WORLD NEWS
Ukraine might drop NATO bid – ambassador
RT – Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK Vadym Prystaiko has appeared to raise the possibility that Kiev could give up its bid to join US-led NATO for the sake of preventing a major conflict with Russia, while admitting that such a proposition would go against his country’s principal law.
Some US Troops Departing Ukraine Amid Escalating Tension with Russia, Pentagon Confirms
Epoch Times – The Department of Defense confirmed Saturday that some U.S. troops are leaving Ukraine.
“Secretary of Defense has ordered the temporary repositioning of Florida National Guard troops out of Ukraine,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby wrote in a Twitter post.
The move was ordered to protect the safety and security of U.S. personnel, but the United States is still “committed to our relationship with the Ukrainian armed forces,” he elaborated.
It’s unclear how many military members are being relocated. Some media outlets reported that 160 members of the Florida National Guard are withdrawing from Ukraine. The Epoch Times can not verify the number independently.
The Epoch Times reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
The Pentagon is moving more troops into Eastern Europe to deal with the potential invasion of Ukraine by Russia—which the Pentagon said can happen in days.
About 1,700 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division are arriving in Poland, the U.S. Army Europe and Africa said Friday.
“At the invitation of our Polish Allies, approximately 1,700 troops from the division continue to arrive in Poland following a Department of Defense announcement earlier this month directing the deployment of U.S. Soldiers to Europe,” the army command said in a statement. “The unit is deploying to enhance our readiness, strengthen our resilience, and if necessary, defend and secure the NATO Alliance.”
A senior administration official also confirmed on Saturday that an additional 3,000 U.S. forces have been deployed to Poland.
It’s unclear if the 1,700 paratroopers are part of the deployment.
COVID-19 Vaccine Needed for Americans Fleeing Ukraine Into Poland: State Department
Epoch Times – The U.S. State Department said U.S. citizens who are trying to flee Ukraine into Poland amid escalating tensions with Russia have to present proof they’ve been vaccinated for COVID-19.
“Poland has indicated to the U.S. government that U.S. citizens may now enter Poland through the land border with Ukraine. No advanced approval is required,” said the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine’s website on Feb 12.
“We encourage those traveling into Poland by land from Ukraine to cross at the Korczowa-Krakovets or Medyka-Shehyni border crossings. U.S. citizens must present a valid U.S. passport and proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Travelers are also encouraged to present a negative test result from a PCR or antigen COVID-19 test, which will facilitate entry into Poland,” the Embassy said. It’s not clear what may happen if an American citizen cannot provide proof of vaccination.
In order to enter Ukraine, the country has for months required travelers to show proof of vaccination for COVID-19, the illness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, or they have to show a negative PCR or rapid antigen test taken within three days, or a certificate of recovery from the virus.
The Embassy statement comes amid escalating rhetoric around whether Russia will invade Ukraine. While Russian officials have denied White House allegations, top Biden administration officials have said that Moscow is planning to attack its neighbor in the coming days.
On Sunday, President Joe Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and a day before that, he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Over the weekend, Zelensky urged calm and demanded evidence from the United States while playing down warnings.
“There has been too much information about a full-scale war with Russia—even specific dates have been announced. We understand there are risks. If you have any additional information regarding the 100 percent guaranteed invasion of Ukraine by Russia on 16 February, please give it to us,” Zelensky told reporters on Saturday.
The United States largely has not made public the evidence it says is underlying its most specific warnings on possible Russian planning or timing.
“We’re not going to give Russia the opportunity to conduct a surprise here, to spring something on Ukraine or the world,” Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, told CNN on Sunday, about the intelligence warnings. “We are going to make sure that we are laying out for the world what we see as transparently and plainly as we possibly can,” he added.
Biden is rooting for Russia to invade Ukraine, Tulsi Gabbard says
RT – President Joe Biden and his NATO allies could easily prevent war in Ukraine but would rather see Russia invade their ally to justify harsh sanctions against Moscow and spur a money-making cold war, former US congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard said on Friday in a Fox News interview with Tucker Carlson.
Gabbard, an Iraq war veteran who ran unsuccessfully for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, made her comments as Biden’s administration and US media outlets continued to hype a possibly “imminent” Russian attack on Ukraine. “It cements this cold war in place,” she said in the interview.
