March 28, 2024

The Power Hour

Knowledge is Power

Today’s News: June 20, 2022

WORLD NEWS

Let Them Eat Bugs: Scientists Tell Africans How To Lick Climate Change

A group of scientists called the Malabo Montpellier Panel published a report in May that encouraged Africa to develop a “sustainable bio-economy” through such innovative techniques as making muffins and meatloaf out of flies.

The report, titled Nature’s Solutions: Policy Innovations & Opportunities for Africa’s Bioeconomy, is the latest installment in the bizarrely persistent environmentalist craze to make people eat bugs. Waves of mainstream media articles about the value of insects as a “sustainable” source of protein appear every year, usually laced with complaints about the volume of greenhouse gas emitted by the livestock industry and from the posteriors of the livestock themselves.

For example, the New York Times extolled “The Joy of Cooking (Insects)” in February 2022. Time magazine explained “How Humans Eating Insects Could Help Save the Planet” exactly one year previously.

The Malabo Montpellier Panel argued in May that “rising costs of food, fuel, and fertilizer, as well as the longer-term impacts of [Chinese coronavirus] and climate change” make Africa the perfect laboratory for creating a new type of continent-wide “bio-economy” that would putatively feed its exploding population and create millions of jobs.

Some of these proposals are relatively modest, such as developing better methods of harvesting popular fruits and vegetables, while others might prove to be tougher sells, like pounding swarms of lake flies into “a range of edible foods like crackers, muffins, meat loaves, and sausages.”

“In terms of bioenergy, coffee husks and pulp are being turned into biogas, and fruit waste is being transformed into a bio-alkanol gel that burns without smoke or soot. This makes indoor cooking both more environmentally friendly and less harmful to health, especially for women who bear the bulk of this responsibility,” the panel argued.

The “bio-economy” concept can be rather broad, as it includes a good deal of what might be more prosaically called agriculture. Bio-economy strategies generally encourage using new technologies, frown upon fossil fuels, and stress the notion of “sustainability” by using plants and insects instead of animal products.

Africa’s abundant flora and fauna make it a popular testing ground for bio-economy theories, especially in the wake of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, widely seen as a golden opportunity for controlling and “resetting” existing economic systems.

The pandemic also caused serious problems for global shipping, which still have not entirely cleared up. Bio-economies are theoretically more self-sufficient because the necessary plants and insects are harvested locally.

Reuters on Wednesday highlighted South Africa and Uganda as examples of successful bio-economy pilot programs:

South Africa, for example, assessed that its bio-economy contributed 8% of its gross domestic product and created as many as 16 million jobs between 2007 and 2020 – about 70% of it in the food and beverage industry and agricultural sector.

One of its most successful products is a mosquito-repelling candle made from the oils of an indigenous plant and now available in major retailers across the country.

Uganda is one of the few African countries that has drafted a national bio-economy plan, which targets food, farming and traditional medicines, while Namibia is working with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization to develop its first national bio-economy strategy.

“Sustainability and adaptation to a changing climate require a more judicious use of biological and ecological resources. This includes how these resources might be leveraged to generate innovative products that help mitigate climate change, conserve resources and protect biodiversity, while creating new and well-paying employment opportunities,” Malabo Montpellier Panel co-chair Ousmane Badiane told Reuters.

However, Reuters grumbled that even these bio-economy success stories tend to be small projects set aside in “protected areas without any real investment,” rather than massive regional transformations into dramatically different sustainable economic systems.

The impetus behind much of this bio-economy experimentation in Africa is lingering apprehension among the climate change community that Africa’s vast and growing population will demand the same standard of living as the Western world, consuming tremendous quantities of fossil fuel in the process.

Some African leaders have figured this out and are getting a little cross with the presumption that fighting climate change means they have to live in low-energy, bug-eating poverty forever.

Chinese City Turns COVID-19 App Into Digital Handcuffs For Bank Protestors

The Chinese regime is using COVID-19 control measures to stop depositors whose savings were frozen by rural banks from protesting.

Several depositors told The Epoch Times on June 14 that the health code on their COVID-19 app turned red as soon as they scanned venue barcodes at Zhengzhou, the provincial capital city of central China’s Henan Province. A red health code—indicating a potential COVID-19 patient—means that the carrier is barred access to all public places from public toilets to shops to train stations and faces mandatory quarantine in centralized isolation centers.

They’re among tens of thousands of bank depositors who have fought to recover their savings for more than two months. The crisis started in April, when at least four lenders in Henan froze cash withdrawals, citing internal system upgrades. But customers said neither these banks nor officials have since offered any information on why or how long the process would take, prompting angry protests outside the office of the banking regulator in Zhengzhou in May.

An estimated 1 million customers were reportedly affected, which has left many residents’ life savings at stake and patients unable to pay for regular medical care.

