WORLD NEWS
At least 14 people were killed and 25 others injured when a student opened fire on Thursday at a university in Prague — where harrowing images captured young people huddled on the scaffolding of a building as they sought cover from the gunman, officials said.
Authorities responded to the shooting — the Czech Republic’s deadliest mass shooting — around 3 p.m. local time at Charles University’s Faculty of Arts building near the Czech Republic capital’s Old Town, which is a popular tourist destination, the Prague police said.
The suspect — who hasn’t been identified by police but was named in local media as 24-year-old David Kozák — also died in what authorities believe was likely a suicide.
Police gave no details about the victims or a possible motive for the country’s worst-ever mass shooting, however, Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said there is no suspected link to any extremist ideology or groups.
Investigators believe the gunman also killed his father earlier Thursday in his hometown of Hostoun, just west of Prague.
Ukraine Votes to Legalise Marijuana to ‘Help Ease Stress From the War With Russia’
Ukraine´s parliament voted Tuesday to legalize medical marijuana, after the war with Russia left thousands of people with post-traumatic stress disorder that many believe could be eased by the drug.
The new law, which will come into effect in six months´ time and which also allows cannabis to be used for scientific and industrial ends, passed by 248 votes in the 401-seat parliament in Kyiv. A full breakdown of the vote wasn’t immediately available. The law was proposed by Prime Minister Denys Smyhal.
The possible legalization of medical marijuana has long been debated in Ukraine. Many people argued in favor of the benefits the treatment can bring, while others feared legalizing medical marijuana would lead to an influx of drugs on the streets of Ukrainian cities.
China’s Plan To Build Global Technocracy Using Artificial Intelligence
This 12,000-word tome is straight from the official Chinese website, and it gives marching orders to every corner of the country to use AI to implement Technocracy in China and beyond: Smart Cities, Smart Agriculture, Smart Society, Smart Manufacturing, Smart Healthcare, Smart Economy, Smart Robots, Smart Transportation, Smart IoT, Smart Finance, Smart Logistics, Smart Homes, Smart Education, Smart Government, Smart Courts, and more.
This is a cradle-to-grave, a-to-z recipe for scientific dictatorship, a.k .a. technocracy. China has long abandoned Communism in favor of Technocracy. ⁃ TN Editor
China Gloats over ‘Chaotic’ Trump Colorado Ruling: Using the Law as a ‘Political Weapon’
China’s Global Times state propaganda outlet in commentary on Wednesday decried America’s allegedly “chaotic judicial system” and the use of the law “as a political weapon” while addressing the Colorado Supreme Court ruling to remove former President Donald Trump from the 2024 presidential primary ballot.
In a controversial ruling likely to make its way to the federal Supreme Court, Colorado’s top judicial entity declared on Tuesday that Trump was not legally allowed to run for president again on the grounds that he had “engaged in insurrection” for remarks made prior to the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. The court applied a never-before-used provision of the Fourteenth Amendment to make its conclusion, leading many to question the legal logic of the ruling, particularly given that Trump has not been indicted on insurrection grounds, charged with sedition, or otherwise legally accused of any relevant criminal activity.
Ex-Supreme Court Clerk Issues Warning After Trump Ruling
A former U.S. Supreme Court law clerk claimed Wednesday that the high court will likely rule against the Colorado Supreme Court decision to bar former President Donald Trump from appearing on the state’s 2024 ballots.
Earlier this week, the Colorado high court ruled that the former president is disqualified from being on the ballot in the state because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach. The 4–3 ruling, which is based on a reading of a provision in the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, is likely to be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court, some analysts have noted.
The ruling applies only to Colorado’s March 5 Republican primary but it could affect President Trump’s status in the state for the Nov. 5 general election. Nonpartisan U.S. election forecasters view Colorado as safely Democratic, meaning that President Joe Biden will likely carry the state regardless of President Trump’s fate there.
UK Supreme Court Rules AI Cannot be Named as an Inventor in Patent Disputes
In a landmark decision, the UK’s highest court has upheld previous legal rulings that AI-powered machines cannot be listed as inventors on patent applications.
CNBC reports that the ruling stems from a case that has been in the legal system for five years, brought by Stephen Thaler, who sought to list his AI tool “DABUS” as the inventor of two products for which he filed patent applications. Thaler argued that the patents were derived from his ownership of DABUS, a stance that challenged traditional interpretations of inventorship in patent law.
Initially, the UK Intellectual Property Office denied his applications, citing patent stipulations that require a human inventor. Thaler appealed this decision, arguing that he met all requirements of the 1977 patent legislation. His appeals were heard in the UK’s High Court and Court of Appeal, both of which upheld the initial decision.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is calling on President Joe Biden to take executive action to stop the ongoing inflow of illegal immigration at the United States-Mexico border.
According to a letter reviewed by Axios, Johnson tells Biden he must use his executive authority over immigration to stem the flow of illegal aliens that are arriving in waves at the border and have crippled Border Patrol resources.
Rise in women facing domestic abuse at Christmas, English charities report
Calls and contacts to helplines remain higher than pre-pandemic, compounded by cost of living crisis
Rising numbers of women are experiencing domestic abuse at Christmas, with calls to helplines still higher than pre-pandemic levels due to the cost of living crisis.
