Today's News: August 15, 2022

WORLD NEWS

Farmers promise to ‘escalate’ protests against government shutdown orders

‘If you push them against the wall with no wiggle room, I don’t know where this will end up’

Farmers in the Netherlands reduced nitrogen pollution by nearly 70% through a voluntary system. But the government says that is not enough and is demanding that they cut pollution by another 50% by 2030.

By the Dutch government’s own estimates, 11,200 farms out of the roughly 35,000 dedicated to dairy and livestock would have to close under its policies; 17,600 farmers would have to reduce livestock; and total livestock would need to be reduced by one-half to one-third. The Dutch government has demanded that animal farming stop entirely in many places. Of the over $25.7 billion the government has set aside to reduce pollution, just $1 billion is for technological innovation, with most of the rest for buying out farmers.

This effort has sparked a fierce backlash among Dutch farmers, who argue that the government seems more interested in reducing animal agriculture than in finding solutions that protect the food supply and their livelihoods.

“Why would you buy out farmers or reduce livestock when you have the possibility to invest in innovation?” asked Caroline van der Plas, the founder and sole Member of Parliament for the Farmer-Citizen Movement party, or BBB in Dutch. “The car industry innovated for the past 40 years. There aren’t fewer cars and the cars we have are cleaner. We even have electrical cars. That’s what I think is so crazy. Why don’t we treat the farmers just like the car industry? Give them time to develop solutions or innovate? We can produce food in a much more efficient and cleaner way if we do that. And it’s much cheaper also then by buying out farmers.”

Farmer protests in the Netherlands come at a time of heightened global food insecurity created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a major wheat exporter.

The Netherlands is the largest exporter of meat in Europe and the second largest exporter of food overall by economic value in the world, after the United States, a remarkable feat for a nation half the size of Indiana. Farm exports generate nearly $100 billion a year in revenue. Experts attribute the nation’s success to its farmers’ embrace of technological innovation.

The Netherlands is just one of the countries where governments are pushing for sharp limits on farming. Canada, for example, is seeking a 30% reduction in nitrogen pollution by 2030. While the Canadian government says it is not mandating fertilizer use reductions, only pollution reductions, experts agree that such a radical pollution decline in such a short period will only be possible through reducing fertilizer use, and thus food production. The cost to farmers would be between $10 billion and $48 billion.

“If you push farmers against the wall with no wiggle room, I don’t know where this will end up,” said Gunter Jochum, president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association. “Just look at what’s happening in Europe, in the Netherlands. They’ve had enough of it.”

Where the proposed Dutch restrictions are driven by land and air pollution concerns, the Canadian restrictions are driven by the desire for strong action on climate change. But greenhouse gas emissions from farming pale compared to those from energy. Where carbon emissions from farming in Canada rose 87% to under 8 metric tons between 1990 and 2020, emissions from oil and gas production tripled, adding 69 metric tons of carbon dioxide, during the same period. With the pollution, however, came more food. Canada’s spring wheat yields increased over 40% during the period.

The most dramatic consequences of government intervention occurred in Sri Lanka, where a 2021 fertilizer ban led to a massive reduction in yields, sparking starvation and an economic crisis that brought down the government in July. Because agriculture is a source of greenhouse gases, the efforts by the governments and the backlash they are fomenting may be a harbinger of a global crisis.

The US War on Drugs isn’t what it seems – and Colombia’s new president wants to end it

Leftist Gustavo Petro was inaugurated as Colombia’s new president on August 7, ushering in what will likely be an unprecedented political swing for what is a perennially right-wing government. In his first address, Petro mentioned many important issues that face Colombia including climate change, poverty, education and, notably, the so-called ‘War on Drugs.’

“It’s time for a new international convention that accepts that the War on Drugs has resoundingly failed and that it has left one million Latin Americans murdered, most of them Colombians, during the last 40 years, and that kills 70,000 people in North America from overdoses annually with drugs, none of which are produced in Latin America,” he said.

Petro added that this war “has strengthened the mafias and weakened states,” while leading “states to commit crimes,” including the Colombian state. He called for a new paradigm that “allows life and doesn’t generate death” while also putting blame on the United States for having the ability to change global anti-drug policy but failing to do so.

This is a truly game-changing declaration from Petro because Colombia is far and away the most important partner in the US-led War on Drugs. Colombia rejecting the existing status quo would send a shockwave through the international community and could set up multilateral discussions on a new strategy that does not focus on a military-first response.

To note, Petro knows a thing or two about the War on Drugs given his previous connection to the now-defunct left-wing paramilitary group, M-19. This war has been noted for its deep contradictions, namely the fact that US military aid and training to Colombia has focused more on anti-communism – that is, putting down groups like M-19 – than on combating the drug trade.

The US has sent military aid to groups in Colombia, including the Colombian military, that have committed well-documented human rights abuses. The Clinton administration even waived most of the human-rights conditions normally attached to such aid, deeming it crucial to US national security. Washington also hyper-focuses attention on combating left-wing groups in Colombia while supporting right-wing groups, e.g., those that support US capital, even if they have connections to the drug trade.

As a notable example, former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who received the US’ highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from former US President George Bush, was identified by US intelligence as tied to the country’s drug trade. He remains a powerful player in Colombian politics and was Washington’s main conduit in the region during his tenure from 2002-2010.

On top of these contradictions that are associated with Cold War politics, Petro also correctly noted the internal contradictions of the US-led War on Drugs. The domestic policy of prohibition is not working and people are dying left and right. US life expectancy is declining due in no small part to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic; however, endemic poverty and drugs are contributing the most to the total lost life years.

This is a point of particular importance for me personally, as I have noted in my column for RT at various points. Having been born in Cincinnati, Ohio and growing up in Northern Kentucky, essentially the epicenter of the US opiate crisis, I have seen the devastating effects of these drugs first-hand. I know families that have been ripped apart, I’ve seen the destitution of addiction and even lost around a dozen of my peers to overdoses, suicide or gang-related murder.

One thing I can say for sure is that the status quo isn’t working. If anything, it simply creates a feedback loop where recidivism and relapse are inevitable – all while private rehabilitation facilities and large pharmaceutical companies profit on the back end. The inevitable outcome, as is ever the case in the United States, is the criminalization of poverty – because low household income is perhaps the most important indicator of substance abuse.

This is a particularly important point because it shows the intersection of contradictions with the War on Drugs domestically and internationally. Namely, the war is an extension of the backward, neoliberal Washington regime and its quest to crush all social movements – whether those at home or abroad – that challenge the American dictatorship of the wealthy.

