The mass media are reporting that the Biden camp has selected former general Lloyd J. Austin III to be the next secretary of defense, assuaging fears among antiwar activists that the position would go to bloodthirsty psychopath Michele Flournoy as commonly predicted. As has become the standard ritual for Biden’s cabinet picks, the mass media are holding …
Read More »People who refuse ‘voluntary’ Covid-19 vaccination could face restrictions, Ontario govt warns
The senior health official acknowledged that inoculation would be voluntary, but encouraged “everyone who is able to, to have the vaccination,” noting that there could be consequences for those who forgo the procedure. The remarks were made on Monday in response to a question from a journalist about whether schools, …
Read More »Beijing preparing ‘firm countermeasures’ after US sanctions Chinese officials over Hong Kong
China will take “firm counter-measures against the malicious actions by the US to safeguard our sovereignty, security, and developmental rights,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters on Tuesday. She also urged Washington to withdraw its decision. Beijing was prompted to retaliate after the United States on Monday imposed financial …
Read More »90-yo woman becomes first person in UK to receive newly-approved Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine
Margaret Keenan, from Northern Ireland, received the vaccine on Tuesday morning. The retired jeweller will take a second dose of the drug in three weeks, and is expected to have full immunisation by early January. Footage shows a health worker administering the jab as Keenan sits in a large armchair. …
Read More »China removes more than 100 mobile apps, including TripAdvisor, citing ‘violent & pornographic’ content
The announcement was made by the Cyberspace Administration of China on Tuesday. All the offending apps have violated one or more cyber-security laws, the watchdog stated without providing any further detail. The purge came as a part of a campaign launched early in November in response to general public discontent …
Read More »In world first, Australia moves to force Google & Facebook to pay local news outlets for content
A proposed law that will go before Australian parliament this week requires Google and Facebook to reach a deal with local publishers concerning how much they fork over for news content featured on their online services. A government appointed arbitrator will decide the compensation package if the parties fail to …
Read More »White Helmets founder Le Mesurier is now a mainstream saint, but leaked docs raise questions about his widow’s role
First, in late October, came a 6,000-word hagiography in The Guardian — less than a fortnight later, the BBC transmitted a 15-part radio documentary on his firm, Mayday Rescue. Emma Winberg, Le Mesurier’s spouse and Mayday’s Chief Impact Officer, played a starring role in both efforts, in the process breaking …
Read More »Taiwan says it is besieged by ‘authoritarian forces’ as it inks new arms deal with US
“Authoritarian forces consistently attempt to violate the existing norms-based order,” Tsai said. “Taiwan has been at the receiving end of such military threats on a daily basis.” The president was speaking at a security forum in Taipei, and did not explicitly refer to the country’s longtime nemesis, China. He also …
Read More »Zizek: There will be no return to normality after Covid. We are entering a post-human era & will have to invent a new way of life
The world has lived with the pandemic for most of 2020, but what is our situation with regard to it now, in early December, in the middle of what the European media is terming ‘the second wave’? Firstly, we should not forget that the distinction between the first and second …
Read More »Remember Star Trek’s ‘tricorder’? Scientists develop world’s 1st mobile DNA sequence analyzer app
The mobile lab, which science fiction fans might argue sounds suspiciously like Star Trek’s “tricorder” device, works in tandem with sequencers like Illumina, Ion Torrent, PacBio, or Oxford Nanopore to sample DNA which is then analyzed on the iPhone app called iGenomics. Researchers claim the system precludes the need for …
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