French riot police are now using semi-automatic weapons with live ammunition against Yellow Vest protestors as Macron's law and order crisis spirals

• Officers were filmed brandishing weapons by Arc de Triomphe in Paris today
• Riot police were on crowd control duty today facing off a mob of Gilet Jaunes
• Rifles at demonstration by unarmed citizens show how Macron crisis intensifies
• Last week former conservative minster said live fire should be used on 'thugs'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6586991/French-riot-police...

French riot police have deployed semi-automatic weapons with live ammunition against Yellow Vest protestors for the first time.

Officers were filmed brandishing Heckler & Koch G36 weapons by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Saturday afternoon.

The presence of semi-automatic rifles at a demonstration by unarmed French citizens shows how President Emmanuel Macron’s law and order crisis spirals. 

It comes after former conservative minister Luc Ferry called for live fire to be used against the ‘thugs’ from the Yellow Vest movement who he says 'beat up police'. 

Riot police were on crowd control duty today facing off a mob of Gilet Jaunes or Yellow Vests - named after the bright high-visibility clothing.

Live ammunition 30 cartridge magazines could be seen as officers marched the streets, although none were used as 5000 police were deployed on the streets of the French capital.

Yellow Vest protestor Gilles Caron said: ‘The CRS with the guns were wearing riot control helmets and body armour – they were not a specialised firearms unit.

‘Their job was simply to threaten us with lethal weapons in a manner which is very troubling. We deserve some explanations.’

The CRS are known for their tough approach to policing, frequently using distinctively wide-barrelled guns to fire flash-ball projectiles and tear gas canisters.

But until now, the guns used have mainly been associated with specialist military units, as well as the elite GIPN police intervention squads, and the BAC anti-criminal brigade.

A French National Police spokesman confirmed that the CRS were equipped with H&K G36s on Saturday, but would not discuss their operational use ‘for security reasons’.

A G36 was stolen from inside a police van during a similar Yellow Vest demonstration by the Arc de Triomphe on December 1.

A number of vehicles belonging to the 21stIntervention Company of the Paris Prefecture were stormed, suggesting that the theft was an opportunistic one during a day of intense violence, when the Arc de Triomphe itself was vandalised.

Last week, Luc Ferry, who was France’s education minister in the early 2000s, responded to a series of attacks on police by the Yellow Vests by calling for live fire against them.

r Ferry, who is now a full time philosopher, said: ‘What I don’t understand is that we don’t give the means to the police to put an end to this violence.'

When it was suggested that guns might lead to wounding or worse, Mr Ferry said: ‘So what? Listen, frankly, when you see guys beating up an unfortunate policeman on the floor, that’s when they should use their weapons once and for all! That’s enough.’

Police were attacked in major cities including Paris on Saturday on an Act 9 Day of Rage by the Yellow Vests, who have pledged to continue their campaign calling for social, political and economic reforms indefinitely.

Mr Macron’s government has launched a crackdown on their methods, pledging a new anti-riot law to deal with them. 

The Yellow Vest Movement Has Gone Global

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-20/yellow-vest-movement-has-...

The Yellow Vest anti-government movement started in France on November 17, when over 300,000 people across France protested a carbon tax on fuel that French President Emmanuel Macron touted as evidence of France's leadership when it comes to mitigating climate change. 

The Yellow Vest protests quickly evolved into a general anti-government movement - with hundreds of thousands of angry French citizens taking to the streets for ten straight weeks of mostly peaceful protests marked with pockets of violence, looting and mayhem. 

What's more - the movement has gone worldwide - with perhaps the most notable protests outside France taking place in Belgium, where Brussels riot cops have dealt with week after week of protesters blocking oil depot and throwing hard objects at them. 

#YellowVests march on #Brussels amid ongoing political turmoil pic.twitter.com/hNBgxiFGaX

— srb news (@srbnews0) January 20, 2019

On December 8, Belgians attempted to breach a riot barricade while calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Charles Michel, resulting in around 100 arrests. 

And while most of the protests outside of France happened last month, this is a good list to note where discontent is mounting. 

• Bulgaria: Yellow Vests began protesting the same weekend as the French movement - coming out in force on November 16 to protest in front of parliament and demand the resignation of the government. 
• Canada: Yellow Vest protests have taken place in more than a dozen cities across Canada - largely campaigning against the carbon price, Canada's participation in the UN's Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, the Trudeau administration and other issues. 
• Croatia: Croatians came out in force on December 15, gathering in Ban Jelacic Square. 

• Egypt: An Egyptian A lawyer was arrested and jailed for 15 days after he posted a picture of himself wearing a Yellow Vest in support of the French protests. 
• Finland: Finns came out in force in mid-December as well, gathering in front of Parliament in opposition to the UN's Global Migration pact. 
• Germany: Marching in solidarity with the French, German Yellow Vests similarly came out against the UN migration pact. 
• Iraq: Yellow Vests demonstrated in Basra, Iraq on December 5 to protest poor job opportunities among other things. They were reportedly fired upon with live ammunition by police. 

• Ireland: Hundreds of people gathered in the center of Dublin to protest the "perceived failures of the Government." 

• Israel: Yellow Vests held a rally at the Azrieli Centre Mall in Tel Aviv on December 14. 

• Italy: There have been several ongoing Yellow Vest protests in Italy over the last several months, with some protesting the government's hard-line stance against illegal migrants, and other pro-government activists protesting against the EU. In January, Italy's ruling government came out in support of the Yellow Vest movement, which AFP noted was "extremely rare for European leaders to back anti-government protesters in a fellow member state." 
• Netherlands: The Dutch joined the party at the beginning of December, blocking roads, roundabouts and tollbooths. 
• Pakistan: Hundreds of engineers came out in December to protest government services and pay. 

• Poland: Polish Yellow Vests protested in November and December, blocking the A2 motorway outside of Warsaw, demanding compensation for pigs they were required to slaughter, as well as the import of unlabeled Ukrainian agricultural products. 

Poland, November 2018#YellowVests #GiletsJaunes pic.twitter.com/4xX99Sw6PX

— Fair Yuze #MinisterOfGodsWrath (@Fairyuze1) December 16, 2018

• Portugal: On 21 December 2018, a "Coletes Amarelos" or "Yellow Vest" rally was held under the slogan "Vamos Parar Portugal", roughly translating to "Let's Bring Portugal to a Halt".

• Russia: Yellow Vests protested right before Christmas in Moscow's Hyde Park against increased parking fees. "I’m a driver with 20 years of experience, and I can understand that the authorities want to free the city and make it accessible to pedestrians," said resident Tamara Papuashvili, adding " it's just a disgrace. You can use the metro, but there are more and more people there, it just cannot cope."

• Serbia: Civil rights organisation "Združena akcija Krov nad glavom" began using yellow vests in its protests to show solidarity with the French protesters, as well as opposition to high fuel prices. Serbians have protested for six weeks in a row. 

• Taiwan: The Tax and Legal Reform League which has been protesting against high taxes since 2016 organized a yellow vest march on December 19. 

• Tunisia: A derivative group, the Gilets Rouges (Red Vests), called for protests over the ailing economy. 

Tunisia Catches Yellow Vest Infection#Tunisia #Yellowvesthttps://t.co/e93g7009Vz pic.twitter.com/Wu3SPlBPiW

— Mohamed Al Maeeni (@redbey) December 17, 2018

• United Kingdom: UK Yellow Vests are mostly right wing, pro-Brexit groups who have held rallies in London and other UK cities. 

"It Feels Apocalyptic" - A Letter From Zimbabwe, Where The Country Remains In Total Shutdown

Zimbabwe is once again at the brink of economic collapse, making a mockery of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s claim that the country is open for business.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-20/it-feels-apocalyptic-lett...

As Bloomberg reports,  many shops and factories have shut their doors because of a lack of customers and those that continue to trade are open to haggling over prices to secure hard currency. At an appliance shop in the capital, Harare, a salesman whispers that a Whirlpool Corp. washing machine priced at about $5,000 if paid for electronically will sell for $1,500 in cash, while at a nearby electrical warehouse, a $600 invoice is whittled down to $145 for payment in dollar bills.

But, as OilPrice.com's Tsvetana Paraskova reports, Zimbabwe is on a three-day nationwide strike and protests are erupting in the streets after the government of the southern African country doubled fuel prices, making gasoline sold in Zimbabwe the most expensive gasoline in the world. 

We are now in our third day of complete shutdown throughout the whole of Zimbabwe.

Banks are closed, schools are closed, roads are closed in and out of the main towns and transport systems have shut down.

There are no newspapers to be bought, the Internet has been shut down by the government and everything is at a complete standstill.

People are too afraid to move around as a result of the burning of vehicles by vigilante groups and the complete dearth of any updated information or warnings due to the total social media blackout. This means that no WhatsApp messages or photos can be sent, no one can access Facebook or Messenger, and the situation is very tense.

In some centres it almost feels apocalyptic. We have heard gunfire, and before the Internet was closed down, saw pictures of dead and wounded people. It is unclear how many people have died but before the media blackout, it was reported that there had been five deaths and more than 200 people had been arbitrarily arrested.

Elements of the police and military are also involved in ensuring that there is a complete shutdown. People in civilian dress armed with AK-47 rifles have been seen in some areas. It is clear that these are military personnel.

Amnesty International has condemned the military crackdown and has called on the Zimbabwean authorities to ensure restraint by security forces and respect the public’s right to protest.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights reported prior to the blackout that they had received reports of soldiers and police breaking into homes in townships overnight and assaulting suspected demonstrators.

Contacts in the diplomatic corps and the political opposition are also completely in the dark, along with the rest of us.

This morning I spoke to Nelson Chamisa, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance, and it is clear that no one knows what is going on because the entire country has been effectively silenced.

