WORLD NEWS
Canada’s House of Commons Passes Govt’s Emergencies Act Motion; Vote Split Along Party Lines
Voting along party lines, a majority of MPs in the House of Commons voted on Feb. 21 to approve the extraordinary and temporary measures in the Emergencies Act invoked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The governing Liberals and the NDP voted to pass the motion for confirmation of the declaration of emergency, while the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois voted against it.
Putin Orders Russian Troops Into Ukraine Breakaway Regions
After Russian President Vladimir Putin said he will recognize the breakaway Ukrainian Donetsk and Lugansk regions as independent, he signed a decree on Monday ordering Russian military troops into the area.
According to a decree issued by the Kremlin and signed by Putin, the Russian Defense Ministry is now authorized to send troops into the Donbas area in eastern Ukraine to “maintain peace.” He also told the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to establish diplomatic relations with both Donetsk and Lugansk, reported Russian state-run media.
It was not immediately clear whether the Russian military had yet entered the two breakaway regions. Also unclear is the size of the force Putin would be dispatching, when they would cross the border, and exactly what their mission would be.
Earlier on Monday, Putin gave a lengthy televised speech from his office in which he claimed Ukraine is an integral part of Russia’s history. The Soviet Union under Vladimir Lenin created the modern Ukrainian state and separated it from Russia, he further said, while adding that he believes Ukraine is seeking to create nuclear weapons that will threaten Moscow.
“Ukraine has never had traditions of its own statehood,” the Russian president said, describing the eastern part as “ancient Russian lands.”
“Russia has always tried to resolve all conflicts by peaceful means. Nevertheless, the Kyiv authorities conducted two punitive operations in these territories [Donetsk and Lugansk], and it seems that we are now witnessing an escalation for the third time,” Putin said, without providing specifics.
Zelensky Issues Statement After Putin Says Russian Troops Can Enter Eastern Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a statement to the nation after Russian leader Vladimir Putin ordered Russian military troops into eastern Ukraine.
Putin on Monday announced that Russia recognizes the independence of Luhansk and Donetsk regions in eastern Ukraine, which are being held by Russian-backed separatist groups. Soon after that, Putin signed a decree issued by the Kremlin that says the Russian Defense Ministry is now authorized to send troops into the area to “maintain peace.”
The United States, in response, announced it will issue sanctions via an executive order from President Joe Biden. Press secretary Jen Psaki issued a White House statement that said Biden’s order will “prohibit new investment, trade, and financing by U.S. persons to, from, or in the so-called DNR and LNR regions of Ukraine.”
“This E.O. will also provide authority to impose sanctions on any person determined to operate in those areas of Ukraine.”
The U.N. Security Council scheduled a rare emergency meeting for late Monday at the request of Ukraine, the United States, and six other countries. At the meeting, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield called Putin’s announcement “nonsense.”
“[Putin] has since announced that he will place Russian troops in these regions. He calls them peacekeepers,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “This is nonsense. We know what they really are.”
Zelensky, in a presidential address to the nation, criticized Russia’s recognition of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
“Ukraine most certainly considers these last Russian actions as the violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country,” he said.
“All responsibility for all the consequences connected with the decision mentioned above lies on the Russian political leadership. The recognition of independence of the occupied territories of Luhansk and Donetsk regions might mean the unilateral withdrawal of Russia from Minsk agreements.”
Putin Recognizes Independence of Ukraine Separatist Regions
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 21 said that Russia recognizes the independence of the separatist Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine, which some Western officials say will give Moscow the pretext to send in troops.
Putin, in a lengthy speech, said he will “immediately recognize the sovereignty” of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics. On Feb. 21, the leaders of the two areas, which make up much of the Donbas, requested that Putin recognize their independence from Ukraine.
Before, in his speech, Putin suggested that Ukraine isn’t a real country and believes that it’s “ancient Russian lands.” The modern Ukrainian state, he alleged, was created by Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin, who ultimately separated Ukraine from the imperial Russian empire.
“Ukraine is not just a neighboring country for us, Ukraine is a part of our cultural space,” Putin said, suggesting that the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union caused Russia to be “robbed” of Ukraine. Now Ukraine is a “U.S. colony” with a “puppet regime” in charge, he said.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in response, said Putin’s declaration that he recognizes the two regions as independent is a breach of international law.
“Plainly what has happened is extremely bad news. … We will be talking to our allies urgently,” Johnson told reporters at a Feb. 21 news conference.
World leaders decide how to punish Russia for Ukraine invasion
As Russian President Vladimir Putin orders troops to separatist regions of eastern Ukraine, Western leaders are taking steps to fulfill promises of economic sanctions.
With the smell of war in the air over Europe, world leaders got over the shock of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order to deploy troops to separatist regions of eastern Ukraine and they are focused on producing as forceful a reaction as possible.