Refuge, the leading support service in England, said calls and contacts to the national domestic abuse helpline in 2023 were still far higher than pre-pandemic, with 171,490 calls in the year ending March 2023.
The charity is warning that Christmas, when there are always more incidents of domestic abuse, presents specific challenges such as social isolation and increased costs that are compounded by the cost of living crisis.
Refuge’s Sarah Berry-Valentine said: “Demand for Refuge’s national domestic abuse helpline increased by a staggering 61% between April 2020 and February 2021, and recent data published by the Office for National Statistics shows that this demand has remained alarmingly high, with it still surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
This is Why A War Between The United States And China Is Inevitable
One of the biggest bombshells of the entire year just dropped, but now it has almost entirely disappeared from the news cycle. NBC News is reporting that during their recent summit meeting in San Francisco, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Joe Biden to his face that a decision has been made to “reunify Taiwan with China” one way or the other. Normally the Chinese keep their cards very close to the vest, and so this was a very unusual move. My guess is that the Chinese wanted to see how Biden would respond to such a direct statement. Xi Jinping expressed his desire to take over Taiwan peacefully if possible, but we all know that isn’t going to happen. So war is coming, and the only thing that needs to be decided now is the timing…
Chinese President Xi Jinping bluntly told President Joe Biden during their recent summit in San Francisco that Beijing will reunify Taiwan with mainland China but that the timing has not yet been decided, according to three current and former U.S. officials.
Xi told Biden in a group meeting attended by a dozen American and Chinese officials that China’s preference is to take Taiwan peacefully, not by force, the officials said.
The Chinese leader also referenced public predictions by U.S. military leaders who say that Xi plans to take Taiwan in 2025 or 2027, telling Biden that they were wrong because he has not set a time frame, according to the two current and one former official briefed on the meeting.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Biden-Harris 2024 Campaign Likens Trump to Hitler
President Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign accused former President Donald Trump of “parroting” Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, likening statements of the two in a highly inflammatory social media post Wednesday featuring images of both side by side.
The official Biden-Harris rapid response X (formerly Twitter) account posted the graphic, which compares statements of Hitler with Trump’s, along with the caption “Trump parrots Hitler.”
Local government corruption is a major problem in America. Cities and counties have amassed excessive power over the private sector through permitting, licensing, zoning, and other bureaucratic approval processes. The politicians and officials who gain discretionary authority within these processes are empowered to shakedown individuals and businesses for bribes.
You see similar patterns of corruption with marijuana licenses, alcohol licenses, gun licenses, zoning adjustments, housing tax credits, building permits, and other approvals that governments keep in limited supply or that specific politicians or officials can slow‐walk or deny.
The Department of Justice recently busted a powerful Los Angeles politician who for years lined his pockets using his discretionary power over development projects:
Former Los Angeles City Councilmember José Huizar pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for using his powerful position at City Hall to enrich himself and his associates, and for cheating on his taxes.
… In his plea agreement, Huizar admitted to leading the CD-14 Enterprise, which operated as a pay‐to‐play scheme in which Huizar – assisted by others – unlawfully used his office to give favorable treatment to real estate developers who financed and facilitated bribes and other illicit financial benefits.
Specifically, Huizar and other city officials demanded and accepted cash bribes, casino gambling chips, prostitution and escort services, political contributions, flights on private jets and commercial airlines, stays at luxury hotels and casinos, expensive meals, tickets to concerts and sporting events, and other benefits.
Huizar also admitted to accepting a $600,000 bribe in the form of collateral from a billionaire real estate developer for Huizar to confidentially settle a pending sexual harassment lawsuit against Huizar by a former staffer.
Local government corruption is prevalent across the nation, as the following examples illustrate. The common elements are excessive regulatory control over private activities, slow and nontransparent bureaucracies, and discretionary power over approvals provided to individual politicians and officials.
IRS Warns Seniors of Penalties for Not Taking Required Withdrawals From Retirement Plans
The tax agency’s warning applies to people born before 1951, who face possible penalties if they don’t take minimum distributions from their retirement plans.
Newly Disclosed Documents Reveal Why Biden Admin Raided Giuliani’s Home
Rudy Giuliani may have tried instituting the removal of U.S. ambassador to Ukraine for financial compensation, the documents say.
U.S. agents executed a search warrant at the home and office of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani because they believed his attempts to convince then-President Donald Trump to remove the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine stemmed partly from possible financial compensation, according to documents made public on Dec. 19.
Mr. Giuliani, who also represented President Trump at the time, and his associate Lev Parnas worked to remove U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch in 2019.
“Based on my review of materials obtained from the prior search warrant returns, I have learned that Giuliani invited [redacted] to participate … with what appears to be the expectation that in exchange for Giuliani and Parnas’s efforts to remove Ambassador [redacted] from her post, [redacted] would reward [redacted] and Giuliani with a several-hundred thousand dollar retainer agreement,” an FBI agent wrote to a federal court in an application for the search warrant.
Joe Biden Pressured Merrick Garland to Prosecute Donald Trump, Resurfaced NYT Report Says
President Joe Biden pressured Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 to prosecute former President Donald Trump, a resurfaced New York Times report says.
