Thousands have gathered at the iconic Brandenburg Gate, which is located in the heart of Berlin, near the country’s parliament building, the Bundestag. Protesters held signs reading “Wake Up,”“Free Speech,” and “For Enlightenment. Peace and Freedom.”
One person carried a banner with the words “Merkel must go, democracy must stay!” referring to Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Barricades were set up to prevent protesters from getting too close to the Bundestag. The police were filmed detaining several people.
Officers complained that some demonstrators were violating Covid-19 restrictions by not wearing masks, and warned that “the use of water cannon cannot be ruled out” if they had to disperse the crowd.
Water cannons were later deployed when protesters refused to leave.
Officials had previously rejected a dozen applications to rally outside the parliament building. In a letter to MPs obtained by the media, the police warned about possible “attacks” on the Bundestag. There were attempts to break into the building during a similar demonstration in August.
Lawmakers are expected to pass a bill on Wednesday that would write a long list of concrete quarantine measures, such as mask-wearing and social distancing rules, into the country’s existing law on protection from infections.
The government argues that the change is necessary if there is to be a robust response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Critics say the bill was put forward in a rushed manner and would give the government too much power in regulating the lives of ordinary people.
Germany has been living under a month-long nationwide lockdown since November 2. People are being encouraged to stay home, restaurants and bars remain closed, and public meetings are limited to just two households of up to 10 people in total.
The tougher measures were introduced in response to the growing coronavirus infection rate.
....Comparisons to Hitler and Enabling Act
The government’s proposal has caused concern among politicians and the public. People compared it to the Enabling Act, an amendment to the constitution that was passed in 1933 and gave Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist Party absolute power over Germany. Essentially, Hitler was able to issue laws without the consent of the parliament.
"Laws of the Reich may also be enacted by the government of the Reich… Laws enacted by the government of the Reich may deviate from the constitution…" read the Enabling Act.
The protesters claimed that the amendments to the law in question will expand the powers of Chancellor Angela Merkel and her cabinet. The amendments approved by the parliament do transfer some powers from the legislative branch to the executive branch, the government. However, all of the coronavirus decrees issued by the government will be temporary and expire after four weeks.
Lawmakers from the Alternative for Deutschland party (AfD) have repeatedly claimed the amendments will give Merkel’s government dictatorial powers, drawing a parallel to the Enabling Act.
These comparisons prompted another debate on whether it is appropriate to compare the two.
Commenting on the Infection Protection Act, Andreas Wirsching, director of the Institute of Contemporary History in Munich, said that it is not a trivial matter when the government is given a legal basis to restrict some of the basic rights mentioned in the German constitution.
The comparison to the Enabling Act caused shock among some members of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), as back in 1933 members of the party were the only legislators who voted against Hitler's proposed amendment. Because of this, some MPs were persecuted and arrested.
"It must be possible to demonstrate and to criticise. But tolerance cannot go so far as to accept that the infection protection law is being equated with the beginning of the Nazi dictatorship, with the Enabling Act of 1933”, said Helge Lindh, a member of the SPD.
https://sputniknews.com/europe/202011181081204288-german-parliament-adopts-amendments-to-law-on-protection-against-infections-amid-covid-protests-/
FRANCE
French police unleash tear gas
& water cannons at protests
against new draconian
‘Comprehensive Security Law’
18 November, 2020
There were violent clashes across France as thousands took to the streets in protest against a controversial proposed all-encompassing “global security law” which would criminalize filming police activity in certain circumstances.
The proposed legislation, currently being debated by the French parliament, seeks to criminalize photographing or filming the police with intent to cause harm. It would also reportedly give more autonomy to local police, arm more officers nationwide and expand the use of surveillance drones in high-crime areas.
Video shared online purports to show journalists being detained at Tuesday’s nationwide protests, which grew increasingly violent as the day wore on.
Thousands of citizens attended protests in numerous cities across the country, including some 400 people in Rennes; an estimated 700 protesters in Lyon and 1,300 people in Toulouse; Up to 800 people, including a local councillor who lost a hand during a yellow vest protest in 2018, attended a march in Bordeaux and an 800-strong protest was held in Grenoble.
The draft bill would make it Illegal to “disseminate, by whatever means and on whatever medium, with the aim of damaging physical or psychological integrity, the image of the face or any other element of identification of an official of the national police or a member of the national gendarmerie when they are acting in the context of a police operation.”
Protests held in Paris were particularly violent, with tear gas and water cannon deployed to disperse the crowds.
Footage also purported to show fleeing protesters, soaked by water cannon and suffering the effects of tear gas, trapped on a metro.
Penalties of up to one year in prison and a €45,000 fine are being considered alongside the new proposed legislation, backed by President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling La République En Marche party.
The law's co-author Jean-Michel Fauvergue, a former chief of France’s elite RAID police unit, dismissed claims the law would provide immunity for police abuse, saying “in no way does this stop journalists from working.”
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin claimed the proposed legislation is necessary to “protect those who protect us,” but rights groups and journalists’ unions say the bill is ripe for abuse and dangerously open to errant interpretation.
Amnesty and Reporters Without Borders argue that the proposed law in its current form contains vague and poorly-defined terms, including the concept of “intent” behind the publication of images or videos on social media or via news sites, which would be open to abuse from authorities.
An open letter signed by journalists across France calls for more consultation and claims that there is already sufficient protection for authorities in place.
The UN Human Rights Council also warned against the proposal, saying it was open to abuse and “could discourage, even punish those who could supply elements of potential human rights violations by law enforcement, and provide a sort of immunity.”
https://www.rt.com/op-ed/507013-france-bans-police-photos/
DENMARK
A law in Denmark that would have given authorities the power to forcibly inject people with a coronavirus vaccine has been abandoned after nine days of public protests.
The ‘epidemic law’ would have handed the Danish government the power to enact mandatory quarantine measures against anyone infected with a dangerous disease, but it was the part about vaccinations that caused the biggest uproar.
“The Danish Health Authority would be able to define groups of people who must be vaccinated in order to contain and eliminate a dangerous disease,” reports the Local.
“People who refuse the above can – in some situations – be coerced through
With a coronavirus vaccine within sight, governments across the world are mulling over what punitive measures to bring against those who refuse to take it.
Last week we highlighted how both Ticketmaster and airline companies are considering barring people from entering venues and flying if they cannot prove they have taken the vaccine.
So while public protests may be able to prevent authorities carrying out forced vaccinations, people who refuse to take the shot may find it virtually impossible to enjoy any kind of social life, use public transport, or even find employment.
https://summit.news/2020/11/16/forced-vaccination-law-in-denmark-abandoned-after-public-protests/
A Danish study questions if masks protect users, but the NY Times says they have to be worn anyhow.
Abstract
Background:
Observational evidence suggests that mask wearing mitigates transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is uncertain if this observed association arises through protection of uninfected wearers (protective effect), via reduced transmission from infected mask wearers (source control), or both.
https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-6817
How the NY Times spins this.
Researchers in Denmark reported on Wednesday that surgical masks did not protect the wearers against infection with the coronavirus in a large randomized clinical trial. But the findings conflict with those from a number of other studies, experts said, and is not likely to alter public health recommendations in the United States.
The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, did not contradict growing evidence that masks can prevent transmission of the virus from wearer to others. But the conclusion is at odds with the view that masks also protect the wearers — a position endorsed just last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/18/health/coronavirus-masks-denmark.html
CYBER WARFARE AGAINST THE POPULATION
Cyberwar declared on the public to squash "vaccine hesitancy"
In just the past week, the national-security states of the U.S. and UK have discreetly let it be known that the cyber tools and online tactics previously designed for use in the post-9/11 “war on terror” are now being repurposed for use against information sources promoting “vaccine hesitancy” and information related to COVID-19 that runs counter to their state narratives.
A new cyber offensive was launched on Monday by the U.K.’s signal intelligence agency, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), which seeks to target websites that publish content deemed to be “propaganda” that raises concerns regarding state-sponsored COVID-19 vaccine development and the multinational pharmaceutical corporations involved.
Similar efforts are underway in the U.S., with the U.S. military recently funding a CIA-backed firm — stuffed with former counterterrorism officials who were behind the occupation of Iraq and the rise of the so-called Islamic State — to develop an AI algorithm aimed specifically at new websites promoting “suspected” disinformation related to the COVID-19 crisis and the U.S. military–led COVID-19 vaccination effort known as Operation Warp Speed.
Both countries are preparing to silence independent journalists who raise legitimate concerns over pharmaceutical industry corruption or the extreme secrecy surrounding state-sponsored COVID-19 vaccination efforts, now that Pfizer’s vaccine candidate is slated to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by month’s end.
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/cyber-war-declared-u-s-u-k-vaccine-hesitancy-prepare-mass-inoculations/
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