Depositors have been cut off from at least 39.7 billion yuan ($5.91 billion), according to Sanlian LifeWeek, a state-run magazine.

Aggrieved depositors across the country planned another protest in Zhengzhou on June 13 to demand an answer, although previous gatherings were met with silence from local authorities and violence from plainclothes police officers.

Red Code

However, their plan was thwarted again as their health codes turned red at the city’s train stations or highway entrances.

A red code indicates the highest level of risk, meaning the person tests positive, has been close to a COVID-19 patient, or has visited high-COVID-risk areas in the past 14 days. Residents with a red code face two weeks of centralized isolation.

The Chinese regime adopted three-tiered color-based QR code systems utilizing big data and mobile technology to track people’s movement as part of its COVID-19 control measures. Residents must present a green health code on mobile phones while scanning a venue code for every place they visit.

Liu Yong (pseudonym), a depositor from nearby Hebei Province, drove to Zhengzhou hoping to get his money back on June 12. But he ended up stranded on a highway as his health code turned red when he scanned the venue code at the exit.

Liu carried a green health code as well as a negative PCR test result when he left his hometown. He was required to return home, as police threatened to send him to a quarantine center if he refused to do so.

With the red code, his return road was blocked. Liu was unable to take a break or even use the toilets at the service station while driving back to Hebei. In an interview with The Epoch Times on June 14, Liu said he was still blocked at a highway exit leading to his hometown.

It was unclear how many people encountered the same issue, but one person involved told The Epoch Times that hundreds of depositors across the country shared their red code screenshots in a group chat on WeChat, the country’s popular instant message app.

An employee handling the Zheng Health Commission inquiries told The Epoch Times that they had heard of the health code problems and reported the issue to relevant departments.

Another bank customer, Li Yin (pseudonym), said she and three other depositors found that their health codes turned red when scanning Zhengzhou venue codes remotely on June 12. They tested the app in their homes in Inner Mongolia, a northern Chinese province that’s 550 miles away from Zhengzhou.

But Li said her friend’s husband, who wasn’t connected to frozen deposits, didn’t find the color change after scanning, adding to speculation that they were on authorities’ target list.

“They [officials] are like robbers,” said a third bank customer who was stopped by police at Zhengzhou train station on June 12 and required to leave. “We’re all legal depositors.  Why couldn’t we even have an explanation?”

South Africans Fighting Government to Keep Guns, as Violence Continues to Soar

outh Africans are clamouring for guns in the midst of soaring violent crime, while their government tries to pass legislation to outlaw ownership of firearms for self-defense.

“A government is supposed to protect its people. A government is supposed to care about the welfare of citizens,” said Dave Alfonso, outside a firearms dealership in Johannesburg, minutes after his purchase of a 9mm pistol.

“Here we have a government which has established one of the most useless police forces in the world, and under whose watch we are now one of the most dangerous countries on the planet. A government that says South Africa will be safer when private citizens are not allowed to own guns!”

There are no official statistics indicating the recent rise in gun demand, but the police confirm burgeoning demand for firearm licenses.

Weapons dealerships across South Africa report rising trade since the events of last July, when mobs rampaged across several cities, destroying property, looting stores and private homes and attacking people.

Hundreds lost their lives. Law enforcement agencies faced extreme public backlash for their initial slow reaction to the violence, with citizens forced to form vigilante militias to defend their families and property.

“I think that opened a lot of eyes as to what this country could look like in the not-too-distant future, and people have been rushing to arm themselves,” said Nick Yale, who’s been selling firearms in Johannesburg for almost 40 years.

“The last time I saw demand like this was between 1990 and 1994.”

Thousands were killed in the period that Yale mentions, as a South Africa transitioning from apartheid to democracy teetered on the brink of civil war, with assassinations, security force massacres of protesters and bombings by far-Right groups.

South Africa remains one of the most dangerous places on earth, constantly rated as such by global violence and crime watchdog groups.

Japan: Osaka court rules ban on same-sex marriage constitutional

Japan’s ban on same-sex marriages does not violate the constitution, a district court in Osaka has ruled.

The ruling dealt a blow to gay couples and rights activists, after another district court in Sapporo ruled in 2021 that the failure to recognise same-sex marriage was “unconstitutional”.

Japan’s constitution defines marriage as one between “both sexes”.

It is the only country in the G7 group of developed nations that doesn’t allow people of the same sex to marry.

Opinion polls show a majority of the general public is in favour of allowing same-sex marriage in Japan.

Several areas – including Tokyo – have begun issuing partnership certificates, to help same-sex couples rent properties and gain hospital visitation rights.

The Osaka case was filed by three same-sex couples, two of them male and one female. The case is only the second of its kind to be heard in the country, where conservative attitudes towards homosexuality remain.