I have also spoken to lawyers regarding the arrest once again of Pastor Evan Mawarire who inadvertently triggered the highly successful #ThisFlag social media protest action in April 2016 because he could no longer afford to pay school fees. This led to his arrest on trumped up charges and his high profile court case. Since then, his activities have been under constant surveillance.

Police officers arrive at his flat this morning in central Harare and took him to the Law and Order section, charging him under a false charge of incitement to commit public violence.

The crisis was precipitated on Sunday (January 13) by President Emmerson Mnangagwa when he announced a shock increase of 200 percent in the fuel price – this in a country with more than 90 percent unemployment and where the struggle to survive escalates daily. Mr Mnangagwa promptly left the country for Russia and has not returned. Reports say that he has gone there to “discuss Russian assistance to modernise the military”.

Right now the situation remains eerie and uncertain. If this goes on for much longer, the humanitarian crisis will escalate. We cannot buy food because the shops are all closed and transport systems have closed down. Most of the hospitals are without essential medicines and also staff because doctors and nurses can’t even get to work.

This is an unprecedented situation in Zimbabwe and internationally. Even in wartime Europe, the people could get newspapers, transport systems operated, retail outlets were still open and people could communicate.

I cannot send you an e-mail or a photograph – it is a very weird situation.

The only thing we can do at this point is to ask for your prayers as we face this time of escalating fear and uncertainty.

Pentagon to send 3,750 troops to border with Mexico  Published time: 3 Feb, 2019 20:21

https://www.rt.com/usa/450512-troops-border-mexico-pentagon/

"yellow vests" - FRANCE UPDATE

09/02/2019

"yellow vests": a few thousand protesters across the country, clashes in Paris

http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2019/02/09/01016-20190209AR...

https://translate.google.com.ar/translate?hl=es&sl=fr&tl=en...

VIDEOS - They were about 51,400 across France, according to the Interior Ministry. Some clashes broke out. In Paris, a protester had his hand torn off at midday, at the height of the National Assembly.

They had announced it in several Facebook events: "Let nothing go as long as Macron and the 5th Republic will not be dismissed!

"Yellow Vests" Act XIII: a vigipirate vehicle burned in Paris

TRADUCED PHOTO FROM FRENCH

https://www.facebook.com/events/347255952539958/

GENERAL STRIKE ILLIMITED
BEGINNING FEBRUARY 5 2019

TOTAL BLOCKAGE ALL FRANCE

Vatican treasurer Cardinal George Pell found guilty of child sex charges.

Melbourne, Australia (CNN) - One of the most powerful men in the Roman Catholic Church was found guilty of multiple historical child sex offenses at a secret trial in Melbourne in December, the existence of which can only now be revealed.

By Hilary Whiteman and Ben Westcott, February 26, 2019.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/25/australia/cardinal-george-pell-v...

Australian Cardinal George Pell, 77, is almost certain to face prison after a jury found him guilty of one charge of sexual penetration of a child and four charges of an indecent act with or in the presence of a child in the late 1990s.

The conviction of Pell, the Vatican treasurer and a close adviser to Pope Francis, will send shockwaves through the church, which is already reeling from accusations of sexual abuse committed by priests worldwide.

Pell is the most senior Catholic official to be found guilty of child sex offenses to date. His conviction brings the escalating international controversy around the abuse of children in Catholic institutions straight to the doors of the Holy See.

A court order banning media reporting of Pell's five-week long trial, which began in November 2018, was lifted by Chief Judge Peter Kidd on Tuesday.

The prosecution's case hinged on the testimony of one man, who said Pell sexually abused him and another boy in Melbourne's historic St. Patrick's Cathedral after mass one Sunday.

-----

Under Australian law, all details of the first trial, including its existence, were suppressed due to concerns they could prejudice future juries.

The court order was lifted after the crown prosecutor chose to not proceed with a planned second trial into further child sex allegations against Pell.

Pell has repeatedly maintained his innocence. His legal team confirmed on Tuesday they had filed an appeal against the guilty verdict.

The Vatican has yet to comment on the verdict. Pope Francis quietly removed Pell from his small council of advisors for "reasons of advancing age" in December, before the news of the cardinal's conviction became public.

(Read more)

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Q post - Feb 25 2019 20:08:29 (EST)

https://8ch.net/qresearch/res/5384047.html#5384495

The highest number of internally displaced people on record

28 million new internal displacements due to general conflicts of violence and natural disasters.

One of these events was caused by the struggles between Syria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the raising of an intercommunal tension between Cameroon, Ethiopia and Nigeria generated a cipher from 10.8 million people displaced by conflicts and violence. In fact, the number of IDPs who tried to return to their homes have had to deal with a lot of new issues counting damage on infrastructure, the disappearance of basic services and property destruction.

39% of new internal displacements were triggered by conflict and 61% by natural disasters.

Extreme weather events were responsible for the majority of the 17.2 million new displacements associated with disasters in 2018. Tropical cyclones and monsoon floods led to mass displacement in the Philippines, China and India, mostly in the form of evacuations. California suffered the most destructive wildfires in its history, which displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

https://watchers.news/2019/05/13/the-highest-number-of-internally-d...

White House launches tool to report censorship on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter  SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS should advance FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

‘If you suspect political bias caused such an action to be taken against you, share your story with President Trump’

On Wednesday, the White House launched a new tool for people to use if they feel they’ve been wrongly censored, banned, or suspended on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

“Too many Americans have seen their accounts suspended, banned, or fraudulently reported for unclear ‘violations’ of user policies,” the site reads. “No matter your views, if you suspect political bias caused such an action to be taken against you, share your story with President Trump.”
"“Too many Americans have seen their accounts suspended, banned, or fraudulently reported”"

A Twitter spokesperson responded to the new tool saying, “We enforce the Twitter Rules impartially for all users, regardless of their background or political affiliation. We are constantly working to improve our systems and will continue to be transparent in our efforts.”

Facebook, Google, and YouTube did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/15/18626785/white-house-trump-censo...

Trump to invoke Insurrection Act that authorizes National Guard, military action inside U.S. borders

According to sources cited by The Daily Caller, President Trump is poised to invoke the Insurrection Act to fight for America’s survival against the ongoing invasion of illegals who are flooding the United States as a tactic to destroy the country from within. The Daily Caller is now reporting:

According to multiple senior administration officials, the president intends to invoke the “tremendous powers” of the act to remove illegal immigrants from the country.

The Insurrection Act, passed by Congress in 1807, allows the president to deploy National Guard and U.S. military troops to combat “rebellion” against the United States of America. The Act has been invoked by other presidents to quell violent uprisings such as the L.A. Riots.

https://www.newstarget.com/2019-05-17-trump-to-invoke-insurrection-...

Hong Kong Airport Cancels Flights as Protesters Flood In

https://www.wsj.com/articles/hong-kong-airport-cancels-flights-as-t...

HONG KONG—Hong Kong’s airport authority canceled more than 100 flights Monday afternoon as thousands of demonstrators thronged the city’s airport to protest police for their handling of this summer’s long-running protests.

After the bloodiest night of clashes with police in 10 weekends of unrest, crowds filled the airport’s departure and arrival halls Monday, expanding a smaller sit-in at the terminal that has run since Friday. Hong Kong’s airport authority said the assembly has seriously disrupted flights and all check-in service for outbound flights as of 3.30 p.m. Its website showed more than 130 flights canceled.

DEUTSCHE BANK STOCK PRICE GOES TOWARD "INSOLVENT"

15 AUGUST 2019

https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/world/deutsch...

The price of Stock in Germany's Deutsche Bank has fallen to 5.849 EUROS which equals 6.53 Dollars.

This means a bank which has underwritten several QUADRILLION in Derivatives contracts, appears HEADED TOWARD being insolvent.

Thus, the Derivatives contracts they have underwritten appear to be close to having no value because the bank would not have enough money to cover them.

Today, August 15, 2019, could mark the end of the Global Financial System. Hold your breath; if Deutsche goes under, it would be like the Lehman Brothers collapse - but on steroids -- about a thousand times worse.

Renowned geopolitical and financial cycle expert Charles Nenner says if there was ever a global canary in the coal mine warning for the financial system, it is Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DB).

Late last year, Nenner predicted if DB stock went below $8 a share, “You should be worried.” Recently, DB stock hit all-time lows and now sits around the $7.40 per share level.

Nenner warned on May 22, “I see it can hold up to late July, and then it can go to $6.50 (per share)..."

If it breaks below $6.40, it can go out of business. So, it’s a very serious situation... I think all the markets can have a bounce in a couple of days to the end of July. That’s why DB might hold up, but if it gets below $6.40, the world is in trouble.”

This is not a hyped prediction considering the IMF called DB the “most systemically dangerous bank” in the world in 2016. If DB does break $6.40, do we get a daisy chain of default around the world? Nenner says:

“It is a very dangerous situation. I don’t think DB is the only one. They just got caught.

I think if you look at the balance sheets very closely of other banks, especially Europe and Italian banks, you will see a lot of troubling signs also. I don’t think it’s only Deutsche Bank. It’s much more...

If it breaks $6.40, the downside price target is zero. If everybody watches my analysis and it does go below $6.40, everybody is going to run for the exits.”

The masses are awoken!  Now view the main culprit near the Sun!

Protesting Climate Change, Young People Take to Streets in a Global Strike

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/climate/global-climate-strike.html

Anxious about their future on a hotter planet and angry at world leaders for failing to arrest the crisis, masses of young people poured into the streets on every continent on Friday for a day of global climate protests. Organizers estimated the turnout to be around four million in thousands of cities and towns worldwide.

It was the first time that children and young people had demonstrated to demand climate action in so many places and in such numbers around the world.

