March 29, 2024

The Power Hour

Knowledge is Power

Today’s News: December 09, 2022

WORLD NEWS

British PM Flip-Flops On Windmills: Bring ‘Em On

Environmental groups on Wednesday welcomed a decision by Britain´s Conservative government to lift its opposition to onshore wind farms. But they warned that any benefit would be erased if the government backs plans to open the U.K.´s first new coal mine in three decades.

Thursday is the deadline for a decision on the proposed mine in the Cumbria area of northwest England. Opponents say approving it will obliterate the U.K.´s image as a world leader in replacing polluting fossil fuels with clean renewable energy.

Wind produced more than a quarter of the U.K.´s electricity in 2021. But the Conservative government has since 2015 opposed new wind turbines on land because of local opposition. A majority of Britain´s wind farms are at sea.

While running for the Conservative Party’s leadership in the summer, Rishi Sunak, who is now prime minister, pledged to keep the ban. But amid growing calls for change from Conservative lawmakers, the government said Tuesday it could allow wind farms in areas where communities support them, pending a “technical consultation.”

Activist Investor Bluebell Capital Calls for BlackRock CEO to Step Down Following ESG ‘Hypocrisy’

London-based activist investor Bluebell Capital is calling for BlackRock CEO Larry Fink to step down from the company over the alleged “hypocrisy” of its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) messaging.

Bluebell — which previously targeted companies such as Richemont, a luxury goods company, and Solvay, a chemicals company, and had successfully forced Danone, a food company, to restructure its management — has around $250 million in assets under management and holds a tiny stake in BlackRock compared to its roughly $8 trillion in assets.

UK Border Force to Strike at Airports over Christmas, Migrant ‘Taxi’ Service Will Continue

Members of Britain’s Border Force have announced that they will abandon their posts at airports in strikes over the Christmas holidays, the PCS union announced this week.

In an attempt to blackmail the government into raising their wages, the PCS Union, which represents the Border Force, including around three-quarters of passport control staff at airports, said that it will be going on an eight-day strike over Christmas — although their operations collecting boat migrants in the English Channel and brining them to Britain will seemingly be unaffected.

Indiana Sues TikTok over Child Safety, Security Concerns

Indiana’s attorney general is suing China-owned TikTok, alleging the app misleads its users — children in particular — about the level of inappropriate content and the security of consumer information.

Indiana AG Todd Rokita (R) claimed in a suit filed Wednesday that TikTok contains “salacious and inappropriate content” that young users may obtain “for unlimited periods of time, day and night, in an effort to line TikTok’s pockets with billions of dollars from U.S. consumers,” according to a report by the Associated Press.

U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT

Elon Musk Releases Twitter Files Exposing Secret Blacklists

Bari Weiss, founder and editor of The Free Press, released the second volume of the so-called “Twitter files” on Thursday, revealing the social media platform’s “secret blacklists.”

Weiss has been working with Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk and independent journalist Matt Taibbi to disclose internal Twitter information regarding censorship.

Full List: How Each House Member Voted on the Respect for Marriage Act

The U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 8 voted to pass the Respect for Marriage Act.

The bill codifies a portion of a Supreme Court ruling that says same-sex marriage is a right. It also protects interracial marriage.

See how each House member voted below. A list of how the Senate voted when it approved the bill in November can be found here.

Senators Press HHS as Whistleblower Alleges Unaccompanied Children Being Transferred to Criminals

A group of Republicans is seeking information from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over allegations that the department “knowingly” places some unaccompanied illegal immigrant minors in the hands of criminals, according to a letter released on Tuesday.

“We write concerning an alarming report by a federal employee whistleblower that the [HHS] is knowingly transferring unaccompanied migrant children in the custody of criminals, including sex traffickers,” five GOP lawmakers wrote in a Dec. 5 joint letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. The group cited testimony that the government failed to settle minors, who were caught while crossing the U.S. borders, into homes of “safe, non-criminal sponsors.”

“If these claims are true, this is pure evil being committed by your agency,” they wrote.

HHS officially acknowledges that unaccompanied border crossers under the age of 18 are “especially vulnerable” to human trafficking, exploitation, and abuse, but states that the “majority” are looked after by state-licensed providers operating under cooperative agreements and contract to deliver high-quality care.

Kari Lake Reveals When Election-Related Lawsuit Will Be Filed

Republican Arizona candidate Kari Lake indicated that she will attempt to take her election-related lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary after Arizona officials certified the election for her Democrat opponent, Katie Hobbs.

