News Round-Up: 'Right-Wing' Farmers Protests, Post-Vaccine Myocarditis and the BBC's "Diverse" Recruitment Policy
Every week, the editorial team of Freedom Research compiles a round-up of news that caught our eye, or what felt like under-reported aspects of news deserving more attention.
Over the past week, the following topics attracted our attention:
Farmers' protests: a German fact-checking portal links them unjustifiably to the pro-Kremlin and far-right.
Germany is spending tens of millions of Euros to build bicycle paths in Peru: to fight climate change.
Study: myocarditis cases take an extraordinary leap after the introduction of Covid vaccines.
BBC recruitment policy: don't hire people who are 'dismissive' of 'diversity' and 'inclusion'.
Most US universities significantly restrict freedom of speech.
Farmers' protests: a German fact-checking portal links them unjustifiably to the pro-Kremlin and far-right
European farmers have been protesting for months. Demonstrations of varying degrees of intensity, which in some cases have turned into confrontations with the police, are taking place in Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Lithuania and other countries. Tractors block major roads, hay and manure are hauled onto the streets of state capitals, tyres are burnt, etc. For example, this week in Brussels, where European Union (EU) heads of state met at the same time, protesters lit large bonfires near the European Parliament, while police sprayed people with water.
Why are farmers protesting? The protests are mainly about rising production costs, the EU's 'Green Deal' policies, and worsening conditions of competition. Many farmers say they cannot make ends meet and therefore are forced out of business. In different countries, there are slightly different demands. For example, in Germany, one of the triggers for widespread protests was the government's plan to phase out fuel subsidies for farmers. Farmers in France and Romania, for example, have similar concerns. But there are also protests against cheaper products from third countries such as Ukraine, Chile, New Zealand or Russia, with which locals cannot compete. In addition, as part of its 'Net Zero' moves, the EU plans to halve, the use of pesticides and cut the use of fertilisers by a fifth by 2030, while increasing organic production to a quarter of total production. In addition, more land is to be taken out of agricultural production, also in line with climate targets. However, all this would mean a major loss of efficiency and a significant reduction in production.
Alongside this, protesters are sometimes accused in the media of being associated with far-right and 'pro-Kremlin' circles. The German "fact-checking" portal Correctiv published a story on Monday explaining that the protests were being exploited by right-wing extremists spreading conspiracy theories, while noting that all kinds of falsehoods were also being spread by the protest organisers themselves.
The article came to this conclusion by analysing messages posted in groups on the messenger app Telegram. The article notes that the protests are supported by circles that also protested against Covid restrictions and vaccine mandates. However, it also points to messages of support from far-right groups and pro-Kremlin ranks. One of the organisers of the protests, German farmers' activist Anthony Lee, is singled out. He too is accused of 'far-right' rhetoric and denying climate change. Mr Lee's 'extreme right-wing' lies in some anti-immigration rhetoric. Lee's example also leads the article to conclude that conspiracies and the spreading of misinformation therefore do not only come from the far-right, the Covid restrictions protesters and the pro-Kremlin circles, but also from the leaders of the protest movement. The article does not specify what kind of 'misinformation' or 'disinformation' it refers to.
There is nothing surprising in the fact that people protesting against the behaviour of the authorities are associated with or labelled as some uncanny movements. For example, the peaceful protests in Ottawa, Canada's capital, in early 2022, against the senseless Covid restrictions, were associated with the far-right, even though they were not. Although there were a few 'far-right' provocations that got wide media attention, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used this to call all the protesters a “fringe minority” with “unacceptable views”. He also accused his political opponents, the conservatives, who sympathised more with the protesters, of being in the same boat as people who wave swastikas. The bottom line is that those in power often use such labels as a PR technique to distract attention from the content of protests and to diminish their support among the wider population. However, as we pointed out in last week's news round-up, a Canadian court ruled that the use of the Emergencies Act to force the protesters out of Ottawa and to seize their bank accounts, was not justified.
Germany is spending tens of millions of Euros to build bicycle paths in Peru: to fight climate change
While farmers in Germany are protesting because the state wants to abolish the diesel subsidies to cover budget gaps, the German government is channelling taxpayers' money into building cycle paths in Peru – to fight climate change, Remix News reports. German opposition politicians have claimed that €350 million has already been invested in improving the South American country's cycling culture. Germany's social democrat development minister Svenja Schulze admitted that a significant amount of money has indeed been directed to Peru, but said the amount so far was less, standing at €44 million.
The minister stressed that Germany's participation in such initiatives is crucial, as using taxpayers' money to build cycle paths in Peru will help protect the climate. Most Germans believe that it is the responsibility of the state to play its part in solving global problems, be it climate policy or the fight against hunger, she said. According to her it is also important to aid poorer countries because it makes economic migrants choose Germany. "We need cooperation with other countries, including with the poorer countries. Because we rely on raw materials from these countries. We are increasingly dependent on skilled workers from such countries. And in order to be able to react better to refugee movements," Schulze said.
