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the-record-columns · 4 years

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Dec. 4, 2019: Columns

A cook book including a couple of recipes for life…

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

Through the good offices of Ben Lane of Wilkesboro, I now have in my possession a fascinating relic from 1946.

No, not Ben, but a fairly well preserved copy of the North Wilkesboro Woman's Club Cook Book. The Woman's Club was established in 1920 and has been a fixture in North Wilkesboro ever since. The cook book had recipes from the members and I am sure some others as well. For me, having grown up on North Wilkesboro in the 50’s, many of the names were familiar.

Some of the ladies who had recipes in the book were folks I delivered the Greensboro Daily News to as an 11-year-old boy. Of them, one of my favorites was Mrs. Fred Hethcock. The Hethcock's were a retired couple who lived on 6th Street in North Wilkesboro, just down the hill a bit and across the street from one of my other favorites, Carl W. Steele. When I would go by on Saturdays to collect my 45 cents for the previous week’s paper, Mrs. Hethcock would always invite me into her kitchen and give me a glass of sweet tea—a treat like no other. She would let me sit at her table and I remember she put lots of lemon in the tea the way I liked it. Her recipe in the cook book was for shrimp sauce.

Another name I saw in the cook book was Mrs. William Marlow, Mary. I was fortunate enough to get to know Bill and Mary Marlow through my association with the Lions Club of North Wilkesboro, and later, as a neighbor down the street from them. They were just the kind of people you are thankful to have known and I can remember my daughter, Jordan, remarking about Mrs. Marlow's wonderful cookies, and the fact that the Marlow's always bought whatever stuff the school system had the kids out selling without complaint. Mary Marlow had her recipe for Dream Bars in the cook book, which I have personally been lucky enough to have enjoyed. I have also had many opportunities to speak with Mary, who had an accent I won't try to describe, except to say it was a wonderful Southern voice which was perfect for the stately lady she was.

There were lots of other familiar names in the cook book, Mrs. W.K. Sturdivant, Madge; Mrs. A.B. Johnston, Ruby; Mrs. Hoyle Hutchens, Virginia; Mrs. Maurice Walsh, Sina; Mrs. Jack Brame, Virginia; just to name a few.

However, it is the two nuggets in the boxes I want to call your attention to. They both caught me completely off guard and I was very pleased to see them. The first is just past the title page and is called "Club Sandwiches," and the second was in the Pickles and Preserves section and is entitled "How to Preserve A Husband."

These gals obviously knew their way around life, as well as the kitchen.

Club Sandwiches

A very special recipe from page 2 of the 1946 North Wilkesboro Woman's Club Cook Book

Take 80 club women, well seasoned by the experience of living--these should be firm, yet tender. Mix well with equal parts of faith and hope. Sprinkle in the spirit of service and add a dash of pep. Stir in a heaping cup of tolerance, and let stand until all arguments have dissolved and the mixture has cooled. Spread between two slices of courage with all crusts removed and wrap in a cloth dampened with the milk of human kindness. This recipe will serve the entire community.

How To Preserve A Husband

Interestingly enough, this piece was in the "Pickles and Preserves" section of the cook book.

Be careful in your selection. Don't choose too young, and take only such as have been reared in good moral atmosphere. Do not go to market for him, as the best are always brought to your door. When once decided upon and selected, let that part remain forever settled and give your entire thought to the preparation for domestic use. Some insist in keeping them in a pickle, while others are constantly getting them in hot water. This only makes them sour, hard and sometimes bitter. Even poor varieties may be made sweet, tender and good by garnishing them with patience, well sweetened with smiles, flavored with kisses to taste. Then wrap them in a mantle of charity; keep warm with a steady fire of domestic devotion, and serve with peaches and cream. When thus prepared, they will keep for years.

‘In A World Where You Can Be Anything, Be Kind’

By HEATHER DEAN

Record Reporter

Note: This was not my planned topic this week but I have many friends either struggling with the loss, or caregivers dealing with serious ailments of loved ones, and wanted to rerun this column from a few years back to remind us all to be kind, and be present.

Tis the season… All the hustle and bustle, rushing here and there, making sure everything is perfect for the gatherings that are getting ready to happen. We sing holly jolly songs, take the kids to see Santa, make plans to see family out of town, and eat enough goodies to stuff a reindeer. We giggle and snort about tacky sweater parties, and maybe we roll our eyes at those that don't share the enthusiasm of the holiday; maybe even muttering "Scrooge" or "Grinch" under our breath.

But…maybe they have lost their joy for a very valid reason. It's hard sometimes to see the melancholy, past all the glitter and lights. For many people, this is a horrid time of year; reflecting on who won't be home for holidays, especially if it’s the first one without them.

I would like to share with you a song that my friend Brian Brown penned about his daughter, who was the poster child for Christmas, if ever there was one. .She was named "Bria", after her father, was the only daughter, and the baby of the family. Bria suffered from asthma, but that never stopped her from enjoying all things Christmas- singing, playing in the snow, all the fun kid stuff. It was after all, her favorite holiday.

Bria died in February 2015, after suffering an acute asthma attack at the age of 14. Christmas was never the same for Brian and his wife, or the rest of the family.

My Christmas is Gone

Hard to see the blinking lights

Tough to see the twinkling stars

Hearing them bells ring

just opens up all the scars

Happy families holding hands

humming holiday tunes

I'm Scrooge in the corner

wishing it was June

CHORUS

Please don't happy me this

Please don't merry me that

Cause my Christmas is gone

It ain't coming back

Even if Santa's sleigh landed right here

I'd step right over them reindeer tracks he knows my Christmas is gone...it ain't coming back

Yeah my Christmas is gone

It ain't coming back

This was her time of year

Loved decorating the tree

Singing those old Christmas songs; come adore on bended knee.

Everytime the snow fell

Bundling up to go outside

Fingers went numb

From the snowball fights

CHORUS

I got no more silent nights

No more decking the halls

Every day's now to be the same

Behind these four blank walls

There might be joy to the world

It just hasn't found me

My soul's laid bare

As Charlie Brown's Christmas tree

CHORUS

Brian wrote this song, "to find a way out of the dark pit of self pity while still embracing the sadness that is so important for healing.”

So while you’re out there, take a moment to make eye contact with people.

Be aware.

Try to be the comfort in another’s holiday grief.

If you are the one grieving, know you are not alone.

HOTLINE 800-273-TALK (8255)

Israel - The U.S. security net

By AMBASSADOR EARL COX and KATHLEEN COX

Special to The Record

Those who wrongly consider Israel as "illegal occupiers" of land deeded to her by God Himself, are woefully failing to accept the truth which, in plain language, means a Middle East without Israel would be nothing more than a region filled with overwhelming violence and chaos.

In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip hoping to receive peace in return. It did not happen. Prior to 2005, Israel vacated a significant portion of Judea and Samaria leaving the West Bank, which includes the Golan Heights, in the hands of Palestinian Arabs who, with the support of Iran, Turkey and North Korea, turned the area into a giant launching pad for missiles and terrorist attacks threatening Israel and every pro-US Arab regime in the region.

In 1967, Israel seized the strategically significant Golan Heights from Syria in a defensive war - a war which she did not instigate. Israel was again attacked by her hostile Arab neighbors without any provocation whatsoever. In only six days and against seemingly impossible odds, Israel emerged the victor. She successfully defended her land and her citizens and even gained land in the process.

Israel's presence on the mountain tops and ridges and in the Golan Heights serves as a sort of security policy for Jordan and others who are friendly to the United States. Having Israeli troops in the Golan is also a kind of security safety net for the U.S. negating the need to send U.S. troops to patrol the Golan Heights as unrest and war rage in Syria, as Iran continues to spread it tentacles in Lebanon and Syria with ambitions to control the land all the way to the Mediterranean Sea, as Turkey's president sets his sights on Syria with expansionist intentions, and as Russia continues to expand its presence in Syria, Lebanon and any other place in the Middle East where there is the slightest opening or where leadership is weak.

Controlling the Golan Heights is important not only to Israel but also to the entire world. Damascus, Syria is less than 50 miles from the Golan. In the Middle East, Damascus is the center for the proliferation of global terrorism and drug trafficking. You might remember that Damascus welcomed Nazi war criminals who fled Germany and Poland following WWII.

Keeping Israel in control of the Golan Heights is essential to maintaining stability in the region. Anyone who thinks otherwise is simply not thinking. Israel's presence is one of deterrence from which the United States, and the world in general, greatly benefits.

It’s a Carolinas Heritage Christmas

By CARL WHITE

Life in the Carolinas

We have been busy elves working on our new Christmas Special.

The 2019 theme is A Carolinas Heritage Christmas. We have been filming on location in historic Gold Hill.

The people of Gold Hill kick off the Holiday celebrations with an annual event they call “The Lighting of the Fall Fires.” The event is always the Saturday before Thanksgiving and is held rain or shine. This year it rained, but that did not seem to dampen the sprits of the attendees.

When people arrive, they exchange their tickets for a bag of gold nuggets (painted gold that is). Once they have their nuggets in hand, they board a trolley that takes guests to their choice of three stops. The nuggets can be exchanged for various food offerings throughout the village.

I met a fellow at the Brunswick Stew station. He so loved the stew that he used three nuggets for three servings. He said it was the best he had ever eaten. Then we met a lady at the chicken and dumpling station who was in line for the second time. She said it brought back great memories.

The village was filled with all sorts of music for people to enjoy as they went from place to place. It was a friendly event with all the charm you might imagine.

Vivian Hopkins at the E. H. Montgomery General Store provided great assistance in our production as well as sharing a look into life in the village. The Montgomery is a popular location during the Holidays and throughout the year with weekly Friday Night Bluegrass gatherings.

There were three fires. We were on location with three cameras at the largest fire when it was set ablaze. As the fire was set, I chatted with Darrius Hedrick and John Yelton who have been part of the event from the very beginning,19 years ago. Darrius said that the event transitions us into the Holiday season. John, now in his 90’s, said we need to be thinking about what we can be thankful for.

We were enjoying our chat as the fire grew, so much so that Darrius looked at me and said with a calm smile, “We better move back a bit before my pants melt.” I suppose I was so caught up in the moment that I did not notice that the ground around us was starting to steam from the mist in the air and the growing heat of the blaze.

It was great talking with Darrius and John as they were both involved in making the Gold Hill Village what it is today. Naturally, there are many people involved; however, at that moment I became very aware that “The Lighting of the Fall Fires” is much more than an event to raise money and awareness for the Gold Hill Historic Preservation Society; it is a celebration of the fact that Gold Hill has significant Carolina history and, most importantly, it stands today as the Historic Gold Hill Village and provides a glimpse into our past and comfort for our future.

We will be back in Gold Hill for more filming during the “Christmas in the Village” celebration which is always the first full weekend in December.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas Season! Let’s make some new friends and traditions this year and if we do maybe depression will not be in our stockings during the upcoming months.

Carl White is the executive producer and host of the award-winning syndicated TV show Carl White’s Life In the Carolinas. The weekly show is now in its eleventh year of syndication. For more on the show visit www.lifeinthecarolinas.com and join the free weekly email list. It’s a great way to keep up with the show and things going on in the Carolinas. You can email Carl White at [email protected].

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biofunmy · 5 years

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‘I am done with the undercover work’

From mayors to mutants, your new fall TV and streaming obsessions are right here. USA TODAY

Sacha Baron Cohen is done going undercover.

Instead, he’s playing Israel’s most famous spy.

“I am done with the undercover work,” says Cohen, in an interview this week. The English actor’s character-driven comedies – which often doubled as political satire – spanned films (2006’s “Borat,” 2009’s “Brüno,” 2012’s “The Dictator”) and TV shows (HBO’s” Da Ali G Show,” Showtime’s “Who Is America”).

But those prankster-driven passion projects, which had Cohen interviewing everyone from Sarah Palin to O.J. Simpson, took a toll on the 47-year-old actor, who has three children with actress wife Isla Fisher. ‘It’s incredibly consuming in every aspect,” he says. “It’s draining, it can be dangerous. It’s often unrewarding. You’re living a fairly miserable life. Obviously, when you produce good stuff, then it’s rewarding in the end. But the process itself is not fun.”

Friday, Cohen ditches his comedy roots for “The Spy,” a chilling six-episode Netflix series created by Gideon Raff (“Homeland”). Cohen plays real-life Mossad agent Eli Cohen, who went undercover in Syria in the 1960s as a wealthy businessman who swiftly climbed the political ranks. (Despite sharing a last name, the late spy and Jewish actor, whose mother was born in Israel, are not related.)

Sacha Baron Cohen says going undercover in comedic roles helped prep him for “The Spy”: “I was never risking my life but I could imagine the stakes of an interview or an encounter going wrong.” (Photo: David Lukacs, Netflix)

Memorable Sacha Baron Cohen moments: From Borat’s mankini to the Ryan Seacrest ash-dumping

Over six years, the real Mossad agent provided intelligence to Israeli forces that helped stop Syria’s burgeoning nuclear program, ultimately helping Israel prevail in 1967’s critical Six-Day War. But it also required living apart from his young family, eventually resulting in his capture and public hanging.

“I see Eli Cohen as perhaps the greatest character actor of the past century, because he stayed in character for many years. I think he puts Daniel Day-Lewis to shame,” says Cohen, whose family had a copy of a book about him, “Our Man in Damascus,” on its London bookshelf. Cohen took the Netflix role six months after his own father passed away.

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Cohen, who previously dabbled in dramatic roles from “Les Miserables” to “Hugo,” says he was not wholly unprepared to play an at-risk spy.