The US and its allies could prevent an armed conflict by pledging that Ukraine won’t be allowed to join NATO, Gabbard said. It’s “highly, highly unlikely” that Kiev will ever be approved as a NATO member, so refusing to promise what’s already a reality shows that leaders of the alliance don’t want peace, the Hawaii Democrat added.
Protesters Gather in Australia’s Capital Against COVID-19 Mandates, Prime Minister Issues Response
Epoch Times – As tens of thousands of Australians from all walks of life gather at the nation’s capital from across the country to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates on Feb. 12, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has pointed the finger at the state governments that “unilaterally” imposed the mandates via public health orders.
Marching through Canberra before gathering on the lawn in front of Parliament House, the protesters, made up of people who are both vaccinated and unvaccinated but are against the mandates, held up signs and placards with the messages they wanted those in power to heed.
One federal MP said it was the biggest protest he’d seen in Canberra in his 11 years as a parliamentarian. The massive scale of the protest was echoed by a Seven News reporter who shared a photo from that outlet’s helicopter.
Among the protesters were people wearing army fatigues, police shirts and caps, and casual clothings with handwritten messages indicating they were frontline workers and teachers who had lost their jobs due to vaccine mandates.
These messages could be seen in videos and photos circulating on social media, some of which read: “Free Australia. End mandates,” “Hands off our children,” “Last year’s hero, this year’s unemployed,” “Trust your immune system,” “Coercion is not consent,” “We want choice, We want truth,We want freedom,” “Save our sovereignty,” and “Don’t listen to the lamestream media.”
In several videos shared on the Australian Free Independent Press Network Facebook page, a sea of flags can be seen in a crowd of several thousands, clapping and cheering on the lawn in front of parliament.
Health Canada Employees Told Not to Express Opinions ‘Critical’ of Government
Breitbart – Employees of Health Canada (HC) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) were recently directed not to express opinions “critical” of the federal government via a department-wide email sent from their shared director general of human resources, in the context of ongoing protests in Ottawa and other Canadian cities against COVID-19 restrictions.
While prohibition against public political expression is a long-standing stated policy of Canada’s health agencies, it is arbitrarily and selectively applied and enforced.
Breitbart News learned that Health Canada management knew of agency employees publicly expressing left-wing political views — both on social media and by participation in demonstrations — regarding “systemic racism,” “whiteness,” and “white supremacy” during the height of the Black Lives Matter campaign. The employees were not reprimanded.
Thousands Pour Into Ottawa Amplifying the Voice of Protest Around the Capital
Epoch Times – The center of Canada’s capital city was flooded on Feb. 12 by thousands of protesters demanding an end to the country’s COVID-19 mandates and restrictions.
Many more joined the ongoing trucker-led protest in Ottawa with the arrival of the weekend. Its numbers grew from the night of Feb. 11 into the next morning, as supporters seemingly poured into the city.
Greater masses of people were particularly noticeable on Parliament Hill and then later on the streets, where they spilled out from the immediate vicinity of the truck blockade.
Truckers’ fundraiser hacked, donors threatened with release of names
WND – The Christian crowdfunding website GiveSendGo, which stepped up and began handling donations for the truckers convoy protest against extreme COVID mandates across Canada when another, politicized, website tried to cancel the effort, has been hacked.
The site was restored by Monday morning, but for a number of hours over the weekend those going to the website were redirected to another page, GiveSendGone(dot)wtf, where a segment of Disney’s “Frozen” cartoon was posted.
The Washington Examiner said the hackers were unidentified, but on the page to which supporters were redirected condemned GiveSendGo for allowing the truckers to raise support.
They also condemned the trucker rallies, claiming that some of the protesters “may not simply be ordinary truckers who are fed up with masks and vaccine mandates and that they may be Trojan Horse attacks,” the Examiner explained the wild claims included.
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern Blames Mysterious ‘Imported’ Forces for Freedom Convoy
Breitbart – New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday blamed mysterious “imported” forces for the protests against her vaccine mandates that dominate the national capital.
Ardern pointed at Canadian flags and Donald Trump images on the streets of Wellington as evidence for her conspiracy claim.
“It feels like an imported protest to me,” the left-wing Labour leader and former president of the International Union of Socialist Youth confided in an interview.
“I’ve seen Trump flags on the forecourt, I’ve seen Canadian flags on the forecourt,” she told national broadcaster TVNZ, referring to images of former U.S. President Donald Trump allegedly carried by some demonstrators.
