A collection of three samples of outright stupidities from the news.

CHINA SACKS PARTY CHIEFS

China has sacked the top political leaders of virus-stricken Hubei province and its capital Wuhan, the highest-profile figures to be removed so far in a crisis that has killed 1,355.

The removals are the latest in a purge that saw Hubei's two most senior health officials fired earlier this week as criticism grows over the way the outbreak has been handled, with claims of under-reporting.

The problem is not so much the party chiefs, who may or may not have been incompetent, but the increasing tyranny that rules over China.  The news and social media are full of reports that indicate that the Chinese government is lying about the scope of the event.

For a while, a few years back, it seemed as if China would grow into freedom along with its economy.  However, in 1996, the Chinese started constructing the Great Firewall of China to censor the internet.

In 1996, Beijing enacted a set of interim provisions for governing computer information, and in 1998, the Ministry of Public Security launched the Golden Shield project — a national filter that blocks politically sensitive content from entering the domestic network.

Over time, the Chinese dictatorship has gotten worse.

In 2018, China got rid of term limits to allow Xi Jinping to remain in power.

Then, in 2019, China ordered that sacred texts be rewritten.

CHINA is to rewrite the Bible and the Quran to reflect its archaic Communist ideology, new reports claim.

The bizarre order came from the all-powerful Committee for Ethnic Affairs which oversees all religious matters in the state. ...

Reports say bible-bashing China wants all major religions to review their holy texts and to adapt them to the "era of President Xi Jinping".

China officially recognises all faiths but the country is known for its Big-Brother surveillance and policing worship is just one aspect of this.

Rewriting sacred texts is usually a level of control that even the worst of tyrants avoid, as such texts come in under the category of historical documents.  Xi Jinping's recent crackdown on Christianity has not been fully exposed in the Western press, where LGBT rights take precedence, but it is the worst in decades.

XI'S CRACKDOWN ON RELIGION IS CHINA'S WORST IN 40 YEARS — OZY

China Tells Christians to Replace Images of Jesus with Communist President — Christianity Today

However, Muslims posting on social media have claimed that Chinese actions against the Uighurs are responsible for the recent epidemic, which they see as a judgment from Allah.

A nurse said: #wuhan almost without doctors and nurses; mostly are dead! Remember what they use to wear. This is wrath of God! Stupid Chinese gov. challenging #Allah. stop the persecution of #uighurmuslims soon, if u have little mind.. #coronavirus #كورونا pic.twitter.com/d0ODNBulyR

— محمد الوليدي (@mohdalwalidi) February 7, 2020

Given the disaster that the present coronavirus is creating, it seems that Xi Jinping may have lost the "Mandate of Heaven"...indeed, the whole system, though I doubt that Allah is the offended deity.

So the Chinese government is now seeking the Band-Aid of sacking some bureaucrats.

The solution for China is not to sack some officials, but to sack the whole system, and — if one is religious — to ease up on Christians.

IRELAND WANTS TO BLOCK GOOD IMPORTED FROM JUDEA AND SAMARIA

Sinn Féin did very well in Ireland's recent elections, and together with Fianna Fáil, the party wants to block goods being imported into Ireland from "the West Bank."

Two parties that support criminalizing the purchase of goods or services from Israeli businesses in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Golan Heights were among the three nearly tied at the top as exit polls came in from Ireland's parliamentary election overnight Saturday.

If the Irish bill becomes law, it could fine merchants in Ireland that sell products from the West Bank, Golan Heights or east Jerusalem for up to 250,000 euros, or sentence them to up to five years in jail.

There is some question as to whether the two parties can now get the legislation passed.  The legislation had failed to pass in 2018, but Sinn Féin's recent victory has given this bad idea some new life.

Sinn Féin has a controversial history.  It is the chief political party that worked for Ireland's independence in the early twentieth century; however, many condemn its association with later manifestations of the IRA.

But what is odd is that Sinn Féin's historic goal has been a united Ireland, yet somehow it opposes a united Israel.  What possesses the party to take up this issue?

The party identifies with the Palestinians, who historically are equivalent to the pro-British Orangeman in Ulster — of course, not including religion — in that both are outsiders who resist the indigenous claim to the land.  Here is a clue: the Jews are as indigenous to Judea and Samaria as the Gaels are to Ulster.

Ireland is now a tech power.  Do the Irish want to affiliate with tech-savvy Jews or with Arabs in a sixth-century mindset?  Don't they know that many American corporations will have to leave Ireland if such legislation is passed?  The Sinn Féin position is insanity.

Irish bill to boycott Israeli settlements runs afoul of US laws  (2018) —The Hill

Perhaps Sinn Féin should consider if it might also lose the "Mandate of Heaven."

CANADA WANTS WEBSITES LICENSED

Breitbart reports:

Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault has stated that news websites, along with social media companies, could be forced to obtain government licences to operate in Canada.

From the Media Research Center:

Canada has no constitutional prohibition against its politicians attacking the freedom of speech, the press, and other forms of expression, offering fines, jail, and other punishments to people as incentives to shut their damn mouths.

No matter how much one may like Canada, it is not the United States.

Christians [in Toronto] are being silenced: Pastor arrested after preaching love in LGBT neighborhood —Christian Post

Those whom the Gods would destroy, they first make mad.

But before blaming the deities — or rather the One Deity — one should ask if their madness is a symptom of ignoring His advice.  It seems as if a lot of mandates are about to be lost.

I could have found more examples, but these are some of the most recent and newsworthy.