This empire has revealed itself to not only be morally unjust to those most affected by its proclivity to commit unspeakable crimes but also unreliable, irresponsible and unstable. As US imperialism continues its inevitable downward trajectory, windows of opportunities will present themselves to change existing policies that do not fit the interests of the international community. President Gustavo Petro’s call for a new international anti-drug paradigm is one such example.

Risks of disaster at nuclear plant ‘increasing every day’: Mayor

Last week, the facility in Ukraine came under repeated fire, with Kyiv and Moscow trading blame for the potentially catastrophic escalation.

The risk of disaster at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant occupied by Russian troops is “increasing every day”, the mayor of the city where the facility is located says.

The Zaporizhzhia power plant, Europe’s largest, was seized by Russian soldiers in the opening days of the invasion of Ukraine, and has remained on the front line ever since.

Last week the facility came under fire repeatedly, with Kyiv and Moscow trading blame for the dangerous escalation.

The mayor of the southeastern city of Energodar, where the plant is located, said on Sunday that “the risks are increasing every day”.

“What is happening there is outright nuclear terrorism,” Dmytro Orlov said from the city of Zaporizhzhia, which remains under Ukrainian control. “It can end unpredictably at any moment.”

Schools consider THREE-DAY week to pay for teacher salary rises and crippling energy costs

Headteachers are considering implementing three-day weeks at schools as they struggle to deal with booming energy costs and staff salaries rising faster than their budgets will allow.

Across the country, school heads are holding ‘crisis meetings’ with trustees and board of governors over the summer holidays as they plan ahead.

Teacher pay rises set to be awarded in September will add another pressure on schools’ already-straightened finances, The Telegraph reports.

World Bank Creates $1 Billion Fund For Vaccine Passports

While the World Health Organization pushes ahead with plans to enact a new or revised international pandemic preparedness treaty, the World Bank and other organizations are advancing new vaccine passport regimes.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is moving ahead with plans to enact a new or revised international pandemic preparedness treaty, despite encountering setbacks earlier this summer after dozens of countries, primarily outside the Western world, objected to the plan.

A majority of WHO member states on July 21, during a meeting of WHO’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB), agreed to pursue a legally binding pandemic instrument that will contain “both legally binding as well as non-legally binding elements.”

STAT News described the agreement, which would create a new global framework for responding to pandemics, as “the most transformative global health call to action since [the] WHO itself was formed as the first specialized United Nations agency in 1948.”

Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum, African Union and World Bank — which created a $1 billion fund for “disease surveillance” and “support against the current as well as future pandemics” — are developing their own pandemic response mechanisms, including new cross-country vaccine passport frameworks.

U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT

Trump Raid: DOJ Allegedly Seized Privileged Attorney-Client Materials

The Department of Justice (DOJ) allegedly took materials that contained privileged attorney-client communications in its raid last Monday on former President Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago, Florida.

The claim, reported by Fox News, raises new questions about the DOJ’s tactics, as well as doubts about whether the DOJ would be able to use any of the seized materials in a hypothetical prosecution of the former president.

The DOJ is apparently opposing the appointment of a “special master,” a judicial official who would conduct an independent review and decide which materials could be handed over to the government and which materials would have to be returned to Trump and his attorneys.

Fox News reported:

The FBI seized boxes containing records covered by attorney-client privilege and potentially executive privilege during its raid of former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, sources familiar with the investigation told Fox News, adding that the Justice Department opposed Trump lawyers’ request for the appointment of an independent, special master to review the records.

Sources familiar with the investigation told Fox News Saturday that the former president’s team was informed that boxes labeled A-14, A-26, A-43, A-13, A-33, and a set of documents—all seen on the final page of the FBI’s property receipt —contained information covered by attorney-client privilege.

The FBI seized classified records from Trump’s Palm Beach home during its unprecedented Monday morning raid, including some marked as top secret. But the former president is disputing the classification, saying the records have been declassified.

The attorney-client privilege, protected under the right to counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, means that almost any communications from a client to his or her attorney cannot be revealed.

The only exceptions to the rule are when a client is communicating the intent to commit a future crime, or when the attorney is involved in a joint criminal or fraudulent endeavor. A confession of past crimes is still covered by the privilege.

Similar questions about attorney-client privilege surrounded the FBI’s seizure of materials in 2018 from the apartment and office of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen. A special master ruled that two-thirds of the materials concerning communications between Cohen and Trump were covered by attorney-client privilege and could not be used by the DOJ.

Last year, a federal judge ordered the appointment of a special master after the DOJ seized journalist James O’Keefe’s phone. The New York Times, which faced a defamation suit from O’Keefe, had begun publishing legal memos between O’Keefe and his attorneys shortly after the phone had been seized in a raid related to Ashley Biden’s diary, prompting suspicions of leaks.

Legal scholar Jonathan Turley wrote that the request for the appointment of a special master after the Mar-a-Lago raid seemed reasonable, given the search warrant’s broad scope: “The request for a special master would seem reasonable, particularly given the sweeping language used in the warrant. It is hard to see what material could not be gathered under this warrant.”

Speculation has mounted that the true purpose of the raid for presidential documents allegedly retained by Trump was to search for materials that might relate to the Capitol riot on January 6, for which Democrats want the DOJ to prosecute Trump.

US congressional delegation arrives in Taiwan

The lawmakers are visiting the island amid historic tensions with China

A US congressional delegation touched down in Taiwan on Sunday for a two-day visit. The lawmakers’ arrival comes less than two weeks after a separate visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sparked a flurry of military activity in the Taiwan Strait and sent relations between Washington and Beijing into a tailspin.

The visit to Taipei was announced by the American Institute in Taiwan, which functions as the US’ de-facto embassy on the self-governing island. According to the institute, Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, a Democrat, is leading the group. Democrat Representatives John Garamendi (California), Alan Lowenthal (California), and Don Beyer (Virgina) are accompanying Markey, as is Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, a Republican from American Samoa.

The delegation will “meet with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss US-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, global supply chains, climate change, and other significant issues of mutual interest,” the institute stated.

The US officially recognizes, but does not endorse, China’s sovereignty over Taiwan, a position referred to as the ‘One China’ policy. While American lawmakers and officials regularly travel to the island, Beijing considers visits by more senior US figures to be tacit endorsements of Taiwanese independence.

Liz Cheney’s Husband Is Partner at Law Firm Representing Hunter Biden on ‘Tax Issues’

Rep. Liz Cheney’s (R-WY) husband, Philip Perry, is partner at a law firm that represents Hunter Biden in the Department of Justice’s grand jury probe regarding “tax issues.”

Trump-appointed U.S. prosecutor David Weiss is investigating Hunter and associates for tax violations and lying to law enforcement about illegally purchasing a firearm, CNN reported.

