News Round-Up

• “Covid lab leak ‘possible and logical’ says top Chinese health official” – Former Chinese CDC head George Gao says it’s possible there was a leak at the WIV, but he believes strict standards were in place by 2019 to prevent an accident, the Telegraph reports.
• “Floridians jolted awake at 4.45am with accidental emergency alert” – Ron DeSantis said the early test alert was “a completely inappropriate use of this system”, according to the Telegraph.
• “Chicago Workers who Refused Covid Vaccines to be Reinstated with Back Pay” – Good news, says Igor Chudov, as a judge rules the city’s vaccine mandate went too, and even adds 7% interest on top of the back pay owed.
• “On epistemological imbalance, inversion as counterargument, inattendance to the harmony of the whole, the naive acceptance of origins as explanation, and the misidentification of epiphenomena” – Eugyppius defends his refusal to buy in to various conspiracy theories.
• “My daughter’s life has been ruined by the Covid vaccine, and so has mine” – A harrowing personal story in TCW.
• “Judge throws the book at Just Stop Oil protesters: Eco activists who scaled a bridge over the Dartford Crossing and caused 40 hours of gridlock are jailed for five years in record sentence for climate action” – Morgan Trowland, 40, and Marcus Decker, 36, blocked one of the busiest stretches of road in the country for 40 hours in their climate protest on October 17th last year, and now they have been sent down, reports the Mail.
• “Newsnight stoops to a new low in its climate protest coverage” – Where was the balance in the BBC Newsnight discussion between Just Stop Oil activist Indigo Rumbelow and Rupert Read of the Climate Majority Project, asks Ross Clark in the Spectator.
• “Net Zero fuel failure triggers train chaos across South West” – Trains were forced to run a reduced timetable as algae produced by green fuels blocked engines, the Telegraph reports.
• “Moment conspiracy theorist Piers Corbyn crashes XR church service and tells eco-activists they’re ‘working for the Devil’ during rant” – A video in the Mail shows the brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn ranting at a congregation at St. John Church in Waterloo before he told a vicar to get off him as he was escorted out.
• “The only ‘Net Zero’ Britain wants is net zero immigration. The European Court is standing in the way” – Instead of impoverishing us with eco-targets, politicians should keep their promises and bring immigration under control, says Richard Tice in the Telegraph.
• “How Chinese electric cars risk wrecking the Net Zero revolution” – An influx of cheap EVs is fuelling scepticism over whether they remain an eco-friendly choice, writes Howard Mustoe in the Telegraph.
• “Women don’t need another girlboss” – Kathleen Stock in UnHerd lays into the ‘inspiring’ role model industry that does women no favours.
• “The great blue-tick hissy fit” – The elites are furious at Elon Musk for revoking their unearned status. Good, says Fraser Myers in Spiked.
• “The people of Britain will pay the price for this Kafkaesque saga” – Dominic Raab argues in the Telegraph that the bullying inquiry that found against him on paper-thin grounds sets a precedent for officials to target ministers and will paralyse Government.
• “Is Dominic Raab really a ‘bully’?” – Brendan O’Neill isn’t convinced in the Spectator.
• “Dominic Raab’s resignation is a victory for the work-shy Civil Service” – The broken bureaucracy is now undeniably failing Britain, says Camilla Tominey in the Telegraph.
• “The Dominic Raab ‘bullying’ saga is a democratic outrage” – Civil servants have weaponised their hurt feelings to oust an elected politician, says Joanna Williams in Spiked.
• “A dedicated minister stitched up by the Blob ” – Who is truly in control, asks the Daily Mail in a leading article. “Is it ministers who are elected and accountable, or civil servants who are not? And if it’s the latter, do we really have democracy at all?”

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