Today's News: July 20, 2020

World News

FACE MASKS MANDATED BY UK GOVERNMENT SPECIFICALLY SAY THEY DON’T PROTECT AGAINST COVID-19

“Anything other than tight-fitting, surgical-grade masks are utterly pointless.”
Infowars – The same type of face masks that the UK government is mandating people wear in shops from July 24 onwards to protect against the spread of coronavirus specifically state on their packaging that they don’t protect against coronavirus.
Genius.
Earlier this week, the government confirmed that anyone caught not wearing a mask when entering a shop or supermarket will be subject to a police fine of £100, prompting the Chair of the London Metropolitan Police Foundation to complain that this would be totally unenforcable.
However, the law states that cloth masks, scarves or other textile items that don’t require the use of hands to hold them in place are acceptable forms of protection against COVID-19.
One problem with that, the packaging on these kind of cloth masks specifically states that they don’t protect against COVID-19.
“This product is an ear loop mask. This product is not a respirator and will not provide any protection against COVID-19 (coronavirus) or any other viruses or contaminants,” states the packaging on a standard set of cloth masks currently being sold.
Skeptics have also pointed out that people continually touching potentially infected masks and then touching surfaces could even exacerbate the spread of coronavirus.
“Apart from everything else, the only coverings the Government is insisting on are cloth ones, which every man and his dog knows are COMPLETELY USELESS,” writes Toby Young.
“As Allison Pearson says in her excellent comment piece in today’s Telegraph, “anything other than tight-fitting, surgical-grade masks are utterly pointless – like trying to stop a bullet with a chain-link fence”. I mean, the evidence that the gold-standard N95 masks are effective in non-healthcare settings is threadbare at best – and they have to be disposed of after a single use.”
“There is literally no evidence that re-usable cloth masks are effective in community settings. None. It’s like wearing a tin foil hat in case you get struck by lightening – an ineffective way to protect yourself from an almost non-existent risk. What has become of us?”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said mandating the wearing of masks would “give people more confidence to shop safely and enhance protections for those who work in shops,” however many have reacted to the law by asserting that they will simply avoid shops altogether.
This will lead to yet more economic devastation, more high street job losses and in the longer term, more poverty and death.
Again, genius.

UK considers suspending extradition treaty with Hong Kong

Daily Independent – UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is considering suspending Britain’s extradition treaty with Hong Kong, after China imposed a tough new national security law.
As tensions have grown with Beijing, Raab said it can no longer be “business as usual.’’ He is reportedly planning to follow the example of the United States, Australia and Canada on Monday by suspending extradition arrangements with the territory.
“We’re working with our international partners to see what other offers they will make to the people of Hong Kong and I’ve also said that we’d review a whole range of other considerations,” Raab told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday. “One of the things that we reviewed is our extradition arrangements and I will be updating the House (of Commons) on the conclusion of that review.”
The review comes only days after Britain backtracked on plans to give Chinese telecommunications company Huawei a role in the U.K.’s new high-speed mobile phone network amid security concerns fueled by rising tensions between Beijing and Western powers.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government has already criticized China’s decision to impose a sweeping new national security law on Hong Kong. The UK has accused the Beijing government of a serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration under which the U.K. returned control of Hong Kong to China in 1997, and announced it would open a special route to citizenship for up to 3 million eligible residents of the community.
Beijing has objected to the move. China’s ambassador to Britain, Liu Xiaoming, last week described the offer as “gross interference” in Chinese affairs.
Liu told the BBC’s Andrew Marr on Sunday that Britain was “dancing to the tune” of the U.S. and accused Western countries of trying to foment a “new cold war” with China.
He also rejected the allegations of human rights abuses against the mainly-Muslim Uighur people.

Iran executes second man accused of spying for CIA and helping US military carry out fatal drone strike on General Soleimani

Daily Mail – Iran has executed a translator accused of being a US and Israeli spy who helped the US kill General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike.
Mahmoud Mousavi Majd, a translator, was put to death on Monday, according to Iran’s judiciary website.
It comes a week after defence worker Reza Asgari was put to death after being accused of selling secret information about Iran’s missile program to the US.
Majd had been found guilty of receiving large amounts of money from the CIA and Mossad to supply information on the Quds force, which Soleimani headed, including the whereabouts of its commander.
However, Majd was not directly involved in the killing of Soleimani at Baghdad airport on January 3, having been arrested two years ago.
Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike moments after he arrived in Iraq amid fears he was about to orchestrate attacks on the US embassy.