As partner, Perry holds between a $1,000,001 and $5,000,000 million dollar stake in the firm, Latham & Watkins, according to Cheney’s 2020 Personal Financial Disclosure.

Perry’s fellow partner, Chris Clark, represents Hunter Biden in the “grand jury investigation regarding tax issues,” his company biography says.

The New York Post reported that Latham & Watkins is a Democrat “powerhouse, which employs attorneys who have donated more than a “half a million dollars to President Biden’s 2020 campaign.” Federal Election Commission records show Clark has given $3,800 to President Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign.

Moreover, Perry’s firm has advised a Chinese Communist Party-linked technology company named TME and Exelon Corporation. The State Department in 2019 dubbed TME a tool of the Chinese government. According to the Wall Street Journal, in 2011, Exelon Corporation agreed to provide consulting and training services to an arm of the state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). The state-owned CNNC’s president and vice president are appointed by the highest administrative position in the government of China, the Premier of the People’s Republic of China. The CNNC supervises all facets of China’s nuclear programs.

Man fatally shoots himself after crashing into barricade near the US Capitol

A man is dead after he drove his car into a barricade near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. and then began firing gunshots in the air as he emerged from the burning car before fatally shooting himself.

The incident happened just before 4 a.m. on Sunday at a vehicle barricade set up at East Capitol Street and 2nd Street in Washington.

Capitol Police said the man, whose identity has not been released, crashed into the barricade and that as he was getting out of the car, the vehicle became engulfed in flames.

The man then opened fire, firing several shots into the air as police approached. He then turned the gun on himself and was later pronounced dead.

No other injuries were reported and police do not believe any officers returned fire. A motive for the incident is not known at this time, but police are investigating.

Wyoming’s Disappearing Democrats Not Shy About ‘Crossover’ Voting

There’s no secret cabal of Democrats working with Rep. Liz Cheney’s (R-Wyo.) campaign to reelect the most ardent Republican critic of former President Donald Trump.

Many Wyoming Democrats will tell you openly that they’re switching parties on Aug. 16 to cast their ballots for Cheney in her GOP U.S. House primary against Fort Laramie land use-water rights attorney Harriet Hageman.

But few think it will matter.

Hageman, who has been endorsed by Trump, leads Cheney by nearly 30 percentage points—57 percent to 28 percent—with 41 percent saying that they’re voting more against Cheney than for Hageman, according to a University of Wyoming survey released on Aug. 11. The poll of 562 likely primary voters was taken July 25 to Aug. 6.

Unless Cheney has a stealth reservoir of support—“quiet Republicans,” she called them recently—within the GOP, there aren’t enough Democrats or, for that matter, enough non-Republicans, to have much efficacy in the state.

Math confirms the veracity of polls that show a very narrow path to a third term for Cheney, who enraged many Wyoming Republicans for voting to impeach Trump, serving as co-chair of the House’s Jan. 6 House committee, and being among Trump’s most severe, unrelenting critics.

Of 284,557 registered voters on Aug. 1, 207,674 were enrolled as Republicans, according to the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office. There were 39,753 registered Democrats and 33,769 registered as unaffiliated, with about 4,000 registered with third parties.

In January, the Secretary of State’s Office documented that there were 280,741 registered voters with 196,179 signed on to the Republican Party, 45,822 registered as Democrats, and 35,344 registered as unaffiliated.

Earlier polls indicate about 70 percent of the state’s Republicans support Hageman over Cheney. According to some estimates, the embattled incumbent would need at least 40,000 votes from non-Republicans to make up that interparty difference.

“We see some movement from registered Democrat to registered Republican,” Wyoming Democratic Party communications director David Martin told The Epoch Times regarding the past few months. “But we don’t believe it will influence the GOP (primary) as much as people think it will.”

At a weekly gathering of about a dozen Sweetwater County Democratic Party committee members at Los Cabos restaurant in Rock Springs on Aug. 12, there was no cabal or orchestrated plan to vote for Cheney—just people who say they want their vote to count in a state that’s overwhelmingly dominated by the Republican Party.

Carolyn Molson says that instead of asking for a Democratic ballot on primary day, she’ll request a Republican one “because we have no voice as Democrats and no power” in the state.

Wyoming is one of six states where primaries are “partially open,” meaning that voters in one party can vote in another party’s primary if they register with the party before casting a ballot.

Therefore, under Wyoming law, voters can change parties on primary day by registering with the party they want a ballot for. If the state’s GOP-dominated legislature wanted to change that law, it would. But it shot down a proposal to close the primaries during its 2022 session so, obviously, a majority of lawmakers see “crossover” voting as a benefit to them.

“There are a lot of people trending in this direction,” Molson said. “I’m not going to be [a Republican] in the general election.”

‘Woke’ Military Policies to Blame for Recruitment Crisis, Servicemembers Say

The U.S. Army is expected to fall nearly 40,000 troops short of its recruiting goals over the next two years. Fiscal year 2022 is expected to miss the mark by 10,000 troops, while the number in fiscal year 2023 could reach 28,000. These figures mean that this year is on track to be the Army’s worst recruiting year in almost 50 years.

The Army plans to circumvent the problem by offering $1 billion for its recruiting program and placing more emphasis on the use of its reserve units.

The Epoch Times reached out to the U.S. Army Recruiting Command for comment, and Maj. Charles Spears of the Combined Arms Center replied to various inquiries about the state of recruiting. Spears offered several reasons for the Army’s recruiting challenges in the years ahead.

First, he said, “only 23 percent of American youth are qualified to serve without a waiver, [noting that] obesity, addiction, medical, and behavioral health are the top disqualifiers for service.”

The Army is also competing with corporate America, he said, adding that “social media’s virtual public square shapes the values and perceptions of American youth, which is increasingly unfamiliar with the benefits of Army service.”

According to Spears, the American population is “increasingly disconnected” from serving in the Army and military service, Spears said. “Oftentimes, influencers [like parents, teachers, and coaches] do not recommend military service.” He also added that “the share of youth who have seriously considered military service is at a historic low of nine percent.”

Finally, Spears said, “the COVID-19 pandemic severely limited the ability of recruiters to interact with prospects in person, [and] also exacerbated academic and physical fitness challenges, limiting the pool of qualified applicants.” As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, there has been a nine percent decrease in Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) scores as well as increased applicate obesity.

In addition to these factors, servicemembers have expressed other concerns that they say have contributed to the recruitment crisis.

Sen. Chuck Grassley: Senate Will Investigate FBI Trump Raid If GOP Takes Majority

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said he intends to investigate the FBI’s raid of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort if Republicans take back the Senate during the 2022 midterms.

