WORLD NEWS
Iran plans to attack Israeli-owned vessels to avenge advisers killed in Syria
Iran is preparing to attack Israeli-owned trading vessels to avenge two Revolutionary Guards advisors killed in alleged Israeli airstrikes in Syria last month, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
The IRGC’s Aerospace Force is gearing up to launch drone attacks on ships sailing through the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea, according to the report, which cited two anonymous senior Western intelligence officials.
An Iranian political strategist linked to the IRGC told the newspaper the planned attacks were in retaliation for the strikes in Syria.
The report came as the US military announced it had dispatched the USS Florida, a nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine to the Middle East to “help ensure regional maritime security and stability.” The show of force comes amid heightened tensions with Iran, which continues to harass shipping and attack oil tankers in the area, including several owned by Israelis.
Washington usually does not disclose the locations of its submarines while they are at sea.
“It is capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles and is deployed to US 5th Fleet to help ensure regional maritime security and stability,” fleet spokesperson Commander Timothy Hawkins said in a statement.
Iran Targets Israel on All Fronts, Seizing Opportunity of Dissent and Biden’s Hostility
Iran is staging an attack on all fronts against Israel through its terrorist proxies, taking advantage of Israel’s internal dissent and the Biden administration’s attempt to isolate the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
In recent days, Iranian-backed terror groups, notably Hamas, have launched rockets against Israel from Gaza in the southwest and from Lebanon in the north — the latter with the permission of Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
Lockdown Coming? Southern China Shuts Schools over Flu
Schools in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong suspended classes on Thursday due to an influenza outbreak, an uncomfortable reminder of the punishing lockdowns that were used across the country during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.
China Sanctions Reagan Library After McCarthy’s Meeting With Taiwan President
China retaliated against Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s meeting with Taiwan’s president this week by announcing sanctions against the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and other organizations, heightening tensions over the self-governed island that Beijing claims as part of its territory.
Amid Chinese threats, McCarthy met with President Tsai Ing-wen on April 5 at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California.
McCarthy welcomed Tsai as a “great friend of America” during a high-level meeting on U.S. soil, risking China’s ire in a demonstration of U.S. support.
China simulates Taiwan strikes in second day of ‘Joint Sword’ drills
Chinese fighter jets and warships simulated strikes on Taiwan Sunday as they encircled the island during a second straight day of military drills launched in response to its president meeting the US House speaker.
The exercises sparked condemnation from Taipei and calls for restraint from Washington, which said it was “monitoring Beijing’s actions closely”.
China-Taiwan: Aircraft carrier ‘seals off’ island on third day of drills
China said it was simulating “sealing off” Taiwan in a third day of drills as it appeared to use an aircraft carrier to launch jets towards the island.
Taiwan said it had detected jets to its east while China said its Shandong aircraft carrier had taken part.
Beijing began the exercises on Saturday after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen met the US House Speaker in California.
So far however the drills are not as big as those that followed Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei last August.
Taiwan considers itself a sovereign state. China sees it as a breakaway province that will eventually be brought under Beijing’s control – by force if necessary.
On Monday Taiwan said it had spotted another 70 warplanes and 11 ships in its surrounding waters.
A map of flight paths released by Taiwan’s defence ministry showed four J-15 fighter jets to the island’s east – suggesting that the Chinese military is for the first time simulating strikes from the east rather than the west where China’s mainland lies.
Analysts said it was likely the jets had come from China’s Shandong aircraft carrier – one of two such carriers it possesses – which is currently deployed in the western Pacific ocean, about 320km (200 miles) from Taiwan.
The Chinese military confirmed on Monday in a statement that the Shandong had “participated” in Monday’s exercises. It said fighter planes loaded with live ammunition had “carried out multiple waves of simulated strikes on important targets”.
China Seeks to Dethrone Dollar to Corner World Energy Markets
News Analysis
A longstanding plan by China and Russia to replace the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency has had a string of recent headline-grabbing successes, as China methodically builds a rival monetary system that has been dubbed “Bretton Woods III.”
This currency initiative is the financial component of the Beijing regime’s strategy to gain influence over global energy supplies and overcome its key weakness as an energy-poor country—a strategy that appears to be working.
“Given the increased weaponization of the dollar for national security purposes, and the growing geopolitical rivalry between the West and revisionist powers such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, some argue that de-dollarization will accelerate,” economist Nouriel Roubini wrote in a Financial Times op-ed, titled “A Bipolar Currency Regime Will Replace the Dollar’s Exorbitant Privilege.”
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bretton Woods III is “a new monetary order centered around commodity-based currencies.” This system features a network of agreements among China and commodity-exporting countries to trade in Chinese yuan or other currencies besides the U.S. dollar.
Chinese Nationals Flood US Southern Border Amid CCP Espionage Concerns
In the wake of China abandoning its strict “zero COVID” policy, U.S. border officials have recorded a surge of Chinese immigrants crossing the southern border this year.
Between Oct. 1, 2022, and the end of February this year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered nearly 3,000 Chinese nationals. This represents a more than 700 percent spike from the same period in 2022.
A second analysis by Axios put that number at more than 4,000 for 2023.
