WORLD NEWS
President Joe Biden held a phone call with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping on July 28. The call was the fifth of its kind between Biden and Xi and lasted more than two hours.
The call occurred amid a myriad of tensions that have caused Sino–U.S. relations to fall to their lowest point in decades. Despite a decreasing willingness by the CCP to negotiate on most issues, the White House stated that it’s important to keep the lines of communication open between the two powers.
“The President wants to make sure that the lines of communication with President Xi remain open, because they need to,” said White House national security spokesperson John Kirby. “There’s issues where we can cooperate with China on, and then there’s issues where, obviously, there’s friction and tension.
“This is one of the most consequential bilateral relationships in the world today, with ramifications well beyond both individual countries. The president clearly understands that, and we’re going to continue to work on that relationship.”
Argentina’s Government Collapsing, People Refuse to Work Amid Major Subsidy Cuts
Protests have erupted in Buenos Aires over the past 90 days and continue to build inside the capital as residents battle with their center-left government over sizeable amendments to social programs.
Cuts to subsidies in the energy sector based on household income already began in June.
Other subsidies, including the country’s notorious welfare program, are also on the chopping block, triggering thousands of angry residents to take to the streets.
State-sponsored aid for civilians has soared in the past 20 years, leaving 22 million Argentinians dependent on some form of government assistance.
In the first quarter of 2022, the national employment rate was 43 percent, according to government figures.
Insects As Flying Syringes For Genetic Modification, Eugenics And Population Control
Irresponsible use of new and very advanced technologies by the military is life-threatening
Engineered viruses can be used to edit genes in a target species, including in a heritable manner
“Insect Allies” is a DARPA program designed to genetically modify mature plants in a live environment by releasing insects infected with genetically modified viruses
Some scientists, although on board with genetic modification in principle, are questioning DARPA’s motives and raising concerns
Researchers in Singapore, as well as DARPA in the U.S. have developed “remote-controlled insects”
In a speech in the European Parliament earlier this month, German MP Christine Anderson described the coercion of people into taking COVID vaccines as the “biggest crime ever committed on humanity.”
“This vaccine campaign will go down as the biggest scandal in medical history,” Anderson declared, adding “moreover, it will be known as the biggest crime ever committed on humanity.”
The MEP was addressing mass flight cancellations and staff shortages in airports and on planes, asserting that while it is claimed the situation stems from companies not hiring back enough staff after the pandemic, the real reason is that pilots and other staff have refused to get vaccinated.
Anderson further warned that “unscrupulous globalist elites” have used the pandemic for their own ends, asking “What in God’s name have they done with this?”
Addressing “each and every elected representative of people in every western democracy,” Anderson asked “What have you done?”
“You didn’t do your job, and do not tell me you didn’t know,” Anderson further asserted, adding “it is your job to protect the people that you were elected by.”
She continued, “There is so much coming to light, all of the adverse side effects, numerous studies now available, on foetal disfigurements… genetic defects of babies born to women who got vaccinated.”
“What in the hell is going on here?” Anderson urged, vowing “We will do all we can to make sure this is brought to light and ensure the rights of the people to be protected.”
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
US signs off on 800,000 more doses of monkeypox vaccine
After weeks of delays, nearly 800,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine will soon be available for distribution, U.S. health regulators said Wednesday.
The announcement comes amid growing criticism that authorities have been too slow in deploying the vaccine, potentially missing the window to contain what could soon become an entrenched infectious disease.
Nearly two weeks ago, the Food and Drug Administration said it had finished the necessary inspections at Bavarian Nordic’s facility in Denmark, where the company fills vials of the vaccine. The FDA said via Twitter on Wednesday that the certification had been finalized. The doses are already in the U.S. “so that they would be ready to be distributed once the manufacturing changes were approved,” the agency said.
The U.S. already has sent more than 310,000 doses of the two-shot Jynneos vaccine to state and local health departments. But clinics in San Francisco, New York and other major cities say they still don’t have enough shots to meet demand.
Growing Number of Texas Counties Declare ‘Invasion’ at Border
Two more Texas counties confirmed they have declared an invasion at the U.S.–Mexico border in recent days amid historically high illegal immigration.
The Parker County Commissioners Court unanimously voted this week to invoke a law to say that the United States and Texas are under invasion, local media reported.
Because of the significant presence of illegal immigration and drug trafficking, the declaration says it is “an invasion of Parker County, Texas, as the term ‘invasion’ is used in Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution and in Article 4, Section 7 of the Texas Constitution.”
