for"

So yeah - the country is going to shit!

[jaredsavage-nzheraldnews]

Comanchero gang raids: President's brother pleads guilty

Vetekina Naufahu joins two other senior members of the Comanchero motorcycle gang in admitting charges of money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group following the covert police investigation Operation Nova.

Once nothing more than a mystery caller on the end of the phone line, the man who smuggled methamphetamine from Mexico into New Zealand for the Comancheros gang will now serve a long prison sent...

A senior Comanchero gang member has admitted charges of money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group, just weeks before his trial was due to start.

Vetekina Naufahu pleaded guilty to three charges at a High Court hearing this morning, held by audio-visual link because of the Covid-19 lockdown in Auckland.

The money laundering charge relates to his late-model Range Rover, worth around $150,000, while the organised crime charge carries the most significant penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

Naufahu - whose brother Pasilika is the president of the New Zealand chapter of the Australian motorcycle gang - also pleaded guilty to possession of MDMA, or Ecstasy, which is a Class-B controlled drug.

Justice Sally Fitzgerald convicted Naufahu of the three offences and scheduled a sentencing date of October 23, 2020, alongside his fellow Comanchero Jarome Fonua.

Last week, the gang's treasurer Fonua also pleaded guilty to money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group.

The late admissions come shortly before the pair were due to stand trial at the High Court in September, along with other members of the gang and their associates on charges laid in April 2019 following Operation Nova.

Vetekina and Fonua now join Tyson Daniels, the gang's vice-president, and Auckland lawyer Andrew Simpson in being convicted of laundering criminal profits.

Nearly $1.3 million in cash was deposited into the lawyer's trust account, which was then used to purchase expensive cars and property.

For Daniels alone, there were four Range Rovers - with price tags of $175,000, $255,000, $218,000 and $280,000 - a $200,000 Mercedes-Benz, a Lamborghini for $285,000, and two Rolls-Royces, which cost $364,000 and $595,000.

A charge of participating in an organised criminal group between May 2017 and April 2019 was also admitted by Daniels, who was living in the affluent Auckland suburb of Mellons Bay until his arrest in April last year.

In sentencing Daniels - who was wearing a Versace top in Comanchero colours of black and gold - to four years and eight months in prison, Justice Gerard van Bohemen said the senior gang member played a crucial role overseeing the gang's operations for significant personal gain.

The offending was sophisticated, said Justice van Bohemen, with encrypted devices used to avoid detection by police.

Money was deposited at banks in amounts less than $10,000, in a bid to avoid triggering the banks' reporting threshold, then funnelled through trust and company accounts to disguise their criminal origins.

"You clearly knew the money was derived from significant importation of drugs."

More than $1.2m in cash was deposited into Simpson's trust account at his law practice, which was also used to purchase some of the cars belonging to Daniels and allegedly others in the gang, as well as real estate such as a $1.3m home in Auckland.

Justice van Bohemen said Simpson was the facilitator of the money-laundering scheme, who used his specialist skills and knowledge as a lawyer.

"You made it work. You set up the trusts and lent respectability, as a lawyer, to a criminal organisation."

Simpson was reckless and brought the legal profession into disrepute, however, the judge was satisfied he was genuine in his remorse.

Despite this, Simpson was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison.

"I deeply regret a father being separated from his family. However, that is a consequence of your decisions."

Neither man was charged with drug offences.

But the police allege the Comanchero, an Australian gang which set up shop in New Zealand after a number of senior members were deported here, are behind significant drug smuggling linked to a Mexican cartel.

In July, a 60-year-old man who travelled to Mexico was sentenced to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to four charges of importing a Class A drug after being identified in Operation Nova.

Tallat Rahman, from Suva, was arrested in February 2019 in the first phase of the inquiry, which discovered how parcels of methamphetamine weighing up to 5kg were hidden inside kitchen appliances shipped from the United States.

Once in New Zealand, the police allege the drugs were distributed by "frontmen" for the Comanchero, whose hierarchy allegedly reaped the rewards of the illicit trade.

Rahman was unknown to the team of detectives running Operation Nova until he was overheard talking to one of the "frontmen", who cannot be named for legal reasons, whose phone conversations were bugged by police.

He said: "You're going to start off with a nice number with two zeroes. I'm going to land it between you and me ... [I'll give you] all the f***en work you can handle. We're going to land it there [in New Zealand]."

The cheap wholesale price of $120,000 per kilogram was agreed to by both parties, in a deal the police believed would weigh at least 100kg ("a nice number with two zeros").

The call was made in Mexico and the caller was identified as Rahman; a Fijian-Indian who lived in Suva, who had dual Canadian citizenship and travelled regularly to Mexico and the United States.

Everything went quiet until Rahman flew into Auckland International Airport on December 18, 2018, and checked into a hotel on Queen St, the Four Points by Sheraton.

Three days later, Rahman's son checked into the same hotel and was seen meeting with another man, a 19-year-old Mexican national, who also cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Two days before Christmas, December 23, 2018, Rahman left New Zealand but not before receiving a backpack full of cash.

Around the same time, a consignment of a kitchen stovetops shipped from the United States had been seized by Customs and examined. There was nearly 5kg of methamphetamine inside.

Then in February 2019, two separate consignments from the United States - a "waffle maker" and "coffee brewer"- were stopped at the border by Customs, each containing 2.9kg of methamphetamine.

Rahman returned to New Zealand and was arrested by the National Organised Crime Group, along with the 19-year-old from Mexico and a 33-year-old Chinese man called Hui Wang. He was called the "Wire Guy" because he laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in wire transfers overseas.

Search warrants were also executed at the home linked to Rahman in Suva where Fijian Police discovered 39kg of cocaine, presumably destined for the Australian and New Zealand markets. The haul was worth about $20m.

When brought in for questioning by police, Rahman claimed to be in New Zealand on holiday.

When detectives told him that an audio device had been covertly installed in his hotel room on Queen St, Rahman said: "Oh shit".

[cstnews]

Comanchero gang raids: Jarome Fonua pleads guilty to money laundering, participating in an organised criminal group

A senior Comancheros gang member has admitted charges of money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group - changing his plea just a few weeks ahead of his trial. Jarome Fonua entered guilty pleas to the offences this morning at a High Court hearing, held by audio-visual link because of the Covid-19 lockdown in Auckland.

Once nothing more than a mystery caller on the end of the phone line, the man who smuggled methamphetamine from Mexico into New Zealand for the Comancheros gang will now serve a long prison

Vetekina Naufahu joins two other senior members of the Comanchero motorcycle gang in admitting charges of money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group following the covert police investigation Operation Nova. A senior Comanchero gang member has admitted charges of money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group, just weeks before his trial was due to start.

Vetekina Naufahu pleaded guilty to three charges at a High Court hearing this morning, held by audio-visual link because of the Covid-19 lockdown in Auckland.

The money laundering charge relates to his late-model Range Rover, worth around $150,000, while the organised crime charge carries the most significant penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

Naufahu - whose brother Pasilika is the president of the New Zealand chapter of the Australian motorcycle gang - also pleaded guilty to possession of MDMA, or Ecstasy, which is a Class-B controlled drug.

Justice Sally Fitzgerald convicted Naufahu of the three offences and scheduled a sentencing date of October 23, 2020, alongside his fellow Comanchero Jarome Fonua.

Last week, the gang's treasurer Fonua also pleaded guilty to money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group. The late admissions come shortly before the pair were due to stand trial at the High Court in September, along with other members of the gang and their associates on charges laid in April 2019 following Operation Nova.

Vetekina and Fonua now join Tyson Daniels, the gang's vice-president, and Auckland lawyer Andrew Simpson in being convicted of laundering criminal profits.

Nearly $1.3 million in cash was deposited into the lawyer's trust account, which was then used to purchase expensive cars and property.

For Daniels alone, there were four Range Rovers - with price tags of $175,000, $255,000, $218,000 and $280,000 - a $200,000 Mercedes-Benz, a Lamborghini for $285,000, and two Rolls-Royces, which cost $364,000 and $595,000.

A charge of participating in an organised criminal group between May 2017 and April 2019 was also admitted by Daniels, who was living in the affluent Auckland suburb of Mellons Bay until his arrest in April last year. In sentencing Daniels - who was wearing a Versace top in Comanchero colours of black and gold - to four years and eight months in prison, Justice Gerard van Bohemen said the senior gang member played a crucial role overseeing the gang's operations for significant personal gain.

The offending was sophisticated, said Justice van Bohemen, with encrypted devices used to avoid detection by police.

Money was deposited at banks in amounts less than $10,000, in a bid to avoid triggering the banks' reporting threshold, then funnelled through trust and company accounts to disguise their criminal origins.

"You clearly knew the money was derived from significant importation of drugs."

More than $1.2m in cash was deposited into Simpson's trust account at his law practice, which was also used to purchase some of the cars belonging to Daniels and allegedly others in the gang, as well as real estate such as a $1.3m home in Auckland.

