WORLD NEWS
Death toll surpasses 5,000 after devastating earthquake rocks Turkey, Syria
The death toll in Turkey and Syria soared past 5,000 following a devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake and a series of violent aftershocks that jolted the region.
Scotland’s green-obsessed left-separatist government has been left with egg on its face by revelations that dozens of gigantic onshore wind turbines are having to be hooked up to diesel generators, leaking thousands of litres of hydraulic oil into the countryside.
Scottish Power — led by a Spaniard, Ignacio Galan, and actually a subsidiary of Spanish firm Iberdrola — conceded that some 71 of its turbines had to be hooked up to diesel generators to keep them warm in December, according to the Sunday Mail, with a whistleblower telling the left-leaning newspaper that problems with the turbines are deep-seated.
China: Shooting Down Spy Balloon an ‘Obvious Overreaction’; We May Shoot Down U.S. Aircraft
The Chinese Defense Ministry loudly protested America’s decision to shoot down a Chinese alleged espionage aircraft over the waters of South Carolina, claiming that taking action to stop the breach of U.S. airspace after the balloon had crossed the entire continental United States and Alaska was an “obvious overreaction.”
The Chinese Defense Ministry suggested it could take reciprocal action against American civilian aircraft, without elaborating.
Beijing Confirms That Balloon Spotted Over Latin America Is From China
Chinese authorities have confirmed that the balloon that was spotted over Latin America this past weekend is Chinese. Officials in Colombia confirmed a sighting of an airborne object similar to a balloon flying over its territory, in a statement on Saturday, Feb. 4.
According to the statement from the Colombian military, its air defense service detected the object, described as similar to a balloon, moving at a speed of 25 knots per hour entering the country’s northern airspace at an altitude of 55,000 feet. The Colombian Air Force mobilized to monitor the object until it exited the country’s airspace. The military determined that the object posed no threat to national security, defense, or air safety.
On Monday, Feb. 6, Chinese authorities confirmed that the balloon over Latin America was Chinese. “It has come to our attention that the vessel in question is from China,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning said at a press conference Monday.
Ning stated that the second balloon was being used for civilian flight testing. She claims that due to weather impact and limited navigation capabilities, the balloon significantly veered from its intended path.
Furthermore, she claimed that the aircraft had “accidentally entered Latin American and Caribbean airspace.” Speaking to journalists, Ning mentioned that the second balloon had “deviated greatly” from its course due to the aircraft’s “limited maneuverability.” She stated, “The unmanned airship in question that came from China is of a civilian nature and used for flight tests,” further adding, “China is a responsible country and has always strictly abided by international law in order to inform and properly deal with all parties concerned, without posing any threat to any country.”
Chinese Police Sold Organs From Executed Prisoners, Witness Says
It’s not uncommon to see someone breaking down in tears in hospitals. So when Guo Zhigong, who was being treated for aplastic anemia, tried to help a fellow patient who was crying, he didn’t expect to hear a story about China’s opaque organ transplant business.
The patient, in his 40s, was worried about a kidney transplant scheduled the next day in eastern China’s Qingdao city. The promised organ was from a prisoner due to be executed hours before the life-saving surgery. They had already undergone blood matches.
But what followed was another eye-opener: the family of the executed appeared to have no knowledge that a part of their loved one’s body had been sold by the police.
The patient’s wife was told to give cash gifts to the police, Gao recalled what the woman told him. The police, according to the woman’s recount, told the father of the executed prisoner that he didn’t have all the necessary documentation to recover the body. This was an excuse the police gave so that they could keep the body for their grisly business.
“Once they got the body, the organs were sold to hospitals,” Guo, who now lives in the UK, told The Epoch Times. “This is the source of the kidney.”
That incident occurred in the early 1990s, when there was no voluntary organ donation system in China. Most kidneys, livers, corneas, and other organs for transplantation were taken from executed prisoners, the regime admitted in 2005. Prior to that, the authorities denied that it stripped organs from executed inmates, a practice that has long been criticized by human rights groups given that prisoners lack the ability to provide free consent.
But abuses in China’s transplant industry do not end there. Over the past decade-and-a-half, detailed accounts from informants and extensive research papers have shown that organs have been removed even before prisoners died.
Thailand to BAN Pfizer After Thai Princess Falls Into a Coma Following Booster Jab
Just days after receiveing her covid booster jab, the daughter of the king of Thailand collapsed and fell into a coma.