“I think we all know the border is a mess,” Parker County Sheriff Russ Authier told commissioners during the meeting ahead of the vote. “We see different aspects of it other than our partners who are on the border seeing the human side of the smuggling, trafficking of people. A lot of what we’re seeing here is the drug smuggling.”
The Atascosa County Commissioners Court separately declared the surge of illegal immigration an invasion on July 25. Judge Russell Wilson signed the declaration affirming the invasion at the border.
Kinney County Attorney Brent Smith told The Center Square that with the declarations from Parker and Atascosa counties, “the significance … cannot be overstated.” Kinney County and several other Texas counties issued similar declarations earlier this month.
Goliad, Edwards, Jeff Davis, Terrell, and Presidio counties also announced invasion declarations.
House GOP to Unleash Wave of Investigations If Chamber Flips Red This Fall
With an expected GOP takeover of the U.S. House of Representatives following November’s midterm elections, Republicans in the chamber are poised to launch a slew of investigations aimed at dialing up the pressure on the Biden administration over a range of issues—from border security to Hunter Biden to the origins of the pandemic.
Domestic concerns faced by everyday Americans—most notably a historic inflation rate—will be key priorities, according to Chair of the House Republican Conference Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.).
House Republicans will take the administration to task on alleged “policy failures that have created an inflation crisis, energy crisis, border crisis, and crime crisis impacting every American family,” Stefanik told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.
Big Tech’s censorship of conservative voices will also be scrutinized, she added.
On the foreign policy front, the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Chinese Communist Party’s influence in the United States and abroad, and U.S. strategy toward Iran are set to come under focus.
Republicans are already laying the groundwork to take on “an aggressive oversight role” next year by issuing preservation notices and document requests so a potential GOP majority “will be ready to hold the Biden administration accountable from day one,” a House GOP leadership aide told The Epoch Times in an email.
Top Former Rhode Island Health Official Unaware of Key Studies on Masking, Child Transmission
The doctor who headed the Rhode Island Department of Health and recommended mask mandates be imposed during the pandemic was unaware of recent studies that indicate masking is not effective and that children are not major drivers of COVID-19 transmission.
Dr. James McDonald, who stepped down as interim health director on June 25 but remains employed by the agency, was asked during a recent deposition what the department did after a judge in 2021 found evidence that the statewide school mask mandate was causing “irreparable harm” to students.
“We did what we said we would do: we looked for scientific literature that supported this finding,” McDonald said.
“We have an open mind. We looked at all medical journals. I was open to anything I could find,” McDonald said, adding that he was “constantly” reviewing new articles in journals.
But when McDonald was questioned about whether he was aware of recent research on masking, he said he was not.
That included a study that found no relationship between school masking and COVID-19 cases, a study that concluded cloth masks were “very poor” at filtering droplets, and a study that found children struggled to recognize people wearing masks.
“These are studies you’re talking about that are, seem to be in really poorly known journals. I guess I’m not familiar with these poorly known journals,” McDonald said.
“Well, can you give me one study that you’ve looked at that studied the efficacy of masks in schools since November of last year?” Gregory Piccirilli, representing a group of parents in the case, asked.
McDonald said he found “great credibility” in a science brief from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has not been updated since Dec. 6, 2021.
“I’ve looked for other articles. I haven’t seen credible articles in other reputable journals,” he said, naming the New England Journal of Medicine and the American Journal of Public Health.
Piccirilli later brought up the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, with which McDonald said he was familiar. McDonald was asked if had reviewed an April study that concluded “there is no convincing evidence to date, 2 years into the pandemic, that children are key drivers of the pandemic.” McDonald said he had not.
“I don’t agree with that assessment,” McDonald said.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
US Economy Slips Into Recession as Inflation Weighs on Growth
The U.S. economy contracted in the second quarter, marking two consecutive quarters of negative growth, which is a common definition of a recession.
The gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 0.9 percent at an annualized pace, following a drop of 1.6 percent in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The market had penciled in a gain of 0.5 percent during the April-to-June span.
The decline in GDP reflected declines in inventories (-2.01 percent), residential investment (-0.71 percent), and government spending (-0.33 percent). But this was offset by gains in exports (+1.43 percent) and consumer spending (+0.7 percent).
“The U.S. economy is slowing at a significant rate,” economist Mohamed El-Erian tweeted shortly after the numbers were published. “Add to that the 8.7% price change in today’s data and the bottom line is clear: Deepening stagflation and flashing red recession risk.”
