WORLD NEWS
Lockerbie Bomb Suspect Detained in U.S. Custody
The Libyan man suspected of making the bomb that destroyed a passenger plane over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 is being detained in U.S. custody, law enforcement agencies on both sides of the Atlantic confirmed Sunday.
AP reports Scotland’s Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service released a statement outlining “the families of those killed in the Lockerbie bombing have been told that the suspect Abu Agela Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi is in U.S. custody.”
Great Reset: UK Prepares to Introduce a ‘Digital Pound’ Central Bank Digital Currency
The de facto head of His Majesty’s Treasury announced this week that the Bank of England has begun consultations on implementing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) that could usher in the globalist vision of a cashless society in which all transactions are traceable by the government.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt revealed that, as a part of his ‘Edinburgh Reforms’ of Britain’s financial services, the Bank of England will begin consultations on the design of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) which would act as a digital version of the pound sterling.
China May Face Wave of Infections, New Variants After Relaxing COVID Restrictions
COVID-19 infections might be poised to surge in ill-prepared China as the central government eases its draconian “zero-COVID” restrictions, after a UK analytics company forecast millions of deaths in China during the coming winter from the policy change.
The ruling communist regime in China abruptly relaxed some of its COVID social controls on Dec. 7, amid unprecedented mass protests against the policy and a slumping economy.
China’s National Health Commission (NHC) announced that mass PCR testing requirements have been dropped, health QR code checks are no longer required for traveling or entering most public places; and that COVID patients with mild symptoms and close contacts will be allowed to quarantine at home instead of being sent to centralized facilities.
With the Donald Trump administration-enacted Title 42 restriction set to end on Dec. 21, U.S. officials are bracing for a massive surge of illegal immigrants crossing over the southern border.
When the policy disappears in less than two weeks, the Department of Homeland Security estimates that 9,000 to 14,000 migrants could try to enter the country illegally each day.
Created as part of the Public Health Service Act under President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, Title 42 was designed to prevent the introduction of contagious diseases in the United States.
The policy was issued by the Trump administration in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Swedish Govt Calls on Citizens to Cut Electricity Use Due to Outage Risks
The Swedish government has called on Swedes to save electricity, citing the risk of power disconnections, saying the energy situation in the country has become “acute”.
The government in Greta Thunberg’s homeland called on Swedes to save electricity on Friday, with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Minister of Energy and Industry Ebba Busch, and Minister of Labour and Integration Johan Pehrson holding a joint press conference on the state of energy security.
Tories Including Top Donor, Senior MPs Launch Campaign to Restore Party Democracy After Sunak Coup
A campaign to restore Conservative (Tory) Party democracy including a top donor and former Cabinet minister has been launched following the coup that installed tax-hiking Rishi Sunak as premier without consulting members.
The Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO) boasts Peter Cruddas, a member of the House of Lords, former party treasurer, and major donor as President, and aims to “take back control” from the party’s parliamentary elite and empower party activists and members, who have frequently found themselves at odds the MPs who represent them on key issues such as Brexit and especially immigration in recent years.
Macron Announces Minors Will Be Provided with Condoms for Free
Condoms will be provided for free to children in French pharmacies, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Twitter on Friday.
Following a decision to make condoms free for all people aged between 18 and 25 on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that he would extend the handout to minors as well.
European Gas Crisis ‘Likely’ to Worsen as Winter Cold Snap Hits Continent
After what was overall an extremely mild autumn, winter temperatures have dropped considerably across Europe, a fact that has been deemed “likely” to worsen the continent’s gas crisis.
The ongoing European gas crisis is now “likely” to worsen significantly as a winter cold snap sweeps across the northern half of the continent, bringing with it an increased need for heating.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Congress faces looming government shutdown deadline at end of the week
Lawmakers face a Friday at midnight deadline when government funding is set to expire – and the House and Senate will likely have to pass a short-term extension to avert a shutdown at the end of the week, which would give negotiators more time to try to secure a broader full-year funding deal.
The other major legislative item lawmakers are working to wrap up before the end of the year is the National Defense Authorization Act, the massive annual must-pass defense policy bill. The NDAA is expected to get a vote in the Senate this week and be approved with bipartisan support.
The House has already approved the measure so once the Senate votes to pass it, the bill can go to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.
The approaching deadline had members of Congress and their staffers from both parties, as well as Biden administration officials, continuing to slog through negotiations over the weekend to try to get to an agreement on a spending package.
“This is the time of the year when there’s no weekends for folks who work on appropriations,” one administration official closely involved in the talks told CNN.
Over the weekend, both Democrats and Republicans were sharing with one another their “bottom lines” on various fronts, and the White House remained publicly optimistic that an agreement could be reached on an omnibus: “There is absolutely still a path and time for a deal.”
14 Border Agents Committed Suicide in 2022
Fourteen Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents who worked at the southern border committed suicide this year, according to members of Congress.
The Republican and Democrat lawmakers released the grim, and growing, tally during a press conference on Dec. 7 at the House Triangle.
Between 2007 and Nov. 2022, a total of 149 CBP agents located at the U.S. southern border took their lives.