They turned out in force in Berlin, where the police estimated 100,000 participants, with similar numbers in Melbourne and London. In New York City, the mayor’s office estimated that 60,000 people marched through the narrow streets of Lower Manhattan, while organizers put the total at 250,000. By the dozens in some places, and by the tens of thousands in others, young people demonstrated in cities like Manila, Kampala and Rio de Janeiro. A group of scientists rallied in Antarctica.

“You had a future, and so should we,” demonstrators chanted as they marched through New York City.

Then, “We vote next.”

Banners in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, ranged from serious to humorous. One read, “Climate Emergency Now.” Another said, “This planet is getting hotter than my imaginary boyfriend.” In Mumbai, children in oversize raincoats marched in the rain. A sign in Berlin declared, “Stop the Global Pyromania.”

“Right now we are the ones who are making a difference. If no one else will take action, then we will,” Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist whose one-person strikes in Stockholm helped ignite a global movement, told demonstrators in New York City. “We demand a safe future. Is that really too much to ask?”

Whether this global action solves the problem that the protesters have identified — arresting greenhouse gas emissions to stave off a climate catastrophe — now depends on how effectively climate advocates can turn Friday’s momentum into sustained political pressure on governments and companies that produce those emissions.

Nowhere is that more true than in the United States, which has produced more emissions than any country since the start of the industrial age, and which is now rolling back a suite of environmental regulations under President Donald Trump. Organizers said there were demonstrations in all 50 United States.

More here

Food Crisis 2019: It’s Looking Bad, Bad, Bad at a Global Level

Oct 3, 2019  As shown in an article by CNBC, China’s hog herd may drop by 55% from fatal swine fever. Knowing that China is the #1 pork producer. That’s a pretty devastating news. To add fuel to the fire, the deadly African Swine Fever has currently been testified in 36 countries around the world, spreading all over Southeast Asia, through parts of Europe, and has been found in Africa too.

Unusually long-lasting and deadly monsoons in India are leading to widespread crop failures in the nation. India is one of the top exporters of onions globally, selling 2.2 billion kilograms overseas. After the prolonged monsoon rains, India has decided to ban its onion export. The extended monsoon has also damaged key kharif crops, including pulses, oilseeds and cotton, as well as soy beans in India. Since September 2019, food prices have soared by more than 200% in the country.

'Unlike Any Exercise': A Massive Marine Corps War Game Is Happening at 29 Palms

The Marine Corps hasn't done anything like it in decades.  10-19-2019

Ten thousand Marines, sailors and NATO troops have descended on Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms in California's Mojave Desert for a massive training exercise.

The troops will be pitted against each other in a force-on-force battle as they prepare for a different kind of fight -- one against an enemy with sophisticated equipment and skills.

Most of the Marines participating are from the North Carolina-based 2nd Marine Division, which hasn't conducted a multi-regimental live-maneuver exercise in decades.

The unscripted Marine Air-Ground Task Force Warfighting Exercise, or MWX, will run for days. In a Wednesday release announcing it, Marine officials called it "unlike any exercise held at the Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center."

"An exercise of this scale – force-on-force, multi-regiment outfitted with significant information operations and [unmanned-aerial system] assets – hasn't been conducted in the Marine Corps in my lifetime," Maj. Gen. David Furness, 2nd Marine Division's commanding general, said in the release.

It will test Marines to operate against a "thinking enemy," he added. That's something that was on Gen. David Berger's mind since before he became the Marines' top general.

Related: New Force-on-Force 'Free-Play' Training Will Teach Marines to Think on Their Feet

Last year, Berger told Military.com that the Corps needed to teach Marine leaders "to think on their feet." If they're someday up against a peer adversary, such as Russia or China, they need to be prepared to face off against "that graduate- or varsity-level thinking leader," Berger added.

"I need them figuring out how they can outthink me," he said at the time.

Furness said the Marine Corps wants to see how his division conducts operations against a mock adversary "with capabilities as advanced as our own."

"MWX will be a true test of the Division's ability to deploy and to operate at scale against a peer threat in a command-and-control denied and degraded environment – an environment where a thinking enemy is working hard to subvert all our efforts," Furness added.

Technology will provide "unique challenges across every level" during this exercise, according to the release. That will include drones along with cyber and electronic warfare.

And to see exactly how the Marines fare, they'll be wearing laser equipment that will alert them if they've been "hit." At that point, they're considered a casualty, and the Marine's unit is responsible for medical assistance and transport as soon as possible.

The unique exercise, according to officials, will challenge how Marines make battlefield decisions.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/10/19/unlike-any-exercise-...

www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/over-100-protesters-killed-iran-tota...

by Tyler Durden

Wed, 11/20/2019 - 08:25

Now five days into widespread protests in some one hundred Iranian cities after a dramatic gas price hike last Friday, Amnesty International reports that at least 106 have been killed. 

However, “The organisation believes that the real death toll may be much higher, with some reports suggesting as many as 200 have been killed,” Amnesty said in a statement.

This as the government has cut off internet access across much of the country, resulting in few videos of clashes with police reaching the West, as in the early couple of days of the unrest. 

Image source: AFP/Getty Images

A statement from the global outage monitor Oracle's Internet Intelligence called it the largest blockage ever observed in Iran:

Protesters took to the streets shortly after the government announced an increase in fuel prices by as much as 300%. Social media images showed banks, petrol stations and government buildings set ablaze by rioters. Some protesters chanted "down with Khamenei," according to videos, referring to the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The internet blackout started on Saturday evening and continued through Monday, according to internet watchdogs. Oracle's Internet Intelligence called it the "largest internet shutdown ever observed in Iran."

The United Nations is now urging Iran to lift the internet blockage and to show restraint after what the international body called the “clearly very serious” extent of casualties.

The UN high commissioner also acknowledged it is looking into reports of live ammunition being used on demonstrators, which activists say there's ample video evidence for. 

The government-imposed internet block began on Saturday, leaving some 80 million citizens without online access. 

“We are especially alarmed that the use of live ammunition has allegedly caused a significant number of deaths across the country,” UN spokesman Rupert Colville said.

With the information blackout he described it as “extremely difficult” to get an accurate overall death toll.

Official Iranian state figures put the death toll at 12, which included numbers of total protest and police deaths.

According to Tehran security officials, over 600 have also been arrested. 

Direct shooting of security forces at protesters in Marivan - Iran #IranProtests #Internet4Iran #SosIran

Days ago the US State Department predictably came out in favor of more protests, in a volatile situation in the sanctions-ravaged country which has already witnessed banks and gas stations torched in anger over soaring gas prices after the country's leadership slashed petrol subsidies. 

“The proud Iranian people are not staying silent about the government’s abuses,” Pompeo said in a statement published Sunday, saying that “the United States is with you,” and will stand against Iran’s “tyranny.”

The statement said further, "We condemn the lethal force and severe communications restrictions used against demonstrators” and described the unrest as a “Cautionary tale of what happens when a ruling class abandons its people and embarks on a crusade for personal power and riches.”

The Iranian people will enjoy a better future when their government begins to respect basic human rights, abandons its revolutionary posture and its destabilizing activities in the region, and simply behaves like a normal nation. The choice is with the regime. #IranProtests

However, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif hit back, calling such solidarity hypocrisy, given it's Washington's crushing sanctions that are making life miserable for the common populace. 

“The regime that imposes coercive economic actions and bars delivery of food and drugs to the elderly and patients, can never claim that it's supporting the Iranian nation,” Zarif said of the United States on Tuesday, as cited in Iran’s semi-official IRNA news agency.

MEXICO seems to have gotten the message from POTUS to clean up the cartels, or US MILITARY will.

Suspects Arrested in Cartel Killings of Nine American Citizens in Mexico December 2, 2019
https://www.theepochtimes.com/suspects-arrested-in-cartel-killings-...

https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2019-11-27/mexic...

Mexico Rejects ‘Interventionism’ After Trump Pledges Terrorist Designation for Cartels
The country’s foreign minister said it would ‘never accept any action that violates our national sovereignty.’

5 days ago - MEXICO CITY — Mexico's government is expressing alarm at President Trump's plan to designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorist
https://www.washingtonpost.com/

Trump Floating Terrorist Label For Mexican Cartels Brings Fears Of Drone Strikes November 27, 2019
https://www.npr.org/2019/11/27/783371799/trump-floating-terrorist-l...

It begins: Virginia forms active militia to protect sheriffs, citizens from unconstitutional laws  Posted| Dec 16, 2019

https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/it-begins-virginia-forms-active...

Two of the biggest factors in resolutions such as these can be boiled down to funding and prosecution.

Google, Facebook, Neuralink Sued for Weaponized AI Tech Transfer, Complicity to Genocide in China and Endangering Humanity with Misuse of AI

December 19, 2019

This is the most significant and important lawsuit of the 21st century, and it impacts the entire world. CEO’s and Founders Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Sergey Brin, Larry Page and Sandar Pichai are also named as defendants along with their companies.

CASE SUMMARY FACTS
Endangering Humanity with the misuse of Artificial Intelligence, Complicity and Aiding in Physical Genocide inside of China by transferring AI Technology, Engaging in Cultural Genocide of Humanity, & Controlling and programming the Human Race by Social Engineering via AI coding and AI algorithmic biometric manipulation

Read more:  https://theaiorganization.com/google-facebook-neuralink-sued-for-we...

Elaborate unconventional warfare exercise set for undisclosed sites in North Carolina

Known as Robin Sage training, the unconventional warfare exercises are like live-action role playing in the extreme, with hostile engagement between Special Forces students, volunteer civilians and soldiers out of Fort Bragg. It begins Aug. 30, 2019. By JFK Special Warfare Center

Fort Bragg is warning the public that suspicious looking military activity could erupt on private land across multiple North Carolina counties next month as part of a cryptic Special Forces training exercise.

This could include hearing explosions and seeing soldiers acting as ”guerrilla freedom fighters,” according to a release from the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg.

