WORLD NEWS
Brits urged to be cautious with ambulance calls
With service reduced to a bare minimum, people should avoid “risky activity,” the UK health minister warned
UK Health Minister Will Quince has urged the public to avoid calling an ambulance on Wednesday unless facing a “life-threatening situation,” as ambulance workers prepare to strike. Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) is already reeling from two nurses’ walkouts in less than a week.
Switzerland Plans to Restrict the Use of Electric Cars During the Winter Energy Crisis
Electric cars may not be terribly useful in the midst of an energy crisis. While almost 6 million of these are on the road, drivers had better hope that the Tesla charging in their driveway isn’t the only vehicle they own. In another episode of “Wait, you can’t charge that right now,” Switzerland has drawn up proposals to restrict the use of electric cars for any nonessential travel this winter.
Let me be absolutely clear for the “independent fact-checkers” who love to put words in my mouth. I’m not saying that Switzerland is “banning electric cars.” They’re not. The proposal is specifically about reducing the need to charge them during times when the grid is overburdened.
But if the only car you have is electric, this could certainly pose a hardship.
The details of the proposal
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you know that power in Europe is at a premium and the world in general is facing a full-on energy crisis. Heck, some folks in the UK are getting hit with bills that exceed $10,000 per month. A lady I know who lives there told me that her smart meter read that they’re using the equivalent of $58.78 in power a day, and they’re only heating their living room and using lights. And it isn’t even full-on winter yet.
Anyway, this has propelled Switzerland to plan ahead for when things get even colder. The UK Telegraph reports that the plan has two tiers that they’re calling “emergency” and “crisis.” There are three levels of restrictions in the emergency tier and two in the crisis tier. You’re going to get Covid Lockdown vibes when you read this – even the Telegraph compared the two. (Conversion of temperatures is mine.)
The lowest level will see public buildings heated to no more than 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees F), with people asked to limit their washing machines to a maximum of 40 degrees Celsius. (104 degrees F)
Under the next level, temperatures will be lowered to 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees F) and streaming services asked to lower the resolution of videos from HD quality to standard.
If the situation worsens, shops will be asked to close two hours early and electric vehicles limited to essential journeys.
Crisis measures could see hot water disabled in public bathrooms and the use of electric leaf blowers barred.
Next, escalators will be stopped and outdoor Christmas lighting turned off.
Cryptocurrency mining would then be banned if supplies keep dropping, along with swimming pools closed and lights in sports stadiums turned off.
If the most extreme shortages hit, sports matches, concerts and theatre performances will be cancelled, and all leisure businesses forced to close. (source)
Don’t be silly. Climate lockdowns are a right-wing conspiracy theory. Aren’t they?
China Buys Up US Farmland by Exploiting Loopholes to Undermine US National Security: Security Expert
China is exploiting loopholes to buy up U.S. farmland with the aim of sabotaging the U.S. national security, warned Ross Kennedy, founder of U.S.-based logistics and supply chain advisory Fortis Analysis and senior fellow at Security Studies Group.
Reports have emerged that Chinese companies in recent years have ramped up purchasing U.S. farmland for various projects ranging from green energy to agriculture. Local authorities have justified greenlighting these ventures by arguing that the projects would help generate jobs and tax revenue in their regions.
“Whenever these Chinese companies come to the United States with the promises of economic development, they’re exploiting gaps in our own industrial manufacturing and infrastructure base,” Kennedy told “China in Focus” on NTD, a sister media outlet of The Epoch Times, on Dec. 17.
“They’re going to exploit every loophole … every means within their arsenal of tactics and tricks and strategies, to undermine the national security of the United States,” he added.
He pointed to the acquisition of 140,000 acres of farmland in Val Verde County, Texas, since 2016, by a Chinese billionaire to build a wind farm.
“So in the case of the Texas wind farms, it was that that part of Texas can be pretty deficit of energy at certain times a year, and the tax credit structure for wind farms, the need for additional energy in that part of the state of Texas, all of that was exploited to say, ‘Well, you really need these wind farms. We’ll buy this land, we’ll take on the burden of building it, we’ll put energy back into the grid,’” he said.
Shortage Fears Return as Germany Rapidly Burns Through its Gas Reserve
Discussion of fears over possible gas shortages has returned to the German media, with the cold European winter seeing the country burn through its saved-up supply far faster than expected.
After a period of absence due to an abnormally warm late fall and early winter, the issue of possible gas shortages appears to have well and truly returned to the German media sphere, with the country reportedly consuming far more of its gas reserves than expected as a result of a cold snap that has hit northern Europe.
While experts have long feared the possibility of widespread energy shortages in Germany brought about by the nation’s loss of its Russian gas imports, many officials have maintained that — so long as the country is able to cut its consumption by 20 per cent — it should be able to escape this winter.
Head of Major German Manufacturer Warns of ‘Deindustrialisation’ Risk
Nikolas Stihl, the head of the chainsaw manufacturing company Stihl, has wanted that Germany may be on the verge of deindustrialisation as surging costs — pushed by the energy crisis — and other factors are affecting entrepreneurs.
According to Mr Stihl, chair of the Stihl Group Advisory and Supervisory Board, Germany could be at a tipping point that could lead to deindustrialisation in the country as it becomes less and less attractive as a location for industrial manufacturing and other
Chinese Stores Run Out of Basic Medicines as Panicked Citizens Hoard for Coronavirus Surge
A week after Chinese state media confidently boasted that surging production of masks and medicine would turn the massive nationwide Chinese coronavirus outbreak into a marvelous profit opportunity, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) told a very different tale of anguished Chinese coronavirus patents finding store shelves bereft of aspirin, ibuprofen, and other over-the-counter medicines that could make their symptoms more bearable.