In an interview on Saturday, Grassley said that with Trump, “the FBI over a long period of time has kind of a double standard. You know, you can go back to the Steele Dossier.”

“And it just seems to me like they there’s political bias in the FBI,” he told Breitbart News. “And then I have recently—you’ve heard me give evidence of political bias of starting a Trump investigation and then quitting a Hunter Biden investigation. So it’s legitimate to raise the question about the extent to which there’s still political bias and what we’re doing now.”

Grassley then took issue with Attorney General Merrick Garland’s comments on transparency, saying that “he should make sure that the affidavits follow up on the warrant.”

So far, the Department of Justice has not released the affidavit that would explain why the FBI needed to obtain a warrant to search Trump’s property. Garland and the FBI have remained mostly silent on the raid, with Garland issuing a brief statement during a news conference on Aug. 11.

On Aug. 12, a judge in the case unsealed part of the warrant the FBI used to search Trump’s property. A property receipt said the FBI seized classified documents, although it’s not clear what they were.

The search and seizure warrant shows FBI agents targeted “the ’45 Office,’ all storage rooms, and all other rooms or areas within the premises used or available to be used by FPOTUS (former president of the United States) and his staff and in which boxes or documents could be stored, including all structures or buildings on the estate.”

Agents were granted authority to seize “all physical documents and records constituting evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed,” according to the warrant. That includes documents with classification markings and presidential records that were drafted between Jan. 20, 2017, and Jan. 20, 2021—the entire time Trump was in office.

On Truth Social, Trump argued that those documents were declassified and termed the FBI’s latest actions as a “witch hunt.” Trump on Sunday wrote that FBI agents obtained “boxes of privileged ‘attorney-client’ material, and also ‘executive’ privileged material” and demanded their return.

“By copy of this TRUTH (post), I respectfully request that these documents be immediately returned to the location from which they were taken. Thank you!” he wrote.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Potato Shortage Emerges In Idaho As Prices Surge At Supermarkets

The next food insecurity problem that may impact the way Americans eat could be an emerging potato shortage that began last year when yields were depressed due to a heatwave, according to Boise State Public Radio.

“I’m not sure if you remember last June, but we had some just unbelievably hot temperatures here in Idaho. It did a number on our potato crop,” Jamey Higham, president and CEO of the Idaho Potato Commission, told the Idaho-based media outlet. “And so, our yields were significantly down last year.”

Boise State Public Radio pointed out that last year’s potato crop cycle should last through August, though the lack of the starchy vegetable has already presented consumers with higher prices at the supermarket.

“There is not a gap. There are just less potatoes being shipped right now than there normally are this time of year because of the shorter supply that we started the season with,” said Higham.

He said Idaho produced the most potatoes in the country last year, and what happens to crop yields in the state will influence prices across the country.

“As the fresh market goes, the grocery stores – your Albertsons, Walmart, WinCo, that stuff – it is not just Idaho that’s having high prices right now. It’s the other states as well.”

Higham expects potato prices to remain high through the rest of the year.

“I don’t anticipate these prices staying high long term. And once harvest gets underway, it’ll get back down into a better spot. But I do expect prices to be strong all year this year.”

The local media outlet noted: “But it is still rather bizarre to be in Idaho of all places, and there’s a shortage of potatoes.”

… and all this means is more pressure on consumers’ pocketbooks who’ve seen grocery inflation hit the highest levels since 1979.

Biden Administration, Wall Street Impede New Oil and Gas Investments

Banks, federal agencies, and ESG investors handicap the expansion of America’s energy supply

The oil and gas industry is looking to the future with caution, and plans for expanding production of fossil fuels appear to be limited.

At the Enercom Energy Investment conference in Denver this week, the oft-repeated mantra among CEOs was that they will use the bulk of their profits to pay down debt and return money to investors through stock buybacks and dividend payments, with significantly less emphasis on major new capital investments. In addition, executives highlighted their commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles for producing cleaner energy and addressing social justice issues.

As Democrats in Congress prepare to allocate $369 billion via the Inflation Reduction Act to subsidize electric cars and wind and solar energy, America’s oil and gas producers face an uphill battle. A shrinking supply of capital, a hostile regulatory environment, and shortages of materials and labor are creating significant hurdles against new drilling.

“I don’t want subsidies for our industry; we don’t need subsidies in our industry,” Chris Wright, CEO of Liberty Energy, told The Epoch Times. “We just don’t want barriers standing in the way of us providing the energy that people in the world want and need.”

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Extent of Instagram and Facebook tracking exposed

Meta apps inject a tracking code into websites when people are viewing them

Instagram and Facebook apps track what people do when browsing third-party websites without their consent, privacy researcher Felix Krause has warned.

Krause, a former Google engineer, wrote on a blogpost on Wednesday that the iOS app injects codes into every website shown and uses “a custom in-app browser” instead of the built-in Safari to monitor users’ activity.

The app does so “without the consent from the user, nor the website provider,” Krause wrote.

The researcher said that he could not determine the exact data Instagram is tracking but stressed that such in-app browsers allow everything a user does on a website to be tracked, including “every tap” and “scrolling behavior.”

He added that such browsers could be exploited to steal sensitive data, such as home addresses.

In a statement to The Guardian on Thursday, Instagram’s parent company Meta said that injecting a tracking code was in accordance with users’ preferences on whether or not they allowed apps to follow them.

“We intentionally developed this code to honor people’s [Ask to track] choices on our platforms,” a spokesperson said. “The code allows us to aggregate user data before using it for targeted advertising or measurement purposes.”

The spokesperson added: “For purchases made through the in-app browser, we seek user consent to save payment information for the purposes of autofill.”

In response to Meta’s statement, Krause argued that the practice still “exposes a big risk for the user,” and that “there is no way to opt-out of the custom in-app browser.”

Commenting on its privacy white paper released last month, Meta said its goal was to “balance privacy and integrity when using people’s data to reduce bad experiences with our technologies.”

Amazon’s Ring Camera Penetrates 18% Of Homes To Create Massive Surveillance Network

If you walk through your local neighborhood—providing you live in a reasonably large town or city—you’ll be caught on camera. Government CCTV cameras may record your stroll, but it is increasingly likely that you’ll also be captured by one of your neighbors’ security cameras or doorbells. It’s even more likely that the camera will be made by Ring, the doorbell and security camera firm owned by Amazon.