In addition to rejecting their claim that being unable to marry was unconstitutional, the court also dismissed demands for 1 million yen ($7,414; £6,058) in damages for each couple who argued they had suffered “unjust discrimination” by not being allowed to marry.

Russia blockading Ukrainian grain is a ‘real war crime’ – EU

Russia’s blockade of millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain is a “real war crime”, says EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

“It is inconceivable – one cannot imagine that millions of tonnes of wheat remain blocked in Ukraine while in the rest of the world people are suffering hunger,” Mr Borrell said.

“We call on Russia to deblockade the [Ukrainian] ports.”

EU foreign ministers are meeting to discuss the crisis.

Western countries have demanded Russia stop blockading Ukraine’s Black Sea ports and allow vast stores of grain to reach world markets.

The blockade has sparked warnings that tens of millions of people are at risk of famine and sent food prices soaring.

Ahead of the meeting in Luxembourg, Mr Borrell said: “This is a real war crime, so I cannot imagine that this will last much longer.”

He said Russia should be held “accountable” if it keeps blocking the export of vitally needed grain from Ukraine.

U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT

Department of Justice Criticizes Jan. 6 Committee for Not Turning Over Interview Transcripts

Top Department of Justice (DOJ) officials have chastised the House of Representatives committee investigating the U.S. Capitol breach that took place on Jan. 6, 2021, for not handing over transcripts of interviews they’ve conducted.

“It is now readily apparent that the interviews the Select Committee conducted are not just potentially relevant to our overall criminal investigations, but are likely relevant to specific prosecutions that have already commenced,” Assistant Attorney Generals Kenneth Polite Jr. and Matthew Olsen wrote to the panel in a letter dated June 15 that was docketed in a federal court on Thursday.

“The Select Committee’s failure to grant the Department access to these transcripts complicates the Department’s ability to investigate and prosecute those who engaged in criminal conduct in relation to the January 6 attack on the Capitol,” they added later, urging the panel to reverse its position.

Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, also signed the missive.

The office of Graves submitted the letter in a case against members of the Proud Boys who are charged with crimes in relation to Jan. 6.

Prosecutors said the DOJ “has neither access to the transcripts, nor the ability to compel Congress, a co-equal branch of government, to provide copies of the transcripts.” They also said they do not oppose pushing back the trial of the defendants due to the transcripts not being available.

“We got the letter yesterday, we are reviewing it, we will respond to it, but we are in the midst of conducting our hearings,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the chairman of the House panel on Thursday.

We have a program to get over, we have to get the facts and circumstances behind Jan. 6. We will work with them, but we have a report to do. We are not going to stop what we are doing to share the information that we have gotten so far with the Department of Justice. We have to do our work,” he added.

Thompson told reporters in May that he rebuffed a request from DOJ officials to turn over transcripts, describing them at the time as “the committee’s work product.”

The transcripts would be shared after the panel’s work is done, Thompson added.

Biden Falls Off His Bicycle in Delaware, White House Says He’s ‘Fine’

President Joe Biden fell off his bicycle on Saturday as he approached a group of members of the public during a ride in a state park near his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, with the White House saying the president is “fine” following the spill.

Video shared on social media captured the moment Biden approached a cheering group of well-wishers on his bike before coming to a stop and appearing to get his foot caught on one of the pedals’ toe clips on dismount.

He fell over and hit the pavement, eliciting gasps from the onlookers.

“I’m good, I’m good,” Biden said after Secret Service agents swarmed the 79-year-old commander in chief and quickly helped him up, according to a separate video shared on Twitter.

“I got my foot caught” in the toe clips, Biden added.

A White House official told the press pool that Biden was uninjured and “looks forward to spending the rest of the day with his family.”

Biden and First Lady Jill Biden were finishing up a morning ride in the Gordons Pond area on the Delaware shore when the president pedaled over to a group of well-wishers standing on the roadside and fell.

Biden Seeks $500 Million Earmark for Political Allies’ Pandemic Preparedness Group

Four key House Republicans are questioning a $500 million earmark sought by President Joe Biden for an international group headquartered in Oslo, Norway, and led in the United States by political appointees of former President Barack Obama.

The $500 million would go to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation (CEPI), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), which was formed in 2017 by the governments of Norway and India, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and the World Economic Forum (WEF), according to the group’s website.

The website claims that “CEPI’s early coronavirus investments combined with its global focus, multi-sectoral partnerships, and ability to move quickly resulted in 20+ vaccines against COVID-19 and its variants.” The website also quotes Microsoft founder Bill Gates as crediting CEPI with helping “develop COVID-19 vaccines in less than a year.”

