Lithium brines typically contain less than 0.1% lithium, so that entails some 25,000 pounds of brines to get the 25 pounds of pure lithium.(d) • Cobalt ore grades average about 0.1%, thus nearly 30,000 pounds of ore.(e) • Nickel ore grades average about 1%, thus about 6,000 pounds of ore
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By Peter Andrews, Irish science journalist and writer based in London. He has a background in the life sciences, and graduated from the University of Glasgow with a degree in genetics I accept my dissenting voice may not be heeded by the UK government, but when a former Supreme Court judge delivers a damning verdict that the rules are ‘pointless, arbitrary and unnecessary’, shouldn’t they be listening?

The UK has announced a fresh suite of draconian Covid restrictions, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson warning they could be in place for six months. But, like all previous attempts, the new rules are worse than useless.

You’ve all heard the new rules by now, so I won’t analyse the details of what the individual implications will be. Just as poring over a government white paper based on astrology would be pointless, tepid nit-picking within the nascent pseudoscience of ‘Covidology’ is an exercise in futility. It’s also an immediate acceptance of the quacks’ terms of the argument.

‘The rule of six’ could be ‘the rule of seven’, the pubs could close at midnight or 10pm, level 4, 5 or 75 could be enforced – none of this would make any difference. Nor is it acceptable. The fiddled numbers, the fake compromises, the newspeak – all of it is misdirection. In a nutshell, this doubling down means nothing less than the acceleration of an end to the free, decent life to which all human beings are born entitled. Only a total return to normality should be demanded, and it’s non-negotiable ... Continue reading >>>

Britain’s former equalities chief Trevor Phillips has criticised the “woke ultras” who want to destroy symbols of British history, such as statues and names of buildings, warning that a society that damns its past “promises dark days ahead”.

The former chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission has claimed that the progressive movement “has been captured by ultras”, and “woke revolutionists'” lust for destroying symbols of the past that are remotely considered to be connected to slavery or racism portend the “crushing of dissent in the future”.

“History matters. Every revolution starts with the destruction of the symbols of the past and often the elimination of those who resist abolishing them,” Mr Phillips wrote for The Times on Friday. He gave examples of the French Revolution and Cambodia’s Pol Pot era where history was abolished and time was reset to “Year One” and “Year Zero”, respectively.

Mr Phillips also poured scorn on those “woke anti-imperialists” and their “street theatre”, who despite acting as if they speak for ethnic minorities in Briton and former colonies, likely had their closest encounter with Empire being “an especially hot vindaloo”.

The veteran anti-racism campaigner and son of Caribbean immigrants explained that “Those, like me, whose lives were directly shaped by the legacy of colonialism are far less exercised about the symbols of the past than those who were not.” ... Continue reading>>>

The latest rise in infection should be more of a 'second bump' than a second wave and the response must be proportionate

I knew a second lockdown was on the cards before we’d had the first one. In mid-March my team at the University of Edinburgh modelled a lockdown that ended in June and was followed by a slow, initially imperceptible rise in cases over the summer, culminating in a second lockdown in late September.

We knew that scenario was likely because we knew that a lockdown is a short-term fix, not a long term solution. However cautiously we relaxed restrictions the time would come when the epidemic started to take off again. In the UK, that time is now [ .... ] Some kind of response is called for, but it must be proportionate. One suggestion is a ‘circuit breaker’, the social distancing version of a short, sharp shock to drive down incidence over a two-week period. The virus would bounce back in time but we’d have bought a few weeks.

It is profoundly disappointing that six months into this pandemic, having rejected every alternative proposed, we keep coming back to lockdown, a strategy that is visibly failing around the world ... Continue reading >>>

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by Gareth Icke on http://www.davidicke,com

Huxley’s Brave New World (1932) has Alphas, Betas, and Epsilon Semi-Morons – genetically engineered classes with uniform clothing and uniform opinions. Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1948) has the Thought Police and Newspeak. While Zamyatin’s We (1921) has numbers instead of people – D-503, I-330, O-90: vowels for females, consonants for males.