Russia’s elite given experimental ‘vaccine’ for months

Fox – Members of Russia’s business and political elite have allegedly been given access to an experimental vaccine against the novel coronavirus since April, according to a report on Sunday.
Several hundred people, including top executives, billionaire tycoons and government officials have received shots of the Gamaleya vaccine, developed by the state-run Gamaleya Institute, people familiar with the effort told Bloomberg.
The program, where members were given the opportunity to volunteer for doses of the vaccine “is legal but kept under wraps to avoid a crush of potential participants,” the media company reported, citing a researcher.
“It’s not clear how participants are selected and they aren’t part of the official studies, though they are monitored and their results logged by the institute,” Bloomberg said.
The participants selected aren’t part of the official studies into the experimental vaccine, which is financed by the state-run Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and backed by the military, the media company reported. It recently completed a phase one trial involving Russian military personnel last week. The vaccine is essentially a common cold virus fused with the spike protein of SARS CoV-2 to prompt an immune response.
RDIF chief Kirill Dmitriev said last week that phase three trials will start on Aug. 3, according to Bloomberg. They will include thousands of people in Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, with the vaccine potentially distributed nationally in September.
Gamaleya center head, Alexander Gintsburg, told Russian news agency Interfax that he wasn’t unaware of certain tycoons testing the candidate vaccine, while an assistant to Russia’s health minister said the shot had not yet entered “civilian circulation,” according to the Moscow Times.

U.S. News, Politics & Government

Declassified Documents Reveal Key New York Times Russiagate Piece Was Complete Lies

Sputnik – On 14th February 2017, The New York Times published a bombshell exclusive based on the word of a quartet of anonymous intelligence officials – Trump Campaign Aides Had Repeated Contacts With Russian Intelligence.
To say the least, the article caused something of a stir, its sensational claims breathlessly and endlessly repeated by journalists and pundits the world over for months afterwards. While former FBI Director James Comey disputed the article’s veracity under oath in June that year, telling the Senate Intelligence Committee “in the main, it was not true”, The Times defended its reporting, and refused to retract the piece.
Now, a previously classified internal Bureau assessment of the article written by Peter Strzok released at the order of Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham has exposed the degree to which the article was a crudely woven patchwork of misrepresentation, exaggeration and outright lies.
Misleading and Inaccurate
The file consists of a facsimile of the article, with accompanying commentary and observations from the now-notorious then-FBI special agent – it seems to have been produced due to internal bewilderment at many key claims made by The Times, certain comments making clear the Bureau was keen to identify how and why the disinformation made it into the paper.

Alec Baldwin Claims Trump Planning to Use Armed Force to ‘Stop the Election in November’

Breitbart – Actor Alec Baldwin is pushing a wild conspiracy theory that President Donald Trump could use armed force to stop the election in November. The Hollywood star is basing his unfounded claim on the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to deploy federal agents in Portland, Oregon, to subdue violent rioters following weeks of urban chaos.
“The ‘police’ activity in Portland, and lack of outrage over/resistance to it tells us how Trump could stop the election in November. It’s his only hope,” Alec Baldwin wrote.
Alec Baldwin more forcefully pushed his theory in a separate tweet claiming that a military intervention is “Trump’s election strategy.” The actor pointed to an Esquire article by left-wing, anti-Trump pundit Charles P. Pierce who wrote that the federal crackdown in Portland could be a “dress rehearsal” for November.
Celebrity siblings Patricia and Rosanna Arquette added to the hysteria by claiming that federal agents are the “secret police,” using “Gestapo” tactics. Their inflammatory rhetoric is similar to that of House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who referred to law enforcement as “stormtroopers.”

Ky. couple on house arrest after not signing positive COVID-19 self-isolation order

