Sydney suburbs facing tougher restrictions as NSW lockdown extension confirmed

Thousands of Sydney residents have been warned even tougher restrictions could be on the way after the Greater Sydney lockdown was extended.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned that restrictions could be tightened even further for more than 100 Sydney suburbs, after confirming the Greater Sydney lockdown would be extended until midnight on July 16.

Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool LGAs have been identified as areas seeing a concerning rise in Covid-19 cases, with Ms Berejiklian warning residents could have their movements restricted even further if transmission continues.

“At the moment, obviously, we have broad rules as to why people are allowed to leave the house and allowed to exercise, but if we need to, Health may provide advice on further restriction of movement in those communities,” she said.

Health authorities have noticed a clear transfer of Covid-19 between linked households in these LGAs, showing residents have been going against the lockdown rules to visit other homes.

After announcing today’s 27 new cases, the Premier foreshadowed that tomorrow’s figures would be even higher, with new cases concentrated in those three LGAs.

This is where Australia’s Covid-19 outbreak stands: NSW has 357 cases, Queensland has 34 cases, the Northern Territory has 10 cases, Western Australia has six cases and South Australia has six cases.

https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/australia/live-breaking-news/live-coverage/1421fdf85e3c6a143e00b16fd60a6f40

Fire at industrial site in Botany triggers hundreds of triple zero calls

A huge fire at an industrial site in Sydney's south east has triggered hundreds of triple zero calls from concerned nearby residents.

The fire – which has since been extinguished – was burning inside the Botany Industrial Park and could be seen from neighbouring suburbs such as Kensington and Maroubra and even as far as Centennial Park.

Although the flames may have looked concerning, the blaze was deliberately lit and is a standard practice.

It does not pose any danger to the community, NSW Fire and Rescue said.

"An industrial site has activated its safety systems. Excess gas is being burnt off through a stack, creating a large flame and black smoke," NSW Fire and Rescue said.

"(The fire) may be visible for some distance. Fire and Rescue NSW is aware of the situation."

https://www.9news.com.au/national/fire-at-industrial-site-botany-south-east-sydney-triggers-hundreds-of-triple-zero-calls/512d0bf8-218f-44b1-9bcd-4e3734b2814d

Pressed For Answers On Syria Cover-Up, OPCW Chief Offers New Lies And Excuses

Facing growing outcry, OPCW Director General Fernando Arias went before the UN and told new falsehoods about his organization’s Syria cover-up scandal — along with more disingenuous excuses to avoid addressing it.

Part one of two. Watch Aaron Maté and Piers Robinson discuss this article on Pushback.

In the two years since the censorship of a Syria chemical weapons investigation was exposed, the head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Fernando Arias, has vigorously resisted accountability.

Arias has refused to investigate or explain the extensive manipulation of the OPCW’s probe of an alleged April 2018 chlorine attack in Douma. Rather than answer calls to meet with the veteran inspectors who protested the deception, Arias has disparaged them. The OPCW Director General (DG) has even resorted to feigning ignorance about the scandal, recently claiming that “I don’t know why” the organization’s final report on Douma “was contested.”

Facing growing pressure to address the cover-up – most prominently in a “Statement of Concern” from 28 notable signatories, including five former senior OPCW officials – Arias came before the United Nations Security Council on June 3rd to answer questions in open session for the first time.

In a nod to the public outcry, Arias backtracked from a previous statement that the Douma controversy could not be revisited. But while appearing to suggest that the investigation could be reopened, Arias offered more falsehoods about the scandal, and new disingenuous excuses to avoid addressing it.

This two-part report summarizes Arias’ latest evasions and distortions, which include the following:

• Rejecting proposals for resolving the Douma controvery, Arias invoked restrictions that do not appear to exist. Arias falsely claimed that the OPCW’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) has “no authority” to examine the suppressed Douma evidence. Arias also claimed that he personally has “no authority whatsoever to reopen this investigation,” even though the OPCW’s regulations contain no such limits.

• To discredit the vast quantity of work that was done for the investigation’s original report, which found no evidence of a chlorine attack, Arias falsely stated that the “bulk” of analysis was conducted after its chief author was no longer involved. To advance this falsehood, Arias cited a fabricated figure.