The report, which reemerged Thursday on X, appears to be attracting attention because of the recent legal attacks against Trump:
- Colorado – Prohibiting Trump from Colorado’s 2024 primary ballot
- New York – “Stormy Daniels” (state)
- Miami – “Documents” (federal)
- Washington, D.C. – “January 6” (federal)
- Fulton County, Georgia (state)
Times reporters Katie Benner, Katie Rogers, and Michael S. Schmidt published an article on April 2, 2022, about Biden’s frustration with Garland about the lack of prosecution against Trump, according to two people familiar with Biden’s comments.
“The attorney general’s deliberative approach has come to frustrate Democratic allies of the White House and, at times, President Biden himself,” the Times reported. “As recently as late last year, Mr. Biden confided to his inner circle that he believed former President Donald J. Trump was a threat to democracy and should be prosecuted, according to two people familiar with his comments.”
Rudy Giuliani Ordered to Pay Former Election Workers Immediately After Defamation Lawsuit
Former New York mayor faces setback as judge backs two former Georgia election workers’ fears they will not get payout.
A federal judge has ruled that former N
ew York City mayor Rudy Giuliani must immediately begin paying the $148 million to two former Georgia election workers who sued him for defamation.
In a ruling handed down on Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell sided with a request from the two workers, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shay” Moss, who had argued that Mr. Giuliani did not have the financial means to pay them after a 30-day stay on the payouts was lifted.
Mr. Giuliani, who served as President Donald Trump’s legal adviser in 2020, is reportedly facing financial troubles.
Giuliani files for bankruptcy after judge rules Georgia election workers can collect $148m
Former New York mayor submitted filing after judge ruled workers who sued for defamation could immediately collect their damages
Rudy Giuliani has filed for bankruptcy after two election workers sued him for defamation and won $148.1m in damages.
One expert said the move would probably not mean Giuliani had a “clean slate over the damages”, though it was likely to make recovering them a “long road” for the election workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss.
Court documents show Giuliani, Donald Trump’s former attorney and former mayor of New York, on Thursday filed for bankruptcy protection in New York’s southern district court.
On Wednesday, a Washington DC judge allowed the two Georgia election workers who successfully sued Giuliani to immediately collect their millions in damages.
Number of Homeless Veterans Rose Over 7% in Last Year — Highest Jump Ever Tracked
The number of homeless veterans rose more than seven percent from 2022 to 2023 — the largest yearly jump since the government began tracking the metric more than a decade ago, according to a recently-released government study.
The study from the Department of Housing and Urban Development showed an increase of more than 2,400 veterans without stable housing in the past year over the prior year, bringing the total of homeless veterans to 35,574.
Police fatally shoot Black woman who called 911 for domestic violence
A Los Angeles county sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a 27-year-old woman who had called 911 to report that she was under attack by a former boyfriend, police officials and lawyers for the victim’s family said on Thursday. Records show the deputy had killed another person in similar circumstances three years ago.
On 4 December, Niani Finlayson called police and “reported that her boyfriend would not leave her alone and then screaming and sounds of a struggle could be heard”, the LA sheriff’s department (LASD) said in a statement. When deputies arrived at the apartment in Lancaster, a city in the northern region of LA county, they could hear screaming, LASD said.
Finlayson was inside with her nine-year-old daughter and had been injured by her ex-boyfriend and wanted him removed, her family’s attorneys said. The exact circumstances that led to the fatal shooting are unclear and LASD has so far declined to release body-camera footage.
LASD alleged in a statement that Finlayson had a knife and was threatening her boyfriend, at which point deputy Ty Shelton opened fire. The family disputed the police account, saying Finlayson was clearly a victim of domestic violence who needed help and posed no threat to the officers. The coroner said she died from “multiple gunshot wounds”.
The RNC’s Latest Cash-on-Hand Numbers Are a Catastrophe, and Republicans Can’t Sit on Their Hands
The mere mention of the Republican National Committee to anyone on the right is bound to elicit a variety of emotions. Early in the year, a contentious battle over who would chair the organization transpired, with Ronna McDaniel ultimately being re-elected to the position a fourth time.
Since then, questions about the RNC’s effectiveness have abounded. During the 2023 election, reports emerged that the Virginia Republican Party asked for help and were denied. McDaniel responded by saying that because the RNC is a federal committee, it couldn’t be expected to participate in state races. Given all races ultimately happen at the state level, I’m not sure how convincing that excuse was.
Whoever is to blame, Republicans certainly missed some opportunities due to a lack of resources, being outspent in every single major race except in Mississippi’s gubernatorial contest (and that was almost evenly split).
Report: There Is Another Case of Capitol Sex Videos, This Time in the House
There’s a new report that there was a separate case of sex videos at the Capitol, this time in the House of Representatives.
According to Semafor, the videos circulated on Snapchat last year. Semafor viewed the videos and was able to determine that they were taken in the House.
One of the videos, watched by Semafor, featured a man masturbating inside a House office building, which was identifiable by standard Capitol House furniture and carpeting. The desk at which the videographer performed also held a branded congressional mouse pad. A screenshot of a second video obtained by Semafor shows two men engaged in a sex act in an office setting. The participants’ faces are not visible in any of the material viewed by Semafor.