Justice van Bohemen said Simpson was the facilitator of the money-laundering scheme, who used his specialist skills and knowledge as a lawyer.

"You made it work. You set up the trusts and lent respectability, as a lawyer, to a criminal organisation."

Simpson was reckless and brought the legal profession into disrepute, however, the judge was satisfied he was genuine in his remorse.

Despite this, Simpson was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison.

"I deeply regret a father being separated from his family. However, that is a consequence of your decisions."

Neither man was charged with drug offences.

But the police allege the Comanchero, an Australian gang which set up shop in New Zealand after a number of senior members were deported here, are behind significant drug smuggling linked to a Mexican cartel. In July, a 60-year-old man who travelled to Mexico was sentenced to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to four charges of importing a Class A drug after being identified in Operation Nova.

Tallat Rahman, from Suva, was arrested in February 2019 in the first phase of the inquiry, which discovered how parcels of methamphetamine weighing up to 5kg were hidden inside kitchen appliances shipped from the United States.

Once in New Zealand, the police allege the drugs were distributed by "frontmen" for the Comanchero, whose hierarchy allegedly reaped the rewards of the illicit trade.

Rahman was unknown to the team of detectives running Operation Nova until he was overheard talking to one of the "frontmen", who cannot be named for legal reasons, whose phone conversations were bugged by police.

He said: "You're going to start off with a nice number with two zeroes. I'm going to land it between you and me … [I'll give you] all the f***en work you can handle. We're going to land it there [in New Zealand]." The cheap wholesale price of $120,000 per kilogram was agreed to by both parties, in a deal the police believed would weigh at least 100kg ("a nice number with two zeros").

The call was made in Mexico and the caller was identified as Rahman; a Fijian-Indian who lived in Suva, who had dual Canadian citizenship and travelled regularly to Mexico and the United States.

Everything went quiet until Rahman flew into Auckland International Airport on December 18, 2018, and checked into a hotel on Queen St, the Four Points by Sheraton.

Three days later, Rahman's son checked into the same hotel and was seen meeting with another man, a 19-year-old Mexican national, who also cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Two days before Christmas, December 23, 2018, Rahman left New Zealand but not before receiving a backpack full of cash.

Around the same time, a consignment of a kitchen stovetops shipped from the United States had been seized by Customs and examined. There was nearly 5kg of methamphetamine inside.

Then in February 2019, two separate consignments from the United States - a "waffle maker" and "coffee brewer"- were stopped at the border by Customs, each containing 2.9kg of methamphetamine.

Rahman returned to New Zealand and was arrested by the National Organised Crime Group, along with the 19-year-old from Mexico and a 33-year-old Chinese man called Hui Wang. He was called the "Wire Guy" because he laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in wire transfers overseas. Search warrants were also executed at the home linked to Rahman in Suva where Fijian Police discovered 39kg of cocaine, presumably destined for the Australian and New Zealand markets. The haul was worth about $20m.

When brought in for questioning by police, Rahman claimed to be in New Zealand on holiday.

When detectives told him that an audio device had been covertly installed in his hotel room on Queen St, Rahman said: "Oh shit".

Roy Richey

[sdtnews]

Comanchero gang raids: Jarome Fonua pleads guilty to money laundering, participating in an organised criminal group

A senior Comancheros gang member has admitted charges of money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group - changing his plea just a few weeks ahead of his trial. Jarome Fonua entered guilty pleas to the offences this morning at a High Court hearing, held by audio-visual link because of the Covid-19 lockdown in Auckland.

Once nothing more than a mystery caller on the end of the phone line, the man who smuggled methamphetamine from Mexico into New Zealand for the Comancheros gang will now serve a long prison

Vetekina Naufahu joins two other senior members of the Comanchero motorcycle gang in admitting charges of money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group following the covert police investigation Operation Nova. A senior Comanchero gang member has admitted charges of money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group, just weeks before his trial was due to start.

Vetekina Naufahu pleaded guilty to three charges at a High Court hearing this morning, held by audio-visual link because of the Covid-19 lockdown in Auckland.

The money laundering charge relates to his late-model Range Rover, worth around $150,000, while the organised crime charge carries the most significant penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

Naufahu - whose brother Pasilika is the president of the New Zealand chapter of the Australian motorcycle gang - also pleaded guilty to possession of MDMA, or Ecstasy, which is a Class-B controlled drug.

Justice Sally Fitzgerald convicted Naufahu of the three offences and scheduled a sentencing date of October 23, 2020, alongside his fellow Comanchero Jarome Fonua.

Last week, the gang's treasurer Fonua also pleaded guilty to money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group. The late admissions come shortly before the pair were due to stand trial at the High Court in September, along with other members of the gang and their associates on charges laid in April 2019 following Operation Nova.

Vetekina and Fonua now join Tyson Daniels, the gang's vice-president, and Auckland lawyer Andrew Simpson in being convicted of laundering criminal profits.

Nearly $1.3 million in cash was deposited into the lawyer's trust account, which was then used to purchase expensive cars and property.

For Daniels alone, there were four Range Rovers - with price tags of $175,000, $255,000, $218,000 and $280,000 - a $200,000 Mercedes-Benz, a Lamborghini for $285,000, and two Rolls-Royces, which cost $364,000 and $595,000.

A charge of participating in an organised criminal group between May 2017 and April 2019 was also admitted by Daniels, who was living in the affluent Auckland suburb of Mellons Bay until his arrest in April last year. In sentencing Daniels - who was wearing a Versace top in Comanchero colours of black and gold - to four years and eight months in prison, Justice Gerard van Bohemen said the senior gang member played a crucial role overseeing the gang's operations for significant personal gain.

The offending was sophisticated, said Justice van Bohemen, with encrypted devices used to avoid detection by police.

Money was deposited at banks in amounts less than $10,000, in a bid to avoid triggering the banks' reporting threshold, then funnelled through trust and company accounts to disguise their criminal origins.

"You clearly knew the money was derived from significant importation of drugs."

More than $1.2m in cash was deposited into Simpson's trust account at his law practice, which was also used to purchase some of the cars belonging to Daniels and allegedly others in the gang, as well as real estate such as a $1.3m home in Auckland.

Justice van Bohemen said Simpson was the facilitator of the money-laundering scheme, who used his specialist skills and knowledge as a lawyer.

"You made it work. You set up the trusts and lent respectability, as a lawyer, to a criminal organisation."

Simpson was reckless and brought the legal profession into disrepute, however, the judge was satisfied he was genuine in his remorse.

Despite this, Simpson was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison.

"I deeply regret a father being separated from his family. However, that is a consequence of your decisions."

Neither man was charged with drug offences.

But the police allege the Comanchero, an Australian gang which set up shop in New Zealand after a number of senior members were deported here, are behind significant drug smuggling linked to a Mexican cartel. In July, a 60-year-old man who travelled to Mexico was sentenced to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to four charges of importing a Class A drug after being identified in Operation Nova.

Tallat Rahman, from Suva, was arrested in February 2019 in the first phase of the inquiry, which discovered how parcels of methamphetamine weighing up to 5kg were hidden inside kitchen appliances shipped from the United States.

Once in New Zealand, the police allege the drugs were distributed by "frontmen" for the Comanchero, whose hierarchy allegedly reaped the rewards of the illicit trade.

Rahman was unknown to the team of detectives running Operation Nova until he was overheard talking to one of the "frontmen", who cannot be named for legal reasons, whose phone conversations were bugged by police.

He said: "You're going to start off with a nice number with two zeroes. I'm going to land it between you and me … [I'll give you] all the f***en work you can handle. We're going to land it there [in New Zealand]." The cheap wholesale price of $120,000 per kilogram was agreed to by both parties, in a deal the police believed would weigh at least 100kg ("a nice number with two zeros").

The call was made in Mexico and the caller was identified as Rahman; a Fijian-Indian who lived in Suva, who had dual Canadian citizenship and travelled regularly to Mexico and the United States.

Everything went quiet until Rahman flew into Auckland International Airport on December 18, 2018, and checked into a hotel on Queen St, the Four Points by Sheraton.

Three days later, Rahman's son checked into the same hotel and was seen meeting with another man, a 19-year-old Mexican national, who also cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Two days before Christmas, December 23, 2018, Rahman left New Zealand but not before receiving a backpack full of cash.

Around the same time, a consignment of a kitchen stovetops shipped from the United States had been seized by Customs and examined. There was nearly 5kg of methamphetamine inside.

Then in February 2019, two separate consignments from the United States - a "waffle maker" and "coffee brewer"- were stopped at the border by Customs, each containing 2.9kg of methamphetamine.

Rahman returned to New Zealand and was arrested by the National Organised Crime Group, along with the 19-year-old from Mexico and a 33-year-old Chinese man called Hui Wang. He was called the "Wire Guy" because he laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in wire transfers overseas. Search warrants were also executed at the home linked to Rahman in Suva where Fijian Police discovered 39kg of cocaine, presumably destined for the Australian and New Zealand markets. The haul was worth about $20m.