“No ibuprofen, no aspirin, no vitamin C, absolutely nothing. They didn’t even have watermelon frost lozenges. Everything was sold out,” complained a man in eastern China whose 67-year-old wife was suffering severe pains and worried that Chinese coronavirus may trigger her asthma. The husband was also infected and coughing uncontrollably.
The SCMP pointed out that Chinese municipal governments promised free packages of vitamins and cold medicines to cope with the coronavirus surge, but only a fraction of the promised supplies have been delivered to citizens.
Contrary to state media boasts about production of cold medicine exploding as China’s mighty and deftly-managed pharmaceutical industry rose to the challenge, the SCMP reported pharma factories and delivery services shutting down as staffers took ill. The Chinese public seems increasingly skeptical of their government’s promises that production lines for medicines are running at full capacity.
Western media outlets that previously accepted the Chinese Communist Party’s unbelievable claims about controlling Chinese coronavirus are now wrestling with ugly and undeniable truths. The Washington Post on Sunday quoted predictions that China could suffer over a million fatalities from the relatively mild omicron variant after China claimed it had only a tiny handful of deaths during the original outbreak.
Reports: Lebanese Rob Frozen Banks to Steal Their Own Savings
Reports this weekend indicated that Lebanese citizens are increasingly turning to sit-in blockades, and outright armed robbery, to pry their savings out of frozen bank accounts as the national economy continues its trajectory toward total collapse.
National Public Radio (NPR) on Saturday noted three incidents of armed Lebanese storming banks to demand their savings during a single week in September. One of them, a man named Abed Soubra, became something of a local folk hero after taking a bank hostage while crowds of supporters thronged outside, urging him to stand his ground.
5 Dead After 73-Year-Old Allegedly Goes on Shooting Spree in Toronto
Five people are dead after a 73-year-old man allegedly went on a shooting spree inside a condominium in Toronto on Sunday night.
Police were called and upon arrival confronted the attacker and killed him.
The Daily Mail reported that the alleged 73-year-old attacker “is understood to have lodged a civil complaint against the condo corporation for $1.5 million – but his exact grievances are unclear.”
Constable Laura Nicolle described the crime scene as the “most terrible” she had seen in her entire law enforcement career, CNN pointed out.
Canada has stringent gun controls, which include Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent freeze on handgun sales.
Breitbart News reported Trudeau’s actions against handguns on October 21, noting his suggestion that the freeze would keep children safe.
Trudeau is currently pushing enforcement of an “assault weapons” ban, although numerous provinces–Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and others–are refusing to cooperate.
The University of Sydney’s GunPolicy.org describes Canadian gun control as “restrictive,” noting that gun dealers are required to register firearm and ammunition sales, and a gun license must be acquired before purchases of firearms and/or ammunition can be legally made.
The process for acquiring a gun license includes passing a criminal and mental background check, submitting third party references, and having one’s spouse or partner interviewed by authorities.
Report: World Coal Consumption Rising, China’s Influence ‘Unparalleled by Any Country’
The International Energy Agency (IEA) published a report on Friday that found coal use surging around the world, with the United States and India leading the pack in 2021 at 15 percent and 14 percent growth in coal consumption, respectively.
The IEA anticipated India’s coal use would grow fastest during the coming year at seven percent, followed by the European Union at six percent. These figures were all expressed as percentage increases over current consumption, so the IEA credited China with relatively small percentage increases because it already uses titanic amounts of coal — accounting for over half of the world’s entire coal consumption, in fact
Saudi Oil Giant Aramco to Build Refinery in China
Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Aramco announced on Sunday that it has signed a deal with Chinese analog China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) to build an oil refinery in southeast Fujian province, helping secure a stable and affordable supply of gasoline and other fuels in China.
The deal appears to have been the product of negotiations fueled by Chinese Communist Party dictator Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia this month. The Saudi royal family received Xi with a lavish welcome featuring air force flyovers, a marching band, and the hosting of two major economic conferences with Gulf and Arab states. Prior to Xi’s arrival in Riyadh, multiple reports from both countries indicated that Riyadh and Beijing would sign about $29 billion in trade deals. On December 11, the Saudi news agency al-Arabiya reported that China signed about $50 billion worth of investment deals while in Saudi Arabia, including deals with the Saudi kingdom and other participants in the regional conferences held that week.
Mexican Authorities Are Missing as Highway Robberies Plague Christmas Travelers
Mexican authorities are absent as gunmen carry out armed robberies targeting U.S. travelers along major highways.
The most recent case took place late last week in the state of Zacatecas where gunmen stopped a caravan of U.S. travelers, El Universal reported. The caravan included six vehicles carrying 22 individuals from California and Arizona. Their destination was the central state of Guanajuato.
US flies bombers, stealth jets as Kim’s sister threatens
The United States flew nuclear-capable bombers and advanced stealth jets in a show of force against North Korea on Tuesday, as the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un derided doubts about her country’s military and threatened a full-range intercontinental ballistic missile test.
The deployment of the U.S. B-52 bombers and the F-22 stealth fighter jets for joint drills with South Korean warplanes was part of an agreement to protect South Korea with all available means, including nuclear, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said.
The drills, which also included F-35 and F-15 fighter jets from South Korea, took place in the waters southwest of Jeju island, the ministry said. The U.S. F-22 jets were deployed in South Korea for the first time in four years and will stay throughout this week for training with South Korean forces, it said.
The drills were held after North Korea claimed to have launched a test satellite for the development of its first military spy satellite, and tested a solid-fueled motor to be used on a more mobile intercontinental ballistic missile in the past several days.
North Korea already has fired a record number of missiles this year as a warning over the previous U.S.-South Korea military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. There are concerns it may react to the latest aerial training by the allies with a new round of missile tests.
Earlier Tuesday, Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, used a slew of derisive terms — such as “malicious disparaging,” “rubbish” and “dog barking” — when she dismissed the outside assessments that cast doubt on North Korea’s spy satellite development and long-range missiles.