Study: myocarditis cases take an extraordinary leap after the introduction of Covid vaccines
According to a recent study, myocarditis reporting in the US Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) made a huge leap in 2021. In 2021, reports of myocarditis in VAERS were 223 times higher than the average of all vaccines combined for the past 30 years. This represented a 2500% increase in the absolute number of report when comparing historical values prior to 2021.
In 2021, when the mass introduction of Covid vaccines is known to have occurred, myocarditis is being recognised as one of the side effects of those vaccines. But the 'official talking point' in the media is that this is a rare, mild and transient problem.
In real fact, myocarditis is neither mild nor transient and even not rare after Covid-vaccinations, as this recent study shows. According to the study, myocarditis as an adverse reaction to the Covid vaccine was reported mostly in young people, particularly men. The majority of those reported required emergency medical treatment or hospitalisation, and incurred 92 deaths. However, the researchers also point out that it is a known fact that under-reporting of cases occurs in such reporting systems, with many doctors known to have refused to report adverse reactions to Covid vaccines at all. In this particular study, 31 times more cases were estimated to have occured than reported, as a replicate taken from a previous study. As of August 11, 2023, there were 3078 cases ooccurredvaccine myocarditis reported to VAERS, so this study suggests that there may have actually been over 95,000 cases in the United States.
Myocarditis was more likely after the second dose of the vaccine, and those under 30 years of age were more likely to develop the condition as a result of vaccination than those 30 years of age and older, according to the study. In other words, the researchers found a strong link between the Covid-19 vaccine and myocarditis, particularly in children and young adults.
It is worth bearing in mind, however, that Covid was never a life-threatening disease outside the risk group, and hence never justified nationswide vaccination campaigns and vaccine coercion. Pre-vaccination mortality was 0.0003% in the 0-19 age group, 0.003% in the 20-29 age group, 0.011% in the 30-39 age group, 0.035% in the 40-49 age group, 0.129% in the 50-59 age group and 0.501% in the 60-69 age group.
BBC recruitment policy: don't hire people who are 'dismissive' of 'diversity' and 'inclusion'
The BBC's recruitment policy states that it should not employ people who are perceived to have an exclusionary attitude towards so-called 'diversity' and 'inclusion' issues, reports The Telegraph.
The paper has access to the BBC's recruitment policy document used in a major non-editorial department of the BBC. The guidelines say candidates should explain what diversity and inclusion mean to them. It also asks candidates to explain how they would promote, celebrate, and encourage diversity and inclusion in their job if they are successful.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, which have been quite widely adopted in the West, are supposed to tackle discrimination. In practice, however, it is about putting together a team so that it is not the skills and suitability for the job that matter, but the race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc. of the person being recruited. Belonging to a minority or a supposedly oppressed group will always give an advantage in such a situation.
However, the BBC has even gone a step further in this case, as its recruitment guidelines explicitly state that candidates who reject and mock diversity, inclusion, and related issues are not suitable for the organisation. Managers are instructed not to offer employment to candidates who show a lack of interest in furthering their education in the area of diversity and inclusion unless they can provide evidence of education and understanding of the subject. The result, critics say, is that left-wing activists are setting the tone in the BBC, and conservative-minded people are no longer being hired. So in reality, it is not diversity that is being promoted, but being aligned with the given ideological ideas.
BBC declined to comment on this issue.
Most US universities significantly restrict freedom of speech
Only 12.9% of US universities do not have rules restricting free speech, according to an analysis by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), reports UnHerd. The foundation analysed a total of 489 American universities' rules or policies on freedom of expression and found that as many as 85% of the universities surveyed had them in place. While two-thirds of the universities had vague regulations restricting freedom of expression, the Foundation found that one-fifth had policies in place that clearly and substantially restricted freedom of expression. Eight schools do not allow freedom of expression at all. Thus, only 63 out of 489 universities had no restrictions on freedom of expression.
This is an analysis of written policies and does not take into account other measures that schools may take to restrict freedom of expression. Most of the written rules are aimed at combating bullying, harassment, and bias. They also aim at promoting civility, and controlling protests and demonstrations, according to the justifications. Schools also restrict students’ expression on social media and in the content of materials distributed on campus.
The restrictions apply to both professors and students. An earlier FIRE study, for example, found that between 2020 and 2022, the number of faculty members subjected to attempted punishment was 509. In the previous 20 years before 2020, it was 571 for the whole period.
Please answer a survey (if you fall under the criteria)!
A UK researcher would like to learn more about how the Covid measures in both the UK’s higher education and retail sector impacted their service provision for young adults (<40) during the period March 2020 – April 2021. This covers the first lockdown, second lockdown, and phased re-opening. Online surveys have been created for those who can spare a few minutes.
For parents of young adults in undergraduate Higher Education: https://forms.gle/L1mSZFKJVLwppUmY8
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Thank you!
You ought to issue a correction to your post. Myocardial infarction and myocarditis (the subject of the VAERS data) are distinct pathologies.