Wave 3 News – A Hardin County couple is now on house arrest after one of them tested positive for COVID-19 and decided not to sign documents agreeing to self-quarantine.
Last week, Elizabeth Linscott got tested for the COVID-19 because she was planning to visit her parents in Michigan.
“My grandparents wanted to see me, too,” Linscott said. “So just to make sure if they tested negative, that they would be OK, everything would be fine.”
After testing positive but without showing any symptoms, Linscott said the health department contacted her and requested she sign documents that will limit her traveling anywhere unless she calls the health department first. She said she chose to not sign the documents.
“My part was if I have to go to the ER, if I have to go to the hospital, I’m not going to wait to get the approval to go,” she said.
But Linscott said she would take necessary precautions if she needed to go to the hospital, like letting workers know she has recently tested positive for COVID-19.
A couple of days after she denied signing the Self-isolation and Controlled Movement Agreed Order, Linscott said the Hardin County Sheriff’s Department arrived at her home without warning. Her husband, Isaiah, was home.
”I open up the door and there’s like eight different people,” he said. “Five different cars and I’m like what the heck’s going on? This guy’s in a suit with a mask, it’s the health department guy and he has three different papers for us. For me, her and my daughter.”
The couple was ordered to wear ankle monitors. If they travel more than 200 feet, law enforcement will be notified.
“We didn’t rob a store, we didn’t steal something, we didn’t hit and run, we didn’t do anything wrong,” Elizabeth Linscott said.
The couple said they never denied self-quarantining, they just didn’t agree with the wording of the documents..
”That’s exactly what the Director of the Public Health Department told the judge, that I was refusing to self-quarantine because of this and that was not the case at all,” Linscott said. “I never said that.”
The Linscotts said they plan to get an attorney.
WAVE 3 News reached out to the Hardin County Health Department but has not heard back.

CHRIS WALLACE INSISTS BIDEN DIDN’T CALL FOR DEFUNDING POLICE — HERE’S THE CLIP PROVING HIM WRONG

Why is a Fox News anchor running cover for the radical Democrats?
Infowars – Fox News host Chris Wallace confronted President Trump during an interview to air Sunday, where he accused President Trump of lying about presumptive Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden wanting to defund the police.
During the “Fox News Sunday” interview, Trump explained that Biden’s platform has been adopted from the radical left, including defunding the police, citing the radical “unity” charter drafted by Biden and socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
“It’s gotten totally out of control and it’s really because they want to defund the police, and Biden wants to defund the police,” Trump told Wallace.
Wallace interjected, “Sir, he does not.”
Wallace later appeared on Bill Hemmer Reports” on Friday to cover for Biden’s radical policies, saying that because defunding the police wasn’t specifically mentioned in the Biden/Bernie charter, he must not support defunding police.
“But he couldn’t find any indication – because there isn’t any – that Joe Biden has sought to defund and abolish the police,” the Fox News anchor said.
Though defunding the police wasn’t mentioned in the charter Trump referred to, Biden has openly stated in a recent interview that he would “redirect” police funding if he was elected.
Why is a news anchor for a “conservative” network running cover for Biden’s radical far-left policies?
Pretty soon Wallace will also claim that Biden never said the N-word on television!
>> Video: Preview: Trump sits down with Chris Wallace for an exclusive interview

North Carolina teachers’ union demands welfare for illegal immigrants and suspended rent before schools reopen

The teachers’ union is calling for universal health care, a moratorium on mortgage, and for the state to completely shut down.
The Blaze – A teachers’ union in North Carolina has introduced a long list of demands that need to be met before schools can reopen. The Durham Association of Educators is calling for sweeping social programs such as universal health care, welfare benefits for illegal immigrants, and a suspension of rents and mortgages.
Last week, the DAE released a “Statement on School Re-Open Plans.” The teachers’ union says, “COVID-19 is a game of Russian Roulette, in which BIPOC communities are disproportionately killed.”
The union claims that politicians “are under enormous pressure to re-open schools, no matter the risk,” and “they are prepared to let us get sick and die.” The announcement states: “Trump, DeVos, and Berger want schools to open because they care about protecting wealth and big business.”
The DAE says schools can not reopen “until COVID-19 transmission rates are much lower than they are now,” and the union instructs Gov. Roy Cooper (D) to completely shut down North Carolina.
The union calls for sweeping social programs in its reopening demands statement.
“There are concrete policies that have permitted other countries to flatten the curve and return to public life: moratoriums on rent and mortgage, universal health care, direct income support regardless of immigration status,” the statement reads.
Last week, Cooper unveiled his plan to reopen North Carolina schools in August. The plan is to have children attend in-person classes every other day or every other week that will feature “moderate social distancing.”
“We know that school will look a lot different this year,” Cooper said last Tuesday. “They have to in order to be safe and effective. The public health experts and the school leaders developed these safety rules to protect our students and teachers and their families.”
Teachers have balked at Cooper’s school reopening plan.
The DAE isn’t the only teachers’ union to use the coronavirus shutdown to push overtly progressive policies. The 35,000-member United Teachers Los Angeles union demanded the defunding of police, the end of charter schools, and financial support of undocumented students and their families.
The New Jersey Education Association has proposed a strict reopening plan that involves weekly COVID-19 tests for all students, social distancing of six feet at all times, and door-to-door mandatory masks.
Dawn Hiltner, a spokeswoman for the NJEA, said teachers fear that sending children back to school in September could endanger both children and teachers.

