Archiv: Kampagnen / campaigns


13.02.2025 - 22:05 [ Youtube / Maulbeerblatt ]

DIE LINKE ist ein Totalausfall – Im Gespräch mit Dr. Sahra Wagenknecht

(February 10, 2025)

Ein zentrales Thema des Gesprächs ist die geopolitische Lage Europas. Wagenknecht erklärt, warum Deutschland unabhängiger von den USA werden muss und welche Risiken die derzeitige Politik mit sich bringt. Zudem geht sie auf die mediale Berichterstattung über das BSW ein und analysiert, wie gezielte Kampagnen ihre Partei aus dem Bundestag drängen sollen.

14.01.2025 - 20:51 [ Snoop.ro ]

Investigații ANAF a descoperit că PNL a plătit o campanie care l-a promovat masiv pe Călin Georgescu pe TikTok

(December 20, 2024)

Snoop a aflat că ANAF a descoperit în aceste zile că „acțiunea de campanie Echilibru și Verticalitate, de pe pe TikTok, a fost plătită din banii Partidului Național Liberal”, conform unei surse confidențiale, la curent cu rezultatul cercetării ANAF.

Informația a fost confirmată pentru Snoop din discuțiile și corespondența purtată chiar cu firma angajată de PNL, Kensington Communication, care a gândit campania.

Firma a plătit 130 de influenceri cooptați pe platforma FameUp, dar susține că „forma generată de Kensington Communication a suportat unele modificări, care nu aparțin echipei noastre și nici nu avem cunoștință să fi fost solicitate de către reprezentanți ai partidului”.

Kensington spune că „hashtag-ul ales de compania noastră a fost #echilibrusiseriozitate, acesta fiind schimbat în platforma FameUp, fără implicarea noastră, în #echilibrusiverticalitate”.

14.01.2025 - 20:48 [ Serbian Times ]

EPIC SCANDAL IN ROMANIA: Ruling party paid for TikTok campaign that led to the annulment of Georgescu’s victory!

(December 23, 2024)

The Romanian National Liberal Party (PNL), one of the ruling parties in Romania, financed a TikTok campaign that intelligence services used as evidence of “foreign interference” in favor of independent candidate Calin Georgescu, according to a new report by the investigative portal snoop.ro.

14.01.2025 - 20:42 [ IntelliNews.com ]

Romanian liberals orchestrated Georgescu campaign funding, investigation reveals

(December 22, 2024)

Russia was accused of interfering in Romania’s November 24 presidential election that saw far-right and pro-Russian outsider Calin Georgescu storm to a shock first round victory. But an investigation by the tax authorities has exonerated the Kremlin and revealed the highly effective TikTok campaign was funded by the liberal, pro-EU National Liberal Party (PNL) in an effort to knock out a rival in a plan that badly backfired.

01.01.2025 - 12:05 [ TruthOut.org ]

UN Expert Urges Medical Boycott of Israel After It Detains Hospital Director

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese called on the medical community to act on Monday, as reports emerged that Israeli forces are holding the head of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Hussam Abu Safiya, at a torture camp for Palestinian detainees that’s notorious for its brutality.

I urge medical professionals worldwide to pursue the severance of all ties with Israel as a concrete way to forcefully denounce Israel’s full destruction of the Palestinian healthcare system in Gaza, a critical tool of its ongoing genocide,” Albanese said.

01.01.2025 - 10:40 [ NewArab.com ]

Doctors launch campaign calling for release of Gaza hospital director Hussam Abu Safiya

Hundreds of medical professionals are using the hashtag #FreeDrHussamAbuSafiyeh to decry Israel‘s capture and detention of him as well as calling for Israel to be held accountable for attacks on hospital facilities and medics.