Going undercover in his comedic characters, “if I make a mistake, if there’s a tell, the interview has ended and the subject walks out. And there can be worse repercussions: The rodeo in “Borat” or the cage fight in “Brüno” – had people seen through it, the results could have been quite violent,” he says.

“I was never risking my life, but I could imagine the stakes of an interview or an encounter going wrong. A lot of what I do when I’m in character is I am trying to read the other person…Which obviously Eli was doing as well.”

In “The Spy,” Sacha Baron Cohen plays real-life Mossad agent Eli Cohen, who went undercover for six years in Syria and provided crucial intel to Israeli forces. (Photo: Axel Decis, Netflix)

In “The Spy,” Cohen builds such a rich double life as a fat-cat Syrian businessman that he struggles when returning to his humble life with wife Nadia in Israel.

In his own life, Cohen says he sheds his characters easily. “It can be a matter of seconds at the end of the shoot day,” he says, though playing Brüno, the Austrian fashionista, gave off a bit of PTSD for months after the 2009 film wrapped. “Whenever I heard a police siren, I experienced a little bit of anxiousness because I was so used to the police coming to arrest me.”

Cohen remains invested in politics, though he calls “The Spy” a story about “three-dimensional people, rather than (just) enemies and heroes.”

On the Moroccan set, Cohen quizzed cast members, including Arab Muslims, Palestinian Arabs, Israeli Arabs and African Muslims, on whether they felt the script was biased, and engaged in casual conversations about political solutions in the Middle East.

Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher married in 2010. They have three children. (Photo: Jon Kopaloff, Getty Images)

But publicly, Cohen is keeping his cards closer to his chest. Despite the looming 2020 election and his native country agonizing over Brexit, he has no plans to add his voice, comedically or otherwise.

“I’m still very frustrated about the news, and there are still things I read that worry me deeply or get me angry,” says Cohen, who will next play activist Abbie Hoffman in Aaron Sorkin’s ‘Trial of the Chicago 7.’

“‘Who is America?’ was a way to do something personally. I had to make that show to deal with the stress of what was going on with the country at the time. Whenever I do these things, I don’t know if anyone will ever agree with me, or find it remotely interesting or even funny. But they are often projects that I feel compelled to do.” He pauses. “We shall see.”

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stretchjournalemerson · 5 years

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Everything is Politics: The Role of the Essay and the Democratization of Media

By Eitan Miller and Kathleen Grillo Hilton Als, author of The Best American Essays, opens up a conversation about stories from magazines, journals, and websites. In his introduction he says, “But the essays of the future start with questions, generally political in nature, and if you don’t think so, think again” (Als xxviii). The term “political” is a broad one. While obviously some essays discuss overtly political issues, we believe that Als is describing a greater phenomenon. “Politics” shape a person’s life and the questions they ask. Als writes that essays are “generally political,” but beyond that, all essays have some basis in politics.

Apart from the simple partisanship of left vs. right, politics is the basis for life in any society. The way that society is governed and its freedoms or restrictions create individuals’ identity and shape their being. The political background of a given country shapes the writing an individual can create. In her essay From Silence to Words, Min-Zhan Lu describes her complex relationship with writing, language, and identity given her experiences in communist China and learning English. Lu directly analyzes how the politics of her country shaped her writing and thinking. She uses language, a key factor in anyone’s life, to exemplify the split world she lived in. The politics of the world she grew up in directly affected her everyday life as a child and what she wrote as an adult. This revelation affects all of us, not just those who grew up in communist China. American “democracy” shapes our lives in more ways than we could possibly know and creates the foundation on which our writing stands.

Hilton Als’s essay was possible solely because of the politics surrounding his life. As Als grew, he utilized experiences from his childhood when writing books that started a conversation about societal issues such as gender, race, sexuality, and identity. This essentially made his books contact zones where he brought issues to light in order to educate and inform those unaware of their position within those issues. As Pratt defines it, a contact zone is a “social space[ ] where cultures meet, clash, and grapple” (Pratt 34). The politics of Als’ life, defined as the way his mind was formed by the governmental structures and influences he grew up with, shaped what he wrote. As with Lu, who talked about language, a large part of what she thought about language came from the politics of her country. Als was born into a country that shunned him for his race, his sexuality, and his size. And so, the essays Als wrote focused on these issues. All writers, whether they write academically or personally, touch on subjects that matter to them and that they have encountered at some point in their life. Where they grow up, who they grow up with, and what ideals they grow up with shape what writers want to speak about. Famous essayist Joan Didion is known for her narrative memoir-style essays and novels. She wrote about various topics that impacted her life, as all authors do. Her life, as described in Goodbye to All That, includes moving halfway across the world by herself to becoming one of the top journalists in her field. This is undoubtedly linked to the politics of her society. Although implicitly, Didion wrote about feminism as Lu wrote about language and Als wrote about racism. They grew up in different circumstances, different times and places, and this is reflected in their essays. The politics of their life, whatever they may look like, continued to influence their work well into adulthood.

Like the other authors, Noam Chomsky was greatly influenced by the politics of his life. In a biography, Christian Garland describes Chomsky: “Chomsky continues to be an unapologetic critic of both American foreign policy and its ambitions for geopolitical hegemony and the neoliberal turn of global capitalism, which he identifies in terms of class warfare waged from above against the needs and interests of the great majority” (Garland). However, Chomsky’s primary work is as a linguist. Furthermore, his essay Prospects for Survival describes the limited chance that the human race will survive for an extended period of time. On the surface, this is a scientific and logical argument given the history of other species, but Chomsky describes the role of politics in the imminent destruction of the human race. He writes about nuclear war and climate change, both political issues, as shaping the human experience or eventually lack thereof. His experiences, as shaped by US politics and the political linguistic dominance of the English language, shaped his ideas, prompting his various essays.

Clearly, essays, while diverse in content, all ask questions and are based in politics. But, there are many ways that discussion can be staged. A relatively recent development is the “video essay,” a form where the creator can present an amalgamation of pictures and videos with a narrated analysis that is generally targeted towards a YouTube audience. This medium is particularly effective when discussing visual matters such as TV and movies because the viewer can witness the pertinent content. In the TED Talk below, a YouTuber who goes by the alias of “Nerdwriter” describes how video essays impacted the genre of the modern essay. Watch specifically from 5:05 to 7:26, though the entire talk is fascinating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ald6Lc5TSk8

Evan Puschak (Nerdwriter) touches on the fact that video essays, in addition to being a convenient method of intertwining various types of media, are far more democratic than “traditional” forms of the essay. Platforms like YouTube allow users to reward and share good content, making information and analysis accessible to all people with Internet access. This democratization of the essay in its various forms is an important development, arguably the most important development of the modern essay. Even other forms of digitally shared essays share this democratization, taking power away from a “moderator” and putting it in the hands of the people. Accessibility is key to any successful essay because essays are meant to be read.

In his book The Best American Essays, Als writes, “Of course [the essays will] be made up of many things including questions, images, and gestures” (Als xxviii). The essay itself is hard to define. From the point of view of a high schooler taking AP courses, the essay consists of five straightforward paragraphs. However, the essay has many different forms. Academic essays written by the authors of this piece include How the Korean Wave Is Crashing Over America by Kathleen Grillo to Alternative Oppression: A Look at the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict by Eitan Miller. These works look at a variety of social and political issues such as race and religion through the lens of media, and are very clearly “political.” On the other hand, essays like those styled after the works of Joan Didion and the authors of this piece have a more narrative style. It may appear that these “essays” are contrary to the definition provided by Als. Didion, as well as our essays styled after her, is not outrightly political. However, they both still find a basis in politics. Didion’s works bring in issues of feminism and the effects a particular geographic location has on a person. Issues of equality and how society is constructed are based in the politics behind the author's life. Would Didion’s essays be the same if she grew up in a communist country? The essays we wrote in her style, though independent, both describe the transition from high school to college. For each of us, we find ourselves thriving in college more than high school. And although not directly stated in either essay, it asks the questions: Why are colleges, especially high tuition institutions, better for individual growth than high school? What is the effect of education on a person’s life? How do money and the government play into the education a person receives?

Clearly, politics shape society, society shapes the self, and the self expresses ideas through writing. Logically, essays have to be based in politics. Authors are raised with implicit biases that come from the people that surround them, including the politics of the world they grow up in. And when authors write, they carry those biases within their writing. Even if they’re not choosing a side overtly, what they choose to write about is a bias in itself. Als used the stereotypes and prejudices he faced growing up in his writing. Lu struggled with a family life and country that was split, and reflected her struggles through language. Didion discussed the challenges she met as a woman moving from home and back. All authors were born into a certain political circumstance. And, while politics is most commonly viewed in direct relation to the government of a country, the power of politics is so broad that it seeps into everything. Even our most basic thoughts are founded with a certain political ideology. Because of this, it is impossible to say that essays are not based in politics. So what is written, no matter who writes it, when they write it, or where they write it, all comes down to politics.

Works Cited

Als, Hilton. The Best American Essays 2018. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018.

Brockes, Emma. “Hilton Als: 'I Had This Terrible Need to Confess, and I Still Do It. It's a Bid to Be Loved'.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 2 Feb. 2018,

Chomsky, Noam. “Prospects for Survival.” The Massachusetts Review, 2017, pp. 621-634. www.massreview.org/sites/default/files/06_58.4Chomsky.pdf.

Didion, Joan. Slouching towards Bethlehem: Essays. Picador Modern Classics, 2017.

Garland, Christian. “Noam Chomsky.” The Decline of the Democratic Ideal, chomsky.info/2009____-2/.

Grillo, Kathleen. How the Korean Wave Is Crashing Over America, Intro to College Writing WR-101-13, Emerson College, 21 Nov. 2018.

Lu, Min-Zhan. "From Silence to Words: Writing as Struggle." 1987. College English 49(4): 437-448.

Miller, Eitan. Alternative Oppression: A Look at the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, Intro to CollegeWriting WR-101-13, Emerson College, 21 Nov. 2018.

Pratt, Mary Louise. “Arts of the Contact Zone.” Profession 1991. New York: Modern Language Association P, 1991: 33-40.

Puschak, Evan. “How YouTube Changed the Essay.” TEDxTalks, uploaded 9 Jun. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ald6Lc5TSk8.

#politics #art #multimedia #language #essay #eitan miller #kathleen grillo #stretch2019

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diarrheaworldstarhiphop · 7 years

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For a British boy to be killed by a grenade attack anywhere is appalling, but for it to happen in a suburb of Gothenburg should shatter a few illusions about Sweden. Last week’s murder of eight-year-old Yuusuf Warsame fits a pattern that Swedes have come slowly to recognise over the years. He was from Birmingham, visiting relatives, and was caught up in what Swedish police believe is a gang war within the Somali community. Last year, a four-year-old girl was killed by a car bomb outside Gothenburg, another apparent victim of gang violence.

For years, Sweden has regarded itself as a ‘humanitarian superpower’ — making its mark on the world not by fighting wars but by offering shelter to war’s victims. Refugees have arrived here in extraordinary numbers. Over the past 15 years, some 650,000 asylum-seekers made their way to Sweden. Of the 163,000 who arrived last year, 32,000 were granted asylum. Sweden accepts more refugees in proportion to size of population than any other nation in the developed world — when it comes to offering shelter, no one does it better. But when it comes to integrating those we take in (or finding the extra housing, schools and healthcare needed for them), we don’t do so well.

It may be news to the rest of the world, but gang warfare has been a feature of our country for years now. Stockholm has been witness to Dickensian scenes of young pickpockets and thieves playing games of cat-and-mouse with the police, who feel powerless. Until fairly recently, Sweden was admired for its progressive social policies. Today, one in seven voters supports the Sweden Democrats, a populist party until recently reviled in polite Swedish society.

The problems relating to immigration have been building up for years, but the country’s left and right were united in maintaining employment regulations and rent controls that kept immigrants unemployed in ghetto-like suburbs. As a result, we lost valuable time. Three years ago, there were riots in socially deprived areas of Stockholm, and it’s only got worse since then. A parallel society is emerging where the state’s monopoly on law and order is being challenged. ‘Today, the gang environment is — well, I don’t want to exactly call it the Wild West, but something in that direction,’ says Amir Rostami, an authority on Swedish organised crime who teaches at Stockholm University.

Integrating adults into Swedish society has been tricky enough, but a much more difficult problem is how to deal with all the unaccompanied children. During the Iraq war, about 400 children arrived without their parents each year — and all of them needed a place to live, social support and proper schooling. In 2014, when the number of children arriving annually hit 7,000, there were serious questions about how Sweden would cope. Last year, just over 35,000 unaccompanied children registered with the authorities.

The children are every age and arrive from all kinds of countries. Afghans and Somalis are currently the two biggest groups. Then come Syrians, Ethiopians, Iraqis, Moroccans and Eritreans. Some are fleeing war; many are fleeing poverty and misery. Strikingly, boys outnumber girls by about five to one. And it’s far from clear how many may in fact be adults — unlike other countries, Sweden doesn’t test for age. Whatever age the applicant gives is accepted, unless it’s ‘obviously’ untrue. The definition of ‘obvious’ is unclear. During one recent interview on Swedish radio, several asylum-seekers confessed to lying about their age to improve their chances of settlement. One, called Dawood, put it bluntly: ‘If I say I’m grown-up, they’ll deport me.’

The cost of accommodating our child refugees is enormous: £160 per child per day. That could be money well spent, if it worked. There are serious concerns, though, about children falling victim to predatory adults who have lied about their age. Earlier this year, a boy of 12 was raped in refugee accommodation by another refugee who claimed to be 15. A dental X-ray suggested the attacker was closer to 19. Later that month, a 22-year-old Swede (herself the daughter of immigrants) was stabbed to death by one of the refugees she was caring for — another adult claiming to be 15.