CBP agents are exposed to traumatic experiences that affect their lives, said the lawmakers, noting that it’s common for law enforcement officers to keep their mental health needs to themselves.
CBP agents feel abandoned by the current administration, Rep. Mayra Flores (R-Texas) said, referring to President Joe Biden’s recent remarks.
When asked on Dec. 6 why he wasn’t going to the border while visiting a border state, Biden told reporters at the White House it was “because there are more important things going on.”
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) said, “While in Washington, there’s a lot that divides us in policy and often drives us in a lot of different directions, but there are a lot of things that should unite us.”
Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Appeal of California Man Convicted in Fraudulent Immigration Scheme
The Supreme Court agreed on Dec. 9 to hear the appeal of a California man convicted of facilitating illegal immigration by promising would-be immigrants they could remain in the United States permanently if they enrolled in a non-existent “adult adoption” program.
The man’s lawyers say the conviction should be overturned because he was engaged in free speech protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The case comes two years after the Supreme Court ruled against San Jose, California-based immigration consultant Evelyn Sineneng-Smith who was accused of duping illegal aliens into paying her fees to file frivolous applications for visas and encouraging them to stay in the country unlawfully. The program under which the clients sought immigration status was real but had expired by the time Sineneng-Smith steered them toward it.
An appeals court found that the law under which the woman was convicted was “unconstitutionally overbroad” because it “criminalizes a substantial amount of protected expression in relation to the statute’s narrow legitimate sweep.” But the Supreme Court reversed on procedural grounds, without reaching the First Amendment question, The Epoch Times reported at the time.
Helaman Hansen of Elk Grove, California, was convicted by a federal jury of getting at least 471 prospective immigrants from 2012 to 2016 to sign up for the fraudulent program that he claimed would put them on a path to citizenship. Hansen charged his victims up to $10,000 each to enroll in the scheme. The individuals were falsely advised that they could become U.S. citizens if they were to be adopted by an existing U.S. citizen. Some of the individuals Hansen dealt with were already present unlawfully in the U.S., while others had legal status but chose to overstay their visas after he assured them it would not be a problem.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled in Hansen’s favor, finding that the relevant laws violated constitutionally protected free speech rights.
“Merely encouraging someone to engage in illegal activity is protected by the First Amendment,” Hansen’s lawyers said in a brief (pdf) filed Oct. 28.
1st Gen Z Congressman-Elect Has DC Apartment Application Rejected Over ‘Bad’ Credit
Maxwell Alejandro Frost, who is to become the first member of Generation Z in the United States House of Representatives, said on Dec. 8 that his “really bad” credit score got his application to an apartment in Washington denied.
“Just applied to an apartment in D.C. where I told the guy that my credit was really bad. He said I’d be fine,” Frost wrote on Thursday morning.
Frost, a 25-year-old community organizer from Orlando, is heading to the nation’s capital as the youngest man in Congress. But he is struggling to get housing in Washington.
“Got denied, lost the apartment, and the application fee,” he said, adding that “this ain’t meant for people who don’t already have money.”
Frost later explained that when he was running for Congress he “ran up a lot of debt.”
“For those asking, I have bad credit cause I ran up a lot of debt running for Congress for a year and a half,” he said.
“Didn’t make enough money from Uber itself to pay for my living.”
‘Sense of Betrayal’: Republican Senator Censured Over Same-Sex Marriage Vote
A Republican senator has been censured over voting for a bill that supports same-sex marriage.
Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) was censured by the Cass County Republican Central Committee, according to a letter obtained by The Epoch Times.
Young’s vote in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which codifies the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling that requires states to license gay marriage and repeals the Defense of Marriage Act, triggered the censure.
“This was not a decision that was made abruptly nor without a large amount of discussion. Your decision elicited feelings of anger, disbelief, and even a sense of betrayal. We are not just fiscal conservatives, but social conservatives as well,” David Richey, chairman of the Republican committee, said in the censure letter to Young.
The senator defended his vote in a recent op-ed, saying the new bill “ensures dignity and respect for all Hoosiers.”
He brushed off concerns that religious liberty groups and some of his colleagues offered, including concerns that the bill will lead to lawsuits against individuals and entities that stand up for the belief that marriage is between a man and a woman.
“One concern I’ve heard from people of faith is that they worry their churches, schools, adoption agencies and faith-based organizations will be subject to lawsuits if they refuse services to same-sex couples. The text of the bill plainly states they will not,” Young said.
The act states, in part, that, “nothing in this act, or any amendment made by this act, shall be construed to diminish or abrogate a religious liberty or conscience protection otherwise available to an individual or organization under the Constitution of the United States or federal law.”
Richey said the opinion piece “only confirmed our concerns that you have departed from the deeply held views of the vast majority of your fellow Hoosiers” and that Young switched his views on the issue.
“On this matter (regarding same-sex marriage), you had previously stated that you felt matters like this were best handled by the States, not in the Federal venue. Now we find—right after we endorsed and voted for you in November—that you’ve changed your mind,” Richey said.