It’s not clear how CEPI can claim credit for vaccines that were prompted and overseen by the Operation Warp Speed program initiated at the outset of the virus in the United States by then-President Donald Trump in 2020.

Shortly after leaving the Obama administration, Dawn O’Connell, former Counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Obama, became CEPI’s Washington, D.C. Executive Director, according to the House GOPers in a June 16 letter. O’Connell is now back at HHS as Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), a position in which she could be helpful to CEPI.

The signers are Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), the Ranking Member of the House Administration Committee, Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), the Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.), and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), the Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

All four of the GOP signers could become chairs of their respective committees if Republicans retake the House majority in the November congressional elections. Their letter was addressed to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young, and Samantha Power, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Acting Administrator.

“President Biden’s FY23 budget calls for a specific allocation to CEPI through no evident bidding process. In addition to the creation of a $4.5 billion Global Health Security and Pandemic Preparedness Fund to contract with international health organizations, the budget request includes a separate $500 million line item for CEPI,” the GOP letter signers wrote.

“This $500 million request for CEPI is significantly larger than the federal government’s previous five-year distribution of $20 million, making the United States the single largest contributor to CEPI,” the letter continued.

“The lack of transparency and justification for this funding increase raises concerns. Furthermore, CEPI’s close ties to the Obama-Biden and Biden-Harris Administrations, suggest a revolving door of politically-connected personnel where Administration friends are rewarded with federal dollars,” the letter said.

Elon Musk Reveals Who He Believes Is Actually Driving the Democratic Party

Tech billionaire Elon Musk revealed that he believes certain unions are primary drivers of the Democratic Party’s and Biden administration’s policies.

“The general public is not aware of the degree to which unions control the Democratic Party. One does not need to speculate on this point,” Musk said in an interview published over the weekend.

Two of Musk’s businesses, Tesla and SpaceX, are not unionized, which Musk says is because of the “negative employment” in Silicon Valley. He says that Tesla workers typically often have numerous job offers.

“Last year, Biden held an EV summit where Tesla was explicitly not allowed to come, but [United Auto Workers] was. So, Tesla has made two-thirds of all the electric vehicles in the United States,” said Musk, who is estimated to be worth more than $250 billion.

United Auto Workers (UAW), with more than 390,000 active members, is one of the largest unions in the United States and has long been a major player in Democratic Party politics since its inception nearly 100 years ago.

“So, deliberately excluding us from an EV summit at the White House—but including UAW—tells you everything you need to know,” Musk said in the interview. “They have so much power over the White House that they can exclude Tesla from an EV summit—insane.”

Musk said that during the recent summit, Biden praised General Motors and its president, Mary Barra, for leading the “EV revolution,” despite GM only delivering 26 electric vehicles in that same quarter. Tesla is by far the largest maker of electric vehicles in the United States.

“That’s some next-level insanity,” he said of the incident.

In early June, Biden also brushed off Musk’s comments on a possible recession and said that other car companies have made recent investments in electric vehicles.

“Well, let me tell you, while Elon Musk is talking about that, Ford is increasing their investment overwhelmingly,” Biden said during an event in response to Musk’s Twitter post about the economy possibly hitting a recession in the coming months.

“I think Ford is increasing investment in building new electric vehicles, 6,000 new employees—union employees, I might add—in the Midwest,” Biden said, noting that “the former Chrysler corporation, Stellantis, they are also making similar investments in electric vehicles.”

Musk has frequently criticized the UAW in recent months, taking a swipe at the union in late March after a former union official pleaded guilty to bilking more than $2 million from the organization.

“UAW slogan – ‘Fighting for the right to embezzle money from auto workers!’” he wrote.

Child Predator Sting Nets Disney Driver, 11 Others in Polk County

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced on June 17 the arrest of 12 suspects—one a Disney employee—on charges of soliciting children online for “grooming” purposes.

Judd identified them at a press conference, where he displayed their photos and gave a brief description of each suspect. One was a bus driver for the Walt Disney World Resort.

“He was doing this while he was on the clock for Disney,” Judd said. “So if your bus was running late at Disney, he was busy taking pictures of himself and talking trash to what he thought was a little girl.”

On June 2, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, along with two municipal police departments, began conducting Operation Child Protector II, in which detectives posed as children on social media platforms, popular apps, and online dating sites to investigate those who “prey upon and travel to meet children for unlawful sexual activity.” During the sting, the suspects communicated with and solicited people who they thought were children.

Judd said the investigations are an “ongoing process” but that parents need to be aware.

“We never quit investigating these folks,” he said. “Parents have to understand the first line of defense is at home, so they need to be all up in their child’s business.”

According to a written release, four suspects showed up at an undercover location in Polk County to meet people who they thought were children, with the intent to commit sexual battery.

“Detectives obtained warrants for eight other suspects” who were subsequently “arrested and booked into jails in their respective counties,” the sheriff office’s statement read.