North Korea said its rocket launches Sunday were tests of systems for its first military reconnaissance satellite and released two low-resolution photos of South Korean cities as viewed from space. Some civilian experts in South Korea and elsewhere said the photos were too crude for a surveillance purpose and that the launches were likely a cover for North Korea’s missile technology. South Korea’s military maintained North Korea fired two medium-range ballistic missiles.
Kim Yo Jong said the test satellite carried a commercial camera because there was no reason to use an expensive, high-resolution camera for a single-shot test. She said North Korea used two old missiles as space launch vehicles.
“Didn’t they think their assessments are too inadequate and imprudent as they commented on our satellite development capability and related preparations only with two photos that we’ve published in our newspaper,” Kim Yo Jong, a senior ruling Workers’ Party official, said in a statement carried in state media.
A spy satellite was among several high-tech weapons systems that Kim Jong Un has vowed to acquire to better cope with what he called U.S. hostility. Other weapons Kim wants to build are multi-warhead missiles, solid-fueled long-range missiles, underwater-launched nuclear missiles, nuclear-powered submarines and hypersonic missiles. Some experts say North Korea would eventually use such modern weapons systems and an enlarged nuclear arsenal to pressure the U.S. to win sanctions relief and other concessions.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Congress Unveils Sweeping ‘Omnibus’ Funding Bill With $1.7 Trillion Price Tag
Lawmakers have at long last unveiled the legislative text of the huge $1.7 trillion “omnibus” government funding bill for all of fiscal year 2023, with apparent wins for both parties like boosting non-defense discretionary spending, while keeping restrictions on funding abortions.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) released the bill (pdf) late Monday, urging members of the House and Senate to take up the 4,155-page bill and “pass it without delay” as government funding is set to expire on Dec. 23 at midnight and a shutdown looms.
“The choice is clear. We can either do our jobs and fund the government, or we can abandon our responsibilities without a real path forward,” Leahy said in a statement. “Passing this bipartisan, bicameral, omnibus appropriations bill is undoubtedly in the interest of the American people.”
The full-year government funding bill, commonly known as an “omnibus” for its catch-all scope that funds multiple federal agencies, is first expected to be taken up by the Senate for possible passage by Thursday, then to the House, and later to President Joe Biden’s desk for a signature by Friday’s deadline.
Failure to pass the legislation could bring a partial government shutdown beginning Saturday and potentially lead to a months-long standoff after Republicans assume control of the House on Jan. 3, ending the Democrats’ monolithic grip on power in Washington.
The bill is the product of long-running negotiations between Democrats and Republicans in Congress, which ran into less routine sticking points like the location of the new FBI headquarters and more standard fare like the GOP pushing back on what it views as wasteful pork-barrel spending on programs unrelated to defense.
“This omnibus bill represents the last best chance for Democrats to push funding for their policy initiatives before Republicans take over control of the House—and it is already significantly scaled back from their ambitious earlier designs,” Gerard Filitti, Senior Counsel at The Lawfare Project, told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.
“What is not included in this bill, among other things, is billions in dollars in pandemic aid requested by President Biden—a category of funds that has previously been used to fund policy initiatives only tangentially related to the pandemic,” Filitti continued, noting further that an enhanced Child Tax credit and cannabis banking legislation also failed to make the cut.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Dec. 14 that,”Republicans simply were not going to lavish extra-liberal spending” on non-defense programs into the omnibus bill.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat in the Senate, said on Dec. 14 that, “nobody is going to get everything they want, but the final product will include wins everyone can get behind.”
Leahy said Monday that the bill “is the product of months of hard work and compromise” and thanked Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) for “their partnership and hard work.”
Harris blames Republicans for border crisis: ‘Unwillingness to engage in any meaningful reform’
Vice President Kamala Harris blamed Republicans for the border crisis during an interview with NPR on Monday and said they were unwilling to engage on the issue.
“And sadly, what we have seen in particular, I am sad to say, from Republicans in Congress is an unwillingness to engage in any meaningful reform that could actually fix a lot of what we are witnessing,” Harris told NPR.
Harris, who was tapped by President Biden to address the root causes of the border crisis and effectively became the “border czar” in 2021, told NPR that the White House plans to increase technology and provide more agents to help at the southern border.
“I think that there is so much that needs to happen to address the issue,” she told the outlet before adding, “Reform of our immigration system can only happen through Congress in terms of the passage of an immigration bill that allows for a legal pathway to citizenship and a legal presence in the country.”
Harris told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in September that the border is secure.
“The border is secure, but we also have a broken immigration system, in particular, over the last four years before we came in, and it needs to be fixed,” she told NBC’s Chuck Todd.
Todd asked if she was confident that the border is secure as millions of people were set to cross into the country illegally for the first time ever.
“We have a secure border in that that is a priority for any nation, including ours and our administration,” Harris replied. “But there are still a lot of problems that we are trying to fix given the deterioration that happened over the last four years. We also have to put into place a law and a plan for a pathway for citizenship for the millions of people who are here and are prepared to do what is legally required to gain citizenship.”
Supreme Court Pauses Expiration of Title 42
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to pause the expiration of Title 42 after 19 states filed an emergency application for a stay.
Chief Justice John Roberts has temporarily stayed a lower court’s decision that would lift Title 42 on Wednesday. He called for an “administrative stay” that puts the order on hold while the justices consider the multistate request.
Earlier on Monday, Arizona, Louisiana, Texas, and 16 other GOP-led filed an emergency application urging the SCOTUS to reverse the lower court’s decision to strike down Title 42.
“Getting rid of Title 42 will recklessly and needlessly endanger more Americans and migrants by exacerbating the catastrophe that is occurring at our southern border,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in a news release. Unlawful crossings are estimated to surge from 7,000 per day to as many as 18,000.”
