Today's News: August 13, 2020

Amazon will invest over $10 billion in its satellite internet network after receiving FCC authorization

NBC (JUL 30 2020) – The Federal Communications Commission declared on Thursday that Amazon may build its ambitious satellite internet system, which would compete with SpaceX’s Starlink network.
Amazon’s project, known as Kuiper, would see the company launch 3,236 satellites into low Earth orbit. Amazon says it will deploy the satellites in five phases, with broadband service beginning once it has 578 satellites in orbit.
“We conclude that grant of Kuiper’s application would advance the public interest by authorizing a system designed to increase the availability of high-speed broadband service to consumers, government, and businesses,” the FCC secretary Marlene Dortch said in its authorization order.
After the FCC announced the authorization, Amazon said that it “will invest more than $10 billion” into Kuiper.
“There are still too many places where broadband access is unreliable or where it doesn’t exist at all. Kuiper will change that. Our $10 billion investment will create jobs and infrastructure around the United States that will help us close this gap,” Amazon senior vice president Dave Limp said in a statement.
The company has not outlined a timeline for Kuiper and the FCC said the company has not finished the satellites’ design. But Morgan Stanley has declared the high-speed internet network has the potential to be a ”$100 billion opportunity” for Jeff Bezos’ company.
Kuiper is poised to go toe-to-toe with SpaceX’s Starl

Pentagon Releases Huge Slice Of Spectrum For 5G

Technocracy News – After a remarkably fast interagency review, the White House today announced a massive transfer of electromagnetic spectrum from military use to commercial 5G. It will be the “fastest transfer of federal spectrum to commercial use in history,” US Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios told reporters proudly this afternoon. But, Kratsios and Pentagon CIO Dana Deasy assured reporters ahead of the announcement, the rush won’t compromise military readiness or operations.
The 100 megahertz of spectrum runs from 3450 MHz to 3550, so-called mid-band frequencies prized by 5G developers because they allow longer-ranged transmissions than the millimeter-wave spectrum that makes up most of what’s been available in the US so far. Kratsios and other officials told reporters shortly before this afternoon’s announcement that the move would dramatically expand 5G access for all Americans – fulling a congressional mandate in the 2018 MOBILE NOW Act – and strengthen potential competitors to Chinese giant Huawei in the global market.
Currently, Deasy said, “the 3450-3550 mHZ band supports critical DoD radar operations, including high-powered defense radar systems on fixed, mobile, shipboard, and airborne platforms, [including] air defense, missile and gun fire control, counter mortar, bomb scoring [during training exercises], battlefield weapon locations, air traffic control, and range safety.”
That’s a wide range of military functions, many with life-or-death significance for either training safety or outright combat. Deasy and other officials didn’t detail how the Defense Department would work this massive transfer. Their remarks, however, suggested a mix of migrating military radars to other frequencies – a complex and costly process typically funded from a share of the FCC auction – and sharing frequencies with commercial users in specific times and places.

Slovenia, US Sign Declaration on Security of 5G Networks

Sputnik – Slovenian Foreign Minister Anze Logar and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday signed a declaration on 5G security, which will likely exclude China’s Huawei from the development of new-generation internet networks in the Central European country.
“Today, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dr. Anze Logar and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo signed a Joint Declaration on 5G Security”, Slovenian Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
Pompeo is in Slovenia as part of a working tour in Central and Eastern Europe from 11-15 August. The other countries on the visit’s agenda include the Czech Republic, Austria and Poland.
The declaration commits Washington and Ljubljana to “a rigorous evaluation of suppliers and supply chains” with consideration of “the rule of law, the security environment, ethical supplier practices and a supplier’s compliance with security standards and best practices” when developing their 5G networks, according to the press release.
The Slovenian ministry assesses that the declaration “reflects the importance that both countries attach to implementing the [2019] London Declaration … in which NATO and Allies committed to ensuring the security of their communications, including 5G.”

Mercola: Technocracy Is The Masterplan For The ‘Great Reset’

Technocracy News – So, what is “technocracy”? As explained by Wood, technocracy is a movement that got started in the 1930s during the height of the Great Depression, when scientists and engineers got together to solve the nation’s economic problems. It looked like capitalism and free enterprise was going to die, so they decided to invent a new economic system from scratch.

Alexa vulnerability is a reminder to delete your voice history

CNet – On Thursday, researchers from the cybersecurity firm Check Point released a report detailing security issues they discovered with Amazon’s Alexa, which would have allowed a potential hacker to get a person’s conversation logs with the smart speaker, as well as install skills on the device without the person knowing.