Gunman ‘Posing As FedEx Driver’ Shoots Family of Judge Assigned to Jeffrey Epstein-Deutsche Bank Case

Information Liberation – A gunman “posing as a FedEx driver” went to the home of Federal Judge Esther Salas on Sunday evening and reportedly shot and killed her son when he answered the door and then shot her husband repeatedly before fleeing the scene.
Salas was assigned a case involving Deutsche Bank and Jeffrey Epstein just days ago and speculation is running wild that this was an attempted “hit” or was done to send a message.
From The Daily Mail, “Federal judge’s son, 20, is shot dead and her criminal defense attorney husband is critically injured after a gunman disguised as a FedEx driver ambushed their home – four days after she was assigned a case linked to Jeffrey Epstein”:
The son of a federal judge has been shot dead and her husband critically wounded after they were attacked at their home by a gunman dressed as a FedEx driver.
The attack happened at the home of Esther Salas, 51, an Obama-appointed District Court judge, in North Brunswick, New Jersey, on Sunday evening.
The judge’s 20-year-old son Daniel Anderl was killed, and her defense attorney husband Mark Anderl, 63, was critically injured.

Romney accuses Trump of ‘historic corruption’ after Roger Stone commutation

Fox – Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, on Saturday joined Democrats in criticizing President Trump’s decision to commute Roger Stone’s prison sentence, decrying it as an act of “historic corruption” — just as Trump said Stone was the victim of an “illegal witch hunt.”
“Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president,” Romney tweeted.
The White House announced late Friday that Trump had signed an Executive Grant of Clemency for the political operative, who was sentenced to more than three years in prison after being convicted last year on seven counts of obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements to Congress in relation to FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
Stone, who has appealed the conviction and denies wrongdoing, was due to report to prison on July 14 to serve 40 months. But the White House said the president had commuted the sentence “in light of the egregious facts and circumstances surrounding his unfair prosecution, arrest, and trial.”
“Roger Stone was targeted by an illegal Witch Hunt that never should have taken place,” Trump tweeted Saturday morning. “It is the other side that are criminals, including Biden and Obama, who spied on my campaign – AND GOT CAUGHT!”
Romney has long feuded with the president, and was the sole Senate Republican to vote for an article of impeachment in Trump’s Senate impeachment trial earlier this year, which accused the president of “obstruction of Congress.”
His outrage at Stone’s commutation was shared by Democrats, who accused the president of corruption, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promising that Congress would act on the matter.
“President Trump’s decision to commute the sentence of top campaign advisor Roger Stone, who could directly implicate him in criminal misconduct, is an act of staggering corruption,” she said in a statement Saturday.
“Congress will take action to prevent this type of brazen wrongdoing,” she said. “Legislation is needed to ensure that no President can pardon or commute the sentence of an individual who is engaged in a cover-up campaign to shield that President from criminal prosecution.”
The Biden campaign, meanwhile accused Trump of having “once again abused his power, releasing this commutation on a Friday night, hoping to yet again avoid scrutiny as he lays waste to the norms and the values that make our country a shining beacon to the rest of the world.”
“He will not be shamed,” spokesman Bill Russo said. “He will only be stopped when Americans make their voice heard at the ballot box this fall. Enough.”
Both Trump and his Democratic rivals have accused each other of engaging in criminal activity, claims that have continued since the release of the Mueller report last year, and an unsuccessful attempt at impeaching the President earlier this year.
Democrats have claimed that Trump has only avoided criminal prosecution because he is shielded as president, while Trump has accused members of the Obama administration — including Obama himself — of spying on his 2016 campaign.
Stone, meanwhile, told Fox News earlier this week that he was “praying” for intervention from Trump.
On Friday evening, after the commutation, Stone spoke to Trump on the phone and later praised the move to the New York Post.

Pol from New York’s Hudson Valley issues travel advisory for Big Apple, citing crime wave

June saw a 130 percent rise in shootings in NYC over last year
Fox – A city councilman from East Fishkill, N.Y., has issued a travel advisory for New York City, warning residents of his Dutchess County city to stay away from the Big Apple due to a rise in crime.
The NYPD recently released data showing that in June 2020, the city saw a 130 percent rise in shooting incidents compared with June 2019, and a 51 percent rise in car thefts.
“Due to the rising rate of violence and major crimes, it is recommended that area residents exercise increased caution while visiting New York City,” Anil Beephan said in the advisory, which he posted on Facebook Wednesday, noting that “[a]rmed criminals have been known to target and attack individuals, both pre-meditated and at random.”
The advisory specified that people should “reconsider” traveling to the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens “due to crime,” while leaving out Staten Island.
Beephan, who represents a Hudson Valley community about an hour north of Manhattan, placed blame on controversial state and city measures related to police and the criminal justice system. Last month, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea announced the disbandment of the Anti-Crime Unit, which was composed of plainclothes and undercover officers who have since been reassigned to other units.
New York Police Chief of Patrol Fausto Pichardo told Fox News at the time that eliminating the unit was part of an effort to “rebuild” trust in the community.