The much-anticipated GDP report also showed that real personal income fell 0.5 percent. And personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income dropped to 5.2 percent in the second quarter from 5.6 percent in the first quarter.
Global Air Travel Logjam Stumps Airlines, Disrupts Countless Summer Travel Plans
Summertime is supposed to be joyful for travelers heading to vacation destinations—and airlines, too, because that’s when they typically rake in cash by the barrel.
But 2022 has ushered in a summer of discontent for passengers and airlines worldwide, as airlines’ plans for rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic travel slump have hit one logjam after another.
Across the globe, especially in Europe, there’s a new epidemic: canceled, overbooked, and delayed flights—and airport storage areas overflowing with lost and misdirected baggage. These once-rare annoyances of air travel are now more commonplace; travelers who took smooth operations for granted now expect snafus—a new mindset that has changed the way they plan trips.
To prevent issues, savvy travelers are increasingly entrusting delivery services like FedEx or UPS to transport luggage to their destinations. Some are putting GPS-enabled devices into their luggage, such as Apple’s AirTag or the Tile tracker. And people traveling in groups are sprinkling a few pieces of clothing per person into each checked bag instead of risking having someone lose an entire vacation wardrobe.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Whitehead: Your DNA Is In The Lineup At The Genetic Panopticon
“Solving unsolved crimes is a noble objective, but it occupies a lower place in the American pantheon of noble objectives than the protection of our people from suspicionless law-enforcement searches… Make no mistake about it…your DNA can be taken and entered into a national DNA database if you are ever arrested, rightly or wrongly, and for whatever reason… Perhaps the construction of such a genetic panopticon is wise. But I doubt that the proud men who wrote the charter of our liberties would have been so eager to open their mouths for royal inspection.”—Justice Antonin Scalia dissenting in Maryland v. King
Be warned: the DNA detectives are on the prowl.
Whatever skeletons may be lurking on your family tree or in your closet, whatever crimes you may have committed, whatever associations you may have with those on the government’s most wanted lists: the police state is determined to ferret them out.
In an age of overcriminalization, round-the-clock surveillance, and a police state eager to flex its muscles in a show of power, we are all guilty of some transgression or other.
No longer can we consider ourselves innocent until proven guilty.
Now we are all suspects in a DNA lineup waiting to be matched up with a crime.
Suspect State, meet the Genetic Panopticon.
DNA technology in the hands of government officials will complete our transition to a Surveillance State in which prison walls are disguised within the seemingly benevolent trappings of technological and scientific progress, national security and the need to guard against terrorists, pandemics, civil unrest, etc.
By accessing your DNA, the government will soon know everything else about you that they don’t already know: your family chart, your ancestry, what you look like, your health history, your inclination to follow orders or chart your own course, etc.
It’s getting harder to hide, even if you think you’ve got nothing to hide.
Armed with unprecedented access to DNA databases amassed by the FBI and ancestry website, as well as hospital newborn screening programs, police are using forensic genealogy, which allows police to match up an unknown suspect’s crime scene DNA with that of any family members in a genealogy database, to solve cold cases that have remained unsolved for decades.
By submitting your DNA to a genealogical database such as Ancestry and 23andMe, you’re giving the police access to the genetic makeup, relationships and health profiles of every relative—past, present and future—in your family, whether or not they ever agreed to be part of such a database.
It no longer even matters if you’re among the tens of millions of people who have added their DNA to ancestry databases. As Brian Resnick reports, public DNA databases have grown so massive that they can be used to find you even if you’ve never shared your own DNA.
House Passes $280 Billion CHIPS Act Without China Provision, Sends Legislation to Biden’s Desk
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the CHIPS and Science Act on July 28, allocating funding for a measure that’s now nearly two years old. The new legislation, which now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk for signing, will allocate $280 billion in subsidies, tax breaks, and research grants to prop up the domestic semiconductor industry.
“Today, the House passed a bill that will make cars cheaper, appliances cheaper, and computers cheaper,” Biden said in a statement. “It will lower the costs of everyday goods. And, it will create high-paying manufacturing jobs across the country and strengthen U.S. leadership in the industries of the future at the same time.
“The CHIPS and Science Act is exactly what we need to be doing to grow our economy right now. By making more semiconductors in the United States, this bill will increase domestic manufacturing and lower costs for families.”
Many proponents of the legislation were pleased to see its passage and believe that it will be a boon to U.S. manufacturing.