Semafor said that a spokesperson for Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) confirmed that there were reports of “purported, unbecoming behavior” by one of their staffers. But the spokesperson said there was “no conclusive evidence” that it was the staffer. The spokesperson said their office “immediately contacted the appropriate House entities to conduct an independent investigation.”
The staffer has denied the allegations, and said he was told that the investigation ended with “no evidence to the allegation.” He left the job, he says, on good terms in the fall of 2022, to take another job.
So that raises the question of what was the result of the investigation by the powers that be. Is that the Capitol Police? The report doesn’t say, but that seems likely. Why didn’t we hear about it before? What did they find out when they investigated? If it wasn’t Newhouse’s staffer, who was it and is he still working in the Capitol?
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Study: Elon Musk’s Tesla Has the Highest Accident Rate Among Auto Brands
A recent analysis by LendingTree has revealed that Tesla drivers are more prone to accidents than drivers of any other car brand in America.
Forbes reports that the study, encompassing data from 30 car brands, found Tesla at the most accident prone with 23.54 accidents per 1,000 drivers, surpassing other brands like Ram and Subaru. The study did not delve into the reasons behind these incidents, focusing on the numbers of accidents per vehicle brand. However, this finding coincides with a significant recall by Tesla involving over 2 million vehicles in the United States, addressing safety concerns in its Autopilot software, particularly the Autosteer feature.
Breitbart News reported last week:
While Tesla’s Autopilot system is meant to keep the vehicle in its lane, drivers are nonetheless instructed to keep their hands on the steering wheel at all times while observing road conditions and traffic.
But research shows drivers using Autopilot look away from the road more often, and that many of them believe their cars drive themselves which can lead to road accidents.
The Department of Justice launched a criminal investigation, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reviewed hundreds crashes where Autopilot was reportedly engaged, focusing particularly on accidents involving frontal collisions and unintended disengagement issues.
Honda recalls 2.5 million vehicles for fuel pump issue: Here’s which models are affected
\More than 2 million Honda vehicles of various makes models have been recalled following an issue with the fuel pump that could increase the risk of engines not starting or stalling while driving.
According to the recall notice from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail, which could cause an engine stall while drive and increase the risk of a crash. Honda dealerships will replace the fuel pump module free of charge, and owner notification letters are expected to be mailed Feb. 5, 2024.
Has the American Dream of Home Ownership Been Eclipsed by Renting?
In 1995, President Bill Clinton released his National Homeownership Strategy, a lengthy, 100-point plan with the eventual goal to “boost homeownership in America to an all-time high by the end of the century.” Eight years later, President George W. Bush looked at homeownership as a means of reducing racial inequality, signing the American Dream Downpayment Initiative to help first-time homebuyers land a home.
But that move brought us to the most catastrophic mortgage crisis in U.S. history, igniting the Great Recession of 2008–09, resulting in more than eight million home foreclosures. In the United States today, according to analysis by real estate services and investment firm CBRE, buying a home is now 52 percent more expensive than renting.
This type of economic reality is leading some to believe that renting has replaced home ownership, which has been one aspect of the American dream.
Home Affordability Remains Difficult Across U.S. During Fourth Quarter Even As Prices Dip Downward
ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property, and real estate data, today released its fourth-quarter 2023 U.S. Home Affordability Report showing that median-priced single-family homes and condos remain less affordable in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to historical averages in 99 percent of counties around the nation with enough data to analyze. The latest trend continues a pattern dating back to 2021 of home ownership requiring historically large portions of wages around the country.
Restaurant Owners Ditching Los Angeles over High Costs, Coronavirus Lockdown Impact
Restaurants are leaving Los Angeles, California, en masse due to business owners feeling disenfranchised following coronavirus lockdowns and high costs, a report released Wednesday showed.
A SFGATE report detailed multiple local restaurant owners who suffered so much financial loss that they had to shut down, with fine dining establishments and mom-and-pop shops suffering alike.
John Fetterman Leads Senators Demanding Joe Biden Save U.S. Steel from Foreign Acquisition
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is leading Senators in demanding President Joe Biden’s administration save the United States Steel Corporation from being bought by a foreign company.
As Breitbart News reported, executives with U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel Corporation announced the nearly $15 billion deal, which would have the iconic American steel giant sold off to the Japanese company.]
HEALTH
White House Confirms 230,000 Additional RSV Immunization Doses for Infants Next Month
Low infant death rates from RSV and concerns about the safety of treatment have cast doubts about the immunization drive.
The White House announced that 230,000 more doses of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunizations will be made available for infants in January.
“On Wednesday, senior Biden-Harris Administration officials met again with manufacturers of RSV immunizations including Sanofi and AstraZeneca and their partners. They discussed the need for manufacturers to work quickly to meet demand for dose availability through the commercial market this viral season. At the urging of the Administration, manufacturers confirmed that they will make available 230,000 additional doses of RSV immunizations for infants in January,” the White House said in a Dec. 14 statement.
Beyfortus, also called nirsevimab, is an RSV vaccine manufactured by Sanofi and AstraZeneca. The vaccine was approved in July this year.
Link Between the Gut and Skin Is Key Factor in Eczema: Report
Researchers have discovered a link between the gut and skin health that could be key to managing atopic dermatitis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease that affects about 10 percent of adults and 25 percent of children.