“Additional suspects were charged via a warrant after transmitting pornographic images and/or grooming and soliciting children online—they are still at large in Florida and police are actively looking for them.”

The 12 suspects who were arrested are facing a total of 49 felony charges.

Judd stated at the press conference that some of them “flew under the radar” with no criminal histories.

“What I want parents to understand is these aren’t traditional criminals,” Judd said. “Nine of the 12 don’t have a criminal history. These are evil people lurking online and grooming children online to engage them in sexual conduct.”

The combined criminal histories of the others, Judd said, included 22 felonies and 31 misdemeanor charges. The youngest suspect is 20 years old and the oldest is 67.

Most of the suspects had active warrants, and two men were from out of state—Michigan and Alabama. The latter is 66 years old and works as a Black Hawk helicopter mechanic at Fort Rucker, Judd said.

“He had chats with a 13-year-old while he was at work,” Judd said. “I hope he didn’t get so carried away that he forgot to put all the parts back on the Black Hawk helicopters. That could be a real problem.”

Two of the men are married and told detectives they “waited until their wives were asleep” to go online to talk to children.

Judd had a final message for those who wish to do harm to children: “We are all the time looking for these deviants. So wherever you are in the world, if you’ve been talking nasty and sending nasty pictures to what you thought was a child, we’ll be after you.”

Teen Killed, Officer Injured at D.C. Juneteenth Shooting

A 15-year-old boy was reportedly killed at the Juneteenth shooting in Washington, DC, on Sunday, while a police officer and two other adults were injured.

According to NBC Washington, the shooting appeared to “break out after two separate incidents, following what D.C. Chief of Police Robert Contee called an ‘unpermitted event’ at around 6 p.m. held by the group Moechella.”

The Moechella music festival featured go-go bands celebrating the recently enshrined holiday, Juneteenth, which commemorates the emancipation of slaves in the United States.

“While officers shut down the event and paramedics treated victims who suffered injuries running away, the gunfire that would claim the life of a teen and injure three others erupted,” it added.

As Breitbart News previously reported, police are searching for “a black male about 5’4″ with curly hair wearing all black.”

The shooting occurred near 14th & U Street NW. Police say the wounded officer was shot in the leg. The extent of the injuries for the other two victims remains unknown at this time, though police say they are in a stable condition.

“At one point, there was some type of ‘incident or fight’ among the crowd that was broken up, authorities said. Then, after a ‘secondary incident,’ people started to flee, and some had their legs and ankles ‘trampled,’” noted NBC Washington.

 Video shared across social media shows massive crowds running away in fear as shots broke out.

County Becomes First in Michigan to Ban Private Funding of Elections

Livingston County, Michigan, this week became the latest jurisdiction in the country and the first in its state to ban the private funding of the administration of elections.

The move came after good-government advocates became incensed that, in 2020, a Mark Zuckerberg-funded activist group, the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL), flooded election offices in Democratic Party strongholds in Michigan with millions of dollars, in an apparent effort to drive up voter turnout for that party.

Critics say Zuckerberg, billionaire Facebook founder and Democrat activist, along with his wife Priscilla Chan, gave the money in an effort to influence the 2020 election.

According to the critics, the grants accomplished Zuckerberg’s goal.

In 2016, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, a Republican, beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in Michigan by 10,704 votes. But in 2020, Democrat Joe Biden beat Trump in the state by 154,188 votes, according to official results as reported by Ballotpedia.

Critics claim the assistance provided by CTCL to Detroit, Benton Harbor, Muskegon, and other heavily Democratic jurisdictions in the state may have put Biden over the top.

On June 13, the Livingston County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to ban the acceptance of unregulated monies for funding elections, a move that lawyer Erick Kaardal said would enhance election integrity.

Kaardal, a special counsel for the Thomas More Society, a nationwide public interest law firm that protects religious freedom and maintains an election integrity practice, said he provided the commissioners with an analysis of the resolution before they voted on it.

Livingston County is between Detroit and Lansing, the state capital.

The commission’s vote pushes Michigan closer toward a national movement to banish “dark money,” or political spending meant to influence voters, where the donor isn’t disclosed and the source of the money is unknown, Kaardal said.

Walworth County in nearby Wisconsin became the first local government in that state to ban the acceptance of private monies or grants for use in the administration of elections, as The Epoch Times reported.

“In the last 18 months, 20 states have enacted laws banning private money to administer public elections,” Kaardal said in a statement in which he identified Texas, Florida, Ohio, and Arizona as among those now with such laws in effect.

He said legislatures in another six states have passed such legislation, but governors vetoed it.

“This is a win for the voters of Livingston County and will hopefully lead the way for other local governments to optimize election integrity in their regions,” Kaardal said.