31.10.2024 - 09:35 [ Forbes ]

Trump Rally Speaker Tony Hinchcliffe Calls Puerto Rico ‘Floating Island Of Garbage’—Campaign, GOP Lawmakers React

(Oct 28, 2024)

Hinchcliffe—a roast comic who hosts the podcast “Kill Tony”—opened Sunday’s rally as one of many speakers before Trump, and said: “There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”

The remark was met with uncertainty by the crowd, leading Hinchcliffe to laugh and say, “okay, we’re getting there, again, normally I don’t follow the national anthem.”

Trump campaign senior advisor Daniella Alvarez said in a statement to Forbes following the rally the “joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”

27.08.2024 - 19:32 [ New York Times ]

Donald Trump plans to name Robert Kennedy and Tulsi Gabbard as honorary co-chairs of his transition team.

Donald J. Trump plans to name his former rival, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Tulsi Gabbard, a one-time Democrat, as honorary co-chairs of a presidential transition team that will help him select the policies and personnel of any second Trump administration, according to a campaign senior adviser.

Mr. Kennedy, who ended his independent campaign for president and endorsed Mr. Trump on Friday, described his transition role briefly in an interview that aired Monday.

27.08.2024 - 19:17 [ Fox News ]

Trump adds RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard to his transition team as he recruits supporters ‚across partisan lines‘

„As President Trumps’s broad coalition of supporters and endorsers expands across partisan lines, we are proud that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard have been added to the Trump/Vance Transition team,“ Trump campaign senior advisor Brian Hughes told Fox News Digital.

27.04.2024 - 11:30 [ Middle East Eye ]

Biden campaign refuses invitation to address US Muslim voter advocacy groups

In addition to Biden‘s campaign, the coalition said that the campaign for former US President Donald Trump also refused the invitation.

18.04.2024 - 19:10 [ Mojeek.com ]

Gaza, no fly zone

(search results)

31.03.2024 - 21:20 [ USA Today ]

Gaza protesters dim the glitz and glamour of Biden‘s Obama-Clinton fundraiser in NYC

A leading New York pro-Palestinian group, Within Our Lifetime, was among those organizing protestors, billed as the “Flood Manhattan For Gaza” rally.

The group issued a call to supporters ahead of the fundraiser, writing on X: “GENOCIDE JOE HAS GOT TO GO! Protesting genocide Joe, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton outside their democratic fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall!“

31.03.2024 - 21:15 [ Bloomberg ]

Biden Says Arab States Ready to Recognize Israel in Future Deal

Biden’s comments came during a discussion with his fellow presidents at a star-studded fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall in New York intended to display Democratic party unity ahead of a general-election rematch with Republican Donald Trump. The presidents, though, were interrupted at least four times by pro-Palestinian protesters, highlighting the tensions within the party over Biden’s handling of Israel’s war with Hamas and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

26.03.2024 - 19:41 [ Kennedy24.com ]

Ballot Access HQ

Your dedication and hard work will put RFK Jr. in the White House as the first independent president since George Washington. The national revitalization that he leads from office will tremendously improve millions of lives at home and around the world. You’ll forever own a piece of that change in your heart and carry it with pride. And you’ll make great friends along the way.

26.03.2024 - 19:36 [ Politico.com ]

55 Things You Need to Know About Nicole Shanahan

Raised on welfare in a single-parent household in Oakland, California, the daughter of a Chinese immigrant, Shanahan went from a successful career as a patent lawyer and entrepreneur to marrying into uber-wealth after meeting Google co-founder Sergey Brin at a yoga festival. The two divorced in 2022, amid reports that she had had an affair with Brin’s friend and fellow tech titan, Elon Musk. (Shanahan and Musk deny the allegations.)

Like so many others who have amassed a fortune from the tech sector, Shanahan has become a philanthropic force but also a political player.

26.03.2024 - 19:30 [ ABC7News.com ]

LIVE: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to announce VP pick for independent presidential campaign

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to announce Bay Area attorney and entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan as his running mate Tuesday, The New York Times reported, citing two people close to the campaign.

The move will accelerate Kennedy‘s attempt to gain ballot access in as many states as possible.