Such horrific stories raise the fear that the authorities have lost control. This is reflected in the extraordinary rise of the Sweden Democrats. There have also been a spate of attacks on refugee centres, some of which have been burnt down. For many, this seems like history repeating itself — similar attacks occurred in the 1990s, after a rapid influx of Balkan refugees. Such acts cast a dark shadow over our reputation for tolerance.

A while ago, I spoke to Lasse Siggelin, a social worker living in Gotland, who is alarmed at how many unaccompanied children are being placed in refugee care homes that seem hopelessly unfit for the task. Carers are instructed not to talk about the asylum process, or even to ask about the children’s backgrounds. ‘We can’t ask about their home, or about their parents,’ says Siggelin. ‘But such things occupy 90 per cent of their thoughts.’

Child refugees are sent to Swedish schools, but they struggle to integrate and are sometimes placed in separate groups, because of their vastly different learning needs. It’s pretty hard to bond with your classmates if you have to return every night to a care home. Even if school staff want to help, they seldom have the time or capacity to offer a shoulder to cry on. Instead, the children are directed to scheduled appointments with a child psychiatrist. As Siggelin explains, ‘If we don’t acknowledge the hurt and sadness that is there, then there are always people queuing up prepared to lead them astray.’

Those ‘queuing up’ include drug dealers, pimps, gangmasters and even jihadists. Sweden’s care homes have become a rich source of vulnerable young men who are full of frustration and hopelessness and lacking in direction. They may be open to the temptation of easy rewards, or of a path that they are promised will bring new meaning to their lives. There have been reports of Islamic State recruitment drives, not just in public places, but inside Swedish government programmes. Last year my newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet, exposed how some official schemes had been infiltrated by jihadists.

But stories of shocking abuse, the kind that would be front-page news in Britain, are relegated to the inside pages of the Swedish press. Tragically, the reason for this is that there is so much of it. In the last few weeks, we have heard about child prostitutes being pimped out in parking lots, and a Palestinian 15-year-old who, it is feared, was forced into prostitution while living in a care home in Malmo. For some time now, children in care homes have been notoriously easy prey and many of them simply vanish — over the past five years, well over a thousand have done so. These children face a sickeningly high risk of being sucked into a life of crime or even sex slavery. As their abusers well know, there is virtually no chance of anyone coming to look for the ones who go missing.

‘There is basically nothing we can do,’ says the head of Skane border police. ‘In some cases, we don’t even have descriptions of the children. So there is no means of identifying them… no information about relatives. We have nothing to work with.’ Lisa Green, who monitors human trafficking in Malmo, has reported 40 cases of suspected child trafficking to the police over the past few years but says her complaints were not even recorded. ‘Nobody is dealing with human trafficking,’ says Mattias Sigfridsson, head of the police department that deals with missing persons. ‘We have no ability to do that right now — there are no staff.’

In response to the crisis that threatens to overwhelm it, Swedish politics has become more realistic, less romantic. Passports are now being checked on the famous Oresund bridge that links Sweden with Denmark. As a result, the journey time has doubled, horrifying Malmo residents who like to regard their city as a satellite of Copenhagen, and making cross-border business more difficult. These new checks have helped fight other crimes, such as drug dealing and drink driving. (Sweden’s minister for sixth-form education failed a breathalyser test and later resigned.)

And still the authorities struggle to deal with the problem of what to do with migrants whose asylum claims are rejected. Between January and April this year, the Migration Agency handed over some 2,645 cases to the police for deportation. Just 1,255 of these are classified as complete — two thirds were deported by force, while the rest left the country voluntarily. Police estimate they will deport 4,000 people this year, up a third from last year, but not much of a dent in the 22,000 cases currently under consideration. Many, of course, will have been summoned and then suddenly disappeared into the expanding Swedish underworld.

As the refugees have arrived, ordinary Swedes have responded in an extraordinary way; individuals and families have opened up their homes, donated clothes and supplies, invested time and effort. Businesses have also found ways to help child refugees to integrate properly into Swedish society by offering opportunities for work. But with the best will in the world, it’s still a race against time.

‘If you are not prepared, you are unprepared.’ These are the words of Fredrik Reinfeldt, our former prime minister, and perfectly sum up Sweden’s migration crisis. We still hear politicians defiantly claim that our country is a humanitarian superpower — but they don’t do so as often, and they sound distinctly less smug when they do. The Swedish Way might not shine quite as brightly as a beacon to the world. But anyone who wants to find out how not to handle a migration crisis is welcome to pay us a visit.

Tove Lifvendahl is the political editor-in-chief of Svenska Dagbladet.

#sweden #europe #EU #migrant crisis #immigration #politics

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kristinsimmons · 4 years

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The COVID Pandemic: WHO Dunnit?

By ANISH KOKA, MD

COVID is here. A little strand of RNA that used to live in bats has a new host. And that strand is clearly not the flu. New York is overrun, with more than half of the nation’s new cases per day, and refrigerated 18-wheelers parked outside hospitals serve as makeshift morgues. Detroit, New Orleans, Miami, and Philadelphia await an inevitable surge of their own with bated breath. America’s health care workers are scrambling to hold the line against a deluge of sick patients arriving hourly at a rate that’s hard to fathom.

I pause here to attest to the heroic response of the medical community and the countless more working to support them. At the time of this writing, despite 368,000 confirmed cases in the United States, 11,000 deaths have been reported. A horrid number, but still a far cry from Italy with 130,000 cases, and 16,523 deaths, and Spain with 14,000 deaths amidst 140,000 cases. Italy and Spain may be a few weeks ahead of the United States, but at the moment, Italy and Spain have case fatality rates (12.5%, 10%) that are multiples of the United States (2.5%). If this rate does stand, it will be a testament to the tenacity of medical workers toiling under extenuating circumstances.

With the scale of the tragedy now obvious, the take from some very smart people is that the people who should have been paying attention were asleep at the wheel. The easy target is the bombastic New York real estate developer and current President of the United States who repeatedly assured raucous campaign crowds and the nation that the virus was under control before it wasn’t.

The charge is made that the President ignored warnings and painted a rosy picture of an unfolding crisis in a short-sighted attempt to preserve the economy and a beloved stock market. He may be guilty of the latter charge, but the real question relates to ignored warnings. Where were the warnings? Who was sounding the alarm that was ultimately ignored?

Detecting pandemics would appear to be well within the purview of the World Health Organization (WHO), an organization that gained much credibility from its global, decades-long fight to eradicate smallpox, with a stated mission to “detect and respond to new and emerging health threats.” But the focus of the WHO seems to have shifted: from disease eradication to public health do-gooding that has struggled to respond to global health emergencies. The easy, made-for-New-York-Times lede is to blame the failures of institutions on a lack of funding. The real problems run much deeper.

Founded in 1948, the WHO is governed by the 194-nation World Health Assembly, with expansive public health goals. The world may need virus hunters, but the WHO has a larger mission as evidenced by the reading of its constitution: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity,” apparently best achieved through a “New International Economic Order,” according to the WHO’s “World Health for All by 2000” statement. Health, as even a cursory reading of the WHO’s 1998 World Health Report suggests, is best achieved by an embrace of economic egalitarianism that narrows the gap between rich and poor. The ideology is evident in the WHO’s World Health Report that tortures logic to place the United States Health System 37th out of 190+ member nations, behind countries like the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

With these lofty goals, it is easy to see how the WHO has struggled to handle outbreaks of not-so-mundane infectious pathogens. In February 2003, Italian doctor Carlo Urbani was called into a Vietnamese hospital in Hanoi to examine Johnny Chen, an American businessman, ill with what local doctors thought was a bad case of the flu. Urbani quickly suspected a novel infectious virus at play and immediately notified the WHO. Analysts suspected Mr. Chen’s illness was related to an apparent pneumonia outbreak in China. Tragically, Dr. Urbani died a month after contracting the very disease he had diagnosed. It wasn’t until April of the same year that a corona-virus named SARS-CoV, ultimately traced back to Chinese bats, was identified. The first cluster of patients had appeared in Guangdong Province, China as early as November of 2002.

From the get-go, the response by local members of the Chinese government was to obfuscate and hamper all efforts to shed light on the problem. The world may still be blind to the actions of Chinese officials if not for an elderly partially retired physician named Jiang Yanyong, who emailed concerns of official undercounting of cases to Chinese and Hong Kong Television stations. But it bears emphasizing here that the WHO was blind to what was happening in China. SARS was only discovered after it had escaped. Local health officials in Guangdong had attempted to inform the central government of a fast-spreading pneumonia-like illness in late January. Officials sent a bulletin in response to local hospitals, but did precious little else. In the meantime, SARS was infecting hundreds of patients, moving rapidly throughout China, Hong Kong and ultimately 16 other countries. It took until April for China to allow the WHO to even go to Guangdong and neighboring Hong Kong. Stability, in the form of tourism, trade, and continued foreign investment were on the line. The potential for a global pandemic, even in 2003, was a secondary concern.

The WHO at first glance seems an innocent bystander to Chinese obstruction until one considers the story of SARS in Taiwan. Around the same time Dr. Urbani was being infected by this virus in Vietnam, Taiwan was reporting its own series of suspicious cases. They attempted to inform the WHO, but were rebuffed and asked to report their findings to the central government in China instead. You see, the allegedly apolitical, humanitarian, and guided-by-science WHO doesn’t think Taiwan exists because China doesn’t recognize Taiwan’s independence. The WHO even refused to publicly report Taiwan’s cases of SARS until public pressure prompted numbers to be published under the label of “Taiwan, province of China”. Interestingly, the respect for sovereign nation’s rights doesn’t extend to Israel. Public health concerns apparently motivate the WHO to champion the cause of a sovereign Palestinian State! Taiwan, China, Israel and Palestine are all matters worthy of debate, but one wonders why the WHO should feel the need to put its thumb on the scale. The answer, increasingly obviously, is that the WHO is a political organization that attempts to give its political preferences the veneer of objectivity using the label of science.

Missteps with Ebola

The politics of nation-states may be a theatrical exercise, but politicization in other arenas by the WHO has been lethal. Take for example the Ebola epidemic of 2013 that was marked by a number of controversies, chief amongst them: how the virus spread. An excellent 2015 New Atlantis article dissects the controversy of transmissibility and concludes the available evidence at the time could not rule out through-the-air transmission. Of particular concern was the real-world evidence from the field with regard to health care worker infections. Health care workers who did not wear maximal Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the form of respirators to filter out airborne transmission were infected with Ebola at a high rate. Doctors Without Borders treatment centers that mandated full-body hazmat suits and respirators only had 23 of their 3300 staff members infected, while local hospitals with significantly less PPE saw 869 health care workers infected.

Despite the fact Ebola has a 40% case fatality rate, the WHO continued to maintain Ebola did not spread via the air, and that the “evidence was insufficient” to recommend more than a surgical mask for protection of health care workers. With its position staked out, the WHO has closed ranks to disavow or ignore any evidence to the contrary. A literature review published in February 2015 that concluded it is “very likely that at least some degree of Ebola virus transmission currently occurs via infection aerosols” went unacknowledged, and one of the original authors is believed to have been pressured by the WHO to have his name removed from the paper. This puts the type of PPE in high stakes situations on uncertain ground. Rather than channel this uncertainty and err on the side of safety, the WHO over and over again chooses to take an approach to safety based mostly on a wing and a prayer. Local health officials, and administrators follow the lead and take a similar approach in their hospitals. The first responders pay the price. The SARS outbreak in Canada was notable for the number of health workers that were infected and succumbed to the disease, in part, because the initial responders to the crisis relied on PPE guidance that wasn’t adequate.

To be fair, what’s on display here is a broader institutional malady. The US version of the WHO, the CDC, took a similar stance with another controversial topic—quarantines for health care workers returning from treating patients with Ebola. Four states—New York, New Jersey, Florida, and Illinois—instituted policies to quarantine anyone who had contact with someone infected with the Ebola virus while in west Africa, including medical personnel who cared for patients. No less than the Obama administration, backed by the CDC, attempted to squash these policies, arguing that this would serve as a disincentive for US health workers to travel to Africa to combat the disease at a time this help was sorely needed. The states acted after a New York physician, Craig Spencer, was found to have contracted Ebola nine days after returning from treating Ebola patients in Guinea. Dr. Spencer had been taking his temperature twice a day after returning but had also gone out jogging, bowling, eaten at a restaurant, and traveled by subway and cab before being admitted to the hospital. The argument made by many, including the now-famous Dr. Anthony Fauci, was that Ebola could only be transmitted by those who were symptomatic, and so it was anti-science to consider mandatory quarantines. This argument was repeated by Dr. Spencer himself in an editorial he penned for the New England Journal of Medicine. Not mentioned is when one crosses the threshold from asymptomatic and not infectious to symptomatic and infectious.

As history repeatedly shows, science also has a habit of evolving, so it may make sense to choose caution when dealing with a highly lethal virus that has no known therapy. The head of the CDC at the time, Tom Frieden, had initially recommended that health care professionals did not need respirators when taking care of patients with Ebola. It took two health care workers in Dallas contracting Ebola from a patient for the CDC to change its recommendations in October 2014. An important recurring theme when it comes to viruses may be to follow what people do rather than what they say. This is “Tom” (see picture below) visiting a Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center in August of 2014, at a point in time when the CDC was saying a surgical mask was adequate to care for these patients.