If Democrats win Texas it’s all over, Sen. Ted Cruz says

He said Texas is ‘the single biggest target for the left in 2020’
Fox – Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in a video posted on Sunday that if the Democrats take Texas and its 38 electoral votes it would be “all over” for the Republican Party in national politics.
“Texas is the single biggest target for the left in 2020, politically speaking,” Cruz said in the video, which was tweeted out by The Hill. He continued, “Texas is the key for national domination for years to come. If Democrats win Texas, it’s all over.”
RealClearPolitics shows President Trump leading Joe Biden, his likely Democrat opponent, in the state by an average of .2 percent. The Washington Examiner pointed out that the last time the Lone Star State went for a Democrat was back in 1976, with Jimmy Carter.
Last week, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told “Hannity” that it is crucial for Republicans to win big in the fall because, otherwise, as he put it, “I don’t know if we’ll ever have an opportunity to win it again.”
RealClearPolitics shows President Trump leading Joe Biden, his likely Democrat opponent, in the state by an average of .2 percent. The Washington Examiner pointed out that the last time the Lone Star State went for a Democrat was back in 1976, with Jimmy Carter.
Last week, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told “Hannity” that it is crucial for Republicans to win big in the fall because, otherwise, as he put it, “I don’t know if we’ll ever have an opportunity to win it again.”

Herschel Walker, Mark Cuban square off over BLM on the field

‘Not to question you, Mark, but do you know what the organization stands for?’
Fox – Former NFL running back Herschel Walker squared off with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban Sunday night in a heated exchange during a Fox News special which explored the state of race relations in the United States and the civil unrest that unfolded since the death of George Floyd.
During “The Fight for America” special that aired Sunday night, Fox News host Harris Faulkner asked Walker about the impact of the racial tension overtaking parts of the country and its impact on major U.S. sports leagues.
“Well, you know, one of the problems that I think we have is a lot of these sensitive topics we do not want to address but we do not want to address these sensitive topics so what we try to do is water them down and shout people down,” he said.
Walker, a known supporter of Trump, challenged the NFL and the NBA’s decision to incorporate the phrase “Black Lives Matters” on their fields and sports jerseys, arguing “some people may not believe in BLM.”
“I’m not sure what they stand for,” he said, “so how could the NFL say we will support BLM or we will do this here without having the players to say what they want because you cannot put that on a player who may disagree with you,” he explained.
Cuban said he largely agreed with Walker but insisted that the NBA‘s plan to paint the phrase “Black Lives Matter” on several basketball courts was a direct request of the players.
“This is important to our players and importance to the fans, but most importantly it’s important to the United States of America that we address these sensitive issues and try to help end systemic racism,” he said.
“Wait, wait, no, no,” Walker interjected. “I think Mark is totally correct. We have to address it but you don’t address it by saying we will do it without knowing what it is you are doing. No one is coming up with solutions like we will put BLM well…,” he trailed off.
“Not to question you, Mark, but do you know what the organization stands for? Besides saying, Black Lives Matter. Because I say one of the things that we have to address is Americans’ lives matter.”
Cuban was quick to fire back: “Herschel, they’re not mutually exclusive. Every life matters but when someone is in trouble you address them first. The Black community has had issues and I think, you know, systemic racism has been here for generations and it’s not going away unless we do something about it.”

Trump administration pushing to block new money for testing, tracing and CDC in upcoming coronavirus relief bill

White House posture angers some GOP senators who are trying to include billions of dollars in the bill
Washington Post – The Trump administration is trying to block billions of dollars for states to conduct testing and contact tracing in the upcoming coronavirus relief bill, people involved in the talks said Saturday.
The administration is also trying to block billions of dollars that GOP senators want to allocate for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and billions more for the Pentagon and State Department to address the pandemic at home and abroad, the people said.
The administration’s posture has angered some GOP senators, the officials said, and some lawmakers are trying to push back and ensure that the money stays in the bill. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal confidential deliberations, cautioned that the talks were fluid and the numbers were in flux.
The negotiations center around a bill Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is preparing to unveil this coming week as part of negotiations with Democrats on what will likely be the last major coronavirus relief bill before the November election.
Negotiations are expected to kick off with increased urgency because of the rapid growth of cases — and steady uptick in deaths — in the United States. The number of cases began falling in April but accelerated sharply after Memorial Day, shattering records in the past two weeks.