18.02.2024 - 04:00 [ Freedom of the Press Foundation ]

Tell the Biden administration to drop the Assange case now

The U.S. Department of Justice claims that Assange broke the law by receiving classified documents from a source, speaking with that source, possessing the documents, and publishing some of them. In other words, things journalists at news outlets around the country do every day.

If Assange is convicted under the Espionage Act, there will be nothing to stop the government from prosecuting other journalists who publish government secrets.

Take action to protect press freedom: Tell the Biden administration to drop the Assange case now.

10.02.2024 - 12:00 [ Kennedy24.com ]

Ballot Access HQ

Your dedication and hard work will put RFK Jr. in the White House as the first independent president since George Washington. The national revitalization that he leads from office will tremendously improve millions of lives at home and around the world. You’ll forever own a piece of that change in your heart and carry it with pride. And you’ll make great friends along the way.

10.02.2024 - 11:46 [ Robert F. Kennedy Jr / Twitter ]

Do you want to challenge the duopoly and shatter the glass ceiling for Independent candidates in this country? This video explains the process of how we‘re going to get on the ballot in all 50 states. It also teaches you how to become an expert petitioner. Let‘s make history.

07.02.2024 - 21:40 [ Craig Murray / Twitter ]

The British Government attempts to hide the Assange extradition appeal – a „public hearing“ – behind a baroque set of Kafkaesque rules. My latest article on the latest government stitch-up.

https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2024/02/state-secrecy-and-public-hearings-part-one/

07.02.2024 - 21:20 [ Free Assange - #FreeAssange / Twitter ]

Day X is here: the last chance in the British courts to stop Julian Assange’s extradition Protest to defend a free press. Tuesday 20 February and Wednesday 21 February Time: 8.30am

Place: Royal Courts of Justice, the Strand, London WC2A 2LL (nearest tubes Holborn and Temple)
Click here to register your attendance:
actionnetwork.org/events/day…
Your donations are greatly appreciated as we prepare for Day X. Click here to donate to the cause: freeassange.org/donate/
#FreeAssangeNOW

05.02.2024 - 19:15 [ Kennedy24.com ]

Ballot Access HQ

Your dedication and hard work will put RFK Jr. in the White House as the first independent president since George Washington. The national revitalization that he leads from office will tremendously improve millions of lives at home and around the world. You’ll forever own a piece of that change in your heart and carry it with pride. And you’ll make great friends along the way.

01.02.2024 - 21:30 [ ANSWER Coalition / Twitter ]

BREAKING: Months of organizing result in a victorious vote for a ceasefire in Chicago! Chicago is the largest U.S. city to vote in favor of a ceasefire resolution

16.01.2024 - 22:00 [ Kennedy24.com ]

Ballot Access HQ

Welcome to the Team Kennedy Ballot Access HQ. Below, you‘ll find the information and tools you need to ensure RFK Jr is on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

06.01.2024 - 06:07 [ Kennedy24.com ]

Ballot Access HQ

Welcome to the Team Kennedy Ballot Access HQ. Below, you‘ll find the information and tools you need to ensure RFK Jr is on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

06.01.2024 - 05:43 [ Stefanie Spear, Press secretary for @RobertKennedyJr presidential campaign / Twitterr ]

It‘s official! @RobertKennedyJr is on the Utah ballot! We’re ready for whatever comes our way. We have the field teams, volunteers, legal teams, paid circulators, supporters, and strategy ready to get the job done. One down, 50 to go.

(03.01.2024)

02.10.2023 - 08:49 [ Al Jazeera ]

Serbia denies US, EU reports of military build-up along Kosovo border

Serbia has denied reports of a military build-up along the border with Kosovo, alleging a “campaign of lies” against his country in the wake of a shootout a week earlier that killed four people and fuelled tensions in the volatile Balkan region.

“A campaign of lies … has been launched against our Serbia,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in a video posted on Instagram on Sunday.

26.09.2023 - 01:09 [ BBC ]

Poland no longer supplying weapons to Ukraine amid grain row

(22.09.2023)

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Poland‘s focus was instead on defending itself with more modern weapons.