Ardern said in a news conference later in the day the protesters have demanded the government remove all public health coronavirus measures.
Epoch Times – A few vehicles from a protesting convoy broke through an RCMP roadblock at the Pacific Highway border crossing connecting B.C. to Washington state on Feb. 12, joining other protesters who were present on foot to block the border.
RCMP had set up roadblocks on the morning of Feb. 12 to limit vehicle access to the border, only letting vehicles through after ensuring they intended to cross the border. The move was in anticipation of a large vehicle convoy heading to the border that morning.
MyPillow CEO Donates Thousands of Pillows to Trucker Convoy in Canada
Epoch Times – Mike Lindell, founder and CEO of MyPillow, is donating thousands of pillows to Canadian truckers protesting COVID-19 mandates and restrictions in Ottawa—as he praised the movement dubbed “Freedom Convoy” for all the work they have done.
“In Canada, they have backed off on some of the mandates,” Lindell said. “The truckers are gaining. It is working … they’re doing it now on the U.S. side. MyPillow’s getting involved. We’re shipping up pillows to all of the truckers.”
“I don’t know if they’ll let us into Canada, but we’re gonna try and get pillows to all of them,” he added. “Our voices are getting out there, and things are getting done to get this—to fight the evil. I mean, it’s just unreal.”
Manitoba to End Vaccine Passport, Mask Mandate in March, Premier Says
Epoch Times – Manitoba will end its vaccine passport, mask mandate, and other COVID-19 restrictions next month, Premier Heather Stefanson says.
“Effective March 1, the required use of vaccine cards will be eliminated in Manitoba, and effective March 15, mask requirements and all other restrictions will be eliminated,” Stefanson announced at a press conference on Feb. 11.
As of 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 15, the province will also move to “yellow” or caution level under its pandemic response system. This means capacity limits will be removed in settings including restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, indoor and outdoor sporting venues, as well as gatherings at private residences.
Additionally, capacity limits for outdoor public gatherings will end, but will be limited to 50 people indoors unless proof of vaccination is required, the province said. Proof of vaccination and testing requirements at indoor sports for youth ages 12 to 17 will be lifted on Feb. 15 as well.
Chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said the decision to ease the restrictions is largely due to the Omicron variant showing signs it has reached its peak in transmission in the province.
“Based on the information and data monitored by public health, we are seeing strong signals that the Omicron wave has peaked and is now having a reduced impact here in Manitoba,” Roussin said in a statement.
U.S. NEWS, POLITIC & GOVERNMENT
‘Large, Violent, Destructive’ Crowds Take to the Streets Following Super Bowl: LAPD
Epoch TImes – The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) issued several dispersal orders and an unlawful assembly after the LA Rams took home a triumphant win in the Super Bowl LVI on Feb. 13, as “large, violent and destructive” crowds became uncontrollable in the heart of downtown, according to the LAPD.
“There are a group of individuals that have refused to leave since the first dispersal orders were given,” LAPD spokeswoman Meghan Aguilar told The Epoch Times at approximately 11:25 p.m. “At this time we’re just trying to disperse the crowd and arrest anyone that committed criminal acts tonight.”
LAPD first issued a dispersal order asking everyone to leave the downtown LA area around 9 p.m. after a faction of individuals violently took to the streets, jumping on cars and unconfirmed reports of businesses being broken into via videos uploaded on social media.
At 9:49 p.m., LAPD advised individuals to avoid driving into the areas of 11th Street and Hope Street, as well as the Downtown LA area bordered by Olympic Boulevard on the north, Pico Boulevard on the south, Figueroa Street on the west, and Broadway on the east, according to the department’s Twitter page.
“Those involved in criminal activity, and those failing to obey dispersal orders, are subject to arrest,” LAPD wrote on Twitter at 11:11 p.m.
LAPD also received calls of businesses being looted, but as of 11:30 p.m., the reports have not been confirmed, according to Aguilar.
A few hundred people remained in the area, as of 11:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, a shooting was reported in East Los Angeles at around 8:50 p.m. shortly after the Super Bowl game ended.
“We don’t know what led up to it,” LA County Sheriff spokeswoman Tracy Koerner told The Epoch Times. “It was occurring near a [Super Bowl] celebration.”