Richey said the bill “will have a chilling effect on religious freedom and further undermine the traditional family,” will lead to lawsuits, and will codify “an incorrect understanding of marriage, further embedding it in the American legal fabric.”
The committee not only censured Young—a symbolic action that could have an impact on Young’s next reelection bid, should he run—but sent copies of the letter to every Republican chairman in the state along with requests for the chairman to send similar rebukes.
House GOP Leader Plans to Subpoena US Intel Agents Who Dismissed Hunter Biden Story
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he plans to issue subpoenas to 51 former U.S. intelligence officials who downplayed the New York Post’s report on Hunter Biden’s laptop in the fall of 2020 as a likely Russian disinformation scheme.
“Those 51 intel agents that signed a letter that said the Hunter Biden information was all wrong—was Russia collusion—many of them have a security clearance,” McCarthy, who was elected as House GOP leader after Republicans recaptured a majority in the chamber in last month’s elections, told Fox News on Dec. 10.
A handful of former officials, including former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan, publicly backed an assessment (pdf) that the NY Post’s report on the younger Biden’s laptop was disinformation. It came as Twitter’s management blocked sharing of the story, including via direct messages, in October 2020—just weeks before the general election.
Ohio Taking Google Search to Court Over What State Attorney General Says Is ‘Unfair Practice’
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced his team will be meeting Google Search in court in May of 2024. The Republican official is seeking to declare the search engine a common carrier in order to make them subject to state regulation.
Yost alleged in a press release about the case, “By manipulating search results to self-preference its own products, Google is tilting the playing field against consumers and against emerging competitors. It’s time to bring those unfair practices to an end.”
The lawsuit focuses on commerce issues, citing concerns about conflicts with anti-competition laws. Yost’s suit does not seek monetary damages.
The attorney general said his goal was to make Google a public utility when he announced that he was bringing the suit in 2021.
Yost argued Ohioans are harmed by Google because they cannot make the best choices if they don’t get all of the information.
“Google cannot use its dominance in search to squeeze out competitors of other services, like travel reservations, shopping, and consumer reviews,” Yost said in an update about the case.
Bobby Powell, the former Michigan radio journalist and podcaster who went public with video evidence he said showed federal agents attacking the Capitol on Jan. 6, is recovering in a Florida hospital after suffering his fourth heart attack in two years.
Powell, 58, was undergoing a cardiac stress test when he suffered a “massive” heart attack, his fiancé Cherie posted on Truth Social. He underwent emergency surgery to treat blockages to his heart and is expected to have a permanent defibrillator implanted in the near future.
“This is number four since J6, five total in the last three years,” Powell told The Epoch Times in an email from his hospital room. “And it’s the last one I will survive.”
Court Permanently Blocks Biden Administration’s Transgender Mandate
A federal appeals court has permanently blocked the Biden administration’s bid to force doctors and insurers to perform or pay for gender-transition procedures even if they object on grounds of conscience and medical judgment, with the court basing its decision on constitutional protections of religious freedom.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit issued a unanimous ruling (pdf) on Dec. 9 blocking the controversial U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) transgender mandate.
Issued in 2016, the mandate interpreted the Affordable Care Act in a way that required doctors to perform gender-transition procedures on any patient, including children, even if the doctor was convinced the procedure could harm the patient.
American Soccer Reporter Collapses and Dies While Covering World Cup Match
American soccer journalist Grant Wahl, 48, reportedly died after collapsing while covering Friday’s World Cup match between Argentina and Netherlands in Qatar.
His agent, Tim Scanlan, said that Wahl suffered “some kind of acute distress” while covering Argentina’s quarter-final win over the Netherlands. He collapsed and was taken to the hospital, but he later died.
“Everyone’s emotional, and it’s really traumatic,” Scanlan told Reuters. “He was a true advocate for both the men’s and women’s games and really just cared deeply about the sport.”
U.S. Soccer issued a statement expressing its condolences to Wahl’s wife, Dr. Celine Gounder, and stating that his belief in the power of the game to advance human rights would remain an inspiration to all.
Gounder later posted the U.S. Soccer statement on Twitter and said that she was “in complete shock” at her husband’s sudden death.
Retired Navy SEAL made famous after coming out as trans announces detransition: ‘Destroyed my life’
‘I destroyed my life. I’m not a victim. I did this to myself, but I had help,’ retired Navy SEAL said
A retired Navy SEAL who became famous nearly 10 years ago after coming out as transgender announced he is detransitioning and called on Americans to “wake up” about how transgender health services are hurting children.
“Everything you see on CNN with my face, do not even believe a word of it,” Chris Beck, formerly known as Kristin Beck, told conservative influencer Robby Starbuck in an interview published earlier this month. “Everything that happened to me for the last 10 years destroyed my life. I destroyed my life. I’m not a victim. I did this to myself, but I had help.”
“I take full responsibility,” he continued. “I went on CNN and everything else, and that’s why I’m here right now. I’m trying to correct that.”
Beck gained notoriety in 2013 when he spoke with CNN’s Anderson Cooper about transitioning to a woman.