“When there is an absence of any insistence on election integrity from the top, it is incumbent upon counties and municipalities to protect the right of voters entrusted to them.

“Because Michigan’s executive branch has been unwilling to bar private money from entering the elections, the burden has fallen upon cities and counties to protect themselves from outside interference by illegal money sources.

“The people understand that the right to vote is a cornerstone of a free society and that the biased intervention of those who influence the outcome with their dirty dollars is not to be tolerated.”

Michigan Judge Orders GOP Candidate for Governor to Surrender Guns

Michigan Republican candidate for governor Ryan Kelley will have to surrender his guns while he awaits trial on misdemeanor criminal charges in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol breach, a judge ruled on June 16.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robin Meriweather made the ruling even as Kelley’s attorney argued he needs to carry a concealed weapon for self-defense as he makes campaign appearances in Michigan, local media reported. The judge also said Kelley can’t leave the state while awaiting trial and must surrender his passport.

Kelley is “a bit of a high-profile candidate in Michigan” as recent polls showed that he was the front-runner among GOP gubernatorial candidates, his lawyer, Gary Springstead, said. Kelley, who has a license to carry a concealed weapon, “asked that he be permitted to carry his firearm for his own self-defense, during the campaign,” Springstead added.

About a week ago, Kelley was arrested in Michigan and charged with participating in the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol, federal prosecutors said in a court filing in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The complaint noted that Kelley didn’t actually enter the Capitol building on Jan. 6, and instead is being charged with entering and remaining within a “restricted building or grounds without lawful authority,” disorderly conduct in a restricted building or grounds, knowingly engaging in an act of physical violence against a person or property on restricted grounds, and willfully injuring or committing any depredation against any property of the United States government.

“The whole thing with Jan. 6, it’s another Democrat show trying to do power control,” Kelley said at an event last week, MLive reported. “They obviously have no real solutions. Look at the price of gas, look at the price of food; we have baby formula shortages.”

Michigan Republican Party co-Chairs Ron Weiser and Meshawn Maddock said that Kelley’s arrest is proof that top Democrats are “weaponizing our justice system” to obtain their political goals. Other GOP gubernatorial candidates spoke out about the arrest, echoing Weiser’s and Maddock’s concerns.

Meanwhile, some analysts suggest that Kelley’s arrest could actually benefit his campaign. Adolph Mongo, a political consultant who worked for former Democratic Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick while the mayor was under federal investigation, said Kelley should run with the misdemeanor charges.

“I would say lean into it,” Mongo told MLive. “Don’t go into hiding, go out on the campaign trail. He can raise a lot of money.”

Hillary Clinton Reveals Whether She’ll Run for President in 2024

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton detailed whether or not she might run for president in 2024 amid speculation about President Joe Biden’s future.

The 2016 Democratic presidential nominee told the Financial Times that she’s not considering making another presidential bid, saying that she expects Biden to run for reelection. A number of opinion polls have suggested Biden’s approval rating has cratered in recent weeks as more and more Americans are expressing concerns about the future of the country and economy.

“No, out of the question,” Clinton said in response to a question about a 2024 campaign. “First of all, I expect Biden to run. He certainly intends to run. It would be very disruptive to challenge that.”

After running for president in 2008 before losing the Democratic Party’s primary to Barack Obama, she later became former President Obama’s secretary of state. In 2016, she lost to former Republican President Donald Trump.

Elaborating further in the FT interview, Clinton revealed that she believes Trump is slated to seek the GOP nomination in 2024.

“I think if he can, he’s going to run again,” the former first lady said. “Follow the money with Trump—he’s raised about $130 million sitting in his bank account that he used to travel around … I don’t know who will challenge him in the Republican primary.”

She added that “the most important thing” for Democrats to do “is to win the next election” because “the alternative is so frightening that whatever does not help you win should not be a priority.”

Despite her comments about Biden seeking reelection, there have been concerns about the president’s stamina and health—namely as he fell from his bike while riding in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Saturday.

“I’m good, I’m good,” Biden said in a video as U.S. Secret Service agents swarmed the 79-year-old. “I got my foot caught,” he added.

Meanwhile, left-wing CNN pundit Don Lemon asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre whether Biden, 79, is able to keep up mentally and physically.

“Does the president have the stamina, physically and mentally, do you think to continue on even after 2024?” Lemon asked the press secretary during a segment last week.

“Don, you’re asking me this question,” a visibly shocked Jean-Pierre said in response, laughing off the question. “Oh my gosh. He’s the president of the United States.” She added that such a question was not one that “we should be even asking.”

If Biden wins the presidency in 2024, he will be aged 86 upon leaving office.

Swimming’s Governing Body to Restrict Transgender Athletes From Competing in Women’s Sports

The governing body for international swimming approved new policies for transgender swimmers that will go into effect starting on June 20.

