Today’s News: August 05, 2021

Important Announcement: Mercola Deleting All Website Content After 48 Hours

From Dr. Mercola – Today, I have the most important announcement in the quarter of a century history of this newsletter. My goal and passion has always been about supporting you and helping you take control of your health. I am beyond thrilled that there are tens of millions of people who have benefited from what I have shared over the years.

I am filled with joy and gratitude every time I travel and lecture as invariably many people tell me how I’ve changed their lives by providing vital information they couldn’t find anywhere else and even better that was completely free.

These were the times when many of the views I presented were criticized, but that’s to be expected. That was one of the great freedoms we enjoyed. We could have different views and we could speak openly about these views without fear of retribution.

But we are now in a different time. A much darker time. The silence of free speech is now deafening.

Not only is blatant censorship tolerated, it is being encouraged by the very people who were to be entrusted with protecting our freedom of speech.

We are not living from the lessons we’ve learned before. Never in my life, would I believe the sitting President of the United States call out 12 Americans in a McCarthyism like attack in the United States. As you are aware, I was placed at the top of this list.

The last week has brought a tremendous amount of reflections to me, and a lot of unacceptable threats to a company full of amazing people that have helped me support you in this journey.

By now I am sure you know that there was a recent NY Times article attacking me and it was one of the most widely distributed stories in the world. The article was loaded with false statements made about me and my organization.

The report would be laughed at if it were to be submitted for peer review, the groups that created it are funded by dark money and operated by an illegal foreign agent. The press never questioned it, but ran with their orders from above.

I can deal with the CNN crews that chase me by car while I bicycle from my home. I feel sorry for the people in media that have to follow the orders they are given.

It is easy to dismiss the media pawns, but the most powerful individual on the planet has targeted me as his primary obstacle that must be removed. Every three letter agency is at his disposal, and the executive powers have grown beyond what an individual American’s rights can protect against.

A dissenter of medical mandates is now a target and obstacle to be removed. I know – that’s 25 years’ worth of blood, sweat and tears coming down.

I can hardly believe these words are coming out of my mouth. It’s a testament of just how radical things have degenerated in the recent past. However, I will continue to publish new articles, BUT going forward, each article I publish will be available for only 48 hours and will then be removed from the website.

We are at the crossroad where change is unavoidable. We all must make choices that determine our future. To many, this looks like a war … but what we need to find is peace. I am going to find peace through this sacrifice.

Just to be clear, ALL my content will be removed. This includes articles on:

• Great Reset
• General nutrition
• The coronavirus
• My interviews with experts

These will be removed to appease the individuals in power who have an arsenal of overwhelming tools at their disposal, and are actively engaged in using them. COVID-19 has activated and authorized emergency powers that have weakened our constitutional rights. Sadly, cyberwarfare and authoritarian forces are beyond our abilities to withstand, and this is now our only way forward.

Over 15,000 articles full of vital information that has helped tens of millions across the world take control of their health, will be removed. There was a time when people could debate and respect each other freely. That time is now gone. I believe laws are best applied like medicine – locally and specifically.

Local food, local democracy – our local community strength is the best way to achieve peace moving forward, and to stop authoritarian technocracy. I also believe we are at our strongest when we can care and maintain respect for each other. This is how we can make our most important decisions in life.

Again I will still be writing my daily articles that I started 25 years ago BUT they will only be available for 48 hours before they are removed. In this way I hope to continue my mission to help you take control of your health – but it’s up to you to download, share and repost this content. I will not be enforcing my copyright on this information so that you may freely share it.

WHO calls for halting COVID-19 vaccine boosters in favor of unvaccinated

Reuters – The World Health Organization is calling for a halt on COVID-19 vaccine boosters until at least the end of September, its head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday, as the gap between vaccinations in wealthy and poor countries widens.

The call for a moratorium is the strongest statement yet from the UN agency at a time when countries deliberate the need for boosters to combat the fast-spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus.