Democrat Gov. Ned Lamont: AR-15s ‘Should Not Be Allowed in the State of Connecticut’
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) is weighing a push to end or repeal a grandfathering clause in a gun control bill in order to force residents to hand over any AR-15s.
The CT Mirror noted that Connecticut’s General Assembly has passed two “assault weapons” bans, and each time, the bans had a grandfather clause, allowing those who already owned the banned firearms to keep them.
ECONOMY BUSINESS
Americans Might Be in for a Tax ‘Refund Shock’ Next Year: Analyst
Millions of Americans could face a “refund shock” when they file their taxes next year because a number of pandemic-related programs are set to expire or have expired, said an analyst.
Data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) shows that the average refund taxpayers got back for their 2021 taxes was about $3,200, or some around 14 percent higher than the previous year. The next refunds will average about $2,700, said Mark Steber, chief tax information officer at Jackson Hewitt.
The 2021 tax year “was quite a remarkable year with the insertion of all those new tax breaks,” Steber told CBS News this week. “But jump ahead to this year, and a lot of the increases expired, hence the term ‘refund shock’ or ‘refund surprise.’”
Student Loan Borrowers Ask Supreme Court to Hear Their Case Against Biden’s Loan Forgiveness Program
Student borrowers who object to President Joe Biden’s move to forgive student loans at a cost of $1 trillion or more have asked the Supreme Court to hear their case.
Biden unveiled the plan in August in a move that critics said was a constitutionally dubious attempt to shore up Democrats’ fortunes in the Nov. 8 congressional elections. While the Congressional Budget Office said the plan could cost about $400 billion, a paper by the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania estimates the price tag could exceed $1 trillion.
The government cited the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 (HEROES Act), temporarily putting a pause on student loan payments and interest during the recent pandemic. Earlier this year, the government said it enjoyed emergency authority under the law as a result of the pandemic to proceed with partial forgiveness of student loans.
The debt relief program has already been suspended by a federal court.
What’s Inside the House-Passed Military Spending Bill
The House of Representatives just passed the mammoth $858 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), an annual must-pass bill setting out defense spending levels.
Military Vaccine Mandate Repealed
In a major win for Republicans and critics of President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 policies, this year’s iteration of the NDAA will include a repeal of a vaccine mandate for military service members.
No Reinstatement of Troops
Though the bill will undo Biden’s mandate, hopes that the bill would reinstate those who were kicked out of the military for refusal to take the vaccine did not come to fruition.
According to Defense Department data, 3,717 Marines, 1,816 soldiers, and 2,064 sailors have been discharged for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19, although a small portion has been allowed to remain in service owing to religious or medical waivers.
Another Million-Dollar Dole to Ukraine
The bill will also grant another $800 million of taxpayer funds to the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative as part of the U.S. effort to help Ukraine defend itself against an ongoing Russian invasion.
The United States has already sent around $68 billion in humanitarian and military assistance to Ukraine in three major packages.
Silence on Pentagon Abortion Policy
The bill does not address a policy recently announced by Defense Secretary Austin that would see taxpayer dollars used to fund travel costs for women in the military to get abortions.
The policy came in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, in which the court overturned Roe v. Wade. As a result of this decision, the right to regulate abortions has been returned to state legislatures for the first time in nearly 50 years.
Klobuchar Media Bill Fails
An effort by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) to attach a controversial bill rider to the package was rejected.
Manchin-Proposed Permitting Reform Absent
Also absent from the NDAA is a proposal by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) that would alter fossil fuel permitting regulations.
Manchin’s proposal would make it easier for new fossil fuel ventures to receive a federal green light. Currently, these ventures can take years to kick off due to federal red tape and stringent environmental regulations.
Manchin has long pushed for changes to streamline this process—a push he has ramped up as energy prices have continued to soar over the past two years.
Opposition
The bill has faced opposition from members of both parties.
The 80 lawmakers who expressed opposition to the bill included 35 Republicans and 45 Democrats.
What’s Next for the Bill
With its passage by the House, the bill will now head to the Senate, where it is likely to pass along largely bipartisan lines, despite the opposition of many members to components of the legislation.
A question mark remains over whether President Biden will sign the bill, as it would undo his August 2021 vaccine mandate.
House Republicans Warn ESG Policies May Violate Antitrust Laws, Demand Documents From Investor Group
Six Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee have launched an investigation looking into whether major climate groups are violating federal antitrust laws in their effort to push the “environmental, social, and governance” (ESG) agenda.
Their concerns were raised in a letter dated Dec. 6 to two executives on the steering committee for investor group Climate Action 100+ in which the Republicans argued that ESG, at its core, was “merely partisan politics masquerading as responsible corporate governance.”
The ESG agenda has now included “stifling investment in oil and gas,” gun control, abortion access, and “fake news dissemination,” according to the letter.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Geminids Meteor Shower to Peak Mid-December—Perfect Time to Wish Upon a Christmas Shooting Star
With the Holidays fast approaching like Santa Claus’s sleigh, a yearly meteor shower spectacle presents a chance to make a last Christmas wish upon a shooting star.