The charitable take is that institutions like the WHO and CDC are simply coming down on the wrong side of contentious scientific debates. But there is a persistent directionality to these mistakes that betrays a current of ideology. Organizations like the WHO can’t concern themselves with only medical matters when matters of social and economic equality are competing interests. A review of the timeline of announcements by the WHO after the COVID outbreak shows an organization equally or even more concerned with avoiding a panic that might disrupt economic life and avoiding stigma when naming the virus.

The tenor here was clearly to calm rather than sound an alarm that may reduce tourism or trade or anger politicians of member countries the WHO relies on for its funding. This is precisely backwards. When it comes to global health emergencies, the public and the political class need organizations like the WHO to sound the alarm and to do so free of politics.

And they can’t.

In the 2015 New Atlantis article about the mishandled Ebola outbreak mentioned above, Ari Schulman, wrote:

“ the broader institutional factors that led to the failures of public health in 2014 remain unchanged. We must understand and fix these problems, for the next outbreak may be of a disease more contagious than Ebola, and even worse understood”

Tragically, these were prophetic words. There were no urgent missives addressed to the people or the politicians of the United States with warnings of what was to come with the coronavirus, because the WHO was too busy reassuring the world from its perch in Geneva that the situation was under control.

China loses track of COVID

It was in late December that multiple doctors in China first learned of a cluster of cases of pneumonia related to a Seafood Market in Wuhan. News circulated via physician WeChat groups of a new pneumonia with entreaties to wear masks and avoid the market. Shortly after, a Chinese lab in Shanghai isolated and sequenced a then-unknown virus on January 5th, a full two days prior to China’s official announcement that mysterious pneumonia cases in Wuhan were caused by a novel coronavirus.

Recognizing the importance of the findings, the researchers reported results to China’s National Health Commission the same day. After six days without a response, the Shanghai lab made its finding public January 11th, and released its data on open-access data repositories for the world to see. It was only then that the Chinese National Health Commission announced it would release the genome of the virus to the WHO. The following day the Shanghai lab found itself shut down for ‘rectification’. The ill patient the samples had been derived from had been admitted to Wuhan hospital December 26th.

As an ever-increasing number of patients swarmed local hospitals, no evidence of larger public health measures to mitigate the virus were evident. A lunar year banquet scheduled in Wuhan proceeded as planned January 18th, and 40,000 families gathered to share home-cooked food. According to a New York times study of cellphone data from China, 175,000 people left Wuhan on January 1st alone. It was not until January 20th that the lead physician in China in charge of the virus response confirmed that human to human transmission was possible. By then, local Wuhan hospitals were being flooded with patients and the virus was popping up all over China. Scrambling to contain a situation spiraling out of control, China imposed a lockdown of 60 million people in Hubei province on January 23rd. Tragically, one of the first physicians to signal alarm at the turn of the new year, ophthalmologist Li Wenliang, was infected with the virus and was fighting for his life. He died shortly after.

The unprecedented actions taken by China should have been a signal to the WHO and the rest of the world that everything was most definitely not ok. The WHO actually did convene January 30th to declare a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern”, but the public comments were focused on signaling to the world that China had the situation under control, that the announcement was not cause to institute travel or trade restrictions with China, and that the declaration was only being made out of concern for the health systems of developing countries the virus may spread to.

Repeatedly, and predictably, the WHO steadfastly recommended against travel restrictions at every point of the crisis. It’s possible that a clearer picture of what was actually going on in China with respect to the caseload and deaths was needed for anyone to decide anything, but I’m not sure what information the brain trust of the WHO would have needed to say anything different. The position of the WHO with respect to travel did not change a whit according to a tweet sent on January 10th (before there was known human to human transmission) another sent January 30th (after declaring an international public health emergency, 60 million people being quarantined by China, and the first US case report of a traveler from China sick with the virus):

As late as February 4th the WHO continued to express confidence that 99% of cases reported were in China, and persisted in advising against travel bans.

Over and over again, the world’s health police, whose main function is to alert the globe to impending epidemics, repeatedly violated basic common sense when dealing with imperfect information: In the face of a novel pathogen where the mode of transmission, the ease of transmissibility, and the lethality of the virus was unknown, the WHO chose to stick its head in the sand.

The black comedy in all of this is that the WHO seemed much more focused and concerned at the time with “disinformation” surrounding the impending pandemic. The organization that repeatedly opposed travel restrictions, opposed the widespread use of masks, and asked people around the world to go about their daily business because China had everything under control wants to be the “trusted” source of information on pandemics. The unfortunate fact was that the credibility the wider world gives to the WHO made them one of the chief sources of disinformation as the pandemic unfolded. It is no accident that local health officials and doctors parroted the WHO talking points. Local officials don’t spend much time thinking of viral pathogens that can turn into pandemics on a daily basis. They rely on institutions like the CDC and the WHO that are supposed to have public health experts focused on threat assessment. Little did they know that the WHO based their risk assessment on what China was telling them. We now know without a doubt that the numbers out of Italy and New York point to an outbreak in China that was orders of magnitude greater than what was officially stated or known.

The reality was that China had bungled the response badly. Clearly the people on the ground felt a sense of urgency when a potentially novel SARS-like virus was identified, but they were let down by a bureaucracy that was lethally slow. When it was clear the extent of the outbreak couldn’t be hidden any longer, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) quickly moved to preserve itself by launching a public relations campaign framing the story as an unprecedented crisis, turning the narrative into lives saved in China and the world because of the bold actions of the CCP. The WHO, constantly concerned with the appeasement of China was a willing cheerleader.

The WHO: Consistently Wrong

The multi-billion-dollar budget of the WHO translates to interminable meetings, meaningless declarations of emergencies, and many tweets of the importance of handwashing. At no point did they lead the response, leaving countries big and small to figure it out on their own.

Small countries like South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan had an infrastructure and urgency driven by the prior brush with SARS and started widespread testing, as well as aggressive contact tracing and isolation of positive contacts. The WHO frequently mentions the success of South Korea, and amplifies Korea’s test everyone strategy, but leaves out the fact South Korea banned travel from Hubei Province in early February, and used apps downloaded to phones on arrival in the airport to track visitors. The forgotten country Taiwan (in keeping with the WHO’s OneChina policy) also has been remarkably successful in controlling the outbreak. Not surprisingly, Taiwan began to screen passengers from China December 31st, banned Wuhan travelers January 23rd, suspended tours from China January 25th, and restricted all Chinese visitors February 6th.

Perhaps, Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHO is a good thing. It didn’t wait to take its cue from the organization that didn’t label the worldwide explosion a pandemic until March 11th. Comically, and in keeping with their prime directive to reassure, they immediately followed the announcement by meaninglessly pronouncing:

“Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by this #coronavirus. It doesn’t change what WHO is doing, and it doesn’t change what countries should do”-@DrTedros #COVID19

The mantra emerging from the WHO was monotonic and it was everywhere. The overall threat level is low. More people die of the flu. Don’t wear masks unless you’re sick. Wash your hands. Don’t stigmatize people. And like robots, local health officials (New York included) regurgitated the message.

There was a motley group of individuals that registered concern because they paid attention to what China did, rather than what they said. This included the well-respected former head of the FDA Scott Gottlieb, some biotech investors, and Steve Bannon. The face-saving from others in the public health/epidemiology community now is that they couldn’t have predicted the lack of surveillance testing that was taking place in the United States. But they did know that the United States wasn’t testing. Why not act as if a novel pathogen the population had no immunity to was headed in our direction? Clearly there was more to be gained by taking the default position that would not restrict the flow of international trade. How else were political masters to be assuaged?

The major problem here is not so much the WHO as it is the masses of local health officials that take their guidance from the soothing ‘evidence-based’ proclamations of the organization. This is why in the midst of a pandemic, school officials are worried about free lunch programs, and adequate home internet access while progressive politicians are rushing to local Chinatowns to have photo-ops to discuss stigma and xenophobia. It becomes a little harder to get angry at Donald Trump for reassuring his fans everything was going to be just fine when the WHO was saying the same thing. What warning exactly was the President ignoring? Recall that it took the WHO until March 11th to even declare a pandemic. Reports of intelligence officials warning Trump and Congress of the danger of the unknown virus have been leaked, but if anything, bolster the claim that Trump was listening to the scientists on the level of threat posed.

It may be the case that this pandemic was unavoidable. The lessons learned here have been very hard ones with tragic costs. The usual culprits are easy to see – the need to scale up testing rapidly, improved contact tracing, and local supply chains that allow rapid scaling up of essential medical needs among many others. But the more important lesson here is to break the institutional groupthink that dulled our senses. It was late December when Chinese physicians warned their family members of a potentially new dangerous disease. It was January 5th that a local Chinese lab identified and sequenced the genome for a new coronavirus. In the absence of evidence, the WHO began to blindly reassure everyone almost immediately after and persisted down this road until it was too late. It’s clear that this is a plan that worked until now because the viruses that emerged to date were simply not as infectious as COVID.

The fervent hope is that the health system bends but does not break with the test it has been given. Reasons for optimism abound as the medical community and the nation exert a massive effort to overcome this public health crisis. The failure of the responsible institutions will hopefully not fade from memory anytime soon. If we are to avoid the next pandemic, it will be because we listen to those at the coalface and ignore the empty suits from Geneva and their even emptier proclamations.

Anish Koka is a cardiologist in Philadelphia. He is currently hard at work attempting to avoid COVID. He can be followed on twitter @anish_koka.

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lauramalchowblog · 4 years

Text

The COVID Pandemic: WHO Dunnit?

By ANISH KOKA, MD

Missteps with Ebola

And they can’t.

In the 2015 New Atlantis article about the mishandled Ebola outbreak mentioned above, Ari Schulman, wrote:

China loses track of COVID

As late as February 4th the WHO continued to express confidence that 99% of cases reported were in China, and persisted in advising against travel bans.

The WHO: Consistently Wrong

Anish Koka is a cardiologist in Philadelphia. He is currently hard at work attempting to avoid COVID. He can be followed on twitter @anish_koka.

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jontrayner · 4 years

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History, Forgetting and Fascism

What is the point of history as a study – is it all just one damn thing after another or can we discern whether we are living through the moment of tragedy or farce? This idea – that we can see the future of our moment in the study of the past is part of the point of history, but equally the thing that historians most shy away from. Crude correlations between now and then mask the complexity of both and flatten the contexts of human difference. No, history does not repeat itself, but human cultures follow the same paths time and again.

This comment was prompted by an argument online – the argument online – that is currently gripping the United Kingdom (ha!) That of political extremism. I have heard repeated from conservative voices time and again the same three ahistorical “facts”

Jeremy Corbyn is a terrorist sympathizer

The Labour party is anti-Semitic

A Labour government will lead to fascism

The last time I was entangled in this argument of carefully rebutting these received opinions with facts I was informed by my interlocutor that “history is a good pointer to the future” which amused and infuriated me in equal measure given the lack of historical understanding and context to their previous comments. So, how can it be that these facts can be so confused that someone will take these three statements and repeat them, and refuse all evidence to the contrary? It is because there is just enough truth in the lie to make them convincing statements. Corbyn did talk to the IRA in the 1980s and vote against the declaration of Al Qaeda as a terrorist organisation in the 2000s. The Labour party, along with other sections of the Left, struggles with legitimate criticism of the State of Israel and anti-Semitism. Authoritarian Left regimes have given us the Stasi and Gulags.

It is the failure to understand history that allows for these claims. In the context of the sorry history of British involvement in Ireland it is hard not to have sympathy with the desire for a united Ireland – once you know that history. The obvious point being it was through the maintenance of contacts with the Republicans from “sympathetic” figures like Jeremy Corbyn that lead to the eventual peace settlement and the Good Friday Agreement. An agreement that the recent Conservative government of the UK seemed to neither understand nor appreciate. Similarly, Al Qaeda came out of a desire to see the end of the corrupting involvement of the United States in the politics of Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East – their conservative religious position may be deeply objectionable (to me) but their aim was coherent and they would have to be talked to sooner or later. And crucially, how has the war on terror worked for you? Is there more or less stability in the Middle East? More or less threat of terrorist violence? More or less religious radicalisation? What we learn from history is that attempts to violently supress the violently expressed politics of the oppressed leads to greater violence.

The question of Left-wing anti-Semitism is both more difficult, and simpler. Simpler, because I firmly believe that anyone who is anti-Semitic has failed to understand both the point and purpose of Leftist politics and is no friend or ally of this project but rather its enemy and an ally of the forces that I am railing against. More difficult because of the history of European anti-Semitism and the troubled history of the territory known as Israel and/or Palestine. “Free Palestine” and solidarity with the Arab people of Palestine mean to some “the State of Israel should withdraw from those territories that it occupied during the Six Day War of 1967”. But, to others “free Palestine” means the whole territory – effectively removing the State of Israel from existence. Knowing the history therefore enables the understanding of why the call of “free Palestine” can be heard as denying Israel’s right to exist. This means the desire in this context to express solidarity with an oppressed population – from a European, with the European history of the hideous mistreatment of Jewish populations – can be problematic and its vocalisation can used by unscrupulous commentators as evidence of anti-Semitism. This is further compounded by thoughtless and ignorant use of terms and language – a failure to understand the history of this language – when voicing criticisms of the policies of the State of Israel.

This is not to say real anti-Semitism does not exist. It does. It comes from those who wish to blame the Jews for being different, unchristian, outsiders. It has seeped into Left-wing dialogues from those who wish to suggest that the Jewish people want to undermine or control European civilisation by nebulous conspiracies and financial manipulation. This is done to distract attention away from the true cause of the workers’ misery – the boss. In medieval terms; it is not the fault of the Lord of the Manor you are starving, he is a Christian like you, it is the fault of the Jewish moneylender who lent you the money to pay your tithes – he is the cause of your misery, run him out of the village and all will be well. So, by understanding our history we can understand that anti-Semitism has no place on the Left.