The car-to-car shooting occurred near Atlantic Boulevard and Verona Street. The gunshot victim was transported to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Koerner said.
While footage on Twitter shows some individuals wearing Rams gear, it is unclear whether everyone involved were football fans.
US Truckers Gather Under Border Bridge in Michigan Without Causing Blockade
Epoch Times – Some U.S. truckers showed up at a bridge on the U.S.-Canada border on Saturday to support the Canadian truckers protesting the COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Videos shared by independent reporter Brendan Gutenschwager show some truckers driving through a road—which appears to be the Thomas Edison Parkway—on the U.S. side under the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, Michigan.
“Trucks slow rolling by the Blue Water Bridge at today’s protest against vaccine mandates and Covid restrictions near the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan,” he wrote in a Twitter post.
Some supporters can be seen on the roadsides waving American flags.
John Durham: Democrats Paid to ‘Infiltrate’ Trump White House Servers
Epoch TImes – Special counsel John Durham’s team alleged on Feb. 12 that a tech executive aligned with the Democratic Party was paid to spy on former President Donald Trump’s residences and the White House when Trump was president.
Lawyers for the Clinton campaign allegedly paid the technology executive to infiltrate servers at the Trump Tower and the White House, Durham said in court filings (pdf), in order to establish an “inference” and “narrative” to tie Trump to the Russian government. Durham’s office made the claim as part of his investigation that had brought charges against Michael Sussmann, a lawyer who had worked on behalf of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and who is currently charged with making a false statement to the FBI.
Georgia Secretary of State Calls for Release of ‘Secret Report’ on Dominion Voting Machines
Epoch Times – Georgia’s secretary of state has joined plaintiffs in lawsuit filed against him in calling for the release of a report that analyzes Dominion Voting Systems equipment.
The report, completed by J. Alex Halderman, director of the University of Michigan Center for Computer Security and Society, was filed under seal in Curling v. Raffensperger, a federal case that alleged hackers had “the capability” and “easy access” to voting machines in Georgia.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, said Jan. 26 that the report should be made public because it is “generating misleading media articles about the Dominion voting equipment used in Georgia.”
Halderman was given full access to the state’s election system, which utilizes Dominion equipment, state officials say.
“The public deserves to know the context of J. Alex Halderman’s claims and his testimony regarding the 2020 election,” Raffensperger said, adding that the system “is safe and secure.”
Biden Administration Urges Court Not to Allow Release of ‘Secret Report’ on Dominion Voting Machines
Epoch Times – Top officials at a U.S. federal cybersecurity agency are urging a judge not to authorize at this time the release of a report that analyzes Dominion Voting Systems equipment in Georgia, arguing doing so could assist hackers trying to “undermine election security.”
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) was recently provided an unredacted copy of the report, which was prepared by J. Alex Halderman, director of the University of Michigan Center for Computer Security and Society.
The report discusses “potential vulnerabilities in Dominion ImageCast X ballot marking devices,” or electronic voting devices, according to the government.
While CISA supports public disclosure of any vulnerabilities and associated mitigation measures with election equipment, allowing the release of the report at this point “increases the risk that malicious actors may be able to exploit any vulnerabilities and threaten election security,” government lawyers said in a Feb. 10 filing in the case.
The case was brought in 2017 by good-government groups and voters who say the lack of paper ballots undermines the voting process.
Biden Bureaucracy Secretly Plans to Turn Out Voters After Failure of Election Takeover Bills
The Daily Signal – The Biden administration is secretly planning to impose an executive order directing all federal agencies to focus on voter registration and partner with private organizations to boost election turnout, according to members of Congress and a watchdog group.
Last March, President Joe Biden signed an executive order stating that federal agencies “shall consider ways to expand citizens’ opportunities to register to vote and to obtain information about, and participate in, the electoral process.”
The president’s order says that each agency must submit its plan to Susan Rice, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, to “promote voter registration and voter participation.”
Congressional Democrats haven’t been able to pass election overhauls such as their “For the People Act,” which would eliminate most state voter ID laws, expand the practice of ballot harvesting, and mandate Election Day voter registration.
San Diego County School Retracts ‘Wheel of Privilege’ Teaching Tool
Epoch TImes – A school in San Diego County claims it has removed a “Wheel of Privilege” graphic from its professional development training materials after the image was exposed on social media and parents objected.