Since Amazon splashed out more than a billion dollars for the company in 2018, Ring’s security products have exploded in popularity. Ring has simultaneously drawn controversy for making deals (and sharing data) with thousands of police departments, helping expand and normalize suburban surveillance, and falling to a string of hacks. While the cameras can provide homeowners with reassurance that their property is secure, critics say the systems also run the risk of reinforcing racism and racial profiling and eroding people’s privacy.

Videos shared from security cameras and internet-connected doorbells have also become common on platforms like Facebook and TikTok, raking in millions of views. “Ring impacts everybody’s privacy,” says Matthew Guariglia, a policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “Most immediately, it impacts the people who walk down the streets every day, where the cameras are pointing out.”

While Ring is far from the only maker of smart doorbells and cameras—Google’s Nest line is another popular option—its connections to law enforcement have drawn the most criticism, as when it recently handed over data without warrants. So, what exactly does Ring collect and know about you?

What Ring Knows About You

Whenever you use any tech, it’s collecting data about you. Spotify uses the data it collects to work out your mood, Slack knows how many messages you send. Ring’s products are no different. Ring’s privacy policy—running 2,400 words—and its terms of service detail what it collects about you and how it uses that information. In short: It’s a lot.

Ring gets your name, phone number, email and postal address, and any other information you provide to it—such as payment information or your social media handles if you link your Ring account to Facebook, for instance. The company also gets information about your Wi-Fi network and its signal strength, and it knows you named your camera “Secret CIA Watchpoint,” as well as all the other technical changes you make to your cameras or doorbells.

In March 2020, a BBC information request revealed that Ring keeps detailed records of people’s doorbell activity. Every doorbell press was logged. Each motion the camera detected was stored. And details were saved every time someone zoomed in on footage on their phone. In just 129 days, 4906 actions were recorded. (Ring says it does not sell people’s data.)

Ring can also collect the video and audio your camera records—the system doesn’t record all the time, but it can be triggered when it senses movement. Ring says its cameras can detect movement “up to 155 degrees horizontally” and across distances of up to 25 feet. This means there’s a good chance cameras can be triggered by people walking down the street or pick up conversations of passersby. According to tests by Consumer Reports, some Ring cameras can record audio from about 20 feet away.

United Nations Penalizes Criticisms Against Elitist Takeover

Coordinated censorship is occurring globally

In response to the growing truth movement that warns against a totalitarian, tyrannical takeover, the United Nations has now declared war on “conspiracy theories” that suggest world governments are anything but honest and ethical, and have published a comprehensive guide on how to debunk and strike down claims to the contrary. According to the U.N., world events are “not secretly manipulated behind the scenes by powerful forces with negative intent”

According to the U.N., a story only qualifies as truthful if “The sources are backed by fact-checking sites” — which we now know are all bought and paid for by the cabal that is conspiring to create a One World Government through a “Great Reset”

To stop the spread of “conspiracy theories” about a global technocratic cabal hell-bent on stealing all private wealth and centralizing world governance, UNESCO, the European Commission and the World Jewish Congress have launched a joint Twitter campaign with the hashtag, #ThinkBeforeSharing

Documents obtained by America First Legal (AFL) show the U.S. government colluded with Big Tech to censor on its behalf

The Attorneys General of Missouri and Louisiana have filed a lawsuit against the federal government and have been granted discovery. Several officials from the Biden administration are being subpoenaed, as are several social media companies. The documents obtained by AFL are also being used in this lawsuit. Subsequent to the AFL’s document release, several scientists who were censored by Big Tech at the behest of the federal government have joined the AG’s lawsuit

HEALTH

Boston Children’s Hospital Creates Bizarre Video Promoting ‘Gender Affirming’ Hysterectomies for Kids

Boston Children’s Hospital is facing backlash over a video they created that appears to be promoting “gender affirming hysterectomies” for “transgender” children.

The video, featuring Dr. Frances Grimstad, an obstetrician-gynecologist, went viral after being posted by the popular Libs of TikTok Twitter account.

“A gender-affirming hysterectomy is very similar to most hysterectomies that occur,” Grimstad cheerfully stated. “A hysterectomy itself is the removal of the uterus, the cervix, which is the opening of the uterus, and the fallopian tubes, which are attached to the sides of the uterus.”

According to a report from the Federalist, “BCH appears to have taken down Grimstad’s profile on its website, but a bio on the Harvard Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression Health Equity Research Collaborative page describes how the OB-GYN has participated in ‘clinical and research work surrounding transgender and intersex reproductive health’ for years.”

The Health Benefits of Echinacea

Echinacea is a popular remedy for upper respiratory infections, such as the common cold and flu. Scientists believe that the antiviral effect against enveloped coronaviruses would make it helpful in the prevention of COVID-19

Studies evaluating echinacea demonstrate that extracts support the innate and adaptive immune system through several pathways. Additionally, echinacea could lower chronic inflammatory markers and alleviate memory impairment

Echinacea has demonstrated the ability to suppress cancer cell growth in the lab by triggering pancreatic and colon cancer cell apoptosis. Echinacea can help lower anxiety levels and one study demonstrated some antidepressant activity

Native Americans used echinacea to treat skin disorders, including eczema and psoriasis. Topical use may speed wound healing and has demonstrated significant antiaging activity

People who are allergic to flowers in the daisy family or those with atopy may have a higher risk of allergic reaction to echinacea, including anaphylaxis; people taking an immunosuppressant medication or tamoxifen should not use echinacea

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A Surprising Risk Factor of Coronary Heart Disease

And no, it’s not smoking or high blood pressure

How many times have we heard the “smoking, drinking, and being overweight” warning in relation to heart disease? Yet, one of the longest-running studies contradicts this.

A much bigger risk factor is stress—particularly the kind of stress found in a specific personality type that processes anger in a particular way.

The Framingham project is the quintessential epidemiological population study, of more than 14,000 people across three generations. And a key piece of lifestyle advice is hidden in the 1980 analysis of the final cohort.

Do you feel guilty if you use free time to relax? Ask yourself these “Type A” identifier questions, and check whether you also process stress in these same ways—this stress management protocol is a key driver of coronary heart disease.

Physically, anger leads to catecholamine release, which has a host of cardiovascular repercussions. In “fight mode,” the liver synthesizes triglycerides in a boost of energy, which in turn contributes to lipid disorders.