Princess Bajrakitiyabha, who is the potential heir to the Thai throne, is in a grave condition weeks after she collapsed.
Some reports suggest she had suffered a heart attack though her family were told she likely suffered a bacterial infection. None the less, six weeks later and the princess is still in a coma and being kept alive by machines.
The Royal Family have now been alerted to the fact that the princess has most likely been a victim of the jab.
Officials Fear ‘Catastrophic’ Explosion After Major Train Derailment in Ohio
Residents in an Ohio village were urged to evacuate after a train derailed, causing a “catastrophic tanker failure” that could result in an explosion that may shoot shrapnel thousands of feet, officials said.
“Within the last two hours, a drastic temperature change has taken place in a rail car, and there is now the potential of a catastrophic tanker failure which could cause an explosion with the potential of deadly shrapnel traveling up to a mile,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement on Sunday that called on residents of the village of East Palestine to evacuate. The village is located in northeastern Ohio.
His statement did not specify what was in that car or whether it was among those that had been carrying hazardous materials. Federal investigators had announced earlier Sunday that a mechanical issue with a rail car axle caused the fiery derailment near the Pennsylvania state line Friday night.
Authorities urged anyone within a 1-mile radius of the site to leave immediately. Many had, but local officials indicated more than 500 residents had declined to evacuate, the statement said.
No injuries to crew, residents, or first responders have been reported so far. DeWine activated the National Guard and other personnel over fears of a possible explosion.
Mayor Trent Conaway, who declared a state of emergency in the village, told The Associated Press that one person was arrested for going around barricades right up to the crash during the night. He warned that more arrests would follow if people do not stay away.
US Venture Capital Seeds Chinese Artificial Intelligence Development
U.S. companies were involved in at least 37 percent of the total investment transactions in China’s artificial intelligence (AI) sector between 2015 and 2021, according to a new report.
The report (pdf), published by the Georgetown University Center for Security and Emerging Technology, found that $40.2 billion in investment transactions into Chinese AI companies had U.S. backing, although it was unclear what percentage of that amount was made by U.S. investors or their overseas counterparts.
The venture capital (VC) was given to 251 Chinese AI companies, primarily at angel, seed, and pre-seed stages of investment.
There are risks with such investments, the report noted, as they’re generally accompanied by other intangible benefits in which U.S. expertise is delivered to China-based companies.
“While Crunchbase data suggests that U.S. outbound investment into Chinese AI companies is limited, such financial activity, commercial linkages, and the tacit expertise that transfers from U.S.-based funders to target companies in China’s booming AI ecosystem carry implications that extend beyond the business sector,” the report states.
“Earlier stage VC investments in particular can provide intangible benefits beyond capital, including mentorship and coaching, name recognition, and networking opportunities. As such, U.S. outbound investment in Chinese technology, and particularly AI, merits additional attention and tracking.”
UK’s ‘Nudge Unit’ Manipulates People Toward ‘Net Zero Society’
The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) – started by the UK government to then in late 2021 become owned by Nesta, which describes itself as an independent charity focused on innovation – has a new report out.
And while its authors present it as a useful “guide” toward building “a net zero society,” what observers critical of this content have taken away from it is that it is promoting, and detailing, various forms of psychological manipulation of people.
The problem that Behavioural Insights Team (aka, “Nudge Unit”) has found for itself to solve is a part of the climate change narrative, where achieving “net zero” means doing away with greenhouse gas emissions.
And they don’t seem to care if the way to get there is through direct manipulation of people, specifically online, via prompts (“nudges”) toward making choices that are not really theirs but serve the agenda.
These choices concern and consume people’s everyday lives: what they wear, what and how much they eat, how they travel to work, whether that job is “climate-friendly,” how they travel just in general and where to, for example, for a vacation.
These are all examples of what the report aims to affect from the behavioral perspective, and clearly, the “solution” is to actively push citizens toward “social transformation.”
Seafood processing plant goes up in violent blaze: It’s a total loss
‘It’s very odd that there’s an epidemic’
A food processing plant in the Canadian province of New Brunswick went up in flames Friday.
Jim LeBlanc, owner of W.E. Acres Crabmeal Ltd., said the structure was a “total loss,” according to the Canadian Television Network.