Finally, the question of oppressive so-called Communist regimes. These are historical facts, millions died at the hands of these states. The answer is simple for an anarchist; this is why we must oppose both Capital and the State, neither can be trusted with power over you, power will inevitably lead to its abuse (this would also obviously resolve the issue of whether Northern Ireland should be part of the British or Irish state and the relationships between the State of Israel and a Palestinian state). However, from a broader position these states were born of violence, and from their outset all the forces of Capital were ranged against them – undermining their efforts and feeding the paranoia of their leaders. But, this is not the argument here. These were revolutionary states that overthrew prior dictatorships and therefore are far removed contextually from the moderate parliamentary socialism of the Labour party.

The key thing we can learn from history in the context of this argument is: Moderate social democratic regimes do not lead to fascism except when they spark a right-wing coup in retaliation. The thing that leads to fascism is the fear of socialism among the ruling class. The forces of Capital are more worried by the possibility of having to return some of their expropriated wealth than they are of fascism. So, in contexts where there is the possibility of genuine progressive economic change or of social unrest they will move to the Right to compensate, and valorise demagogues that will redirect the anger of the workers away from its legitimate target (them) and onto another target – like the Jews. At the same time as doing this they will accuse the Left of doing the things they are doing with plausible lies. What history teaches us then is to beware of aristocratic privilege, finance capital and a complicit press when they combine with charismatic figures who speak to the workers telling them that their problems are down to immigrants. That, not nationalising the trains, leads to fascism.

Jonathan Trayner (Nov 2019)

***

Further Reading:

I have deliberately avoided detailed footnotes in this piece but I can, I believe, fully back up the claims I have made. The following will help elaborate on some of my points:

The situation in Northern Ireland:

Channel 4 News, “Corbyn on Northern Ireland”, 30/05/2017 https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-corbyn-on-northern-ireland

The Independent, “The Tories are forming a coalition with a party backed by terrorists”, 09/06/2017 https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/dup-conservatives-northern-ireland-coalition-ulster-defence-association-paramilitaries-peace-process-a7782631.html

The Guardian, “View from Belfast: republicans cheering on Tories, loyalists for Corbyn – what’s going on?” 16/11/2019 www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/16/view-from-belfast-loyalists-for-corbyn-republicans-cheering-tories

Jewish voices against claims of Labour anti-Semitism:

The Jewish Chronicle, “Jeremy Corbyn is not antisemitic, he's one of the most principled people in politics” 01/07/2018 https://www.thejc.com/comment/comment/rhea-wolfson-comment-jeremy-corbyn-jonathan-arkush-1.464888

Mondoweiss.net, “Why anyone who is Jewish and on the Left should have no problem voting for Jeremy Corbyn” 13/11/2019 https://mondoweiss.net/2019/11/why-anyone-who-is-jewish-and-on-the-left-should-have-no-problem-voting-for-jeremy-corbyn/

Jewish News, “Young left-wing Jews canvass for Labour candidate seeking to oust Boris Johnson” 18/11/2019 https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/young-left-wing-jews-canvass-for-labour-candidate-seeking-to-oust-boris-johnson/

After I finished this text the Chief Rabbi of Britain, Ephraim Mirvis, suggested that Labour has a continuing problem with anti-Semitism (see https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/25/labour-has-let-poison-of-antisemitism-take-root-says-chief-rabbi) As this did not put forward any substantial new claims I resisted the temptation to edit in light of this. However, a Jewish friend shared the following as a rebuttal:

Skwawkbox.org, “Proof Labour antisemitism has gone down under Corbyn” 29/03/2019 https://skwawkbox.org/2018/03/29/exclusive-caa-yougov-data-show-labour-significantly-less-antisemitic-under-corbyn/

Dog-whistle Racism:

The Guardian, “Nigel Farage under fire over 'antisemitic tropes' on far-right US talkshow”, 06/05/2019 https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/may/06/nigel-farage-under-fire-alleged-antisemitic-tropes-far-right-us-talkshow-alex-jones

The Independent, “Islamophobic incidents rose 375% after Boris Johnson compared Muslim women to ‘letterboxes’, figures show” 02/11/2019 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/boris-johnson-muslim-women-letterboxes-burqa-islamphobia-rise-a9088476.html

Further Further Reading (Yay! Books!):

I have tried to find some examples of readable history that would give examples of the type of learning from history I am discussing.

Christopher Hill, God's Englishman, (London: Penguin, 1970) – this biography of Oliver Cromwell gives some valuable insights into the struggle for Parliamentary supremacy over the monarchy (prorogations of Parliament included) and of British attitudes towards and treatment of the Irish in the 17th century – part of the long history of the Irish struggle against British colonialism.

David Nirenberg, Communities of Violence, (Princeton: PUP, 1996) – a fascinating history of the persecution of Jews and Muslims in Late-medieval Spain that adds a great deal of complexity to our understanding of the long history of (Christian) European treatment of non-Christian minorities.

George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia, (London: Penguin, first published 1938) – an individual and partial account of the Spanish Civil War. But one that gives a first hand account of the Stalinist attempt to crush other Leftist groups in Spain. A policy that arguably led to the fascist victory. Ronald Fraser's oral history Blood of Spain (London Pimlico, 1979) gives greater depth to this.

Affiliation: I am not, and never have been, a member of the Labour party or any other political party.

