Posts

France Struggles With ‘Chilling’ COVID-19 Data From Nursing Homes; Italy Considers How to Move on After Coronavirus Peak

/0 Comments/in , /by

By Politico. Even though older people are most at risk of developing COVID-19, French health authorities have struggled to get data on the spread of the coronavirus from a key source: nursing homes.

Weeks into the epidemic and shortly after a new reporting system was implemented, health officials raised concerns with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe’s office about the difficulties they face with private care facilities for the elderly, according to internal emails seen by POLITICO.

At least 3,237 people have died from COVID-19 in the country’s nursing homes since early March, according to the most recent official statistics published Tuesday. That was an increase of 820 from the day before and brings France’s death toll to over 10,000. . .

The number of deaths in nursing homes is “objectively chilling,” said Benoît Ribadeau-Dumas, the prime minister’s head of Cabinet, in an email dated Sunday to Aurélien Rousseau, head of the Regional Health Agency (ARS) for the Paris region. (Read more from “France Struggles With ‘Chilling’ COVID-19 Data From Nursing Homes” HERE)

________________________________________________

Phase Two: Italy Considers How to Move on After Coronavirus Peak

By Al Jazeera. Nearly a month after a nationwide lockdown was implemented to prevent the spread of the virus that was ravaging through Italy’s north, there are government discussions and public debate about moving to “phase two” – a period during which citizens will have to learn to live with the virus and one which could risk another outbreak.

Italy is in the unfortunate position of being two to three weeks ahead of other European countries in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

While figures suggest that the measures have achieved some level of success in slowing the rate of infection, it is likely they will remain in place over the coming Easter period, usually a time for gathering and celebration. . .

The Italian civil protection agency said the number of new infections had begun to decrease. But the daily recorded death toll remains high, 604 on Tuesday.

“Comforting data include the number of people who are admitted to hospital, which gives us a more accurate indication of how the epidemic is evolving compared with other data,” Matteo Villa, who has been crunching statistics for the Italian Institute for International Political Studies, told Al Jazeera. (Read more from “Phase Two: Italy Considers How to Move on After Coronavirus Peak” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Doctors Wanted to Leave Girl With Rare Condition to Die, Parents Had to Undergo Legal Battle for Hospital Transfer

/0 Comments/in , /by

Tafida Raqeeb has been diagnosed with arteriovenous malformation, a rare condition which causes the blood vessels to have abnormal connections between the arteries and veins. . .

Doctors in Genoa, Italy state that they have an expertise in this condition, they are willing to treat Tafida, and “they suggest there is a good chance she will emerge from the coma she is in,” according to Ron Liddle of The Sun (a UK newspaper). But the Royal London Hospital is refusing to let the parents take Tafida to Genoa.

Now, Five-old Tafida Raqeeb can be taken to Italy for treatment by her parents, a court ruled today.

SPUC described the ruling as a ‘victory for human life and justice’. The harrowing case was a hard fought battle between Tafida’s parents who want to take their very sick child to a hospital in Italy, where doctors will continue life-support, and the Barts Health NHS Trust, which claims that removing life support is in the child’s best interests. . .

Reacting to the news, Dr Anthony McCarthy, SPUC Director of Research, said: ‘Our hearts go out to Tafida and her parents, whose precious daughter has been allowed to live. The court ruling sends an important message to the doctors at the Royal London Hospital that their view of Tafida’s life was wrong. It has always been clear that ventilation and transferring Tafida to Italy would not in fact have been harmful and any costs would not have fallen on the NHS.” (Read more from “Doctors Wanted to Leave Girl With Rare Condition to Die, Parents Had to Undergo Legal Battle for Hospital Transfer” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Trump Warns Europe: I’ll Air Drop ISIS Fighters from Europe Back into Your Countries

/0 Comments/in , /by

On Wednesday, President Trump sent a stern message to European leaders: if the countries from which captured ISIS fighters came don’t take them back, he’ll air drop them into Europe.

As The Daily Mail reported, Trump told reporters, “We’re holding thousands of ISIS fighters right now, and Europe has to take them. We beat them. We captured them. We’ve got thousands of them. And now, as usual, our allies say, ‘Oh. no. We don’t want them.’ Even though they came from France and Germany and other places. We’re going to tell them and we’ve already told them, ‘Take these prisoners that we’ve captured because the United States is not going to put them in Guantanamo for the next 50 years and pay for it.’ If Europe doesn’t take them, then I have no choice but to release them into the countries from which they came, which is Germany, and France, and other places.” He concluded, “It’s moving along, my deadline. They know.”