Exact times, locations and exercise specifics are not being publicized, officials said in the release.

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article240651992.html

Coronavirus crash wipes $5 trillion off world stocks  2-27-2020
"These are highly uncertain times, no one really knows the answer and the markets are really panicking."

LONDON — Coronavirus panic sent world share markets crashing again on Friday, compounding their worst week since the 2008 global financial crisis and bringing the wipeout in value terms to $5 trillion.

The rout showed no signs of slowing as Europe's main markets slumped 2-3 percent early on and the ongoing dive for safety sent yields on U.S. government bonds, seen as probably the securest asset in the world, to fresh record lows.

Hopes that the epidemic that started in China would be over in months, and that economic activity would quickly return to normal have been shattered this week as the number of international cases have spiraled.

Bets are now that the Federal Reserve will cut U.S. interest rates as soon as next month and other major central banks will follow to try and nurse economies through the troubles and stave off a global recession.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/markets/coronavirus-crash-wipes-5-...

Another Iranian Official Dies of Coronavirus, More Borders Shut Down March 1, 2020

Iranian Member of Parliament Mohammad Ali Ramazani Dastak died on Saturday after he and four other MPs tested positive for the COVID-19 novel coronavirus a few days earlier.

Dastak, elected last week as the representative for Astana Ashrafieh, was hospitalized just a few days ago after being diagnosed with the virus.

Iran’s Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) news outlet reported the MP died Saturday morning after being “hospitalized due to influenza and chemical injuries” dating back to the Iran-Iraq war.

It was precisely this form of misinformation that led a lawmaker in the holy city of Qom to accuse the government of a cover up, and the United States to urge the Islamic Republic to be more transparent in its statements on the effort to deal with coronavirus in the country.

Former Ambassador to the Vatican Hadi Khosroshahi, 81, a prominent cleric, has also died of the virus.
Iranian Vice President Masoumeh Ebtekar, the highest-ranking woman in the government, meanwhile has become the seventh Iranian official to be diagnosed with the illness, and is currently quarantined at her home. She sits just a few seats away from President Hassan Rouhani at the cabinet meetings.

Dr. Mohamad Reza Ghadir, head of the coronavirus management center in Qom and director of the city’s state medical university was also diagnosed with the virus.

Iran’s Death Toll Climbs Past 200, VP Sick, US Offers Aid

Iran’s Health Ministry spokesperson Kianoush Jahanpour said Saturday that the death toll had reached 43 and hundreds more were ill.

“Unfortunately nine people died of the virus in the last 24 hours,” he said. “The death toll is 43 now. The new confirmed infected cases since yesterday is 205; that makes the total number of confirmed infected people 593,” he said.

Friday prayers at the mosques in Tehran and 22 other cities have been canceled, and schools and universities have been closed until the end of the Iranian year on March 21.

Another Neighbor Closes The Border

Azerbaijan has temporarily closed its border with Iran over the coronavirus epidemic, according to Azerbaijani media. The border closing will be in force for at least two weeks.

According to the report, the country’s Cabinet of Ministers discussed the move with Iran’s “relevant bodies” and Tehran was informed of the decision.

“The necessary corridor will be provided for Iranian citizens to leave Azerbaijan as well as for Azerbaijani citizens who are in Iran to return home,” according to Interpress News.

Eleven countries had closed their air and land borders with Iran as the deadly virus continues to spread.
Five of Iran’s seven neighbors – Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Armenia – had already closed their borders.

Other countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, UAE, Oman and Georgia had imposed travel and immigration restrictions.

Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan had only intensified their border checks up to this point.

https://www.jewishpress.com/news/middle-east/iran-news/another-iran...

National Guard deployed to NY community with nation’s ‘largest cluster’ of coronavirus.

https://nypost.com/2020/03/10/national-guard-deployed-to-ny-communi...

A Westchester County community has the nation’s largest concentration of confirmed coronavirus cases, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday, as he announced he was deploying the National Guard.

“New Rochelle, at this point, is probably the largest cluster of these cases in the United States,” Cuomo said in a press conference. “And it’s a significant issue for us.”

Cuomo said he’s dispatching the national guard to New Rochelle to “large gathering areas” such as schools, businesses and houses of worship within a 1 mile radius of the initial source of the virus. Grocery stores will not be closed.

“We’re also going to use the National Guard in the containment area to deliver food to homes, to help with the cleaning of public spaces.”

The containment period will begin this Thursday, March 12 and last for two weeks.

Cuomo and the state’s top health official, Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, refused to identify exact starting point for the one mile containment area, but said it will start from the place of the “initial outbreak.”

The state’s second case was confirmed in New Rochelle last week — and led to the requested isolation of some 1,000 people who came in contact with the lawyer.

The state’s total has risen to 173 — the highest number of cases of any state in the nation.

Cuomo also announced eight new cases in Westchester County for a total of 108. In the Big Apple, 17 new cases were revealed for a total of 36.

Nassau County and upstate Rockland County saw two more cases each, bringing the totals to 19 and 6 respectively.

Coronavirus: White House officials ‘privately discussing declaration of national state of emergency’  3/10/2020

Preliminary talks come amid criticism of Donald Trump’s handling of the crisis  

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/coron...

White House officials have privately discussed the possibility of declaring a national state of emergency over the coronavirus outbreak, according to a report.

Aides in Donald Trump’s administration have had preliminary talks about calling a national emergency, which would allow disaster-level action to be taken by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Washington Post reported.

It came after Mr Trump issued a flurry of tweets in an attempt to downplay the significance of coronavirus.

In one of more than a dozen posts on Monday, he said: “So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year.

“Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!”

A senior administration official told the Post that Mr Trump had been hesitant to “tell anyone they can’t go anywhere” or to “shut down an industry”.

However, he previewed some emergency measures to consolidate the economy on Monday, as global markets continued to struggle amid slumping oil prices.

The president later told reporters that he favoured a payroll tax cut and other policies to offer relief to workers, describing them as “very dramatic”.

It is not clear how Capitol Hill will view these proposals, with Democrats and some Republicans criticising the president for his handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

Larry Hogan, the Republican Maryland governor, questioned Mr Trump’s approach, saying: “He at times just says whatever comes to mind, or tweets, then someone on TV is saying the opposite. It’s critically important that the message is straightforward and fact based for the public.”

Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator, told the Post: “In many ways this was the moment we feared. A true security threat to the nation and a president who can’t tell the truth, who can’t organise a consistent response and doesn’t have enough experienced people on the job.”

The president has sought to play down fears of widespread coronavirus infections, previously insisting that it had been “stopped” because “we have been very strong at the borders”.

https://citizentruth.org/the-strike-wave-is-in-full-swing-amazon-wh...

‘The Strike Wave Is in Full Swing’: Amazon, Whole Foods Workers Walk Off Job to Protest Unjust and Unsafe Labor Practices

Una visita al gigantesco Centro Logístico de Amazon España en San Fernando de Henares (Madrid) Date: 10 December 2013, 16:43 Source: Amazon España por dentro Author: Álvaro Ibáñez from Madrid, Spain

Homeless people are sleeping in concrete grids while thousands of nearby hotel rooms are empty.  Apr 01, 2020

https://www.complex.com/life/2020/04/homeless-people-in-las-vegas-t...

MICHIGAN Trump calls protesters who carried guns into the Michigan Capitol 'very good people' and says the governor should 'make a deal' with them    5/1/2020

In a tweet on Friday morning, President Donald Trump described protesters in Michigan as "very good people."

On Thursday, hundreds of protesters — many of them carrying guns — descended on the Michigan Capitol to oppose Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's extension of the state's stay-at-home order.

"The Governor of Michigan should give a little, and put out the fire," Trump wrote. "These are very good people, but they are angry. They want their lives back again, safely! See them, talk to them, make a deal."

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-protestors-with-guns-in-michi...

“FARMERS TO FAMILY FOOD BOX”  Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump 
Starting early next week, at my order, the USA will be purchasing, from our Farmers, Ranchers & Specialty Crop Growers, 3 Billion Dollars worth of Dairy, Meat & Produce for Food Lines & Kitchens. “FARMERS TO FAMILY FOOD BOX” Great news for all!

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1259198107029508096?s=19...

COVID-19: The ‘invisible’ Indians: Story of the ‘great migration’

Lockdown exposes uneasy truths about India’s migrant workforce

A migrant woman cries as her and others were stopped from crossing the border, during an extended nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in New Delhi, India, May 15, 2020.Image Credit: REUTERS

Chinese Troops Cross Into India, Fortify Positions

Sunday, May 24, 2020 Indian media report Chinese military build-up along the Himalayan border

The border tensions between China and India have escalated once again, after hundreds of Chinese troops crossed into Indian territory. Soldiers of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) breached the Indian border at multiple locations in the northern Himalayan region of Ladakh, Indian media reports said on Saturday.

“Chinese had managed to come well inside the Indian territory and are also conducting aggressive patrols with motor boats in the Pangong lake,” Indian broadcaster NDTV reported. “The Chinese troops crossed 3 km into what India perceives to be its territory South East of the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh,” Indian news website The Print confirmed.

The Chinese detained several Indian soldiers during the incursion. “An Indian patrol party was detained and later released by Chinese forces,” NDTV reported. The Indian military refused to comment on the incident.

The border intrusion was followed by a Chinese build-up along the Indian border. Chinese troops “trespassed on Indian territory at three different locations and set up fortified encampments,” Indian strategic expert Brahma Chellaney noted on Twitter.

https://legalinsurrection.com/2020/05/chinese-troops-cross-into-ind...

The Transformation Is Global

Trump plans to use active-duty military forces to deal with growing protests  6/1/2020

“Today I have strongly recommended to every governor to deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets,” Trump said in a national address from the White House’s Rose Garden. “Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled.

“If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.”

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2020/06/01/tru...

WASHINGTON, D.C., protecting Lincoln Memorial from ANTIFA rioters.  6/2/2020

http://www.thebigwobble.org/2020/06/boogaloo-civil-war-we-are-watch...

Saturday, 13 June 2020
"Boogaloo" (civil war): We are watching the beginnings of our own Western Spring; mirroring the Arab Spring which toppled governments and caused civil war throughout the Arab world in the early 2010s

The mainstream-media across the West would have us all believe peaceful protest is taking place in many of our cities across the globe, this is not true. The constant bombardment of conflicting, facts, alternative truth and downright lies is becoming the symbol of 2020. What we are witnessing in the West at the moment is a carbon copy of the Arabian Spring, when a series of anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. The Arab Spring began in response to oppressive regimes and a low standard of living, starting with protests in Tunisia. From Tunisia, the protests then spread to five other countries: Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain, where either the ruler was deposed (Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Muammar Gaddafi, Hosni Mubarak, and Ali Abdullah Saleh) or major uprisings and social violence occurred, including riots, civil wars or insurgencies.

The West is going the same way and is heading for its own unprecedented"boogaloo" (civil war), "Western Spring." The American George Floyd murder sent seismic ripples all the way from California to London and Berlin to Sydney three weeks ago, causing the BLM, Antifa and left-wing militants to rise up against police brutality, inequality and racism in what is surely morphing into a Western Spring. White Supremacists are expected to join in this weekend threatening to lock horns and start bustin' heads.

This weekend could go down in history as the start of an unprecedented "boogaloo" when the threat of wild protesting which is sure to ignite riots in cities across the US, Europe, Canada and Australia. In the UK the government is furious after the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan boarded up monuments and statues of political and historical heroes including Sir Winston Churchill in anticipation of rioting in London this weekend.

UK

A senior Black Lives Matter organiser has called for Winston Churchill's statue to be removed from Parliament Square - ahead of today's protest which is under threat of violence from the BLM, Antifa movements, football hooligans and far-right thugs. The bizzies, (English street name for the police) are going to be very busy indeed and could be the biggest protest since the London riots of 2011 when, yes you guessed, the cops gunned down an unarmed black man Mark Duggan.

US

Strange fruit.

Protesters are demanding an investigation after a young Black man was found hanging from a tree in Palmdale, 50km north of Los Angeles, the police are treating his death as suspicious. Police could have stirred the hornet's nest after a 27-year-old unarmed African-American man was shot in the back and killed by Atlanta police Friday night after someone complained he was sleeping in his car at a Wendy's drive-thru.

As in the UK and other European cities, monuments and statues are coming down across the US. Confederate monuments are being removed and statues of Christopher Columbus are being toppled as Americans grapple with the ghosts of the country's racial history in the wake of George Floyd's death. This weekend's seismic epicentre will be if White Supremacists unite to protect the Confederate monuments from the hands of the far-left, BLM and Antifa movements trying to knock them down, it will be interesting to see how the cops handle that scenario along with their British colleagues in the UK. Meanwhile, Seattle bound outlaws and Hells Angels with the #BikersForTrump movement are on their way to Seattle grab back the area Antifas annexed earlier last week.

France

As George Floyd outrage spreads, France confronts its own demons. The global outrage triggered by George Floyd’s killing in the US has reignited a debate about policing in France’s ethnically diverse suburbs, where protesters say it is time the country wakes up to its own unspoken legacy of abuse and impunity. The difference in France and the US is, here in France we pretend it doesn't happen. The Police in Paris is expecting trouble this weekend.

Holland

NL Times reported, vandalizing statues and monuments built in honour of Dutch historical figures is not a solution in the debate around racial equality. Prime Minister Mark Rutte contested on Friday. Instead, he believes, statutes offer an opportunity to reflect on both the positive and the negative aspects of history. The Prime Minister's statements come after a group of activists defaced the statues of Piet Hein and Pim Fortuyn and on the Witte de With art centre in Rotterdam on Friday. The action was intended to criticize the "glorification of Dutch colonialism" as well as the "martyrdom" of Pim Fortuyn, the activists said. More protests are expected in Amsterdam and Rotterdam this weekend.

Australia

Demonstrators have defied a court order banning their rally on Saturday and turned out to protest against the government’s treatment of refugees. Police wearing face masks stood on the steps of Town Hall on Saturday afternoon as small groups of protesters marched past with placards.

Billie Holiday

Strange Fruit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=Web007rzSOI&...

Southern trees bear a strange fruit

Blood on the leaves and blood at the root

Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze

Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees

Pastoral scene of the gallant South

The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth

The scent of magnolia, sweet and fresh

Then the sudden smell of burning flesh

Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck

For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck

For the sun to rot, for the tree to drop

Here is a strange and bitter crop

Delay the Election?

“This is not another [4] year election”

https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1288818160389558273

Lebanon president says open to Israel peace talks
Michel Aoun left open the door for negotiations following allegations his ally Hezbollah had stored weapons at Beirut Port
https://asiatimes.com/2020/08/lebanon-president-open-to-israel-peac...
Lebanese President Michel Aoun dropped a bombshell statement on Saturday night, telling French TV his country may be ready for peace with Israel.

Asked in an exclusive interview with France’s BFM television whether Lebanon was ready to make peace with Israel, he responded: “That depends. We have problems with Israel and we have to resolve them first.”
It was a shocking statement by a president whose rise has benefited from a more than decade-old alliance with Hezbollah, arguably the most powerful military force in the country.

Asked what he thought of the United Arab Emirates’ treaty concluded with Israel last Thursday, Aoun responded that the UAE “is an independent country.”

That suggested Aoun would not be held back from negotiations by any pan-Arab considerations.
The implicit invitation for diplomacy came as a rising tide of high-profile figures in Lebanon have accused Israel of the attack on Beirut Port – and Hezbollah for allegedly storing its weapons there and exposing the capital as a target.

It also followed stern words by US Undersecretary of State David Hale from the Beirut Port.
“Whatever happened specifically related to this explosion,” he said, “we can never go back to an era in which anything goes at the ports and borders of Lebanon.”

The explosion killed at least 178 people, including the wife of the Dutch ambassador, with dozens still missing and thousands wounded.

Hale departed from Beirut Friday night. US Assistant Secretary of State David Schenker, the point man for negotiations regarding the Israel-Lebanon maritime demarcation line, is expected to take up where Hale left off next week.

https://asiatimes.com/2020/08/lebanon-president-open-to-israel-peac...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVPFzcj_yfc&feature=youtu.be&am...

GO CANADA !!
#Canada goes proactive and creates a commonlaw state in part of the country against tyranny and the #Plandemic

In response to the increasingly repressive COVID regulations and the threat of mandatory vaccinations, a citizens' Common Law Assembly on Canada's west coast has passed a Bylaw that outlaws and nullifies all COVID restrictions, masking, distancing, medical testing and vaccinations. Anyone forcing these measures on the people of Parksville and Qualicum Beach can now face fines and imprisonment in a local Common Law Court. See www.republicofkanata.ca and www.murderbydecree.com and contact republicofkanata@gmail.com for a copy of the Bylaw. Posted August 25, 2020.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/thousands-gather-london-protest...

Thousands gather in London to protest COVID-19 restrictions

Thousands of people are gathering in central London today (August 29th) to voice their anger at the ongoing restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 10,000 Covid-19 conspiracy theorists who believe the virus is a hoax have gathered in London's Trafalgar Square to protest against lockdown restrictions and vaccination programmes.

Demonstrators in the 'Unite for Freedom' rally - which started at noon in the capital - called for an 'end to Government lies' and the restoration of all freedoms as they marched past Downing Street towards the Houses of Parliament.

Pictures from the demonstration show Trafalgar Square almost full of protesters - none of whom are wearing masks - holding signs that brand the pandemic as a 'hoax'. When full, the square holds up to 35,000 people. 

article continues...

and in Berlin:

with Robert Kennedy JR. at the helm

https://www.geo.tv/latest/305108-berlin-halts-anti-corona-rally-as-...

Berlin halts 'anti-corona' rally as European cities protest masks

A march in Berlin by thousands opposed to coronavirus restrictions was halted by German police on Saturday.

It marked the biggest of several European protests against anti-virus curbs and masks to halt the pandemic.

With new COVID-19 cases on the rise, European nations are starting to tighten controls while trying to avoid the major lockdowns imposed earlier this year to contain the outbreak that has killed more than 800,000 worldwide.

Across the globe, governments are struggling to revive economies already battered by the pandemic while managing public frustration over new restrictions and masks to curb infections.

In Germany, around 18,000 people had massed in Berlin's iconic Brandenburg Gate, before the rally was forced to stop due to a police injunction because many were not respecting social distancing measures.

The mass protest against pandemic restrictions had been allowed to go ahead after a bitter legal battle.

"The minimum distancing is not being respected by most (of the demonstrators) despite repeated requests," the police said. "There is no other option than to break up the gathering."

Several thousands stayed on to protest after the announcement, chanting "resistance" and a small group clashed with police, tossing bottles and rocks. Two people were arrested, police said.

Protesters hold a banner reading "revolution of truth" as they gather around the Victory column on the 17. Juni avenue in Berlin at the end of a demonstration called by far-right and COVID-19 deniers to protest against restrictions related to the new coronavirus pandemic, on August 29, 2020. — AFP

Protesters waved German flags and shouted "Merkel must go!", a chant often used by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party against Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"I'm not an extreme right-wing sympathiser, I'm here to defend our fundamental freedoms," said Stefan, a 43-year-old Berlin resident with a shaved head and a T-shirt with the words "Thinking helps" written in large print.

"We're here to say: we have to be careful! Coronavirus crisis or not, we must defend our freedoms," Christina Holz, a 22-year-old student, told AFP.