Germany made the first big move, taking steps to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia – a lucrative deal long sought by Moscow, but criticized by the United States for increasing Europe’s reliance on Russian energy supplies.
The rest of the European Union also put some of its cards on the table saying its sanctions would center on several Russian officials, banks financing the Russian armed forces and include a move to limit Moscow’s access to EU capital and financial markets.
The West insisted Mr. Putin’s bold moves in Ukraine violated countless international agreements and since the words of diplomacy had failed, it was time to move toward action.
With Western powers long having made clear that the fate of Ukraine wasn’t worth a hot and direct military confrontation with Russia, and the potential of a world war, sanctions were the only, limited, option to crystalize their anger.
“No lows too low, no lies too blatant, no red lines too red to cross,” Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said in summing up the political disgust felt from Europe to North America and democracies hugging Russia’s borders in Asia like Japan and South Korea.
However, Putin continued to knock the world off-kilter with a strategy where confusion about the true extent of an invasion, which would automatically kick in major sanctions, remained unclear and debatable.
Russia says it’s sending what it deems “peacekeepers” into eastern Ukraine, but EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell stressed they were “troops” on sovereign Ukrainian territory.
“I wouldn’t say that’s a fully-fledged invasion, but Russian troops are on Ukrainian soil,” Mr. Borrell said.
The latest developments were enough to force the 27-nation bloc into a mode of high alert, and the EU’s foreign ministers would be deciding later Tuesday on how deep a first batch of sanctions, including those put forward early Tuesday by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council chief Charles Michel, would have to cut.
It would likely stop far short of the “massive” package threatened by the EU and Washington for a full military invasion into national territory that Kiev still controls.
“The way we respond will define us for the generations to come,” Ms. Simonyte said
Australian Police Under Investigation for Using Sonic Weaponry Against Protesters
On Saturday, 12 February 2022, Australians protested in Canberra outside Parliament House in the “Convoy to Canberra” against vaccine mandates and Covid restrictions. According to reports, Australian Capital Territory Policing admitted to the use of a Long Range Acoustic Device (“LRAD”) during the protest, however, only after Senator Malcolm Roberts and Senator Alex Antic brought up the issue in Senate estimates on 14 February.
The LRAD device has two modes. One setting turns it into a crowd control tool – also referred to as a “sound canon”, “acoustic hailing device”, or a “sonic weapon” – and the other mode makes the LRAD a loudspeaker or amplification device to relay messages to the crowd.
In a meeting of the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee held last week at Parliament House, Senator for Queensland Malcolm Roberts asked Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw if LRADs were used against protesters. Kershaw looked extremely uncomfortable and said he would get back to him.
“There have been many attempts to paint anti-mandate protesters as extremists. It’s not true and even the Federal Police have said so. At the protest some people were concerned about the appearance of possible Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD) and whether they were used or not. We didn’t get an answer back straight away but the police will have to give me an answer on notice,” Senator for Queensland Malcom Roberts wrote.
A spokesperson for the police subsequently released a statement to The Epoch Times:
“ACT Policing has deployed several types of loudspeakers and amplification devices to quickly and effectively convey voice messages to large, and often loud, crowds of people during the recent protest activity in Canberra.”
Although the police claim to have not weaponised the device in Canberra, the mere presence of these devices caused reasonable concern due to their history as primarily being used as a sonic weapon.
The device has a controversial history when it has been used during protests, often coined as a “sonic weapon” meant to cause extreme discomfort by way of amplifying sound. However, protesters in Canberra have reported bizarre symptoms afterwards such as skin and scalp burns, and blisters on their lips.
Colombia decriminalises abortion in first 24 weeks
Colombia’s constitutional court has decriminalised abortions within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Under the new rules, no one will be prosecuted for having an abortion within that time frame.
Since 2006, abortions have been allowed in Colombia in cases of rape, when the woman’s life is at risk, or if the pregnancy is not viable.
The ruling was welcomed by pro-choice groups, who called it “a historic achievement”.
But Archbishop José Luis Rueda said the Catholic Church would “continue to proclaim, defend and promote human life from gestation until natural death”.
U.S. NEWS, POLITIC & GOVERNMENT
BREAKING: 3 men who killed Ahmaud Arbery found guilty on all counts in federal hate crimes trial
The three men who killed Ahmaud Arbery have been found guilty of all counts in a federal hate crimes trial.
The verdict comes one day after closing arguments wrapped up in the case Monday afternoon.
Travis and Greg McMichael as well as Roddie Bryant were found guilty of interference with rights and attempted kidnapping.
300 Cars Converge in Attempt to Take Over Virginia City: Police
Police in Richmond, Virginia, said that 300 cars converged in an attempt to take over the city during the past weekend.
Authorities said that the individuals involved wanted to block streets to carry out illegal activities.