In a notice (pdf) on June 19, the International Swimming Federation (FINA) said it will only allow biological male swimmers to compete in women’s events if they have not experienced male puberty and have had puberty suppressed before age 12. They would also have to “continuously [maintain] their testosterone levels in serum (or plasma) below 2.5 nmol/L.”

About 72 percent of FINA members voted in favor of the directive to restrict the participation of transgender athletes in elite women’s competitions and create an “open” category for them.

The debate intensified after University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, a biological male who publicly identifies as a female, became the first transgender NCAA champion in women’s Division I history after winning the women’s 500-yard freestyle earlier this year. The win drew significant backlash from female swimmers, activists, and other athletes, including Thomas’s teammates.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated last month, Thomas expressed the intention to seek a spot on the national women’s swimming team before the 2024 Olympics. The new FINA rule issued on June 19 would block Thomas’s participation.

The new eligibility policy for FINA-backed competitions says that biological male athletes are eligible to compete in women’s sports only if “they can establish to FINA’s comfortable satisfaction that they have not experienced any part of male puberty beyond Tanner Stage 2 (of puberty) or before age 12, whichever is later,” according to the notice. The governing body added that biological women who claim to be men can fully compete in men’s swimming events.

The organization heard from several doctors and scientists who argued that puberty gives a clear physical advantage to males over females.

“By 14 years or older, the difference between boys and girls is substantial. That’s due to the advantages experienced due to the physiological adaptations in testosterone and the possession of the Y chromosome,” physiologist Dr. Sandra Hunter said. “Some of these physical advantages are structural in origin such as height, limb length, heart size, lung size and they will be retained, even with the suppression or reduction of testosterone that occurs in the transition from male to female.”

FINA President Husain Al-Musallam in a statement that the governing body has “to protect competitive fairness at our events, especially the women’s category at FINA competitions.”

He added that its newly created “open category will mean that everybody has the opportunity to compete at an elite level.”

“This has not been done before, so FINA will need to lead the way. I want all athletes to feel included in being able to develop ideas during this process,” he said.

Sharron Davies, who won a swimming silver medal at the 1980 Olympic Games, welcomed the decision.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of my sport, FINA, and the FINA president for doing the science, asking the athletes/coaches, and standing up for fair sport for females,” Davies said, adding that “fairness is the cornerstone of sport.”

The NCAA said in January that it would enable “a sport-by-sport approach to transgender participation,” or participation by athletes who claim to be a gender that doesn’t match their biological sex.

Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor Reveals Her Thoughts About Clarence Thomas

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Thursday praised fellow Justice Clarence Thomas for his dedication to the high court’s integrity in light of recent protests and threats that were made against the institution.

Speaking at the American Constitution Society, Sotomayor, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, said Thomas is a “man who cares deeply about the court as an institution.”

And while the two often disagree in their opinions, Sotomayor said she and Thomas have a “common understanding about people and kindness towards them,” adding, “Justice Thomas is the one justice in the building that literally knows every employee’s name, every one of them. And not only does he know their names, he remembers their families’ names and histories.”

“He’s the first one who will go up to someone when you’re walking with him and say, ‘Is your son okay? How’s your daughter doing in college?’ He’s the first one that, when my stepfather died, sent me flowers in Florida,” Sotomayor added of Thomas, who was nominated by former President George H.W. Bush.

Her comments come as the Supreme Court remains poised to release decisions on several high-profile cases, including potentially overturning Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court will also soon issue a ruling in a New York gun rights case that could expand the scope of protection afforded under the Constitution’s Second Amendment—the first major decision on a gun-rights case in more than a decade.

Several weeks ago, the Supreme Court confirmed that a staffer may have leaked a majority opinion signaling that the court will indeed overturn Roe v. Wade, triggering a cascade of protests as well as threats against the institution.

An armed individual was arrested outside the Maryland home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh last week. The suspect allegedly told investigators that he was planning to kill Kavanaugh because he believed the justice would side with rulings to overturn Roe v. Wade and would side to expand gun rights in the United States.

“We are becoming addicted to wanting particular outcomes, not living with the outcomes we don’t like,” Thomas said after the draft was leaked. “We can’t be an institution that can be bullied into giving you just the outcomes you want. The events from earlier this week are a symptom of that.”

Later, Thomas commented on the leak, saying that “I do think that what happened at the court is tremendously bad.”

“I wonder how long we’re going to have these institutions at the rate we’re undermining them,” Thomas continued, adding that there is a “different attitude of the young” in how they view institutions and the rule of law.

Progress on Senate Gun Control Package Stalls as Senators Fail to Reach Final Agreement

After some optimistic signs for Democrats hoping to reach a bipartisan agreement on a gun control package, progress in the negotiations has begun to stall as lawmakers failed to reach a final agreement on the legislative text on Thursday.