In February alone, there were 1,368 encounters with illegal Chinese immigrants. By contrast, U.S. border agents recorded just 55 encounters during the same month in 2022.
Switzerland Stops Recommending COVID-19 Vaccination
Swiss authorities have stopped recommending COVID-19 vaccination, including for people who are designated at high risk from COVID-19.
Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health now says that “no COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for spring/summer 2023.”
People designated at high risk also aren’t recommended to get a COVID-19 vaccine, authorities said.
Officials attributed the change to the number of citizens who have received a vaccine, recovered from COVID-19, or have received a vaccine and also enjoy natural immunity from post-recovery protection.
“Nearly everyone in Switzerland has been vaccinated and/or contracted and recovered from COVID-19. Their immune system has therefore been exposed to the coronavirus. In spring/summer 2023, the virus will likely circulate less. The current virus variants also cause rather mild illness,” Swiss health officials said.
Seroprevalence data from mid-2022 show that more than 98 percent of the Swiss population had antibodies against the COVID-19 virus, indicating that people had immunity from prior infection, vaccination, or both.
Pics: Eastern European Farmers Protest Massive Influx of Ukrainian Grain, Undercutting Local Prices
Farmers in Romania and Bulgaria staged protests Friday to express their anger over the European Union’s response to a glut of agricultural products from Ukraine that they say are flooding local markets and undercutting prices.
About 100 farmers converged in Romania’s capital, Bucharest, while hundreds more protested across the country in long convoys of tractors. In neighboring Bulgaria, grain producers blocked some border crossings with farm vehicles.
Italy’s national birth rate declared a national emergency
Italy’s dearth of babies is considered a national emergency, and fixing the problem was a prominent policy pledge by Giorgia Meloni ahead of last year’s election which saw her become the country’s first woman prime minister.‘
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Justice Department Investigating Leak of ‘Top Secret’ Ukraine War Plans
The Justice Department has launched an investigation into a possible leak of secret Pentagon documents that seem to detail U.S. and NATO aid to Ukraine, as well as front-line troop and armament positions, that were shared widely on social media.
The documents, dated between Feb. 23 and March 1 and shared on platforms like Twitter and Telegram, appear to show maps and details about deliveries of weapons.
Some of the documents had markings classifying them as “Secret” and “Top Secret,” with some showing what looks like locations for front-line Russian and Ukrainian military units and artillery guns.
Texas Governor Seeks to Pardon Army Sergeant Convicted of Killing Gun-Wielding Protester
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he is seeking to pardon the U.S. Army sergeant who was convicted of shooting dead a man wielding a gun at him during a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020.
Abbott announced on April 8 that he will pardon Sgt. Daniel Perry, 37, who was working for Uber in Austin at the time, as soon as a request from the state’s parole board “hits my desk.”
“I am working as swiftly as Texas law allows regarding the pardon of Sgt. Perry,” Abbott wrote on Twitter.
Abbott explained in his tweet that the state constitution limits the governor’s pardon authority only on a recommendation by the state’s Board of Pardons and Paroles.
IRS Chief Reveals Hiring Plan for Armed Agents
IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel on Thursday provided details about plans to hire armed agents in the agency’s criminal investigations division, amid Republican concerns about a proliferation of gun-toting tax enforcers.
Werfel said in a call with reporters that the share of staff working in the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) unit would not climb above the current level of around 2.6 percent of the IRS’s overall workforce.
There are “no plans to increase” the hiring rate at the IRS-CI unit, Werfel said on the call. “That will stay at its current rate.”
The IRS-CI examines potential criminal activity related to tax crimes and makes recommendations for prosecution to the tax division of the Department of Justice. Agents at the criminal investigations division are authorized to carry guns and use lethal force.
Dubbed “gun-toters,” the armed special agents in the unit are responsible for enforcing those parts of the tax code in which violations amount to crimes, according to former IRS Special Agent Robert Nordlander.
Proud Boys Defendants Ask Court to Dismiss Jan. 6 Obstruction Charges
Two defendants in the Proud Boys seditious-conspiracy trial filed a motion in federal court to dismiss obstruction-related charges in light of a fractured U.S. Court of Appeals ruling on the law used to charge hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants.
On April 8, attorneys for defendants Zachary Rehl and Ethan Nordean filed motions with U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, saying that the April 7 appeals court ruling requires a narrow definition of the term “corruptly” that must apply to the Proud Boys case or the obstruction charges should be dropped.
Confusion arose after issuance of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia’s ruling on § 1512(c)(2), a criminal statute defining obstruction of an official proceeding—the most frequently charged felony in Jan. 6 cases.
Appeals Court Upholds DOJ’s Novel Use of Obstruction Law Against Jan. 6 Defendants
A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on April 7 conditionally upheld the U.S. Department of Justice’s novel use of a felony evidence-tampering statute against Jan. 6 criminal-case defendants.
The appeals judges issued a fractured ruling on the crime of obstruction that upholds the law as used in Jan. 6 cases only if a certain condition is met.
The ruling could be appealed “en banc” to the full Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Some Jan. 6 defense attorneys said their reading of the divided ruling means obstruction charges against their clients should be dismissed.
Judge Florence Pan, appointed by President Joe Biden, and Judge Justin R. Walker, appointed by President Donald Trump, voted to reverse the 2022 rulings by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols dismissing obstruction charges against three Jan. 6 defendants.
Report: Biden Recruits ‘Army of Influencers’ for 2024 Race
President Joe Biden, who has yet to officially announce he is running for reelection, is reportedly going to rely on an “army” of online “influencers” for his reelection campaign and they could have their own “briefing room” at the White House.
The president’s campaign seeks to “boost Biden’s standing among young voters who are crucial to Democrats’ success in elections” and will be used to counter former President Donald Trump’s “massive social media following” if he is the nominee, Axios reported.
The report noted that the president’s digital strategy team would like to connect with influencers across the county to help Biden tout his record to those who do not follow the social media accounts of Biden, the White House, or the Democratic Party. Reportedly, there are four Biden digital staffers — run by Rob Flaherty, who has been named assistant to the president and will hold the same rank as press secretary — focused on influencers and independent content creators on the White House payroll, not the Biden campaign.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Denies Wrongdoing
After a news report highlighted luxurious vacations that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas allegedly accepted from a wealthy friend, Thomas said he was advised that he didn’t have to report the trips. In a new statement, Thomas denied any wrongdoing and vowed to follow new reporting requirements imposed on the federal judiciary.
Thomas’s critics in Congress promptly seized on the report last week of the vacations, suggesting it raised the appearance of impropriety.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) demanded that the justice be impeached, saying his actions evidenced an “almost cartoonish” level of corruption. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee’s panel on federal courts, called for an independent investigation of the justice, who has long been a target of the left.
Trump Team Uses NY Arraignment Footage in New Campaign Ad
Former President Donald Trump’s 2024 election campaign team has repurposed footage of his arrival at a Manhattan criminal court this week for a new campaign commercial.
Missouri AG Seeks to Remove Soros-Linked Prosecutor from Office, Citing ‘Willful Neglect’ of Cases
A George Soros-linked St. Louis prosecutor has come under fire for her alleged mishandling of cases as Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) has taken steps to remove her from office.
Bailey announced in a February press release that he had filed a quo warranto suit to remove St. Luis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner from office, citing “years of willful neglect” for the cases she was responsible for prosecuting.
Pittsburgh: Norfolk Southern Hit by Third Derailment in Two Months
It’s happened again. A Norfolk Southern train derailed in Pittsburgh on Saturday, the third time one of the company’s rail units has come adrift in eight weeks.
The empty five-car train derailed between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Saturday morning in Pittsburgh’s West End, public safety officials detailed in a news release:
This morning, approximately five empty steel cars derailed near Pittsburgh. There is no hazardous material involved, and the cars are upright. There were no injuries reported. Norfolk Southern crews and contractors are on-site and have begun clearing the cars.
To access the site, we may have to stage some equipment on nearby roads – we appreciate the community’s patience while this work happens.
HEALTH
How Long Have You Been Consuming Gene Therapied Pork?
For the last couple of years, I’ve recommended not eating pork due to its high linoleic acid (LA) content, but there’s an even bigger reason to avoid it now. Since 2018, pork producers have been using customizable mRNA-based “vaccines” on their herds
The very first RNA-based livestock vaccine, a swine influenza (H3N2) RNA shot licensed in 2012, was developed by Harrisvaccines. The company followed up with an avian influenza mRNA shot in 2015. Harrisvaccines was acquired by Merck Animal Health later that year
CureVac developed an mRNA-based rabies shot for pigs in 2016
The swine vaccine platform Sequivity, introduced in 2018, was developed by Merck in partnership with Moderna. Sequivity can produce endlessly customized “vaccines,” none of which undergo safety testing
Americans have been eating pork treated with gene therapy for nearly five years already, and even more of our meat supply is about to get the same treatment. mRNA-lipid nanoparticle shots for avian influenza are in the works, as are mRNA shots for cows. Lobbyists for the Cattlemen’s Association recently confirmed they intend to use mRNA “vaccines” in cattle, which might affect both dairy and beef
Missouri House bill 1169 would require labeling of products that can alter your genes. It would also require companies to share information about the potential transmissibility of gene-altering interventions, and asserts that fully informed consent must be given for all vaccines, gene therapies and medical interventions
(PUBLISHED PREVIOUSLY … EVERYONE is part of the clinical trial for mRNA!)
Moderna Rep Admits Everyone Is Part of Huge Experiment
In an audio recording, a Moderna representative admits that everyone who gets a COVID injection is a participant in the trial. He also admits long-term protective efficacy against COVID-19 is unknown
Animal research shows the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein subunit directly damages the heart and causes myocarditis by triggering an exaggerated immune response — a cytokine storm — in the heart cells
The S1 subunit of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein activates NF-kB, a protein that controls not only the transcription of DNA but also cellular survival and cytokine production
This disease process does not involve the ACE2 receptor but rather the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), which is responsible for the detection of pathogens and the initiation of innate immune responses
A new and strange pattern is emerging: Many who suffer serious side effects from the COVID shots have normal lab workups, which makes diagnosing and treatment difficult
(Of Interest: VIR-X, Paratrex & Detoxidine)
Internet Resources Where You Can Learn More
I encourage you to visit the four websites of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), at www.NVIC.org, a nonprofit charity that has been educating the public about the need to prevent vaccine injuries and deaths since 1982. The information you get on their websites is fully referenced and will help you become an effective vaccine choice advocate in your community:
- NVIC.org — This website was established in 1995 and is the oldest and largest consumer operated website publishing information on diseases and vaccines on the internet. Learn about vaccine reactions, injuries and deaths and the history and current status of vaccine science, policy, law and ethics in the U.S. on more than 2,000 web pages.