Economy & Business

As America’s Economic Suffering Grows, The Calls For More Socialism Grow Louder

Michael Snyder – It is during moments of great crisis that we find out who we really are, and that is why the governmental response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been so heartbreaking. Instead of rallying around our founding principles, Democrats and Republicans have both gravitated toward “solutions” that are in the exact opposite direction. Bigger government programs, more government tyranny and huge socialist transfer payments have all been greatly welcomed by the mainstream media and by large portions of the U.S. population, and at the same time very few voices are warning us that these measures are eroding our fundamental rights, exploding the size of our national debt and setting extremely dangerous precedents for the future.
Once people become accustomed to receiving money directly from the federal government, it is exceedingly difficult to ever cut those payments off. If you think back through our history, it is difficult to name a single major transfer payment program that was ever rolled back. Over time, our federal government has just gotten bigger and bigger and bigger, and it is now the biggest government that anyone has ever seen in the history of the entire planet.
Yes, tens of millions of Americans are deeply hurting right now. Over the past 17 weeks, a total of 51.3 million Americans have filed new claims for unemployment benefits, and that represents the most dramatic spike in unemployment that the U.S. has ever experienced.
And since most Americans were just barely scraping by financially coming into this year, we are facing a future in which millions upon millions of our fellow citizens aren’t going to be able to pay their bills. In a recent article, USA Today featured the tragic story of a 35-year-old hair stylist named Chelsie Caudle…
The mother of two has run into delays applying for unemployment and food stamps in Portland, Oregon, after Grace Salon, a hair salon that specializes in cutting and coloring, was forced to shutter in March when the coronavirus pandemic hit.
Caudle, who is self-employed, sublet a spot at Grace Salon to run her own business called Benjamin LLC. But with no income coming in for months, bills piled up, making it hard for her to afford groceries for her family, she says.
I think that most of us can identify with what she is going through, because nearly all of us have experienced the same thing at some point in our lives.
In order to relieve the suffering of those that found themselves suddenly unemployed, Congress approved $600 a week unemployment bonuses as part of the 2.2 trillion dollar CARES Act that it passed in March…
The $600 weekly payments from the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program were put in place as part of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act that Congress passed in late March amid the coronavirus pandemic. Americans who are eligible for unemployment insurance receive an extra $600 on top of what they normally claim under their state’s benefits. Yet this boost is scheduled to end for all states except New York, on Saturday July 25, 2020. New York’s end date is Sunday, July 26, according to the Department of Labor.
For a while, it sounded like the Republicans were actually against extending the extra unemployment benefits, but now it appears that they just hope to reduce them a bit…
On Sunday, The Washington Post reported that in light of the enhanced $600 per week federal unemployment benefits poised to run out in less than a week, the White House and top Senate Republicans are considering measures including extending a smaller-scale weekly federal enhanced unemployment benefit of $200 or $400 per week or means-testing future federal unemployment benefits.
In the end, the Republican socialists in Congress will probably fold like a 20 dollar suit like they always do, and so the Democratic socialists in Congress will likely end up with most (or all) of what they want in this next “stimulus bill”.
And very few people will even talk about the fact that this new “stimulus bill” will steal trillions of more dollars from future generations of Americans.
This is what socialism always does. It steals money from one group and gives it to another.
In our case, we have been stealing from future generations for so long that we have absolutely obliterated the bright future that they were supposed to have.
Meanwhile, the calls for “a second stimulus check” are becoming louder as well.