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New Zealand shooting: 49 killed across two mosques PM Jacinda Ardern vows to change gun laws Suspect appears in court charged with murder Everything we know about the shooter Brenton Tarrant The victims: Afghan refugee viewed country as 'slice of paradise' Tech giants told 'enough is enough' after shooting live-streamed Everything we know so far about the Christchurch attacks The main suspect in mass shootings at two New Zealand mosques was charged with one count of murder on Saturday, a day after the attack that killed 49 people and wounded dozens. Wearing handcuffs and a white prison shirt, Brenton Harrison Tarrant sat impassively as the judge read the charge against him. Tarrant, an Australian-born former fitness instructor and self-professed fascist, did not request bail and was taken into custody until his next court appearance scheduled for April 5. He was likely to face further charges, police said. Brenton Tarrant, gestures as he is lead into the dock for his appearance for murder in the Christchurch District Court on March 16, 2019 Credit: Getty New Zealand shooting | Read more A "right-wing extremist" armed with semi-automatic weapons, the 28-year-old suspect rampaged through two mosques in the quiet New Zealand city of Christchurch during afternoon prayers on Friday, killing 49 worshippers and wounding dozens more. The attack, thought to be the deadliest against Muslims in the West in modern times, was immediately dubbed terrorism by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, as she led a shocked nation on one of its "darkest days." The attacker live-streamed footage of himself going room-to-room, victim to victim, shooting the wounded from close range as they struggled to crawl away. Family members outside the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch Mr Tarrant allegedly published a racist "manifesto" on social media before the attack, featuring conspiracy theories about Europeans being displaced, and details of two years of preparation and radicalisation leading up to the shootings. "It is clear that this can now only be described as a terrorist attack," said New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. "From what we know, it does appear to have been well planned." Two IEDs (improvised explosive devices) were found in a car and neutralised by the military, police said. In Sydney, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the gunman as "an extremist, right-wing, violent terrorist". His two targets were the Masjid al Noor mosque, where 41 people died, and a second, smaller mosque in the suburb of Linwood, where seven more died. The remaining victim succumbed in hospital. The dead were said to include women and children. Around 48 people were treated for gunshot wounds at Christchurch Hospital, including young children, with injuries ranging from critical to minor. The survivors included 17 members of Bangladesh's cricket team, whose game against New Zealand on Saturday has been postponed, and a Palestinian man who fled for his life after seeing someone being shot in the head. Entire team got saved from active shooters!!! Frightening experience and please keep us in your prayers christchurchMosqueAttack— Tamim Iqbal Khan (@TamimOfficial28) March 15, 2019 Ms Ardern vowed on Saturday to toughen the country's gun laws after revealing the alleged shooter had legally bought the five weapons, including two semi-automatic rifles, used in the massacre. The nation's firearms laws are lax compared to neighbouring Australia, which enacted a strict gun control regime in the wake of a similar massacre in 1996. Ms Ardern said Tarrant obtained a "Category A" gun licence in November 2017 which allowed him to purchase the weapons used to mow down worshippers in two Christchurch mosques. Some of the guns appear to have been modified to make them more deadly, she said, adding that a ban on semi-automatic weapons would be considered. "The mere fact... that this individual had acquired a gun licence and acquired weapons of that range, then obviously I think people will be seeking change, and I'm committing to that," she told a press conference. "I can tell you one thing right now - our gun laws will change." Terror in New Zealand | Read more 6:43AM Two police officers praised for arrest A pair of rural New Zealand police officers dramatically arrested the suspected Christchurch gunman 36 minutes after authorities were alerted, it emerged on Saturday, as the prime minister hailed their bravery. Jacinda Ardern said the alleged attacker, Brenton Tarrant, would surely have killed even more people were it not for the policemen. "The offender was mobile, there were two other firearms in the vehicle that the offender was in, and it absolutely was his intention to continue with his attack," Ardern told reporters in Christchurch. Grainy video apparently shot from a passing car shows the gunman's light-coloured vehicle at the side of a busy road, rammed against the kerb by a police car and with one of its front wheels suspended in the air. ARREST VIDEO: New video shot by a passing motorist shows authorities making an arrest in connection with the terror attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that has left at least 49 dead and dozens more injured. https://t.co/lwXVQwZ6r4pic.twitter.com/q23MT2D0id— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) March 15, 2019 Two police officers - one of whom appears to be armed only with a handgun - can be seen pointing their weapons at the open passenger-side door. "They were rural community cops I understand from Lincoln (a nearby town) who were present here. Anyone who has seen the footage... they put New Zealand first," Ardern said. "The individual charged was in custody 36 minutes from receiving the first call," she said. The officers can be seen dragging a black-clad figure away from the vehicle, as motorists slowly drove by on the other side of the city carriageway. Police Commissioner Mike Bush also praised the officers who brought the massacre to a halt. "I would also like to commend - and some of you would have seen, the brave actions on social media of police staff who responded to this incident," he said. "I'm extremely proud of what they've done today." 6:27AM Sayyad Milne was 'a typical Kiwi boy who loved playing football Brydie Milne, the half-sister of 14-year-old victim Sayyad Milne, has described him as "a typical Kiwi boy who loved playing football", Claire Drake reports. "He was just so kind and quietly gorgeous," Ms Milne, a mum of four living in the North Island, told The Telegraph. Sayyad was the youngest in the family. He was at Al Noor mosque, on Deans Ave, with his mother when the massacre happened. Sayyad's mum was in a different part of the building and managed to escape the gunman; friends of the family reported seeing Sayyad "lying on the floor of the mosque, bleeding from his lower body," said Milne. "It was a horrible situation. Imagine what his mum went through - leaving the mosque without him, not knowing if he was alive." The family reported Sayyad missing and waited at home for updates. Milne said they didn't hold much hope for the teen's survival. "Understandably they had to follow procedures. The bodies had to stay there over night. He wouldn’t have had any ID on him, like many people there," she said. "His mum, his poor mum, and his brother and sister have just had a very long night and day waiting." On Saturday afternoon Sayyad's parents were summoned to identify his body, said Ms Milne. "I’m devastated for my family, that they won’t get their baby boy back," she said. Milne said she would fly down to be with her Christchurch-based family on Sunday. "It’s just unreal in little New Zealand. It’s so not real. It’s going to be very real when I get to Christchurch tomorrow." In Dunedin, cordons have been lifted from Sommerville St, where police were investigating a potential connection with the Christchurch mosque shootings. Police remain outside a house on Sommerville St, Dunedin, associated with gunman Brenton Trent. Credit: Claire Drake Evacuated residents were allowed home on Saturday afternoon. Armed police remained outside at least one house, however. 5:14AM 'A brave little soldier': Boy, 14, dies John Milne says his 14-year-old son Sayyad was among thise who died at the Al Noor Mosque. Sayyad Milne was a student at Cashmere High School in Year 10 and attended the mosque every week with his mother and friends. "I've lost my little boy, he's just turned 14," Mr Milne told NZME. "I haven't heard officially yet that he's actually passed but I know he has because he was seen. [I'm] keeping it together and tears are helping. people are helping. Just by being here, it is helping." 5:06AM Saudi citizen among the dead A Saudi citizen has been confirmed as one of the victims of the attack. The Saudi-owned satellite news channel Al-Arabiya reports one of two citizens of the kingdom wounded in the New Zealand mosque attack has died. The channel, citing his family, said Mohsen al-Muzaini had succumbed to the wounds he suffered in the shooting on Friday. The channel reported the second wounded Saudi, named as 19-year-old Aseel Ansari, was struck in the knee by a rifle round, but still was able to flee. 4:54AM Australia 'bans Milo Yiannopoulos' from country Australia has reportedly banned Milo Yiannopoulos from entering the country after the controversial right-wing commentator described Islam as a "barbaric" and "alien" religious culture in the wake of the Christchurch attack. The decision was made on Saturday morning, The Age reported. In a Facebook post overnight, Mr Yiannopoulos, who was due to tour Australia later this year, said: "Attacks like this happen because the establishment panders to and mollycoddles extremist leftism and barbaric, alien religious cultures. Not when someone dares to point it out." Earlier, Labor frontbencher Tony Burke said: "Surely the Liberal government is still not going to issue a visa to someone so he can conduct a tour to promote hatred against Muslims." 4:16AM 'We still love this country' An imam who was leading prayers at a Christchurch mosque when a gunman brandishing semi-automatic weapons mowed down his congregation said the Muslim community's love for New Zealand would not be shaken by the massacre. "We still love this country," said Ibrahim Abdul Halim, imam of Linwood Mosque, vowing that extremists would "never ever touch our confidence". A message is displayed at a makeshift memorial outside Christchurch hospital in Christchurch, New Zealand Credit: AP Halim gave a harrowing account of the moment during Friday prayers when gunshots rang out in the mosque, replacing peaceful reflection with screaming, bloodshed and death. "Everyone laid down on the floor, and some women started crying, some people died immediately," he said. But, he said, New Zealand Muslims still felt at home in the south Pacific nation. "My children live here" he said, adding, "we are happy". He said the majority of New Zealanders "are very keen to support all of us, to give us full solidarity", describing how strangers exchanged hugs with him on Saturday. "They start to... give me big hug, and give me more solidarity. This is something very important." 3:46AM Ardern reiterates promise to change gun laws Ardern reiterated her promise that gun laws would change in New Zealand, and said the firearms used in the mosque shootings appear to have been modified. "New Zealanders will question how someone can come into being in possession of weapons of this nature. "The guns used in this case appear to have been modified. That's a challenge police have been facing and a challenge we will look to address in changing laws." She added: "There are a raft of issues on the table that I think we need to look at. We need to include modification of guns which can lead them to becoming essentially the kinds of weapons we've seen used in this terrorist attack." New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to the media in Christchurch Credit: Getty 3:36AM Ardern: Suspect intended to continue rampage Jacinda Ardern has spoken with the media during a visit to Christchurch. The Prime Minister said the main suspect in New Zealand's worst peacetime mass shooting intended to continue the rampage before he was caught by police. "The offender was mobile, there were two other firearms in the vehicle that the offender was in, and it absolutely was his intention to continue with his attack. "I'm not privileged to a full breakdown at this point but it is clear that young children have been caught up in this horrific attack." New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern meets with Muslim community representatives in Christchurch on Saturday Credit: Getty 1:41AM First victim identified The first of the 49 victims to be identified was 71-year-old Afghan Daoud Nabi. Outside the court where Tarrant was charged, his son demanded justice for his late father, who believed New Zealand to be a "slice of paradise." "It's outrageous, the feeling is outrageous," he said. "It's beyond imagination." According to reports, 71yo Daoud Nabi was the first victim of Christchurch and the man who welcomed the terrorist at the mosque. He was a refugee from Afghanistan and wanted to live peacefully in NZ, and he died as a hero. pic.twitter.com/r3VoJJAnHT— Emran Feroz (@Emran_Feroz) March 15, 2019 The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the victims came from across the Muslim world, with Turkey, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia among the countries rendering consular assistance. One Saudi citizen and two Jordanians were among the dead, while five Pakistani citizens were missing. 1:28AM Hospital chief gives update on the wounded Christchurch Hospital chief Greg Robertson says seven of the 48 gunshot victims admitted after Friday's mosque shootings in have been discharged. Roberson says a four-year-old girl who has been transferred to an Auckland hospital in critical condition and 11 patients who remain in Christchurch are also critically wounded. "We have had patients with injuries to most parts of the body that range from relatively superficial soft tissue injuries to more complex injuries involving the chest, the abdomen, the pelvis, the long bones and the head." He says many patients will require multiple operations to deal with their complex series of injuries. 12:51AM Suspect was apprehended 36 minutes after first emergency call New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush said on Saturday that officers were searching the suspected attacker's residence in the city of Dunedin. He added that it took just 36 minutes from the initial emergency call before the offender was in custody. Four people were taken into custody following the attack on Friday, one of whom was released a short time later. Mr Bush said two of them were arrested at a cordon, and that police were currently working to establish whether they had had any involvement in the incident. He also praised his officers for their brave actions in the wake of the tragedy, adding: "Their intervention may likely have saved further lives." 12:37AM New Zealanders reach out to Muslim neighbours with acts of kindness On Saturday, people across New Zealand were reaching out to Muslims in their communities on social media to volunteer acts of kindness. Many offered rides to the grocery store or volunteered to walk with them if they felt unsafe. In other forums, people discussed Muslim food restrictions as they prepared to drop off meals for those affected. The prime minister said the attack reflected "extremist views that have absolutely no place in New Zealand." Immigrants "have chosen to make New Zealand their home, and it is their home," Ardern said. "They are us." 12:00AM How Brenton Tarrant's hate spread across social media How Tarrant's hate spread across social media 11:24PM Suspect's family helping police Australian police say the family of the suspect in the New Zealand mosque shootings is helping their investigation. New South Wales state Police Commissioner Mick Fuller says his officers are investigating to help New Zealand police and to ensure the safety of residents in the Australian state where suspect Brenton Tarrant is from. Fuller says Tarrant's family is from the northern New South Wales town of Grafton and contacted police after seeing media reports of the shootings that killed at least 49. Fuller says Tarrant has spent little time in Australia in the past four years. Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Mick Willing says Tarrant was only known to police for "minor traffic matters." Willing says there's no information to suggest any further threat in New Zealand or Australia. 11:12PM Suspect pictured in court Brenton Tarrant, charged for murder, made a sign to the camera during his appearance in the Christchurch District Court in New Zealand. The suspect was remanded without plea until his next appearance in the High Court on April 5. Brenton Tarrant appears in the Christchurch District Court Credit: Reuters 10:35PM Sajid Javid left 'sick to the stomach' by New Zealand attack Home Secretary Sajid Javid said he has been left "sick to the stomach" by the terror attack in New Zealand. Writing in the Express, Mr Javid called the attack "heart-breaking". He added: "Sick to the stomach by the massacre of 49 innocent worshippers as they attended Friday prayers. "They were simply targeted for being Muslims, as they paid respects to God. "My own late father never missed Friday prayers. I often joined him, and I fondly look back on the peaceful moments we shared." 10:01PM Christchurch suspect appears in court charged with murder New Zealand police tweeted that the suspect has now appeared in court in Christchurch. There was no detail given of any plea entered. The force tweeted: "While the man is currently facing only one charge, further charges will be laid. Details of those charges will be communicated at the earliest possible opportunity." The 28-year-old man charged with murder in relation to this attack has appeared in Christchurch District Court this morning.— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) March 15, 2019 While the man is currently facing only one charge, further charges will be laid. Details of those charges will be communicated at the earliest possible opportunity.— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) March 15, 2019 Police added that 45 additional officers were deployed to Christchurch from other districts, with another 80 being drafted in today. They tweeted: "A complex investigation is under way into this terrible attack, and Police have a number of a priorities today in terms of investigation and intelligence gathering. "However another absolute focus for us is to ensure that the victims of this attack, including family members and loved ones of those killed and injured, have the best possible structures in place to provide support and welfare." Media gathered outside the district court in Christchurch Credit: Edgar Su/Reuters 9:56PM Police begin search of scene New Zealand police are beginning a detailed search of the scenes of yesterday's attacks in the hope of uncovering more clues. Police officers prepare to search the area near the Masjid Al Noor mosque, site of one of the mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch Credit: Mark Baker/AP 9:45PM Secretary General of the Muslim World League condemns attack Sheikh Dr. Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Alissa said: "The Muslim World League condemns the attacks in New Zealand's mosques that has claimed the lives of dozens of innocent worshipers and left many others seriously wounded. "The Muslim World League also expresses its deep grief and condolences for the families, friends and communities of the victims. "Terrorist attacks against people of faith are one of the most inhumane and evil forms of incitement and hatred. "The barbarity, hatred and ill will of this extremist terrorist act parallels the violent acts of Al-Qaeda and Daesh. "In the face of such evil, the global community can answer only with the values of love, harmony and peace." 9:09PM Jacinda Ardern ends her speech Ms Ardern said: "I want to finish by saying that while the nation grapples with a form of grief and anger that we have not experienced before, we are seeking answers. "As is the entire nation, we are all unified in grieving together." Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand speaks on Saturday morning in Wellington Credit: Mark Tantrum/Getty She added: "Rhetoric of racism, division and extremism has no place not only in New Zealand but I would say in a society as a whole." 