But the country‘s president later said the comments had been misinterpreted in the „worst possible way“.

Andrzej Duda said it was only new Polish weapons that would not be sent.

26.09.2023 - 00:45 [ Washington Post ]

The grain spat threatening to wipe out goodwill between Poland and Ukraine

The center-right opposition bloc known as the Civic Platform polled at 26 percent in the same survey, while the far-right Confederation party reached 10 percent. That would potentially give Confederation, which refuses to enter a coalition with either major party, the power to spoil negotiations for a new government.

26.09.2023 - 00:25 [ Juan Palma / Twitter ]

Ukraine grain imports become key issue in Poland election campaign – The Washington Post

15.09.2023 - 06:46 [ Washington Post ]

Double blow of inquiry and son’s indictment create tough stretch for Biden

On Thursday, Biden’s son Hunter was indicted on charges of making false statements and illegally possessing a handgun, paving the way for a criminal trial that could unfold as Biden pursues reelection. That came two days after House Republicans opened a formal impeachment inquiry centered on whether the president benefited from his son’s business dealings, although they have produced little, if any, evidence to that effect.

17.08.2023 - 19:11 [ Haaretz ]

Rising GOP Presidential Candidate Calls to End U.S. Military Aid to Israel as Part of Mideast Normalization

“So our commitments have, I think, $38 billion in aid, military support, etc. going in through 2028,” he noted, referring to the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries in 2016 pledging Israel $3.8 billion a year from 2019 through 2028. “I want to get Israel to the place where it is negotiated back into the infrastructure of the rest of the Middle East. We should not be worried about holding one nation or one region hostage over one particular question relating to Palestine,” he said.

21.06.2023 - 13:55 [ Republicans for Kennedy / Twitter ]

Unlike Sanders, Kennedy has real appeal to both sides of the aisle. It’s why he polls favorable at 49%, higher than both Trump and Biden. And 30% unfavorable some 22-23 points lower than Biden and Trump.

21.06.2023 - 13:50 [ New York Times ]

Why Robert Kennedy Jr.’s 2024 Bid Is a Headache for Biden

“Mr. Kennedy is the one person who has the qualities that can bring about the unity that most Americans are hungering for,” Mr. Kucinich said. “He speaks a language of conciliation and compassion.”

Besides fund-raising efforts, the Biden campaign has not had much of a public presence since its formal rollout in April. Top officials have spent time in recent days in Wilmington, Del., shopping for office space for a campaign headquarters that is expected to open in July, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The campaign, which has just a few employees on its payroll, is expected to add more staff members once its offices open.

21.06.2023 - 13:45 [ theHill.com ]

Hunter Biden bombshell shakes up 2024 race

The news comes as Republicans have used Hunter Biden to attack President Biden over the course of his administration. Hunter Biden has been under investigation for tax matters going back to 2018. The development is also sure to shake up the presidential race, putting the president on defense from Republican attacks on the matter.

The 2024 Republican presidential primary contenders were quick to respond to the news, with many of them claiming that the plea deal was evidence of a double-standard.

12.06.2023 - 10:38 [ Kennedy24.com ]

I support RFK, Jr.

You are the grassroots! Let‘s show the mainstream the power of a popular uprising to reclaim American democracy.

12.06.2023 - 10:22 [ Robert F. Kennedy Jr / Twitter ]

Join me in unraveling the corrupt corporate control of our government. For too long, politicians have sold out American interests to the highest bidder. I am running against moneyed interests and need your help. Please make a contribution today at kennedy24.com/donate + share this video with your friends and family. Let’s take back our country!

06.06.2023 - 10:45 [ Kennedy24.com ]

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. — Running on Truth

“We’re going to do a mass experiment, a new kind of mass experiment of what happens when you tell the people the truth.”

„My mission over the next 18 months of this campaign, and throughout my Presidency, will be to end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power that is threatening now to impose a new kind of corporate feudalism on our country…to poison our children and our people with chemicals and pharmaceutical drugs, to strip mine our assets, to hollow out the middle class, and keep us in a constant state of war.”