The fire erupted at about 2 p.m.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Senate Defense Panel to Hold Hearing for ‘Real Answers’ Over Chinese Balloon: Sen. Tester
The Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee will hold a hearing to get answers surrounding the suspected Chinese spy balloon that floated for days over U.S. airspace.
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the subcommittee’s chairman, said on Feb. 3 that Biden administration officials will have to answer questions about the balloon, which was first acknowledged while in the sky over the Democrat’s home state of Montana.
“Montanans value their freedom and privacy and I’ll always fight to defend both,” Tester said in a statement. “China’s actions are a clear threat to those values and to America’s national security, and I’m demanding answers from the Biden Administration.
“I will be pulling people before my committee to get real answers on how this happened, and how we can prevent it from ever happening again.”
An exact date for the hearing has yet to be scheduled.
‘We’ll Learn a Lot’ From Downed Chinese Spy Craft: Top Intelligence Democrat
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee expects U.S. officials to “learn a lot” from the Chinese spy craft that was shot down over the continental United States.
On Feb. 4, a Chinese balloon for espionage was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean, a few miles from the coast of the Carolinas, after it had traveled across the continent.
The Pentagon had announced the discovery of the aircraft a few days prior.
“The United States Government has detected and is tracking a high altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now,” the Pentagon told the nation in a Feb. 2 statement.
“The U.S. government, to include NORAD, continues to track and monitor it closely,” the statement continued. “The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground. Instances of this kind of balloon activity have been observed previously over the past several years. Once the balloon was detected, the U.S. government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information.”
Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder insisted during a Feb. 3 press conference that the balloon, which he said was at the time moving eastward across the central United States, “does not pose a physical or military risk to people on the ground.”
Miami Black Leaders Apologize to Gov. DeSantis After Member Called Him Racist
The Miami-Dade Black Affairs Advisory Board apologized to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the weekend after one of its members described him a racist.
Pierre Rutledge, the head of the Miami-Dade Black Affairs Advisory Board, issued a statement on behalf of the organization and apologized to the Republican governor after a member said last week that DeSantis is a racist.
“We take it to heart when someone uses the term racist,” Rutledge said, reported Fox News and the Miami Herald, which reported that he made that comment at a Feb. 3 press conference. “Words matter. And so as chair, I must start by saying we want to pull that back. There’s nothing wrong with saying ‘we’re sorry.’ That’s not what we intended to say or be depicted by anyone. And that’s not the feeling of this board.”
Another official, Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam, said that he also “can’t call the governor racist. I don’t know him personally. I don’t know his heart,” reported WSVN. However, he claimed that DeSantis’ policies “always [seem] to attack black people and people of color,” without elaborating.
DeSantis’s administration has not responded to a request for comment.
Rutledge, who is also a local school administrator, did not immediately respond to an Epoch Times request for comment. The Miami-Dade Black Affairs Advisory Board also did not respond to a request for comment.
Some Christian Colleges Have Ties to Planned Parenthood: Study
Nearly 10 percent of Christian colleges in the United States maintain ties with Planned Parenthood including several Catholic universities, according to an on-going investigation by a national student organization.
According to Students for Life of America (SFLA), 68 of the 784 colleges affiliated with a Christian church including Catholic and conservative Baptist denomination in the U.S. continue to maintain some type of relationship with Planned Parenthood, even after the group released its initial report back in 2021.
Former SFLA President Lauren Enriquez, who helped spearhead the audit, told The Epoch Times that every school found to have an active relationship with Planned Parenthood was given an opportunity to cut ties with the abortion group before being identified in the report.
“Needless to say it’s disappointing that Christian schools are defying their own principles by maintaining a relationship with Planned Parenthood,” Enriquez said.
The Epoch Times reached out to several of the colleges identified in the SFLA report. The only one to provide a response was Baylor University.
“As a Christian university, Baylor respects the sanctity of life. We do not allow for the institutional promotion of abortion or abortion-related services on our campus,” said Lori Fogleman, Vice President of Media and Public Relations at Baylor in a statement to The Epoch Times. “Additionally, Baylor representatives frequently tour and support Care Net Pregnancy Center both financially and through volunteer work as part of the University’s community outreach efforts.”
Following the release of the SFLA report, the Texas college, which identified itself as a Baptist university, Bears For Life, a pro-life group made up of Baylor students, launched an aggressive campaign against the administration including campus protests to end ties with Planned Parenthood.