In a Twitter post on Wednesday night, Lake indicated that she will file a challenge on Friday, again claiming that voters were disenfranchised amid Election Day problems. “This isn’t just about Republicans [and] Democrats—it’s about everyone’s Right to Vote on Election Day,” she wrote.

In another interview this week with Salem News, Lake indicated that she could not file a lawsuit to contest the Arizona gubernatorial election because “it has to be certified” first. The former television anchor issued that statement in response to complaints about why she hadn’t filed the challenge yet.

“We’re ready to go with what we believe to be an exceptional lawsuit. And we believe we will be victorious in that lawsuit,” Lake, who has not conceded the Arizona gubernatorial race, also told Steve Bannon on his WarRoom show this week. “We’ll take it all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to. We will not stop fighting,”

Key Senator Says Schumer-Backed Gun Control Measure ‘No Longer on the Table’

Several senators revealed this week that there aren’t enough votes for a new gun control bill amid calls from President Joe Biden to pass it during the lame-duck Congress.

“I don’t think that’s on the table,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told Fox News on Dec. 7 when he was asked about whether Democrats in the upper chamber could pass a ban. Notably, Cornyn had helped negotiate the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which Congress passed earlier this year, although he drew considerable criticism from his own party.

Meanwhile, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told reporters this week that there are “probably not 60 votes” on a new gun control measure. At least 10 Republican senators would need to join Democrats in passing the bill in order to overcome the Senate filibuster.

Gov. Kristi Noem Calls for Review of South Dakota’s Investments to Determine Any National Security Threats

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) demanded an immediate review of all the state’s investments to determine if any taxpayer dollars currently invested pose a national security risk, explicitly naming China.

Tasking the state’s Investment Council to finish the review in seven days, she hopes to find out if South Dakotans’ taxpayer dollars are investing in anything that could possibly cause a national security risk.

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema tells CNN’s Jake Tapper she is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as a political independent

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as a political independent, she told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an exclusive TV interview.

“I’ve registered as an Arizona independent. I know some people might be a little bit surprised by this, but actually, I think it makes a lot of sense,” Sinema said in a Thursday interview with Tapper in her Senate office.

“I’ve never fit neatly into any party box. I’ve never really tried. I don’t want to,” she added. “Removing myself from the partisan structure – not only is it true to who I am and how I operate, I also think it’ll provide a place of belonging for many folks across the state and the country, who also are tired of the partisanship.”

Sinema’s move away from the Democratic Party is unlikely to change the power balance in the next Senate. Democrats will have a narrow 51-49 majority that includes two independents who caucus with them: Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine.

While Sanders and King formally caucus with Democrats, Sinema declined to explicitly say that she would do the same. She did note, however, that she expects to keep her committee assignments – a signal that she doesn’t plan to upend the Senate composition, since Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer controls committee rosters for Democrats.

“When I come to work each day, it’ll be the same,” Sinema said. “I’m going to still come to work and hopefully serve on the same committees I’ve been serving on and continue to work well with my colleagues at both political parties.”

https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_app/judge-blocks-depositions-of-3-high-ranking-biden-admin-officials-in-big-tech-government-collusion-case_4913459.html?utm_source=News&src_src=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2022-12-09-1&src_cmp=breaking-2022-12-09-1&utm_medium=email&est=I3Emc%2BwLprABp8WzBAXoqtxJmxOUfevC7w%2FFclcNMrVW5OLxhblyo9lvIHB6QHmdmwq7

ECONOMY & BUSINESS 

U.S. Foreclosure Completions Increase Annually By 64 Percent In November 2022

 ATTOM, a leading curator of real estate data nationwide for land and property data,  today released its November 2022 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows there were a total of 30,677 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions – up 57 percent from a year ago, but down 5 percent from the prior month.

“We may be at or near a peak level of foreclosure activity for 2022,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence at ATTOM. “While foreclosure starts and foreclosure completions both increased compared to last year’s artificially low levels, they declined from last month, and lenders often put a moratorium on foreclosures during the holiday season.”

Growing Number of CEOs Issue Warnings About Retail Theft ‘Epidemic’ Across US

An increasing number of current and former CEOs have issued warnings about an increase in retail thefts across the United States, which could trigger higher prices and cause locations to close.

“Today, this thing is an epidemic. It’s spreading faster than COVID,” former Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli told Fox News on Dec. 8. “The degree of severity now, it’s not just theft, it’s smash and grab. There’s an entitlement out there that if you have it, you’ve worked hard to earn it, I want it. I’m just going to take it.”