SURVEILLANCE STATE
HEALTH
According to recent research, eating 2.25 cups of grape powder per day for two weeks, equal to 60 grapes a day, can help protect your skin against sunburn. After two weeks, one-third of study participants showed increased resistance to UV-induced skin erythema (reddening of the skin)
Grape skins are rich in polyphenols, which are one of the primary components responsible for improving the resilience of your skin against UV damage
Other polyphenol-rich foods include herbs like cloves, Mexican oregano, rosemary, spearmint and peppermint, elderberry, black olives, dark chocolate and cocoa powder
Another powerful skin protector is astaxanthin, a carotenoid antioxidant derived from Haematococcus microalgae. Research has shown 16 weeks of astaxanthin supplementation can improve wrinkles, skin moisture and elasticity. Astaxanthin-rich foods include wild-caught Alaskan salmon, trout, krill (or krill oil), shrimp and crayfish
Omega-3 fat is also important for skin health, while high omega-6 linoleic acid (LA)
intake is a significant contributor to sunburn. To improve your skin and reduce your sunburn risk, strictly limit seed oils in your diet and eat more omega-3-rich fatty fish such as wild-caught Alaskan salmon, verified wild-caught sockeye salmon, sardines, anchovies, mackerel and herring. A krill oil supplement will provide you with both astaxanthin and omega-3
The Dangers of Copper Deficiency and Iron Overload
Iron and copper are highly interdependent and need to be considered together. Low ferritin is rarely indicative of low iron. In most cases, it’s a sign that copper insufficiency is preventing proper iron recycling
Copper deficiency will down-regulate several genes, including aldose reductase-1 (which plays a crucial role in glucose and fructose metabolism), glutathione peroxidase (a master antioxidant enzyme), mitochondrial aconitase (involved in iron metabolism in the mitochondria) and transferrin (which mediates the transport of iron)
Iron deficiency virtually doesn’t exist outside of acute blood loss that is unrelated to menstruation. Unless you have a history of acute blood loss, you are likely dealing with iron recycling dysfunction due to copper deficiency
The best way to lower excessive iron is to donate blood. Most adult men and postmenopausal women have high iron and could benefit from regular blood donation, as high iron is extremely toxic and destroys health
To raise your copper level, you could use a copper bisglycinate supplement, or foods like grass fed beef liver, bee pollen and whole food vitamin C
Glutathione to Improve Health and Age-Related Degeneration
Glutathione is a powerful antioxidant composed of three amino acids — cysteine, glycine and glutamic acid
The lack of glutathione in older adults may be a key element driving the oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction that lead to age-related degeneration
Researchers looked into supplementation with a combination of glycine and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), two glutathione precursors known as GlyNAC when taken together
In older adults, GlyNAC supplementation for 24 weeks corrected glutathione deficiency and improved multiple measures of health
By boosting glutathione, supplementation with GlyNAC led to improvements in oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, insulin resistance, strength, cognition and more
—> Power Mall Product of Interest: Happy Bodies Detox Cocktail
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Geoengineering Watch Global Alert News, December 10, 2022, #383
Should a “winter storm” have a “warm side”? This is completely absurd from a historical perspective, but now it seems it is the norm. The Weather Channel has announced the coming of “Winter Storm Diaz” complete with flash floods, blizzards, tornadoes, thundersnow, extreme hail and more. The Weather Channel says that the conditions will depend on which side of “Winter Storm Diaz” you are on, the warm side, or the cold side. Engineered winter weather is not a theory, it is a data verified fact of record. Natural weather is no more as climate intervention operations completely disrupt and derail the planet’s life support systems. Who are the primary individuals and entities tasked with covering the tracks of the geoengineers? This is the latest installment of Global Alert News
‘Don’t take the lift’: French alarm rises over risk of winter power cuts
Government messages over contingency plans fuel concerns about who could be hit and how to protect the vulnerable
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
21 Clever Ways to Extend the Growing Season
We asked our Community members for their favorite ways to extend the growing season. Here are their 21 best season-extending tips!
COVID RELATED NEWS
Video: Australian Senator Gerard Rennick’s Amazing Vax Rant Leaves Opposition Parties Angry
Fauci’s Deposition Lies and the Stunning Allegations of Li-Meng Yan
Commentary – It’s been a long time since something I was reading kept me up all night in the way that the mysteries of Raymond Chandler and Arthur Conan Doyle did in my youth. And never—you can be sure—was it a legal deposition.
But last night, I was riveted by every word in the deposition that Dr. Anthony Fauci gave in a lawsuit—initiated by the attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana—that alleges that our government acted in collusion with Big Tech to censor and even massively discredit its critics, including many eminent doctors, regarding COVID-19.
I was riveted even though Fauci, despite being of an obviously high IQ, suddenly was having memory loss almost as extreme as our president, repeating some version of “I don’t recall” as his answer to questions so often that it may have gone over a thousand times in the 446-page document.
While you could call it a masterpiece of James Comey-style prevarication, it became so obvious that you could predict almost every variation on this theme before the longtime (1984) director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the president’s chief medical adviser even said it.