The conservative college’s ties to Planned Parenthood were found to have dated back to at least 2006 when it began distributing a handbook it provided to students listing the abortion group’s Teen Education Program as an intern opportunity.
Bears For Life and SFLA also censured the college for listing a job opening for a Community Health Educator with Planned Parenthood on the school’s social work website and offering a class that used a textbook that referred to abortion as “safer than childbirth.”
As part of its ongoing investigation, called the Christian School Project, SLFA recently released a separate list called 11 Worst Performing Christian Schools that Failed to Promote Life.
SLFA graded the colleges and universities based on the level of their connections to the abortion groups, with an “F” indicating deep ties to the abortion group.
Those given an “F” included Duke University, which is affiliated with the United Methodist Church; Virginia’s Rhodes College, linked to the Presbyterian Church; and Augsburg University, a Lutheran college in Minnesota.
Duke was cited for continuing to provide internship and fellowship with Planned Parenthood and for promoting chemical abortion pills through its Obstetrics and Gynecology School of Medicine.
Rhodes earned its low grade for continuing to refer students to Planned Parenthood and also for encouraging community with the organization.
Augsburg University was cited by the group for “expliciting” promoting Planned Parenthood, in the report. The university’s website includes a direct link to Planned Parenthood clinics.
Notre Dame, probably one of the most notable Catholic universities in the country, was among the colleges given an “A+” by SFLA.
However, in a recent update to its report, the SFLA called out the “Fighting Irish” university for allowing two professors to continue to carry out their very pro-abortion views on campus. One of them, Tamara Kay, in fact, has identified herself as an abortion activist, and is said to promote abortion rights in her courses.
According to the student group Notre Dame Right To Life, Kay, a Global Affairs and Sociology professor, has also openly promoted abortion bills on campus.
Left-Wing Students Mob Ben Sasse’s Office On His First Day As University President
Approximately 100 protesters gathered at the University of Florida (UF) Monday to Ben Sasse during his first day as university president.
The protesters, led by the school’s Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter, waited outside Sasse’s office to deliver a list of demands including commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and tenure for university professors.
“This group of students … has been protesting since October — their voices have been heard and it appears that the university is not going to bend the knee to them,” Emily Sturge, a UF student, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Former Speaker Boehner Urges Supreme Court to Block Biden’s Student Loan Cancellation Plan
The Supreme Court should disallow President Joe Biden’s sweeping plan to partially forgive student loans, former House Speaker John Boehner and former Reps. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.) and John Kline (R-Minn.) told the court.
Biden introduced the plan in August 2022 in a move that critics decried as a constitutionally dubious attempt to shore up Democrats’ fortunes ahead of the November 2022 congressional elections. While the Congressional Budget Office said the plan could cost about $400 billion, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania estimates the price tag could exceed $1 trillion.
About 26 million people reportedly applied under the program before courts blocked it last year. Of those 26 million, 16 million were reportedly approved before the government stopped accepting applications.
Boehner, an Ohio Republican who left Congress in 2015, said the plan is unlawful and that the Biden administration failed to follow proper procedures in its rush to finalize debt relief before last year’s elections.
The comments came in a friend-of-the-court brief in Biden v. Nebraska filed on Feb. 2 (pdf), which was joined by McKeon and Kline, who crafted the loan relief legislation the president says empowers him to grant debt relief. McKeon left Congress in 2015; Kline left in 2017.
“Despite the staggering scope of this regulatory action, it was taken with breathtaking informality and opacity,” Boehner and the other two lawmakers said.
The Department of Education “did not undertake the notice-and-comment process required for rulemaking, much less solicit any public input.”
The agency “did not even issue a formal order or directive setting out its cancellation program. Instead, it issued a press release on August 24th along with two legal memoranda providing its justifications, and, later, a hastily created [Frequently Asked Questions] section on its website.”
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case, Biden v. Nebraska, on Feb. 28. A separate but related case, known as Department of Education v. Brown, will be heard the same day. The debt relief program was already blocked by lower federal courts.
Suspect Dead After Allegedly Threatening Armed Homeowner
A man was shot and killed Saturday after he allegedly threatened and approached a Texas homeowner who was armed with a shotgun late Saturday morning.
ABC 13 reported the incident began around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, when 50-year-old Mark Anthony Correro allegedly forced entry into a home, claiming a truck parked at the house belonged to him.