Protesters hold a placard reading "even Patrick knows that Nazis are shit" during a counter demonstration near the Humboldt university on August 29, 2020 in Berlin, in opposition to a rally called by far-right and COVID-19 deniers against restrictions related to the new coronavirus pandemic. — AFP/John MacDougall

Anti-mask protesters also gathered in Zurich.

In London, more than a 1,000 protesters gathered at the Trafalgar Square landmark, many holding home-made banners.

One called for an "End to medical tyranny"; another read "No to mandatory vaccines" while one man waved a placard declaring "Masks are muzzles".

Around 300 people protested peacefully in Paris to denounce the government's decision to make masks obligatory in all public places as cases rise in the French capital.

Protesters, some waving placards stating "Stop the lies", were quickly surrounded by police who handed out 135 euro ($160) fines to those not wearing masks.

"There is no scientific proof of the usefulness of wearing a mask outside," said Anais, a sociology student.

"COVID-19 is not so dangerous, it mainly kills people over the age of 60."

'Anti-Corona'

The pandemic has killed more than 838,000 people worldwide since surfacing in China late last year, and more than 24.7 million cases have been registered. The United States has recorded the highest number of deaths with 181,779.

US President Donald Trump and Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro were among global leaders who initially played down the gravity of the pandemic while others have dismissed the need for social distancing measures.

Many governments now hope tighter mask rules will offset the need for a return to economically-devastating lockdowns, though the French government said it could not rule out new stay-at-home orders.

France on Friday said there had been an "exponential" rise in coronavirus cases with more than 7,000 new infections in 24 hours.

Saturday's Berlin rally came as coronavirus cases continue to rise in Germany, with daily new infection numbers reaching highs not seen since April.

At the start of August, a similar German "anti-corona" march in Berlin took place with 20,000 protesters, a mix of the extreme left and right, anti-vaccination campaigners, conspiracy theorists and self-described "free thinkers".

Police had vowed to turn out in force and strictly monitor compliance with mask-wearing and social distancing at the protest.

Berlin police chief Barbara Slowik had warned that if the demonstrators did not adhere to virus safety rules, police would clear the area "very quickly".

"We will not be able or willing to watch tens of thousands assemble and create infection risks," she said.

Berlin city authorities had previously decided not to allow the Saturday demonstration to go ahead, fearing that the estimated 22,000 protesters would not keep a distance of 1.5 metres (five feet) apart or comply with face mask requirements.

But on the eve of the demo, Berlin´s administrative court sided with the demonstrators, saying there was no indication that organisers would "deliberately ignore" social distancing rules and endanger public health.

Merkel and the leaders of Germany;s 16 federal states on Thursday introduced tougher coronavirus restrictions to curb the pandemic, including a minimum 50 euro ($59) fine for people caught not wearing face masks where one is compulsory.

"We will have to live with this virus for a long time to come," Merkel warned. "It is still serious. Please continue to take it seriously."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZUs59cdkh8&feature=youtu.be&am...

and in Canada

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/civil-unrest/canada-p...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5ZWv1EYYXw&feature=emb_logo

and in Victoria Australia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hakORS9kon0&feature=share&f...

Italy kicks off its BIGGEST mafia trial in 30 years, 350+ defendants slated to testify via video link & in person   13 Jan, 2021 14:22

U.S. Capitol Police tests audible emergency notification system.

https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/world/austral...

Violent clashes erupt as Mexico’s National Guard confronts US-bound migrants (VIDEOS)

Mexico’s southern state of Chiapas saw intense violence as local National Guard officers faced off with a migrant caravan moving north to Mexico City. Scuffles reportedly resulted in injuries on both sides.

The Mexican National Guard was deployed to Chiapas in recent days to halt a migrant caravan that set off on foot last month from the country’s southern border with Guatemala. Around 3,000 people are currently moving north to Mexico City in the hope of eventually reaching the US border.

Videos published on social media on Thursday showed migrants hitting the National Guard members with sticks and pelting them with stones as the officers, clad in full riot gear, tried to advance on the caravan in a tight formation.

https://www.rt.com/news/539405-mexico-migrant-caravan-clash-injured/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10449587/American-truckers...

HUNDREDS of Canadians cheer on 'Freedom Convoy' of 50,000 truckers driving toward the capital to protest vaccine mandate: Lawmakers are told to 'lock your doors' and avoid the protest

• Hundreds of Canadians have lined the TransCanada Highway 20 to cheer on a 45-mile-long convoy of up to 50,000 truckers who are heading to Ottawa to protest the government's covid vaccine mandate for drivers 
• The convoy assembled in British Columbia on Sunday, and will arrive in Ottawa by Saturday where they are expected to be joined by other protesters driving from the east and the south of the country 
• By Friday morning, the drivers were in Kingston, Ontario, which is about 110 miles from the capital city, and US truckers have joined the convoy 
• Buildings in the Parliamentary district are being closed and locked except for essential staff as of Friday and workers warned of threats of physical damage 
• A top Parliament official warned lawmakers to avoid the protest and to lock their doors amid reports their private homes may be targeted 
• On January 15, proof of vaccination will be required for truckers crossing into the US  - but as many as 32,000, or about 20 percent, are not vaccinated
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the huge group a 'small fringe minority'
•  'We know the way through this is to get everyone vaccinated. The overwhelming majority, close to 90 percent of Canadians, have done exactly that,' he said 

Hundreds of Canadians have lined a highway to cheer on a 45-mile-long convoy of up to 50,000 truckers who are heading to Ottawa to protest the government's covid vaccine mandate for drivers crossing the US-Canada border. 

The convoy assembled in British Columbia on Sunday, and will arrive in Ottawa by Saturday where they are expected to be joined by other protesters driving from the east and the south of the country. Truckers from the US have also joined the massive convoy.

By Friday morning, the drivers were in Kingston, Ontario, which is about 110 miles from the capital city. Several thousand people are expected to gather in the capital, and some of the group´s leaders are calling for a peaceful event, but statements from some associated with the group have included threats of violence. 

The truckers are, in part, protesting a new rule that took effect January 15 requiring truckers entering Canada be fully immunized against the coronavirus. The United States has imposed the same requirement on truckers entering that country January 22. 

The first of hundreds vehicles started to trickle into Ottawa, where they are expected to set up in the streets around Parliament Hill for the weekend - and possibly longer.

As of about noon, there were more than 100 people lining up along the sidewalk outside the gates to Parliament Hill. Cars and pickup trucks lined the north side of the main street outside, far past the Parliament buildings. People waved flags and hollered as supporters drove by honking their horns. Some seem to be settling in for the long haul, with one group setting up a barbecue on the sidewalk.

Ottawa police said they would be out in force and ready to arrest anyone who breaks the law. They said on Friday that they have also called in 'reinforcements'.

The convoy of truckers set to descend on the city has prompted police to prepare for the possibility of violence and politicians to warn against escalating rhetoric linked to the demonstration. A top Parliament official warned lawmakers to avoid the protest and to lock their doors amid reports their private homes may be targeted. 

'It's 70 kilometers long,' Benjamin Dichter, a spokesman for the Freedom Convoy 2022, told the Toronto Sun after it passed Calgary heading west on Wednesday. 

'I have seen footage from an airplane. It's impressive.'   

Elon Musk also tweeted praise for the truckers, saying: 'If you scare people enough, they will demand removal of freedom. This is the path to tyranny.'

He'd earlier tweeted that 'Canadian truckers rule'. 

In September 2020, the Tesla CEO said that he and his family would not be getting vaccinated because they are not at risk. Two months later, he said that he most likely had a mild case of covid in November. 

'I'm getting wildly different results from different labs, but most likely I have a moderate case of covid. My symptoms are that of a minor cold, which is no surprise, since a coronavirus is a type of cold,' Musk wrote in a tweet. 

Canadian Trucking Magazine publisher Dave Mackenzie, who is a working long-haul trucker, told West Standard Online that some US truckers are driving from North Dakota to Portal Saskatchewan, where they intend to cross the border and join the group. 

The Canadian federal government instituted vaccine mandates for cross-border truckers throughout the country. But as many as 32,000, or 20 percent, of the 160,000 Canadian and American cross-border truck drivers may be taken off the roads due to the mandate, the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) estimates. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has characterized the protesters as a 'small fringe minority who are on the way to Ottawa who

Hundreds of Canadians have lined the TransCanada Highway 20 to cheer on a 45-mile-long convoy of up to 50,000 truckers who are heading to Ottawa to protest the government's covid vaccine mandate for drivers crossing the US-Canada border

The convoy assembled in British Columbia on Sunday, and will arrive in Ottawa by Saturday where they are expected to be joined by other protesters driving from the east and the south of the country. Truckers from the US have also joined the massive convoy. They are being cheered on in Levis, Quebec by supporteres

50,000 truckers are making their way across Canada in a 45-mile-long convoy in protest of vaccine mandates that would prohibit truckers from crossing the US-Canadian border without proof of vaccination

Canadians standing on an overpass in Kingston, Ontario cheer the truck drivers on. One pickup truck is seen pulling a trailer with a sign saying: 'Freedom doesn't require permission'

A driver gets his pickup truck, with a sign saying 'Oh Canada we stand on guard for thee Freedom', ready for the convoy line in Kingston, Ontario on Friday

50,000 truckers are making their way across Canada in a 45-mile-long convoy in protest of vaccine mandates that would prohibit truckers from crossing the US-Canadian border without proof of vaccination

Canadians gather on a bridge over Highway 400 in Vaughan, Ontario, to support the Freedom Convoy

Pickup trucks with Canadian flags and 'freedom' signs get ready to join the convoy in Kingston on Friday

 Truckers left from British Columbia on Sunday and will be met in the nation's capital on Saturday by other protesters driving from the east and the south of the country. The convoy has been joined by US truckers

The Toronto Sun estimated that up to 50,000 trucks could be participating - this convoy could exceed the existing record for the world's longest by 10 times if it stays intact until its intended destination

'It's 70 kilometers long,' Benjamin Dichter, a spokesman for the Freedom Convoy 2022, told the Toronto Sun. 'I have seen footage from an airplane. It's impressive'

In a list of demands, the organizers of the Freedom Convoy are calling for an end to vaccine passports and for the federal government to respect the rights of the unvaccinated

Hutterites have shown out in numbers not just greet the truckers with signs as they drive by, but to keep them fed

Canadian truckers roll towards Ottawa to protest vaccine mandate

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (pictured) has characterized the protesters as a 'small fringe minority who are on the way to Ottawa who are holding unacceptable views'

But the convoy has picked up steam and supporters as it travels along the snow-filled TransCanada Highway.