27.04.2023 - 18:25 [ CPO Magazine ]

Citing Privacy Concerns, WhatsApp, Signal Wage Media Campaign Against UK Online Safety Bill

(April 25, 2023)

WhatsApp and Signal, two of the largest privacy-focused messaging apps, have joined forces to petition against the United Kingdom’s proposed Online Safety Bill due to privacy concerns. They are accompanied in this effort by several other smaller privacy apps, such as Viber and Wire, who have signed on to an open letter directed to UK legislators.

28.02.2023 - 11:38 [ Barbara Lee / LA Times ]

Op-Ed: Three days after 9/11, I was the lone vote in Congress against war

(Sept. 13, 2021)

My vote against the 2001 military force authorization remains the most difficult vote I’ve cast in my career in Congress. But I knew the last thing the country needed was to rush into war after 9/11, or ever, without proper deliberation by the people — represented by Congress — as the Constitution intended.

My father was a retired Army lieutenant colonel who fought in World War II and Korea. He was the first person who called me after that lonely vote. He reminded me that we should never send our troops into harm’s way without a clear plan, objective and exit strategy. Instead, we were asked to approve an authorization that gave the executive branch a blank check to carry out global war in perpetuity.

28.02.2023 - 11:18 [ postnewsgroup.com ]

Rep. Barbara Lee Joins Competitive Race to Replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein

(February 25, 2023)

Both Porter and Schiff, like Lee, have progressive voting records. Both Democratic competitors have already amassed tens of millions of dollars, respectively, in campaign donations. Their early fundraising places them in a stronger position than Lee to win the 2024 Democratic primary which will be held about a year from now.

28.02.2023 - 11:14 [ CNBC.com ]

Dianne Feinstein, 89, won’t seek re-election, opening up a California Senate seat in 2024

(Feb 14, 2023)

Feinstein, who at 89 is the oldest sitting U.S. senator and the longest-serving senator from her state, said she intends to “accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends.”

“Even with a divided Congress, we can still pass bills that will improve lives,” Feinstein said in a statement.

28.02.2023 - 11:11 [ San Francisco Standard ]

Guess How Much Money Feinstein’s Reelection Campaign Has Raised So Far

(Feb. 06, 2023)

Senator Dianne Feinstein has reported a mere $558 in contributions to her 2024 reelection campaign last quarter, raising new questions about her readiness for a reelection bid.

15.02.2023 - 21:38 [ theGuardian.com ]

‚Team Jorge‘ unmasked: the secret disinformation team who distort reality – video

A covert team of Israeli contractors who claim to have manipulated more than 30 elections around the world using hacking, sabotage and automated disinformation on social media have been exposed in a new investigation. The unit is run by Tal Hanan, a former Israeli special forces operative who now works privately using the pseudonym ‚Jorge‘. In more than six hours of secretly recorded meetings, Hanan and his team explained how they could gather intelligence on rivals, including by using hacking methods to access Gmail and Telegram accounts

15.02.2023 - 09:34 [ theGuardian.com ]

Revealed: the hacking and disinformation team meddling in elections

The investigation reveals extraordinary details about how disinformation is being weaponised by Team Jorge, which runs a private service offering to covertly meddle in elections without a trace. The group also works for corporate clients.

Hanan told the undercover reporters that his services, which others describe as “black ops”, were available to intelligence agencies, political campaigns and private companies that wanted to secretly manipulate public opinion. He said they had been used across Africa, South and Central America, the US and Europe.

15.02.2023 - 09:13 [ Haaretz ]

Hacking, Extortion, Election Interference: These Are the Tools Used by Israel‘s Agents of Chaos and Manipulation

Team Jorge, this investigation believes, works with a residential proxy provider, in order to provide its avatars with local digital identities in the form of real IPs that cannot be found by social media sites.

Team Jorge also seems to work with a cellular provider that serves AIMS in a similar manner, likely giving avatars their local numbers and supplying the infrastructure needed to grant them SMS verification.