The image was touted as part of professional development training by the Black Mountain Middle School in Poway Unified School District (PUSD), according to the Californians For Equal Rights Foundation (CFER), whose executive director posted the graphic on Twitter.
The “Wheel of Power/Privilege” teaching tool was designed to rank people by power and privilege based on skin color, body size, and gender identity, as well as citizenship, language, wealth, and other factors.
CFER stated in a Feb. 9 newsletter that it was “alarmed by such a such divisive narrative, rooted in critical race theory (CRT) and intended for middle-schoolers.”
“We exposed the issue on social media. In the meantime, PUSD parents and residents contacted the school leadership to demand explanations,” CFER stated.
The school’s principal, Scott Corso, indicated in an email sent to a parent on Feb. 7 that the graphic was shared as one idea at a Big IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity Equity Awareness) committee meeting “for a future professional growth day with educators.” The virtual meeting was open to the public.
“After further reflection on feedback received and working with Shawntanet Jara, PUSD Director of Equity and Improvement, we have modified our activities. We have decided not to use the graphic entitled ‘Wheel of Privilege,’ nor the video related to intersectionality,” Corso said in the email obtained by The Epoch Times.
Corso claimed in the email that the school is not teaching CRT.
Texas Coach Attacked by Middle Schoolers After He Makes Request: Witnesses
Epoch Times – A Texas high school coach is recovering after he was attacked by a group of middle school students after class, according to the coach’s family and witnesses.
“I heard there were kids doing donuts and stuff, causing a ruckus with their dirt bikes,” student Logan Wisniewski told local media of the incident. “The coach wasn’t happy with it. He asked them politely to stop doing that. The kids weren’t having that, so they decided to jump him.”
Video footage and photos that circulated online showed the group of students, who all appear to be African-American, chasing down the coach at Langham Creek High School, which is part of the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District. Later, the students are seen punching the individual before he falls to the ground.
Michael Shott, an assistant baseball coach and physics teacher at Langham Creek High, was injured during the incident, his mother told ABC13.
Rep. Cooper’s Retirement Highlights Democrats’ Disarray as 2022 Campaign Trail Heats Up
Epoch TImes – Tennessee Democrat Rep. Jim Cooper has 32 years in Congress, representing two different districts. He’s in great health and he knows the political ropes in the nation’s capital as well as anybody in the House of Representatives.
But “Blue Dog” moderate Cooper is calling it quits. Tennessee’s Republican governor and state legislative majority redrew his mostly urban/suburban congressional district in a way that left him seeing no way to win another term.
Democratic presidential contenders have carried Cooper’s present district solidly for years, but the new boundaries likely favor the GOP.
The redrawn district, however, wasn’t the sole factor in Cooper’s retirement decision, as he made clear in a recent interview with a local media outlet. The 67-year-old, who was born in Nashville but grew up in more rural Shelbyville, isn’t happy with the direction of his party.
“What outreach do we have to Republicans and independents? Most of the rhetoric you hear is, ‘Let’s double down, let’s force it down their throats.’ That’s not the way to win votes. You have to have mutual respect and trust. First, that takes familiarity,” Cooper told Nashville Scene.
“What Tennessee Democrats need is a strategy to win. We’re addicted to telling other people what to think. You can’t really win many elections if you’re that self-righteous.
“It’s important to be in communication with your constituents, not to be their boss. You’re their representative. We’ve got to get this formula right. The Democratic Party in Tennessee is basically facing extinction.”
Prospects for Democrats elsewhere aren’t quite that bad, but the party that controls the White House and both chambers of Congress, if only barely, goes into the 2022 midterm congressional campaign facing three daunting problems.
Closing Arguments in Palin v. NYT Trial
Epoch Times – Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin spent her 58th birthday listening to a closing argument by one of her attorneys, as well as one from the defense, in her defamation trial against The New York Times on Feb. 11.
As a public figure, Palin, a Republican, “suffered plenty of jokes, plenty of insults” and “slings and arrows,” but with the newspaper’s editorial linking her to a mass shooting, “it became time to draw the line” with a lawsuit, her lawyer, Kenneth Turkel, said.
“Ultimately, civil lawsuits are about money, but that’s not why we’re here,” he said.
Turkel reviewed many of The New York Times’ internal emails that had been submitted as evidence, showing the biased genesis of the editorial.
He looked at the two sentences from the editorial that are in question, which District Judge Jed Rakoff referred to as “challenged statements” later in the day.