Last week, an 83-year-old Home Depot worker was killed after being shoved by a thief at a North Carolina location, officials said. Gary Rasor, the worker, attempted to confront a suspect who was making off with three power washers before he was pushed to the ground; he later died because of complications from his injuries.

While appearing on CNBC on Dec. 6, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said retail theft is “higher than what it has historically been” and suggested that it will create widespread problems in some areas.

“If that’s not corrected over time, prices will be higher, and/or stores will close,” McMillon said.

“I think local law enforcement being staffed and being a good partner is part of that equation, and that’s normally how we approach it.”

He didn’t indicate what locations could be closed due to theft incidents.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 

‘Visibility Filtering:’ ‘Twitter Files’ Reveals Shadowbanning, Other Tools Used to Censor Conservatives

A new Twitter Files investigation has revealed the many tools that company executives employed to blacklist and shadowban conservative voices. The thread posted to Elon Musk’s platform reveals that the internal Twitter name for shadowbanning is “visibility filtering.”

Released by former New York Times reporter Bari Weiss in yet another lengthy Twitter thread, the revelations on Thursday showed that several mainstream conservative voices, from Charlie Kirk to Dan Bongino, were shadowbanned by the social media company under the rubrics of “Visibility Filtering” or “VF.” At one point, Twitter even placed Stanford professor, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, under the label “Trends Blacklist” for arguing that coronavirus lockdowns would harm children. Per Weiss: 

Twitter once had a mission “to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers.” Along the way, barriers nevertheless were erected.

Take, for example, Stanford’s Dr. Jay Bhattacharya who argued that Covid lockdowns would harm children. Twitter secretly placed him on a “Trends Blacklist,” which prevented his tweets from trending.

Or consider the popular right-wing talk show host, Dan Bongino, who at one point was slapped with a “Search Blacklist.”

Twitter set the account of conservative activist Charlie Kirk to “Do Not Amplify.”


HEALTH

Don’t Exercise at This Time of Day if You Want to Live Longer

Data from a study with 86,657 male and female participants demonstrated that those who exercised between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. had the lowest risk of coronary heart disease and stroke and women appeared to benefit more than men

A past study of 350,978 participants showed no significant difference in all-cause or cause-specific mortality in people who exercised on the weekend or regularly throughout the week

Exercising in the evening, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., can disrupt your circadian rhythm, which is associated with the dysregulation of the neurological, psychiatric, metabolic, cardiovascular and immunological systems

You can boost the health benefits of exercising in the morning even further by exercising in a fasted state and including time in the sauna with your routine

Study: Adding Yoga to Your Workout Lowers Blood Pressure

Adding a little yoga to an exercise routine can be the fix someone needs to drop high blood pressure, a small study suggests.

“As observed in several studies, we recommend that patients try to find exercise and stress relief for the management of hypertension [high blood pressure] and cardiovascular disease in whatever form they find most appealing,” said Dr. Paul Poirier, of the Quebec Heart and Lung Institute — Laval University in Quebec, Canada.

“Our study shows that structured yoga practices can be a healthier addition to aerobic exercise than simply muscle stretching,” he said.

FDA: LASIK Surgery Should Carry Warnings of Potential Complications

LASIK eye surgery is a common vision-correcting procedure that many Americans view as safe and effective, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has now drafted guidance that warns of potential complications.

Although many patients are happy with the results after surgery, the recommended new guidance says complications can include dry eyes, double vision, difficulty with night driving and, in rare cases, chronic eye pain. Even after surgery, some patients will still need eyeglasses.

The draft also notes that certain types of patients may be at higher risk of problems, including people with chronic conditions such as diabetes and those who take certain medications, the New York Times reported.

COVID RELATED NEWS

What Happens If You Refuse “Vaccinated” Blood?

New Zealand’s High Court on Wednesday took custody of an infant whose parents insisted that he only receive blood from donors who had not been vaccinated against the coronavirus, a demand the court said prevented doctors from performing a lifesaving surgery.

The 6-month-old boy, referred to as “Baby W” in court filings, has been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect and needs surgery to survive, according to the court order.

“He remains in urgent need of an operation, and every day that the operation is delayed his heart is under strain,” the order said, citing one of his doctors.

Baby W’s parents, Cole Reeves and Samantha Savage, had insisted that he could only be operated on if the blood used in the surgery came from unvaccinated donors. Doctors said that using blood donated from outside the normal channels was “impractical” for the situation and that doing the surgery without donated blood was “not an available option.”