Either he “didn’t recall” having discussed any of the hot-button issues of the COVID-19 pandemic (lockdowns, masks, hydroxychloroquine, and so forth) with his associates, despite appearing on many emails between them on those very subjects, or he denied knowledge because it was “not in his lane.”
The latter excuse is risible since he was in charge of everything and appeared before us on television and nearly everywhere else constantly opining on all things COVID for two straight years. Indeed, he hasn’t stopped.
But the risible turned to the ludicrous—and Fauci shot himself in the foot, despite his obvious laborious preparation for the deposition—when it came down to the heart of the matter.
By that, I mean his relationship with Dr. Peter Daszak of the propagandistically named EcoHealth Alliance through whom Fauci is alleged to have helped fund what’s known as gain-of-function research at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Cause Unknown: The Epidemic of Sudden Deaths
In his new book, “Cause Unknown: The Epidemic of Sudden Deaths in 2021 and 2022,” former BlackRock fund manager Edward Dowd details data showing the COVID shots are a crime against humanity
Insurance industry research in 2016 concluded that group life policyholders die at one-third the rate of the general U.S. population, so they’re the healthiest among us. Group life policyholders are those employed with Fortune 500 companies, who tend to be younger and well-educated
In 2020, the general U.S. population had higher excess mortality than group life holders, but in 2021, that flipped. Ages 25 through 64 of the group life policyholders suddenly experienced 40% excess mortality, compared to 32% in the general population. In short, a far healthier subset of the population suddenly died at a higher rate than the general population
American disability statistics are equally revealing. In the five years before COVID, the monthly disability rate was between 29 million and 30 million. After the COVID jabs, the disability trend changed dramatically. As of September 2022, there were 33.2 million disabled Americans — an extra 3.2 million to 4.2 million — a three standard deviation rate of change since May 2021
Since May 2021, the overall U.S. population has experienced an 11% increase in disabilities, while the employed — which is about 98 million out of a total population of about 320 million — experienced 26% increased rate of disability. So, something was introduced into the workforce that caused working age people to die
Bioweapons Expert Speaks Out About Novel Coronavirus
Francis Boyle, who for decades has advocated against the development and use of bioweapons, suspects COVID-19 is a weaponized pathogen that escaped from Wuhan City’s Biosafety Level 4 facility, which was specifically set up to research coronaviruses and SARS
According to Boyle, the COVID-19 virus is a chimera. It includes SARS, an already weaponized coronavirus, along with HIV genetic material and possibly flu virus. It also has gain of function properties that allow it to spread a greater distance than normal
At the beginning of the pandemic, the incubation period for COVID-19 infection was still unknown, but estimates ranged from 14 days to 30 days
Prior to the pandemic, the U.S. government had spent $100 billion on biological warfare programs since September 11, 2001, up until October 2015
Curiously, even while there had been only a limited number of reported cases of COVID-19 infection in the U.S., the U.S. military had designated several detention sites around the country to quarantine Americans, should the situation take a turn for the worse
New Study Finds Evidence of ‘Long-Term’ Natural Immunity to COVID-19
People who recovered from COVID-19 still had protection a year later, according to a new study.
Recovery from COVID-19 often grants a form of protection known as natural immunity.
Elon Musk Signals Release of ‘Twitter Files’ on COVID-19 Rules
Twitter CEO Elon Musk wrote this weekend that he would release more “Twitter files” about the previous management’s communications with federal health officials regarding how to deal with claims about COVID-19 rules and vaccines in the coming days.
While offering little in terms of details, Musk responded to a question from a user, who asked him: “When will we get the twitter files on covid? The info on the suspension of the many doctors and scientists? Who was involved? Suppression of what has turned out to be factual information.”
“Oh it is coming bigtime,” he wrote. Around the same time, he made at least two jokes about White House COVID-19 adviser Anthony Fauci. The Epoch Times has contacted Fauci for comment.
Musk previously signaled support for the COVID-19 vaccine, including a Twitter post from April 2021. However, overall, Musk has made few public comments about vaccines or his own vaccination status.
“To be clear, I do support vaccines in general and covid vaccines specifically. The science is unequivocal. In very rare cases, there is an allergic reaction, but this is easily addressed with an EpiPen,” Musk wrote at the time.
CANCEL CULTURE
Internal Files Point to Twitter Meddling in 2020 Elections
The latest episode of the Elon Musk-endorsed “Twitter Files,” internal communications about the social media giant’s “free speech suppression” on the platform, reveals a soft-on-Biden tough-on-Trump bias in content enforcement, raising questions about how heavily the social media platform put its finger on the scales in the 2020 election.
Elon Musk Exposes Real Reason Twitter Censored Former President Donald Trump
Journalist Matt Taibbi published the third volume of the so-called “Twitter files” on Friday, exposing the social media platform’s censorship and deplatforming of former President Donald Trump.
The latest disclosure revealed that Twitter executives used the platform’s formidable “visibility filtering” powers against Trump ahead of the 2020 U.S. elections and that engagement with the FBI intensified before Trump was permanently suspended.
Endorsed by Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk, the “Twitter files” have exposed the social media company’s censorship machine.