“I understand the concern of all governments to protect their people from the Delta variant. But we cannot accept countries that have already used most of the global supply of vaccines using even more of it,” Tedros added.

High-income countries administered around 50 doses for every 100 people in May, and that number has since doubled, according to WHO. Low-income countries have only been able to administer 1.5 doses for every 100 people, due to lack of supply.

“We need an urgent reversal from the majority of vaccines going to high-income countries to the majority going to low-income countries,” Tedros said.

Zuckerberg Lobbyists Push Joe Biden to Kill COVID Border Restrictions

Breitbart – Mark Zuckerberg’s astroturf empire is promoting a plan by border security officials to vaccinate many job-seeking migrants who are now excluded by the Title 42 anti-coronavirus barrier.

The plan to provide the economic migrants with taxpayer-funded vaccines was leaked Tuesday to the Washington Post by two DHS officials:

Vaccine would be provided to those facing deportation as well as migrants likely to be released into the United States pending a court hearing, said one of the two officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the tentative plan.

Migrants who are quickly sent back to Mexico under the Title 42 public health law would not be offered a [vaccine] dose, at least during the initial phase [emphasis added], the person said.

“This is just smart policy,” said a response tweet from Ali Noorani, president of the Zuckerberg-funded National Immigration Forum, which advocates for the importation of compliant and cheap workers for agriculture and retail employers. 

“If the administration expands vaccine access to those who are expelled due to current Title 42 restrictions, it puts reopening of the border to a greater level of trade, tourism and immigration within reach,” he said.  

The Zuckerberg-backed DHS plan to vaccinate migrants was leaked as  President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice is arguing against a Zuckerberg-boosted ACLU-led lawsuit against the Title 42 rule. The rule now holds back roughly 100,000 migrants per month from undermining Americans’ access to decent jobs and homes.

With tensions high, Gantz says Israel is ready to strike Iran

Al Jazeera – Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz has said the country’s military is ready to take action against Iran, calling it “a global and regional problem”.

The comments on Thursday came as tensions continue to rise in the region following a deadly drone strike last week on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman.

Forest fire in Greece threatens Olympics birthplace

Al Jazeera – A forest fire in Greece has threatened the archaeological site at the birthplace of the modern Olympics amid the protracted European heatwave.

Firefighters waged “an all-night battle” overnight on Wednesday to protect the site from fire in the southern Peloponnese region near ancient Olympia, said Citizens Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis.

Biden offers temporary ‘safe haven’ to Hong Kong residents in U.S.

Reuters – President Joe Biden on Thursday offered temporary “safe haven” to Hong Kong residents in the United States, allowing potentially thousands of people to extend their stay in the country in response to Beijing’s crackdown on democracy in the Chinese territory.

In a signed memo, Biden directed the Department of Homeland Security to implement a “deferral of removal” for up to 18 months for Hong Kong residents currently in the United States, citing “compelling foreign policy reasons”.

“Over the last year, the PRC has continued its assault on Hong Kong’s autonomy, undermining its remaining democratic processes and institutions, imposing limits on academic freedom, and cracking down on freedom of the press,” Biden said in the memo, using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China.

“Offering safe haven for Hong Kong residents who have been deprived of their guaranteed freedoms in Hong Kong furthers United States interests in the region. The United States will not waver in our support of people in Hong Kong,” Biden said.

US to require foreign visitors to be ‘fully vaccinated’ against Covid-19 under proposed White House plan

RT – The Biden administration is working on a plan to require foreigners wanting to legally visit the US to be fully vaccinated against Covid, as a prerequisite to lifting existing travel restrictions imposed at the pandemic’s outset.