FDA ‘Turned a Blind Eye’ to ‘Submission of Fraudulent Data’ on COVID Vaccine, Says Former Criminal Investigator 

Pfizer and FDA respond to leaked OCI email

On Nov. 2, 2021, The BMJ broke the story of Brook Jackson, the regional director who blew the whistle on data integrity issues in Pfizer’s pivotal COVID-19 vaccine trial. Weeks later, documents were leaked supporting Jackson’s complaint about “falsified data.”

Among the leaked documents was an email, authored by a former federal agent in the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI), claiming Pfizer knowingly submitted fraudulent data to the FDA, and the agency responded by turning a blind eye.  

To grasp the gravity of what is written in the email, it’s important to understand the role of OCI.

FDA Says Ivermectin Doesn’t Work Against COVID-19 but Points to Studies That Show It Does

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says a drug called ivermectin does not work against COVID-19 but links to studies that show it does, an Epoch Times review has found.

The FDA’s website states, “Currently available data do not show ivermectin is effective against COVID-19.”

But half of the studies to which the FDA points support using ivermectin against COVID-19, according to the review.

The papers cut against the drug agency’s repeated exhortations for people not to take ivermectin for COVID-19. In Twitter posts, public statements, and emails, FDA officials have repeatedly warned against ivermectin. Some of those statements triggered a lawsuit from doctors who say the agency’s role is to approve drugs, not to issue recommendations. The suit was dismissed this week.

Dr. Pierre Kory, who frequently prescribes ivermectin for COVID-19 and co-authored a meta-analysis that concluded the drug is effective against the illness, told The Epoch Times that the government’s position on ivermectin “is one of the most glaring examples of the corruption of modern evidence based medicine.”

CANCEL CULTURE

Musk Says Key Bits of ‘Twitter Files’ Were Compromised as He Fires Ex-FBI Twitter Lawyer Involved in ‘Vetting’ the Data

Twitter boss Elon Musk has revealed that the “most important data” from the social media platform’s internal communications on free speech suppression, known as the “Twitter Files,” was hidden and some may even have been deleted.

Musk made the remark in a Dec. 7 tweet, in response to former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s question as to why the Twitter Files were being dropped in installments instead of being released in their entirety.

“If the goal is transparency to build trust, why not just release everything without filter and let people judge for themselves? Including all discussions around current and future actions? Make everything public now,” Dorsey said in a post on Twitter.

Dorsey was responding to a series of comments by Musk, in which the Tesla CEO told his followers to brace for an upcoming release of “Episode 2 of The Twitter Files.”

Musk reacted to Dorsey’s remarks by saying that key data had been hidden and possibly scrubbed.

“Most important data was hidden (from you too) and some may have been deleted, but everything we find will be released,” Musk said.

Health Officials Are Eager To Reinstate Face Masks This Winter

With three highly contagious respiratory viruses sickening adults and children around the country and holiday gatherings just weeks away, public health officials are beginning to talk about face masks again.

While mask mandates are unlikely in most parts of the country, health experts are renewing recommendations to wear a high-quality medical mask on public transportation, in airports and on planes, while shopping and in other crowded public spaces.

What’s notable is that the mask recommendations this time aren’t just about avoiding the coronavirus. Masks are advised to protect against what is being called the “tripledemic” — a confluence of influenza, coronavirus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) that already is straining hospitals and forcing parents to miss work in record numbers.

As the country heads into its third pandemic winter, covid-19 cases are on the rise, and the 2022-23 flu season is shaping up to be the worst in a decade — there have already been 4,500 deaths from flu, including 14 children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With such a heavy burden of illness straining the health-care system, it may be hard to believe that something as simple as a face mask could make a meaningful difference. But health experts say a quality medical mask — such as an N95, KN95, or KF94 — remains a highly effective line of defense, especially when combined with vaccination, hand washing, better ventilation and avoiding crowds.

“Masks will help reduce your risk of all respiratory viruses not just covid,” said Jay K. Varma, an internal medicine physician, epidemiologist and professor of population health sciences at Weill Cornell Medical College. “They have to be the right quality masks worn consistently and correctly. Even a very small percentage increase in mask-wearing when multiplied by a large population can have a big impact.”

ICYMI

First Coins Bearing Likeness of King Charles III Enter Circulation Today

A new series of 50-pence pieces featuring the profile of King Charles III are being released through the United Kingdom’s network of Post Offices today, one of many subtle changes taking place in the United Kingdom and across the Commonwealth Realms in the wake of the death of Elizabeth II in September.

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