Europe’s Top Health Officials Say Masks Aren’t Helpful in Beating COVID-19

Technocracy News – Denmark boasts one of the lowest COVID-19 death rates in the world. As of August 4, the Danes have suffered 616 COVID-19 deaths, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
That’s less than one-third of the number of Danes who die from pneumonia or influenza in a given year.
Despite this success, Danish leaders recently found themselves on the defensive. The reason is that Danes aren’t wearing face masks, and local authorities for the most part aren’t even recommending them.
This prompted Berlingske, the country’s oldest newspaper, to complain that Danes had positioned themselves “to the right of Trump.”
“The whole world is wearing face masks, even Donald Trump,” Berlingske pointed out.
This apparently did not sit well with Danish health officials. They responded by noting there is little conclusive evidence that face masks are an effective way to limit the spread of respiratory viruses.
“All these countries recommending face masks haven’t made their decisions based on new studies,” said Henning Bundgaard, chief physician at Denmark’s Rigshospitale, according to Bloomberg News. (Denmark has since updated its guidelines to encourage, but not require, the use of masks on public transit where social distancing may not be possible.)
Denmark is not alone.
Despite a global stampede of mask-wearing, data show that 80-90 percent of people in Finland and Holland say they “never” wear masks when they go out, a sharp contrast to the 80-90 percent of people in Spain and Italy who say they “always” wear masks when they go out.
Dutch public health officials recently explained why they’re not recommending masks.
“From a medical point of view, there is no evidence of a medical effect of wearing face masks, so we decided not to impose a national obligation,” said Medical Care Minister Tamara van Ark.
Others, echoing statements similar to the US Surgeon General from early March, said masks could make individuals sicker and exacerbate the spread of the virus.
“Face masks in public places are not necessary, based on all the current evidence,” said Coen Berends, spokesman for the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment. “There is no benefit and there may even be negative impact.”
In Sweden, where COVID-19 deaths have slowed to a crawl, public health officials say they see “no point” in requiring individuals to wear masks.
“With numbers diminishing very quickly in Sweden, we see no point in wearing a face mask in Sweden, not even on public transport,” said Anders Tegnell, Sweden’s top infectious disease expert.

Brace For The Worst Election In U.S. History

SHFT Plan – This time, it literally won’t matter who wins, loses, is selected, or elected. The elitists have already made it clear this election will be a contested one that will seal the division they seek in order to conquer us all. Now they are mixing in a potential world war narrative that should alert everyone that it’s all set up.
Back in April, journalist Caitlin Johnstone began alerting the public to the plans for this “election.” She said, “China’s gonna be so surprised when it finds out it interfered in the November election.” Now, three months ahead of schedule China is already getting its surprise, alongside Iran and Russia.
We have also been attempting to warn the public that this election is going to be one that will play us like fiddles. And yet, Americans, rather than stand up for real rights, liberty, and justice, will go vote in November, in an election that’s already been decided to they feel like they did their duty the ruling class told them they had to fulfill. They have already modeled this election, months before it will happen, just like they did with Event 201 for the coronavirus scamdemic.
Can you really not see what’s happening? They are setting up the voting pawns to react regardless of the outcome, with potential violence that could lead to civil war, or even worse, another world war by blaming other countries for the election results. If you are easily triggered by political truths, stop reading here.
To actually believe your vote matters is the height of delusion. We don’t choose the president or any of the other political puppets. The Federal Reserve does, and they are trying to take over the world right now. To assume they will allow you a say in the matter when they know all they have to do is tell you to vote, is naive. They have already decided which puppet will win the selection.
We are being played like a grand piano and most have no idea.
The mainstream media uses this type of propaganda to control the narrative. They do this for the central banks and political puppets because all of those entities understand that whoever controls the narrative controls the world, and there is no amount of evil they won’t do to ensure that they continue to control the world.
The reason sociopaths are able to insert themselves so easily into positions of power and influence in human civilization is that highly manipulative people with no empathy quickly learn that society is dominated by narrative, while the rest of us do not understand this. This must change before we will be able to create a healthy world. We all have to wake up to what has been done to us. There’s no other option unless you want to be a slave for the foreseeable future.
The best way to prepare at this point in human history is to be aware that this is a war for your mind. There are no amount of preps I could suggest if you choose to remain blind to the reality that your perception is being altered. This is a spiritual and mental battle. Prepare by exercising critical thinking, and you’ll soon be able to see through the facade.