On Nov. 16, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington, D.C., struck down the policy that allows immigration officials to quickly expel migrants who enter the U.S. during a public health emergency. Sullivan was appointed to serve as a federal judge by President Bill Clinton in 1994.
Title 42 was invoked by the Trump administration in March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
FBI got Top Secret clearances for Twitter execs to quash Biden story
FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland at a news conference April 6, 2022, announcing a court-authorized disruption of Russian-controlled botnets (FBI photo)
The FBI worked with the intelligence community to pressure
Twitter and other social media and news media to censor the New York Post’s revelations of Joe Biden’s knowledge of his family’s influence-peddling operation while lacking any evidence of a purported Russian “disinformation” operation.
Factual information about the foreign business dealings was discredited by the FBI and the IC both after and before the Post’s blockbuster Oct. 14, 2020, story, according to the seventh Twitter Files release, reported by journalist Michael Shellenberger on Monday.
Significantly, in July 2020, the FBI’s Elvis Chan – assistant special agent in charge at the office in San Francisco, where Twitter is headquartered – arranged for temporary Top Secret security clearances for Twitter executives to enable the FBI to share information about “threats” to the upcoming elections.
Further, the latest release of internal communications revealed, the FBI paid Twitter at least $3.4 million for its work.
Twitter Suppressed Early COVID-19 Treatment Information and Vaccine Safety Concerns: Cardiologist
Thanks to Elon Musk, the public is now aware that Twitter suppressed early treatment options for COVID-19, and vaccine safety concerns, Dr. Peter McCullough alleged in an interview that aired on Newsmakers by NTD and The Epoch Times on Dec. 14.
Further, thanks to the Twitter Files—a collection of internal emails and communications made public by Musk—the cardiologist said there’s proof that government agencies were working against him (McCullough) personally.
“I didn’t violate any of Twitter’s rules,” McCullough stated. “And what we’re learning is that secret emails between government agencies and Twitter were working to, in a sense, shadow-ban me, censor me, and inhibit my ability to exercise my rights to free speech and disseminate scientific information.”
McCullough said Musk’s takeover of Twitter is a “welcome change,” especially for healthcare professionals like himself.
“Twitter had become an incredibly biased and censored platform, where the public knew they weren’t getting a fair, balanced set of information on a whole variety of developments—including the early treatment of SARS-COV2 infection and a balanced view of safety and efficacy of the vaccines,” McCullough claimed.
The cardiologist further claimed that he was censored and finally suspended for sharing scientific “abstracts and manuscripts,” which didn’t fit the accepted political view. Plus, McCullough remarked, he wasn’t the only doctor targeted.
Musk lifted the suspensions of McCullough and mRNA vaccine technology contributor Dr. Robert Malone—suspended from Twitter in 2021 after criticizing the effectiveness of the mRNA vaccines—after completing his Twitter purchase.
Maricopa Judge Takes Motion to Dismiss Kari Lake Lawsuit ‘Under Advisement’
A Maricopa County judge said on Dec. 19 that he’s taking a motion to dismiss an election lawsuit filed by Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake “under advisement” after a hearing at the Maricopa County Superior Court.
Earlier this month, Lake filed a lawsuit against Democratic Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs in her capacity as the current Arizona secretary of state, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, and others. Lake, who trails Hobbs by about 17,000 votes statewide, alleged that “hundreds of thousands of illegal ballots” were cast in Maricopa County and sought either a new election or to be declared the winner.
She has alleged, among other claims, that Election Day voters were disenfranchised on Nov. 8 due to reports of widespread polling issues in Maricopa County, which were confirmed by Richer and Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates during a press conference that day. Gates and Richer had told voters to place their ballots in secure drop boxes or cast their ballots in a different location, although Lake has since posted videos of Maricopa County residents reporting long lines and other irregularities on Nov. 8.
“Lake received the greatest number of votes and is entitled to be named the winner,” her lawsuit reads. “Alternately, the election must be re-done in Maricopa County to eliminate the effects of maladministration and illegal votes on the vote tallies reported by Maricopa County.”
Lawyers for both Maricopa County and Hobbs filed motions to dismiss Lake’s lawsuit last week, prompting the Dec. 19 hearing. They wrote that Lake’s lawyers made false claims and didn’t understand how the county’s chain-of-custody process works.
“This allegation is false, and will be easily disproven by the County if necessary,” Maricopa County lawyers wrote in court papers (pdf). “Plaintiff reviewed the County’s Early Voting Ballot Transport Statements, but the chain of custody documents for election day are different because the process for early ballot delivery is different on election day.”
They also wrote that if Lake’s allegation were true, “it does not follow that the Court should order Defendants to discard approximately twenty percent of Maricopa County’s ballots.”
FBI Faces Subpoenas After Twitter Files Exposing Social Media Ties: House Republican
The FBI is facing subpoenas after the so-called “Twitter Files” revealed that the bureau had been working closely with the social media company, according to Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), who is the incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
“We are definitely pursuing the Department of Justice and also the FBI,” Turner told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” before adding, “We certainly intend to pursue subpoena power to expose the extent to which the FBI has been doing this.”
He thanked the new Twitter chief Elon Musk for making the internal Twitter documents available.
“While we pursue intelligence community to try to hold them accountable, while we’re doing that, Elon Musk is showing what’s happening on the other side with the willing partners, the mainstream media, social media, and really exposing coordination that was occurring between the FBI and them,” Turner added.
Ron Paul: “Twitter Files” Make It Clear, We Must Abolish The FBI
As we learn more and more from the “Twitter Files,” it is becoming all too obvious that federal agencies such as the FBI viewed the First Amendment of our Constitution as an annoyance and an impediment. In Friday’s release from the pre-Musk era, journalist Matt Taibbi makes an astute observation: Twitter was essentially an FBI subsidiary.
The FBI, we now know, was obsessed with Twitter. We learned that agents sent Twitter Trust and Safety chief Yoel Roth some 150 emails between 2020 and 2022. Those emails regularly featured demands from US government officials for the “private” social media company to censor comments and ban commenters they did not like.
The Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF), a US government entity that included the FBI as well as other US intelligence agencies expressly forbidden from domestic activities, numbered 80 agents engaged regularly in telling Twitter which Tweets to censor and which accounts to ban. The Department of Homeland Security brought in outside government contractors and (government-funded) non-governmental organizations to separately pressure Twitter to suppress speech the US government did not like.
US Federal government agencies literally handed Twitter lists of Americans it wanted to see silenced, and Twitter complied. Let that sink in.
This should be a massive scandal and likely it would have been had it occurred under a Trump Administration. Indeed, Congress would be gearing up for Impeachment 3.0 if Trump-allied officials had engaged in such egregious behavior. But since these US government employees were by-and-large acting to suppress pro-Trump sentiment, all we hear are crickets.
During a portion of an interview with NPR aired on Monday’s “All Things Considered,” Vice President Kamala Harris commented on the changes at Twitter by stating she expects and “would require” leaders in the tech sector to “work with us who are concerned about national security, concerned about upholding and protecting our democracy,” to do everything they can so there is not “a manipulation that is allowed or overlooked” that intends to upend “the security of our democracy and our nation.”
NPR White House Correspondent Asma Khalid, who conducted the interview with Harris, stated that the Vice President didn’t clearly answer a question on whether things on Twitter could reach a point where she stops using the platform, but told her that she has concerns about disinformation spreading.
In the clip of the interview that played next, Harris said, “So, what I would say about any social media site is this: I fully expect and would require that leaders in that sector cooperate and work with us who are concerned about national security, concerned about upholding and protecting our democracy, to do everything in their power to ensure that there is not a manipulation that is allowed or overlooked that is done with the intention of upending the security of our democracy and our nation.”
Jan. 6 Panel Votes to Refer Trump for Criminal Charges
A U.S. House of Representatives panel on Dec. 19 voted to refer former President Donald Trump for criminal charges, including a charge that would, if a conviction is secured, bar him from becoming president again.
Members of the select committee to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol cast votes for the four referrals during a hearing in Washington. They unanimously voted to refer insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding, making a false statement to the federal government, and conspiracy to defraud the federal government to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), where prosecutors will ultimately determine whether to act on the recommendations.
“Accountability … can only be found in the criminal justice system. We have every confidence that the work of this committee will help provide a roadmap to justice and that the agencies and the institutions responsible for ensuring justice under the law will use the information that we provided to aid in their work,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the panel.
“I DID NOTHING WRONG!” Trump said in a statement on Truth Social.
The DOJ didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The panel also referred other unspecified people to the department.
“Our criminal referrals were based on the gravity of the offense, the centrality of the actors, and the evidence we had available to us,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a member of the committee, told reporters after the hearing. “There were undoubtedly other people involved, but we were stymied by virtue of a lot of people refusing to come and testify, refusing to give us the information they had or taking the Fifth Amendment. So we chose to advance the names of people where we felt certain that there was abundant evidence that they had participated in crimes.”
U.S. law bars insurrection, with the code stating that “whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.”
One law bars obstruction of official proceedings, starting in part that a person may not “corruptly, or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication influences, obstructs, or impedes or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede the due and proper administration of the law” by Congress.
A third statute forbids people from conspiring to defraud the United States. The code was defined by a Supreme Court justice as “primarily to cheat the Government out of property or money, but it also means to interfere with or obstruct one of its lawful governmental functions by deceit, craft or trickery, or at least by means that are dishonest.”
Another law bars making a false statement to the federal government.
If the DOJ follows through with the recommended charges, Trump could face up to 25 years in prison and fines.
Alan Dershowitz, professor emeritus at Harvard Law School, said on Newsmax that under separation of powers, Congress doesn’t have the power to recommend prosecution.
Trump Responds to Jan. 6 Committee’s Criminal Referrals, Says They Are ‘Fake’
Former President Donald Trump on Dec. 19 dismissed the Jan. 6 committee’s criminal referrals, saying that the panel has leveled “fake charges” against him and they only make him “stronger.”
“These folks don’t get it that when they come after me, people who love freedom rally around me. It strengthens me. What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger,” Trump wrote in a statement posted on his Truth Social platform.
He added, “Americans know that I pushed for 20,000 troops to prevent violence on Jan 6, and that I went on television and told everyone to go home.”
Trump, who announced his third bid for the presidency in November, said members of the committee wanted to stop his presidential campaign.
“The people understand that the Democratic Bureau of Investigation, the DBI, are out to keep me from running for president because they know I’ll win and that this whole business of prosecuting me is just like impeachment was—a partisan attempt to sideline me and the Republican Party,” Trump added.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said Monday he supports bringing Republican House business to a halt until as late as March next year if it means electing someone besides House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to be speaker.
Gaetz, one of five outspoken opponents of McCarthy, told Charlie Kirk in an interview he would rather wait weeks and have “sort of a turbulent takeoff” than have McCarthy be speaker.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
State AGs Sound the Alarm About BlackRock, Vanguard Buying Large Stakes in Utilities
The acquisition by investment managers BlackRock and Vanguard of ever-increasing shares in America’s public utility companies is setting off alarm bells from conservatives and progressives alike.
In April, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a request from BlackRock to increase its ownership up to 20 percent of a public utility’s voting shares without being deemed an “affiliate” and incurring the regulatory scrutiny and disclosures that come with that. To gain FERC approval, BlackRock and Vanguard promised they would be “passive” investors and not use their share ownership to influence management.
Because utilities are often monopolies in the regions they serve and because electricity and heating are essential in people’s lives, any investment of more than $10 million in a public utility must be approved by FERC, according to the Federal Power Act (FPA). BlackRock and Vanguard received blanket approval in 2019 to surpass this limit for three years, and BlackRock was just given blanket approval for another three years. Now Vanguard is seeking FERC approval on similar terms, but their request is sparking protests.