Money talks: U.S. town prints own currency to boost coronavirus relief

Tucked away under lock and key in a former railroad depot turned small-town museum in the U.S. state of Washington, a wooden printing press cranked back to life to mint currency after nearly 90 dormant years.
The end product: $25 wooden bills bearing the town’s name – Tenino – with the words “COVID Relief” superimposed on the image of a bat and the Latin phrase “Habemus autem sub potestate” (We have it under control) printed in cursive.
With the coronavirus pandemic plunging the United States into a recession, decimating small businesses and causing job losses across the country, some local governments are looking for innovative ways to help residents weather the storm.
For Tenino, the answer was the revival of the local currency that had bolstered the town’s economy in 1931 in the wake of the Great Depression.
“It was kind of an epiphany: Why don’t we do that again?” Mayor Wayne Fournier told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “It only made sense.”
Tenino, a town of less than 2,000 people located about 60 miles (95km) southwest of Seattle, started printing the local banknotes in April, five weeks into Washington state’s lockdown.
Anyone with a documented loss of income as a result of the pandemic is eligible for up to $300 a month of the local currency.
Businesses up and down the town’s quaint Main Street accept the wooden note for everything except alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and lottery tickets.
Tenino’s city government backs the local currency, which merchants can exchange for U.S. dollars at city hall at a 1:1 rate.
Susan Witt, executive director of the Schumacher Center for a New Economics, a Massachusetts-based think tank, said alternative currencies like Tenino’s banknote are better than direct cash payments at boosting local economies.
“The City of Barcelona gave donations (in 2017/18) to sports teams and cultural groups as well as social programs (then) watched these donations go to big box stores,” she said in emailed comments.
“So, it created a local currency so that these ‘discretionary’ funds in its budget would circle back to support locally-owned businesses.”
‘WOVEN INTO OUR DNA’
Mayor Fournier noted that, for long-time Tenino residents, the wooden notes are nothing new.
The tiny town founded around a sandstone quarry achieved national prominence in 1931 when civic leaders printed a wooden local currency to restore consumer confidence after the town’s bank failed during the Great Depression.
“This is woven into the DNA of the community,” Fournier said. “My great aunt Erlene has the family collection all stashed away.”
The mayor brought the idea of resurrecting the town’s legacy project to the city council as a way to provide economic relief to businesses and residents suffering as a result of lockdown measures to slow the spread of COVID-19.
In April councillors approved the proposal to issue up to $10,000 in local scrip.
So far, 13 residents have successfully applied for the funds and some $2,500 worth of wooden bills have been issued, Fournier said, with donations upping the total funds available to $16,000.

TRADER JOE’S to eliminate product names criticized as racist.

Petition Calls For Trader Joe’s To Change ‘Racist’ Packaging
CBS – Trader Joe’s is responding to calls to stop labeling its international food products with names like “Trader Ming’s” and “Trader Jose,” among others.
Trader Joe’s says it is taking action after a Change.org petition called for it to change “racist” packaging.
According to the petition, which has been signed by more than 1,800 people at last check, “the grocery chain labels some of its ethnic foods with modifications of ‘Joe’ that belies a narrative of exoticism that perpetuates harmful stereotypes.”

Health

Top health officials have changed their minds about face mask guidance

CNN – irst, health officials said we shouldn’t wear face masks. Then, they said we should. Now, many are saying we must wear masks if we want to protect the economy, reopen more schools and save tens of thousands of lives.
“If we all wore face coverings for the next four, six, eight, 12 weeks across the nation, this virus transmission would stop,” said Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But President Donald Trump said he won’t consider a federal face mask mandate, citing outdated statements made several months ago.
“Dr. Fauci said don’t wear a mask. Our surgeon general, terrific guy, said don’t wear a mask. Everybody was saying don’t wear a mask,” Trump told Fox News’ Chris Wallace in an interview that aired Sunday.
“All of a sudden, everybody’s got to wear a mask. And as you know, masks cause problems too. With that being said, I’m a believer in masks. I think masks are good.”

Deep South supermarket takes stand: No masks required

USA Today – In a retail landscape rife with stores requiring masks, Winn Dixie won’t.
A spokesperson from the grocery chain’s parent company Southeastern Grocers said it isn’t mandating face coverings during the pandemic to avoid “undue friction” between customers and staffers.
“We strongly encourage state officials to lead the way in regulating these type of safety mandates,” said Joe Caldwell, director of corporate communications at Southeastern Grocers in a statement emailed to USA TODAY.
Winn Dixie, which has hundreds of locations throughout the southern states, is “allowing associates to wear face masks” rather than requiring them, according to a statement on the parent company’s website.
“We will continue to refine our processes and protocols in our stores, with health and safety as our guide, as long as this pandemic remains a threat,” the website says.