• Arias tacitly retracted a previous false claim that no state has challenged the Douma report’s conclusions. But instead of acknowledging that prior falsehood, he replaced it with a new one.

• Arias did not answer direct questions about the documented scientific fraud in the Douma probe, and how he plans to address it. The DG ignored a question from the Russian delegation about why the Final Report omitted the conclusions of NATO member state toxicologists who ruled out chlorine gas as the cause of death. And for the third time, Arias did not respond to a question asking whether he will agree to meet with the dissenting inspectors.

More

https://thegrayzone.com/2021/07/02/pressed-for-answers-on-syria-cover-up-opcw-chief-offers-new-lies-and-excuses/

CDC Insists Benefits Of mRNA Vaccines Still "Clearly Outweigh" Risks Of Dangerous Side Effects

With a new round of data out of Israel seemingly confirming what we have been reporting for weeks now, fresh questions are emerging about the efficacy of the mRNA vaccines (those produced by Pfizer and Moderna) and whether they're truly 90%+ effective, as advertised.

As the number of confirmed COVID cases topped 184MM, the Israeli health ministry shared preliminary data appearing to confirm that these vaccines are less effective at preventing infection via the Delta variant. Although the data must still be peer reviewed, the Israelis went so far as to proclaim that the true efficacy number is closer to 64%. To be sure, the vaccines continue to mostly prevent severe infection and death (though they're only 93% effective at this, less than the 100% number initially touted by their corporate parents).

Now, with President Joe Biden publicly addressing the administration's ongoing effort to combat COVID as case numbers continue to creep higher in the US, the CDC has chimed in - right on cue - to remind the world that the benefits of everybody taking the vaccine still far outweigh the risks posed by the rare (but sometimes deadly) side effects that have now also been documented.

As we reported, the FDA now recognizes that the rare heart inflammation seen in some patients, including members of the military, have been linked to mRNA vaccines. So, with criticism and skepticism directed at the US-made vaccines mounting, the CDC on Tuesday tried its hand at a little damage control.

Per Bloomberg:

The benefits of messenger RNA Covid-19 vaccines clearly outweigh the risks despite heart complications seen in a relatively small number of mostly young men, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Roughly 1,200 cases of myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart wall, were reported in people who received mRNA vaccines, the CDC said in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on Tuesday. But with about 296 million doses of mRNA vaccines having been administered as of June 11, the benefit is clear in all populations, including adolescents and young adults, the researchers reported.

For the Biden Administration, the stakes have never been higher. COVID cases are rising, and many are blaming Southern and western states with lower vaccination rates as a potential vulnerability that could ignite another wave of COVID

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/cdc-insists-benefits-mrna-vaccines-still-clearly-outweigh-risks-dangerous-side-effects

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/cdc-insists-benefits-mrna-vaccines-still-clearly-outweigh-risks-dangerous-side-effects

‘We make our laws’: Leader of Poland’s ruling party hits back at Israeli criticism of draft WWII Jewish property bill

The head of Poland’s ruling party has rejected criticism from Israel over a controversial new draft bill passed by Polish lawmakers concerning the return of Jewish property after World War II.

Poland’s large Jewish community was almost completely eradicated during WWII as the German Nazi Party organized the massacre of around six million European Jews in the Holocaust.

Many Poles, including Jews, had their property seized, some of which happened during the war, but much of it took place in the decades of communism that followed.

In June, Poland’s parliament gave its backing to a new bill which introduces a 30-year statute of limitations for property restitution claims.

The draft law has been heavily criticized for allegedly making it more difficult for Jews to recover former assets, including by Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who branded it “a disgrace.”

The leader of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, responded to Lapid’s remarks, calling them “unacceptable” in an interview with Polish weekly Gazeta Polska published on Tuesday.

“Firstly, we make our laws ourselves, and secondly, we owe nothing to anyone,” he said. The interview is due to be published in full on Wednesday.

Neither the Israeli government nor Lapid have responded to Kaczynski’s comments.

The draft legislation still needs to be passed by Poland’s upper house of parliament for it to become law. It comes after a 2015 ruling by the Polish Constitutional Tribunal calling for the establishment of a deadline after which unsound administrative decisions in claims against the state can no longer be challenged.

https://www.rt.com/news/528512-poland-kaczynski-criticizes-israel-law-comments/