When brought in for questioning by police, Rahman claimed to be in New Zealand on holiday.

When detectives told him that an audio device had been covertly installed in his hotel room on Queen St, Rahman said: "Oh shit".

Darren Yaw

[tftnewws]

Comanchero gang raids: Jarome Fonua pleads guilty to money laundering, participating in an organised criminal group

A senior Comancheros gang member has admitted charges of money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group - changing his plea just a few weeks ahead of his trial. Jarome Fonua entered guilty pleas to the offences this morning at a High Court hearing, held by audio-visual link because of the Covid-19 lockdown in Auckland.

Once nothing more than a mystery caller on the end of the phone line, the man who smuggled methamphetamine from Mexico into New Zealand for the Comancheros gang will now serve a long prison 

Vetekina Naufahu joins two other senior members of the Comanchero motorcycle gang in admitting charges of money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group following the covert police investigation Operation Nova. A senior Comanchero gang member has admitted charges of money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group, just weeks before his trial was due to start.

Vetekina Naufahu pleaded guilty to three charges at a High Court hearing this morning, held by audio-visual link because of the Covid-19 lockdown in Auckland.

The money laundering charge relates to his late-model Range Rover, worth around $150,000, while the organised crime charge carries the most significant penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

Naufahu - whose brother Pasilika is the president of the New Zealand chapter of the Australian motorcycle gang - also pleaded guilty to possession of MDMA, or Ecstasy, which is a Class-B controlled drug.

Justice Sally Fitzgerald convicted Naufahu of the three offences and scheduled a sentencing date of October 23, 2020, alongside his fellow Comanchero Jarome Fonua.

Last week, the gang's treasurer Fonua also pleaded guilty to money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group. The late admissions come shortly before the pair were due to stand trial at the High Court in September, along with other members of the gang and their associates on charges laid in April 2019 following Operation Nova.

Vetekina and Fonua now join Tyson Daniels, the gang's vice-president, and Auckland lawyer Andrew Simpson in being convicted of laundering criminal profits.

Nearly $1.3 million in cash was deposited into the lawyer's trust account, which was then used to purchase expensive cars and property.

For Daniels alone, there were four Range Rovers - with price tags of $175,000, $255,000, $218,000 and $280,000 - a $200,000 Mercedes-Benz, a Lamborghini for $285,000, and two Rolls-Royces, which cost $364,000 and $595,000.

A charge of participating in an organised criminal group between May 2017 and April 2019 was also admitted by Daniels, who was living in the affluent Auckland suburb of Mellons Bay until his arrest in April last year. In sentencing Daniels - who was wearing a Versace top in Comanchero colours of black and gold - to four years and eight months in prison, Justice Gerard van Bohemen said the senior gang member played a crucial role overseeing the gang's operations for significant personal gain.

The offending was sophisticated, said Justice van Bohemen, with encrypted devices used to avoid detection by police.

Money was deposited at banks in amounts less than $10,000, in a bid to avoid triggering the banks' reporting threshold, then funnelled through trust and company accounts to disguise their criminal origins.

"You clearly knew the money was derived from significant importation of drugs."

More than $1.2m in cash was deposited into Simpson's trust account at his law practice, which was also used to purchase some of the cars belonging to Daniels and allegedly others in the gang, as well as real estate such as a $1.3m home in Auckland.

Justice van Bohemen said Simpson was the facilitator of the money-laundering scheme, who used his specialist skills and knowledge as a lawyer.

"You made it work. You set up the trusts and lent respectability, as a lawyer, to a criminal organisation."

Simpson was reckless and brought the legal profession into disrepute, however, the judge was satisfied he was genuine in his remorse.

Despite this, Simpson was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison.

"I deeply regret a father being separated from his family. However, that is a consequence of your decisions."

Neither man was charged with drug offences.

But the police allege the Comanchero, an Australian gang which set up shop in New Zealand after a number of senior members were deported here, are behind significant drug smuggling linked to a Mexican cartel. In July, a 60-year-old man who travelled to Mexico was sentenced to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to four charges of importing a Class A drug after being identified in Operation Nova.

Tallat Rahman, from Suva, was arrested in February 2019 in the first phase of the inquiry, which discovered how parcels of methamphetamine weighing up to 5kg were hidden inside kitchen appliances shipped from the United States.

Once in New Zealand, the police allege the drugs were distributed by "frontmen" for the Comanchero, whose hierarchy allegedly reaped the rewards of the illicit trade.

Rahman was unknown to the team of detectives running Operation Nova until he was overheard talking to one of the "frontmen", who cannot be named for legal reasons, whose phone conversations were bugged by police.

He said: "You're going to start off with a nice number with two zeroes. I'm going to land it between you and me … [I'll give you] all the f***en work you can handle. We're going to land it there [in New Zealand]." The cheap wholesale price of $120,000 per kilogram was agreed to by both parties, in a deal the police believed would weigh at least 100kg ("a nice number with two zeros").

The call was made in Mexico and the caller was identified as Rahman; a Fijian-Indian who lived in Suva, who had dual Canadian citizenship and travelled regularly to Mexico and the United States.

Everything went quiet until Rahman flew into Auckland International Airport on December 18, 2018, and checked into a hotel on Queen St, the Four Points by Sheraton.

Three days later, Rahman's son checked into the same hotel and was seen meeting with another man, a 19-year-old Mexican national, who also cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Two days before Christmas, December 23, 2018, Rahman left New Zealand but not before receiving a backpack full of cash.

Around the same time, a consignment of a kitchen stovetops shipped from the United States had been seized by Customs and examined. There was nearly 5kg of methamphetamine inside.

Then in February 2019, two separate consignments from the United States - a "waffle maker" and "coffee brewer"- were stopped at the border by Customs, each containing 2.9kg of methamphetamine.

Rahman returned to New Zealand and was arrested by the National Organised Crime Group, along with the 19-year-old from Mexico and a 33-year-old Chinese man called Hui Wang. He was called the "Wire Guy" because he laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in wire transfers overseas. Search warrants were also executed at the home linked to Rahman in Suva where Fijian Police discovered 39kg of cocaine, presumably destined for the Australian and New Zealand markets. The haul was worth about $20m.

When brought in for questioning by police, Rahman claimed to be in New Zealand on holiday.

When detectives told him that an audio device had been covertly installed in his hotel room on Queen St, Rahman said: "Oh shit".

David Walters

[countryconditionswithshiro]

International Crisis Group, A Remedy for El Salvador’s Prison Fever, (10/05/2022)

CW: human rights violations/sexual assault/gang violence

“Under a ‘state of exception’ … the government has lengthened the period of detention without charge and lowered the age of prosecution to twelve.”

“Although murder rates have reached historic lows, clashes between gangs and security personnel are on the rise. Gangs have leaked statements threatening to hit back harder if the government does not return to dialogue.”

(I. Introduction)

“Officials attribute the astonishing drop-off [in El Salvador’s homicide rate] to the effects of the government’s security policy, but evidence suggests that Bukele’s initial success owed more to negotiations between the government and criminal gangs that have plagued the country for decades…”

“Once in control of parliament, Bukele wasted no time in taking hold of the judiciary, replacing the attorney general and ten of fifteen Supreme Court judges…”

“The government also forced retirement upon judges, prosecutors and police officers who were over 60 years old or had been in office for more than 30 years, creating an opportunity to replace them with more loyal officials.”

“On the economic front, tough enforcement of lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic received widespread praise for helping to manage a public health challenge, but severely affected the country’s economy, which contracted by 8.6 per cent in 2020 .”

“Rating agencies and financial institutions have voiced concern about Bukele’s authoritarian traits and his attachment to Bitcoin, which he made El Salvador adopt as legal tender.”

“Bukele has also become notorious for defying the country’s main partners, particularly the U.S., as he accuses foreign powers of meddling with domestic affairs and even funding opposition movements.”

“In International forums, El Salvador has taken positions at odds with those of Western democracies, abstaining from UN and Organization of American States (OAS) votes denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Nicaragua’s seizure of the OAS building in Managua.”

(II. From Security Miracle to State of Exception)

“Before March 2022, when the [Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13)] went on a rampage and Bukele cracked down, El Salvador’s public debate was focused more on the president’s anti-democratic steps to consolidate power than gang violence.”

(A. El Salvador’s Gangs and the Peak of Violence)

“Born in the U.S. among Central American migrants, the MS-13 and [the Eighteenth Street Gang (Barrio-18)] found their members deported en masse in the 1990s, after which they reconstituted and spread across El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.  

(B. Bukele and the Ire of March)

“In 2021, authorities reported a rate of eighteen murders per 100,000 inhabitants, the lowest in the country’s recent history.” 

“A growing body of evidence indicates that the drop was connected to negotiations between the government and the three main gangs rather than Bukele’s Territorial Control Plan, which coupled increased security force deployment across the country with efforts to prevent gang recruitment by expanding education, training and sport activities in gang-affected communities.”