The deliberately misleading technical infrastructure also serves to hide such actors. The process creates another layer of plausible deniability between, in this case, Team Jorge, the client and the campaign’s content, and helps them further mask the truth. Or, as Hanan put it in one presentation: „My signal is from Indonesia, the WhatsApp from Hong Kong, Telegram from Germany. And none of them are my numbers.“

15.02.2023 - 08:12 [ Haaretz ]

The Israelis Destabilizing Democracy and Disrupting Elections Worldwide

From a small office building, a group of Israelis is spreading global disruption

04.12.2022 - 20:05 [ Matt Taibi / Nitter ]

1. Thread: THE TWITTER FILES

(03.12.2022)

2. What you’re about to read is the first installment in a series, based upon thousands of internal documents obtained by sources at Twitter.

3. The “Twitter Files” tell an incredible story from inside one of the world’s largest and most influential social media platforms. It is a Frankensteinian tale of a human-built mechanism grown out the control of its designer.

04.12.2022 - 19:47 [ Matt Taibi / Substack.com ]

Note to Readers

(Dec 2, 2022)

Those of you who’ve been here for years know how seriously I take my obligation to this site’s subscribers. On this one occasion, I’m going to have to simply ask you to trust me. As it happens, there may be a few more big surprises coming, and those will be here on Substack. And there will be room here to to discuss this, too, in time. In any case, thanks for your support and your patience, and please hold me to a promise to make all this up to you, and then som

25.11.2022 - 07:25 [ theHill.com ]

Biden mulls 2024 plans as Democrats weigh generational shift

For Biden, coming off a stronger-than-expected midterm result for Democrats is sure to factor heavily in the decision, along with the potential for a rematch against former President Trump. And while the White House has insisted for months Biden plans to run again, the president has left the door open to making a final decision after discussing with family during the holidays.

07.11.2022 - 05:11 [ PollTracker / Nitter ]

2024 National Democratic Primary Poll, Without Biden: Harris 25% Clinton 17%

(…)

07.11.2022 - 04:04 [ theHill.com ]

White House raises eyebrows with midterm strategy

One strategist dubbed the decision to keep Biden out of the hot spots as the “do no harm” strategy. It’s a reminder that Biden is energizing GOP voters, and that his faltering poll numbers are a drag on many Democratic candidates.

06.11.2022 - 10:53 [ USA Today ]

The political universe of Pennsylvania: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Barack Obama pay visits

The Oz-Fetterman race could decide whether Republicans or Democrats control the U.S. Senate; Pennsylvania will also go a long way toward determining the presidential winner in 2024, just as it fueled the victories of Obama, Trump, and Biden.

05.11.2022 - 11:24 [ Fox News ]

Pennsylvania Senate race: Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz takes lead over Democrat John Fetterman in new poll

On Nov. 3, RealClearPolitics scored Oz’s support at 46.6%, while Fetterman’s post-debate support continues to fall, now to 46.3%; a difference well within the margin of error.

The lead is Oz’s first as he has trailed since the candidates won their respective primary elections in May 2022. Fetterman once held an 8.7-point lead over Oz in Aug., when Oz had just 39% support.

05.11.2022 - 11:14 [ CNN ]

Three presidents descend on Pennsylvania in a major day for one of the nation‘s most closely watched Senate contests

For President Joe Biden, who will hold a rare joint appearance with former President Barack Obama in Philadelphia meant to boost the Democratic candidate Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, Pennsylvania will amount to a political stress test in his home state, where he‘s traveled 20 times since taking office.

For former President Donald Trump, who rallies outside of Pittsburgh in the city of Latrobe, a win by his hand-selected candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz could prove his own enduring viability in a commonwealth he lost by a narrow margin in 2020.

30.10.2022 - 17:22 [ stopscanningme.eu ]

Stop scanning me!

In 2022, European lawmakers proposed new rules with the noble intent to protect children. However, this law allows authorities to have anyone‘s legitimate conversations monitored.