The new report, report titled “The Removal of Donald Trump,” is the first of three specifically examining the actions of Twitter executives during the period from October 2020 to when Trump was deplatformed on Jan. 8, 2021.
Internal Slack chats at Twitter reveal that engagement between the company’s executives and federal law enforcement and intelligence organizations surged during this period.
A newly proposed bill in Texas would ban social media for children over concerns about mental health.
A North Texas lawmaker filed a bill that would require all social media users to be 18 years of age to create an account.
The bill, HB 896, (pdf) which was proposed by state Rep. Jared Patterson, will force social media sites to verify a user’s age with photo ID and allow parents to request that their child’s account be deactivated.
Patterson, a Republican, represents District 106, which includes parts of Denton County.
Patterson claimed that social media was harmful and addictive to children and compared it to cigarette use before 1964, when scientists started warning about tobacco.
“Once thought to be perfectly safe for users, social media access to minors has led to remarkable rises in self-harm, suicide, and mental health issues,” said Patterson.
Most social media sites currently require children to be at least 13 years old, but they do not normally require proof of age.
“The harms social media poses to minors are demonstrable not just in the internal research from the very social media companies that create these addictive products, but in the skyrocketing depression, anxiety, and even suicide rates we are seeing afflict children,” Greg Sindelar, CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), told the local Fox affiliate.
“We are tremendously grateful for Rep. Jared Patterson’s leadership on keeping this precious population safe, and TPPF is fully supportive of prohibiting social media access to minors to prevent the perpetual harms of social media from devastating the next generation of Texans.”
Three members of Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council resigned this week, citing concerns that “the safety and wellbeing of Twitter’s users are on the decline.”
Eirliani Abdul Rahman, Anne Collier, and Lesley Podesta all left the council on Thursday.
Rahman served on the council’s Child Sexual Exploitation Prevention advisory group and Collier had been serving on the council’s Online Safety and Harassment Prevention group. Both had been members of the council since its inception in 2016.
According to Twitter, its Trust and Safety Council is a group of independent experts and organizations from around the world that “advocate for safety and advise us as we develop our products, programs, and rules.”
“I have watched with, dare I say, trepidation, the negotiations over Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter,” Rahman said in a statement about her resignation. “I had written down some commitments to myself at the time. Should Musk step over those thresholds, I told myself I would resign. Those red lines have been crossed.”
Mothers Slam American Girl Book Advising on Puberty Blockers
Scathing reviews are pouring into the American Girl website and Amazon, and social media users are blasting the popular doll brand for a 2022 book that advises young girls on pronouns, switching genders, and using puberty blockers.
Part of the criticism surrounds circumventing unsupportive parents.
Others, however, have applauded the book for providing guidance on the topics, sending it to No. 1 on Amazon in the category of Popular Adolescent Psychology.
“A Smart Girl’s Guide: Body Image: How to Love Yourself, Live Life to the Fullest, and Celebrate All Kinds of Bodies” rapidly drew attention from around the world after a Dec. 6 report in the London-based Daily Mail.
Florida Mom Fired for Religious Email Signoff Files Suit Against Former Employer
A Florida mom who was fired for signing her work emails “In Christ” has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against her former employer.
The anti-religious discrimination lawsuit was filed on Dec. 2 in a U.S. District Court in Jacksonville. Records in it show that three supervisors at Computershare Loan Services objected to employee Andrea Jensen’s use of the religious signoff and warned her she would be fired if she didn’t stop using it.
“I noticed that your email auto signature does not align with the company standards,” one of the supervisors wrote in an email to Jensen, who is a devout Catholic.
It would be first in a series of emails sent to the mother of an 18-month-old, who worked as a loan closer for Computershare, a global stock transfer company.
Jensen told The Epoch Times that she has long used “In Christ” as her closing in her emails, both personal and work-related and that she sees the valediction as no different than the commonly used “Sincerely,” “Best,” or “Respectfully Yours” signoffs.
“It was pure and simple religious discrimination,” she said.
A former Virginia Tech soccer player who says she was benched for refusing to take a knee during the national anthem has been given to go-ahead to sue the school for violations of her freedom of speech.
U.S. District Judge Thomas T. Cullen gave former Hokies midfielder Kiersten Hening the OK to sue coach Charles Aidair on First Amendment grounds after Hening says the coach benched her for refusing to join in with the team’s kneeling in 2020 as a “unity statement.”
PET NEWS
Hilarious Great Dane Weighs a Whopping 170 Pounds but Insists That He’s a Lap Dog
A 170-pound Great Dane from Wisconsin is inducing belly laughs across the internet for his habit of leaping into laps despite his massive size.
Retail business owners Ken, 42, and his wife Beth Kempen, 40, live with their two kids, Maddie and Colin, and two Great Danes: Joe and Larry.
GOOD NEWS
A 90-year-old great-grandmother will remarkably graduate from college Sunday, 71 years after starting her studies.
