Russia Moves on Sleepy Joe, Sets Stage for a 21st-Century Cuban Missile Crisis
The Western Journal – President Joe Biden’s weakness has emboldened enemies of the United States — both foreign and domestic — as evidenced by the alarming cascade of provocative events spotlighting how America’s standing has crumbled under his watch.
In the latest salvo, Russia made a veiled threat, saying it could deploy “military infrastructure” to Venezuela or Cuba if the United States does not curb NATO expansion into its region, particularly in Ukraine.
“I don’t want to confirm anything, I will not rule out anything,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian-language television network RTVi last week, according to The Wall Street Journal. “Depends on the actions of our American colleagues.”
Tensions between Russia and the United States are escalating rapidly, with the former foes moving into a quasi-Cold War that could set the stage for a 21st-century version of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
Ryabkov made the remarks following weeks of failed talks between Russia and the West over Moscow’s move late last year to send more than 100,000 troops to the Ukrainian border.
Pfizer CEO Predicts ‘Return to Normal’ by Spring But Expects COVID-19 to Circulate for Years
Epoch Times – Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told French news outlets in recent interviews that, while he expects COVID-19 to continue to circulate for many years, he thinks future waves won’t be beset by major restrictions while predicting life will return to “normal” around springtime.
Bourla told French news outlet Le Figaro in an interview published Jan. 16 that he expects a “return to normal life” at some point in spring of this year, with the caveat that the dynamics of COVID-19 mutations and spread cloud the accuracy of any predictions.
COVID-19 is the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, also known as SARS-CoV-2.
The Pfizer chief credited developments in COVID-19 testing, vaccines, and therapeutics for his optimistic outlook, telling BFM TV in a separate interview that he expects the current Omicron-driven wave to be the “last with so many restrictions.”
At the same time, Bourla predicted that COVID-19 would continue to circulate for many years to come.
“This is a virus that has spread all over the world so it is very difficult to get rid of,” Bourla told BFM TV.
Bourla also said Pfizer was planning to invest over half a billion dollars in France over the next five years to boost global production of its COVID-19 pill Paxlovid, which obtained emergency approval in the United States in December.
End of Lockdowns? Boris Looks to Scrap All Coronavirus Restrictions in March
Breitbart – Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government is reportedly looking to abolish all remaining coronavirus restrictions by March as the push to return to normality has gained traction amid steadily decreasing cases of the Chinese virus.
Later this Month, MPs will gather to vote on an extension of the ‘Plan B’ restrictions which were put in place in November, despite a large rebellion within the Tory Party against the government. The vote, set for January 26th, is expected to see the end of coronavirus passport requirements, yet mask rules for public places may remain for the time being.
Yet, according to a report in The Guardian newspaper, Number 10 is set to introduce plans to scrap all restrictions in England by March. While Britain saw some of the strictest lockdowns during the initial waves of the Wuhan virus, should the reported plans come through, England would look to become one of the freest countries in Europe in terms of the virus.
“There’s a few legal powers still on the statute book, not least the requirement to self-isolate. At some point we will have to address them,” a government source told the paper.
On top of the Plan B rules of COVID passports and mask-wearing, England still has some remaining restrictions in place from the initial lockdowns, such as mandated self-isolation upon contracting the virus, with fines of up to £10,000 for violations. The requirement for providing your address and details of the people in your household to the NHS test and trace system remains in place as well.
The government is also expected to scrap the need to provide a negative test for those returning from abroad by March and will address the statutory powers for the government to provide sick pay for workers.
Exclusive: UN Funds Migrant Wave Flooding to the U.S.
Breitbart – The U.S.-funded United Nations is providing cash to help job-seeking migrants trek up through South America, Central America, and Mexico, says Todd Bensman at the Center for Immigration Studies.
“It is definitely organized,” Bensman told Breitbart News on Monday during a reporting trip to Tapachula in southern Mexico, where migrants arrive after crossing Central America:
They’re giving money out at way-stations up and down the [migrant] trail … There’s a process [in Tapachula]: You get your Mexican [visa] papers, then you go to the UN building next door, get an appointment, and they interview you and look at your situation… It’s not big money, and not all of them get it, but enough get it to sustain them so they don’t have to go home, and so they can go on to the next way station.
Bensman tweeted a video of the migrants waiting for payments:
Xi Jinping urges West not to ‘slam the brakes’ by hiking interest rates too quickly
CNN -China is urging central banks in the West not to hike interest rates too fast to fight inflation as it goes in the other direction to battle a sharp economic slowdown.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called on major world economies to spur growth by coordinating their policies as the world continues to pull itself out of the turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“The global industrial chains and supply chains have been disrupted. Commodity prices continue to rise. Energy supply remains tight. These risks compound one another and heighten the uncertainty about economic recovery,” Xi told attendees of the 2022 World Economic Forum during a speech delivered online.
He warned against the effects of raising interest rates too much too quickly, saying that such measures could threaten global financial stability.
“If major economies slam on the brakes or take a U-turn in their monetary policies, there would be serious negative spillovers,” Xi said. “They would present challenges to global economic and financial stability, and developing countries would bear the brunt of it.”
Many global policymakers are grappling with rising inflationary pressure, and starting to end their pandemic-era stimulus plans.
Virginia Governor Bans Critical Race Theory, Names Anti-CRT Advocates to Key Education Posts
Epoch Times – On his first day in office, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin fulfilled his campaign promise by prohibiting public schools in the state from teaching critical race theory (CRT), which he described as an “inherently divisive” concept.
Youngkin, who was sworn in as governor on Jan. 15 in Richmond, signed nine executive orders and two executive directives to address some of his administration hot-button issues, with the first on the list aiming to end “the use of divisive concepts … in public education.”
“Inherently divisive concepts, like Critical Race Theory and its progeny, instruct students to only view life through the lens of race and presumes that some students are consciously or unconsciously racist, sexist, or oppressive, and that other students are victims. This denies our students the opportunity to gain important facts, core knowledge, formulate their own opinions, and to think for themselves,” the order states.
“Our children deserve far better from their education than to be told what to think.”
Specifically, the executive order tasks the state’s superintendent of instruction to review all policies, programs, academic standards, and curricula within the Education Department to determine whether they promote or endorse inherently divisive concepts such as CRT. The order also bans any executive employee from “directing or otherwise compelling students to personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to inherently divisive concepts.”
No jab, no problem: Iconic U.S. company with 56,000 workers drops vaccine mandate
The Western Journal – The Great Wall of vaccine mandates that President Joe Biden hoped to build between unvaccinated Americans and their jobs has begun to crumble.
General Electric, which had been putting in place a vaccine mandate policy to conform to the Biden administration’s rule requiring one, has announced that it is dropping the plan, according to Just the News, which said the plan would have impacted 56,000 workers.
Last week, the Supreme Court threw out the emergency rule that the Biden administration had tried to enact through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that would have required every employer with 100 or more employees to ensure employees were vaccinated against the coronavirus and tested regularly.
Multiple employers have reversed policies they put in place in anticipation the rule would take effect, according to NBC.
David Barron, a Houston-based employment attorney, said health care employers who can do so in light of a court ruling that upheld the vaccine mandate for some health care workers need to undo their mandates to retain workers or bring back those who had left when mandates were imposed.
“Most employers do not have the luxury of losing 5 percent or 10 percent or whatever percent of their workforce doesn’t want to get vaccinated,” Barron said. “In this environment, it’s very tough, especially in jobs like health care or other industries where it’s a very tight labor market.”
Amtrak has also announced the reversal of its mandate, noting that without losing the employees it was planning to lose, service reductions that had been announced for February will no longer take place.
The ‘Apocalyptic’ Aftermath of the Colorado Wildfires
Epoch Times – Among the hundreds of homes that were destroyed or damaged in the Marshall Fire in Colorado in December nothing appears to have been left intact save for the plug-in outdoor nativity scene that miraculously survived the intense heat and flames.
Whether by good fortune or divine intervention, the ornament’s resilience in the face of a sudden tragedy sits in stark contrast to the burned-out cars and the piles of rubble, ash, and twisted metal where houses once stood in the now ruined Centennial Heights neighborhood in Louisville, Colorado.
“It looks apocalyptic—especially with the melted cars in front of the melted-down houses and settlements that have concrete and brick,” said Colorado native Tara Dunn of Wheat Ridge, Colo.
Dunn said Colorado natives “kind of have a sense” about a wildfire when it starts “based on what color the sun is outside.”
Epoch Times – A gargantuan space rock over 2.5 times the size of the Empire State Building is set to whiz past planet Earth on Jan. 18, 2022—not unlike the one that, some theorize, put an end to the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago. But fear not! Despite the object’s official NASA designation as “potentially hazardous,” the careening megaton asteroid poses little threat to us terrestrials.
Asteroids are minor planets or astronomical objects, mostly irregularly shaped rocks, that orbit our Sun (or other celestial bodies) like unresolved planets, while lacking the characteristics of a comet with a tail. This particular approaching asteroid was cumbersomely dubbed “Asteroid (7484) 1994 PC1” after the date it was discovered—Aug. 9, 1994—by Robert McNaught at Australia’s Siding Spring Observatory.
As for the object’s potentially apocalyptic size, Asteroid (7484) 1994 PC1 measures around 3,280 feet across (approx. 1 km), about the same size as a stadium or three times the size of the Taj Mahal.
Pfizer to Roll Out Omicron Shot in March
Mercola – Omicron is rapidly overtaking other SARS-CoV-2 variants and currently accounts for 95% of all COVID cases in the U.S.
Research shows current COVID shots cease to provide any protection against Omicron 30 days’ post-injection, and at 90 days offers negative protection, actually making you more prone to Omicron infection
This effectively makes COVID jab mandates obsolete, yet government and health authorities are still pushing Americans to get jabbed, and if already jabbed, to get a third booster
Pfizer is now saying it will have an Omicron-specific shot ready in March 2022, at which point Americans will undoubtedly be told to line up for a fourth injection
Professor Andrew Pollard, head of the U.K.’s Committee on Vaccination and Immunization who helped create the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot, said in a January 3, 2022, Daily Telegraph interview: “We can’t vaccinate the planet every four or six months. It’s not sustainable or affordable”
Fourth Shot of COVID-19 Vaccine Can’t Prevent Omicron Infection: Israeli Study
Epoch Times – A second booster shot of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine induced antibodies but likely not at a level high enough to protect recipients against infection from the Omicron virus variant, Israeli researchers said Monday.
Sheba Medical Center has been studying 150 health care workers who received a second booster, or a fourth shot.
“Two weeks after administering the fourth vaccine, we see a good increase in the antibodies, higher than after the third dose, but not high enough against Omicron,” lead researcher Prof. Gili Regev-Yochay told reporters in an online briefing.
Omicron is a variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19.
Omicron has proven better at evading antibodies induced by COVID-19 vaccines than earlier strains and has infected millions of vaccinated people around the world in recent weeks, sparking a renewed effort to get people boosted.
Israel, one of the most vaccinated countries in the world, has seen case rates skyrocket after the emergence of Omicron.
Early data indicated that the first booster restored some of the lost protection against infection, but that the protection again dropped after just a few weeks. Similar results have come in for the second booster, according to preliminary results from the Sheba study, which have not yet been published.
“We see an increase in antibodies, higher than after the third dose. However, we see many infected with Omicron who received the fourth dose. Granted, a bit less than in the control group, but still a lot of infections,” Regev-Yochay told reporters.
While the vaccine protected well against the Alpha and Delta variants, “for Omicron it’s not good enough,” she added.
Ron Paul, Congressman of 30 Years, Banned on Facebook After Quoting Pfizer CEO
Activist Post – Though the fact checking madness began long before COVID-19, over the last two years, fact checking has seemingly been weaponized to defend the establishment’s narrative only. Challenge the status quo and you will be censored into oblivion by the system’s praetorian guard — never mind the fact that they have been wrong countless times.
One of the most egregious “fact checks” happened recently after Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla made a statement during an interview with Yahoo Finance on January 10. Speaking in reference to the Omicron variant of COVID-19, Bourla said, “We know that the two doses of a vaccine offer very limited protection, if any.”
Naturally, this statement from the CEO of a vaccine company who manufactures the jab which many Americans were forced to take against their will in order to keep their jobs or go out in public, drew much deserved attention. Many folks called out the CEO for his comments in April in which he stated that the “Phase 3 study with BioNTech also showed that our COVID-19 vaccine was 100% effective in preventing #COVID19 cases in South Africa. 100%!”
How to Help Prevent a Cytokine Storm
Mercola – Part of what makes COVID-19 such a dangerous disease in severe cases is because it can trigger a cytokine storm reaction leading to sepsis, organ failure and death
Astaxanthin, a potent antioxidant supplement derived from microalgae, has many health effects that render it an ideal candidate as an adjunct therapy against COVID-19
Astaxanthin is a powerful antioxidant, immune booster, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotector and immunomodulatory with antibacterial and anti-apoptotic effects
Astaxanthin blocks oxidative DNA damage, lowers C-reactive protein and other inflammation biomarkers, inhibits cell death in alveolar epithelial cells, modulates the immune response and much more
Studies have shown it alleviates cytokine storms, acute lung injury, acute respiratory syndrome and sepsis, all of which are common in cases of serious COVID-19 infection
Ghislaine Maxwell Ends Fight to Keep Eight ‘John Does’ Secret
Breitbart – Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell will no longer fight to keep the names of eight “John Does” secret, leaving it up to the court to decide whether or not to reveal their identities.
“After careful review of the detailed objections submitted by Non-Party Does 17, 53, 54, 55, 73, 93 and 151, counsel for Ghislaine Maxwell writes to inform the Court that she does not wish to further address those objections,” Maxwell attorney Laura Menninger wrote in a letter on January 12.
“Each of the listed Does has counsel who have ably asserted their own respective privacy rights. Ms. Maxwell therefore leaves it to this Court to conduct the appropriate review,” it added.
The Does were named in a 2015 defamation suit against Ghislaine Maxwell from Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who claimed that Maxwell aided in Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of her as a minor. Guiffre attorney Sigrid McCawley argued that potential embarrassment for having associated with Jeffrey Epstein should not be enough reason for the court to keep the John Does’ names secret. McCawley wrote:
[G]eneralized aversion to embarrassment and negativity that may come from being associated with Epstein and Maxwell is not enough to warrant continued sealing of information. This is especially true with respect to this case of great public interest, involving serious allegations of the sex trafficking of minors.
Now that Maxwell’s criminal trial has come and gone, there is little reason to retain protection over the vast swaths of information about Epstein and Maxwell’s sex-trafficking operation that were originally filed under seal in this case.
Epstein worked to ‘whitewash’ Clinton ties – media
RT – Jeffrey Epstein reportedly had ex-managers of his ‘orgy island’ sign an affidavit affirming they never saw Bill Clinton visiting the place.
Miles and Cathy Alexander were employed by Epstein between 1999 to 2007. According to the Daily Mail, in 2016, they were contacted by Epstein’s lawyer Darren Indyke, who wanted them to sign, under oath, a paper stating they never saw Bill Clinton on Little St. James island while they were managing the financier’s Caribbean property.
The British newspaper linked the move to the then-ongoing presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, claiming Epstein went to “remarkable lengths” to “whitewash” her ex-president husband’s links to him.
Claims that Clinton visited the island, which was allegedly a place of hedonistic debauchery and sexual crimes against minors, came from Virginia Roberts (now Giuffre). She is one of Epstein’s victims, who is accusing Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, of taking advantage of her, an allegation the member of the British royal family denies.
Clinton admitted to having flown Epstein’s private jet, dubbed the “Lolita express” by the media, on several occasions, but denied he ever visited Little St. James island.
The Daily Mail said the Alexanders declined to speak to them, but that they managed to get some answers from certain people close to the couple, who currently live in South Africa. They reportedly didn’t witness any orgies on the island. Some of the girls visiting the place looked young to them, they told friends, but only one of them, a French model, was confirmed to be underage. She was “accompanied by a chaperone and had a letter of authority from her parents allowing her to travel,” according to the report.
The Alexanders resigned from their jobs a year after the FBI started investigating Epstein in what he described to his employees as a case of entrapment. Indyke, the lawyer who worked for the financier for two decades, contacted them in 2016. He brought a pre-written statement saying that “to the best of their knowledge” Bill Clinton had never visited the island during their tenure managing it, a source told the Daily Mail.
Miles reportedly slightly reworded the document before he and his wife signed it in the presence of a notary. According to the Daily Mail, what the couple told their friends about Clinton didn’t contradict the affidavit.
The source suggested that the move was linked to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. “There was a worry that the link between Epstein and Clinton and in particular the island could be used against Hillary,” the source explained.
Hawaii Will Require Visitors to Have Booster Shots to Be Fully Vaccinated
Breitbart – Travelers to Hawaii will now have to show proof of having received the coronavirus booster shot in order to be considered fully vaccinated.
Under the state’s current “Safe Travels” program, visitors to the state must quarantine for five days or test negative for the coronavirus within one day of travel if they are not fully vaccinated, which previously meant two doses of the Pfizer/Moderna vaccines or one dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The new guidelines will now include booster shots in order for people to skip quarantine.
Speaking to Hawaii News Now, Gov. David Ige (D) said the new guidelines will not be implemented for another two weeks, allowing visitors to adjust.
“We know that the community needs time to react to that, so we would have to provide at least two weeks for those who may not be up-to-date to go to have the opportunity to go and get vaccinated if they need to,” he said.
Ige added that he will discuss with county mayors about whether or not to require booster shots for access to restaurants, bars, and other venues. Ultimately, he said those decisions will be left to local municipalities.
Last month, Maui Mayor Michael Victorino announced that booster shots would be required for locals to be considered fully vaccinated, according to ABC News. The new rule was later postponed to go into effect on January 24 in order to give people more time. Victorino said:
The good news is that most medical providers are seeing a noticeable increase in demand for booster shots in Maui County for people of all ages. Many parents are eager to get additional protection for their teens. Postponing the effective date will give residents and providers additional time to respond to the CDC’s new guidance.
Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that the definition of fully vaccinated still has not changed beyond the initial doses, adding that booster shots render a person’s vaccination status “up to date.”
“Consistent with how public health has historically viewed or even talked about how we recommend vaccines, we are now recommending that individuals stay up to date with additional doses that they are eligible for,” said CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
“The technical definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ — two doses of an mRNA vaccine or one dose of the J & J vaccine — has not changed,” CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund emphasized. “Individuals are considered fully vaccinated once they have received their primary series.”
WhatsApp helps US govt spy on users, no questions asked
A search warrant from 2021 shows WhatsApp was ordered to track unidentified users for unknown reasons
RT – WhatsApp was ordered by a US government agency to spy on several foreign nationals, even though the agency had no evidence the users had committed a crime or even knew their names.
A recently unsealed search warrant from November 2021 shows that the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had ordered the Facebook-owned communications service to monitor seven users reportedly located in China and Macau.
“The warrant reveals the DEA didn’t know the identities of any of the targets, but told WhatsApp to monitor the IP addresses and numbers with which the targeted users were communicating, as well as when and how they were using the app,” security and privacy reporter Thomas Brewster wrote for Forbes.
FBI’s Silence on Jan. 6 Used by Whitmer Kidnapping Defendant to Buttress Case for Dismissal
Epoch Times – A defendant in the Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping case has moved to introduce evidence related to the use of federal informants in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill breach, arguing that the FBI’s refusal to answer basic questions about such activities demonstrates a “consciousness of guilt” by the government.
The Jan. 14 motion from Kaleb Franks comes as he and four other defendants seek to have their charges dismissed on entrapment grounds. With their trial set for March 8, an attorney for Franks has made numerous motions related to the FBI’s use of at least 12 informants in the Whitmer investigation—including to introduce evidence related to the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, as well as to provide FBI informants and agents with immunity to testify about their actions.
The Jan. 6, 2021-related evidence that attorney Scott Graham seeks to admit is the refusal by top Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI officials to discuss the use of informants in the U.S. Capitol breach. According to Graham, the FBI’s lack of transparency demonstrates its “consciousness of guilt”—a term, typically reserved for defendants, to describe when someone conceals evidence, intimidates witnesses, or does something else that makes him or her look guilty.
“The FBI has certainly concealed the details of its use of informants and undercover agents in relation to the January 6 events and regarding its policies on their use generally,” Graham said. “Under the jury instruction’s reasoning, and the [court’s] analysis, the agency has exhibited consciousness of guilt.”
Graham said he can appreciate the sensitivity of the matter, but argued that the seriousness of the Capitol breach necessitated some transparency on the issue.
“It seems fair to expect some sort of answer from the [FBI], given the gravity of the January 6 events and the national concern about law-enforcement overreaching,” he said.
Unbuilt Border Wall Worth Millions Could Now Be Sold for ‘A Penny on the Dollar’ as Scrap Metal
Epoch Times – Millions of dollars of unfinished border wall materials have lain in the deserts of Arizona since January last year after President Joe Biden halted all construction the day he took office.
“It shall be the policy of my administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall,” Biden’s Jan. 20, 2021, executive order states.
“I am also directing a careful review of all resources appropriated or redirected to construct a southern border wall.”
Construction companies downed tools and left job sites the next day, and stacks of materials have languished since.
Now, they’re looking to sell it all for scrap, according to the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office.
“They’re probably going to get a penny on the dollar for it,” Sgt. Tim Williams said. The steel bollards on fence panels are filled with concrete. Concrete culverts are sitting abandoned, filling with mud, instead of being used for the flood-prone portions of the roadway next to the fence.
Google Mandates US Workers Submit to Weekly COVID-19 Tests, Surgical Masks
Epoch Times – Google has mandated weekly COVID-19 tests and surgical masks for employees at its facilities as Omicron infections rise, accounting for more than 98 percent of cases in the United States.
“To help prevent the further spread of COVID-19 during this period of heightened risk, we’re implementing new temporary health and safety measures for anyone accessing our sites in the U.S.,” a Google spokesperson said, according to Reuters.
For remote workers, Google is offering free at-home test kits for all members of their households. Full-time workers will have access to kits that give instant results from Cue Health, while contractors will get the mail-in BioIQ tests, according to a series of critical Twitter posts from the Alphabet Workers Union.
Omicron has spread quickly across the country, but the highly transmissible variant is characteristic of mild symptoms requiring significantly fewer hospitalizations than the Delta variant.
Several prominent organizations and doctors have suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic would turn endemic, and the disease could be treated on a seasonal basis like the common cold, with Omicron signaling the beginning of the transition.
Michigan Undercounted COVID-19 Nursing Home Deaths by 30 Percent, Auditor Finds
Epoch Times – The administration of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer underreported the number of nursing home residents who died from COVID-19 by 30 percent, according to a report by the state’s auditor general.
Auditor General Doug Ringler has been haggling with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services for months over the numbers and how to count them. His final report was made public on Jan. 17.
At the start of the pandemic, Whitmer, a Democrat, issued an emergency executive order to place infected senior citizens in extended care facilities that had the ability to isolate them in a designated wing. As the infection spread, many residents and care workers died.
The audit found that 8,061 elderly Michiganders died of the disease in the state’s nursing homes between March 2020 and July 2, 2021. The officially posted death toll is 5,675, as self-reported by the state’s extended care facilities, which is required by law.
On the face of it, that appears to be an undercount of 42 percent. The audit provides 13 pages of explanation of why the real undercount is only 30 percent.
The auditor’s finding prompted Republican state Rep. Steven Johnson, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, to call for hearings.
“The state’s Department of Health acknowledged in a letter that a previous total of COVID-19 long-term care facility deaths is 30 percent lower than what the Auditor General found,” Johnson, who asked for the audit, said in a Jan. 13 statement. “This is a large discrepancy. … There is frankly a lot to answer for, and our legislative panel will be working to get those answers.”
A week before the auditor’s findings were made public, the Whitmer administration was already putting out its side of the story.
Republicans Gained Large Number of Voters in 2021: Surveys
Epoch Times – Republicans saw a larger number of voters identify with the party at the end of 2021, compared to the start of the year, while fewer voters leaned toward the Democrats, according to Gallup surveys.
The GOP started the year with 40 percent of those surveyed identifying as “Republican” or “lean Republican,” a deficit of 9 percent from voters who identified with the left. However, as the year wore on, more voters began identifying with the right, while a lower number identified as “Democrat” or “lean Democratic.”
By the end of the year, 47 percent of voters surveyed identified with the right, compared to 42 percent who identified with the left.
The remaining voters identified as a “non-leaning independent.”
Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier: ‘It really came on strongly after the death of George Floyd’
Epoch TImes – On Jan. 2, The Epoch Times reported how lower expectations and the shift in focus from academic excellence in K-12 education toward the implementation of social constructs like critical race theory equals fewer literate graduates. Beyond K-12, four experts explain how woke culture is also destroying academia, corporations, and the military.
‘Our Universities’ and ‘the Student Population’
Based on his 50 years of experience, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry Jon Zubieta at Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences believes “the most decisive defeat for common sense in our universities has been the introduction of offices for diversity, inclusiveness, and equity.”
“As an educator, I spend much of my day in contact with students,” Zubieta told The Epoch Times. “In my experience, the student population has undergone a sea change in attitude and general knowledge. Until fairly recently, these young scholars were inquisitive, ambitious and somewhat rebellious, and iconoclastic, as young people should be. These characteristics have been replaced by conformity to the woke orthodoxy, and heaven help you if you deviate. This docility is reinforced with what seems total ignorance of economics, civics, and the Western cultural heritage that provides the foundation for our society. In fact, it goes well beyond ignorance as it is manifested in antagonism toward the glories of western culture and civilization. We are a society that has become unmoored from its past; a society that has lost cultural confidence; in fact, a society that is now busily destroying its own cultural heritage.
“It was only ten years ago or so that I began to notice the encroachments of critical race theory-driven demands into the sciences,” he said, adding that the most obvious intrusion of the new wokeism was the mandatory diversity statement in proposals for NSF funding. “Back when I started my career, such a waste of proposal space would not have been tolerated. Now, an unsatisfactory diversity statement can get your proposal triaged without further review.”
Europe’s Unvaccinated Are Falling Out Of Society, Called ‘Unhinged Extremists’
CNN – Before Covid-19, Nicolas Rimoldi had never attended a protest.
But somewhere along the pandemic’s long and tortuous road, which saw his native Switzerland imposing first one lockdown, then another, and finally introducing vaccination certificates, Rimoldi decided he had had enough.
Now he leads Mass-Voll, one of Europe’s largest youth-orientated anti-vaccine passport groups.
Because he has chosen not to get vaccinated, student and part-time supermarket cashier Rimoldi is — for now, at least — locked out of much of public life. Without a vaccine certificate, he can no longer complete his degree or work in a grocery store. He is barred from eating in restaurants, attending concerts or going to the gym.
“People without a certificate like me, we’re not a part of society anymore,” he said. “We’re excluded. We’re like less valuable humans.”
As the pandemic has moved into its third year, and the Omicron variant has sparked a new wave of cases, governments around the world are still grappling with the challenge of bringing the virus under control. Vaccines, one of the most powerful weapons in their armories, have been available for a year but a small, vocal minority of people — such as Rimoldi — will not take them.
Exposing Propaganda: The Vaccine For Liberty, Truth And Reason
Technocracy News – Citizens for Free Speech did a deep dive into propaganda on Thursday, January 13th: What is it, how you can recognize it and what you can do about it. Guest presenters included Patrick Wood, Joshua Philipp of The Epoch Times and Alex Newman of The Sentinel Report. This presentation should be required viewing for all Americans.
The world is awash with propaganda. As noted below, the object of propaganda is to deceive and manipulate.
Babbitt Tried to Stop Attack on Capitol Speaker’s Lobby, Video Shows
Video shows female Trump supporter’s desperate pleas to prevent rioters from breaking windows: “Stop! No! Don’t! Wait!”
Epoch TImes – Ashli Babbitt desperately tried to prevent rioters from vandalizing the doors leading to the Speaker’s Lobby at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, even stepping between one troublemaker and police officers guarding the doors, a video analysis shows.
Frame-by-frame video evidence analyzed by The Epoch Times paints a vastly different picture of Babbitt’s actions than that portrayed in media accounts over the past year. News media regularly painted Babbitt as “violent,” a “rioter,” or an “insurrectionist” who was angrily trying to breach the Speaker’s Lobby.
Video clips appear to show she tried to prevent the attack, not join it.
Video shot by John Sullivan, also known as Jayden X, shows that Babbitt tried to stop the violence against the Speaker’s Lobby at least four times before she climbed into a broken window and was shot by U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd. At one point, she was so distressed at the violence, she was jumping up and down in frustration.
“The reality of it is, Ashli wasn’t a violent person. She was a good person, but they’ve demonized her to become this domestic terrorist that she never has been,” Tayler Hansen, an independent journalist who was feet away from Babbitt when she was shot, told The Epoch Times.
“She served her country for 14 years. That’s just insane to me that they can actually get away with pushing this narrative,” Hansen said. “They’ve done that by suppressing first-hand witnesses like me.”
Hansen said he was walking behind Babbitt in a hallway on the second floor of the Capitol at about 2:40 p.m. She turned right down the Speaker’s Lobby hallway. Hansen followed.
Omicron Virus Variant Linked to Less Severe Outcomes in Children in New Study
Epoch Times – The Omicron virus variant causes less severe disease in young children, according to a new study.
Researchers analyzed the health records of nearly 80,000 children under 5 years old who contracted the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19, for the first time, mostly when the Delta virus strain was dominant in the United States.
Comparing the outcomes of the group who contracted COVID-19 recently during the Omicron-driven wave to those who got the illness during the Delta dominance, researchers found that the former were less likely to go to emergency departments, require hospitalization, be admitted to intensive care units, and require mechanical ventilation.
“This is the first large-scale study in children under 5 years old to show that COVID-19 infections from Omicron were less severe than Delta, with significant reductions in severe outcomes ranging from 29 percent for ED visits to 71 percent for mechanical ventilation,” Rong Xu, a biomedical professor at Case Western Reserve University and one of the study’s authors, told The Epoch Times in an email.
COVID-19 hospitalizations and cases have been rising among many age groups in the country since Omicron emerged, including among pediatric populations. While the hospitalizations can be misleading—many patients are admitted for other reasons—those under 5 are the only population that can’t get COVID-19 vaccines, spurring concern about how Omicron may be affecting them.
Studies from multiple countries, including South Africa, showed that Omicron is resulting in a lower percentage of severe cases and hospitalizations than Delta, even as it bypasses protection from vaccines and prior infection better than the earlier strain.
Feeling frazzled? Learn how ashwagandha supports calm mood and clear thinking
NaturalHealth365 – For many, the past few years – marked by lockdowns, isolation, financial insecurity, and personal loss – have been challenging. So it’s not surprising that rates of anxiety and depression are ticking up nationwide. According to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of adults with anxiety or depressive disorder symptoms jumped from 36.4 percent to 41.5 percent in the period between August 2020 and February of 2021 alone. (In other words – if you’ve been feeling anxious, “down in the dumps,” or generally stressed out, you have plenty of company).
Fortunately, a South Asian herb known as ashwagandha may offer natural relief. Ashwagandha, botanically known as Withania somnifera, is treasured in the Ayurvedic healing system as a “rasayana” – a substance believed to stimulate body functions, slow aging, promote health, and support longevity. Ashwagandha’s benefits also include calming and mood-lifting effects, making it a useful ally in these troubled times.
- Ashwagandha benefits include improving the body’s ability to cope with prolonged stress
- Ashwagandha is investigated for its potential to lower cortisol and promote calm and well-being
- Ashwagandha benefits may include improved brain function and sharper memory
- Ashwagandha helps with blood sugar control
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High fructose corn syrup damages the brain like cocaine
NaturalHealth365 – The latest research shows that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is not only addictive but can cause behavioral reactions similar to those produced by drugs such as cocaine. The results of these studies were presented by addiction expert Francesco Leri, Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Applied Cognitive Science at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
These results clearly suggest that the current (global) obesity epidemic, violent crimes, and disease largely stem from poor quality food laced with HFCS, MSG, plus many other additive ingredients. Yet, the lame-stream media continues to focus on promoting greater governmental control over our lives to “save us.”
How does HFCS alter (damage) brain function?
Did you know that drug addicts and high fructose corn syrup users – use the same (overused) brain circuits? There is significant activity in all areas of the brain, especially in the hippocampus, when consuming potent sweeteners. When addicted to powerful substances – you can literally burn out the brain from over-simulation.
So, when you consider that a healthy brain is essential for learning, memory, and emotional wellbeing – it’s no wonder we have so many health problems from these unnatural sweeteners.
Dr. Leri stated, “We have evidence in laboratory animals of a shared vulnerability to develop preferences for sweet foods and cocaine.”
Dr. Leri investigated the behavioral, chemical, and neurobiological changes induced by the consumption of “addictive foods” in the body and brains of lab animals.
Though we don’t always equate human studies with animal ones, there is one thing we surely have in common – humans (and animals) are being used experimentally. HFCS, aspartame, and GMOs do not have adequate safety testing – yet soulless politicians have approved them, and the health consequences are devastating.
We are what we eat – literally
Our diet can modulate numerous pathways that can cause all types of inflammatory diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. And, let’s not forget, food significantly influences our moods and behavior.
If you’re feeling a little depressed – clean up your diet!
Is HFCS worse than sugar?
Researchers found that fructose was more potent than glucose in bringing about changes within the central nervous system. We all know that excessive sugar intake can produce opiate-like effects similar to psycho-stimulants. Well, HFCS is no different – causing all kinds of food cravings, binging, and withdrawal issues.
High fructose corn syrup may take longer to produce a cocaine-like reaction – but it’s real and quite harmful. In addition, HFCS will cause you to experience less focus and mental clarity, more drowsiness, and a higher level of anxiety. If you’re having difficulty concentrating or being productive – remove processed sugar (and artificial sweeteners) from your diet.
We all want the same thing for ourselves and future generations – freedom, great health, and happiness. If we really want to improve our society by eliminating senseless violence and avoiding disease, we must improve humanity’s diet.
CEOs From Major US Airlines Warn 5G Technology Could Ground Planes
Epoch Times – CEOs of some of the major U.S. airlines on Monday warned that the nation’s commerce will essentially “grind to a halt” and there will be “significant operation disruptions” to air passengers if 5G C-band technology is not deployed in a safe manner around airports.
It comes as Verizon and AT&T are set to roll out their next-generation 5G wireless technology after numerous delays over concerns as to how the technology could affect flights.
In a letter sent to White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, CEOs said that “unless our major hubs are cleared to fly, the vast majority of the traveling and the shipping public will essentially be grounded.”
The letter was signed by the chief executives of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and others.
“Despite the recent collaboration and data sharing between the telecommunications industry, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the aviation industry, commercial aviation in the United States is facing major disruption of the traveling and shipping public based on our evaluation of the data and discussions that have been ongoing to resolve the issue of how best to deploy 5G ‘C-band’ in a safe manner around U.S. airports,” the CEOs wrote.
Airline bosses requested that that 5G be implemented everywhere in the country “except within the approximate 2 miles of airport runways at affected airports as defined by the FAA on January 19, 2022.”
“This will allow 5G to be deployed while avoiding harmful impacts on the aviation industry, the traveling public, supply chain, vaccine distribution, our workforce, and the broader economy,” the CEOs said. “We further ask that the FAA immediately identify those base stations closest to key airport runways that need to be addressed to ensure safety and avoid disruption in a manner that is narrowly focused and consistent with the agreement established on January 3, 2022.
“Immediate intervention is needed to avoid significant operational disruption to air passengers, shippers, supply chain and delivery of needed medical supplies. The harm that will result from deployment on January 19 is substantially worse than we originally anticipated,” the airline bosses said.
They warned that the 5G wireless technology could effectively leave thousands of passengers grounded and leave tens of thousands more stranded overseas.
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