The longest convoy in history was just five miles long, consisted of 480 trucks, and took place in Egypt in 2020, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. 

The Toronto Sun estimated that up to 50,000 trucks could be participating - which would exceed the existing record by 10 times if it stays intact until its intended destination.  

In a list of demands, the organizers of the Freedom Convoy are calling for an end to vaccine passports and for the federal government to respect the rights of the unvaccinated.  

Trudeau hit the brakes on their demands. 

'What we are hearing from some people associated with this convoy is completely unacceptable,' he said.

'We know the way through this pandemic is to get everyone vaccinated. The overwhelming majority, close to 90 percent of Canadians, have done exactly that.'

But supporters of the convoy disagree, with one driver saying that 'the amount of trucks involved and the amount of people showing up here, this shows the frustrations of Canadians and it's going to continue to grow.'   

'A lot of people are trying to say that these type of things are done out of anger, but this is actually being done out of frustration towards the things the government is imposing upon Canadian citizens,' a man named Trevor told Global News when the convoy passed through the Balgonie area, declining to give his surname. 

The Canadian government ended the truckers´ exemption to the vaccine mandate, meaning Canadian truck drivers need to be fully vaccinated if they want to avoid a two-week quarantine and pre-arrival molecular test for COVID-19 before crossing into Canada.

Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated foreign national truck drivers who do not have a right to re-enter are turned away at the border and directed back to the United States. The U.S. now also requires Canadian truckers to provide proof of vaccination to enter.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance has disavowed the protest and said more than 85% of truckers are vaccinated. Many truckers have also posted on social media they continue to do their jobs and that the convoy doesn´t speak for them. 

 The U.S. also has a vaccine mandate for truckers coming from Canada. American talk show host Stew Peters said that American truckers are joining the Freedom Convoy, or amassing on the roads in solidarity, in numbers. 

'Colorado, 420 trucks, Georgia, 675 trucks, South Carolina, 650 trucks, California, 19,000 trucks,' Peters said.

A GoFundMe initiative has already raised $6,365,040 towards the protest since it was launched on January 14, with organizers saying that the money will go toward the gas, food and shelter of the participating truckers. 

But GoFundMe has frozen the raised monies until Tamara Lich, the secretary of Canada's Maverick party and the fundraiser's organizer, provides a 'clear plan' for how the money will be spent, according to Canadian outlet Global News. 

 Hutterites have shown out in numbers not just greet the truckers with signs as they drive by, but to keep them fed, Mackenzie said. 

 'Some drove all the way to Ontario to feed the convoy,' he said

 Canada has enacted some of the most strict COVID-19 protocols worldwide. Ontario will only closed its restaurants, gyms and movie theaters early this month, and will only reopen them at the beginning of February. 

Vaccinations were mandated in for federal workers last year, and the premier of Quebec announced plans to penalize unvaccinated residents that don't have a medical reason not to get the shot.      

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11473455/Protests-erupt-Ch...

Chinese police clash with thousands protesting draconian COVID lockdowns as unprecedented civil unrest grips country - after ten died in fire when building doors were locked to stop virus spread

• In Shanghai, China's most populous city and financial hub, protests broke out on Saturday night at the city's Wulumuqi Road
• 'Lift lockdown for Urumqi, lift lockdown for Xinjiang, lift lockdown for all of China!' the crowds in Shanghai shouted, according to a video on social media 
• At one point a large group began shouting, 'Down with the Chinese Communist Party, down with Xi Jinping, free Urumqi!', according to witnesses and videos in a rare public protest against the Chinese leadership
• A large group of police looked on and sometimes tried to break up the crowd
• China is battling a surge in infections that prompted lockdowns and restrictions in cities across the country 
• Beijing is attempting stick to a zero-COVID policy even as much of the world tries to coexist with the virus 
• Public fury forced authorities in Xinjiang to open up parts of the capital Urumqi which has been subject to a punishing 'zero-Covid' lockdown for over 3 months
• The protests were  triggered in-part by deaths of at least ten people in a fire at an apartment block who were unable to escape because their doors had been locked due to the virus

Chinese police have clashed with thousands protesting the country's draconian COVID lockdowns - as unprecedented civil unrest gripped the nation.

Demonstrations erupted in at least seven cities - including Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou - with violence breaking out between local cops and furious protesters.

The largest demonstration appeared in Shanghai - home to 26million residents - with many boldly demanding President Xi Jinping resign.

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Officers used pepper spray against about 300 protesters, according to a witness, but western journalists reported the numbers to be in the thousands.

Meanwhile last night hundreds gathered to mourn the deaths of at least 10 people in an apartment fire last week in Urumqi in the Xinjiang region, where residents were sealed in their buildings to try to stop the spread of COVID.

It comes amid China launching another mass crackdown on the virus with crippling lockdowns put in place across the country, nearly three years after the pandemic started there.

The nation reported another 39,791 new cases spread across the country - the biggest one-day increase on record - including a record 4,307 in Beijing alone.

But it appears ill-equipped for the latest battle with COVID, with it using its own vaccines, rather than approved foreign ones, which do not have the same effectiveness at beating back the virus.

In the city of Shanghai, videos posted on social media by foreign journalists show thousands of people taking to the streets to remember the victims and to protest against Covid restrictions.

Young people could be seen fighting with police in China due to COVID restrictions

Protests against Covid restrictions in China appear to have intensified with police arresting people on Saturday night

Hundreds could be heard asking for President Xi Jinping to resign in remarkable scenes from the communist country

Public fury forced authorities in the far western Xinjiang region to open up parts of the capital Urumqi, which has been subject to a punishing 'zero-Covid' lockdown for more than three months.

Witnesses said one of the protests also occurred in Urumqi where the fire occurred after complaints it worsened the death toll.

The protest was triggered by the deaths of at least 10 people in a fire at a high-rise apartment block. Some have claimed lockdown measures hampered rescue efforts and the ability of residents to escape.

Footage posted online showed hundreds of demonstrators confronting riot police on the streets of Urumqi, where many of the four million residents have been barred from leaving their homes for as long as 100 days.

President Xi Jinping´s government faces mounting anger at its 'zero-COVID' policy that has shut down access to areas throughout China in an attempt to isolate every case at a time when other governments are easing controls and trying to live with the virus.

That has kept China´s infection rate lower than the United States and other countries. But the ruling Communist Party faces growing complaints about the economic and human cost as businesses close and families are isolated for weeks with limited access to food and medicine.

Some protesters were shown in videos shouting for Xi to step down or the ruling party to give up power.

In Shanghai, protesters gathered at Middle Urumqi Road at midnight with flowers, candles and signs reading 'Urumqi, November 24, those who died rest in peace,' according to a participant who would give only his family name, Zhao.

Zhao said one of his friends was beaten by police and two were pepper-sprayed. He said police stomped on his feet as he tried to stop them from taking his friend away. He lost his shoes and left barefoot.

According to Zhao, protesters yelled slogans including 'Xi Jinping, step down, Communist Party, step down,' 'Unlock Xinjiang, unlock China,' 'do not want PCR (tests), want freedom' and 'press freedom.'

Around 100 police stood in lines to prevent protesters from gathering or leaving, Zhao said. He said buses with more police arrived later.

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A man intentionally drove a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans' French Quarter early on New Year's Day, killing 10 people and injuring dozens of others, officials said. The FBI said the driver was killed in a firefight with police. 

New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said the man drove around barricades and hurtled down Bourbon Street in "very intentional behavior" before opening fire on officers. 

The driver died after exchanging gunfire with responding police officers, the FBI said. The suspect was struck by police fire and declared dead at the scene, the New Orleans Police Department said. 

"This man was trying to run over as many people as he could," said Kirkpatrick, adding that two police officers were hit by gunfire but were in a stable condition. A long gun was recovered from the scene, law enforcement sources told CBS News. 

Mayor LaToya Cantrell referred to it as a likely "terrorist attack," and the FBI said in a news release that they are investigating it "as an act of terrorism." 

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry called it "a horrific act of violence" and said he and his wife were "praying for all the victims and first responders on scene." He urged people to avoid the area. 

The popular tourist district was full of New Year's Day revelers at the time of the apparent attack.

"He was hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did," Kirkpatrick said. 

The City of New Orleans said in a statement posted online that 30 people were transported to area hospitals with injuries and 10 people were confirmed dead. Kirkpatrick later said that at least 35 people were hospitalized.

Duncan said the FBI will be leading the investigation. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Justice Department's National Security Division, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana will work with the FBI and local officials to support the investigation, Attorney General Merrick Garland said. President Biden was briefed about the attack, the White House said, and his administration has been in touch with Cantrell to offer support. 

"The country woke up this morning to news of a terrible tragedy in New Orleans that killed at least 10 people and injured many more," Garland said. "My heart is broken for those who began their year by learning people they love were killed in this horrific attack, and my prayers are with the dozens who were injured, including the New Orleans Police Department Officers who risked their lives to save others." 