In November, 13 state attorneys general petitioned FERC to deny Vanguard’s request. Claiming that residents of their states could be harmed if utilities are compelled to stop using fossil fuels in favor of wind and solar power, the attorneys general argued that “Vanguard is not entitled to a blanket authorization to acquire substantial equity and voting power in utility companies.”
“Vanguard’s own public commitments and other statements have at the very least created the appearance that Vanguard has breached its promises to the commission by engaging in environmental activism and using its financial influence to manipulate the activities of the utility companies in its portfolio,” the petition stated. “A hearing in this matter is warranted to determine the extent to which Vanguard has violated the 2019 authorization and whether granting Vanguard a blanket authorization is contrary to the public interest.”
While voting to approve BlackRock’s request, FERC Commissioner Mark Christie stated: “The claim that huge asset managers such as BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard are merely passive investors in publicly held corporations, investing purely for the benefit of their beneficiaries—many of whom are retirees receiving pensions—is no longer credible.
“BlackRock, in particular, has been openly aggressive in using its massive financial power to influence corporate policy in areas far attenuated from the legitimate money-management goals of protecting the incomes and investment interests of its beneficiaries,” Christie said.
Charlie Munger, Warren Buffet’s partner and vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, concurred, stating in February that “we have a new bunch of emperors, and they’re the people who vote the shares in the index funds. I think the world of [BlackRock CEO] Larry Fink, but I’m not sure I want him to be my emperor.”
Work Not Welfare Is Key to Escaping Poverty
Scott Lincicome’s new book, Empowering the New American Worker, is focused, unsurprisingly, on American workers. However, my chapter in this book is, in fact, focused on those who are not working—or at least not working as much as necessary to help them escape poverty. Specifically, I raise concerns about the ways in which the modern welfare state can discourage work, savings, and family formation.
Households in or near poverty that receive assistance often face marginal effective tax rates that are counterproductive, deterring work effort or putting a low ceiling on how much these families can increase their standard of living. In those cases, much of each additional dollar earned is clawed back through higher taxes or reduced benefits.
Perhaps this is best illustrated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Career Ladder Identifier and Financial Forecaster Policy Rules Database, which illustrates the public assistance program eligibility based on household incomes. The examples in Figures 1 and 2 below depict the welfare benefits earned by a single parent with two children under five years of age. The most common welfare programs (TANF, SNAP, EITC, WIC, Medicaid, and Section 8 Housing Vouchers) were chosen to portray the benefit drop‐off as household incomes increase. The two counties in question, Los Angeles County, California, and Wake County, North Carolina, have very different eligibility rules for various programs leading to differing marginal tax rates in the two jurisdictions. Yet, both show a sizable barrier to leaving welfare for work.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Former FCC Officials Warn About 5G Cybersecurity Risks
Opposition to 5G deployment and activation is worldwide due to various risks associated with it. This has limited, slowed, and/or stopped deployment in numerous locations including airports in the U.S. (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) and India due to interference issues with aviation equipment. Of course, cybersecurity risks have been an ongoing concern as well.
From Gov Tech:
New Network, New Risks: Former FCC Officials Talk Securing 5G
During a recent Brookings Institution event, a former FCC chair and a former chief of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau said that features that make 5G compelling also create different kinds of cybersecurity risks to address.
The federal government needs to take a stronger approach to driving 5G cybersecurity nationwide — and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is well-positioned to do it, according to two former high-level FCC members.
David Simpson, former chief of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, and Tom Wheeler, former FCC chair, presented a report to The Brookings Institution last week in which they said that many of the useful features that make 5G different from previous generations of networks also lead to a new set of cyber risks to be addressed.
Getting on top of these risks means moving away from voluntary approaches to 5G cybersecurity, they add, because just one entity’s lax security practices can put others at risk.
“The interconnected nature of the Internet creates a ‘whole of the network’ reality where the actions or inactions of one network provider can affect other networks,” their report states.
Wheeler and Simpson urged the federal government to provide a mix of carrot-and-stick efforts to prompt change, such as by subsidizing the costs of adopting better cyber behaviors while penalizing negligence.
HEALTH
Updated Boosters OK’d for Babies With Zero Data
In mid-June 2022, the United States became the first country in the world to grant emergency use authorization (EUA) for COVID jabs for toddlers as young as 6 months. December 8, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the updated bivalent COVID boosters for this age group as well
The reformulated bivalent shots were authorized for adults, based on antibody levels in mice, just three months earlier. The FDA has zero data on its use in babies. Initial data is not expected until January 2023, yet they authorized the shot for babies anyway
The COVID shots are the most dangerous medical intervention ever released. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show nearly 30% of V-Safe participants aged 12 to 17 were unable to perform daily activities after the second dose, and nearly 20% were unable to attend school or work after the booster
How can the FDA rationalize a bivalent booster for babies based on data showing 2 out of 10 tweens and teens get so incapacitated they cannot attend school?