“Their entire point was to come to Richmond, specifically Richmond, to do ‘burnouts,’ ‘donuts,’ and other illegal activities on the streets of Richmond,” Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith said at a news conference.
Police said the cars gathered in Richmond at around 9 p.m. on Feb. 19 and stopped at several locations, posing a threat to public security by blocking roads and intersections as well as engaging in reckless driving.
“What could have been a potentially deadly gathering of individuals fueled by large spectator crowds was prevented by RPD officers who issued 45 summons for various offenses,” Richmond Police Department spokesperson Tracy Walker said.
“We watch social media quite a bit, monitoring for any illegal activities and things that can help us in the investigation, and we came across it, and we started to monitor it very closely,” Smith said.
Multiple vehicles were seen doing “donuts” and “burnouts” in parking lots and other areas. The drivers dispersed within hours after officers issued the summonses for various offenses.
“That’s very dangerous behavior: speeding. You’re talking about they are taking their life in their own hand, and not only their life, but an innocent pedestrian who may not know exactly what’s taking place,” Smith said.
One person was arrested on a felony charge of eluding police, reckless driving, and having an illegal window tint, officials said. His vehicle was impounded.
“There’s no other way to put it. This is foolish, and it’s not going to be tolerated in Richmond,” said Smith, adding that officers estimated that about 1,500 people were involved.
US Trucker Convoy to ‘Shut Down’ Traffic on Major Roads Outside Washington: Organizer
One of the U.S. trucker convoys planning to leave this week plans to shut down traffic on the Capital Beltway outside Washington.
“We’re going to have a shutdown,” Bob Bolus, the organizer, told The Epoch Times. “We’ll shut it down.”
The Beltway encircles Washington, running through portions of Maryland and Virginia, and passes through a small part of the nation’s capital.
Bolus plans to lead a convoy from Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he owns a tow truck company, starting Feb. 23. After a stop in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the convoy is estimated to arrive in Washington in the afternoon that day.
Bolus, who said the convoy will be peaceful, declined to answer directly if truckers plan to halt traffic purposely, although he did say lanes would be kept open for emergency responders.
“It’s too bad if it disrupts traffic,” Bolus said. “[People] should stay home then, because it’s going to be disruptive. I don’t care if it was considered an accident on the Beltway, and traffic got backed up. It is what it’s going to be. We have every right to be on the Beltway and on every other road in the interstate system of the United States.”
There’s no set timeframe for how long the protest will last. The convoy is protesting against COVID-19 vaccine mandates, the stream of illegal immigrants crossing the United States’ southern border, and other policies of President Joe Biden’s administration.
From Corrupted to Trusted: Shifting Perceptions of the FDA
Until recently, most Americans had little trust in the FDA. But when COVID arrived in early 2020, a scared nation deepened in tribal identity and then turned its faith and trust over to FDA and CDC. Interestingly, during COVID, medical professionals’ trust in the FDA and CDC plummeted. Let’s explore how American perceptions of the FDA have changed and what this faith has delivered to our nation.
In 2008 I obtained a letter written by an FDA official, which was sent to a competitor of Nutiva (the organic foods brand I founded in 1999). It warned firms to remove any reference to ‘non-GMO’ on food labels. Virtually every natural food brand quickly changed their labels. As CEO of Nutiva I determined that the warning was not based on any FDA regulation, but was an illegal abuse of power by an FDA official serving the interests of the GMO industry.
We chose to ignore the letter, and luckily I never heard from the agency. This is just one of many examples of the FDA’s suspect moves over the past decades.
The FDA has failed to regulate a toxic food system of dis-ease, inflammation, and the destruction of nature via harsh pesticides, leaving Americans with weakened immunity and vulnerability to pathogens. Tragically the U.S.A. has one of the highest COVID death rates in the world.
‘People Need to Go to Jail’ After Latest John Durham Filing: Senator
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said on Feb. 20 that Republicans and former President Donald Trump will ultimately be proven correct regarding their repeated claims that Obama administration officials spied on Trump.
“You and I both remember when President Trump said ‘the Democrats are spying on me,’” Cruz told host Bill Hemmer on “Fox News Sunday.” “And the corporate media collectively laughed at him. They mocked him. They said what a ridiculous claim for him to make. Well, if what special counsel [John] Durham is alleging is true, what Donald Trump said was absolutely right.”
Cruz was responding to questions relating to recent court filings made by Durham in the case against Michael Sussmann, a former Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee attorney who was charged in 2021 with making false statements to the FBI when he met with then-General Counsel James Baker in late 2016.
A motion filed earlier in February by Durham and his team connected Sussmann to a technology executive who was allegedly gathering information from servers connected to Trump’s residences and his office when he was president.
Fraudulent mail-in ballots and dirty voter rolls could spawn a series of messy elections around the country, experts fear, saying their threat to election integrity can’t be underestimated.