Part of a plan to reopen travel to the rest of the world includes “a phased approach that over time will mean, with limited exceptions, that foreign nationals traveling to the United States (from all countries) need to be fully vaccinated,” an unnamed administration official told Reuters on Wednesday. The new system would need to be in place before the White House decides to lift the travel restrictions imposed in March 2020, as the initial response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under the existing rules, anyone who has visited Brazil, China, India, South Africa, the EU’s Schengen Area, Ireland or the UK within two weeks of traveling to the US is barred from entry. Arriving air travelers need to show proof of a negative Covid-19 test no more than three days old, regardless of vaccination status.

There was also no telling when the restrictions might be lifted, with airline industry officials telling Reuters it will take “at least weeks and potentially months.”

Among the issues still being discussed is what proof of vaccination would be accepted, and whether vaccines not authorized by US regulators would be recognized under the arrangement. Only three vaccines – made by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson – are currently cleared for emergency use in the US.

The anonymous official who talked to the agency could not answer whether the administration plans to require vaccination for visitors crossing the land border from Mexico and Canada – which is still officially closed to anyone but essential personnel like truck drivers or medical staff.

DeSantis fires back at Biden: ‘Every COVID variant on this planet’ is coming through his open border

Fox – Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis responded Wednesday to a White House attack from President Biden, who demanded he and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott “help or get out of the way” of administration efforts to mitigate the coronavirus.

On “The Ingraham Angle“, DeSantis said Biden is being disingenuous in blaming conservative governors who have refused to engage in widespread socioeconomic restrictions in regard to COVID mitigation, because the president continues to allow throngs of COVID-infected migrants to surge into Texas and in several cases be flown or bused to many states across the country – often without notifying local authorities in their final destinations.

DeSantis told host Laura Ingraham that some of the migrants crossing into Texas have explicitly expressed a desire to travel to Florida, which he said is unacceptable. He added that he like other governors are not being told when illegal immigrants are being transported, often on taxpayers’ dime, to his state:

“They don’t tell us. We try to do investigations. Sometimes we have gotten some documents and put 2 and 2 together. They do fly in… unaccompanied minors and a lot of military age males coming through the border,” he said. “You have law enforcement there helping Governor Abbott. They said of the illegal border crossers they come in contact with, a majority of them want to end up in Florida. We are working on strategies to be able to deter that.”

DeSantis said the issues in America under Biden transcend the pandemic, but intrinsically endanger national security.

He added that Biden is off base demanding Americans follow his edicts while he allows illegal immigrants to flood in from any country they want via Mexico.

“This is a guy that ran for president saying he would shut down the virus. He was not going to shut down America or the economy. He would shut down the virus. Yet what is he doing? He is bringing in people from over 100 different countries across the southern border,” he said.

Vast majority of Republicans still believe 2020 US election was ‘stolen’ from Donald Trump, poll shows

RT – Nine months after the 2020 US election, a new poll shows that two-thirds of Republicans still refuse to believe President Joe Biden got his job “fair and square,” despite media efforts to dismiss any claims of fraud as conspiracy.

The latest Yahoo News/YouGov poll, released on Wednesday, showed that 66% of Republicans believe last November’s election was “stolen” from former President Donald Trump. Just 18% said they consider Biden’s victory to be “fair and square,” and approximately 16% were undecided.

While only 3% of Democrat respondents believe Trump was robbed, 28% of independents agree that the Republican was the rightful winner, the survey showed. Overall, 29% of participants said the election was rigged.

The results were little changed from other polls done this year, Yahoo acknowledged. The rate of respondents saying Biden’s victory was illegitimate has ranged from 27% to 29% in similar surveys that have been done since January. Only 18% of Trump voters in a CBS News/YouGov poll done last December said Biden was the legitimate winner, the same percentage as in the new survey.

$750mn in artillery gear & smart bomb kits: Biden’s first arms sale to Taiwan gets State Department approval

RT – The US State Department authorized a $750 million arms sale to Taiwan, President Joe Biden’s first weapons transfer to the island following a flurry of deals under his predecessor – all over vocal objections from Beijing.