The FDA and CDC aren’t the only ones at fault. The U.S. Congress has, over the past 30 years, slowly but surely paved the way for legalized tyranny and genocide. What used to be crimes are no longer, and the FDA is actually part of the group of agencies that run the U.S. bioterrorism program
Another Lie: ‘Information Disorder’ and How to Resist
The phrase “information disorder” frames independent thinking as a “national security issue” and a psychiatric diagnosis
According to an insane 2020 “study” out of Nepal, sufferers from information disorder syndrome “need psycho-social counseling and sometimes require strong regulations and enforcement to control such information disorder”
Astoundingly, another study from Australia from 2022 attributes vaccine injury to the harms of “misinformation,” alleging that it is misinformation-caused fear that causes injury
When there is so much gaslighting and bullying around, it can be hard to even think about healing; however, the trick is to be patient and to insist on removing pain even under pressure
Praying from our hearts, like unsophisticated children, can guide us when we feel like there is just too much to handle
Rocket Fuel Compound Found in Diabetes Medication
N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) has been found in metformin, a drug used to treat diabetes. NDMA has also been found in blood pressure medication and Zantac, an OTC drug that treats stomach issues
Zantac contamination may have started in 2012 when the process produced NDMA as a byproduct to improve manufacturing efficiency
Metformin prescriptions increased from 59 million in 2007 to 78.6 million in 2017, one indication of the rising number using medication to control diabetes
Simple lifestyle changes can improve your health and reduce your dependence on drugs
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Thousands without power after magnitude 6.4 earthquake shakes Northern California early Tuesday
The earthquake was centered about 7.5 miles west-southwest of Ferndale at 2:34 a.m. PST. Humboldt County officials said widespread damage to roads and homes had been reported throughout the county.
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
Get Cracking! 5 Top Tips for How to Preserve Eggs
Too many fresh eggs in warmer months, but too few in winter? It’s time to learn how to preserve eggs. Here are 5 simple methods.
“An Easy, DIY Natural Fungicide for Plants”
Use this homemade natural fungicide for plants to treat powdery mildew and other fungal issues around the garden.
COVID RELATED NEWS
White House Can’t Mandate COVID Jabs for Federal Contractors: Appeals Court
A federal appeals court on Monday struck down a White House rule requiring anyone employed by a federal contractor to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of government contracts.
A three-panel judge of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to affirm a lower court judgment that barred President Joe Biden’s September 2021 executive order in three states after Louisiana, Indiana, and Mississippi sued to challenge the rule.
These three states sued the Biden administration in the Western District of Louisiana in their capacities as federal contractors themselves, winning an injunction and stay by the district court.
In upholding the lower court finding, Judge Kurt Engelhardt, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, said in his majority opinion (pdf) that a broad interpretation of the law could have given Biden “nearly unlimited authority to introduce requirements into federal contracts.”
He illustrated his point by saying that Biden could “hypothetically” mandate that all third-party federal contractors’ employees reduce their BMI (body mass index) below a certain number based “on the theory that obesity is a primary contributor to unhealthiness and absenteeism.”
FDA study links COVID-19 vaccine to blood clotting
A new study by the Food and Drug Administration confirms the concerns of many physicians worldwide of a link between blood clots and the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
The researchers examined data covering 17.4 million elderly Americans who had received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. They found that the incidents of pulmonary embolism, or blood clotting in the lungs, met the initial safety signal, meaning further investigation is warranted, the Epoch Times reported.
Judge Approves $10 Million Settlement for Health Care Workers Fired Over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
A U.S. judge approved a multimillion-dollar settlement on Dec. 19 for workers who were fired by an Illinois health care system for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
About 500 workers who were terminated or, after seeing their exemption requests denied, got a COVID-19 vaccine, will receive compensation as part of the $10.3 million settlement, a preliminary version of which was first announced in July.
U.S. District Judge John Kness, a Trump appointee overseeing the lawsuit brought by the workers, issued verbal approval for the settlement during a hearing, lawyers for Liberty Counsel and NorthShore University Healthsystem said. Kness plans to release a written judgment in the next week.
In a brief statement emailed to The Epoch Times after Kness’s approval, NorthShore wrote, “We are pleased with the Court’s approval of a supportive resolution to this matter and continue to prioritize the health and safety of our patients and team members.”
Harry Mihet, vice president of legal affairs for Liberty Counsel, said in a statement that the group was “pleased to finally get the court’s final approval of this classwide settlement for these health care workers who were unlawfully discriminated against and denied religious exemptions from the COVID shot mandate.”
“This case should set a precedent for other employers who have violated the law by denying religious exemptions for their employees,” he said.
Biden to Sign Defense Funding Bill, Ending Military’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate: White House
President Joe Biden will sign the $858 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this week, even though the measure ends the U.S. military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, the White House said.
“He’s going to sign that later this week,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Dec. 19 in Washington.
The White House had kept open the possibility of a veto because of the budget bill’s inclusion of the forced termination of the military’s vaccine mandate, which the president opposed.
The bill “has some provisions we support and some we do not,” Jean-Pierre said. “Clearly, the president was opposed to rolling back the vaccine mandate but we saw that Republicans in Congress decided that they’d rather fight against the health and well-being of the troops than protecting them.”
She claimed that the vaccine mandate was protecting troops, even though many experts have acknowledged that the vaccines don’t stop transmission, provide little protection against infection, and have a waning effect on severe illness. Mandate critics have also noted that young, healthy people—the bulk of the military—face little risk from COVID-19.
It isn’t clear when the president will sign the bill, which was passed by bipartisan majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate in recent weeks. The NDAA for fiscal year 2023 states that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the Biden appointee who imposed the vaccine mandate in 2021, must repeal the policy within 30 days of Biden’s signature.
FDA Waited Months to Alert Public to Possible COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Issues, Researchers Disclose
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first identified possible issues with the most-used COVID-19 vaccine in early 2021 but waited months to disclose the discovery to the public, a new publication revealed.
FDA researchers saw safety signals for two serious conditions among elderly persons following vaccination with Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine on Feb. 27, 2021, the researchers disclosed in a new study. The conditions were a lack of oxygen to the heart, or myocardial infarction, and a separate heart condition known as pulmonary embolism.
What Is Long COVID Really Like?
The Main Cause of Long COVID Might Be Inflammation
Clinicians have yet to settle on the cause of long COVID. The disease is complicated and systemic; patients often present with a cluster of symptoms.
Specialists are familiar with and trained in different fields, bringing varied perspectives to the discussion about long COVID.
At the molecular level, studies point to remnant viral spike protein (1, 2) contributing to long COVID. The spike protein sits on the surface of COVID-19 viruses and binds to cell receptors such as angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to help the virus infect the cell.