New York City Police Use Pandemic To Create COVID-19 Checkpoints

Activist Post – A recent article in The New York Post revealed how the NYPD used the pandemic to justify creating COVID-19 checkpoints.
New York officials have stopped 353 cars at entrances to the Big Apple to warn travelers of the mandatory two-week quarantine rule. The stops were made from Wednesday through Friday at bridges and tunnels, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office.
Police are using the pandemic as an excuse to circumvent the Fourth Amendment by asking a vehicle’s occupants to answer questions like have they spent more than 24 hours during the previous 14 days in any state on New York’s restricted list?
The city has the audacity to claim that these stops are “quick and educational.” There is nothing quick and educational about being stopped and questioned by government officials.
Is there anything educational about fining people $10,000 dollars?
Travelers who violate the quarantine rule could face up to $10,000 in fines. There are currently 35 states plus Puerto Rico on the list.
Earlier this year, The Orlando Sentinel called COVID-19 checkpoints security theater, and worried about the cost to taxpayers. COVID-19 checkpoints have also been set up in Rhode Island, North Carolina, Colorado, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

Propaganda & Fear Alert: MSM Says “Much More Aggressive Shutdowns Are Needed”

SHFT Plan – Mainstream media outlets continue to do their jobs as the ruling class pulls the strings. The New York Times is now claiming that “much more aggressive shutdowns” are needed or COVID-19 will kill one million Americans.
Isn’t this fear-mongering getting old? It should be abundantly clear that those who are desperate to keep their power are needing the public to be afraid of everything. The article published by The New York Times cites no source, but Americans, by and large, have rejected logic and reason in exchange for horrifying levels of fear.
The editorial warns, “well over a million” Americans “may ultimately die” from COVID-19. The paper does not cite a source for that estimate, which seems highly implausible based on the death toll so far, projections for the next few months, the gap between total infections and confirmed cases, and a crude case-fatality rate that continues to fall.
According to Reason Magazine, independent data scientist Youyang Gu, who has a good track record of predicting COVID-19 fatalities, is currently projecting about 231,000 deaths in the United States by November 1. The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projects 295,000 deaths by December 1. Assuming those projections prove to be about right, the Times is predicting that the death toll will quadruple during the months before an effective vaccine can be deployed, which might happen early next year.
The Times wants a six to eight-week hard lockdown while noting that Americans may be already tired of obeying the commands of tyrants for something that has turned out to be statically negligent, EVEN IF you believe the numbers being reported on by the media are accurate.
This is nothing more than fear-based propaganda, and that should be obvious. However, that does not mean preparations should cease. Things are going to get more interesting before this year is over. It’s hard to say what’s in store for us, but those with a grip around our throats won’t release it without a fight.

John McAfee Promises to Reveal Truth About ‘Those in Power’, Claims He is ‘Politically Prosecuted’

Sputnik – The eccentric programmer, who ran for president in the United States in 2016 and 2020, has a long record of legal issues. Recently, he was arrested in Norway for refusing to wear anything but a female thong on his face to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
John McAfee promised to reveal the truth about “those in power” if he dies or disappears and claimed that he is a “politically prosecuted person”. The 74-year-old millionaire posted an enigmatic statement on his Twitter account appearing to imply that he is in danger.
McAfee, the creator of renowned commercial antivirus software, was arrested in the Dominican Republic last year on suspicion of carrying weapons and ammunition. He claimed that the detention was part of a CIA plot to kill him. The programmer has a long record of legal issues. He was arrested in April 2012 in Belize for possession of weapons and unlicensed drug manufacturing.
In November of that same year, Belizean law enforcement wanted to interview him in connection with the murder of US expatriate Gregory Viant Faull. He refused, saying he feared police would kill him and fled to Guatemala. There, he faked heart attacks in order to give his lawyer more time to prevent his extradition to Belize. Previously, McAfee claimed he is on the run from the United States, where hasn’t paid taxes since 2010.