Hours later, the president repeated his assertion before a group of veterans in Kentucky, saying, “Certain countries in Europe, they’ve got to take them back. Because we don’t want to hold them. They’d rather have us hold them, and let us have them for 50 years. We don’t want them. They should take them. Do we agree? They should take them? They say to us, ‘Why don’t you hold them in Guantanamo Bay for 50 years and you just hold them and spend billions and billions of dollars holding them.’ And I’m saying, ‘No, you gotta take them.’” . . .

In early August, Trump stated, “We have thousands of ISIS fighters that we want Europe to take, and let’s see if they take them. If they don’t take them, we’ll probably have to release them to Europe.” NBC News reported at the time, “Experts estimate U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces hold some 800 European ISIS fighters in makeshift prisons, but the mostly Kurdish militia group is struggling to maintain them more than four months after ISIS lost the last significant part of its so-called caliphate.” (Read more from “Trump Warns Europe: I’ll Air Drop ISIS Fighters from Europe Back into Your Countries” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Migrants Hijack Cargo Ship

/0 Comments/in , /by

By Fox News. Migrants hijacked a cargo ship that had rescued them in the Mediterranean Sea, forcing the crew to set a course for Europe, the governments of Italy and Malta said Wednesday.

Authorities in both countries vowed to keep the vessel, identified as the Turkish oil tanker El Hiblu 1, out of their territorial waters.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said the tanker had rescued some 120 people, and described the incident as “the first act of piracy on the high seas with migrants” as alleged hijackers.

“Poor castaways, who hijack a merchant ship that saved them because they want to decide the route of the cruise,” Salvini, who heads the anti-migrant League party, was quoted as saying by the ANSA news agency.

Salvini said weather conditions in the Mediterranean were not good; it was unclear if the tanker would end up approaching Malta or Italy’s Lampedusa island. But he had a message for the pirates: “Forget about Italy.” (Read more from “Migrants Hijack Cargo Ship” HERE)

_______________________________________________________

Rescued Migrants Hijack Merchant Ship Near Libya – Reports

By BBC News. Migrants have hijacked a merchant vessel that rescued them off Libya’s coast, ordering the crew to head towards Malta, reports say.

More than 100 migrants aboard the cargo ship are said to have acted after being told they would be taken back to Libya. . .

The EU says the decision to suspend Operation Sophia in September follows a request by Italy.

The mission was put in place four years ago to deter people smugglers and rescue migrants trying to reach Europe by boat. Tens of thousands have been saved.

Lately, the mission has largely targeted smuggling networks as the number of people making the crossing dropped sharply following a controversial deal between the EU and Libya. (Read more from “Rescued Migrants Hijack Merchant Ship Near Libya – Reports” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Using Transgender Arguments, Man Demands Birth Certificate Say He’s 20 Years Younger

/0 Comments/in , /by

The next phase in transgender activism is being litigated in the Netherlands. Dutch motivational speaker Emile Ratelband, 69, is demanding his birth certificate and all official records of his birth date be retroactively reduced by 20 years to reflect the age he “feels.”

His case was heard before a court in Arnhem on Monday. Ratelband told The Washington Post that at first the judge laughed at him, but then became more receptive to his arguments after he spoke about how “we are a free people.” He compared his situation directly with those of people who desire that official records say they are the opposite sex. . .

He has more than his feelings to go on, though. Ratelband maintains that his doctors have said “his body was that of a 45 year old man,” according to The Guardian.

His best argument, however, is that he is facing age discrimination. “When I’m 69, I am limited. If I’m 49, then I can buy a new house, drive a different car,” he told The Guardian. “I can take up more work. When I’m on Tinder and it says I’m 69, I don’t get an answer. When I’m 49, with the face I have, I will be in a luxurious position.”

He said he’ll be able to obtain more work as a 49-year-old, saying potential clients are “skeptical” that at his current age he can “speak the language of the youth,” according to The Washington Post. He is also willing to give up his pension until he reaches retirement age again. (Read more from “Using Transgender Arguments, Man Demands Birth Certificate Say He’s 20 Years Younger” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

How the Central American Caravan Could Lead to a U.S. Refugee Crisis Like Europe’s

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Washington Post recently published an insidious analysis comparing Trump’s caravan rhetoric to right-wing populists “making up stories” and “stoking fear” during the European refugee crisis.

The article began by disparaging what the author believes to be unsubstantiated claims that the approaching caravan from Central America is an “invasion” and “terrorism risk,” as President Trump has described. According to the author, there’s “no better way for populists to win an election than by announcing a national emergency that plays into voters’ fears.”

It’s quite startling that a journalist would completely discard the horrific events that culminated during the extended, and at times fatal, refugee crisis across Europe. In 2015 and 2016, there were more than 2.3 million illegal crossings recorded across the European Union, with Germany absorbing more than 1 million foreign citizens in 2015 alone.