Joyce Defauw, then Joyce Viola Kane, enrolled into Northern Illinois University (NIU) in 1951, where initially she wanted to become a teacher but switched her major to home economics. She had completed three years of her degree, but she met a man at church that she says “stole my heart,” eventually getting married in 1955 and dropping out around the same time.
Police: Woman Took Carjacker’s Gun, Shot Him in Head
A Nevada woman took away a carjacker’s gun in Las Vegas, tried to flee, then ended up shooting the carjacker dead when he tackled her from behind, according to police.
FOX News reports that the incident occurred November 19, 2022, but a police report was just released, providing details.
FOX 5 notes that the woman and a friend pulled up outside a residence where a party was scheduled to occur. The woman and her friend were early, so they sat in the car to wait for the party to start.
ICYMI
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema Quits Democrat Party in Senate Shakeup
Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced on Dec. 9 that she has left the Democratic Party and has registered as an independent, saying she’s turning her back on the “broken partisan system in Washington” that prioritizes denying the opposition party a win rather than “delivering for all Americans.”
Sinema made the announcement in a Dec. 9 thread on Twitter and elaborated on her decision in a lengthy op-ed in the Arizona Republic.
“I have joined the growing numbers of Arizonans who reject party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington and formally registering as an Arizona Independent,” Sinema stated in a post on Twitter.
The lawmaker blamed growing political partisanship for dividing American families.
“Everyday Americans are increasingly left behind by national parties’ rigid partisanship, which has hardened in recent years,” she wrote in the Arizona Republic.
“Pressures in both parties pull leaders to the edges, allowing the loudest, most extreme voices to determine their respective parties’ priorities and expecting the rest of us to fall in line.”
Biden Administration Official Accused of Second Luggage Theft
A troubled Biden administration official, who was appointed to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy, has been accused of stealing a woman’s luggage at an airport for a second time this year.
Self-described gender fluid “pup handler” Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy, Sam Brinton, was put on leave by the department after the official was charged with stealing luggage at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport on Sept. 16, according to court documents.
Now, Brinton is being accused of stealing luggage on Dec. 8 from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, KLAS reported.
A felony warrant reportedly was issued for the Biden official on charges of grand larceny over items with a value between $1,200 and $5,000, according to records seen by KLAS.
Philadelphia Man Charged With Postal Crimes Was Also Found With Stolen Mail-In Ballots
Authorities say a Philadelphia man found with about 15 mail-in ballots that had been stolen from U.S. Postal Service collection boxes faces numerous postal-related charges.
Zachkey James, 27, was charged with impersonation of a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Mail Carrier, unlawful possession of three USPS arrow keys, mail theft, and possession of stolen mail, U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero said in a statement.
The arrow key is a universal master key that opens USPS mail boxes and the master door panel for clusters of mail boxes such as those found in apartments.
A July 2022 indictment alleges that while pretending to be a USPS mail carrier, James stole undelivered mail from a collection box near the Kingsessing Post Office in Philadelphia.
In October 2022, while again allegedly pretending to be a mail carrier, James is accused of stealing undelivered mail from a collection box near the East Germantown Post Office in Philadelphia. And in November 2022, James possessed three arrow keys and approximately 15 mail-in ballots that had been taken from USPS collection boxes, the indictment said.
UC to Withhold More Than 37,000 Grades Amid Strike: Faculty Association
A University of California (UC) faculty association estimates members will withhold more than 37,000 student grades for the fall semester in solidarity with an academic worker strike that carries into the end of finals week.
After months of negotiations, 48,000 researchers and student employees across all 10 UC campuses launched a strike Nov. 14, demanding pay raises due to cost-of-living increases.
The strike has left some classes without instructors and professors without teaching assistants to grade assignments and end-of-semester exams, which took place this week.
The Council of UC Faculty Associations, a larger agency for faculty associations across UC campuses, surveyed faculty to find out how many professors are not submitting fall semester grades.
FBI Reveals It Has More Information on Deceased DNC Staffer Seth Rich
The FBI not only has possession of a laptop computer owned by slain Democratic National Committee (DNC) staffer Seth Rich, but a report detailing forensic imaging of what’s being described as Rich’s work computer, the bureau revealed in a new filing.
The FBI’s records office located the report while searching for the work computer, Michael Seidel, chief of the office, said in a sworn declaration filed with a federal court in Texas on Dec. 9.
He described the document as “a three (3) page forensic report detailing the actions performed by an outside entity to image the work laptop.”
The report was among four documents that had never been disclosed by the FBI in relation to Rich’s case.
The TEXIT Campaign Is Launching On College Campuses
The TEXIT movement is expanding, and we are building a grassroots army of volunteers across Texas. Due to our explosive growth, we are expanding onto college campuses.
We need your help reaching students and professors to help expand our efforts. In order to win over a huge majority of Texas voters, we will need a massive organization of student volunteers. If you or someone you know is a college student or professor, please join our campus program.
You can help TNM’s college program by:
- Identifying Texas campus connections
- Offering feedback (ideas, suggestions) re: TNM collegiate programming
- Organizing local TNM groups in and on college towns and campuses
Please help us expand our grassroots efforts on campuses across the state! Click here to join: tnm.me/college
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