When a person dies or fails to provide notification of change of address, a “dirty voter roll” is often the result, because the resident essentially remains eligible to vote until the state removes them from their roll. This opens the avenue for fraudulent votes, which is exacerbated by the rise of mail-in voting around the country. Eight states—California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington—allow all elections to be conducted by mail.
On the heels of the 2020 presidential election, several lawsuits were filed to take on a range of claims relating to voter fraud and electoral abuses. Former President Donald Trump and his supporters alleged the presence of numerous irregularities in the voting process. They alleged that taken together, these instances of fraud ensured a win for then-presidential candidate Joe Biden.
But concerned citizens will never know the credibility of any of those claims, because almost all of the lawsuits were dismissed on procedural grounds by the courts, according to Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at Washington-based think tank The Heritage Foundation and a former member of the Federal Election Commission.
“We never got to the substantive stage of trial where witnesses could testify and courts could examine their stories, their claims, and determine their credibility,” Spakovsky told The Epoch Times.
Kyle Rittenhouse Announces Fund to Hold Media Accountable for ‘Lies’
Kyle Rittenhouse on Monday said he is launching a project that seeks to hold news organizations accountable for their “lies.”
Rittenhouse, 19, who was acquitted in November 2021 of charges related to the shooting of three people during a night of riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020, shared details of his new initiative during an appearance on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
“Me and my team have decided to launch the Media Accountability Project as a tool to help fundraise and hold the media accountable for the lies they said and deal with them in court,” the teenager said.
“I don’t want to see anybody else have to deal with what I went through. So I want to hold them accountable for what they did to me, because I don’t want to see anybody have to go through what I went through,” Rittenhouse said.
Rittenhouse said that the fund will help raise money for potential lawsuits, and that his team is currently weighing up suing “quite a few” politicians, athletes, and celebrities, including American actor and host of ABC News’ “The View,” Whoopi Goldberg.
“She called me a ‘murderer’ after I was acquitted by a jury of my peers. She went on to still say that,” Rittenhouse said.
Rittenhouse said The Young Turks founder Cenk Uygur “continues to call me a ‘murderer,’” after his acquittal.
“We’re going to hold everybody who lied about me accountable, such as everybody who lied called me a white supremacist,” Rittenhouse said. “They’re all going to be held accountable. And we’re going to handle them in a courtroom.”
Governor candidate’s ad accuses TV stations of airing ‘fake news’ DURING newscasts!
Kari Lake, the candidate for Arizona governor who has earned the support of President Trump, already has taken to task multiple reporters who have confronted her with questions that appear aimed at making her, and other Republicans, look bad.
Now she’s turned the tables, creating an ad that is airing during the news shows on multiple television channels, attacking them for airing “fake news.”
She knows the tricks of the media industry, after all, coming off a career as a news anchor.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) on Tuesday morning released an 11-point broad vision for Republicans if and when they retake control in Washington, complete with 128 specific policy promises to voters.
The plan from Scott represents possibly the clearest overarching view any Republican has offered ahead of the 2022 midterm elections on the party’s vision for the future and has clear endorsements upon its release from top party leaders. It also signals a clear shift in the GOP towards culture war issues that motivate voters and a serious effort to confront and address the litany of problems facing American society today. The plan, which Scott and his team previewed for Breitbart News ahead of its public release, is published here and is available for the public to see at the website RescueAmerica.com, which Scott launched to roll out the proposal.
Scott, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), released the plan in his personal capacity from his own campaign — and told Breitbart News in a lengthy interview on Monday evening previewing its release that he views it as a clear-eyed attempt to steer the country back from the brink.
—> View the 11-Point Plan to Rescue America
- 1. Education
- 2. Color Blind Equality
- 3. Safety and Crime
- 4. Immigration
- 5. Economy / Growth
- 6. Government Reform & Debt
- 7. Fair, Fraud-Free Elections
- 8. Family
- 9. Gender, Life, Science
- 10. Religious Liberty / Big Tech
- 11. America First
Anthony Weiner Launches New Radio Talk Show: Not a ‘Comeback’
Former Congressman Anthony Weiner (D) has launched a radio show with former New York City mayoral candidate, Republican Curtis Silwa.
New York ABC affiliate WABC reported last week:
The show is called ‘The Left Versus the Right’ and airs on WABC AM Radio. It is not affiliated with WABC-TV.
The new show will feature opinion programming about current events and local New York City issues.
Before Saturday’s show, Weiner addressed what he called the ‘elephant in the room.’
“No, this isn’t some kind of a comeback…a radio show about New York is sometimes just a radio show about New York,” he said.
Weiner resigned in disgrace in 2011 after an exposé by Andrew Breitbart forced him to admit he had sent lewd text messages to women on social media. He had previously denied the claims and suggested that his accounts had been hacked.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
‘Boondocking’ Communities See Surge of New Arrivals as Housing Prices Soar
At age 63, Tom, a retired clerical worker, wasn’t planning to live out his golden years in the back seat of an old beater car in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert.