The CDC is Planning for Massive Deaths this Fall

Health Impact News – There’s a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through. And when I’ve said this to others, they kind of put their head back, they don’t understand what I mean… We’re going to have the flu epidemic and the coronavirus epidemic at the same time.”
“I am worried. I do think the fall and the winter of 2020 and 2021 are probably going to be one of the most difficult times that we’ve experienced in American public health because of what you said — the co-occurrence of Covid and influenza, and this is where I’d like to continue to work with you to get the American public to embrace the influenza vaccine so we can try to minimize the impact of inluenza, because I think those two respiratory pathogens hitting us at the same time do have the potential to stress our health system.”
The CDC Director, Robert Redfield, made both these ‘predictive’ statements about the future of this orchestrated coronavirus pandemic.
The first comment was a few months ago as reported in this article on April 21, and the second quote was from an interview held yesterday with the editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
In my opinion, these are not simply prognostications, but are warnings of things already planned and known.
Part of the reason for these announcements is to set the stage for the final nail in the coffin of freedom, and to prepare the sheep for mass death purposely created to advance this sinister agenda of total population control.
The CDC, and therefore the state, will recommend the flu vaccine followed by the Covid vaccine, and both will infect all recipients with multiple viruses and poisons at a time when the bulk of society is most vulnerable.
This is by design.
The state’s scandalous pandemic response is the major part of this plan that can guarantee more sickness and death; sickness and death purposely sought by the perpetrators of this fraud in order to perpetuate great harm through the manipulated weakening of the immune systems of most all Americans.
After several months of lockdowns, a carrot was dangled for a brief period, with promises of reopening. That reopening never actually happened in full, as the restrictions remained during the pause, and then the stopgap plan of arranged fake racial strife, rioting, looting, and property destruction was allowed to continue until the next part of this plot could be released on the public.
The beginning strategy of this second phase was based on false case increases, enough to instill fear in an already beaten down populace that is once again being told to isolate, mask, distance, and lockdown.
The final part of this second phase will come with the first sign of cold weather, and this has already been put into motion due to the near complete decimation of general health due to the government response to this hoax.
What the CDC head is indicating with his comments is that he knows that the flu season coming will be much more devastating than normal, and that all sickness and death will be blamed on a virus that has never been properly scientifically isolated, identified, or verified.
That will matter not, as after 8 months of mandated isolation and lockdowns, deadly oxygen-stealing mask wearing, of vitamin deficiencies, lack of exercise, job loss, depression, and extreme stress, the entire population will be at great risk of becoming sick, and the evil controllers of this fraud that plotted this outcome from the beginning, will use the purposely created weakness of the masses to advance their agendas of control.
This coming flu season will not be like last year when total deaths were close to normal, even with the introduction of a fraudulent virus.
This next flu season will see not only the old and infirmed getting sick and dying, but people of all ages will be highly affected due to deliberately introduced lockdown measures implemented by the elite controllers.
These controllers include the big banking sector, the government at every level, the WHO, the CDC, the pharmaceutical companies, the medical and healthcare industry, the giant tax-free foundations, and others.
These are the only entities that will benefit from this great reset and new world order. They will still benefit monetarily of course, as the wealth transfers will continue in earnest, but they will benefit most by gaining total power and control over all aspects of society and people worldwide.

The Multiple Health Benefits of Peaches

Newsmax – There’s nothing like a juicy peach to tempt your taste buds, and with peach season at its peak in July and August, now is the time to enjoy this tasty and healthy fruit. Peaches contain many health benefits, including antioxidants to protect your cells and inflammatory compounds to protect and boost your immune system.
Reducing inflammation can also lower your risk of chronic diseases such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, and heart disease, according to Real Simple. Experts say that eating fresh or frozen peaches offers the most health benefits, so stay away from canned, especially products that contain lots of sugar and syrup.
Jenn Lavardera, R.D., of Naturipe Farms, tells Real Simple says that peaches are one of the healthiest foods you can eat. “Peaches are a good source of fiber and have just under 70 calories for a medium fruit,” she adds.
Here are some of the health benefits:

Skin and eye health. Peaches contain beta-carotene, an essential nutrient in preserving eye health and preventing skin damage while maintaining a youthful appearance by tightening the pores.
Digestion. According to Healthline, one medium-sized fruit contains adequate amounts of both soluble and insoluble fiber to help move food through your gut. Experts say that peaches also help build healthy bacteria in the intestines. Lavardera adds that peaches can help regulate blood sugar levels, which could help prevent diabetes. Make sure you eat the whole fruit, however, and not just the juice, she says.
Heart health. Eating fruit regularly, especially peaches, can lower your risk of cardiovascular disease by keeping cholesterol under control. Test-tube studies have shown that peaches may reduce overall and “bad” or LDL cholesterol.
Cancer. Studies have shown that peaches that contain both carotenoids and caffeic acid with have anticancer properties, according to Healthline. One lab study, according to Real Simple, revealed that peaches may inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells.