Bomb destroys Dutch test centre, new US admin goes opaque: Links 1, March 3, 2021

1. Cases soar as Covid test centre hit by pipe bomb in The Netherlands

(Do you think the journalists smirked when they came up with the original headline?)

A BOMB explosion rocked a coronavirus testing centre in the Netherlands early today – weeks after anti-lockdown riots left the country reeling.

Police said a homemade device was deliberately placed in what appeared to be a “targeted attack” just before 7am local time.

The blast smashed windows at the regional health board testing centre in Bovenkarspel, in Noord Holland, shortly before it was due to open.

Only one security guard was on duty inside, and there were no reported injuries.

Broadcaster NOS said a metal pipe exploded outside the building.

Police spokesman Menno Hartenberg said they found the remains of a metal cylinder device about four inches in size, and it “must have been placed” there.

He said: “We don’t know yet exactly what exploded. The explosives experts must first investigate.

More links. The Netherlands Times, Dutch News.

2. U.N. Chief Guterres Orders Cancellation of All Global Coal Projects

(I guess the UN is ready to reveal themselves as the global politburo and Guterres as General Secretary of the United States of Earth, rather than as the lowly Secretary General of the United Nations, which everyone thinks he is)

Future global coal projects must be immediately cancelled to end the “deadly addiction” to fossil fuels by the close of the decade, the U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday.

Phasing out coal from the electricity sector is the single most important step to tackle the climate crisis, he said. Guterres’s call came at the opening of a virtual summit of the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA), a group of governments and businesses committed to ending coal burning for power. He said:

Today, I am calling on all governments, private companies and local authorities to take three steps.

First, cancel all global coal projects in the pipeline and end the deadly addiction to coal. Second, end the international financing of coal plants and … third, jump-start a global effort to finally organise a just transition [for coal industry workers], going plant by plant if necessary.”

The veteran Portuguese Socialist called the world’s reliance on coal a “deadly addiction” and appealed for ending international financing for coal and providing greater support to developing countries transitioning to renewable energy.

3. Nine protestors shot dead in Burma

(I wonder if this is why occasionally I see new regulations prohibiting the public from getting bullet resistant clothing. Gotta make sure those protestors can get killed)

4. Taiwan ramps up missile tests to coincide with Chinese military exercises that seem suspiciously to be dress rehearsals for an attack on Taiwan.

5. Mall of Scandinavia enjoys some ringside cultural enrichment

Thank you Richard, C., Hellequin GB., M., ML., Yucki, ET., Rich Jones, Kalloi, Michelle, dswami and all who contributed to this site in any way today.

At least we can celebrate the consistency of the Biden admin for using terms across the board in the same way.

We know how they use the term, “Racism” along with dozens of other words. So its refreshing to see them be consistent with their transparency.

Dying In Darkness: Biden STILL Won’t Publish Schedule, Visitor Logs, Nor Hold A Presser… Deletes White House Comments And Petitions Pages.

Six weeks into the Biden regime, Joe’s professed commitment to truth and transparency continues to wane, with the President of the United States failing to hold a press conference, refusing to publish his schedule, hiding visitor logs from the public, and deleting the White House pages for comments and public petitions. Cynics might say that democracy is currently dying in darkness.

In press secretary Jen Psaki’s first press briefing, she told reporters that the Biden presidency heralded a commitment “to bring transparency and truth back to the government; to share the truth, even when it’s hard to hear.”

But with the new guy installed, transparency in the White House has left… something to be desired.

The schedules of the President and Vice President are not currently publicly released. President Joe Biden hasn’t held a news conference of his own (only brief, tightly-controlled press availabilities with supporting acts), and the White House website does not list petitions submitted by citizens. Even the comment line is shut down.