If this is you, there’s still no need to be fatalistic. These are behavior patterns that we can train and change, and changes start small. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Dr. Mercola’s 2022 Summerfest Presentation

Three factors that severely damage your mitochondrial function are excess iron levels, lack of sun exposure, resulting in low mitochondrial melatonin and excess omega-6 linoleic acid (LA) in your diet

Most men and postmenopausal women have high iron levels. The average person accumulates about 1 milligram of iron a day, and the only way to get rid of it is through blood loss. If your iron is elevated, you can remedy the situation by donating blood on a regular basis

One of the most important benefits of sun exposure, besides vitamin D, is melatonin production. The near-infrared wavelengths in sunlight catalyze the production of melatonin — a powerful endogenous antioxidant — in your mitochondria. This is important, as that’s where the melatonin is needed the most. So, ideally, get one hour of sun exposure every day around solar noon while wearing as little clothing as possible and no sunscreen

Excess omega-6 fat, linoleic acid (LA) creates oxidative stress that basically acts as a metabolic poison. Eliminating it from your diet can go a long way toward improving your mitochondrial function. Guidance on high-LA foods to avoid are included

Three key remedies to keep on hand in your emergency kit are high-dose melatonin, methylene blue and nebulized hydrogen peroxide (a jet nebulizer and 3% food grade hydrogen peroxide)

Ketones: The Fourth Fuel

Your body can use four types of fuel: carbohydrates, fats, proteins and ketones. Of these, ketones burn the cleanest. They create far fewer harmful free radicals when burned and do not rely on insulin

When you’re generating ketones and your blood ketone levels go up, the ketone enters the cell through a monocarboxylic acid transport protein. Even without a rise in insulin, the cells are efficiently fueled

With today’s standard American diet, most people never reach a state of fat burning and ketosis. They’re constantly feeding their bodies carbohydrates, and in this high-insulin state, they simply cannot burn fat. Over time, it wears out your metabolic machinery, resulting in insulin resistance and weight gain

Nutritional ketosis is a powerful way to improve your body’s natural antioxidant capacity

Optimizing your metabolic health appears to be an effective way to mitigate the severity of a COVID-19 infection. The reason for this is because when you’re metabolically flexible, you’re not insulin resistant, and insulin resistance is a significant risk factor

Lumbrokinase for Heart Health?

Lumbrokinase, a complex fibrinolytic enzyme extracted from earthworms, contains a bioactive protein that helps prevent heart-related issues like thrombosis, stroke and heart disease

As an ancient Asian medicinal, lumbrokinase applications began with concoctions involving fried earthworms and herbs, followed by dried earthworm powders, then unrefined earthworm extracts

As early as 1573, earthworms, referred to by Chinese physicians as “earth dragons,” were used for beneficial properties that could “invigorate blood, resolve stasis and unblock the body’s meridians and channels”

Today, both patients and practitioners credit lumbrokinase with successfully treating as well as preventing blood- and heart-related conditions, but it’s also tapped for other health-beneficial applications, as well

Lumbrokinase has been identified as an important factor in the treatment of Lyme disease, as experts believe it can penetrate thick clumps of gut bacteria known as biofilms

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

Stupid Personified: Collect And Bury CO2 With 1,300 Mile Pipeline

This is a story of citizen resistance to the insanity of burying carbon dioxide, disrupting large swaths of farming operations and seriously harming local growth of plants that require CO2 for photosynthesis. These policies are anti-human and anti-civilization because CO2 is as important as is the oxygen we breath. The pressure for human depopulation rests on this same premise: humans exhale CO2. ⁃ TN Editor

Here’s the scheme. Thousands of acres of privately-owned, food-producing Midwest Corn Belt farmland are targeted for a new 1300-mile long-pipeline. But NOT a pipeline to bring us desperately needed fuel oil. No – the purpose of this pipeline is to capture carbon dioxide and TRANSPORT IT UNDER GROUND!!!!

Two main forces are pushing these Carbon Dioxide Pipelines. They are private companies named Summit Carbon Solutions and Navigator CO2 Ventures. These private companies have already sent out letters to farmers across Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, and North Dakota. Explaining the project, they are saying, “Navigator is proposing to build a large scale carbon capture pipeline system spanning more than 1300 miles across five states in the Midwest…” “The pipeline system… will capture carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from local facilities before these emissions reach the atmosphere and transport the CO2 safely via pipeline to a permanent and secure underground sequestration site in Illinois.” The letter goes on to explain that “the pipeline will materially reduce the participant’s carbon footprint and further the global goal of carbon neutrality.”

These are private companies. They are not public utilities. Yet, their letter to property owners contains this threat. “We intend to file a petition with the Iowa Utilities Board for permission to build the pipeline.” It goes on to say, “Our goal is to reach voluntary agreements with all landowners along the Project route, though if we are unable to do so, we may need to request the right of eminent domain (condemnation) from the Board.” So, the message is clear to property owners… be real nice and give up your land voluntarily, or we will just take it!

Just as I’ve been warning for over thirty years, all of this is part of the plot as called for in Agenda 21, Agenda 2030, The Green New Deal, and now the Great Reset. Clear back in 1992, when Agenda 21 was first introduced, its radical environmental promoters at the United Nations described it as “A blueprint for the reorganization of human society.”

Now, America’s farmers are on the front lines of the ground war to enforce that reorganization. And this is just the beginning to get it all started. As their land is confiscated, farmers won’t be allowed to grow food. No crops will be grown. The pipeline won’t be placed on the edges of the farm property — but will drive right through the middle, rendering much of the rest of the farm’s land useless. The first step in creating the pipeline will be to rip up the topsoil. Farmers are promised, if they will sign an easement agreement to voluntarily give up the land, in the first year they will be paid eighty percent of what they would have brought in for crop production. Sixty percent is promised for the second year, and forty percent for the third year. Little has been mentioned for what is to come after that.

As less and less farmland is available, the Great Reset scheme is to grow most of our food inside factories, providing only synthetic substitutes like the fake meat that is being marketed now. It’s interesting to note that, again, Bill Gates is right in the middle of this scheme. As he is busy buying up millions of acres of farmland, he’s also one of the biggest promoters of synthetic beef.

The Climate Change threat is a complete hoax, designed to create fear to get you to voluntarily give up your liberties. There is no scientific evidence whatsoever to back up the claims of man-made global warming.

Along with the drive for the carbon capture pipeline to eliminate CO2, there is a separate drive to lock away thousands more acres for wind and solar farms, in order to eliminate all oil and gas energy.

One plan calls for the locking way of seventeen million acres of solar farms in the Midwest to replace coal and gas power plants. It’s interesting to note that those coal and gas power plants take up only a few acres.

The solar panels use large amounts of plastic, which is made from oil. In addition, large amounts of copper are necessary for the wire infrastructure underneath. Plus, under those rows and rows of solar panels over thousand of acres is cement to cover the wires. Nothing grows under them – no grass or small animals. Valuable farmland destroyed.