Announced Wednesday, the proposed sale involves 40 155mm self-propelled artillery guns and related gear, a number of vehicles and machine guns, as well as nearly 1,700 precision guidance kits used to convert ‘dumb’ projectiles into GPS-guided munitions, according to a State Department notice to Congress. 

The administration claimed the sale would serve “US national, economic and security interests” by supporting Taipei’s “continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and maintain a credible defensive capability,” as well as “assist in maintaining political stability” in the region.

Congress has 30 days to challenge the sale – which must also be finalized with arms contractor BAE Systems – though lawmakers typically do not attempt to block transfers to Taiwan.

While former President Donald Trump oversaw at least $18.2 billion in weapons and equipment sales to the island – including two massive transfers for $2 billion and $8 billion in 2019 – Wednesday’s deal is the first under Biden. China is likely to slam the move, having done so repeatedly through the Trump years.

Despite the few sales to date, the current administration has continued US engagement with Taiwan on military and security issues, and has carried on many of Trump’s more aggressive policies toward China, including routine ‘freedom of navigation’ transits through the Taiwan Strait with US warships. Beijing has condemned the missions as provocative time and again, blasting Washington as “the biggest destroyer of peace” after the latest sail-through last week

A report in the South China Morning Post earlier this week, moreover, also suggests Trump-era military assistance to Taiwan has continued under Biden, seeing American Patriot missile experts sent to the island for weapons tests every year since 2019.

While China considers Taiwan a part of its territory, it has been governed autonomously since the Chinese Civil War in 1949. The local administration has continued to refer to the island as the “Republic of China,” though it has been formally recognized by only a handful of countries. The United States is no longer one of them after breaking off official ties in 1979, but it has nonetheless pursued informal relations ever since, including a long series of weapons sales.

Illinois governor imposes mask mandate on all schools & daycares, orders many state employees to get vaccinated against Covid-19

RT – Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker ordered that all children and staff in schools and daycares wear masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19, and mandated that state employees in prisons and other congregate facilities be vaccinated.

The order, which was issued on Wednesday and made effective immediately, ensures that essentially all Illinois children – from kindergarten to high school – will be forced to wear masks during school hours, regardless of vaccination status. Coaches and students participating in indoor sports, such as volleyball and basketball, also must be masked.

“As your governor, it’s my duty to say that we must take immediate and urgent action to slow the spread of the Delta variant,” Pritzker said. “People are dying who don’t have to die.” He added that with Covid-19 hospitalizations rising, “we have a limited time to stave off the highest peaks of this surge going into the fall.”

The statewide mandate comes after some Illinois school districts declined to follow guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) calling for compulsory mask-wearing, instead making face coverings optional. The CDC reversed course on mask mandates in schools and other indoor settings last month, noting that even vaccinated people can catch and spread the highly contagious Delta variant of Covid-19.

Illinois has about 1.8 million children under the age of 12, meaning they are ineligible for any of the vaccinations that have been authorized for use in the US. School mask mandates have been highly controversial across the US, with critics arguing, among other points, that children aren’t susceptible to serious illness from Covid-19.

States that demand vaccine passports should also mandate voter ID, Republican senator proposes

RT – Senator Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota) has proposed a law requiring US states that mandate proof of vaccination to also require voter identification – which Democrats denounce as racist – saying he wants to highlight the hypocrisy.

“If states that take federal money for elections feel the need to make residents verify a piece of information as private as their vaccination status just to return to normalcy, then they should have no problem requiring people to prove they are who they say they are when they go to vote,” Cramer said, adding that his proposed legislation “would ensure those states are being consistent about their identification requirements and shine a light on those who hypocritically oppose Voter ID laws but support vaccine passports.”

Cramer’s bill has not been formally introduced in the Senate, as he is looking for co-sponsors. He said he intends to introduce it both as a standalone law, as well as an amendment to the upcoming $3.5 trillion spending bill – where it stands no chance of being adopted, as the Democrats plan to pass it without any Republican votes, or even a debate.