If there is a single defining characteristic of dystopian literature, it is the eradication of all individuality. “Self-consciousness”, Zamyatin writes, “is just a disease”. For this reason, dystopias are invariably told by tormented outsiders: those who are well aware of the commodity-like standardisation of their fellow humans, yet either fear the consequences of speaking out or resent their own sense of self. After all, “no offence is so heinous as unorthodoxy of behaviour”, as Huxley writes.

Given their tyrannical preoccupation with uniformity, it is little wonder that, as a literary form, dystopias emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century. The totalitarian regimes of Russia and Germany as well as their technocratic Western counterparts, inspired by the likes of F. W. Taylor and Henry Ford, were central sources of inspiration. For all their apparent differences, these competing ideologies are united by the utopian attempt to redraw not just society, but the human being himself. The increasing power of science and technology gave rise to the idea that nature itself, in all its messy complexity, could be finally put straight...

Continue reading: The Dystopian Age of the Mask

Authored by Mark Jeftovic via OutOfTheCave.io,

As I briefly covered in my AxisOfEasy tech digest this week, Uber and Lyft were bracing themselves for a ruling by a California judge that threatened to force them into treating their wage slaves as employees. Lyft said if the ruling went against them it would cause “irreparable damage”. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi penned an op-ed in the New York Times that just so happened to run Monday, pining for a fair shake for gig economy serfs workers.

Khosrowshahi, whose compensation package last year clocked in at $45,000,000 USD, waxed pensively, ‘There has to be a “third way” for gig workers.’ . Ideally one in which Uber wouldn’t be on the hook for their benefits and would be able to continue apace as a Silicon Valley unicorn: posting billions of dollars a quarter in losses and jockeying for Federal bailouts. Meanwhile the early stage backers, the VC’s and the private equity funds, would continue to live large off of financialization, not having to worry about the consequences of being the driving force in a race to the bottom for everybody else (even Uber’s lümpenvestors who bought into the IPO are still underwater)... Continue reading >>>

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If the NHTSA is looking to finally grow a backbone and actually do what's right for consumers in the U.S., they could look to Germany for their template.

That's because a case brought by Germany’s Wettbewerbszentrale (the country's auto industry body that polices anti-competitive practices) has now prevented Tesla from using what a court called "misleading advertising statements" to describe the capabilities of its driver assistance systems and its full-self driving feature (which we remind you, still doesn't exist).

“The use of the term ‘Autopilot’ and other formulations suggest that the vehicle is technically capable of fully autonomous driving,” the court said, before clarifying that Autopilot is “a driver assistance system.”

Tesla can appeal the case, according to Reuters ... >>

“Family tree research is pure racism and a scandal,” according to German politicians disturbed by a police probe into Stuttgart riot suspects.

The comments came as part of a backlash over a police investigation into riots which saw 19 officers injured, several state vehicles destroyed, and more than 30 businesses damaged.

Anger broke out amongst left-wing political forces after it was announced that police would look into suspects’ family backgrounds and whether or not their parents were born in Germany.

“Family tree research is pure racism and a scandal that needs to be immediately stopped,” said Left party parliamentary head, Dietmar Bartsch speaking to RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) on Sunday ... Continue reading >>>

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has revealed that an Egyptian spy worked in the offices of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert for years, possibly collecting information on Egyptian opposition groups.

The man’s activities were revealed by intelligence officials. He man was relieved of his duties in the Federal Press Office and placed under investigation for espionage in December of 2019 by the Federal Criminal Police Office.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) has stated that at least two branches of the Egyptian secret service have a presence in Germany, the GIS international security agency and the NSS domestic security agency, tabloid Bild reports.

According to the newspaper, the Egyptian spies mostly gather information on Egyptian opposition groups in Germany, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, but also on other groups such as Coptic Christians.