Trump’s WeChat Ban Not an ‘Effective’ Answer But May ‘Unfairly’ Hit Chinese Firms in US – Techsperts

Sputnik – US President Donald Trump threatened to ban TikTok and WeChat by 15 September if they were not sold to a US company, triggering a lawsuit from TikTok owner ByteDance and sparking further diplomatic rows with Beijing. But just how effective would a ban on WeChat’s US operations be in the long-term?
The popular social media platform, WeChat, was launched in 2011 by Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings, who also owns QQ Messenger and numerous gaming platforms such as Riot Games, as well as stakes in Fortnite and Snapchat.
Yuwan Hu, research director for Daxue Consulting in Shanghai and Andy Mok, senior research fellow for the Centre For China and Globalisation, discussed the implications of a potential ban on WeChat in the United States.
US President Donald Trump threatened to ban TikTok and WeChat by 15 September if they were not sold to a US company, triggering a lawsuit from TikTok owner ByteDance and sparking further diplomatic rows with Beijing. But just how effective would a ban on WeChat’s US operations be in the long-term?
The popular social media platform, WeChat, was launched in 2011 by Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings, who also owns QQ Messenger and numerous gaming platforms such as Riot Games, as well as stakes in Fortnite and Snapchat.
Yuwan Hu, research director for Daxue Consulting in Shanghai and Andy Mok, senior research fellow for the Centre For China and Globalisation, discussed the implications of a potential ban on WeChat in the United States.

Duterte to skip Philippine trial of Russia virus vaccine

France 24 – The Philippines will begin large-scale human testing of Russia’s coronavirus vaccine in October, but President Rodrigo Duterte will not receive the inoculation until regulators guarantee its safety, his spokesman said Thursday.
Duterte had offered himself up as a guinea pig for the very first jab, expressing “huge trust” in the vaccine, despite growing scepticism about its effectiveness.
But his spokesman Harry Roque said the president was scheduled to receive the vaccine no earlier than May 1 — weeks after the Russian-funded Phase 3 clinical trial in the archipelago is due to end in March.
The country’s Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve the vaccine — developed by the Gamaleya research institute and the Russian defence ministry — in April.
“May 1 is when the PSG (presidential security group) may allow him, once all requisite tests have been finished,” Roque told reporters.
Moscow says it has developed the world’s first vaccine offering “sustainable immunity” against the coronavirus and is in the final stage of tests involving 2,000 people.
Roque said Philippine experts will review next month the results of Russia’s Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials before the Southeast Asian country starts its Phase 3 testing.
“We will do it simultaneously with Russia,” Roque said.

Bill Gates on Covid Vaccine Timing, Hydroxychloroquine, and That 5G Conspiracy Theory

Bloomberg – Bill Gates, the Microsoft Corp. co-founder and billionaire philanthropist, has become, for better and worse, a central character in the story of Covid-19.
Gates says he’s optimistic about the world’s chances of seeing through the wilder theories and of beating the coronavirus, too. His remarks have been condensed and edited for clarity.
How confident are you we’ll have a working vaccine that can be widely distributed by the end of 2020?
Well, the initial vaccine won’t be ideal in terms of its effectiveness against sickness and transmission. It may not have a long duration, and it will mainly be used in rich countries as a stopgap measure.
We’d be lucky to have much before the end of the year. But then, in 2021, a number of other vaccines are very likely to get approved. The strongest response will probably come from the protein subunit. With so many companies working on it, we can afford quite a few failures and still have something with low cost and long duration.
For years, people have said if anti-vaxxers had lived through a pandemic, the way their grandparents did, they’d think differently. Whoops.
The two times I’ve been to the White House [since 2016], I was told I had to go listen to anti-vaxxers like Robert Kennedy Jr. So, yes, it’s ironic that people are questioning vaccines and we’re actually having to say, “Oh, my God, how else can you get out of a tragic pandemic?”
Given the skepticism, should a Covid vaccine be mandatory?
Making something mandatory can often backfire. But you might say that if you’re going to work in an old-folks home or have any exposure to elderly people, it would be required.
How long has it been since you hugged someone who doesn’t live in your home?
What do you make of the conspiracy theories that you’re pursuing vaccine research to control people’s minds using 5G radio waves and so on?
It’s strange. They take the fact that I’m involved with vaccines and they just reverse it, so instead of giving money to save lives, I’m making money to get rid of lives. If that stops people from taking a vaccine or looking at the latest data about wearing a mask, then it’s a big problem.
What about the conversation around hydroxychloroquine, which the White House has promoted despite its repeatedly being shown to be ineffective and, in fact, to cause heart problems in some patients?
This is an age of science, but sometimes it doesn’t feel that way. In the test tube, hydroxychloroquine looked good. On the other hand, there are lots of good therapeutic drugs coming that are proven to work without the severe side effects.