In doing so, it harms everyone, including those it wants to protect. No one can be protected by making the internet less secure.

The EU must empower people to develop themselves, connect and organise for now and for future generations. If we work together, we can protect children whilst upholding confidentiality and security online.

27.10.2022 - 02:53 [ Communist Party of Israel ]

MK Odeh: The Right’s Only Hope for Victory is To Suppress Arab Votes

The Hadash and Ta’al list led by Knesset members Ayman Odeh and Ahmed Tibi, released a new election campaign video urging the Arab public to vote in the elections in order to stop the right-wing parties’ intention to carry out a new Nakba.

26.10.2022 - 06:16 [ Spectator.co.uk ]

The lockdown files: Rishi Sunak on what we weren’t told

(27 August 2022)

Lockdown – closing schools and much of the economy while sending the police after people who sat on park benches – was the most draconian policy introduced in peacetime. No. 10 wanted to present it as ‘following the science’ rather than a political decision, and this had implications for the wiring of government decision-making. It meant elevating Sage, a sprawling group of scientific advisers, into a committee that had the power to decide whether the country would lock down or not. There was no socioeconomic equivalent to Sage; no forum where other questions would be asked.

So whoever wrote the minutes for the Sage meetings – condensing its discussions into guidance for government – would set the policy of the nation. No one, not even cabinet members, would know how these decisions were reached.

26.10.2022 - 06:09 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

Rishi Sunak is just the start. The great lockdown scandal is about to unravel

(25.08.2022)

For some time, I’ve been trying to persuade Rishi Sunak to go on the record about what really happened in lockdown. Only a handful of people really know what took place then, because most ministers – including members of the Cabinet – were kept in the dark. Government was often reduced to a “quad” of ministers deciding on Britain’s future and the then chancellor of the exchequer was one of them. I’d heard rumours that Sunak was horrified at much of what he saw, but was keeping quiet. In which case, lessons would never be learnt.

His speaking out now confirms much of what many suspected. That the culture of fear, seen in the Orwellian advertising campaign that sought to terrify the country, applied inside Government.

06.10.2022 - 13:55 [ MiddleEastMonitor.com ]

Lieberman accuses Netanyahu of using Nazi propaganda methods

(12.09.2022)

Lieberman accuses Netanyahu of being behind claims made by Yossi Kamisa, a former aide, that the finance minister had commissioned him to kill a police superintendent 20 years ago.

„It is a blood libel,“ Lieberman said yesterday. „These are Netanyahu‘s methods, exactly like those of Goebbels and Stalin, to make the most severe, absurd accusation and repeat it a million times until people get used to the absurdity.“

06.10.2022 - 13:49 [ MiddleEastEye.net ]

Israel elections: Humdrum campaign lit up by murder-plot claims, battle for Russian votes

(09.09.2022)

The criminal aspect of those allegations will be looked into by Attorney-General Gali Baharv-Miara. The political dimension of this horror story, less than 60 days before Israelis vote, is part of a much broader phenomenon: a tug of war between Benjamin Netanyahu and Lieberman over the „Russian“ vote.

No wonder Lieberman‘s first reaction to the allegations, even before he filed a criminal complaint against Kamisa, was a Facebook post entitled „Netanyahu is in panic“, not only denying all allegations but also mainly insinuating that the former prime minister is behind the affair. He posted in Hebrew, for all Israeli readers.

23.09.2022 - 04:03 [ Axios.com ]

Israeli Prime Minister Lapid backs two-state solution in UN speech

Why it matters: It‘s the first time Lapid as prime minister has given a speech backing a two-state solution. Lapid made clear that the establishment of a Palestinian state must have security arrangements for Israel.

It‘s also the first time since 2017 that an Israeli prime minister has publicly expressed support for a two-state solution.
Flashback: Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed support for the two-state solution in a speech in May 2009.