“Another government concession may be reflected in the disposition of fourteen MS-13 leaders held in Salvadoran jails, whose extradition the U.S. requested in early 2021. None have been extradited, and four were inexplicably released.”

(C. A Brutal Crackdown)

“Residents of areas where gangs’ grip is especially tight agreed that the government’s tough approach is not a solution for violent crime. Some said they feel less safe now: on one hand, petty crime, usually kept in check by gangs, is on the rise, while on the other security forces are mistreating youth and carting them off for no reason.”

(D. International Strains and Economic Outlook)

“Besides asserting his command over the judiciary by stacking the Supreme Court with loyalists and replacing forcibly retired judges, the president shut down an anti-impunity commission (CICES in Spanish) backed by the Organization of American States that he himself had installed in 2019, after it had detected twelve cases of possible government corruption.”

“The government also progressively limited access to public information and, according to diplomats, has been insufficiently transparent in accounting for the use of cooperation funds.”

“Even if default in 2023 is unlikely, Bukele’s clashes with the country’s main trade partners ��� the U.S. and EU – and his gamble on Bitcoin could well presage adverse financial conditions in the coming years.

(III. Gangs’ Response and the Risks of Violence)

(A. Will the Gangs Fight Back?)

“In an audio recording obtained by Crisis Group, an 18th Street Southerners leader warned: ‘We reiterate that we want to be part of the solution… but we cannot tolerate all these violations against our peers or civilians. If this continues, the country will know real terrorism.’”

“Even without a violent escalation, gangs are unlikely to disappear, and the crackdown could end up boosting their ranks.”

“Religious leaders and security experts argue that some of the drivers of gang recruitment, such as broken families and poverty, not only persist but may worsen as a result of both coercive law enforcement and economic turmoil.”

(B. Looming Chaos in Overcrowded Jails) 

“While equally mistreated by the guards, people with no gang affiliation are reportedly sharing cells with active gang members…”

“With the prison population now standing at around three times capacity, overcrowding is likely to worsen the already precarious health conditions that have made jails a locus of disease, particularly tuberculosis…”

…

(V. Conclusion)

“A horrific spike in gang violence amid the collapse of secretive dealings between government and gangs in El Salvador has paved the way for a law enforcement offensive marked by punitive zeal and the suspension of basic rights.” “Beyond the financial, humanitarian and reputational costs of more than doubling the prison population, the campaign could generate resentment and perhaps backlash from gang members who see no way back into law-abiding society.”

[newstfionline]

Sunday, September 10, 2023

US Retail Workers Are Fed Up and Quitting at Record Rates (Bloomberg) To be a US retail worker in 2023 means fielding an onslaught of growing American anxieties about everything from high prices to politics. Increasingly, some workers say the job isn’t worth the wages. Low pay, erratic schedules and monotonous tasks have long been a challenge for the nearly 8 million Americans working in retail, but the pandemic years have added a host of taxing new duties. Employees must cope with an uptick in shoplifting and customer orneriness. They manage online orders and run up and down the aisles to unlock items as quotidian as toothpaste. A 2022 McKinsey study found that the quit rate for retail workers is more than 70% higher than in other US industries. To hear rank-and-file retail employees tell it, working conditions started to deteriorate when they returned to the job after mandatory Covid lockdowns. Customers didn’t particularly like being told to wear masks or forgo free samples. But as health and safety protocols eased, tensions didn’t. “You’re just kind of at the mercy of customers and however they’re feeling,” says Adam Ryan, who works at a Target in Virginia. Nearly four out of five companies have seen a rise in “guest-on-associate violence” over the last five years, according to the National Retail Federation, a trade group.

Can We Bypass Our Medical Debts? (KFF Health News) According to KFF Health News, a U.S. health policy research organization, over 100 million Americans (including 41% of adults) have gone into debt in the past five years to cover their medical bills. The investigation took into account things like credit card debts and family loans to come to a comprehensive conclusion about America’s medical debt crisis, which has run amok as healthcare costs balloon and uninsured rates climb. While the problem affects roughly a third of all people living in the U.S., the federal government seems unwilling to help. Overall, KFF estimates that medical debt in the U.S. might be as high as $195 billion, as average family deductibles have risen from $2,500 a decade ago to $4,000 today. “You can’t put a price on the anxiety people are facing when they get these bills,” said North Carolina state Treasurer Dale Folwell, a Republican looking to run for governor next year. “[Hospitals] control the supply of health through the certificate of need process,” he added. “They control the access, they control the price, and if you don’t pay your bills, they will break your kneecaps.”

Ecuador youth choosing gangs as route out of poverty, UN expert says (Reuters) Poor young Ecuadoreans are choosing to join criminal gangs as an easy way to escape poverty due to a lack of opportunity, according to a UN Special Rapporteur, who urged the country to increase social investment to combat violence. Some 27% of Ecuadoreans live in poverty, while 10.8% live in extreme poverty on a national level, according to the government’s statistics office. Those figures skyrocket in rural areas, to 46.4% and 22.6% respectively. Olivier De Schutter, the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said impoverished youth were easy picking for gangs looking to recruit new members. “Poverty afflicts particularly the young adults in this country, and many in fact choose either to join the gangs or to migrate to the U.S.,” he said in an interview on Thursday.

US judge says Argentina owes about $16 billion after YPF payout trial (Reuters) Argentina suffered a big legal defeat on Friday as a U.S. judge ruled that the country must pay about $16 billion to minority shareholders of YPF arising from the government’s 2012 seizure of a majority stake in the oil and gas company. Argentina, which is in dire financial straits including a scarcity of foreign exchange reserves, pledged an immediate appeal. Argentina is short of dollars, with its net foreign exchange reserves in the red last month before accounting for a $7.5 billion disbursement from the International Monetary Fund. It also relied last month on a $775 million loan from Qatar, a $1 billion loan from a regional development bank and $1.7 billion from a swap with China to make a midyear payment to the IMF.

Boats, helicopters rescue hundreds after storm in Greece (Reuters) Helicopters winched people from rooftops and military personnel used rubber boats to rescue families from floodwaters up to 3 metres deep in central Greece on Friday after a devastating rainstorm killed at least 10 people. Storm Daniel, which meteorologists said was the worst to hit the country since records began in 1930, pummelled Greece for three days, leaving a trail of ruin after a record summer heatwave that had touched off huge wildfires. Homes were swept away by torrents, bridges collapsed, roads were made impassable, power lines fell and crops in the fertile Thessaly plain were wiped out. Civil protection authorities confirmed a death toll of 10, with four people missing. It said 1,700 people had been rescued in total, among them 296 airlifted away from their homes. Dozens of villages in the region were submerged. People who called in to TV stations said hundreds of people were still stranded. Residents, many of them farmers, were despondent at the work of a lifetime disappearing in hours.

Russian missile attack kills policeman, wounds 73 people in Zelenskyy’s hometown in central Ukraine (AP) A Russian missile attack Friday on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown killed one policeman and wounded at least 73 people, including nine policemen, Ukrainian officials said. Another attack in the southern Kherson region killed three people. The strikes were among multiple Russian attacks across the country overnight, officials said. Meanwhile, Moscow is trying to strengthen its position politically with local elections in the four regions it illegally annexed last year, even though it doesn’t fully control any of the four. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it does not recognize the “fake elections.”

Musk says he refused Kyiv request for Starlink use in attack on Russia (Reuters) Elon Musk said he refused a Ukrainian request to activate his Starlink satellite network in Crimea’s port city of Sevastopol last year to aid an attack on Russia’s fleet there, saying he feared complicity in a “major” act of war. The billionaire businessman made the comment on his social media platform X after CNN cited a excerpt from a new biography of Musk that says he ordered the Starlink network turned off near the Crimean coast last year to disrupt the Ukrainian sneak attack. Musk said he had no choice but to reject the emergency request from Ukraine. “The obvious intent being to sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor,” Musk wrote. “If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation.” According to CNN, Walter Isaacson’s new biography “Elon Musk,” to be released by Simon & Schuster on Tuesday, says that when Ukrainian explosive-laden submarine drones last year approached the Russian fleet, they “lost connectivity and washed ashore harmlessly.” It said Musk’s decision, which left Ukrainian officials begging him to turn the satellites back on, was driven by an acute fear that Russia would respond to a Ukrainian attack with nuclear weapons.