“Congress has recognized the importance of rising to the challenge of industrial planning, of supporting strategic industries, and making sure that we have high tech jobs here in America, but we can’t stop here,” Zach Mottl, chairman of Coalition for a Prosperous America, a nonprofit focusing on trade policy, told The Epoch Times.
“I think that America has been kind of laissez-faire, hands off for a little bit too long here. And we’ve lost a lot of opportunities.”
To that end, Biden said the measure would improve jobs and national security by making the United States less dependent on foreign supply chains.
However, many legislators disagree with that statement because Democrats removed a provision of the legislation at the last minute that would have prevented U.S. companies from outsourcing subsequent technologies to China. Because of the removal of that provision, tech companies in the United States will be able to research new semiconductor technologies using billions of dollars in taxpayer funds, then outsource the production of those new technologies to China.
HEALTH
Difficult Times Ahead — How to Break Free From the System
While natural medicine is often viewed with suspicion as something “novel” and “unproven,” it’s actually allopathic medicine that is the new kid on the block. Before John D. Rockefeller seized control over the medical industry 112 years ago, naturopathic-based herbal medicine, sun exposure and homeopathy were standard
Today, the Rockefeller Foundation is part of The Great Reset cast, which seeks to gain total control over every person in the world — financially, medically, physically and psychologically
Several crises are now converging, and all of them are life threatening to some degree, starting with the bioweapon they call the COVID “vaccine.” We also face supply chain issues, and shortages of food and energy. Maintaining good health will become a primary concern moving forward, as we’ll face many added stressors
Simple and free strategies that will improve and protect your health include getting regular sun exposure — the benefits of which include vitamin D production, vitamin A activation and, most importantly, subcellular melatonin production — and optimizing your circadian rhythm
Eliminating seed oils from your diet and implementing time-restricted eating are two simple ways to improve your metabolic health, reverse insulin resistance and reduce excess body fat
Exercising Only on Weekends Still Reduces Risk of Death
The benefits of exercise are many, including reducing the risk of death; data show even weekend warriors had reduced all-cause and cause-specific mortality rates when compared to people who did not get 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week
Exercise also promotes the benefits of quality sleep, stress reduction and improved mental health. It helps boost self-confidence and normalizes glucose, insulin and leptin levels
The data are helpful for those who can’t exercise every day after work. Other activities that do not take an extended period but also improve longevity are balance exercises, sauna bathing and inspiratory muscle strength training
Top Breathing Techniques for Better Health
The way you breathe — fast or slow, shallow or deep — sends messages to your body that affect your mood, stress level, blood pressure, immune function and more
One of the most basic of all breathing techniques is to make sure you’re always breathing through your nose. Mouth breathing decreases tissue oxygenation, elevates your heart rate and blood pressure and has many other adverse health effects
Most people chronically over breathe. Breathing less is a sign of better health. Conversely, the more you breathe, the more likely you are to experience significant health problems
Another near-universal breathing abnormality is breathing vertically rather than horizontally, which triggers your sympathetic nervous system and makes you feel stressed
Several breathing techniques are reviewed, including proper breathing basics, a technique to improve your body’s tolerance to carbon dioxide, the 4-7-8 breathing method to improve sleep, the Buteyko Breathing Method to ease stress and anxiety, and many more
An employee who was fired after sleepwalking into her colleague’s bed in a next-door hotel room is not protected by disability law, a federal appeals court has ruled.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans ruled against NextGen Healthcare Inc. employee Jennifer Harkey in an unpublished per curiam opinion July 15.
The 5th Circuit ruled against Harkey on her claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act.
The sleepwalking incident happened in October 2018, when Harkey, a sales specialist, was attending a national sales conference for NextGen Healthcare at a St. Louis hotel. The 5th Circuit described the facts in the most favorable light to Harkey.
Around midnight, Harkey knocked on the door of another employee attending the conference, Scott O’Donnell. He had just returned to his hotel room, and he assumed that the person knocking was one of the men he had been socializing with in the bar. O’Donnell didn’t recognize Harkey and stepped backward.
O’Donnell told Harkey that she was in the wrong room and had to leave, but she said nothing.
Harkey was wearing only a black robe. She walked over to a made bed, got in it and pulled the sheets up to her face. Harkey was unresponsive to O’Donnell’s requests to leave.
“O’Donnell was concerned,” the 5th Circuit said. “He was a married man on an out-of-town business trip, and a woman was in a bed in his hotel room. He called his supervisor.”