- NVICAdvocacy.org — This communications and advocacy network, established in 2010, is your gateway to taking action to protect your right to make vaccine choices where you live.
- TheVaccineReaction.org — This weekly journal newspaper published by NVIC since 2015 is dedicated to encouraging an “enlightened conversation about vaccination, health and autonomy.”
- MedAlerts.org — This is a user-friendly search engine for the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) established under the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act and sponsored by NVIC since 2006. Search for descriptions of vaccine injuries and deaths reported to VAERS on this popular website.
Biden’s HHS May Plan to Prioritize Organ Transplants by Race, Legal Group Warns, Launches Inquiry
Amid the Biden administration’s efforts to increase racial equity across government agencies, the America First Legal Foundation (AFL) has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to investigate what it suspects to be a forthcoming “racist overhaul” of the nation’s organ transplant system.
Filed on April 3, the conservative legal group’s request (pdf) seeks all of the department’s records relating to organ transplantation that include mentions of race, ethnicity, discrimination, and other such terms, charging that the Biden administration plans to make race a factor in prioritizing organ transplant recipients.
80 Percent of Retail Receipts Contain Toxic Substances
The Ecology Center (EC) recently published the results of a 2022 study of the chemical composition of retail receipts in the United States. It found that 80 percent of the receipts contained toxic substances.
The EC tested receipts from 144 major chain stores in 22 states, plus the District of Columbia. Bisphenols (most commonly BPA or BPS) were found in 80 percent of the receipts tested—a 13 percent decrease from the center’s findings in 2017.
Ibuprofen Kills Thousands Each Year, so What Is the Alternative?
Back in 2013, one Reuters article opened with the following stunning sentence: “Long-term high-dose use of painkillers such as ibuprofen or diclofenac is ‘equally hazardous’ in terms of heart attack risk as use of the drug Vioxx, which was withdrawn due to its potential dangers, researchers said.”
The 2004 Vioxx recall, as you may remember, was spurred by the nearly 30,000 excess cases of heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths caused by the drug between 1999 and 2003. Despite the fact that scientific research had accumulated as early as 2000 linking Vioxx to increased heart attacks and strokes, the drug’s manufacturer, Merck, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration remained silent as the death toll steadily increased. The Reuters report focused on research published in The Lancet indicating the risk of heart attack increases as much as a third and the risk of heart failure doubles among heavier users of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
Pain and unhealthy levels of inflammation are fast becoming default bodily states in the industrialized world. While, in most cases, we can adjust the underlying pro-inflammatory conditions by altering our diet, reducing stress, and avoiding environmental chemical exposures, these approaches take time, discipline, and energy. Sometimes we just want the pain to stop now. In those often compulsive moments, we find ourselves popping an over-the-counter pill to kill the pain.
The problem with this approach is that, if we do it often enough, the side effects accumulate and we put our lives at risk.
Ibuprofen really is a perfect example of this. As mentioned above, this petrochemical derivative has been linked to a significantly increased risk of heart attack and increased cardiac and all-cause mortality risk (when combined with aspirin). Among the more than two dozen serious adverse health effects, people taking these drugs may suffer:
- Anemia
- DNA Damage
- Hearing Loss
- Hypertension
- Influenza Mortality
- Miscarriage
Ibuprofen is, in fact, not unique in elevating cardiovascular disease risk and/or mortality. The entire category of NSAIDs appears to have this under-recognized dark side; cardiovascular disease and cardiac mortality score highest on the list of more than 100 unintended adverse health effects associated with their use.
British doctor pioneers low-carb diet as cure for obesity and type 2 diabetes
eloped by Dr David Unwin shows benefits that could have significant health implications
A red-brick surgery in the seaside resort of Southport in the north-west of England is on the frontline of one of the biggest questions facing the NHS: what’s the best fix for our growing obesity crisis?
Dr David Unwin thinks he has the answer. He has championed a low-carb lifestyle that not only helps patients lose weight but also, in more than half of his patients who were on the diet, has even managed to reverse type 2 diabetes, once thought to be an irreversible and progressive disease.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
IRS Issues Last-Minute Warning: Some Claims and Forms Could Get You Audited
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a renewed, last-minute warning to taxpayers that certain claims on their taxes could get them audited, with just over a week to go before tax-filing day.
The agency said in an April 5 release that it completed its so-called “Dirty Dozen” list and issued a notice to taxpayers to watch out for such scams. Several weeks ago, the IRS issued a similar bulletin but mainly focused on false advertisements that promote the COVID-19-era Employee Retention Credits (ERCs) to obtain fraudulent refunds.