8:44PM PM of New Zealand details attacker Jacinta Ardern said that three people have been arrested over the attack, including an Australian who has been charged with murder. She said: "This individual has travelled around the world with sporadic periods of time spent in New Zealand. "They were not a resident of Christchurch, in fact they were currently based in Dunedin at the time of this event. "Inquiries are ongoing to establish whether the other two who were arrested were directly involved with this incident. "The forth person who was arrested yesterday was a member of the public who was in possession of a firearm, but with the intention of assisting police. "They have since been released." 8:41PM More from Jacinda Arden She said: "Our gun laws will change. "There were attempts to change the law in 2005 and 2012, and after an inquiry in 2017. "Now is the time for change." Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand 8:38PM New Zealand's prime minister holding press conference Jacinda Ardern says that the suspected killer had five firearms. She said there were two semi-automatic weapons, two shotguns and a lever-action firearm. He had obtained a gun licence in November 2017. 8:23PM Trump: There's no rising white nationalism in the US Donald Trump has said he does not see a rise in white nationalism - but it may be an issue in New Zealand. Asked by a reporter if he sees an increase in white nationalism, Mr Trump said: "I don't really. I think it’s a small group of people." White supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. Mr Trump said of the conflict that there were "very fine people on both sides" Mr Trump also said he had not seen a manifesto in which the suspected gunman denounced immigrants and praised Mr Trump as "a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose." 7:40PM Trump tweets: "We love you, New Zealand!" Just spoke with Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, regarding the horrific events that have taken place over the past 24 hours. I informed the Prime Minister....— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 15, 2019 ....that we stand in solidarity with New Zealand – and that any assistance the U.S.A. can give, we stand by ready to help. We love you New Zealand!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 15, 2019 7:32PM Donald Trump to address the crisis shortly The White House has announced he will speak at 3:30pm local time (7:30pm UK). Donald Trump will speak on Friday from the White House 6:53PM Gay pride suspended Organisers of the Wellington International Pride Parade have suspended the event In a statement they said: "We, like all New Zealanders, are hurting today. We don't want terrorists to win, we don't want terrorists to dictate how we live our lives. "If we were to proceed, we would divert crucial emergency services away from their duty." Organisers of Wellington's Out in the Park gay fair have also cancelled their event. "Police strongly advise we not proceed with our events this weekend in the interest of public safety. "Thank you to the many people and groups who have been in touch to discuss what we can collectively do to acknowledge this act of hatred." 6:45PM Latest photos from Christchurch Armed police officers stand guard in a perimeter outside Al Noor mosque 6:42PM Bulgaria investigates gunman's travel to the country Prosecutors in Bulgaria on Friday launched a probe into a recent visit to the country by the Australian man alleged to be the gunman. The suspected assailant visited Bulgaria from November 9-15 last year claiming he wanted "to visit historical sites and study the history of the Balkan country," Bulgaria's chief prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov said. He said the inquiry would establish if this was "correct or if he had other objectives". An image from the alleged gunman's social media According to investigators, the man arrived in Sofia from Dubai on November 9 and hired a car the following day to visit historical sites in ten locations. He left on November 15 on a flight bound for Bucharest where he hired a car to travel to Hungary, Mr Tsatsarov said. The Australian had also made a short visit to the Balkans from December 28-30, 2016, travelling by bus across Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sofia said it was in contact with authorities in the US, New Zealand, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia and Montenegro over the matter. 5:07PM Four Pakistanis injured and five missing: foreign ministry spokesman Update on New Zealand terrorism incident - 4 Pakistanis injured and being treated in hospitals - 5 Pakistanis are missing. Identities are being authenticated in consultation with local authorities.— Dr Mohammad Faisal (@DrMFaisal) March 15, 2019 5:05PM Trudeau: "Far too often, Muslims suffer unimaginable loss and pain in the places where they should feel safest" Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has expressed sympathy for the victims. “Canadians across the country were appalled to wake up to news of the terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that killed and injured so many people, including children. “We extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends who lost loved ones in this senseless tragedy. To the people of New Zealand and to Muslim communities around the world: you are in our hearts and minds. We join in your grief and stand with you at this incredibly difficult time. Justin Trudeau “Far too often, Muslims suffer unimaginable loss and pain in the places where they should feel safest. Canada remembers too well the sorrow we felt when a senseless attack on the Centre culturel islamique de Québec in Ste-Foy claimed the lives of many innocent people gathered in prayer. “To move forward as a world, we need to recognize diversity as a source of strength, and not a threat. Last night’s victims were fathers, mothers, and children. They were neighbours, friends, and family members. As with every life taken too soon, the full measure of their loss will never be known. “Canada condemns this attack, and will continue to work closely with New Zealand, our close partner and friend, and others to take action against violent extremism. Hate has no place anywhere. We must all confront Islamophobia and work to create a world in which all people—no matter their faith, where they live, or where they were born—can feel safe and secure.” 5:03PM First of two Bangladeshi victims named One of the two Bangladeshis killed in the Christchurch attack has been identified by local media. The Dhaka Tribune identified him as Dr Md Abdus Samad, from Kurigram. The Al Noor mosque in Christchurch The paper said he was the eldest among 10 siblings, according to his younger brother AKM Shamsuddin, who lives in Nageshwari Upazila in Kurigram. Mr Shamsuddin said he learned of his brother’s death soon after the attack. Dr Samad formerly taught agricultural economics at Bangladesh Agricultural University. Around a decade ago, he migrated to New Zealand with his wife and their two sons. Mr Shamsuddin, citing another brother Abdul Kader, claimed Dr Samad’s wife and sons are unhurt. 4:58PM Afghan president condemns "evil" attack President @ashrafghani condemns the terrorist attacks at two mosques in New Zealand that tragically claimed many precious lives. This attack reaffirms that terrorism has no religion or race; it is an evil phenomenon against whole of mankind.— ارگ (@ARG_AFG) March 15, 2019 4:47PM UN Secretary-General "appalled" U.N. CHIEF APPALLED BY NEW ZEALAND ATTACK, SAYS URGENT NEED TO WORK BETTER GLOBALLY TO TACKLE ISLAMOPHOBIA - SPOKESMAN Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General 3:05PM Swedish mother responds to gunman's manifesto From Sweden, Richard Orange writes: In his racist Twitter manifesto, Tarrant had claimed to want "to take revenge for Ebba Akerlund", the 11-year-old victim of 2017's Stockholm terror attack, even writing her name on the gun he used. But Åkerlund's mother Jeanette Akerlund told the Expressen newspaper that it was "extremely tragic" that her daughter's name was being "misused in political propaganda". "I never would have even have been able to conceive that someone would write my daughter's name on a rifle," her father Stefan Akerlund added. "This goes against everything Ebba stood for," Mrs Akerlund told Swedish state broadcaster SVT. "I suffer in sympathy with the families who have been struck by this. I reject violence in all situations. Violence is not the solution." 2:38PM "Pakistan views this terrorist attack as an assault on freedom" From our correspondent in Pakistan, Ben Farmer. The Pakistani foreign ministry has issued a statement: Pakistan condemns in the strongest possible terms, the heinous terrorist attack earlier today on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that resulted in loss of over 40 innocent lives, and critical injury to 20 others. At this difficult moment, the people and government of Pakistan stand in solidarity with the people and government of New Zealand, the bereaved families and the affected community. We express our deepest condolences on the loss of precious lives, and pray for quick recovery of the wounded. Pakistan views this terrorist attack as an assault on the values of freedom of conscience and association common to all mankind. Pakistan earnestly hopes that the government of New Zealand will take immediate action to bring the perpetrators and abettors of this terror attack to justice, and ensure the safety and security of the affected communities. Our High Commission in New Zealand is in touch with the concerned authorities in New Zealand to obtain further details. Contact number of the focal person in the High Commission has been circulated. 2:19PM White House condemns attack “The United States strongly condemns the attack in Christchurch. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with the people of New Zealand and their government against this vicious act of hate.”— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) March 15, 2019 2:18PM Mosque gunman referenced Quebec City shooting On Wednesday, the Twitter handle @brentontarrant tweeted pictures of one of the guns apparently later used in the attacks, writes Christopher Guly in Ottawa. It was covered in white lettering, featuring the names of others who had committed race- or religion-based killings. It included the phrase: "Here's Your Migration Compact." The attached photo of rifle ammunition appeared on the suspect’s since-deleted Twitter account. Those mentioned include Quebec City mosque shooter Alexandre Bissonnette, who shot and killed six men in a Quebec City mosque on Jan, 29, 2017. 2:09PM India sends its condolences Our correspondent in Delhi, Saptarshi Ray, writes: The Indian ministry of external affairs in New Delhi has issued a statement condemning the attacks. “The Prime Minister has expressed his deep shock and sadness at the loss of scores of innocent lives in the heinous terrorist attack at the places of worship in Christchurch today. “In a letter addressed to H. E. Ms. Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, he expressed his deepest condolences to the families bereaved in this dastardly attack, offered heartfelt prayers for the speedy recovery of the injuried and underscored India’s solidarity with the friendly people of New Zealand at this difficult time. “The Prime Minister stressed India’s strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and of all those who support such acts of violence. He stressed that hatred and violence have no place in diverse and democratic societies.” 1:56PM Downing Street flies flag at half mast for New Zealand shooting victims Flags on @10DowningStreet and @foreignoffice Buildings are flown at half mast as a mark of respect to those who lost their lives and all others that were affected by the attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand— Foreign Office �� (@foreignoffice) March 15, 2019 1:20PM Dukes and Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex: Our hearts go out to grieving families The Dukes and Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex have condemned the "horrifying assault" on worshipers at two mosques in ChristChurch, New Zealand. The Sussexes toured the country only last year and were warmly received on their many engagements. The Cambridges also visited the country with the infant Prince George in 2014. A joint statement from Kensington Palace said: "Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the people who lost their lives in the devastating attack in Christchurch. "We have all been fortunate to spend time in Christchurch and have felt the warm, open-hearted and generous spirit that is core to its remarkable people. "No person should ever have to fear attending a sacred place of worship. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the Tamatekapua meeting in Rotorua, New Zealand, during their tour of the country in October Credit: Getty "This senseless attack is an affront to the people of Christchurch and New Zealand, and the broader Muslim community. It is a horrifying assault on a way of life that embodies decency, community, and friendship. "We know that from this devastation and deep mourning, the people of New Zealand will unite to show that such evil can never defeat compassion and tolerance. "We send our thoughts and prayers to everyone in New Zealand today." 1:04PM Christchurch hospital surgeons working into the night to save victims Canterbury District Health Board chief executive David Meates has told the New Zealand Herald that surgeons in Christchurch are working into the night to save victims of the two mosque shootings. He said: "What we have been dealing with today is 48 gunshot wounds that were presented at Christchurch Hospital. So we have had 12 operating theatres that have been operating since this afternoon and will be continuing through until about midnight." Patients' gunshot injuries ranged from "really critically injured" through to lesser wounds. Mr Meates added: "With the size and scale of the operations we are doing today, many of those will end up having multiple operations over the coming days and weeks due to the nature of the wounds they have got." Victim arriving at hospital in Christchurch following the shootings Credit: AFP Meates said a "mass casualty plan" had been activated. "It is something that we plan for and hope we never have to activate, and we have had to activate that today," he said. "That involves us pulling in surgeons, nurses, doctors, support staff to enable us to respond, and we start deferring non-critical surgeries." Meates said there had been over 200 family members on site at the hospital today. "We have been working really closely with the Muslim community, police and other agencies to make sure we have the appropriate support structures in place," he said The hospital would accommodate families who needed to stay there overnight. 12:52PM Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall 'utterly horrified' by New Zealand shootings The Prince of Wales has expressed his horror at the "barbaric attacks" on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, calling it a "cruel and tragic loss" of life. The Prince, 70, who is set to become the country's head of state when he succeeds the Queen, also said he knew New Zealand "will never allow hate and division to triumph". He said: "Both my wife and I were utterly horrified to hear of the most barbaric attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, which resulted in the cruel and tragic loss of so many people’s lives. "It is beyond all belief that so many should have been killed and injured at their place of worship and our most special and heartfelt sympathy goes out to all the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives. The Prince of Wales has sent a message to the people of New Zealand: Both my wife and I were utterly horrified to hear of the most barbaric attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, which resulted in the cruel and tragic loss of so many people’s lives... (1/4)— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) March 15, 2019 "This appalling atrocity is an assault on all of us who cherish religious freedom, tolerance, compassion and community. I know that the people of New Zealand will never allow hate and division to triumph over these things they hold dear. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families, the first responders, the people of Christchurch and all New Zealanders at this most heartbreaking of times. " 12:46PM Social media companies told 'enough is enough' over extremist content Social media companies are coming over mounting pressure for hosting content from the suspects in the New Zealand shooting. A live stream of the attack at the Al Noor mosque was posted on Facebook, with clips later appearing on YouTube, which is owned by Google. Facebook has removed the footage and deleted the account, while YouTube has now removed the initial clips and said it is monitoring to find any new ones uploaded. Suspect Brenton Tarrant also posted pictures of guns on his Twitter account, which has since been deleted, days before the attack. This afternoon Home Secretary Sajid Javid criticised YouTube, Google, Facebook and Twitter saying "enough is enough" and that they needed to "take some ownership" You need to more @YouTube@Google@facebook@Twitter to stop violent extremism being promoted on your platforms. Take some ownership. Enough is enough https://t.co/GTSgRufOow— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) March 15, 2019 Number 10 has also called on tech giants to "act more quickly" to remove terrorist material. In a statement, a Downing St spokesperson said: “Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other providers have taken action to remove the video and other propaganda related to the attack. “The Government has been clear that all companies need to act more quickly to remove terrorist content. “There should be no safe spaces for terrorists to promote and share their extreme views and radicalise others”. Social media companies have also come in for criticism from MPs such as senior Conservative backbencher Damian Collins and Shadow Culture Secretary, Tom Watson. It's very distressing that the terrorist attack in New Zealand was live streamed on social media & footage was available hours later. There must be a serious review of how these films were shared and why more effective action wasn't taken to remove them.https://t.co/lk9UYWhIp4— Damian Collins (@DamianCollins) March 15, 2019 Google have contacted me to explain that they posted the "inappropriate" content warning on the NZ massacre footage while they "reviewed the video" for YouTube. Not good enough. They should have just taken it down, then reviewed it. pic.twitter.com/5Zh2IfxwgR— Tom Watson (@tom_watson) March 15, 2019 12:10PM Attacks took place three miles apart The attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, which left 49 dead and more than 20 seriously wounded, took place just three miles apart. Christchurch Mosque shootings 11:46AM Pope Francis saddened by "senseless acts" Pope Francis has said he is saddened by the "senseless acts" in New Zealand, after 49 people have been killed in two shootings at mosques in the city of Christchurch. The pontiff said he was praying for the dozens seriously injured in the attacks and "for all affected by this tragedy". A statement released by the Vatican said: "His Holiness Pope Francis was deeply saddened to learn of the injury and loss of life caused by the senseless acts of violence at two Mosques in Christchurch, and he assures all New Zealanders, and in particular the Muslim community, of his heartfelt solidarity in the wake of these attacks. "Mindful of the efforts of the security and emergency personnel in this difficult situation, His Holiness prays for the healing of the injured, the consolation of those who grieve the loss of their loved ones, and for all affected by this tragedy. "Commending those who have died to the loving mercy of Almighty God, Pope Francis invokes the divine blessings of comfort and strength upon the nation." 11:37AM All Blacks star pays tearful tribute to victims All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams has paid an emotional tribute to the victims of the Christchurch mosque shootings. The 33-year-old rugby player, who is a practising Muslim, appeared tearful in a video posted from his car on Twitter, saying: "I just heard the news and I couldn't put it into words how I am feeling right now..." My heart is hurting about the news coming out of Christchurch. Sending love & prayers to the effected families❤️�� pic.twitter.com/7PX9wc56b8— Sonny Bill Williams (@SonnyBWilliams) March 15, 2019 He later added: "You guys are all in paradise and I am deeply, deeply saddened that this would happen in New Zealand" 11:21AM Where the attacks happened Christchurch Mosque shootings 11:02AM Her Majesty offers condolences The Queen has said she is "deeply saddened" by the events in Christchurch. The monarch, who is New Zealand's head of state, said: "I have been deeply saddened by the appalling events in Christchurch today. Prince Philip and I send our condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives. ...I also pay tribute to the emergency services and volunteers who are providing support to those who have been injured. At this tragic time, my thoughts and prayers are with all New Zealanders. Elizabeth R. (2/2)https://t.co/65pL375hFC— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) March 15, 2019 "I also pay tribute to the emergency services and volunteers who are providing support to those who have been injured. "At this tragic time, my thoughts and prayers are with all New Zealanders.” 