Turkel went over the four elements he and Palin’s other lawyer, Shane Vogt, need to prove, and explained how they’ve succeeded in doing so.
He referred to the Feb. 10 testimony of Hannah Ingber, who worked at the newly formed Reader Center at the newspaper, as a “pin-drop moment” when she testified she wasn’t aware of any policy that prevented reporters or editors from apologizing to subjects of articles.
This contradicted the testimony of former editorial page editor James Bennet, who had the final word on the editorial, who stated that was a policy at the publication.
In defense attorney David Axelrod’s summation, he accused Turkel of cherry-picking portions of emails, “just to show you the bits and pieces he wanted you to see,” and that he “slices and dices” testimony. Axelrod used the words “honest mistake” several times, referring to the challenged statements.
“There was no conspiracy here to defame Governor Palin,” he said. Axelrod used the word “conspiracy” again a few minutes later.
Maryland Legislature Considers Creating ‘Advisory Council’ to Collect Data on Homeschoolers
The Daily Signal – If we have learned anything about left-wing cultural revolutionaries over the past few years and decades, it’s that they insist that all conform to their view of “diversity.”
All are welcome, except for those who disagree.
That’s why it’s so troubling to see government authorities rope in, and attempt to control, people attempting to maintain their independence.
Maryland Delegate Sheila Ruth, a Baltimore County Democrat, recently proposed legislation in the Maryland House of Delegates that would create a deeply worrisome “advisory council” to watch over and gather data on homeschool families.
The 16-seat council would be staffed by four political appointees, four government officials, and eight members of the homeschool community. It would “gather information on the needs of homeschool parents and homeschool umbrella schools,” and would effectively sweep homeschool parents under the wing of a government agency.
This is precisely the sort of thing many homeschool parents wanted to avoid when they chose that path for their children in the first place.
Bethany Mandel, a conservative writer and homeschool mother living in Maryland, raised the alarm about this legislation and called out Ruth on Twitter.
Court rejects Manson Family murderer’s parole bid
RT – The California Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to hear a petition by 72-year-old murderer Leslie Van Houten to reverse Governor Gavin Newsom’s denial of her parole. Van Houten, a member of notorious killer Charles Manson’s ‘family,’ was involved in two murders.
The court’s decision came after the California Department of Corrections recommended Van Houten for parole in November, a recommendation that was shot down by Newsom, who said that she “poses an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison.” Van Houten has been recommended for parole five times since 2016, with Governors Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom rejecting each recommendation.
Van Houten is currently serving a life sentence for taking part in the 1969 killings of Leno LaBianca, a supermarket executive, and his wife Rosemary. She was also convicted of conspiracy to commit the murders of actress Sharon Tate and Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Steven Parent, and Jay Sebring a day earlier.
Gateway Pundit – Gary Gensler, Biden’s current Head of the SEC, in 2015 and 2016 was running Hillary’s campaign finances at the same time millions flew from her campaign to entities with the sole purpose of making up a Russia collusion story that eventually led to spying on candidate and President Trump.
When Hillary Clinton was putting together her 2016 Presidential campaign, she brought in Gary Gensler as her Chief Financial Officer. CNN reported in April 2015:
Hillary Clinton’s campaign will add to its top ranks a man who’s known for being tough on Wall Street.
Gary Gensler, the former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, will serve as the Clinton campaign’s chief financial officer, Bloomberg reported.
Gensler would bring a wealth of knowledge about the financial industry, as well as the federal agencies that regulate it, to the newly launched campaign.
He was chairman of the CFTC, the government agency that oversees the derivatives markets, from 2009 to 2014. He previously served in senior Treasury Department roles under President Bill Clinton, and prior to joining the Clinton administration worked at Goldman Sachs for almost 20 years.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Inflation and Labor Crunch a ‘Double-Edged Sword’ Hurting Businesses: Papa John’s Founder
Epoch Times – John Schnatter, founder of the Papa John’s pizza chain, said that the combination of supply chain problems, surging inflation, and the labor shortage are pushing up costs for businesses, hurting quality, service, and the bottom line.
“We’re seeing a lot of pressure now at Papa John’s and throughout the economy,” Schnatter told NTD News in an interview, commenting on the impact of inflation, which in the year through January hit a fresh 40-year high of 7.5 percent.