Weis saw multiple people on the ground being treated for injuries near the intersection of Bourbon and Canal Streets.

The Sugar Bowl college football playoff game is scheduled to be played at the nearby Superdome later in the day. Kirkpatrick said police officers would work to ensure safety at the event, indicating that the game would go on as planned.  

Jim and Nicole Mowrer were in New Orleans visiting from Iowa and witnessed the incident. Nicole told CBS News they had watched the city's fireworks display and were enjoying the New Year's Day atmosphere in the French Quarter when they heard crashing noises coming from down the street. They said they then saw a white truck slam through a barricade "at a high rate of speed."

"We were pretty, pretty close to where it started," she said, estimating that the truck hit people only about a block away from where they had been walking.

"Once it was past us, we did hear gunfire, saw police running that direction," Nicole said. "Once the gunfire stopped, we stayed in the alcove until the gunfire stopped, came out into the street, and came across a lot of — several people who had been hit, [we] wanted to see what we could do to help."

The Mowrers said the victims they saw had injuries from the truck impact, and they did not see any apparent gunshot wounds. They said they left the area once emergency responders started arriving.

In a 2017 memo reviewed by CBS News, the city of New Orleans had acknowledged the risk of a mass casualty incident in the crowded, tourist-friendly French Quarter. The memo specifically references vehicle attacks in Nice, France, London, England, and New York City. To minimize risk, the city said it planned to establish a camera and surveillance program, a centralized command center, more police patrols and infrastructure upgrades. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-orleans-vehicle-crash-bourbon-stre...

Cardinal George Pell abused two boys in Ballarat, compensation scheme decides

Louise Milligan and Charlotte King - 31 January 2025

Two men have been granted compensation by the federal government's National Redress Scheme for abuse by the late Cardinal George Pell, including one whom the scheme accepted was raped by Pell when the Cardinal was a young priest in Ballarat in the 1970s.

WARNING: Readers might find some of the details in this story distressing.

The boys were eight and nine and lived in Ballarat when the abuse they describe in their claims took place, but do not know each other and went to different schools in the Victorian goldfields town where Pell was a priest and the diocese's episcopal vicar for education.

It can be revealed for the first time that in one case, the scheme accepted the boy was groped on the genitals by Pell during a game at a swimming pool in the town. In the other, the decision-maker accepted that the boy was anally raped in a school gymnasium.

The groping victim received his offer of compensation for the abuse five weeks before George Pell died in January 2023 — the diocese of Ballarat was informed of the decision at that time as the scheme requires the institution responsible for the perpetrator to pay the redress amount.

While criminal cases have a standard of proof of beyond reasonable doubt, the scheme's standard is that the abuse was "reasonably likely".

Bishop Paul Bird of Ballarat would not comment on the cases because he says regulations prohibit him from discussing them, but the redress decision says the diocese disputed the men's accounts.

The men spoke as part of a large investigation for The Monthly magazine, along with other complainants against George Pell who have never spoken publicly before.

'I thought he was going to whip me'
James, a retired chef, recalls he was about nine years old in Year 4 at Ballarat's St Francis Xavier Primary School, known locally as "Villa Maria", when he stole a cardigan belonging to Pell, who coached the school's football team.

In his complaint to the scheme he says Pell chased him into the school's gymnasium, which was empty, and put him on a small trampoline.

"I remember him saying 'Pull your pants down'," James wrote.

"I thought he was going to whip me with his belt. He didn't."

What he did do, the scheme's decision maker accepted, was far more disturbing.

"He put something in my ass — I presume it was his penis," James wrote.

"It was very painful. I was bleeding from my bottom afterward."

James was too ashamed to tell his mother, Carmel, for 50 years, until he came forward in 2024 to the National Redress Scheme after having sought legal advice.

He told the Redress Scheme that he was "scared that people won't believe me".

"I am just tortured by the fact that for 50 years, he'd lived alone with that horror," Carmel, a once-staunch Catholic who has been an advocate for victims of clergy abuse in the Ballarat diocese, says, tearfully.

"And I'm just so grateful that he is who he is, because I love him dearly."

James was granted $95,000 in compensation from the scheme, which is capped at $150,000, and none of his account was disputed by the decision-maker.

The decision-maker stated that part of the reason they accepted James's account was that there were two other complainants from his school (who have never gone public) who also made accusations about Pell abusing them, which the diocese of Ballarat had also not accepted.

Behaviour 'contrary to community standards'
David, who is using a pseudonym because he is employed as a high school mathematics teacher, was in year 3 at Ballarat's St Patrick's Primary School, which is known locally as "Drummo", when the decision-maker found Pell grabbed his genitals to throw him in the air.

David's statement said Pell would lift him "with his hand at the front of my crotch — essentially grabbing my genitals and throw me that way".

He said that "the whole manoeuvre was pretty dodgy in the extreme" and it made him feel "uncomfortable".

Notably, it is a manoeuvre that has been described by multiple other men who made complaints about Pell abusing them.

"It was (and is) preposterous to think that there was anyone that I could go to and ask is it OK for George to place his hand on my genitals," David wrote.

"I did not even have the language to pose such a question never mind a person to pose it to."

David was granted $45,000 by the scheme for abuse by Pell and a Christian Brother in Ballarat, with the decision-maker saying while David's memories of something that happened 50 years ago were understandably "sketchy", he appeared "candid and not exaggerated" and he was "psychologically uncomfortable being grabbed".

The finding said "children could be thrown without touching genitals (holding under arms or feet)", it was "not incidental touching" and it was contrary to community standards of the time.

As in James' case, the decision maker referred to other claims of activity by Pell, although the decision letter redacts the details of those complaints.

'Celebration of Pell painful'
The Catholic Church supported the introduction of the National Redress Scheme, with the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president, Brisbane's Archbishop Mark Coleridge, saying the church was "keen to participate in it".

The Bishop of Ballarat, Paul Bird, confirmed that he was one of the 275 priests who attended the pontifical mass for George Pell's funeral, which happened seven weeks after the first redress claim was granted, but would not comment on either of the decisions, although the documents say the diocese of Ballarat disputed the abuse took place.

David's wife, an academic, wrote expressing her disgust at how Pell's life had been celebrated by the Catholic church.

"It is very hard to see the church provide so much pomp and ceremony around Pell's absurd funeral," she said of the fact that the diocese of Ballarat had been notified of her husband's redress decision.

"Their celebration of Pell is painful."

Man from abandoned trial received settlement

At the time of his funeral, George Pell had been released from jail following his acquittal in the High Court.

A jury had convicted the Cardinal of abusing two teenage choirboys at Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral in 1996, and the Victorian Court of Appeal had upheld the conviction, but the High Court overturned the decision, saying no jury acting rationally could not have had a reasonable doubt that the abuse took place.

After the initial conviction, a second trial concerning three men who made very similar allegations to David about abuse while playing swimming games in the Ballarat diocese was abandoned because the Victorian County Court found that the men's cases could not be heard together because of technicalities around tendency evidence.

The Crown elected not to proceed with them individually and no formal finding was ever made by a jury or judge about Pell's guilt or innocence in relation to the swimmers' claims.

All three men have separately expressed their devastation about the trial not going ahead.

This investigation has discovered that one of those men from the abandoned swimmers' trial has received a financial settlement from the diocese of Ballarat for abuse by Pell and a Christian Brother at a school, St Alipius, in the town.

After Pell's acquittal in the High Court, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse released its unredacted report finding that Pell knew about paedophile priests in the Ballarat and Melbourne dioceses, but did not act, describing parts of his evidence to the commission as "implausible", "inconceivable" or "not tenable".

At his funeral, Pell's brother David described the allegations against the late Cardinal as being part of "woke algorithm of mistruths, half-truths and outright lies".

Former prime minister Tony Abbott, who also spoke at Pell's funeral, said Pell was the greatest man he had ever known, and compared his treatment in the criminal justice system to "a modern-day crucifixion".

George Pell maintained his innocence to his death.

The National Redress Scheme is due to conclude in 2027.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-31/george-pell-ballarat-abused-...

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The true legacy of the rapist George Pell

Louise Milligan - February 1, 2025

https://archive.is/20250130183718/https://www.themonthly.com.au/iss...

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ZetaTalk Chat Q&A for April 30, 2020

Cardinal Pell

Was Cardinal Pell guilty? Yes, and of more than this single trial represents. The Catholic Church has pedophilia at the highest ranks, with the prior Pope Benedict being in charge of enforcing silence in this regard prior to becoming Pope. If the jury and the Appeals Court found Pell guilty, then why the reversal? As we have often stated, despite some good-hearted individuals working within the Church structure, and despite the current Pope Francis being a well-intended individual, the Catholic Church is all about control, wealth, and giving orders.

The Church threatens damnation to Hell via excommunication if their orders are not followed, though they certainly do not have this power. They walk about draped in Gold and live in opulent quarters while they demand the poor in their flocks fund this lifestyle. They have vast real estate, and the Vatican bank has been repeatedly found guilty of money laundering for unsavory characters. The conviction of Cardinal Pell enraged the Vatican. In their view, tossing a priest to the dogs for pedophilia was one thing, but the high and mighty should remain untouched.

http://zetatalk10.com/ning/30ap2020.htm

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ZetaTalk Chat Q&A for January 31, 2023

Catholic Justice

The wheels of Justice roll on despite the determination of the elite to be above the laws of man and God. Cardinal Pell was guilty but escaped Justice due to his position in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Pope Benedict likewise was central for decades in silencing complaints from the youngsters who were permanently devastated by their treatment at the hands of Catholic priests. Yet they retained their positions within the Church, with the common man forced to honor them. This has been corrected. Their deaths were not due to old age or medical complications.

http://zetatalk10.com/ning/31ja2023.htm

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