10:32AM Worshipper recounts how he was 'last person to get out alive' Eye-witness Ramzan Ali was was at the Masjid Al Noor mosque, he told the New Zealand Herald that he was "the last person to get out of the mosque alive". "I saw people running for all the doors," he said. "To get 300 people out of the doorways was not easy - out of two doorways, because he entered through the main door, and there were two more doors on the sides. Ramzan Ali Credit: Getty He said that the shooting stopped and restarted seven times as the shooter kept reloading ammunition. "He just started shooting - 'bang, bang, bang'. My cousin was sitting beside me and he got hit in his leg." 10:22AM Mosque shooter says attack inspired by Anders Breivik Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian who was a gunman in the New Zealand terror attacks, described himself as an “ordinary white man” who was inspired by Norway mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik and wanted to avenge “thousands of deaths caused by foreign invaders”. Tarrant, who filmed himself attacking a Christchurch mosque in a Facebook Live video, posted a 74-page manifesto in which he claims to be from a “working class, low income family”. New Zealand shooting suspect Brenton Tarrant said the attacks were inspired by Anders Behring Breivik Credit: AFP He said he was of Scottish, Irish and English stock and moved to New Zealand temporarily to plan and train and then stayed there after deciding to conduct the attack. Read full story here. 10:01AM New Zealand police begin to spread the net wide Police say they are still dealing with "what is an unprecedented event for New Zealand". The force has also said that officers have evacuated two streets in the southern city of Dunedin as they search a property in relation to the Christchurch shootings. 1/2 Police are currently in attendance at a property on Somerville Street, Dunedin. This is a location of interest in relation to the serious firearms incident in Christchurch today. Evacuations of properties in the immediate area have taken place as a precaution.— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) March 15, 2019 9:52AM UK-based YouTuber 'sickened' to be namechecked by suspect on Facebook Brighton-based YouTuber, Felix Kjellberg, who is known as PewDiePie on the vlogging platform, said he was "absolutely sickened" to be named by one of the suspects in New Zealand attacks. YouTuber Felix Kjellberg, known as PewDiePie Credit: YouTube One of the suspects live-streamed the shooting on Facebook and was heard to say "Remember, lads, subscribe to PewDiePie.” Facebook has since removed the video and deleted the suspect's account. The reference was to a viral challenge started by fans of Kjellberg, who has nearly 90 million subscribers, to keep him as the biggest YouTube channel. In recent months, PewDiePie fans have been making the slogan appear in various public places in an attempt to stop the Swedish vlogger being overtaken by an Indian music YouTube channel. This morning Kjellberg tweeted his disgust that his name was used and said his "heart goes out to the victims". Just heard news of the devastating reports from New Zealand Christchurch. I feel absolutely sickened having my name uttered by this person. My heart and thoughts go out to the victims, families and everyone affected by this tragedy.— ƿ૯ωძɿ૯ƿɿ૯ (@pewdiepie) March 15, 2019 9:36AM Met Police offers to support New Zealand colleagues The Metropolitan Police's national lead for Counter Terrorism, Neil Basu, has said police are today stepping up "reassurance patrols" around UK mosques and added the force was "ready to support" their New Zealand colleagues. “We are monitoring events in New Zealand closely and send our condolences to all those affected.” Condolences and update from national counter terrorism lead Neil Basu regarding the terrorist attack in New Zealand.https://t.co/ZY6s1hPbRK— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) March 15, 2019 He said: “We are monitoring events in New Zealand closely and send our condolences to all those affected. Our international network of UK counter terrorism officers will be ready to support our counterparts in New Zealand in responding to and investigating this appalling attack. “We stand together with all our communities and partners here in the UK and overseas, and will continue to work with them to counter the threat no matter where it comes from. " 9:20AM Christchurch mayor: Our city has changed forever The mayor of Christchurch, Lianne Dalziel, has said she is "heartbroken" by the attacks on two mosques in her city, which have left 49 dead. In a statement she said: “Our city has changed forever today. It is beyond belief that something like this should happen in our city and in New Zealand,'' the Mayor says. “Christchurch is a city that welcomes people from all cultures, religions and backgrounds and it breaks my heart to see this happen in our city. People wait for news outside the mosque in central Christchurch following the mass shooting Credit: AP/Mark Baker “It is clear that an extremist moved here with the intention of carrying out a premeditated attack. The fact so many of our residents died is just devastating. “We are all shocked and saddened by today’s events and our hearts go out to the victims and their families." 9:09AM Met steps up police presence around London mosques London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said the Metropolitan Police will maintain a "high visible" presence around London mosques as Muslims head to prayers today. Heartbreaking news from New Zealand this morning where innocent people have been murdered because of their faith. London stands with the people of Christchurch in the face of this horrific terror attack. London will always celebrate the diversity that some seek to destroy. pic.twitter.com/QEzYn5IQuN— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) March 15, 2019 9:03AM Australian PM brands senator's comments 'disgusting' for linking attack to 'fear of increasing Muslim presence' Far right Australian Senator, Fraser Anning, has provoked anger by issuing an statement hours after the shootings saying they “highlight the growing fear within our community of the increasing Muslim presence.” Queensland senator Fraser Anning Credit: Mick Tsikas The independent representative from Queensland said: “I am utterly opposed to any form of violence within our community, and I totally condemn the actions of the gunman. “However, whilst this kind of violent vigilantism can never be justified, what it highlights is the growing fear within our community, both in Australia and New Zealand, of the increasing Muslim presence.” The comments have been branded "disgusting" by Australia's Prime Minister, Scott Morrison. Heartbreaking news from New Zealand this morning where innocent people have been murdered because of their faith. London stands with the people of Christchurch in the face of this horrific terror attack. London will always celebrate the diversity that some seek to destroy. pic.twitter.com/QEzYn5IQuN— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) March 15, 2019 8:46AM Theresa May offers condolences to New Zealans of behalf of the UK On behalf of the UK, my deepest condolences to the people of New Zealand after the horrifying terrorist attack in Christchurch. My thoughts are with all of those affected by this sickening act of violence.— Theresa May (@theresa_may) March 15, 2019 8:14AM Death toll rises to 49 One male in his late twenties has been charged with murder, and two others are in custody on possession of firearms, Christchurch Police Commissioner confirms. The death toll now stands at 49. 7:18AM Jeremy Hunt offers condolences to New Zealand friends British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "Our hearts go out to the people of New Zealand following the news of this terrible act in Christchurch. "NZ is one of the most peaceful, peace-loving and generous nations in the world. "Your friends in the UK stand with you today in deepest sympathy." 6:57AM Image of mosque gunman This still image taken from a video which goes on to show first-person footage from the first mosque shooting, purports to show the gunman on his way to carry out the attack. A still image taken from video circulated on social media, apparently taken by a gunman and posted online live as the attack unfolded Credit: Reuters 6:43AM Suspects were not on any terror watchlist Jacinda Ardern said New Zealand had been placed on its highest security threat level. She said the four people in police custody held extremist views, but had not been on any police watchlists. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaking on live television following the attacks in Christchurch Credit: Reuters Speaking during a press conference Ardern said: "I think we should be vigilant against the idea of extreme ideology and extreme violence and violent acts." She added: "You'll notice from the language that you hear from those who work in our intelligence and security services that their focus is on extremism regardless of where it comes from. "We need to be blind in that regard. It needs to be absolutely focused on threat and ideology and extremism, because obviously that is what we have experienced here today." 6:33AM New Zealand PM says 40 dead in terror attack New Zealand's Prime Minister says 40 people were killed and another 20 have been seriously injured in the Christchurch mosque attacks. She described the attack as "well planned terror attacks" 6:27AM "It was 1.42pm and the guns started shooting" Eyewitnesses describe the moment the first mosque was attacked: 6:05AM One Christchurch shooting suspect is Australian One of four people detained in New Zealand after today's mass shootings in Christchurch is Australian, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. "I can confirm that the individual who was taken into custody I have been advised is an Australian-born citizen," he told reporters in Sydney. "As family members with our New Zealand cousins today, we grieve, we are shocked, we are appalled, we are outraged, and we stand here and condemn absolutely the attack that occurred today by an extremist, right-wing, violent terrorist." 5:39AM New Zealand mosques asked to close Police have asked all mosques across the country to shut their doors today after the devastating attacks in Christchurch. Three men and one woman are now confirmed to be in police custody, however police have said they are not assuming the incident is contained. 5:17AM Gunman reportedly streamed live video of attack A Facebook Live video that shows a clean-shaven, Caucasian man with short hair driving to a mosque, then shooting as he enters the building was circulating online after the attacks. The gunman continues to shoot at people inside the mosque, some of whom were trying to flee while others were huddled in corners of the building, according to the copy of the video that AFP found on YouTube. AFP confirmed the video was genuine through a digital investigation that included matching screenshots of the mosque taken from the gunman's footage with multiple images available online showing the same areas. Facebook has since suspended the account that posted the video and condemned the attack. Police alerted us to a video on Facebook shortly after the livestream commenced and we quickly removed both the shooter’s Facebook and Instagram accounts and the video. We're also removing any praise or support for the crime and the shooter or shooters as soon as we’re aware.— Facebook Newsroom (@fbnewsroom) March 15, 2019 5:01AM Lockdown lifted after Christchurch mosque attacks New Zealand police on Friday lifted a lockdown put in place after deadly armed assaults on two Christchurch mosques, allowing frantic parents to pick up their children. "Police can now confirm the lock down of schools throughout Christchurch has been lifted," New Zealand Police said in a statement. Police can now confirm the lock down of schools throughout Christchurch has been lifted. We would like to reassure members of the public that there is a large Police presence in the city and the safety of the community is our priority.— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) March 15, 2019 4:39AM Four in custody as police discover IEDs in attack New Zealand police say 3 men and 1 woman are now in custody over shootings at two mosques in Christchurch. Police have also confirmed they found and secured IEDs amid the attacks. 4:32AM New Zealand v Bangladesh cricket Test cancelled New Zealand and Bangladesh have cancelled the third cricket Test after the Bangladeshi team were caught up in one of the mosque shootings. "A joint decision between NZC and the @BCBtigers has been made to cancel the Hagley Oval Test," the New Zealand team tweeted, adding that all players and officials were safe. The third and final Test was scheduled to start on Saturday at Christchurch's Hagley Oval. New Zealand won the first two games in the series. Bangladeshi players and team staff arrived at the city's Masjid al Noor for Friday prayers as a shooting unfolded and were warned not to go inside. 4:26AM 'Extremely distressing' footage of attack New Zealand police warned that "extremely distressing footage" existed relating to a deadly mosque shooting in Christchurch on Friday, and urged that it not be shared. "Police are aware there is extremely distressing footage relating to the incident in Christchurch circulating online," New Zealand police said in a Twitter post. "We would strongly urge that the link not be shared. We are working to have any footage removed." 4:17AM Schools remain on lockdown New Zealand police have reminded parents that all schools in Christchurch remain on lockdown, and will only communicate with police at this stage. Parents were assured that children are being cared for by schools, and "the safety of the community is our priority". 1/4 Due to the ongoing serious firearms incident in Central Christchurch Police would like to remind all parents and caregivers that schools across the city remain in lock down.There is no timeframe at this stage for when the lock down will be lifted. The children are being...— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) March 15, 2019 2/4 taken care of by schools. On advice from Police, schools will communicate directly with parents when the lock down is lifted.The safety of the community is our priority.— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) March 15, 2019 4:09AM Witness describes scene inside mosque Witness Mohan Ibrahim said he was one of 200 people in the Masjid Al Noor mosque on Deans Avenue when he heard shots fired. He told the New Zealand Herald: "At first we thought it was an electric shock but then all these people started running." "I still have friends inside," he added. "I have been calling my friends but there are many I haven't heard from. I am scared for my friends' lives." Armed police patrol outside a mosque in central Christchurch Credit: MARK BAKER/AP 3:54AM New Zealand Prime Minister stands with migrants A solemn Jacinda Ardern called Friday's attack "an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence," calling migrants that have chosen New Zealand as their home "us". "Many of those who will have been directly affected by this shooting may be migrants to New Zealand, they may even be refugees here," Ardern said. "They have chosen to make New Zealand their home, and it is their home. They are us. The person who has perpetuated this violence against us is not." "They should have been in a safe environment," she said. 3:28AM Police mobilising resources across country in response to 'tragic incident' 1/5 Police is responding to a very serious and tragic incident involving an active shooter in central Christchurch. One person is in custody, however Police believe there may be other offenders.... This is an evolving incident and we are working to confirm the facts...— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) March 15, 2019 2/5 however we can confirm there have been a number of fatalities. Police is currently at a number of scenes. We understand that there will be many anxious people but I can assure New Zealanders that Police is doing all it can to resolve this incident.— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) March 15, 2019 3/5 We urge New Zealanders to stay vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour immediately to 111. We are mobilising resources nationally and support is being brought into the District. We are still working to resolve this incident and we continue to urge Christchurch...— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) March 15, 2019 3:21AM New Zealand Prime Minister says may be 'other offenders' Jacinda Ardern says there may be 'other offenders' in Christchurch shootings as the Prime Minister calls this 'one of New Zealand's darkest days'. 3:10AM Police confirm fatalities at two locations New Zealand police have confirmed 'multiple fatalities' at two locations in Christchurch. Police said they have one person in custody, but do not know at this stage if there are more suspects on the loose, Police have warned worshippers not to visit mosques 'anywhere in New Zealand'. 3:04AM Witness describes seeing multiple people dead or injured Witness Len Peneha said he saw a man dressed in black enter the Masjid Al Noor mosque in central Christchurch at about 1:45 p.m. and then heard dozens of shots, followed by people running from the mosque in terror. Mr Peneha, who lives next door to the mosque, said the gunman ran out of the mosque, dropped what appeared to be a semi-automatic weapon in Peneha's driveway, and fled. Mr Peneha said he then went into the mosque to try and help. "I saw dead people everywhere. There were three in the hallway, at the door leading into the mosque, and people inside the mosque," he said. "It's unbelievable nutty. I don't understand how anyone could do this to these people, to anyone. It's ridiculous." He said he helped about five people recover in his home. He said one was slightly injured. "I've lived next door to this mosque for about five years and the people are great, they're very friendly," he said. "I just don't understand it." He said the gunman was white and was wearing a helmet with some kind of device on top, giving him a military-type appearance. 2:55AM Mass climate change rally for children taking place nearby attack The city council is offering a helpline for parents looking for children attending a mass climate change rally nearby the shooting. "Please do not try and come and collect your children until police say it is safe for people to come into the central city," they said. UPDATE: All Council-owned facilities across the city are now in full lock-down. If youR child was attending the climate change protest in Cathedral Square and you want to check if they are in the Civic Offices, please call the Council Contact Centre on 03-941-8999.— ChCh City Council (@ChristchurchCC) March 15, 2019 2:45AM New Zealand media reporting shooting at a second Christchurch mosque New Zealand media say a shooting has occurred in a second mosque in the city of Christchurch. No details were immediately available. Earlier Friday afternoon, police had urged people to stay indoors as authorities responded to a shooting at the Masjid Al Noor mosque. A neighbor described mass casualties inside the mosque and said he saw the gunman flee. 2:36AM Bangladeshi cricket team tweet they are safe Bangladeshi cricketer Mushfiqur Rahim has tweeted to say he and his teammates who were in the mosque during the shooting are safe. He wrote: Alhamdulillah Allah save us today while shooting in Christchurch in the mosque...we r extremely lucky...never want to see this things happen again....pray for us Alhamdulillah Allah save us today while shooting in Christchurch in the mosque...we r extremely lucky...never want to see this things happen again....pray for us— Mushfiqur Rahim (@mushfiqur15) March 15, 2019

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