“It’s definitely having a significant impact on everybody’s cost—and that includes Papa John’s,” he added.
Besides price pressures, a major problem facing Papa John’s is labor.
“We simply can’t get people to come to work,” said Schnatter, adding that staffing problems have led product and service quality to suffer.
“And now all of a sudden, we have to raise prices,” he said, describing the combination of the labor crunch and inflation as a “double-edged sword” that’s cutting into Papa John’s customer base.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
The Plan to Turn You Into a Genetically Edited Human Cyborg
Mercola – A May 2021 project report by the U.K. Ministry of Defense, created in partnership with the German Bundeswehr Office for Defense Planning, offers shocking highlights of the dystopian cybernetics future that global technocrats are pushing mankind toward.
The report, “Human Augmentation — The Dawn of a New Paradigm, a Strategic Implications Project,”1 reviews the scientific goals of the U.K. and German defense ministries, and they are precisely what the title suggests. Human augmentation is stressed as being a key area to focus on in order to win future wars.
But human augmentation will not be restricted to the military ranks. It’s really a way to further separate classes of humans, with the rich and powerful elite being augmented “super-humans.” It’s worth noting that anything released to the public is a decade or more behind current capabilities, so everything in this report can be considered dated news, even though it reads like pure science fiction.
“… the field of human augmentation has the potential to transform society, security and defense over the next 30 years,” the report states. “We must begin to understand the implications of these changes and shape them to our advantage now, before they are thrust upon us.
Technology in warfare has traditionally centered on increasingly sophisticated platforms that people move and fight from, or artefacts that they wear or wield to fight with. Advances in the life sciences and converging developments in related fields are, however, beginning to blur the line between technology and the human …
Many technologies that have the potential to deliver strategic advantage out to 2050 already exist and further advances will undoubtedly occur … Our potential adversaries will not be governed by the same ethical and legal considerations that we are, and they are already developing human augmentation capabilities.
Our key challenge will be establishing advantage in this field without compromising the values and freedoms that underpin our way of life …
When we think of human augmentation it is easy to imagine science fiction inspired suits or wonder drugs that produce super soldiers, but we are on the cusp of realizing the benefits in a range of roles now. Human augmentation will help to understand, optimize and enhance performance leading to incremental, as well as radical, improvements.”
HEALTH
Why Chocolate is the Heart-Healthy Valentine’s Day Choice
Newsmax Health – Giving dark chocolate to your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day may be a win-win emotionally and physically, an expert suggests.
But it’s important to keep any potential health benefits in perspective, noted Lizzy Davis, an assistant professor of nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“What is healthy for one person may not be healthy for another,” she said in a university news release. “However, remember that chocolate, in its purest form, comes from a tree. For this reason, there are some health/nutrition benefits to chocolate.”
Dark chocolate is the healthiest kind of chocolate, according to Davis.
“Some of the health benefits are that it contains antioxidants (specifically flavanols), which have been shown to have a relationship with lower blood pressure, risk of stroke and coronary heart disease,” she explained.
Davis also pointed out that some research suggests that magnesium in chocolate may explain premenstrual cravings , and pregnant women might crave chocolate for its iron.
However, she emphasized that you should not use chocolate to get your daily intake of these nutrients.
As for its emotional effect, Davis explained that chocolate is made from cocoa beans, which contain tryptophan and phenylethylamine, chemicals connected with improved mood and happiness. They can also make you feel energized.
“These are even coined the ‘love drug’ because they mimic the emotions a person feels when experiencing love,” she said.
Davis explained that the differences between dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate have to do with the amount of chocolate liquor they contain. This mixture of cocoa powder and cocoa butter is chocolate in its most concentrated form.
7 Best Foods to Support Kidney Function
Dr. Edward Group – Your kidneys provide a vital service to your body — they filter waste from your blood and send it to your bladder. They also regulate blood pressure, manage water reabsorption, control the acidity in the body, and balance electrolyte levels. Considering their importance, eating a diet to promote kidney health could be one of the best things you can do. The following seven foods will support your kidneys and make their job easier.
7 Foods That Support Kidney Function
- Cherries
- Cranberries
- Cinnamon
- Kidney Beans
- Olive Oil
- Java Tea
- Onions (and Garlic!)