IRS to Prioritize Enforcement Including Criminal Investigation for Certain Assets
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said it would increase enforcement in the area of digital asset transactions and listed transactions.
The federal agency identified certain transactions to have high-risk issues in noncompliance and vowed to ramp up enforcement in those transactions.
“The IRS tracks many known, high-risk issues in noncompliance, such as digital asset transactions, listed transactions and certain international issues. These issues arise in multiple taxpayer segments, and data analysis shows a higher potential for noncompliance,” the tax agency wrote in its newly-released funding plan (pdf).
“We will prioritize resources to increase enforcement activities, including criminal investigation as appropriate,” the agency added.
Small Businesses File For Bankruptcy At Record Pace, Surpassing COVID Crash
Small businesses across the United States are experiencing a surge in bankruptcies, surpassing levels not seen since 2020. According to a UBS note reviewed by The Epoch Times, conditions could become worse as the knock-on effects from the recent banking crises begin to manifest.
The note from UBS Evidence Lab shows private bankruptcy filings in 2023 have exceeded the highest point recorded during the early stages of the COVID pandemic by a considerable amount. The four-week moving average for private filings in late February was 73 percent higher than in June 2020.
“[We] believe one of the more underappreciated signs of distress in U.S. corporate credit is already emanating from the small- and mid-size enterprises sector,” Matthew Mish, head of credit strategy at UBS, wrote in a recently published research note. “[The] smallest of firms [are] facing the most severe pressure from rising rates, persistent inflation and slowing growth.”
Industries hit hardest by the wave of bankruptcies include real estate, health care, chemicals, and retail outlets, according to the Swiss Bank’s report.
The Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening to combat inflationary pressures has been largely behind the uptick in bankruptcies. UBS indicated that the fear of a credit crunch has further worsened the rise in defaults.
Credit conditions are tightening across the spectrum. Large businesses and individual borrowers are feeling the heat as well.
As of February 2023, the monthly bankruptcy filings exceeded 31,000, an 18 percent rise from the 25,564 bankruptcy filings reported in February 2022, according to data provided by the American Bankruptcy Institute. The increase in Chapter 11 bankruptcies—typically used by larger businesses—rose by 83 percent over the same period, with 373 total filings in February of this year.
Dire Warning Issued on Major City’s Economy: ‘Doom Loop’
The San Francisco Chronicle’s editorial board issued a warning this week that office workers staying home to work rather than commuting to the city will spark a “doom loop” that will erode its tax base.
“Experts say post-pandemic woes stemming from office workers staying home instead of commuting into the city could send San Francisco into a ‘doom loop’ that would gut its tax base, decimate fare-reliant regional transit systems like BART and trap it in an economic death spiral,” the paper’s editorial board wrote, specifically referring to downtown San Francisco.
“Despite our housing crisis, it was years into the COVID pandemic before our leaders meaningfully questioned the logic of reserving some of the most prized real estate on Earth for fickle suburbanites and their cars,” the editorial also said. “And so we wasted generous federal COVID emergency funds trying to bludgeon, cajole, and pray for office workers to return downtown instead of planning for change. We’re now staring down the consequences for that lack of vision.”
The Chronicle’s editorial board suggested making more investments into office-to-housing conversions. It also recommended that some office buildings be demolished to make way for new projects, but it said that such moves would require assistance from the California state government.
In the opinion article, the city’s paper of record claimed that the Newsom administration needs to “do its long-neglected part to help San Francisco address the behavioral health crisis on its streets,” referring to rampant drug usage and homelessness. “In the meantime, San Francisco should address the roadblocks that have hampered it from spending the hundreds of millions of dollars earmarked for homelessness and prevented it from filling hundreds of empty housing units,” it said.
Elon Musk: Tesla to build new battery factory in Shanghai
Elon Musk’s electric car company Tesla says it is expanding in China as it builds a new factory to make its large-scale batteries.
The plant in Shanghai will be able to produce 10,000 of its “Megapack” energy storage units a year, the firm says.
A Megapack is a very large battery that can be used to help stabilise energy grids and prevent power outages.
Tesla already has Megapack plant in California, which also produces 10,000 of the units each year.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Security Firm Warns Android Smartphone Users Should Update Their Phones Now
Google this week announced that users should update their Android smartphones as soon as possible due to multiple vulnerabilities that can lead to “remote code execution.”
In a bulletin issued in April 3, “The most severe of these issues is a critical security vulnerability in the System component that could lead to remote (proximal/adjacent) code execution with no additional execution privileges needed.”
Further, it warned that “user interaction is not needed for exploitation” and that “the severity assessment is based on the effect that exploiting the vulnerability would possibly have on an affected device, assuming the platform and service mitigations are turned off for development purposes or if successfully bypassed.”
Over the years, countless experts have warned about privacy and cybersecurity risks with all “smart” technology. In regard to “smart” home devices, university researchers released additional warnings about it last year. While Amazon may not be the only company guilty of collecting private data on consumers (including children) without their consent via smart devices, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced the agency will be taking legal action against the company for it and possibly other offenses as well.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plans to sue Amazon over allegations the company illegally collected and used children’s data via its Alexa-powered smart speakers, according to reports by Politico and Bloomberg.
Citing individuals familiar with the issue, the two media outlets said the FTC recommended filing a complaint against Amazon on the basis that the collection of data from children under age 13 violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA).
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) may file the lawsuit on the FTC’s behalf as early as next month, Bloomberg reported.
The FTC is obligated to first refer its complaint to the DOJ’s civil division, which will then have 45 days to bring a case, according to Politico. If the DOJ declines to sue, the FTC can then opt to proceed on its own.
Pinduoduo, a Top Chinese Shopping App, Is Laced With Malware
Plus: 119 arrested during a sting on the Genesis dark-web market, the IRS aims to buy an online mass surveillance tool, and more. North Korean government—were targeting cryptocurrency companies in the broad assault.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
Why You Should Add Swiss Chard to Your Garden
Providing an abundance of fiber, essential minerals and nutrients, Swiss chard has noteworthy benefits that rival those of its more popular peers in the world of leafy greens.
Swiss chard may not be the most popular leafy green out there, but it is just as nutritionally promising if you’re looking for a healthy staple in your diet. It belongs to the Chenopodiodeae family, like well-loved spinach.
Its name might make you think it hailed from Switzerland, but Swiss chard is actually a native plant in the Mediterranean region used as “both food and fodder since ancient times.”[i] Here are some compelling reasons to add Swiss chard to your life or garden today.
Chock Full of Nutrients
Just 1 cup, or 175 grams (g), of cooked Swiss chard offers a healthy amount of fiber along with the following, based on reference daily intake (RDI):[ii]
- Vitamin C: 35%
- Iron: 22%
- Calcium: 8%
- Potassium: 20%
- Phosphorus: 5%
As you can see, Swiss chard can more than take care of your vitamin A and K1 needs. It is also fiber-rich and filling, making for a friendly food item when you’re managing your weight. Fiber plays a number of critical roles in the body including optimizing gut bacteria, promoting good bowel health and helping optimize cholesterol levels
COVID RELATED NEWS
China blasts WHO chief over ‘offensive’ comments on COVID-19 origin search
Chinese health officials have called out the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for his “offensive” comments in the ongoing search for the origins of COVID-19.
Speaking at a news conference, the director of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shen Hongbing said that Ghebreyesus’ recent remarks were “offensive and disrespectful,” accusing the health agency of “attempting to smear China” and said it should avoid helping others “politicize COVID-19.”
National Guard Soldier Suffers 2 Heart Attacks After Moderna Vaccine
A 22-year-old Army National Guard member has suffered an array of health issues—including two heart attacks that pushed her to the brink of death—after receiving two doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
Karolina Stancik once considered herself “very healthy,” playing multiple sports from adolescence through early adulthood. At 21 years old, she chose to serve the country by joining the U.S. Army in February 2021.
“We were told that it was going to be required and we should take it before we shipped out to basic training,” she said, which was before Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s August 2021 announcement of the military vaccine mandate.
This messaging, according to Stancik, made the new recruits feel like, “You’re a bad person if you don’t get the vaccine, and you don’t care about the people around you.”
“As a young, new soldier, I and a lot of others around me, did what we were told,” Stancik said.
“We were too new to know all the rules and possible loopholes,” she added. “I pretty much blindly took it because I didn’t know you could get exemptions” for medical or religious reasons.
CANCEL CULTURE
Riley Gaines: ‘I Will Be Pursuing Legal Action — They Will Face Repercussions’
Friday, less than 24 hours after she was assaulted by an angry mob in San Francisco, former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines appeared on Fox News Channel’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” to discuss the ordeal.
Gaines had been an outspoken critic of transgender females competing and sometimes dominating female sports.
NIKE Tells Customers ‘Be Kind, Be Inclusive’ After Dylan Mulvaney Backlash
NIKE told customers to “be kind, be inclusive” in response to the brewing backlash over the company selecting transgender Dylan Mulvaney as brand ambassador to sell women’s attire.
In a pinned comment to one of NIKE’s Instagram posts, the company responded to the barrage of people announcing they would be abandoning the brand for good.
Texas Senate Passes Bills Banning Child Gender Modification and Drag Shows for Kids
The Republican-controlled Texas Senate passed key bills to ban medical gender modification for children and outlaw drag queen performances in front of minors, including Drag Queen Story Hour.
SB 12 and SB 14 were part of Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s priorities for the 88th Legislative session. Patrick holds one of the most powerful positions in Texas as head of the Senate.
The bills passed on April 4 will now head to the House, where they will go to a committee.
The legislation is part of a nationwide push by conservatives to give power back to parents and protect children from sexualization.
‘Try to Cancel Me’: NBC Sports Broadcasting Legend Quits Job to Speak Truth to Power on Podcast
She was the crown jewel of NBC Sports television. A winner of Emmys and trailblazer for women in broadcasting, Michele Tafoya reached millions of viewers in living rooms across America—all from the sidelines on “Monday Night Football.”
After nearly 30 years on the air, Tafoya left it all to start podcasting on Salem and speaking her mind. She saw her country being torn apart from within and felt compelled to save it. One year into her social media foray, Tafoya has exactly zero regrets.