After Prigozhin’s Death, a High-Stakes Scramble for His Empire (NYT) African leaders allied with Russia had grown used to dealing with Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the swaggering, profane mercenary leader who traveled the continent by private jet, offering to prop up shaky regimes with guns and propaganda in return for gold and diamonds. But the Russian delegation that toured three African countries last week was led by a very different figure, the starchy deputy defense minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov. The contrast with the flamboyant Mr. Prigozhin could not have been sharper, and it aligned with the message the Kremlin was delivering: After Mr. Prigozhin’s death in a plane crash last month, Russia’s operations in Africa were coming under new management. It was a glimpse of a shadowy battle now playing out on three continents: the fight for the lucrative paramilitary and propaganda empire that enriched Mr. Prigozhin and served Russia’s military and diplomatic ambitions—until the Wagner leader staged a failed mutiny against the Kremlin in June. Interviews with more than a dozen current and former officials in Washington, Europe, Africa and Russia—as well as four Russians who worked for Mr. Prigozhin—portray a tug of war over his assets among major players in Russia’s power structure, including two different intelligence agencies. The fight is complicated, these people said, by the lingering allegiance to Mr. Prigozhin in his private army, where some are bridling at being subsumed within Russia’s defense ministry and instead backing a transfer of power to Mr. Prigozhin’s son.

India’s Preparations for G20 Must Also Account for Monkeys (NYT) If you’re ever in New Delhi and think you hear a monkey, don’t assume it’s a monkey. It could be a professional monkey noise impersonator. That’s because humans have been trained to imitate the guttural grunts and shrieks of gray langurs, a type of large monkey that can scare away the smaller kinds that tend to invade city officials’ residences or disrupt state visits. This weekend, the impersonators will take on a fresh challenge: keeping monkeys, which often evade guards by swinging through tree canopies, from barging into venues for the Group of 20 summit of world leaders, the first to take place in India. The event is an important one for India on the global stage, and the government does not want monkeys to steal the spotlight. They are not shy. They steal food and chase pedestrians. They sometimes ride buses and subway trains. They have attacked patients inside hospitals, invaded the Defense Ministry and the prime minister’s office and romped in the Indian Parliament building.

This summer was hotter for almost everyone in the world, study says (Washington Post) Nearly all of the world’s population experienced higher temperatures because of climate change this summer, according to an analysis of 202 countries and territories. The past three months shattered heat records and brought raging wildfires to swaths of the world including in the United States, Europe, Asia and South America, with scientists now declaring it the hottest summer on record “by a large margin.” Climate agencies have said July was the hottest month in 174 years of record-keeping. The new, peer-reviewed report produced by Climate Central and published Thursday examined temperatures in 180 countries and 22 territories around the world. The U.S.-based research group said in a news release that almost 8 billion people, or 98 percent of the world’s population, were exposed to higher temperatures. “Virtually no one on Earth escaped the influence of global warming during the past three months,” said Andrew Pershing, Climate Central’s vice president for science.

Comet Nishimura (AP) A comet discovered by an amateur Japanese astronomer in mid-August is passing through our solar system, and will be visible to stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere within a few days. The comet—named Nishimura after its discoverer—last visited the solar system around 430 years ago, just two decades before the invention of the telescope. It’s a half-mile in size and will pass Earth within 125 million kilometers on September 12, and will be visible on the northeastern horizon an hour and a half before dawn, ideally with a good pair of binoculars. It’ll be the last chance to take a peek at this comet for another four hundred years.

[saymoretv]

- Had to go back and check I hadn’t already post some ‘Chubby’ on this thing already and I’m surprised to see I hadn’t. I love both Chubby albums, and was paying pretty close attention when they were dropping visuals and generally building a lot of buzz around their tours and shows last year. 

- I caught them opening for Turnstile, my first live gig post-covid lockdowns last spring / early summer. I’ve gotta say they probably weren’t at their best. Charlie looked a little lost on a stage the size of the Kentish Town Forum. The fact he necked a good half a bottle of JD during their 20 minute set probably indicates a degree of nervousness about being up there, and fair fucking play, I’d probably do much the same. That said, it was a great show. Turnstile killed and the kids went off. I certainly left happy. I similarly left happy after seeing Big Cheese play with Fucked Up a couple weeks ago in Kings Cross. The connection here being that two members of CATG play in BC also, and Meg played with Fucked Up on the recent tour too. Once again proving that irrespective of however many great punk bands and records come out and how big a scene might seen from the outside, it always the same small handful of very creatively motivated people doing 80-90% of the work!

- I don’t think Chubby and The Gang tend to play I Hate The Radio in their live sets. Although it might technically be regarded as ‘the slow song’ on their second album, ‘The Mutt’s Nuts’, it would be wrong to dismiss it as somehow less good than their usual oi-phetamine anthems. What I particularly love about this song is the chorus, and particularly the wicked vocal melodies between Charlie and Meg. It gives me very sixties melancholic Motown, girl group vibes, which, when think about it, still connects back to the band’s wider Rock’n’roll, proto-OI, bovver rock aesthetic and sound on this record. It might have blended a bit less well on Speed Kills, mind you. Aside from the killer vocals, there’s some low key fire drumming from Joe that stops the rhythm section from feeling a ploddy and pedestrian background beat to the harmonies.

- The video itself makes the band and central London look very cute. It’s a simple, vibes based vid and that’s ok. Maybe it was coming of age in the early 00s, the era of the DSLR democratisation, but I’m still a sucker for len’s flare and over exposure which the directors use a lot of here, to very good effect. And hat’s off also for taking full advantage of the much less busy streets of London a year or two ago to have fun with this video in an area of London you’re best avoiding any time after 5 in the evening.

- I’m sure there must be hundreds of music videos that have been filmed inn around Piccadilly circus (not a bad idea for Youtube Playlist!), but off the top of my head the only other one that springs to mind is Devlin’s ‘London City’. Although sonically quite different to ‘I Hate The Radio’, both artists shared a strong distaste for radio: Devlin was a member of infamous lyrical grime crew The Movement who filmed some of their most famous freestyles on a DVD series called Fuck Radio. The visuals on both videos share a similar late night central London wooziness and melancholy. They low key communicate that strange feeling of disconnection or loneliness in the busiest part of a city, at the busiest time of the week. What Dostoevsky say, eh?

- Anyhow, existential ramblings aside. This tune and video are very cute. I look forward to seeing Chubby play live again soon.

[instadw]

Hundreds rally against New Zealand lockdown amid calls for police crackdown on ‘gang members & cultists’ disobeying Covid rules — RT World News

[petermorwood]

I don’t usually post about politics, but the UK situation has degenerated into a sitcom that thinks it’s a docudrama. Or vice versa.

If “Blackadder”, “The New Statesman” and “Yes Prime Minister” had a bastard child, it would look like this.

@dduane​ reblogged someone’s “Explanation for Non-UK readers” HERE.

*****

There have been nearly (more than?) 60 resignations and 1 sacking - that one was for threatening to resign if Prime Minister Boris Johnson didn’t.

BJ mishandling Covid response to the tune of a mountain of corpses didn’t start this, BJ having parties while the rest of the country was in lockdown didn’t do it, BJ giving his minders the slip to chat with a KGB agent (they call themselves FSB nowadays haha but we know who they are, and what was that about anyway?) didn’t do it.

The list of things that didn’t do it is astonishing.

This memorable image of the Queen observing attendance numbers and distancing at her husband’s funeral...

...stands for all the other people who couldn’t attend funerals or even be with dying family members.

The night before that photo was taken, there were two (TWO) parties at 10 Downing Street...

But no resignations.

*****

The catalyst involved a known sex-pest called Chris Pincher - ”Pincher by name, pincher by nature” BJ is claimed to have said after the first male-groping incident and formal complaint. That was in November 2017.

18 months later Pincher was back in favour - BJ favourite catchphrases are “time to move on” and “put this thing behind us” (ooh-er, Missus!) - and held the post of Deputy Chief Whip (swish-smack! you could NOT make this stuff up...)

Then in June 2022 Mister Whippee groped other males at a party. They were Party Members as well as party attendees, and it seems Pincher pinched their members as well as their arses. Maybe he thought that made it okay. What British Tories regard as acceptable nowadays is a mystery.

There was another formal complaint about the incident.

After which...

The Prime Minister denied that he’d been told anything about it, then denied that he’d been told very much about it, then denied that he’d been told as much about it as the people who told him about it said they’d told him about it, then claimed that he’d forgotten what he’d been told about it, then was confronted in an open letter with proof showing that he’d not only been told about it, but exactly how much he’d been told about it.

And that’s when the resignations started.

*****

The number of letters with phrases like “...can no longer tolerate...” show that those whose names are on those letters were content to tolerate everything prior. They are no more admirable after the letters than they were before.

It seems - did it apply to the woman caught by an MP giving BJ a BJ in his office? (oh yes, that happened too) - that the Johnsonite gang would rather swallow than spit.

Maybe it’s something learned at Public School, or maybe the rug’s too soggy with sleaze to absorb any more.

It’s certainly lumpy enough from all the stuff swept under it.

*****

At time of posting,

Four Seasons Total Landscaping in Philadelphia offered to provide a venue for any press conference due to “having experience with this sort of thing”.

Somebody was sent to get the Mess Webley.

BJ is believed to have resigned as Leader of the Conservative Party (although his speech did not use the word “resign” anywhere) but plans to stay on until the October party conference as “Caretaker PM” - which conveniently allows use of Chequers, the PM’s country home, for his next wedding reception. At taxpayer expense. Apparently invitations have already gone out.