On Tuesday, New York City announced that it would be requiring a ‘Key to NYC’ pass for entry into restaurants, gyms and entertainment venues. The Democrat-run Big Apple is the first US city to do so, and there is much media speculation that other jurisdictions across the country may follow suit.

No US state has introduced the European-style vaccine passport yet, and 20 – including Cramer’s own North Dakota – have outright banned them. The issue has become polarizing and politicized in the US, with Democrats overwhelmingly supporting vaccine and mask mandates and Republicans by and large opposed. 

 One exception seems to be Kim Janey, the Democrat mayor of Boston, Massachusetts. Saying that requiring people to show their papers raises uncomfortable parallels with the era of slavery, Janey argued that vaccine passports would “disproportionately impact BIPOC [black, indigenous or people of color] communities.”

Even after getting criticized by fellow Democrats on the city council, Janey persisted, arguing that such mandates would threaten “equitable public health and economic recovery.”

Republicans like Cramer point out that Democrats require vaccine papers while denouncing voter ID as racist. The Biden administration actually sued Georgia in June, claiming the election integrity bill passed in March was racially motivated because it required voter ID for mail-in ballots, among other things. 

Governor pardons St. Louis couple who brandished guns when BLM stormed neighborhood

WND – Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has pardoned Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who drew their legal firearms when Black Lives Matter demonstrators trespassed on their property in June 2020 after allegedly cutting through an iron gate.

The pardon is a victory for Second Amendment proponents and a resounding affirmation of the unwavering right of homeowners to stand their ground when confronted by feral mobs who invade their property.

The governor announced his pardon of the McCloskeys on Friday along with 10 other pardons and two commutations.

Mark McCloskey — a successful trial attorney who’s now running for the U.S. Senate — praised Parson for upholding the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding homeowners.

“Today we are incredibly thankful that Governor Mike Parson righted this wrong and granted us pardons,” he wrote Wednesday.

“It was actually Governor Parson who, while serving as a State Senator, led the charge to pass the Castle Doctrine — guaranteeing Missourians the right to defend themselves with all necessary force.”

Hidden on Page 508 of the infrastructure bill is a plan to make it too expensive to drive a car

WND – The cost of living is on the rise, calls for yet another wave of pandemic restrictions have begun and now, buried deep in the so-called bipartisan infrastructure bill, the left has laid out yet another idea to bring Americans to their knees.

Make no mistake: The suffering is intentional, goal-oriented and not bound to stop anytime soon.

Still, one proposal in the 2,702 page infrastructure bill seems especially cruel — cruel enough to make it too expensive for many Americans to even drive a car.

Nick Short of the Claremont Institute highlighted an item on Pages 508-519 of the bill that would introduce a national per-mile motor vehicle user fee on a trial basis.

“Buried on page 508 of the 2,702 page infrastructure bill is a pilot program for a national motor vehicle per-mile user fee (MBUF) which is basically a long-term plan to make it too expensive to drive a car,” Short said Tuesday on Twitter.

The pilot program is set up “to test the design, acceptance, implementation, and financial sustainability of a national motor vehicle per-mile user fee, to address the need for additional revenue for surface transportation infrastructure and a national motor vehicle per-mile user fee” and “to provide recommendations relating to the adoption and implementation of a national motor vehicle per-mile user fee,” the bill says.

An article from The Lid Blog attached to Short’s tweet detailed the proposal even further, breaking down each component, from the program’s objectives to its proposal that “volunteers” from each state should discover different ways to collect data on miles driven by “both commercial and private vehicle operators.”

On Page 513, the proposal says that the “Secretary of the Treasury shall establish, on an annual basis, per-mile user fees for passenger motor vehicles, light trucks, and medium- and heavy-duty trucks.”

In theory, these per-mile user fees would vary by vehicle contingent upon several factors, including — you guessed it — environmental impact.

To ease any apprehension about participating in the pilot program, the measure indicates that participants’ identities will be protected, perhaps, as The Lid said, to prevent ostracization “if this happens and achieves the desired result.”