‘Twitter Files’ Reporter Matt Taibbi Leaves Twitter in Protest Over Throttling of Substack Links
Journalist Matt Taibbi, who broke the sensational “Twitter Files” story that exposed the inner workings of the social media giant’s censorship machine, has announced he’s leaving Twitter in protest of apparent changes that have made the platform unusable for him.
Taibbi, who posts his articles on Substack and is one of the most popular contributors on the platform, made the announcement in a post titled “The Craziest Friday Ever” and a series of tweets, in which he said that he had just learned that Substack links were being blocked on Twitter.
“When I asked why, I was told it’s a dispute over the new Substack Notes platform,” Taibbi wrote in a tweet.
“It turns out Twitter is upset about the new Substack Notes feature, which they see as a hostile rival,” Taibbi wrote on the Substack platform, adding that when he asked how he was supposed to market his work, he was given the option of posting his articles on Twitter rather than on Substack.
“Not much suspense there; I’m staying at Substack,” Taibbi wrote. “Beginning early next week I’ll be using the new Substack Notes feature (to which you’ll all have access) instead of Twitter, a decision that apparently will come with a price as far as any future Twitter Files reports are concerned.
“It was absolutely worth it and I’ll always be grateful to those who gave me the chance to work on that story, but man is this a crazy planet,” he added.
Substack recently announced Notes, a feature that allows short-form posts similar to tweets.
The move appears to have prompted Twitter to retaliate by blocking the ability to share Substack links on Twitter or like, retweet, and comment on tweets that include a link to Substack articles.
PET NEWS
Save Money and Time With This At-Home Canine Checkup
Most pet parents in today’s economy are looking for ways to avoid veterinary visits for ailments and injuries that can be treated and prevented with home remedies
To know when something’s “off” with your dog and take appropriate action, you need to know what’s normal and therefore, abnormal, in terms of his health and behavior
The best way to establish your dog’s “normal” is to perform regular, step-by-step, do-it-yourself home wellness exams on your dog
Regular DIY home checkups will help you stay alert for changes in your canine companion’s well-being
GOOD NEWS
The little girl who survived 6 attempts to abort her
‘I want to be a voice for the voiceless’
At age 21, Lauren Eden was shocked to learn the full story of her premature birth at just 26 weeks. Her mother nervously explained to her that she had made multiple appointments at various abortion facilities before finally undergoing the first stage of the two-day D&E second-trimester dismemberment abortion procedure — which led to Lauren’s early delivery.
That same day, Lauren also learned of 15 miracles that saved her life before birth.
Failed attempts to have an abortion
Together, her mother and father told Lauren the amazing story of her survival. Her mother, an 18-year-old college student, had first made an appointment at a facility where abortions were committed up to 12 weeks. Lauren’s father was a senior in college and wanted to keep the baby, but Lauren’s mother felt abortion was the best choice. So as he drove her to a friend’s house — who would be taking Lauren’s mother to the abortion facility — Lauren’s devastated father prayed for God to intervene.
As he drove, a large cloud of fog settled right in front of the car — something he had never seen before or ever saw again. He couldn’t see where he was going and eventually had to turn around.
When Lauren’s mother arrived for her second appointment attempt, an ultrasound revealed that she was measuring just over 12 weeks, and the staff wouldn’t commit the abortion. She was referred to another facility that committed abortions up to 13 weeks.
But Lauren’s mother was late for that appointment, and when she arrived at what she thought was the address of the abortion facility, she was on the wrong side of town. She called the facility from a pay phone but they told her it was too late to come. When she rescheduled and went in for another appointment, the ultrasound revealed she was measuring larger than 13 weeks, and the staff there, too, refused to commit the abortion.
“She then went to a clinic in Dallas, and it was less than a week later. They did abortions up to 15 weeks and when she went into the clinic I was measuring over 15 weeks gestation. They wouldn’t do the abortion,” Lauren told Live Action News.
Lauren explained that the abortion business referred her mother to its sister facility on the other side of Dallas that committed abortions up to 21 weeks. When she arrived there for the abortion, the staff did not carry out an ultrasound but used the one done at the previous facility. They told Lauren’s mother that she was in the second trimester and would need a two-day D&E dismemberment abortion.
This procedure involves dilating the cervix with laminaria on day one. On day two (sometimes day three), the child is dismembered. Her arms and legs are pulled off, and her skull is crushed as the abortionist removes her from the womb piece by piece
After inserting the laminaria, Lauren’s mother was sent away to wait for the laminaria to work. She was told to take Tylenol for any pain she experienced.
“She was in a lot of pain and she got scared,” explained Lauren. “My dad felt the Lord calling him to call her, so he did. He asked to pray with her and my mom told him that if he would drive to Dallas and meet her at the clinic the next morning that she was 90% sure she wouldn’t go through with the procedure.”
Saving Lauren
Lauren’s father raced to Dallas at four in the morning, trying to get there before Lauren’s mother arrived at the facility. When he made it there a few minutes after the appointment time, the staff wouldn’t give him any information. He paced and prayed, and as he did, the elevator door opened, and in walked Lauren’s mother. She had overslept.