The new review of research, which was published in the International Journal of Molecular Science, suggests that changes in the microorganisms living in the gut can contribute to how severe the symptoms are for someone living with atopic dermatitis. The research team noted that environmental factors including allergens and pollution also make the skin condition worse, and noted that some people are simply more susceptible to the disease because of their genetics.
Gut-Skin Link
Studies, like the ones reviewed by this research team at the University of Sao Paulo and the Federal University de Sao Paulo, show that skin conditions like atopic dermatitis, acne, and psoriasis are often linked to imbalances in the gut, and are often triggered by gut inflammation.
Trillions of microorganisms make up the microbiota of our body. These include bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses. Most of the microbiota are helpful, though some can be harmful.
Typically, the microbiome works in harmony, especially when the body is healthy. If there is a disturbance in the microbiome, dysbiosis occurs, making the body more susceptible to disease.
In the review of research related to atopic dermatitis, the team determined that dysbiosis occurs in the microbiome of theses patients; specifically, individuals who have higher counts of specific bacteria, including Clostridium difficile, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus in their gut than healthy individuals.
Alternatively, atopic dermatitis patients have smaller bacteria counts of Bifidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Bacteroides when compared to people without atopic dermatitis. These types of bacteria are known as short-chain fatty acid producing bacteria. Short-chain fatty acid producing bacteria like environments rich in indigestible fibers. They hold a critical role in keeping a person healthy, scientists believe, by reducing inflammation and regulating immune response. Researchers believe that too little short-chain fatty acid bacteria can cause inflammation in the gut. This inflammation can reverberate throughout the body, including on the skin.
“Besides being responsible for 70 percent of immune system regularization, for maintaining skin barrier integrity and the structure of the gastrointestinal tract, and for controlling nutrient absorption and energy balance, the gut microbiome is directly connected to the skin via what’s known as the gut-skin axis,” said Sabri Saeed Sanabani, a researcher at the Institute of Tropical Medicine (IMT-USP) and last author of the article.
Efforts to correct gut imbalances may include taking probiotics or prebiotics, the research team noted. Additional therapeutic approaches to correct the gut-skin axis, including changes to the diet, can help ensure a person avoids allergens that trigger gut inflammation.
Power Mall Recommended Product: Living Streams Multi-Blend Liquid Probiotic
Trust in Pharma, Hospitals Plummets: Gallup Poll
Significantly less than half of respondents thought pharmaceutical companies provided good care, while little over half thought physicians did.
American trust in pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and other medical services is falling, according to results from a November Gallup poll.
Gallup’s 2023 Health and Healthcare Survey asked American health care consumers to rate their satisfaction with provider types within the medical system. Almost 70 percent of respondents did not believe pharmaceutical companies provided good care, and about 40 percent thought doctors did not provide good care. Nurses, however, earned most people’s favor.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Lawsuit: Amazon Hidden Camera Used to Secretly Capture Child Pornography
Amazon has come under fire for enabling perverts by selling hidden cameras disguised as mundane objects, a lawsuit complains.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of an underage Brazilian girl, accuses the company of being complicit in the case of her American foreign exchange host guardian allegedly recording her while naked, reports Fox News.
SURVEILLANCE STATE
Quiet, Please: New York’s ‘Noise Cameras’ Are Listening
New York City, not exactly known for its peace and quiet, is expanding its use of technology to ticket the drivers of loud cars and motorcycles.
New York City is known for its noise. A cacophony of sounds bombards residents every time they step outside — screeching subway cars, jackhammers drilling away, late-night revelers leaving bars and clubs.
Still, roughly 50,000 noise complaints are filed every year with the city’s Department of Environmental Protection by New Yorkers who have become fed up with the commotion, according to a department spokesman. Thousands of additional complaints are handled by other city agencies.
The noise generated by vehicles, including cars with modified mufflers, loud motorcycles and drivers who honk excessively, accounts for only a small fraction of the complaints the department receives, the spokesman said, but it’s the target of a new tool intended to turn down the city’s volume: noise cameras.
The cameras are activated when they record a sound louder than 85 decibels, which is about as loud as a lawn mower. And they are increasingly being used by the Department of Environmental Protection to ticket drivers, according to Rohit T. Aggarwala, the department’s commissioner.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Why is Mark Zuckerberg building a private apocalypse bunker in Hawaii?
Just below billionaires’ charity is an endless well of self-preservation. Their desperate planning for the end betrays everything they spout about equality and progress
The rich can’t buy their way out of death, but they can certainly postpone it for a while. All of the pure food and expensive healthcare and personal trainers that money can buy do indeed keep the wealthy breathing longer, on average, than the rest of us. Yet it is not death itself that is the great equalizer; it is the fear of death. That is the thing that the highest piles of money cannot safeguard against.
The futility of all of those meticulous attempts to maximize lifespan is revealed by death’s approach. Much of the behavior of the world’s wealthiest people can be understood as a pitiful attempt to stave off something that is unstoppable, like a person throwing their hands up to stop an oncoming freight train. For all of us languishing in the masses of regular-folkdom, this is our consolation: we cannot match the world’s greatest fortunes, but we can take solace in the knowledge that they are being wasted on mankind’s oldest folly.