Though the virus can persist in the body— a study led by Dr. Sabine Hazan, gastroenterologist and CEO of Progenabiome, found the whole genetic sequence of the virus present in the stools up to a month after infection—the spike protein seems to persist for even longer.
A study led by pathologist Dr. Bruce Patterson, founder and CEO of the molecular diagnostic company Incelldx, found spike protein in the immune cells of long COVID patients 15 months after infection.
The spike protein contributes to various pathologies, such as inflammation (1, 2, 3).
Patterson and internal medicine physician Dr. Jessica Peatross hypothesize that a significant driver behind long COVID is inflammation of the inner lining of the blood vessels, also known as endotheliitis.
Spike proteins have been shown to cause damage to endothelial cells. Endothelial cells form the inner lining of all blood vessels; damage to these cells elevates the risk of systemic disease. Endothelial damage is believed to be the primary driver of severe COVID.
Patterson’s study also found the spike proteins were located in monocyte cells that patrol blood vessels as part of their function. When inflamed, monocytes can adhere to blood vessel walls and cause systemic blood vessel inflammation and damage (1, 2).
Spike protein could also be a reason behind the neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms in long COVID patients.
While the SARS-CoV-2 virus is too big to cross the blood-brain barrier that protects the brain from toxins in the blood, spike protein is small enough to cross. A study showed that the spike protein could cross the barrier in mice’s brains. A laboratory study tested spike protein using human cells on an artificially made blood-brain barrier. Researchers found that the protein could disrupt the barrier, perhaps compromising its ability to block out toxins.
With long COVID, other changes are occurring in the body.
Hazan said that she would find COVID-19 RNA in the stools of long COVID patients who tested at her laboratory. The microflora of these patients were also in a state of imbalance, also known as dysbiosis.
Gut dysbiosis can cause a leaky gut: the gut barrier becomes compromised, and the gut bacteria can cross the barrier into the body and its fluids. Though the gut can tolerate hosting billions of foreign organisms, other areas of the body recognize them as foreign invaders.
This causes immune cells to mount an attack against these bacteria, leading to inflammation.
“The virus itself is not an autoimmune disease, but triggers autoimmune inflammation,” said psychiatrist Dr. Adonis Sfera, “in which the body attacks itself.”
Current Ways to Diagnose Long COVID
How Long Haulers Are Describing Their Symptoms
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has listed 19 symptoms commonly reported with long COVID. However, in a 2020 study that surveyed over 3,700 long COVID patients, participants reported more than 200 different symptoms related to long COVID.
Common symptoms include fatigue, brain fog, shortness of breath, and rapid heart rate.
“When you get people talking about brain fog, then you think of long COVID,” said critical care specialist Dr. Paul Marik.
Yet Mary Lee, who has been suffering from long COVID since Dec. 2021, said that words such as “fatigue” and “brain fog” do not adequately describe her physical tribulations.
Fatigue
Cognitive Problems
Muscle Weakness and Pain
Shortness of Breath and Tachycardia
Mental Health
CANCEL CULTURE
Majority Vote ‘Yes’ for Elon Musk to Step Down as Head of Twitter
Expectations are building that Elon Musk will step down as CEO of Twitter after a poll that he launched and vowed to “abide by” showed a majority of respondents voting “yes” to his departure from the helm of the social media giant.
Musk posted the poll on Dec. 18, asking whether he should step down as head of the company less than two months after he bought the platform, pledging that he’d abide by its results.
At the time, he didn’t say when he’d leave the post if the poll showed that he should, while replying to one Twitter user’s comment on a possible change at the helm of the social media giant that, “There is no successor.”
The poll closed at about 6:20 a.m. New York time on Dec. 19, with the final tally showing that 57.5 percent voted in favor of Musk’s departure.
GOOD NEWS
Veteran Wins $25K for Life Lottery Six Times, Plans to Buy Motorcycle
A Vietnam-era veteran in Fall River, Massachusetts, who has been playing the same lottery numbers for years was shocked when the unthinkable happened.
Raymond Roberts Sr. recently won the state’s lottery game known as Lucky for Life, Fox 29 reported Monday.
The game awards winners $25,000 a year for a minimum 20 years. However, Roberts won six times in one drawing thanks to his idea to buy six tickets bearing the same numbers that are made up of anniversary dates and birthdays.
Following his big win, Roberts “claimed his prizes Thursday, December 15 at Massachusetts State Lottery headquarters in Dorchester,” the Massachusetts Lottery said in a news release Friday.
“He chose the $390,000 cash option on five of his prizes for a total of $1,950,000 (before taxes). Choosing the annuity option for one of his prizes, he received the first of a minimum of 20 annual payments of $25,000 (before taxes). He plans on using a portion of his winnings to buy a motorcycle,” the release continued.
The winning tickets were bought at Royal Liquors in Fall River and the store will get $30,000 in bonuses for selling them.
In January, a veteran from Cornelius, North Carolina, won $4 million playing the lottery thanks to numbers found inside a fortune cookie, Breitbart News reported.
“I don’t usually play my fortune cookie numbers but I tried them on a whim,” Gabriel Fierro told reporters.
Following the win, “I got an email in the morning and I just stared at it dumbfounded,” Fierro recalled, adding, “I took it and showed it to my wife and she thought it was an April Fool’s joke or maybe a scam.”
But when the two realized it was real, Fierro said, “We started running around the house screaming like a bunch of banshees.”
More recently, a woman in Louisville, Kentucky, won $175,000 thanks to a scratch-off lottery ticket she got during a company holiday party, according to Breitbart News.
“I couldn’t believe it. It was a twenty-five-dollar gift exchange, and I won one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars!” Lori Janes said.
More Stories
Today’s News: April 26, 2024
Today’s News: April 25, 2024
Today’s News: April 24, 2024