“She told the abortionist she wasn’t going to finish the abortion and he told her she was fully dilated,” said Lauren. “She was told she was endangering her life and mine if she didn’t go through with it. She said she was willing to take that chance.” After all, her baby was definitely going to die if she allowed the abortionist to finish the job.
The following day, Lauren’s parents drove home to Little Rock and as they were driving, her father told her mother that he had tried to file an injunction to stop the abortion. He couldn’t get the injunction, but God had worked to change her heart.
The couple went to a pro-life doctor who put Lauren’s mother on bed rest. With no place to go — because even their parents had told them to abort their baby — Lauren’s mother moved in with a couple from her boyfriend’s church. The wife, Janna, took care of Lauren’s mother, spending the days with her own toddlers and caring for and praying with Lauren’s mother in the evenings.
“Janna was the first true example of the hands and feet of Jesus that my mom had ever seen in her life,” said Lauren. “She made a difference in my mom’s life and heart.”
When Lauren’s mother woke up one night in labor, Janna took her to the hospital, where they were told there was a 95% chance the baby would not survive and that if she did, there was only a five percent chance that she would not suffer brain damage. Lauren’s father and Janna both stayed in the room and prayed. Her father believed that God didn’t get them this far to lose Lauren now.
Lauren was born at about 26 weeks, still inside the amniotic sac. She was taken to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) immediately after birth — and though her mother had planned to place Lauren for adoption, she changed her mind when she saw her tiny two-pound, six-ounce daughter.
God’s miraculous interventions
Against all odds, Lauren thrived. She did not have the brain damage doctors had predicted and had few complications. She spent 53 days in the NICU, fighting to get stronger every day. Her parents decided to marry and had two more daughters.
When Bettina Peyton was a child, her father told her there was nothing after death, “and I became an atheist on the spot.”
This worldview was only affirmed through her course of life, where Peyton pursued medical sciences.
“As a physician, I was taught ‘death is the enemy, to be fought at all costs,’” Peyton, a retired neurologist, said at an International Association for Near-Death Studies conference.
Yet for numerous patients coming into the hospital needing resuscitation, it was a battle their medical teams would not win. Average rates of success for resuscitation attempts are lower than many might think: between 5 to 10 percent on average, and up to 20 percent in hospitals. And in the 1980s, this was even lower, Peyton said. Almost all those patients did not leave the hospital alive.
She would look at these bodies, and feel sad, wondering if they were conscious at all or aware of what they were being subjected to, a “complicated death ritual before they would slip away into oblivion.”
And then Peyton underwent that same experience herself.
“Amazingly, instead of being terrified, I’m watching the space with extraordinary equanimity, even as I realize I’m dying,” Peyton said.
She assumed she would fade into nothingness next, but not before the resuscitation team performed a futile, painful attempt to revive her. Instead, she felt a current of energy pulling her back into a dark, vast space in which she could not see.
Then “Kaboom!” she said. “It felt like I exploded through some great barrier. I am free.”
Peyton was in endless darkness, but it was a “radiant” sort of darkness and “mesmerizing.”
“Astounding beauty, boundless, sparkling light. Everywhere I turn this light is looking back at me. It knows me. This light is conscious,” she said. “All-knowing, all-powerful, humming with possibility.”
Peyton felt a perfect sort of peace, and then a voice that told her, three times, “you must live.”
VIDEO — Bikers Donate 200 Easter Baskets for Local Children: ‘Makes You Feel Good’
A motorcycle dealership in Lake Charles, Louisiana, is helping make Easter special this year for local children.
On Friday, the dealership joined with Toys for Tots to give away 200 Easter baskets, KPLC reported, and video footage recorded at the Harley-Davidson of Lake Charles shows the goodies lined up and ready to go.
“This started a few months ago. I happened to call the lady from Toys for Tots and I wanted to try to have some kind of event because there’s gonna be a lot of kids that may not get something for Easter,” Bill Doherty, a co-owner and designer at the dealership said in the clip: https://www.facebook.com/billy.doherty.33
He said they were the first group in the country to do an Easter basket toy drive for Toys for Tots. He said donations poured in during and after a special event.
“There’s gonna be a lot of kids happy today. What else can I say beside thank you,” Doherty added.
When families came to the dealership, their children were surprised with the special baskets or parents picked them up to deliver them to their children.
ICYMI
Transgender Individual Arrested for Allegedly Plotting School Shootings
Charges have been filed against a man who identifies as a woman after he allegedly planned to carry out mass shooting attacks on multiple schools in Colorado Springs, the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced.
William Whitworth, 19, was charged on April 6 following an investigation into threats involving the schools in Colorado Springs Academy District 20, officials said.
Whitworth, who told police he identifies as “Lilly,” has been charged with two counts of criminal attempt to commit murder in the first degree, one count of criminal mischief, one count of menacing, and one count of interference with staff, faculty, or students of educational institutions.
The suspect is currently being held in the Elbert County Jail on a $75,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on May 5, officials said.
Video: “THE GREAT RESET: AND THE WAR FOR THE WORLD” – INTERVIEW WITH ALEX JONES
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