In addition, plans also call for 250 million acres of wind farms. Wind turbines need huge amounts of oil in order to turn. They also need large amounts of copper, limestone, steel, aluminum, cobalt, and nickel to produce a single wind turbine. Some experts say that it will take more energy to produce a single wind turbine that it will create in its lifetime.

Wind and solar power are jokes – but they’re much worse than jokes to our environment. Picture 250 million acres of wind turbine forests. Gone will be scenic views, or peaceful land, and in the air, nothing will be flying as millions of birds, raptors, and endangered species will be destroyed. All in the name of protecting the environment.

Meanwhile, if the sun isn’t shining or the wind blowing, no energy is produced. In fact, if the goal is reached and all power is to come from wind and solar, it will supply only about four percent of the energy the nation needs.

Today, the same forces behind the wind and solar scheme are pushing the carbon capture pipeline. The most important food-producing farmland in the nation is about to be confiscated – all under the insane lie of environmental protection.

Trump-Era Coal Lease Program Hit With Setback as Obama-Era Freeze Is Revived

A federal court has reimposed an Obama-era freeze on coal leasing from federal lands that former President Donald Trump axed in a bid to unlock domestic energy production, although the judge left the door open to resuming the coal leases should a more extensive environmental review be done.

In a ruling on Aug. 12 (pdf), U.S. District Judge Brian Morris faulted the Trump-era review of the coal leasing program for limiting the environmental impact review to “just” three issues: greenhouse gas emissions, socioeconomic impacts, and water quality.

“The Court determines that such a limited analysis fails to consider ‘all direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts’ of re-starting the federal coal-leasing program,” Morris wrote in the ruling.

The judge said the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) tried to curtail the potential environmental effects of coal leases in its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review, calling the bureau’s decision “arbitrary and capricious.”

Morris also objected to BLM evaluating only four approved leases under the program, calling it “insufficient.”

In the ruling, the judge said the program would be put on hold “until the completion of sufficient NEPA review analyzing revocation of the moratorium.”

Officials at BLM, an agency within the Department of the Interior, didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

Interior Department spokesperson Melissa Schwartz told The Associated Press that officials are reviewing the ruling.

COVID RELATED NEWS

Nurses Who Left the Health Care System to Focus on Early Treatment Describe ‘Brutal’ COVID-19 Treatment Protocols

The protocols require ‘mind-blowing cognitive dissonance’

Nurses who witnessed “brutal” hospital COVID-19 treatment protocols kill patients paint a bleak picture of what is taking place in state and federally funded health care systems.

“They’re horrific, and they’re all in lockstep,” Staci Kay, a nurse practitioner with the North Carolina Physicians for Freedom who left the hospital system to start her own early treatment private practice, told The Epoch Times. “They will not consider protocols outside of what’s given to them by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the NIH (National Institute of Health). And nobody is asking why.”

Fueled by cognitive dissonance amid an array of red flags, Kay said hospital staff is ignoring blatantly problematic treatments that performed poorly in clinical trials, such as remdesivir, and protocols such as keeping the patient isolated, just to adhere to the federal canon.

“I’ve seen people die with their family watching via iPad on Facetime,” Kay said. “It was brutal.”

As a former nurse in intensive care, Kay said she had seen her share of tragedy, but how she saw COVID patients being treated “had me waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat with chest pains.”

“I hated my job,” Kay said. “I hated going to work. I was stressed in a way I’ve never been before in my entire life.”

Keeping families isolated was especially difficult, she said, because people couldn’t come to say goodbye to their loved ones.

CDC Quietly Removes Statement that Says “mRNA and the Spike Protein Do Not Last Long in the Body” from Their Website

The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has taken down from its website the statement that states “mRNA and the spike protein do not last long in the body.”

On July 15, the CDC quietly modified its website, removing the section that suggested mRNA and spike protein do not last in human bodies.

Under this topic, it stated that “our cells break down mRNA from these vaccines and get rid of it within a few days after vaccination.”

“Scientists estimate that the spike protein, like other proteins our bodies create, may stay in the body up to a few weeks,” it continued.

The CDC’s decision to remove this information about mRNA and spike proteins from the public is still an open question.

United Nations Penalizes Criticisms Against Elitist Takeover

Coordinated censorship is occurring globally

Documents obtained by America First Legal (AFL) show the U.S. government colluded with Big Tech to censor on its behalf

New CDC COVID-19 Guidance Is Agency ‘Admitting It Was Wrong’: Stanford Epidemiologist

The new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 guidance is the agency acknowledging it was wrong in the past to downplay natural immunity and promote unprecedented policies like asymptomatic testing, a California epidemiologist says.

The new guidance, released on Aug. 11, rescinds and alters a number of key recommendations, including treating unvaccinated and vaccinated people differently for many purposes, explicitly stating that people with previous infection have protection against severe illness, and removing six-foot social distancing advice.

“The CDC is admitting it was wrong here, although they won’t put it in those words,” Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, professor of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, told The Epoch Times.

“What they’ll say is that, well, ‘the population is more immunized now, has more natural immunity now, and now is the time—the science has changed.’”

But a large percentage of the U.S. population has had natural immunity, or protection from prior infection, Bhattacharya noted, while over 80 percent of the elderly population had protection from severe disease from COVID-19 vaccines, previous infection, or both, since 2021.

“This is two years too late, but it’s a good step,” Bhattacharya added.

California Becomes Battleground for COVID Lawsuits and Legislation Surrounding Minors

New bills could take parental consent away in medical contexts

In California, a State that has been continuously passing bills surrounding COVID-19 vaccine policies, attorneys are “chipping away at each part of this puzzle,” aiming to educate and empower people one lawsuit at a time.

Nicole Pearson, the attorney and founder of Facts Law Truth Justice (FLTJ) has been filing and winning lawsuits against vaccine mandates and representing vaccine-injured.

On July 27, Pearson held a press conference and spoke on her client Maribel Duarte’s lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and Barack Obama Global Preparation Academy for vaccinating her 13-year-old son without her consent.

Duarte’s son made the news in December 2021. A vaccine clinic was set up in his school—Barack Obama Global Prep Academy—and he was allegedly bribed with a pizza to get vaccinated at his school without parental consent.

One of the adults at the clinic requested that the son provide a parent-signed consent form, which he did not have. The child was then told to sign his mother’s name and not to tell anyone.

According to a release by Unity Project, the child began to experience breathing and bleeding issues, shortness of breath, chronic fatigue, depression, and anxiety, among other things immediately after the injection and is currently receiving medical treatment.

“This is painful for me, because my son’s health … it’s not good,” Duarte said. “He’s lacking the rest. He doesn’t sleep well. He doesn’t exercise the way he did. He’s not normal to me.”