In 2015, the Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, one of the richest men on Earth, announced that he would be giving away the bulk of his wealth during his lifetime. One of the main goals of his charity, he wrote in a treacly public letter to his daughter, was “promoting equality”.
“Today we are robbed of the potential so many have to offer,” he declared. “The only way to achieve our full potential is to channel the talents, ideas and contributions of every person in the world.”
Now, in homage to this admirable ideal, Zuckerberg is offering the underprivileged residents of the Hawaiian island of Kauai the chance to live up to their full potential, to wit, “building a lavish ultraluxury compound where Mark Zuckerberg can hole up and survive the apocalypse while the hordes of normal people perish”.
As the journalist Guthrie Scrimgeour details in a staggering investigative story for Wired magazine, Zuckerberg has spent almost a decade buying up land on the island for the construction – now well under way – of a sprawling, 1,400-acre compound of mansions, treehouses and tunnels. The crown jewel of the $270m project is a 5,000-sq-ft underground shelter with “its own energy and food supplies” and “what appears to be a blast-resistant door”.
Odd, is it not, that a man whose primary concern is global equality would need a subterranean apocalypse shelter designed to seal him off from all of the (equal) people outside who would be, presumably, burning or starving or being eaten by the zombies? Wouldn’t Zuckerberg’s powerful passion for enhancing the future of all mankind compel him to fling open the armored doors to his compound and welcome in all of his fellow Hawaiian islanders, for whom he has the deepest concern and respect? Or, even simpler, compelled him to have spent the hundreds of millions of dollars that he spent on this tightly secured elitist fantasyland on something a bit more public-minded? I’m sure that his soaring, scenic parcel of land would make an excellent public park.
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
Build Your Own Simple Seed Starting Shelves
Each year I start several hundred vegetable, herb and flower seedlings. Almost all of them begin on the simple seed starting shelves my husband built over 15 years ago.
I wasn’t blogging then (I started that around five years ago), so I didn’t snap any photos. Heck, I didn’t even have a digital camera back then. Photos or no photos, these indoor planting shelves have served me well, and are fairly inexpensive to make.
2ND AMENDMENT
Federal Judge: California’s ‘Sensitive Places’ Limits on Concealed Carry Unconstitutional
On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Cormac J. Carney issued a preliminary injunction against California’s “sensitive places” law, noting that it is “openly defiant to the Supreme Court.”
On September 26, 2023, Breitbart News reported Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a “sensitive places” bill into law, expanding the number of gun-free zones in which licensed concealed carriers could not carry firearms for self-defense.
A lawsuit was filed against the new law. Plaintiffs in the case included a number of California concealed carry permit holders, the Second Amendment Foundation, and Gun Owners of America.
The plaintiffs sought “a preliminary injunction enjoining California from enforcing the challenged sensitive-place provisions, asserting that many of those restrictions violate their Second Amendment rights and deprive them of their ability to defend themselves and their loved ones in public.”
Judge Carney weighed the “sensitive places” law in light of Bruen’s (2022) demand that contemporary gun controls demonstrate historical precedent in America’s firearm tradition and found it lacking. He noted that California lawmakers relied on eccentric, exceptional laws to bolster their “sensitive places” ban instead of common tradition.
For example, in barring concealed carry permit holders from being armed for self-defense in casinos, stadiums, arenas, and amusement parks, California lawmakers pointed to “the 1786 Virginia terror in fair or markets law, the 1816 New Orleans ‘public ballroom’ weapon coat check law, the 1853 New Mexico law banning firearms at ‘Balls or Fandangos,’ and the 1882 New Orleans law regulating carry in theaters, public halls, places for shows or exhibitions, or other places of public entertainment or amusement.”
But Carney pointed out, “The Virginia ‘terror’ law and the nineteenth-century New Mexico and New Orleans laws do not reflect a well-established, representative historical tradition of preventing vetted and trained permitholders from carrying firearms for self-defense in casinos, stadiums, arenas, amusement parks, or similar locations.”
Regarding the “sensitive places” restriction on carrying a gun for self-defense in houses of worship, Carney said, “[California’s] government fails to present evidence of a history and tradition of prohibiting trained and vetted permitholders from carrying handguns for self-defense in places of worship where in this day and age they are increasingly likely to meet confrontation.”
Carney concluded, “CCW permitholders are not the gun wielders legislators should fear. … Indeed, CCW permitholders are not responsible for any of the mass shootings or horrific gun violence that has occurred in California.”
The controversial law was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September and was set to take effect on Jan. 1.
A controversial California law that would ban licensed gun holders from carrying their firearms in multiple locations across the state was temporarily blocked by a federal judge on Dec. 20, meaning the legislation will not go into full effect as planned next year.
Senate Bill 2 was part of a string of new gun restrictions introduced in California this year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen in June of 2022 that found a New York law requiring a license to carry a concealed weapon in public was unconstitutional and that carrying a pistol in public was a constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment.
Under California’s legislation, private citizens who hold concealed carry weapons permits would be prohibited from carrying concealed guns in 26 locations, including public parks and playgrounds, churches, banks, medical facilities, and any other privately owned commercial establishments that are open to the public.
Texas police say an alleged robber died when he crashed his getaway car into a bus after getting shot by the manager of the Dollar General store he tried to rob.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said that the robbery was reported to police at about 1:16 p.m. at the retail store at the 15000 block of Ella Boulevard.