Living alone on a fixed income, Tom said he was just getting by on Social Security until housing prices in Phoenix began to climb in 2021.
He knew he couldn’t afford the higher amounts in monthly rent on his meager income. So he decided to go out on his own, and become a “boondocker,” slang for someone who lives off-grid.
In October, Tom packed all his belongings into his ancient white 1984 Lincoln sedan along with his two cats. Then, he drove 127 miles south to Quartzsite, Arizona, a nationwide destination for recreational vehicles.
Once he got there, he staked out a small patch of dirt on long-term visitor land operated by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and marked the boundary line with pebbles.
He’s been calling it home ever since.
“I couldn’t find a place to live. It’s the whole state now. I’m okay with it. I’m able-bodied—you save a lot of money” on rent, he told The Epoch Times.
Organized Shoplifting Spurs High-Tech Security Measures
Spurred in part by inflation and supply chain disruptions during the pandemic, the increasing volume of retail shoplifting since 2019 has prompted stores across the country to adopt stronger methods to deter shoplifters.
One measure involved the use of “spider wire” with an electronic security tag on a $20.83 package of ribeye steak at a Walmart in Florida, as shown in a Tik Tok video that has since gone viral.
The user who posted the 25-second video clip lamented,”Yo, you gotta be kidding me. Walmart now has its steak locked up … it’s come down to this,” he said.
Walmart refused to comment on the video or whether the practice of using security wire on beef is localized or nationwide.
Still, it appears Walmart is trying to “make it difficult for the bad guys to steal,” observed loss prevention expert Bill Alford, co-founder and CEO of Circle The Wagons Group Purchasing Organization in North Carolina, a retail risk management organization.
But don’t assume it’s just desperate people in desperate times who are committing most grocery store thefts, Alford said. Rather, he said it reflects a much larger problem of organized retail crime (ORC), where groups of shoplifters work in tandem to steal high-priced merchandise for resale on the local black market.
According to the FBI, organized retail crime costs American retailers about $30 billion a year. Often, these crimes are a gateway for major crime rings that use illicit proceeds to fund other crimes, such as money laundering.
“The stores targeted for theft run the gamut—from grocery and major department stores to drug stores and specialty shops. The organizations responsible for much of this crime include South American theft groups, Mexican criminal groups, Cuban criminal groups from South Florida, and Asian street gangs from California,” the FBI said in a statement.
American consumers ultimately pay through higher prices as retail stores grapple with mounting losses of revenue and goods.
“There is also a health and safety aspect—in many cases, stolen food products, pharmaceuticals, and other consumables aren’t maintained under proper conditions or labeled properly, so when they do finally make their way back to unsuspecting consumers, they may be ineffective or may even make people sick,” the FBI said.
Bee industry buzzing as hive thefts soar
A tightening supply of bees and the soaring cost to rent a hive for pollination are likely motivating some to go rogue, stealing hives from other beekeepers.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
The Global Digital ID Surveillance Plan Accelerates – Urgent Resistance Needed
The COVID-19 plandemic provided the perfect cover for all manner of “New Normal” changes that were always intended to become permanent. One change in particular has continued to go mostly under the radar – the increasing use of all-pervasive surveillance.
Unfortunately, this Orwellian, “Big Brother” global digital ID surveillance plan just became even more real.
The Digital Identity Working Group (DIWG) chaired by Australia’s Digital Transformation Agency—whose member countries also include Canada, Finland, Israel, New Zealand, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the World Bank (through observer status)—initially met in 2020 to “share experiences and opportunities for the use of digital identity initiatives.”
The group’s goals are “to understand how digital identity is being used and the models that might enable mutual recognition and/or interoperability, to share respective governments’ experiences with digital identity including in the COVID-19 response, and to understand what is required to enable mutual recognition and/or interoperability between DIWG member countries.”
In a recently released DIWG report entitled “Digital Identity in response to COVID-19” the working group identified a set of 11 principles governments should utilize when building out frameworks to implement digital identity.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Mount Etna Roars Again, Sends Up Towering Volcanic Ash Cloud
ROME—Mount Etna has roared back to spectacular action after a few months of relative quiet, sending up a 7.5-mile high volcanic ash cloud over eastern Sicily.
The lava flow from Etna, one of Europe’s most active volcanoes, was centered around the crater on the mountain’s southeast slope, Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology said Monday.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or property damage on the inhabited towns ringing the slopes of the volcano, which is popular with hikers, skiers, and other tourists.
By Monday afternoon, the lava flow from the crater had stopped, the institute said. But earlier in the day, while the volcanic cloud was pouring out of Etna, the institute issued a warning for aircraft in the area.
The towering cloud, visible for kilometers, was the latest impressive show of Etna’s power this month. Earlier in February, a particularly powerful eruption sent bolts of lightning dramatically across the sky over eastern Sicily.
Etna has had scores of known eruptions in its history. In 1669, in what has been considered the volcano’s worst-known eruption, lava buried a swath of Catania, the largest city in the east on the island of Sicily, and devastated dozens of villages.
More recently, in 1983, dynamite was used to divert lava threatening towns. In 1992, the army built an earthen wall to contain the lava, flowing from Etna for months, so it wouldn’t barrel into one of the villages on the slopes.
Tonga volcano: Internet restored five weeks after eruption
The submarine internet cable connecting Tonga to the rest of the world has been repaired, five weeks after an underwater volcanic eruption hit the tiny Pacific island nation.
The 15 January eruption and tsunami caused wide destruction, killing three people and damaging hundreds of homes.
In the immediate aftermath, the country was cut off from global reach because the underwater cable had been severed.
Makeshift satellite services provided only limited communication links.
While some low-grade internet services were set up about a week after the explosion, a fast connection was still lacking as aid and other supplies began to arrive at the islands.
The 840km (520-mile) undersea cable connecting Tonga to Fiji had been its sole source of reliable internet.
On Tuesday afternoon, the island’s main telecommunications providers Digicel and TCC confirmed that the internet had been restored to the main islands.
PREPPING
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COVID RELATED NEWS
New Uganda law to impose fines on those who refuse COVID vaccine
Only a third of Uganda’s population has been vaccinated against COVID-19 and the government is keen to change that.
Uganda plans to impose fines on people who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and those who fail to pay could be sent to prison under an amendment of a public health law currently being reviewed in Parliament.
Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng told lawmakers on Monday that the amendment is important to repeal the obsolete provisions, revise the fines for offences committed and protect citizens.
People With Weak Immune Systems Should Get 4 COVID-19 Shots Within Months: CDC
People with weakened immune systems are now advised to get four shots of a COVID-19 vaccine in a time period that may be as short as 140 days.
The updated recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that individuals who are moderately or severely immunocompromised get a primary series of Moderna or Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine and an additional dose as early as 28 days after the second dose.
A second booster shot is now recommended as soon as three months after the third dose.
If a person with a weakened immune system follows the advised vaccination schedule closely, they would end up with four shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines in less than six months.
For recipients in the population who received the single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, the updated guidance says they should get a second dose at least 28 days after their vaccination, and a third dose as soon as two months later, with no fourth dose advised, at least currently. These people are advised to get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines for their additional doses.
Some institutions, including the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, have already begun allowing immunocompromised people to get booster doses based on the new schedule.
Moderately and severely immunocompromised people include those receiving treatment for tumor malignancies, those with certain immunodeficiencies such as DiGeorge syndrome, and those with advanced or untreated human immunodeficiency virus.
Immunocompromised, including those not covered by the updated guidance, make up about 2.7 percent of the U.S. adult population.
The guidance is for all Americans 12 and older.
What’s Behind the New AIDS Scare?
As the media are abandoning COVID, they’re taking aim at AIDS instead. The timing of AIDS-related articles and announcements is indicative of a coordinated PR campaign, which must have a specific purpose
While Prince Harry’s fame is milked for all it’s worth to get people to start thinking about getting HIV-tested, the discovery of a new HIV variant in The Netherlands has also been announced. The variant is more contagious, and causes more severe disease, twice as fast. There are 109 known cases of the HIV variant in The Netherlands
The COVID jab may be causing AIDS-like illness by decimating immune function. Researchers have also warned the COVID jab may raise your risk of HIV infection. Is the media’s focus on AIDS an attempt to cover up COVID jab effects?
The same week as Prince Harry’s media appearance and the publication of the new HIV strain, Moderna announced its launch of a human trial for the world’s first mRNA HIV vaccine
The parallels between Dr. Anthony Fauci’s AIDS campaign in the ‘80s and COVID are strikingly similar. In the ‘80s, Fauci pushed the deadly drug AZT as the only permissible way to treat AIDS. During the COVID pandemic, Fauci’s failed and lethal Ebola drug remdesivir got the greenlight at the expense of far safer treatment alternatives. Fauci has also been pushing for a transition from conventional vaccines to the mRNA platform
GOP Congresswoman Wants to Know Why Feds Have Not Promoted Nasal Spray to Treat COVID-19
Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace is demanding answers from the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) about why the federal agency has not promoted nasal sprays as a treatment and prevention of COVID-19.
In a four-page letter released to The Epoch Times, Mace asks HHS Secretary Xavier Beccera why the agency has ignored studies that show that nasal sprays are an effective treatment of COVID-19 and why it hasn’t promoted their use to the public during the pandemic. The freshman South Carolina House Republican implies a coverup by HHS and other federal agencies over the benefits of nasal sprays against COVID-19 in her letter.
“It has come to my attention that even prior to the initial vaccines, HHS, and its components; the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), were aware of data and expert determinations that simple nasal hygiene could serve as an effective additional layer of protection against the SARS-COV-2 virus,” Mace wrote in her Feb. 15 letter to Beccera.
Mace also demands that the agency explain why HHS and other federal agencies “haven’t informed the American people about the potential benefits” of nasal sprays and other “prophylaxis and therapeutics.”
The letter follows stories by The Epoch Times about a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Xlear for promoting its all-natural xylitol and grapefruit seed-based nasal spray as a prevention and treatment of COVID-19. The stories covered several world studies including ones conducted in the United States that concluded the spray had proven virucidal effects.
One of the stories also featured an exclusive interview with Dr. Mark Cannon, a global expert on the use of xylitol, who discussed the longtime use of the natural sweetener in other countries against viruses, specifically respiratory viruses like COVID-19.
Robert Housman, senior counsel for Xlear, told The Epoch Times that he expects more members of Congress like Mace to demand that federal agencies like the FTC explain why it is filing lawsuits that appear to be suppressing beneficial treatments of COVID-19.
“The federal government’s failed plan to vaccinate its way out of the pandemic is falling apart and I think you are starting to see people realizing in the meantime that nasal hygiene…. in the expert community and within some Congress as well—can be an important adjunct in upper respiratory disease and prevention and treatment,” Housman told The Epoch Times, “I don’t really get what the government is doing, but I think a big piece of solving that is going to be our court case.”
HEALTH
Granny Smith apples improve gut bacteria and reduce inflammation
An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but – as a bonus – apples will greet good gut bacteria with open arms. And that’s because researchers recently uncovered evidence that apples build a community of healthy bacteria in the colon. This is due to their high content of non-digestible compounds, including fiber and polyphenols.
While the health benefits of eating apples have been known for years, researchers recently began evaluating the various varieties for differences in the amount of non-digestible compounds they contained, hoping the result could bring new hope to obese individuals. As it turns out, Granny Smith apples are a cut above the rest.
Apples contain unique compounds that promote growth of friendly gut bacteria
Scientists found that the colons of obese animals contain a different bacterial makeup than the bacterial communities found in the colons of their skinnier counterparts.
All apples, but the Granny Smith variety, in particular, are known to promote the growth of healthy bacteria found in the colon. This is because of their high volume of non-digestible compounds, such as dietary fiber and polyphenols, and the comparatively low levels of available carbohydrates.
The non-digestible compounds remain intact throughout the digestive process before reaching the colon. Upon their arrival, they are fermented by existing bacteria in the colon, aiding in the growth of friendly microbes in the gut.
By unlocking ways to promote the growth of the so-called “good” bacteria while discouraging the presence of less desirable gut inhabitants, researchers are hoping to reduce the occurrence of diabetes and other metabolic disorders associated with obesity.
Granny Smith may offer more benefits than other varieties, study finds
In a study by Washington State University, researchers sought to compare several apple varieties to determine if any were superior in amounts of non-digestible compounds they contain, the key to reduced inflammation in the gut, which often leads to diabetes over time. Their study looked at Granny Smith as well as Braeburn, Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, McIntosh, and Red Delicious apple varieties.
Lead study author and food scientist Giuliana Noratto said that the non-digestible compounds in the Granny Smith apples actually changed the types and amounts of fecal bacteria commonly exhibited by obese mice. Instead, the mice exhibited bacterial growth typically found in the colons of lean mice. The study was published in the journal of Food Chemistry.
The researchers hope the study results help consumers to target apple varieties most likely to reduce inflammation in the gut and promote a healthy bacteria community.
CDC Opts for Opioids over Natural Alternatives
…in updated opioid treatment guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC recently proposed an updated set of recommendations for how and when to prescribe opioid medications. Doctors are, and should be, free to prescribe what they feel is necessary to help their patients—but should the federal government be recommending any opioid use in the midst of one of the worst addiction and overdose crises in history—particularly when agencies like the FDA played such a key role in the development of this crisis? Still worse, hardly any natural alternatives were discussed or evaluated in the CDC’s guidelines.
The overall message of the sprawling, 211-page document is that doctors should use non-opioid treatments first for both chronic and acute pain. These include over-the-counter drugs like ibuprofen, massage, exercise, and even acupuncture. Doctors should prescribe opioids for chronic pain patients only if expected benefits (like the ability to do everyday tasks) outweigh the calamitous risks, including addiction, overdose, heart problems, and more.
Whether doctors, in their clinical judgment, choose to prescribe opioids is one thing; for the federal government to be recommending the use of opioids, even in a limited fashion, reeks of cronyism, given the sordid history of the FDA aiding and abetting Big Pharma in creating this crisis. This history has been expounded upon in detail, particularly following the avalanche of lawsuits in recent years.
Supplement Critic Exposed as Fraud
Investigations reveal that a study used by state Attorneys General to attack supplements is a sham, along with its lead author. Action Alert!
The investigation, led by the publication Science, provides incredible detail not just about the fraudulent and inaccurate study purporting to show that supplements do not contain what their labels say, but about the lead author himself, Steven Newmaster.
Newmaster’s paper was picked up by many major news outlets at the time and prompted actions by New York’s Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and, later, 13 other Attorneys General. The findings of the paper would be troubling had they been true. Newmaster and his colleagues used DNA barcoding to test a number of herbal supplements; most products that were tested were purportedly found to contain different plants than advertised, contain inert fillers, or were supposedly tainted with contaminants that could cause serious health problems.
Now, experts in the field of DNA barcoding allege that this 2013 paper is a fraud. Science reports on a letter sent by these experts to the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada where Newmaster works as a botanist. According to Science, the letter details major problems with the paper. The letter states that “data which underpin [the paper is] missing, fraudulent, or plagiarized,” and that Newmaster “recurrently failed to disclose competing financial interests” in his papers. Science’s investigation went even deeper, finding Newmaster’s entire career to be rife with “apparent fabrication, data manipulation, and plagiarism in speeches, teaching, biographies, and scholarly writing.”
The fraudulent paper allowed Newmaster and his colleagues to launch a lucrative business to conduct DNA barcoding for supplement companies in order to obtain, in Newmaster’s words, “a competitive advantage as they could advertise that they produce an authentic, high-quality product.” How convenient, to offer a solution to the problem they identified: make a big splash by “exposing” contaminated supplements, then offer to certify products as uncontaminated for a fee. Despite these business ventures, Newmaster never claimed competing interests when publishing papers on supplement DNA barcoding.
The plan seemed to work. Feeling the pressure to validate their ingredients when state Attorneys General offices launched investigative probes, major retailers like Nature’s Way, Herbalife Nutrition, and Jamieson hired Newmaster’s companies to validate their ingredients.
We knew this was a sham from the beginning. ANH reported on a response to Newmaster’s paper showing why DNA barcoding is not a reliable means for testing the contents of herbal dietary supplements because, among other things, DNA can be destroyed during processing without altering a supplement’s effects.
Unfortunately, once studies like Newmaster’s are out in the world, the bell can’t be unrung; the damage to supplements’ reputation is already done. We still have prominent members of Congress who believe supplements are dangerous and need more regulation despite mountains of evidence to the contrary. We’ve been telling you about Senator Dick Durbin’s (D-IL) attempts to institute a mandatory filing requirement for supplements, and the proposal seems to be gaining steam. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, stated publicly that she wants mandatory filing requirements for supplements. Sen. Murray’s position as HELP Chair means this proposal could be rapidly ushered through the committee. President Biden’s nominee to head the FDA, Robert Califf, MD, has also voiced his support for additional regulation of supplements.
Action Item: SHARE EVERYWHERE URGENT ATTENTION – POLICE OFFICER: Arrest the government
From George Freund:By, under, out of, and through, the absolute authority of Necessity and Emergency and other Extraordinary Measures, private individuals are assisting you to FORTHWITH assemble a team to lawfully take into custody the Ontario Lieutenant Governor and Parliament for crimes committed as follows. Please share with every officer in ONTARIO so as to restore order in Ontario FORTHWITH – within 4 hours.
https://www.executivereasoning.com/murder/arrest.pdf
I doubt Trucescu thought about that. The criminal actions are laid out in the document.
URGENT ACCOMMODATION REQUIRED:
Using the CRIMINAL INFORMATION provided to the numerous police forces around the Province of Ontario, all Police officers in Ontario – all Municipal Police forces, and all OPP, are to assemble tactical units to immediately coordinate to carry out the following actions:
1) Immediately make preparations to effect high risk arrests within 4 hours.
2) Co-ordinate to safely take into custody Ontario Lieutenant Governor, and Parliament of Canada.
3) Charge Ontario Lieutenant Governor and Parliament with the crimes accused (HOAX, MURDER, TERRORISM, TORTURE, etc) within police incident #”s as detailed below:
4) Participate in the criminal prosecution of those taken into custody in Ontario criminal courts.
5) Ensure the protection, completion, and success of the ONTARIO TRIALS in Ontario criminal courts.
6) Restore confidence, peace and security to Ontario. Secure honest Government.
7) Identify corrupt justice system participants, and effect immediate arrests as necessary. Ensure that a criminal trial is not defeated, perverted, obstructed, or interfered with by the Attorney General or any others. Immediately take into custody those who do so and charge them with Obstructing Justice (s139), and/or other relevant criminal code violations.
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