Nobody can find the Mess Webley.

Moves are already afoot to extract him from the No 10 janitor’s cupboard before he can fill the resignation posts with acquiescent lickspittles, as well as fears of what he might do or cover up in the interim out of carelessness, disinterest, personal interest or spite.

Nobody can find the ammunition for the Mess Webley.

Ex Tory PM John Major has publicly stated that for the good of the country (and other countries!) BJ should not be allowed to remain PM.

It’s as if somebody has deliberately hidden the Mess Webley.

And its ammunition.

ETA: after some “what’s a Mess Webley?” questions, it’s this.

Also, someone who enjoys irony posted this (Gordon Brown (Labour) was 4 PMs ago.)

*****

Currently the most respected, trusted and popular resident of 10 Downing Street continues to be Larry, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office.

[sloggervlogger]

Two Gorilla Mothers With Their Babies On The Back Charging And Clapping This week we're back to the Bristol Zoo Gorillas. Keeping you up to date with the family every Thursday. Gorilla mother Touni with her son Juni on her back is standing in front of Gorila Kera. She's trying to see what Kera is eating and has a good sniff. Cute baby Juni is wiggling about on mum's back. She moves to the other side and Juni hides behind her back, when suddenly Gorilla Kera comes charging past her. Touni quickly moves out of her way. She then walks to the front of the hut. Gorilla Kala and her son Hasani are on top of the hut. Kala is charging and beating her chest with her baby on her back. A close-up of Touni and Juni below. Juni is having a glance to the top. Probably wondering why Kala is shaking her head and what all the charging and beating her chest is for. Then Kala claps her hand and Hasani holding on tight to her back. Now Touni is kicking against the hut. That's when Kera (Hasani's surrogate mother) is coming around the corner. Juni is making a quick getaway. It seems like Kera and Kala are almost ganging up on Touni. As Touni was always the most confident and she was the one that did the charging. Kera sits down, has a quick look towards Kera and Hasani. It's like a "You're OK now, she's gone" type of reaction. A few minutes later Touni turns the tables by beating her chest towards Kala and Hasani. (Touni/Juni on the left and Kala and Hasani on the right), but that was it and they move in different directions. I try and see the Bristol zoo gorillas every couple of months or so. On this visit, it seems that Kala (Hasani's real mother) is spending a bit more time with her son. There are still limits for her and she's still sharing motherly duties with Kera the surrogate Mother. Hasani seems quite happy in swapping mums. Him being quite clever he probably uses the situation to get his own way. :-) More next Thursday! The first Gorilla arrived at Bristol zoo in 8th September 1930 named Alfred. The Zoo itself opened in July 11th 1836! The first gorilla birth was on March 6th 1971. Currently, there are 8 gorillas at the Bristol Zoo. Starting off with Jock the Silverback, he was born on May 31st 1983 at Zoo La Palmyre. He got moved to the Bristol Zoo on the 25.June 2003. His offspring are: Namoki, Komale, Kukena, Afia, Ayana, Hasani and Juni. Kera was born on August 26th 2004 at the Parc Zoológic de Barcelona. She moved to the Bristol zoo on the 08.September 2008. Her offspring is Afia. Afia was born by emergency cesarean section at Bristol Zoo on the 12th of February 2016 after her mother, Kera, showed symptoms of potentially life-threatening pre-eclampsia. She had to be hand-raised. Gorilla Romina took an interest in Afia when the keepers walked past her with Afia on their arms. So Afia was slowly introduced to Romina and in October started bonding with her surrogate mother. Kera did recover after being ill, but didn't recognize Afia as her daughter. Romina took over to raise her, but sadly they had to put her to sleep in Aug 2018 because she had an advanced large cancerous mass in her abdomen. Afia by then was part of the group and dad Jock and the other females looked after her. Touni was born on the 12th of December 2007 at the La Vallée des Singes and moved to the Bristol Zoo on the 28.September 2015. Her daughter is Ayana who was born on the 22nd of April 2017. On 22 December 2020, Toni gave birth to the second baby gorilla for Bristol zoo that year during covid lockdown and he was named a combination of his Mother’s and Father's name, Juni. Kala was born on the 11th of December 2010 in Hannover. She's the newest member of the group as she joined on the 16.October 2018. She was pregnant in Sep 2019, but sadly lost the baby. The cause of death is unknown. On August 19th 2020 Kala gave birth to baby Hasani. Unfortunately she couldn’t feed him properly and was being hand-raised by Bristol Zoo staff members. In May 2021 Kera showed interest in Hasani and became the new surrogate mother of the little boy. I will put some playlists at the bottom for you to follow from early on until this day. On 3 September 2022 the inner city center Bristol zoo is closing and relocating some of their animals like the gorillas to the Wildlife project place which is just outside of Bristol not too far away. If you would like to see more of the Wildlife place they are moving to, you can watch this hyperlapse I have done on my travel channel: https://youtu.be/PUZ1F2dwhEE All Bristol Zoo Gorilla videos: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXC1aShJSBiWo8RsysJA97AlOfKJCcYte Gorilla Hasani Growing Up https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXC1aShJSBiVMD7B2_K3Tr4oXnqBvzv2A Gorilla Touni & Her Baby Juni https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXC1aShJSBiW186ErblW4GrE4aqWdNBYo Gorilla Kala And Her Baby https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXC1aShJSBiUIip06_FLRgQKbtjgZpOb0 Surrogate Mum Kera With Baby Hasani https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXC1aShJSBiWAm0liW0snctf_uZGf8YzR SloggerVlogger

[draayder]

What do the Yakuza boys spend their time doing during quarantine?

this is funny because it has like 0 impact on Kiryu during his orphanage running time. I’m going to pretend that Japan is doing as strict of lockdowns as the US because it’s funnier that way but yeah I guess the kids stay at the orphanage all the time and do tele-classes, which means Kiryu gets to do Technology Substories when the laptops aren’t working or Eri keeps forgetting her password or Mame knocked a glass of water onto the router

Saejima has the most practice in the world with sitting in a single room doing nothing. this time he has books and shows and shit to catch up on, and can do wood carvings. he’s living his best life. Saejima’s hot girl summer

Akiyama..... like he’s not stupid, and wouldn’t be an anti-masker or anything, but would very much be on the “it’s fine, I’m only going to be there for 5 minutes and I won’t even be super close to anyone” end of things. he tries to do business as usual, because he is a little stupid, until Hana kicks his ass and they just like play cards or watch movies or w/e

Tanimura is forced to go to even more underground mahjong tables since all the notable ones are shuttered. gets hooked on gatcha, blows too much money on gatcha, cuts gatcha out of his life, still has months of quarantine left to go.  An awful time for him

Genuinely I’m not sure if Shinada can survive without breaking quarantine. he has to find the sex places that have covid precautions?? I don’t know how that would work but he’ll help them invent it if he has to. Otherwise he’s happy to get paid to stay home and watch baseball all day, but mad that the batting center is closed

Ichiban has time to catch up on dragon quest now, and is being paid to stay home. the whole gang can bubble up in their one household and play cards. Ichiban is living his best life. Ichiban’s hot girl summer

okay I left Majima for last because I think he would go insane. I think Saejima might have to literally tie him up and gag him to get any peace and quiet. Majima would be thrilled to be able to just goof off for about a week before he goes completely stircrazy. he’s yelling at every politician he can find a phone number for that construction should be considered and essential activity and then yelling at every member of the Majima family or whoever to wash their fucking hands and if he sees anyone without a mask on he’s going to knock all their teeth in. Saejima’s hot girl summer interrupted by having to fight Majima twice a day. It’s a trying time for everyone

[ukrfeminism]

A Metropolitan Police programme to visit hundreds of the capital’s “most violent offenders” at home is largely targeted at teenagers and black people, The Times has learnt.

The scheme, in which the Met pledged to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic by visiting alleged prolific offenders, was predicted to be so racially disproportionate that the force considered not running it.

Dame Cressida Dick, the Met commissioner, said last May that the force would target robbers, knife and gun offenders and other serious criminals to give them the opportunity to “get away from a life of violence”.

An investigation by Liberty Investigates, the independent journalism unit of the human rights organisation Liberty, found that while the Met described the 758 people it visited as “the most prolific or violent offenders”, 61 per cent were 18 or younger and 15 per cent were under 16. Freedom of Information requests found that 61 per cent of people on the list were black, though black people make up only 13 per cent of London’s population.

Officers from the Met’s violence suppression units (VSUs) visited, or tried to visit, 758 people from May 11 to July 10 last year in an operation called Pima.

Targets had to be identified in at least four internal crime or intelligence reports related to knife crime, gun crime, night-time economy and personal robbery offences. Criminal convictions in those areas were not a requirement.

The force has consistently defended other racially disproportionate tactics, such as stop and search, by saying that black people are more likely to be murder victims or perpetrators.