The 30-year-old suspect walked into the store and threatened to shoot an employee while demanding that he open the store’s safe. That employee told him he did not know the code to the safe and called the manager of the store.
The manager came out with his own gun and allegedly shot the suspect twice.
COVID RELATED NEWS
New COVID Variant Could Be Linked to ‘White Lung’ Cases
Health Viewpoints
The new JN.1 variant of COVID-19 has been spreading rapidly around the world. Notably, mainland China has witnessed a surge in crowded children’s hospitals, reporting cases of “white lung syndrome” or “white lung” pneumonia and increased deaths since November. Similar occurrences were noted in the United States. Are they purely coincidental or is there a link between these two events?
Quickly Becoming a Global Trend
JN.1 was first detected in August. It has since been identified in 12 countries, including the United States.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the United States, JN.1 rose from less than 0.1 percent of SARS-CoV-2 circulating viruses at the end of October to 15–29 percent as of Dec. 8.
Chinese Scientists Make Inhalable Dry Powder COVID-19 Vaccine
The vaccine is a single-dose product that can ‘penetrate deeper and wider’ into the respiratory system.
Scientists from China have made an aerosol-based inhalable vaccine against COVID-19, which they claim provides “effective protection” against infection based on animal trials.
The study, published in the Nature journal on Dec. 13, involved researchers testing “an inhalable, single-dose, dry powder aerosol SARS-CoV-2 vaccine” that they developed. The vaccine uses nanoparticles and contains SARS-CoV-2 antigens, or substances that trigger the immune system to generate antibodies against it. Researchers designed the vaccine to target multiple COVID-19 lineages. The particles were one to four micrometers in size, optimized to be deposited in the deep lung region.
The vaccine was found to induce “strong production of IgG and IgA,” two types of antibodies. It also triggered a response from local T cells, a type of white blood cell that helps fight germs. Collectively, this conferred “effective protection” against COVID-19 among mice, hamsters, and nonhuman primates.
CANCEL CULTURE
The Associated Press With Resting Grinch Face – Now Your Holiday Flowers Are Racist!
They just cannot help themselves. This need by the press to dump on, diminish, or denigrate items in our culture that are collectively enjoyed persists to such a level that it might be a pathology. There must be courses in J-schools instructing this mindset — “How to Be Contrarian With Traditional Events and Holidays.” It has become both laughably predictable and desperate.
On the last “Lia-Able Sources” podcast, I covered how the Washington Post felt the need to disparage the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. (Hey, did you know this destructive act of defiance towards the crown was illegal and seditious???) Now, not to be left out of the parade precipitation, comes the Associated Press, where Morgan Lee decides to deliver a load of reindeer droppings on your doorstep to inform you just how you are a horrible person this holiday season:
Your Poinsettia Plants Are Racist!
I mean, for real — when you are delving this low by scrounging under the straw in a manger to find something objectionable about Christmas, you are in dire need of some high-test eggnog and a partner to greet under the mistletoe.
Just why is it that this plant that has been an American staple for about two centuries is, today, considered an intolerant display in your home or business? It all has to do with the contemporary practice of looking into the history of an item and finding elements of its formation that have no bearing at all on today’s activities, but are now declared disqualifying and in need of rectifying. It amounts to nothing more than select individuals wanting to feel superior by noting details from a bygone era that have zero relevance to what is currently taking place, all for the sake of lecturing and tapping a foot in a disapproving fashion.
The plant is named after the botanist Joel Roberts Poinsett, who discovered it while serving as US Minister to Mexico in 1828. It turns out that some elements of his past are deemed unsavory (by today’s repressed leftist standards), and this is cause for concern. You see the familiar language of the hectoring busy-body at play here, as Joel’s history is alternately described as “complicated,” “troubled,” and “checkered.”
Dukes of Hazzard actor John Schneider called for public hanging of Joe Biden
The deleted social media post, which also called for the execution of Hunter Biden, led some to wonder if Schneider could be charged
Actor John Schneider called for the executions of Joe Biden and the president’s son Hunter in a now-deleted social media post that drew ridicule and questions about whether he should be criminally charged.
Schneider, perhaps best known for his role as Bo Duke on the TV series Dukes of Hazzard as well as his recent runner-up finish on The Masked Singer, fired off the post on X at 2am local time on Thursday.
“Mr President, I believe you are guilty of treason and should be publicly hung,” Schneider wrote to Biden. “Your son too. Your response is..? Sincerely, John Schneider.”
The comment was a reply to a post from Biden which said Donald Trump – who is facing more than 90 criminal charges as he seeks a second presidency in 2024 – “poses many threats to our country”.
Review Finds Plagiarism in Work of Harvard University’s President
Christine Gay’s dissertation contains ‘duplicative language without appropriate attribution,’ university acknowledges.
Harvard University President Claudine Gay used “duplicative language” in her dissertation for a doctorate, the school stated this week.
Ms. Gay, 53, is requesting corrections to the dissertation, which was done in 1997, according to the Harvard Corporation.
Two of the corrections concern “duplicative language without appropriate attribution,” the corporation, a governing board that includes Ms. Gay, said in a statement to media outlets.