Nature’s Best Remedies for Aging Skin
GreenMedInfo – Here are five of nature’s greatest gifts for maintaining healthy, youthful skin and fighting the pernicious effects of aging
Even those who may have won the genetic lottery or have unlimited amounts of money to spend on skincare are not exempt from the natural effects of aging.
But while the beauty industry is bent on spending a fortune trying to convince people of the supreme wonders of chemical peels, Botox injections and serums, there’s an entire world of natural solutions to slow the effects of aging.
Ditch the expensive creams and peels for now and explore these natural remedies that may help you delay or manage the signs of aging skin.
- Aloe Vera
- Red Ginseng
- Soy
- Pine Bark
- Astaxanthin
COVID RELATED NEWS
New York State, City Sued Over COVID-19 Treatment Order That Discriminates Against Whites
Epoch Times – Two men who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are suing the city and state of New York for unconstitutional racial discrimination for directing medical providers to consider race in distributing lifesaving treatments.
The lawsuit comes after former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson ridiculed the city’s directive as an example of critical race theory in action.
“I certainly don’t think that the virus discriminates,” Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, told “The Chris Salcedo Show” last month. “I think it takes everybody. And this is absolute absurdity. We’ve gone crazy. This is, you know, critical race theory infiltrating everything.”
Plaintiffs Jonathan Roberts, 61, and Charles Vavruska, 55, are ineligible for treatments because they are non-Hispanic whites, say their lawyers at Sacramento, California-based Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), a national public interest law firm.
PLF senior attorney Anastasia Boden said this policy is “part of a growing trend to continuously view the world in terms of race, to not see people as individuals, but solely as members of the groups they’re born into, and to dole out benefits and burdens on the basis of immutable characteristics, and that’s exactly what the Fourteenth Amendment was intended to prohibit.”
That amendment “was meant to allow people to be seen as individuals and to make race an arbitrary and unimportant characteristic,” Boden told The Epoch Times. “New York is elevating race above everything else.”
ENTERTAINMENT
Ivan Reitman, ‘Animal House’ Producer and ‘Ghostbusters’ Director, Dies at 75
Breitbart – Ivan Reitman, the influential filmmaker and producer behind beloved comedies from “Animal House” to “Ghostbusters,” has died. He was 75.
Reitman died peacefully in his sleep Saturday night at his home in Montecito, Calif., his family told The Associated Press.
GOOD NEWS
‘Brainy Bunch’: Parents Homeschool Their 10 Kids With All of Them Graduating High School at 12
Epoch Times – Two Alabama parents who homeschooled their 10 children, with all of them graduating high school at the mere age of 12—are now rocketing forward in their respective areas of interest.
High school sweethearts Kip and Mona Lisa Harding, both 53, have raised their kids to believe that “if it’s their calling, God will help them achieve it.” Their children, who range from the age of 34 to 11, have taken their “can do” attitude to their various fields of study and occupation, accomplishing a few milestones in their chosen arenas.
PET NEWS
Can You Feed Broccoli to Your Pets?
Mercoal Pet – There’s a reason why broccoli (Brassica oleracea italica) is considered one of the most well-loved vegetables in America,1 especially among health food enthusiasts.2 It has earned the distinction of being a superfood because of the wealth of nutrients and phytochemicals that it contains.
If you’re wondering whether you can share this vegetable with your pet, then here’s the good news: Broccoli is just as beneficial for your pet as it is for you. It can be a great pet treat or a component of your pet’s nutritionally balanced, species-appropriate homemade diet.
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
Broccoli is just as beneficial for your pet as it is for you. It can be a great pet treat or a component of your pet’s nutritionally balanced, species-appropriate homemade diet
One of the primary phytochemicals found in broccoli is glucoraphanin, which is the precursor of the antioxidant and anticarcinogenic compound sulforaphane
Broccoli also contains lutein, zeaxanthin and beta-carotene, whose benefits go beyond their antioxidative properties
The vitamin C in broccoli acts as a free radical scavenger and oxygen interceptor, keeping cells from being damaged by oxidation
OTHER
Dumping on American Builders and Homebuyers
CATO: The economists’ latest results, published today in a new Cato Briefing Paper (“American Protectionism and Construction Materials Costs”), are striking and have significant implications for U.S. trade, construction, and housing policy. After first noting the substantial recent increase in both U.S. construction materials prices and home prices (see Figure 1 below), they gather data on the most significant U.S. trade remedy measures affecting the domestic construction materials sector.
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