The Met claims that 70 per cent of the 28 teenage homicide victims this year, the highest number in over a decade, were of Afro-Caribbean heritage.

The disproportionate figure sparked comparisons to the Met’s gangs matrix, a database that has faced multiple claims of discrimination.

Hundreds of people were removed from the matrix last year after a review found that it included a “disproportionately” high number of young black men, including the names of many who were not involved in violence.

Caroline Russell, a Green Party member of the London Assembly who sits on the Police and Crime Committee, said: “The data shows worrying disproportionality and appears to be yet another example of the Met treating young black people unfairly.”

Dr Patrick Williams, senior lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, the author of a report on the matrix, said that Pima appeared exactly like it.

He said: “[The matrix] was based on intelligence reports — who was seen with whom. Such information is unreliable, flimsy, and hugely problematic.”

Targets in the Covid initiative were sent a letter offering diversionary activities but did not mention Pima, the VSUs or a subsequent review of their activities. One charity claimed that it was told by the Met that an individual’s refusal to participate could be brought up in future court appearances.

About one in ten of nearly 800 people targeted in Pima expressed interest in engaging in diversionary activities. Most are believed to have asked for physical education or learning personal training rather than other education or training programmes.

Commander Alex Murray, the Met’s violence lead, said: “Operation Pima was a specific operation run during lockdown where officers had the unique opportunity to reach individuals while they were at home.

“The core aim of Operation Pima was to meet with individuals and encourage them to take up diversion opportunities to reduce re-offending and ultimately stop people getting hurt.

“The meetings were voluntary and positive, giving an opportunity for officers to show that we understand the value of diversion and not just enforcement and prosecution.

“Young black males were not specifically targeted in any way. Street violence in the capital however does disproportionately affect boys and young men, particularly of African-Caribbean heritage. We would therefore expect to see this reflected in who we visited. It would simply be wrong of us to decide not to engage with someone and offer opportunities based on their ethnicity and heritage.”

[independentresearch]

Holdes pandemien kunstigt i live af PCR-tests? Det mener eksperter, som kræver anvendelsen stoppet

(fortsættelse af “kan vi stole på smittetallene?”)

Den danske regering og sundhedsministeriet tager det som en selvfølge, at et positivt PCR-testresultat er lig med Covid-19 infektion.

På Sundhedsstyrrelsens hjemmeside skrives det, “Smittede personer er personer, der er blevet testet positive.”

Derfor siges det nu (14.dec. 2020), at fordi 113.095 personer har testet positive, så har vi 113.095 personer med en Covid-19 infektion. Men er dét den rette måde at fortolke et positivt PCR-testresultat? Er det overhovedet korrekt at anvende PCR-tests til at diagnostice folk på denne måde?

Begæring om tilbagetrækning af anvendelse af PCR

d.27. november 2020 indsendte 22 forskere en officiel begæring til Eurosurveillance, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control om en tilbagetrækning af den Drosten-Corman rapport, der danner grundlag for den globale anvendelse af RT-PCR til at identificere, hvilke personer er smittede med SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19).

Af de 22 forskere ser vi bl.a. Kevin Mckernan, som var en af initiativtagerne bag The Human Genome Project, ekspert inden for genetik, grundlægger af Medicinal Genomics og indehaver af adskillige patenter relateret til PCR og DNA isolation.

De 22 forskere har foretaget en peer-review af Corman-Drosten rapporten og efter at have identificeret 10 alvorlige fejl, konkluderer de, at PCR er helt igennem uegnet som testmetode, fordi teknologien ikke er designet til at blive anvendt som diagnosticering.

Alvorlige fejl i Corman-Drostens PCR-rapport

Forskerne konkluderer, at den globale anvendelse af PCR har ført til “verdensomspændende fejl-diagnosticering”, der har affødt endnu større samfundsmæssige konsekvenser og tab af liv, fordi nedlukninger fortsat er baseret på disse fejl-diagnoser:

“This paper will show numerous serious flaws in the Corman-Drosten paper, the significance of which has led to worldwide misdiagnosis of infections attributed to SARS-CoV-2 and associated with the disease COVID-19. We are confronted with stringent lockdowns which have destroyed many people’s lives and livelihoods, limited access to education and these imposed restrictions by governments around the world are a direct attack on people’s basic rights and their personal freedoms, resulting in collateral damage for entire economies on a global scale.” (Review report of Corman-Drosten paper)

1. Infektion?

Forskerne kritiserer, at man sidestiller et positivt PCR-testresultat med en Covid-19 infektion, fordi tilstedeværelsen af RNA molekyler fra SARS-CoV-2 ikke er ensbetydende med, at man er smittet:

“First, a positive test for the RNA molecules described in the Corman-Drosten paper cannot be equated to “infection with a virus”. A positive RT-PCR test merely indicates the presence of viral RNA molecules.” (s.33)

2. Antallet af opformeringscyklusser

Forskerne analyserede også, hvordan antallet af opformeringscyklusser påvirker pålideligheden af PCR-testresultatet i forbindelse med, hvorvidt dette er en indikation på infektion. De konkluderede, at hvis der anvendes mere end 35 cyklusser, så er et positivt testresultat komplet upålideligt:

“PCR data evaluated as positive after a Ct (cycle threshold) value of 35 cycles are completely unreliable.” — Review Report by an International Consortium of Scientists in Life Sciences

“In case of virus detection, >35 cycles only detects signals which do not correlate with infectious virus as determined by isolation in cell culture; if someone is tested by PCR as positive when a threshold of 35 cycles or higher is used (as is the case in most laboratories in Europe & the US), the probability that said person is actually infected is less than 3%, the probability that said result is a false positive is 97%.” (s.3)

Hvis man har en positiv test, hvor PCR-testen identificerer RNA molekyler ved mere end 35 cyklusser, så er der mindre end 3% sandsynlighed for, at personen reelt har en infektion, fordi så har disse molekyler ingen betydning for en persons helbred og vil ikke føre til infektion, fordi der kun er tale om døde virus-fragmenter:

“there was no successful virus isolation of SARS-CoV-2 at those high Ct values (>35 cycles). Further, scientific studies show that only non-infectious (dead) viruses are detected with Ct values of 35.”

3. PCR-test er ikke specifik for SARS-CoV-2

Forskerne lægger også vægt på, at Corman-Drosten rapporten selv oplyser, at PCR-testen ikke er begrænset til kun at identificerer virusmateriale fra SARS-CoV-2, men også fra andre SARS-vira:

“the Corman-Drosten paper states:

“To show that the assays can detect other bat-associated SARS-related viruses, we used the E gene assay to test six bat-derived faecal samples available from Drexler et al. […] und Muth et al. […]. Detection of these phylogenetic outliers within the SARS-related CoV clade suggests that all Asian viruses are likely to be detected. This would, theoretically, ensure broad sensitivity even in case of multiple independent acquisitions of variant viruses from an animal reservoir.” (Corman-Drosten paper)

“This statement demonstrates that the E gene used in RTŸPCR test, as described in the Corman-Drosten paper, is not specific to SARS-CoV-2. The E gene primers also detect a broad spectrum of other SARS viruses.” (Review s.16)

Det betyder, at hvis en person tester positiv, så er det slet ikke sikkert, at det er Covid-19, der er blevet identificeret — men en anden coronavirus, som vedkommende på et tidspunkt i sit liv har været i kontakt med og derfor findes i hans/hendes system.

4. Interessekonflikt kompromitterer Corman-Drosten rapportens videnskabelige integritet

Forfatterne af begæringen hæfter sig også ved, at betydelige interessekonflikter kan have kompromitteret rapportens videnskabelige integritet og objektivitet. To af forskerne bag rapporten er medlemmer af den redaktion, der havde til opgave at godkende rapporten og der er derfor stor risiko for bias, der kan påvirke objektiviteten i bedømmelsen af rapporten. Dem, som stod for godkendelsen, var de samme mennesker, som ønskede at få den udgivet:

“A final point is one of major concern. It turns out that two authors of the Corman-Drosten paper, Christian Drosten and Chantal Reusken, are also members of the editorial board of this journal.

Hence there is a severe conflict of interest which strengthens suspicions that the paper was not peer-reviewed. It has the appearance that the rapid publication was possible simply because the authors were also part of the editorial board at Eurosurveillance. This practice is categorized as compromising scientific integrity.” (s.19)

5. Ingen peer-review

“The Corman-Drosten paper was submitted to Eurosurveillance on January 21st 2020 and accepted for publication on January 22nd 2020. On January 23rd 2020 the paper was online.