The supervisor called the director of human resources. The HR director couldn’t wake Harkey at first. Harkey was disoriented when she finally awoke. Hotel security was called, and Harkey was helped back to her room.
Harkey said she must have been sleepwalking, a problem that she occasionally had since an early age.
Harkey saw the HR director the next day and explained that she had been sleepwalking. The director told Harkey that she was being placed on paid leave. and she had to see a doctor. Harkey was fired less than a week later.
COVID RELATED NEWS
Fauci Claims He Never Recommended COVID-19 Lockdowns
White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci claimed Monday that he never recommended “locking anything down” when pressed about what he would do differently regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
“First of all, I didn’t recommend locking anything down,” Fauci replied during an interview published by The Hill’s “Rising” program on Monday, suggesting it had been a recommendation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“Go back and look at my statements,” he added, “that we need to do everything we can to keep the schools open and safe.”
Although it’s unclear exactly what Fauci meant by lockdowns, in October 2020, Fauci had publicly recommended that former President Donald Trump “shut the whole country down,” although it’s not clear what he meant as presidents don’t have the authority to hand down sweeping lockdowns.
“When it became clear that we had community spread in the country … I recommended to the president that we shut the country down,” he said in an event with students at the College of the Holy Cross in October 2020.
If the United States didn’t “shut down completely the way China did,” then the spread of COVID-19 wouldn’t be stopped, Fauci continued to say at the time. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since early 2020 has pursued a “zero COVID” strategy that some analysts say is tantamount to economic suicide.
Two retired U.S. generals, MG Paul Vallely, U.S. Army, and Thomas McInerney, USAF, raised concerns over the World Health Organization’s recent declaration of monkeypox as a global health emergency, alleging potential ulterior motives.
“Each of us should not be alarmed by this alert as the credibility of WHO is in great question based on their actions and notices on COVID-19,” Vallely told The Epoch Times.
“The rare designation means the WHO now views the outbreak as a significant enough threat to global health that a coordinated international response is needed to prevent the virus from spreading further and potentially escalating into a pandemic,” Vallely said.
“Beware of this politically driven global organization that is funded by the global elite.”
Air Force officials were ordered on July 27 not to discipline airmen who are seeking religious exemptions to the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
U.S. District Judge Matthew McFarland, a Trump appointee, entered a preliminary injunction against the military branch.
McFarland two weeks earlier issued a temporary restraining order. He asked the military to make its case as to why he shouldn’t enter a preliminary injunction, a longer-lasting measure.
In a 16-page filing, government lawyers said blocking the military from punishing unvaccinated members “would interfere with ongoing legal proceedings and would otherwise be improper, particularly in light of significant new developments.”
Among the developments, they pointed to U.S. drug regulators authorizing a COVID-19 vaccine made by Novavax. Unlike the three shots previously available in the United States, the Novavax vaccine doesn’t use fetal cells in its development, manufacturing, or production.
“Those class members whose religious objections were based on mRNA technology or the use of fetal-derived cell lines are no longer substantially burdened by the COVID-19 vaccine requirement because this option is now available,” the lawyers said.
Included in the opposition was a declaration from Lt. Gen. Kevin Schneider, the director of staff for the Air Force’s headquarters. He claimed that unvaccinated members “are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 and substantially more likely to develop severe symptoms resulting in hospitalization or death” and that exempting a large number of airmen “would pose a significant and unprecedented risk to military readiness and our ability to defend the nation.”
Of the 14 members who died with COVID-19 since March 14, according to Schneider, 12 were unvaccinated.
McFarland wasn’t convinced.
“Defendants fail to raise any persuasive arguments,” he said.
Chris West, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, called the ruling “such a big win” on Twitter.
State of Emergency in San Francisco Declared Over Monkeypox Spread
A state of emergency has been announced in San Francisco on July 28 over the spread of monkeypox, a viral disease that has spread to more than 70 countries since the start of 2022.
“San Francisco is declaring a Local Public Health Emergency for monkeypox,” London Breed, the mayor of the city, announced. “This declaration will go into effect starting Aug. 1 and will allow us to prepare and dedicate resources to prevent the spread.”
The declaration is a legal document that allows authorities to mobilize city resources, streamline staffing, and coordinate agencies across the city, as well as speed up emergency planning and allow for future reimbursement by the state and federal governments, she said in a statement.
The move also raises awareness in San Francisco about how to stop the spread of monkeypox, Breed added.
The city has at least 281 cases out of about 800 in California and about 4,907 across the United States as of late July 28—including probable cases—according to data from San Francisco’s health department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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