So far, little has been revealed of what the suspect in the case may have provided to Egypt, but Bild notes that he would have had access to information regarding Egyptian nationals accredited by the Federal Press Office ... Continue reading

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel, by her opposition to illegal immigrants, is actually actually defending those unfortunate people who have been conned by Organised Crime Networks (OCNs) into believing that if they undertake the dangerous crossing of the channel in inflatable boats, 21 miles (minimum) in a boat designed only for inshore use, they will be welcomed into Britain as “Asylum Seekers.” ...

from Breitbart Europe

The migrant transport NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans has brought another 43 migrants to Italy from North Africa, and eight have so far tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus.

The migrants were brought to the Sicilian town of Augusta by the NGO’s vessel the Ionian Sea. Local authorities tested them for the Chinese virus, and the governor of Sicily Nello Musumeci announced the results on Thursday.

“Of the 43 immigrants landed in Augusta, eight tested positive for coronavirus. They are in Noto and not on a ship in the bay as the Sicilian government had asked; the state says that the ship is too expensive,” Musumeci said, according to Il Giornale.

He went on to add: “Why was the quarantine on the mainland? Why does nobody inform us about the real conditions of the camps in Libya? These are questions that Rome has a duty to answer.” ... Continue reading

from Zero Hedge

Assuming that Ghislaine Maxwell doesn't wind up with the means to kill herself in her jail cell, and assuming those who are supposed to be watching her 24 hours a day won't be taking any well-timed coffee breaks, Maxwell will be "naming names" and "fully cooperating" with the FBI according to a former associate of Jeffrey Epstein, according The Daily Mail.

Epstein's former employer Steven Hoffenberg said that Maxwell "knows everything" and will "totally co-operate".

In addition, Prince Andrew, who has been nudged further and further toward the center of the Epstein/Maxwell controversy, is "among those very worried" about what she might reveal, the report says. "She's going to cooperate and be very important. Andrew is definitely, definitely concerned," Hoffenberg said.

Maxwell's arrest has put increased pressure on Prince Andrew to testify about his relationship with Epstein. Maxwell is facing 35 years behind bars as a maximum sentence and may be looking to cut a deal, the report suggests ...Continue reading >>>

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A UK politician has accused BLM supporters of racially abusing him after he pointed out the group’s radical hard-left political ambitions.

London Assembly member David Kurten, who shot to prominence in recent years for repeatedly holding mayor Sadiq Khan to account in debates in the city hall chamber, spoke to Breitbart London on Tuesday about the abuse thrown his way after he spoke out against the radical left-wing agenda behind BLM.

The alleged attacks were revealed Tuesday morning when Mr Kurten wrote of the irony of BLM supporters racially abusing a BAME [UK demographic term for ‘Black, Asian and minority ethnic’] man for not sharing their political views. Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter Kurten, who describes himself as mixed race “with a Jamaican father and an English mother”, wrote: “Over the last month I’ve been called a coon, an Uncle Tom, a house [n****r], a house boy and a ‘white man’ by BLM supporters, because I don’t agree with their Marxist aims, and their violence and vandalism. So who’s racist?”.

Breitbart London has seen tweets directed at Mr Kurten using such racially charged language. Mr Kurten said tweets calling him a “[n****r]” had since been deleted by Twitter ... Continue reading >>>

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Along with the bans came an overhaul of the site’s content policy. “Everyone has a right to use Reddit free of harassment, bullying, and threats of violence,” the policy reads. “Communities and people that incite violence or that promote hate based on identity or vulnerability will be banned.” ... Continue reading >>>

A publishing scandal recently erupted around the use of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to treat Covid 19. It is also known as quinine and chloroquine, and is on the WHO list of essential medicines.

The bark of the South American quina-quina tree has been used to treat malaria for 400 years. Quinine, a generic drug costing pennies a dose, is available for purchase online. In rare cases it can cause dizziness and irregular heartbeat.

In late May, 2020, The Lancet published a four-author study claiming that HCQ used in hospitals to treat Covid-19 had been shown conclusively to be a hazard for heart death. The data allegedly covered 96,000 patients in 671 hospitals on six continents.