On January 13th 2020 version 1–0 of the protocol was published at the official WHO website, updated on January 17th 2020 as document version 2–1, even before the Corman-Drosten paper was published on January 23rd at Eurosurveillance.” (s.35)

Rapporten blev godkendt på mindre end 24 timer og i løbet af blot 2 dage blev den udgivet hos Eurosurveillance. Dette bekymrer forfatterne bag begæringen , fordi det er en tydelig indikation på, at rapporten er blevet godkendt uden først at have gennemgået peer-review, hvor eksterne eksperter læser rapporten igennem og kommer med deres kommentarer og evt. kritik. Peer-review er altafgørende, da det er her det videnskabelige arbejde gennemses for fejl. Eftersom rapporten har fungeret som det “videnskabelige” grundlag for politiske beslutninger verden over, er det essentielt, at redaktionen har sikret sig, at det videnskabelige grundlag er solidt og ikke indeholder fejl.

Begrundet tvivl?

I Dr programmet “Debatten” torsdag d.10. december 2020 hørte mange af os Socialdemokratiets Sundhedsordfører, Rasmus Horn Langhoff, erklære, at det er “giftigt” at så tvivl om myndighederne. Den udtalelse er en direkte opfordring til befolkningen om at ophøre med at tænke selvstændigt og kritisk. Men hvis myndighederne tager fejl, så er det befolkningens redning at så tvivl. Ud fra den udtalelse fremgår det med al tydelighed, at regeringen ikke ønsker, at der sættes spørgsmålstegn ved deres politiske beslutninger eller grundlaget for disse beslutninger, der efter sigende skulle komme fra sundhedsmyndighederne og hvile på solid videnskab.

Argumentet for denne position er, at vi skal lytte til videnskaben og at det er videnskaben, der skal diktere forløbet. Argumentet er ejendommeligt, når man tager det i betragtning, at der ikke er mange seriøse videnskabsfolk, som ville tilslutte sig dén position. Deres disciplin er baseret på det diktum, at videnskab aldrig er afsluttet, aldrig er fuldendt og at intet tages for givet. Den videnskabelige tilgang er defineret ved, at man altid sår tvivl og stiller spørgsmål. Mange gange har beslutninger været nødt til at blive omstødt, fordi den videnskabelig indsigt i en problemstilling pludselig krævede det. Hvis vi lukker af for kritik, risikerer vi at overse alvorlige fejl, der kan have katastrofale samfundsmæssige konsekvenser.

Derfor, hvis tvivlen er begrundet, er det ikke “giftigt” at rejse den; det er det eneste rigtige at gøre og kun en regering, som føler sig truet af kritik og spørgsmål, forsøger at lukke kritik ned.

Den konstante påmindelse om “smittetal” og de kontinuerlige tiltag, der begrundes med “høje smittetal”, er med til at fastholde befolkningen i en konstant tilstand af frygt for deres helbred. Regeringen er ansvarlig for at føre sin befolkning bag lyset ved at skræmme dem ubegrundet med “smittetal”, der ikke hviler på et videnskabeligt grundlag, men blot lader til at være et led i overtalelses-strategi, der skal styrke argumentet for behovet for en vaccine og dermed skabe tilslutning hos befolkningen.

Forudsætningen for, at befolkningen kan overbevises om, at pandemien fortsat raser og at truslen imod deres helbred stadig hærger er, at Sundhedsmyndighederne og regeringen kan vise syge mennesker frem og det gøres med smittetal. De “høje smittetal” udgør hele fundamentet for regeringens insisteren på, at det eneste, der kan redde os, er en vaccine.

Hvorfor så meget panik?

Sundhedsstyrrelsen, Covid-19 defineres som Kategori B sygdom.

Som det fremgår af dokumentet fra Sundhedsstyrrelsen, så konkluderes det, at Covid-19 ikke kan “betegnes som ondartet, ligesom sygdommen heller ikke generelt kan betegnes som meget smittefarlig, da der ikke er tale om luftbåren smitte.” De skriver yderligere, at “sygdommens alvorlighed m.v. ikke kan berettige, at Covid-19 betegnes som alment farlig, og dermed opføres på liste A.” Dette giver anledning til at konkludere, at årsagen til, at Regeringen bogstaveligt talt opfandt en ny kategori i deres udkast til en ny epidemilov (nedstemt i november 2020), “samfundskritisk sygdom”, var at under den eksisterende epidemilov var der ikke grundlag for regeringens politiske tiltag.

World Health Organization’s plettede fortid

Det var World Health Organization (WHO), der d.11. marts 2020 erklærede Covid-19 for at være en ‘pandemi’ og det var ligeledes WHO, der stod i front, da direktør for WHO, General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, sagde dette:

“We cannot stop this pandemic if we do not know who’s infected. We have a simple message for all countries: Test, test, test”.

Positive testresultater kom dermed til definere billedet af, hvor slemt det står til med virusudbruddet.

Problemet er, at WHO måske ikke er så troværdig, som de fleste af os går og tror.

Det er nemlig ikke første gang, at WHO unødigt skræmmer en hel verdensbefolkning ved at forvrænge virkeligheden med deres varslinger om en pandemi. 11. juni 2009 erklærede WHO H1N1 (“Svineinfluenza”) for en pandemi og det blev startskuddet til en global efterspørgsel på vacciner til at bekæmpe virusen.

WHO kommer under Kommissionsundersøgelse

Men i 2010 indledte Europakommissionen en kommissionsundersøgelse af WHOs håndtering af “Svineinfluenzaen” i 2009 og her blev det konkluderet, at skildringen af “pandemien” havde været overdrevet og at WHO helt unødigt og ubegrundet havde indgydet verdens befolkninger med frygt for en virus, der viste sig ikke være særlig alvorlig:

“The way in which the H1N1 influenza pandemic has been handled, not only by WHO, but also by the competent health authorities at the level of the European Union and at national level, gives rise to alarm.

Some of the consequences of decisions taken and advice given are particularly troubling, as they led to distortion of priorities of public health services across Europe, waste of large sums of public money and also unjustified scares and fears about health risks faced by the European public at large.”

Hvad værre er, WHO blev specifikt mistænkt for at have fabrikeret billedet af en dødelig pandemi med henblik på at skabe et marked for vacciner, fordi verdensbefolkningens frygt for virusen skabte en omfattende efterspørgsel på en redning i form af vacciner.

Det ovenstående identificerer alvorlige problemer med anvendelsen af PCR og det sår alvorlig tvivl om, sandfærdigheden af det epidemi-billede, som regeringen formidler til befolkningen. Hvorfor kører regeringen, sundhedsmyndighederne og medierne denne kontinuerlige, stædige skræmmekampagne om “bekymrende smittetal”?

Når Sundhedsminister Magnus Heunicke oplyser om, at kommuner i Danmark er nødt til at lukke ned, fordi smittetallet er “ude af kontrol” og vi alle er i fare, så er dét faktuelt forkert: der ER ingen fare, fordi de molekyler, der er identificeret, gør ingen skade.

Det mest afgørende spørgsmål er, hvorfor falder alle disse ufatteligt lettilgængelige oplysninger for døve ører, blinde øjne og lukkede døre? Man fristes til at tænke, at det er, fordi regeringen ikke er interesseret i at nå til bunds i sandheden om PCR-tests. Dét kunne også forklare, hvorfor regeringen blankt har afvist at etablere et second-opinion panel bestående af eksterne eksperter, som kan byde ind med deres videnskabelige indsigt.

Det virker mere som, om regeringen og sundhedsministeren er interesseret i at danne en beskyttende ring omkring deres narrativ om epidemien og PCR-tests og forhindre, at dét narrativ bliver udfordret.

Der er kun plads til én holdning: statens

“When you tear out a man’s tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say.” — George R. R. Martin

Det er selveste definitionen på ironi at høre regeringen, herunder særligt Sundhedsminister Magnus Heunicke, konstant understrege vigtigheden af at lytte til videnskaben — og så være vidne til, at de smækker døren i hovedet på lige præcis videnskaben.

En oprigtig søgen efter sandhed kan sagtens tåle modstand; men et bedrag kan ikke tolere modstand; det smuldrer under vægten. Fordi den største trussel mod et bedrag er sandheden — og når regeringen forsøger at bedrage sin befolkning, så bliver det nødvendigt at sørge for, at ingen udfordrer dens narrativ med alternative forklaringer. Så længe der kun eksisterer én forklaring, er det let at overbevise befolkningen om, at dén forklaring er den sande.

På den måde kan regeringen have fuld kontrol over narrativet og sikre, at ingen kan modsige det og derved forhindre, at nogen i befolkningen skulle få den tanke, at sandheden måske er en anden end den, regeringen fremlægger.

Smittetallene anvendes som det primære værktøj, der skal sikre, at befolkningen accepterer regeringens politiske tiltag. Det er blot en måde at styre folks opfattelse af situationen og skabe konsensus. Når regeringen og medierne hver dag fortæller befolkningen, hvor mange der er smittede, hvor slemt det står til, hvor stor en fare, vi befinder os i, så skaber det forståeligt nok frygt hos folk og den frygt vendes til regeringens fordel, fordi den kan anvendes til at skubbe befolkningen i den retning, som regeringen ønsker. Det er blot en måde, hvorpå regeringen sikrer lydighed.

Skrevet af Michelle S. Mikkelsen fra Frihedsbevægelsens Fællesråd