“President Gay will update her dissertation correcting these instances of inadequate citation,” the statement reads.
The university learned of allegations in October regarding three articles Ms. Gay wrote and initiated an independent review that revealed multiple instances of “inadequate citation,” the corporation stated on Dec. 12.
The results of the probe prompted Ms. Gay to ask for four corrections to two articles. The corrections would “insert citations and quotation marks that were omitted from the original publications,” according to the corporation.
PET NEWS
A couple inspecting an Alabama house for sale were dumbfounded to realize the previous owners had left their dog behind.
April Morgan and her fiancé, J. C. Billak, arrived at their potential new home on March 1 this year to discover the pit bull named Molly tied to a tree in the backyard. Thinking there must still be someone living in the home, they questioned the agent accompanying them but were told the property was definitely vacant.
A little while later, a neighbor came over and told them what had happened.
“The owners left over a month prior to the house being listed, and [the neighbor] had been taking care of Molly ever since,” Mr. Billak told The Epoch Times. “She said the old owners didn’t want Molly, and she was giving her food and water. We immediately looked at each other and said we’d take her.”
Later that day, after looking around the house, the couple made a full-price offer—adding a special message: they would take Molly. After a 30-day closing process, on April 1, they moved in, welcoming Molly into their family.
The 10-year-old dog now has a wonderful new life with Ms. Morgan and Mr. Billak plus their two other dogs and three cats. Thanks to their kind neighbor who had been feeding Molly, her weight was good, and she was in decent condition, the couple says. Due to her own pets, however, she wasn’t able to take Molly in.
GOOD NEWS
Man who spent 48 years in prison for murder formally declared innocent
Glynn Simmons, who served US’s longest wrongful imprisonment for a 1974 murder, wins rare ruling
The man who served the US’s longest wrongful imprisonment for a 1974 murder he has always denied committing has now won a rare ruling declaring him to be actually innocent of the crime.
Glynn Simmons’s murder conviction was dismissed in July after a judge in Oklahoma determined that prosecutors withheld some evidence in the case, including a police report that documented how a witness may have identified alternate suspects. The 71-year-old was freed from prison, and state prosecutors later said they would not retry him in the case because there was no longer any physical evidence.
Nonetheless, despite all of that, authorities had stopped short of formally recognizing that Simmons had not actually been involved in the killing that sent him away to prison for more than 48 years. The implication was that Simmons was considered wrongfully imprisoned because of serious violations of legal procedure rather than because he was innocent.
Couple Plant Christmas Tree in 1978—Now It’s 50 Feet Tall and Can Be Seen From Miles Around
A couple’s Christmas tree that they planted in 1978 now stands 50 feet tall and attracts thousands of people to their festive lights switch-on.
Avril and Christopher Rowlands paid 6 pounds ($7.60) for the fir, which they put in the garden of their new home in the pretty village of Inkberrow, Worcestershire, UK.
After enjoying their first Christmas in the house in 1978, the couple planted the tree in the front garden.
Over the years it has steadily grown, and it now towers over their four-bedroom detached property—measuring a whopping 50ft.
Each December the couple decorate their giant fir with thousands of fairy lights, which they switch on for the whole village to enjoy.
The tree is so tall a cherry picker is used to reach the top branches and add the star to the top.
When lit up, the tree is one of the brightest landmarks in Inkberrow—one of the UK’s darkest villages on account of there being no street lights.
Mrs. and Mr. Rowlands’s fir now attracts thousands of people who view their tree every December and it even stars in a new children’s book.
“It’s amazing to think that when we first bought the tree in 1978, we brought it home on the roof of my Mini,” said retired TV writer Mrs. Rowlands, 78, who penned the children’s book.
“We decided to plant the tree outside our window to mark our first Christmas in our new home.
“Since then the tree has just shot up and is now an unofficial landmark in the village.
“We love doing the Christmas lights. The tree can be seen from miles around on clear nights, and people flock to see it.
“It’s become something of a tradition for people in the village and beyond.
“It even inspired me to write a children’s book about the tree called ‘The Laxford House Christmas Tree.’
“It’s gone wild in the village. With the sale of the book, the tree has spanned generations in the village.”
ICYMI
Vin Diesel ‘categorically denies’ former assistant’s sexual battery accusations during ‘Fast Five’
Vin Diesel “categorically denies” his former assistant’s lawsuit in which she accuses the “Fast and Furious” star of sexual battery stemming from an alleged incident that took place in September 2010.
In a bombshell lawsuit, obtained Thursday by Vanity Fair, Diesel’s assistant Asta Jonasson claims the actor, whose real name is Mark Sinclair, invited her to his suite at the St. Regis hotel in Atlanta after coming back from the club with hostesses.
Once the other women left, Jonasson alleges that the “XXX” actor grabbed her by the wrists and pulled her onto the bed.
“Despite her pleas” to stop, Diesel, 56, allegedly proceeded to grope her breasts and kiss her chest.
Jonasson had recently graduated from a Los Angeles film school program and was hired to work for Diesel’s production company, One Race, while “Fast Five” was in production. Her job reportedly consisted of organizing parties, accompanying the “Pacifier” star to parties, and ensuring that she was in “close proximity” to him when he was photographed alongside other women who weren’t his longtime girlfriend.
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