After the article had spent 13 days in the headlines, dogged by scientific objections, three of the authors retracted it on June 5.

Meanwhile, during an expert closed-door meeting leaked May 24 in France, The Lancet and NEJM editors explained how financially powerful pharmaceutical players were “criminally” corrupting medical science to advance their interests ... Continue reading >>>

An impressive array of more than 500 prominent world leaders, academics, and Nobel Laureates have written “A Call to Defend Democracy” in the face of a worldwide rise in government authoritarianism during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.

The June 25 text declares that beyond health concerns the COVID-19 pandemic is “a political crisis that threatens the future of liberal democracy.”

“The COVID-19 crisis is an alarming wake-up call, an urgent warning that the freedoms we cherish are at risk and that we must not take them for granted,” the document asserts.

“Authoritarian regimes, not surprisingly, are using the crisis to silence critics and tighten their political grip,” the authors note. “But even some democratically elected governments are fighting the pandemic by amassing emergency powers that restrict human rights and enhance state surveillance without regard to legal constraints, parliamentary oversight, or timeframes for the restoration of constitutional order.”

“Parliaments are being sidelined, journalists are being arrested and harassed, minorities are being scapegoated, and the most vulnerable sectors of the population face alarming new dangers as the economic lockdowns ravage the very fabric of societies everywhere,” the document proclaims.An impressive array of more than 500 prominent world leaders, academics, and Nobel Laureates have written “A Call to Defend Democracy” in the face of a worldwide rise in government authoritarianism during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.

The June 25 text declares that beyond health concerns the COVID-19 pandemic is “a political crisis that threatens the future of liberal democracy.”...Continue reading >>>

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Picture: Getty via Breitbart Europe

A leading scholar at the University of Oxford believes conservatives are afraid to stand up to the “zealous left-wing minority” who want to “erase and rewrite history” in case doing so prompts the mob to destroy their careers.

Nigel Biggar, regius professor of moral and pastoral theology, has criticised renewed demands, prompted by the Black Lives Matter movement, for statues and memorials to individuals who do not meet the standards of the 21st-century social justice left to be torn down, and for children to be taught a negatively slanted history of Britain’s imperial past.

“The problem is that most academics know nothing about imperial history,” Professor Biggar told The Telegraph ... Continue reading >>>

rioting youths in Stuttgart (Picture: CNN"

Between four and five hundred “youths” swarmed the streets of Stuttgart, Germany, attacking police officers and looting businesses in riots the AfD linked to Antifa and mass migration.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, 19 police officers were injured, 40 business were attacked, and nine shops were looted by violent rioters in Stuttgart, following a drug search of a seventeen-year-old German boy by local police.

According to the police in Stuttgart, just 24 of the hundreds of rioters were arrested, seven of whom were under the age of 18. The police said that half of those arrested have German citizenship and the other were foreign nationals, however, the statement did not provide the ethnic backgrounds of the rioters.

The president of the Stuttgart Police, Franz Lutz, claimed that the riots were not political in nature, saying: “From the current perspective, we can rule out left-wing or even political motivation for these acts of violence. It was an unprecedented dimension tonight, from overt violence against police officers and massive property damage to looting,” he said, in comments reported by German tabloid Bild-Zeitung.

by Ed West in Unherd

That strange revolution which sees the sons of the bourgeois throw cobblestones at the sons of proletarians.” So observed the French writer Jean Cau of Paris in 1968, when student protests about living conditions at the university erupted into a historic rebellion against the old guard.

That year, the United States was rocked by riots, assassinations and political crisis, and half a century later, history seems to be, if not repeating itself, then certainly rhyming. Yet while there are huge differences between the 1968 and 2020 disturbances, the one continuous theme running through both uprisings, and indeed all revolutions down the years, is the prominent role of the middle class. In particular, the upper-middle-class, the haute bourgeoise, are the driving force behind revolt and disorder throughout history, especially — as with today — when they feel they have no future. ... Continue reading >>>