Correro was “forcefully” removed by the homeowner.
Illegal Alien Charged with Murdering 57-Year-Old Grandmother in Texas
An illegal alien has been charged with murdering a 57-year-old grandmother in a residence in La Marque, Texas.
Carlos Lara-Balcazar, a 34-year-old illegal alien, was arrested and charged this week in Texas with murdering Maria Rios, a 57-year-old mother of three daughters and grandmother to four grandchildren.
Oklahoma Mother Accused of Throwing 1-Month-Old Baby in Dumpster
An Oklahoma mother is accused of throwing her 1-month-old son into a dumpster, KXII reported on Monday.
Kieara Aliyah Lopez, 22, is facing charges of child abuse and abandonment of a child under ten years old, court documents show.
Man Who Stood Next to Ashli Babbitt When She Was Shot on Jan. 6 Is Sentenced
A Virginia man who stood next to Ashli Babbitt with his hands up after she was shot outside the Speaker’s Lobby on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced to 24 months of probation after apologizing for his “completely aberrant conduct” in the U.S. Capitol that day.
Iraj George Javid, 32, of Bristow, Virginia, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Washington in a plea deal on one count of parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
Chief Judge Beryl Howell also ordered an unspecified term of home detention and required Javid to pay $500 in restitution to the Architect of the Capitol.
Javid was seen on video in various places inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, including the hallway outside the Speaker’s Lobby where U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd shot Babbitt.
McCarthy, Scalise Refuse to Meet with U.S. Chamber of Commerce for Backing Democrats
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) both have refused to meet with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce due to the organization’s endorsement of Democrats.
In a statement to CNBC on Monday, Mark Bednar, a chief spokesman for McCarthy, said the priorities of the organization no longer align with the Republican Party.
HEALTH
RECALL WARNING:
Over 400 products, including sandwiches, salads, snacks, yogurt, and wraps that were sold under various brand names have been recalled over potential contamination with listeria, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Feb. 3.
The products were sold by Baltimore-based Fresh Ideation Food Group between Jan. 24, 2023, through Jan. 30, 2023, according to the FDA, and also include breakfast muffins, croissants, wraps, and an array of fruits as well as noodle bowls and a string of other items.
Brands names included in the recall are Bistro to Go, InReach, Naval Academy 1845 Coffee, Orchard Bistro, Westin Label, and more.
A full list of the recalled products can be found here.
Daily Chemicals That Are Severely Disrupting Your Hormones
While there are many factors contributing to this reproductive calamity, Swan believes one class of chemicals to be particularly detrimental to sperm decline — endocrine disruptors.
Sperm are germ cells produced by the reproductive system. “The production of germ cells is governed by hormones,” Swan explains.9 And sex hormones are altered by these chemicals, including phthalates, which lower testosterone levels, and bisphenols, including not only BPA but also BPF, BPS and other variants that have been used to replace BPA. Where are these toxic chemicals found? All over the place:10
| Plastics | Canned food liners | Epoxy adhesives |
| Cash register receipts | Toys | Caulks and adhesives |
| Vinyl flooring | Flexible PVC pipes | Food packaging |
| Teething toys | Personal care products | Sports equipment |
Beyond phthalates and bisphenols, pesticides have also been shown to lower sperm count, even down to zero in adult men, according to Swan.11 A man’s sperm count can recover from pesticide exposure in about three months, provided he stops being exposed. But if a pregnant woman is exposed to pesticides, her unborn son can be affected — and his sperm count will not recover.12 Grandchildren are also affected, as the changes are passed through generations.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Poll: 41% Say Personal Finances Deteriorating Under Joe Biden, Worst Result in 37 Years
Forty-one percent of American families say their financial position has worsened since President Joe Biden assumed office — the worst result in 37 years, according to a Sunday ABC News/Washington Post survey.
With nearly 40-year-high inflation crushing American families in 2022, 41 percent of Americans say their personal financial health has deteriorated since Biden assumed office in January 2021. Just 16 percent said their financial health was “better off” under Biden.
BP’s annual profit more than doubles to $28 billion
BP’s annual profit more than doubled last year to an all-time high of nearly $28 billion, extending a record run of earnings for the world’s oil majors that is fueling calls for higher taxes on the windfall gains.