Biden to announce he wants half of all new vehicles at zero emissions by 2030 – Fox Business

Fox – President Biden will sign an executive order on Thursday calling for half of all U.S. car sales to be zero-emission vehicles by 2030. 

Senior administration officials said in a briefing for reporters that the order is a part of Biden’s broader “Build Back Better” initiative and will bolster infrastructure, save consumers money, and tackle the climate crisis.

The order will further initiate the development of “long-term fuel efficiency and emission standards” that will cut pollution and allegedly save consumers costs at the pump.

The officials said the standards will apply to not only “light-duty vehicles” like cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks, but also will also be established for “medium and heavy-duty vehicles.”

American automakers including Ford, GM, and Stellantis, along with the United Auto Workers union heads are expected to stand with the president at the White House as he signs the executive order. 

“Today, Ford, GM, and Stellantis announce their shared aspiration to achieve sales of 40-50% of annual U.S. volumes of electric vehicles (battery electric, fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid vehicles) by 2030,” the automakers said in a joint statement. “Our recent product, technology, and investment announcements highlight our collective commitment to be leaders in the U.S. transition to electric vehicles.”

Washington NFL team bans fans from wearing Native American dress

BBC – The Washington Football Team, which dropped the controversial name Redskins last year, has now banned fans from wearing Native American headdresses and face paint at its home stadium.

The new policy was among several the US NFL team said would help provide the “best possible fan experience for all”.

The Redskins name and logo was retired by the franchise in July last year.

It followed years of pressure from groups and sponsors who criticised the name as offensive to Native Americans.

On Wednesday, the Washington DC-based American football team said it was updating policies for its FedExField stadium in Maryland for the new season.

It said it was “excited to welcome everyone back wearing their burgundy and gold”, but that Native American costumes and paint “may no longer be worn into the stadium”.

The announcement also addressed the Covid-19 pandemic, with new rules on mask wearing and cashless payments.

Washington’s NFL franchise was first named the Redskins in 1933, when they still played in Boston. It became one of the most famous names in American sports, with a logo recognised the world over.

Environmental impact of bottled water ‘up to 3,500 times greater than tap water’

The Guardian – The impact of bottled water on natural resources is 3,500 times higher than for tap water, scientists have found.

The research is the first of its kind and examined the impact of bottled water in Barcelona, where it is becoming increasingly popular despite improvements to the quality of tap water in recent years.

Research led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) found that if the city’s population were all to drink bottled water, this would result in a 3,500 times higher cost of resource extraction than if they all drank tap water, at $83.9m (£60.3m)a year.

Researchers also found the impact of bottled water on ecosystems is 1,400 times higher than tap water.

The authors concluded that the reduction in environmental impacts more than offset the small risk of bladder cancer associated with drinking tap water. The process of treating drinking water generates low levels of trihalomethanes (THM), which have been associated with a higher risk of bladder cancer. THM levels in drinking water are regulated in the EU.

The lead author of the study, the ISGlobal researcher Cristina Villanueva, said: “Health reasons don’t justify the wide use of bottled water. Yes, strictly speaking, drinking tap water is worse for local health, but when you weigh both, what you gain from drinking bottled water is minimal. It’s quite obvious that the environmental impacts of bottled water are higher compared to tap water.”

In the US, 17m barrels of oil are needed to produce the plastic to meet annual bottled water demand. In addition, bottled water in the UK is at least 500 times more expensive than tap water.

Villanueva added: “I think this study can help to reduce bottled water consumption, but we need more active policies to change that.

“For example, in Barcelona, we could have more education campaigns to make the public aware that the health gains from drinking bottled water are minor compared to the environmental impacts. We need to improve access to public water, to public fountains, to public buildings where you can bring your own bottle and don’t need to buy one. We need to facilitate access to public water in public streets.

“People trust bottled water because advertisers have done a good job of convincing people it’s a good option, so we need the effort on the other side.”