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'Very close to child abuse': Doctor attacks protest where parents force children to burn masks
March 07, 2021
Over the weekend a protest outside the Idaho state capitol drew groups of anti-maskers and "anti-vaxxers" some of whom turned their children over to a trashcan fire where they could burn their masks.
"No masks, no mandates. Our face, our mind," said one of the signs, according to photos and videos posted by Oregon Public Broadcasting reporter Sergio Olmos.
<p>The incident was so disturbing to one doctor that he compared it to child abuse. </p><p>"Anyone who has ever run in a race knows you don't walk across the finish line," said Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a CNN medical analyst. "You run across the finish line. That's what we have to do now. We've gotten to where we are now where we can legitimately look forward to putting this pandemic away finally because more people than ever have been wearing masks and socially distancing. And now getting vaccinated. And to see this sort of breakdown and the kind of things that have finally gotten us here is disappointing. I see people in the clinic every week with high blood pressure, high cholesterol. When their numbers get better, they ask if they can stop their medications. I say no, their numbers are better because they're on the medication. We're doing better because we're wearing masks. I look at the pictures of the kids wearing masks into that fire, to me, it looks very close to child abuse."</p><p>See the full discussion below: </p><p><br/></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">anti-mask protesters "very close to child abuse"</small>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKTQ6v5a-2Q" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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Conspiracy theorist says Biden White House is on a movie set — and he caused 'fake' Texas snowstorm
March 07, 2021
Conspiracy theories have grown in the past several years as Americans sit glued to social media sites that bring far-right conservatives together around siloed false news sites. But one woman has taken her conspiracies about President Joe Biden to TikToc to tell the world that they're all the ones who are stupid.
"So, I guess this needs to be said tooooooooo," she begins. "All you people who think Biden is the president, you guys cannot get no stupider, ok? He's not in the White House. It's closed down. He is on a movie set! You guys are so freaking ignorant that I just have to laugh and laugh! 'Cause you're not hurting my feelings. Never one time did Trump ever have to fake anything that he's done. Not one time! He don't fake s*it."
<p>She went on to say that people should "wake the f*ck up."</p><p>This isn't her first video to draw attention. In a previous video, she called on friends in the south to send her videos of the freezing storm that hit Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas that caused a disaster in the Lone Star State.</p><p>She explained that she'd seen videos online showing that people can light their snow on fire and that it burns black instead of melting. It's a well-known conspiracy that has circulated for years. In 2014, when a storm hit Georgia and much of the eastern United States, <a href="https://www.popsci.com/article/science/why-fake-snow-doesnt-melt-because-its-real/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">there were shocked people who couldn't understand</a> why the snow wasn't melting when they touched it.</p><p>The explanation for the reason this happens, <a href="https://boingboing.net/2014/02/03/conspiracy-theory-offers-great.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">according to an Astronomy.com expert</a>, is that the snow that melts goes back into the snowball instead of dripping out of the snowball. The scorch marks are from the butane chemical in the lighter. But that wasn't enough proof for the woman in the video.</p><p>It's unclear how Biden could be a "fake" president and also hurt Texas with fake snow as revenge for not supporting him for the presidency.</p><p>See her videos below::<br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="19075a3a7f7401fd386085fa6522e8a9" id="6d7db">
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<div style="margin:1em 0">Someone please come get your grandma https://t.co/HoRUpL8EIQ</div> — Fifty Shades of Whey (@Fifty Shades of Whey)
<a href="https://twitter.com/davenewworld_2/statuses/1368612559998382084">1615137636.0</a>
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</div><blockquote cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@crazy4fun72/video/6930322778289655046" class="tiktok-embed" data-video-id="6930322778289655046" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;"> <section> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@crazy4fun72" target="_blank" title="@crazy4fun72">@crazy4fun72</a> They are controlling the weather <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/pleaseshare" target="_blank" title="pleaseshare">##PleaseShare</a><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/f" target="_blank" title="f">##F</a>@@kbiden!!!! <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fakesnow" target="_blank" title="fakesnow">##FakeSnow</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/pleaseshare" target="_blank" title="pleaseshare">##PleaseShare</a><br/> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-6930322817686752006" target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - KingTrump72">♬ original sound - KingTrump72</a> </section> </blockquote> <script async="" src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script>
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A manatee with 'TRUMP' scraped into its back was itself disturbing. But it reflects a deeper environmental problem
March 07, 2021
Days after US rioters stormed Capitol Hill in January, a manatee was found in a Florida river with the word “TRUMP" scraped into its back. The aftermath of the disturbing incident revealed a pervasive left-right divide that has long plagued environmental debate.
Polarised views dominate discussion on critical issues such as climate crisis and biodiversity protection. Typically, the left calls for more environmental protections, and the right claims these protections threaten economic prosperity or individual rights.
The election of the Biden administration raised hopes of a new dawn in environmental protections. Our research, however, suggests entrenched left-right views will continue to stymie effective environmental action in the United States – just as they do in Australia.
That's because focusing on localised protections or individual rights leaves intact a cultural blind spot that conceals systemic issues threatening nature. Tackling these issues requires confronting environmental damage to which we all contribute.
The manatee incident
The Florida manatee is a large marine mammal, and one of the original species listed as endangered under the 1966 US Endangered Species Act. The animals are similar to dugongs found in Australia.
The January 11 manatee incident was quickly co-opted into the US political debate. Some on the left accused Trump supporters of inflicting the damage. Right-wing observers downplayed the seriousness of the incident and suggested claims of abuse were manufactured by the left out of hatred for Trump.
Others framed the incident as typical of stereotypes of Florida as home to reactionary politics and “trashy" culture.
It may be tempting to dismiss the incident as unique to the Trump era or Florida itself. But doing so risks ignoring important lessons. Our research shows how framing such events as political left-right issues prevents us from recognising the deeper causes of environmental crises.
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dugongs-looking-to-the-gentle-sea-creatures-past-may-guard-its-future-122902">Dugongs: looking to the gentle sea creature's past may guard its future</a>
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