The British energy giant said in a statement that underlying replacement cost profit rose to $27.7 billion in 2022 from $12.8 billion the previous year. The metric is a key indicator of oil companies’ profitability.
Soaring egg prices take toll on restaurants, shoppers, economy
Bird flu and increased demand are driving prices higher — and bring some restaurants to their breaking point
Pepsi, Coke soda pricing targeted in new federal probe
The FTC probe comes as the agency looks to dust off a decades old, but long dormant price-discrimination law.
Beverage giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are under preliminary investigation at the Federal Trade Commission over potential price discrimination in the soft drink market as the agency looks to revive a decades-old, but largely dormant law banning the practice, according to four people with knowledge of the probe.
The companies’ pricing strategies are being scrutinized under an obscure law known as the Robinson-Patman Act, the people said. The law prohibits suppliers from offering better prices to large retailers at the expense of their smaller competitors. The largely dormant 1936 law is aimed at promoting a level playing field between small retailers and large chain stores.
For at least the last month the FTC has reached out to large retailers, including Walmart, seeking data and other information on how they purchase and price soft drinks, two of the people said. Walmart is not currently a target in the investigation, one of the people said.
SURVEILLANCE STATE
Gov. Greg Abbott Announces Plan to Ban TikTok From Texas Government Devices
The Texas governor announced his plans to ban the app from government devices in a Feb. 6 statement.
“The security risks associated with the use of TikTok on devices used to conduct the important business of our state must not be underestimated or ignored,” Abbott said.
“Owned by a Chinese company that employs Chinese Communist Party members, TikTok harvests significant amounts of data from a user’s device, including details about a user’s internet activity. Other prohibited technologies listed in the statewide model plan also produce a similar threat to the security of Texans.
“It is critical that state agencies and employees are protected from the vulnerabilities presented by the use of this app and other prohibited technologies as they work on behalf of their fellow Texans. I thank the Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Department of Information Resources for their hard work helping safeguard the state’s sensitive information and critical infrastructure from potential threats posed by hostile foreign actors.”
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Twitter Struggles to Remove Child Porn Despite Elon Musk’s Promise to Clean It Up
According to a recent New York Times investigation, despite Elon Musk’s promise to remove child porn from Twitter, calling it “priority #1,” the company has actually fired staff dealing with the issue, stopped paying for important abuse material detection software, and the platform still hosts countless images and videos of child abuse material, with its algorithm even suggesting it to users.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
UK Once Again Brings Coal Power Plants Online as, Foreseeably, It Gets Cold in Winter
A coal power plant that was due to be shut down last year is among those which have been ordered to spin up to cover a potential shortfall of energy generation in the UK this week, as wintry cold weather returns again.
National Grid ESO (Electricity System Operator) issued an instruction to two coal-fuelled power stations on Sunday and Monday, instructing them to get warmed ready for connection to the national grid on Tuesday to cover a potential shortage of generation.
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
Starting Seeds Indoors: How and When to Start Seeds
It’s seed-sowing time! But what’s the best way to start seeds? How do you even begin? In this article (with new video demonstration!), we’ll show the curious how it’s done! Let’s sow some seeds together, talk through the best ways of encouraging them to germinate, and expose a few common mistakes.
The Hindi word for seed is bija, which translates literally as “containment of life.” An apt description for these tiny miracles that contain everything needed to make a new plant. This time of year, we are up to our elbows in dirt, starting more seeds indoors each week!
For seed-starting information customized to your location, check out our free online Planting Calendar.
Crocus blooms in the living room? Kashmir’s saffron farmers get creative.
Abdul Majeed Wani uses a flashlight to carefully inspect his blooming saffron crocus plants in red plastic baskets placed on iron racks. He’s deliberately deprived this small room of natural light, covering the windows to “maintain the quality” of the crop.
Mr. Wani is among the first farmers in Kashmir to embrace this relatively new technique of growing saffron indoors, stacked in vertical columns. “It is the third year I am growing saffron inside my house, and the results are very promising,” he says with excitement. “We have got better produce both in quality and quantity.”
Mr. Wani comes from a traditional saffron-growing family from Shaar-i-Shalli, a hamlet located on the foothills of Zabarwan mountains. Most of the people in his village and the surrounding areas have been growing the prized spice for centuries. Saffron is grown in a few places around the world, requiring unique kinds of soil and specific climatic conditions. Kashmir is the second-largest producer after Iran, and saffron cultivation is seen as a symbol of Kashmiri culture.