While the encroaching caravan south of our border may seem miniscule in comparison, the mass exodus of people from Northern Africa and the Middle East to Europe did not transpire overnight either. The first signs of the preceding European crisis began in January 2015, after a ship abandoned by smugglers was rescued off the coast of Italy with only 360 Syrians on board.

In the following months, ships carrying anywhere between a few hundred to a thousand people were intercepted all along Mediterranean coastlines. Figures from the United Nations Refugee Agency showed that 63,000 foreign citizens arrived in Greece and 62,000 in Italy during just the first half of 2015. (Read more from “How the Central American Caravan Could Lead to a U.S. Refugee Crisis Like Europe’s” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Report: Three Children Euthanized in Country

/0 Comments/in , /by

According to an article in The Brussels Times, a report from the Federal Commission for Euthanasia Control and Evaluation has revealed that euthanasia in Belgium is up 13%.

More striking than the general uptick in numbers, however–most of that increase represents patients between the ages of 60 and 89 years old, the majority having cancer–is the fact that in the years 2016 and 2017, three children also opted in to legally assisted suicide.

While euthanasia in Belgium was legalized for adults in 2003, it wasn’t extended to minors until more recently, in 2014. The law allows children of any age to procure a death via lethal injection, provided they have parental consent and an agreement is reached with a doctor and psychologist.

CNN reported that shortly after the first child was killed under the expanded age laws (in 2016), Belgian senator and supporter of euthanasia Jean-Jacques De Gucht said, “I think it’s very important that we, as a society, have given the opportunity to those people to decide for themselves in what manner they cope with that situation.” . . .

Catholic News Agency reports that, back when assisted suicide was first expanded to minors in Belgium, John Haas (governing member of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life) declared the new development to be “dreadful.” (Read more from “Report: Three Children Euthanized in Country” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg Met With European Parliament. Things Did Not Go Well.

/0 Comments/in , /by

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg met with lawmakers from the European Union Parliament on Tuesday to answer questions about his company’s use of consumer data and election manipulation on the platform.

He was also threatened with consequences over the recent scandals involving his social media company, including increased regulations and the splitting of the company over antitrust concerns.

Several lawmakers complained about the format of the questioning, which allowed Zuckerberg to selectively provide answers. Facebook did agree, however, to later provide further responses in written format . . .

Brexit mastermind Nigel Farage accused the company of “willfully” discriminating against right-of-center views on the social network. Zuckerberg responded that Facebook had “never made a decision about what content was allowed on the basis of political orientation.” . . .

“Mr. Zuckerberg’s apologies are not enough. We are looking for further commitments…and we will be looking forward to getting his written answers on Cambridge Analytica. It’s obvious that kind of thing should not happen again.” (Read more from “Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg Met With European Parliament. Things Did Not Go Well.” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Country Orders Crosses on All State Buildings

/0 Comments/in , , /by

The German state of Bavaria ordered all government buildings to display a cross at their entrance, the latest move in the predominantly Catholic region against the recent influx of migrants.

“The cross is a fundamental symbol of our Bavarian identity and way of life,” said Bavaria’s new leader, Markus Söder, as he hung a cross in the lobby of the government’s headquarters in Munich, directly after the rule was passed.

The action, which goes into effect June 1, comes as Germany grapples with integrating more than 1 million immigrants, mostly from the Middle East and Africa. In 2015, German Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the nation’s borders to mostly Muslim refugees, setting off criticism — even in her own conservative Christian bloc — over the “Islamization” of the nation.

Hanging crosses in public buildings is “a visible commitment to the basic values of the legal and social order in Bavaria and Germany,” the state government said in a statement . . .

“Islam doesn’t belong to Germany,” Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told the German daily newspaper Bild last month. “The Muslims who live with us here are, of course, a part of Germany, but this doesn’t mean that we have to falsely consider giving up our country-specific traditions and customs.” (Read more from “Country Orders Crosses on All State Buildings” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

1st Country to Ban Male Circumcision?

/0 Comments/in , /by

Iceland could become the first country in Europe to ban male circumcision, prompting criticism from religious groups about the ritual practiced in both Judaism and Islam.

The legislation being debated by Iceland’s Parliament would impose a six-year jail term on anyone who “removes part or all of (a child’s) sexual organs” for non-medical reasons.

“It’s an attack on freedom of religion,” Ahmad Seddeeq, the Egyptian-born imam of the Islamic Cultural Center of Iceland, said Monday.

Silja Dögg Gunnarsdóttir, a lawmaker from the center-right Progressive Party, said she proposed the measure after realizing the country’s ban on female genital mutilation had no equivalent to prevent male circumcision.

Iceland outlawed female genital mutilation in 2005, in line with other nations, to prevent procedures that intentionally alter or injure female genital organs for non-medical reasons. (Read more from “1st Country to Ban Male Circumcision?” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.