Pearson is the one leading this case and Duarte’s son is definitely not her only client who has been injured by a COVID-19 vaccine administered without consent.

Laura Sextro, the CEO and co-founder of Unity Project, a health advocacy group in support of Duarte’s case, told The Epoch Times during a phone call that Pearson has in total three legal cases that she’s handling for children who have suffered COVID-19 vaccine injuries from vaccinations without parental consent.

Duarte’s case will be the first one that Pearson files for vaccine injury.

Pearson told The Epoch Times that she is confident about the outcome of the lawsuit, calling it a “clear cut case.”

However, she argued that the lawsuits her firms are fighting to uphold parental rights would matter very little if some of the State’s bills currently under consideration are made into legislation.

“We have a perfect storm if any of these bills pass, you as a parent are sending your children into…public health centers [for public schools], where you don’t even have the ability to access their records, speak to the doctor, or even rest assured that the doctor taking care of them will render individualized care specific to your child,” she said at the press conference.

“Parents in California need to wake up. This [case] is a horrifying warning to the future of California.”

CANCEL CULTURE

Oversight Democrats Pursue Damage Assessment Over Trump’s Handling of Documents

Top House Democrats asked intelligence officials to review alleged national security damage from former President Donald Trump’s mishandling of government documents, a day after the release of the search warrant used by the FBI on its Mar-a-Lago raid.

The federal agents executed a search warrant of Trump’s Florida estate last Monday, before an inventory accompanying the search warrant was made public on Aug. 12. A property receipt obtained by The Epoch Times shows the FBI removed approximately 20 boxes, including one set of materials labeled as “various classified/TS/SCI documents,” referencing top secret or sensitive compartmented information.

“Former President Trump’s conduct has potentially put our national security at grave risk. This issue demands a full review, in addition to the ongoing law enforcement inquiry,” House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) wrote on Aug. 13 to Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Avril Haines.

Despite Trump declaring the documents taken by federal agents were “all declassified,” the three-page letter (pdf) seeks a classified briefing on the review “as soon as possible.” The two lawmakers specifically asked for the DNI’s office to initiate a damage assessment, in a bid to evaluate any damage to national security related to Trump’s handling of official records.

The latest action is the first major move by House committees following the Aug. 8 raid of Trump’s Florida resort.

The Saturday letter also cited previous reports by legacy media claiming that FBI agents were searching for highly classified documents on “nuclear weapons” at Mar-a-Lago, a claim that has been slammed by the former commander-in-chief, who called it a “hoax.”

The Democrat-led House Oversight Committee stepped up in February an investigation into Trump’s alleged violation of federal records laws by removing White House records—something Trump denied.

While federal law bars the removal of classified documents to unauthorized locations, Trump could argue that as president, he was the ultimate declassification authority.

Prior to Trump, his lawyers have said that the former president used his authority as president to declassify the material before he departed office in early 2021.

“They didn’t need to ‘seize’ anything,” the former president said in a statement on Friday afternoon. “They could have had [the documents] at anytime they wanted without playing politics and breaking into Mar-a-Lago.”

UCLA Creates Database to ‘Track Attacks on Critical Race Theory’

Faculty at the University of California–Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law have created a database to identify and record efforts to block critical race theory (CRT) being taught in schools across the country.

The database, called the CRT Forward Tracking Project, allows users to “track attacks on critical race theory” and filter the information as part of an effort to “support anti-racist education, training and research,” according to the school.

The project was created by UCLA’s Critical Race Studies Program, founded in 2000 as the first law school program in the nation dedicated to critical race theory.

CRT, according to the school, is “the study of systemic racism in law, policy and society,” and suggests efforts need to be made to fix these alleged injustices.

Meanwhile, critics say CRT pushes a controversial worldview related to Marxism that analyzes all aspects of life through a racial lens instead of through the concept of class struggle.

UCLA Law announced earlier this month it would track anti-CRT activity through the database at all levels of government across the nation.

“The project was created to help people understand the breadth of the attacks on the ability to speak truthfully about race and racism through the campaigns against CRT,” said Taifha Natalee Alexander, project director of CRT Forward, in a statement.

The database analyzes these efforts to determine where the activity is happening and how opponents are taking action, such as protesting curriculum at the school board level.

It also includes the type of CRT content being restricted, such as a course being taught at a public school, as well as the institution or group being targeted and enforcement mechanisms being used to regulate the content.

PET NEWS

Your A to Z Guide to Eco-Labels

The mission of my trip to the pet store isn’t to buy a new treat or chew toy, but to jot down all of the eco-labels and certifications I can spot within a short timespan. (I give it about seven minutes before the shop owner starts to think I’m crazy.) My fingers can’t type them all fast enough. Some products have up to four, five, or six claims on the front of their packaging, forming a mosaic of falling leaves, happy animals, and soft green fonts.

My frantic foray through the pet store tracks with what Melissa Bauer of the Pet Sustainability Coalition, a non-profit organization helping pet companies and suppliers move towards more sustainable production practices, is seeing across the industry. As consumers demand more environmentally friendly products, brands are investing in more labels to convey their commitment to reducing their impact.

And that’s great—as long as the labels they use are legitimate. “You don’t want a certification that’s just a pay-to-play model. You want something that has a third-party verification assessment and process,” Bauer tells me on a Zoom call. But with so many labels out there, it can be tough to know what they all mean and which ones to trust.

That’s why we put together this quick A-to-Z reference guide to help eco-minded pet parents distinguish the legit from the lacking.

Hearing loss in older dogs could be a sign of dementia

A new study conducted by researchers from North Carolina State University explored one of the telltale signs of cognitive decline in dogs. According to their findings, older dogs who develop hearing loss may be on the road to dementia.

“In humans, we know that age-related hearing loss is estimated to affect one-third of people over age 65,” said researcher Natasha Olby. “We also know that the rate of cognitive decline is approximately 30-40% faster in people with age-related hearing loss and that hearing loss is a greater contributor to dementia risk than other factors such as hypertension or obesity. But we don’t understand where the same holds true for dogs.”

PHOTOS: Rescued Puma Can’t Go Back in the Wild, Enjoys Life Like Any Big House Cat

Messi the puma lives a fantastic life with his human owners, Sasha and Masha, in their home in Russia. But had the young couple not adopted Messi from a petting zoo when he was a year old, things would’ve been very different for the big cat.

Sasha, 42, and Masha, 33, discovered Messi living at the Russian zoo and saved the big cat from a stark existence. They were told that the puma has some health issues and would need extra care. Well aware of the commitment involved, they managed to negotiate a price for him, and now he is the family’s beloved big old cat, along with their cheetah, Gerda.