COVID RELATED NEWS
Experts Want Labels for Pfizer, Moderna COVID-19 Vaccines Updated to Acknowledge Limitations
A coalition of experts is calling for U.S. officials to update the labels for the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to acknowledge limitations to clinical trials, including stating clearly that the phase III trials that led to clearance didn’t provide evidence of efficacy against death.
Dr. Anthony Fauci has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 1984, but has yet to come out with the “Big One” — a vaccine or infectious disease treatment that will allow him to retire with a victory under his belt
Fauci has flip-flopped on the use of masks, first mocking people for wearing them, and then insisting they should. In mid-July, he suddenly urged governments to “be as forceful as possible” on mask rules
While Fauci still claims there’s only anecdotal evidence supporting the use of hydroxychloroquine, and that the drug doesn’t work for COVID-19, the scientific support for it goes as far back as 2005
In April, Fauci praised the NIAID-sponsored drug Remdesivir, saying it “has a clear-cut and significant positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery.” Overall, the improvement rate for the drug was 31%
Research now shows hydroxychloroquine reduced mortality by 50% when given early, and many doctors anecdotally claim survival rates close to 100%. Despite such excellent results, Fauci continues to disparage and cast doubt on hydroxychloroquine
CANCEL CULTURE
Man Sues JetBlue Over ‘Lets Go Brandon’ Mask
A man who was removed from a JetBlue flight in March, 2022, for wearing a “Let’s Go Brandon” mask filed a federal suit against the airline on Friday.
Ryan J. Salo told the Daily Caller that he was removed from a JetBlue flight from Fort Lauderdale to Cleveland in March, 2022. “As my political free speech allows me to do, I wear a ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ mask, and I wear it any time I’m required to because I am a law-abiding citizen,” he stated at the time. “I wore the mask on my flight from Cleveland to Fort Lauderdale without any issues.”
Most of his fellow passengers were laughing and high-fiving Salo over his mask, he stated at the time. After he was asked to remove the mask and put on a paper one, which he did, a flight attendant requested his removal, according to his report at the time.
Transhumanism, Eugenics And Faking The Singularity
Silicon Valley is essentially fused with the national security state. Silicon Valley is now also entering into joint ventures with medical companies, and many of these ventures are financed by groups like In-Q-Tel, which is the CIA’s venture capital arm
There’s a concerted effort to frame transhumanism — which is really the new eugenics — as health care. Joint ventures involving Big Tech, Big Pharma and the security state typically focus on products and services that normalize and further the transhumanist agenda
Food and agriculture are also being tossed into the mix. The U.S. government has launched a “Food is Medicine” program, which is yet another way for the government to seize control of the population. Food as medicine will be used to get you into their control system, and keep you there
In 2023 and 2024, watch for the rollout of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). It’s crucial that as many people as possible refuse the system during the initial voluntary phase. Once it becomes mandatory, it cannot be stopped and all freedoms will be lost
PET NEWS
‘Crazy-Looking Cat’ Live-Trapped by Missouri Farmer Turns Out to Be a Wild African Serval
An unusual-looking cat running wild on Missouri farmland was humanely trapped by a farmer who discovered, with the help of a wildlife refuge, that this was no local species but an African serval. The cat had survived for months, despite the cold weather, but now has a safe place to call home.
Tanya Smith, president of Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (TCWR) in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, was contacted on Jan. 17. by an Ozark Mountains farmer near Ava, Missouri. Within an hour, the team at Turpentine Creek had their rescue gear loaded and were on the road. The farmer had set up a humane trap on Jan. 14 and successfully caught the cat after just 12 hours, having spotted her several times over the past six months.
GOOD NEWS
Kindhearted Plumber Helps Install a Free Boiler for Cancer-Stricken Elderly Man
A kindhearted plumber left a cancer-stricken man amazed and teary-eyed after he installed a free boiler a day after he called.
Born in Liverpool, UK, James Anderson, 55, is a fully qualified plumbing and heating engineer who currently resides in Burnley, Lancashire.
ICYMI
Charles Kimbrough, Who Played Anchor in ‘Murphy Brown,’ Dies
Charles Kimbrough, a Tony- and Emmy-nominated actor who played a straight-laced news anchor opposite Candice Bergen on “Murphy Brown,” died Jan. 11 in Culver City, California. He was 86.
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