This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Riots in Liberia after Ebola slum is blockaded
- Australian MP Clive Palmer shocks country with anti-China rant
- Invasion of Libya feared following mysterious bombing of Tripoli
Riots in Liberia after Ebola slum is blockaded
Liberian police and soldiers exchanged fire with residents of thedensely populated West Point seaside slum in Monrovia, the capital ofLiberia, after security forces blocked roads leading in and out of theslum, and a coast guard boat patrolled the waters offshore. Securityforces also blocked off the Waterside Market, one of Monrovia’s keymarket places, due to its proximity to the slum.
It’s feared that Ebola is spreading rapidly out of control within theslum after looters attacked an Ebola clinic last week, stealing supplies and blood-stained sheets andmattresses, permitting 37 Ebola patients to leave the clinic. Thereare 50-75,000 residents trapped within the West Point area.
Barricading an area to prevent people from leaving and spreadingdisease is sometimes called a cordon sanitaire.During the Black Death bubonic plague epidemic, which spread throughItaly in late 1347, victims of the plague would be sealed in theirhouses, locked and bolted from the outside. They could receive foodonly by lowering a basket from an upper window, allowing someone toput food into it.
During the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, many families would lockthemselves in their own homes to avoid getting exposed.
It’s doubtful that Monrovia’s cordon sanitaire will prevent thefurther spread of Ebola. Many health officials are concerned thatit’s already too late to stop Ebola in Liberia and that the diseasewon’t be stopped until it’s fully run its course. News24 (South Africa) and Daily Mail (London) and Temple University and New Republic
Australian MP Clive Palmer shocks country with anti-China rant
MP and business mogul Clive Palmer has shocked Australia with somerather raw remarks about the Chinese. He was appearing on a TV talkshow and was asked about a corruption charge by a Chinese company.He said, “It’s not true, it’s false,” and said the Chinese wanted totake over Australian ports and control Australian resources, adding: “I don’t mind standing up against the Chinese bastardsand stopping them from doing it.”
He startled the audience by calling the Chinese “mongrels,” and said: “I’m saying that because they’re communist, becausethey shoot their own people, they haven’t got a justice system andthey want to take over this country.”
Later, he tweeted a clarification: “My #qanda comments not intended torefer to Chinese people but to Chinese company which is takingAustralian resources & not paying#auspol.”
The Chinese embassy said Palmer’s words were “full of of ignorance andprejudice,” and added, “We believe that a sound China-Australian relationshipserves the fundamental interests of both countries. It is andalways will be supported by the two peoples.”
Australian politicians called the remarks “hugely damaging” toAustralia and to Australia-China relations. Foreign Minister JulieBishop described the rant as “offensive, unnecessary and unacceptablefor a member of Parliament.”
No one is defending the “mongrel” characterization, but many people,including me, have repeatedly pointed out that China is openlypreparing for a pre-emptive attack and war with America, and thereforewith America’s allies including Australia.
Colleague Senator Jacqui Lambie defended Palmer, saying that sheChina’s military capacity and threat to Australia.” She added:
If there’s one thing I’ve learnt after serving mycountry in the Australian defense force for 11 years and listeningclosely to our veterans, it’s this: the price of liberty iseternal vigilance.
If anybody thinks that we should have a national security anddefense policy, which ignores the threat of a Chinese communistinvasion – you’re delusional and got rocks in yourhead.
Sydney Morning Herald and Guardian (London)
Invasion of Libya feared following mysterious bombing of Tripoli
In the early hours of Monday morning, air strikes bombed militia basesin Tripoli, the capital city of Libya. They bombed the militia basethat had been used to launch bombs on the nearby Tripoli airport.
The problem is: Nobody seems to know whose war planes they are. Theywere precision laser-guided strikes in the middle of the night, andLibya doesn’t have warplanes with that technology or which can operateat night. Renegade former army general Khalifa Hifter (or Hafter) isfar away in the eastern part of the country, and his war planes can’trefuel in the air. Nonetheless, it’s suspected that he’s somehowbehind the attacks.
There’s no doubt that the air strikes took place, and the fear is thatsome third party was behind the strikes. Italy and France havequickly and vehemently denied that they were involved. It’s possiblethat the war planes were from Algeria or Egypt. NATO, which monitorsLibyan air space, will probably know. The fear is that, whoever itwas, there’s more to come, and that there may be an invasion coming.Middle East Eye
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Ebola, Liberia, Monrovia, West Point,Waterside Market, cordon sanitaire, Black Death, Italy, Spanish Flu,Australia, Clive Palmer, China, Julie Bishop, Jacqui Lambie,Libya, Tripoli, Khalifa Hifter, Italy, France, Nato,Algeria, Egypt
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