04.09.2022 - 09:44 [ theGuardian.com ]

The more Tory voters see of Liz Truss, the less they like her, polls show

The latest polling by Opinium for the Observer shows that whereas 49% of people who voted Tory in 2019 had believed Truss “looks like a prime minister in waiting” at the beginning of August, this had dropped to just 31% by 30 August.

Similarly while 55% said she was competent at the start of August, this had dropped to 35% among 2019 Tory voters by the end of the month. And while 52% of the same voters thought she was likeable at the start of August, only 31% felt that way by the end of the month.

04.09.2022 - 09:36 [ Independent.co.uk ]

Tory MPs warn Liz Truss ‘don’t lurch to the right’ amid fears of ‘Thatcher tribute government’

Conservative MPs have warned Liz Truss not to lurch the government to the right if, as expected, she triumphs over her rival Rishi Sunak and becomes prime minister next week.

Tory MPs cautioned that the new Conservative leader must not abandon the centre ground or surround herself with an inner circle of right-wing allies now that a general election is looming.

03.09.2022 - 17:36 [ Spectator.co.uk/ ]

Is Liz Truss the British Trump?

If you are a right-wing MP or ambitious wonk on the Truss campaign ‘pivot’ is such a useful word. Far better to say ‘we need to pivot from campaign mode to governing mode,’ than to blurt out that ‘now we have their votes we can forget the lies we told to win over Conservative members’. Far better for Truss herself to say, ‘I am pivoting from my previous position on tax cuts’ to ‘I admit that I was wrong’.

Pivoting calls to mind the elegance of a ballerina turning on her points. Not the cynicism of a politician breaking promises she made only a few days before.

03.09.2022 - 16:54 [ Spectator.com.au/ ]

Why didn’t more people resist lockdown?

As it will take years for culpable parties to retire, I once feared that a full generation would need to elapse before we recognised lockdowns for what they were: the biggest public health debacle in history. Yet everywhere I turn lately, still another journalist is decrying the avoidable social, medical and economic costs of this hysterical over-reaction to a virus, while deriding lockdown zealots for having vilified sceptics of a policy that may well end up killing more people than it protected. The Covid revisionism is welcome – though it’s a good deal easier to publish these opinion pieces now than it was two years ago, and I speak from experience.

03.09.2022 - 16:34 [ Spectator.co.uk ]

The lockdown files: Rishi Sunak on what we weren’t told

(27 August 2022)

Lockdown – closing schools and much of the economy while sending the police after people who sat on park benches – was the most draconian policy introduced in peacetime. No. 10 wanted to present it as ‘following the science’ rather than a political decision, and this had implications for the wiring of government decision-making. It meant elevating Sage, a sprawling group of scientific advisers, into a committee that had the power to decide whether the country would lock down or not. There was no socioeconomic equivalent to Sage; no forum where other questions would be asked.

So whoever wrote the minutes for the Sage meetings – condensing its discussions into guidance for government – would set the policy of the nation. No one, not even cabinet members, would know how these decisions were reached.

03.09.2022 - 16:13 [ theArgus.co.uk ]

Empowering Sage scientists over Covid lockdown left us ‘screwed’, claims Sunak

The meetings were “literally me around that table, just fighting”, which “was incredibly uncomfortable every single time”.

At one meeting he raised the impact on children’s education: “I was very emotional about it. I was like, ‘Forget about the economy. Surely we can all agree that kids not being in school is a major nightmare’, or something like that.

“There was a big silence afterwards. It was the first time someone had said it. I was so furious.”

Setting out the problems he found with Government policy being influenced by outside academics, he said: “If you empower all these independent people, you’re screwed.”

03.09.2022 - 16:05 [ GBnews.uk ]

Rishi Sunak says he wasn‘t ‚allowed to talk about the side effects of lockdown‘ during the pandemic

Mr Sunak said one of the Government’s biggest mistakes was giving too much power to scientists and claimed the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) edited its minutes to hide dissenting opinions.

The former chancellor made the statements in an interview with the Spectator magazine.

“We shouldn’t have empowered the scientists in the way we did,” he is quoted as saying.