Following a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that left 19 children and two adults dead, the Senate began to make a concerted push to reach a legislative agreement that could pass the 60-vote filibuster threshold in the upper chamber.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) direct Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) to oversee negotiations with Democrats, led by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), for a gun control package.

Despite signs that the negotiations were going well—including the unveiling on June 12 of the broad outlines of the legislative package—progress has begun to slow.

On Wednesday, Cornyn told reporters on Capitol Hill that he’s “starting to get a little concerned” as the group tries to iron out details, including funding for states that have so-called red flag laws in place.

On Thursday, when some lawmakers hoped they could reach a final text on the package, Cornyn told reporters that negotiations had fallen through and would need more time.

He suggested that the setback is because some lawmakers are unwilling to buckle down and make a final decision.

“This is the hardest part because at some point you just [have] to make a decision and when people don’t want to make a decision, you can’t accomplish a result. And that’s kind of where we are right now,” Cornyn told reporters.

“You don’t want to give politicians an unlimited amount of time to talk because they will fill the available space,” he said. “It’s fish or cut bait.”

“I told them I’m leaving but I’ll be available or by text messages,” Cornyn, walking out of Murphy’s office, added.

If the bill had been worked out by Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) could have had the opportunity to bring it to the floor for a vote next week.

After lawmakers failed to reach a final agreement on the bill, Murphy downplayed the significance of the setback.

That morning Murphy, already prepared for a delay, told reporters, “I don’t think we have to get it done by today but that should be our goal.”

The broad outlines of the plan are well-known and were made public in the negotiators’ June 12 announcement.

The plan calls for an “enhanced review process” for younger gun buyers.

Mail-In Ballots Found Discarded Along California Freeway

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and officials with San Diego County’s elections office confirmed they are investigating mail-in ballots that were found scattered along a local San Diego freeway this week.

Several ballots were found by a local driver, Brent Walters, who told Fox5 San Diego that he found them on June 7 on the same day as California’s primary elections near Route 163 and Interstate 8.

Walters told the outlet that he found the small stack, took photos, and shared his concerns with the office of San Diego County Registrar of Voters Cynthia Paes.

Paes confirmed that they collected the unopened mail-in ballots from Walters. It’s not clear how the mail ended up on the side of an interstate.

“We visited the site and recovered an additional two unopened ballot envelopes as well as other mail pieces unrelated to the Registrar of Voters office,” Paes told the local Fox broadcaster.

The incident, she said, was referred to the U.S. Postal Service as “a suspected case of stolen mail.” Paes didn’t elaborate.

“Postal Inspectors are currently investigating the incident and unable to comment further at this time,” Postal Inspector Patricia Mendoza told the outlet.

The incident comes several weeks after a woman walking her dog in Hollywood discovered mail-in ballots discarded on a sidewalk.

“Our office was notified over the weekend of a mail tray found containing approximately 104 unopened, outbound Vote by Mail ballots and additional mail pieces,” the LA County Registrar’s Office told local media outlets in mid-May. “Thanks to the cooperation of the person who found the ballots, we were able to quickly respond and coordinate the secure pickup of the ballots.”

In that incident, the Registrar’s Office said that the incident was “mail theft” and wasn’t “a directed attempt at disrupting the election.”

‘Removed and Disqualified’: Soros-Funded Loudoun County Prosecutor Removed from Criminal Case

Loudoun County, Virginia, prosecutor Buta Biberaj — a George Soros-funded leftist — in an extraordinarily rare move was removed from a criminal case by a judge for “deliberately misleading the Court and the public” in an attempt to “sell” a plea deal.

Biberaj is also under fire from Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R), who said she “care[s] more about criminals” than communities.

Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge James Plowman, who was Biberaj’s predecessor, handed down an order removing Biberaj and her entire office from the case and has appointed the Fauquier County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office to serve as the prosecuting team instead.

“The Commonwealth is deliberately misleading the Court, and the public, in an effort to ‘sell’ the plea agreement for some reason that has yet to be explained,” Plowman wrote. “Biberaj and the Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office is hereby REMOVED AND DISQUALIFIED from further prosecution as counsel of record in this matter.”

Fox 5 D.C. reports the judge’s decision was one that “some seasoned attorneys and prosecutors say they have never seen in their career.”

The case at hand has to do with serial burglary suspect Kevin Enrique Valle who was arrested on five warrants — three misdemeanors for destruction of property and false identification and two felonies for burglary.

Biberaj and her team, however, sought a plea deal for Valle and apparently downplayed and even omitted important facts from the alleged burglar’s criminal past in other jurisdictions in order to push it through.

The plea agreement was written by Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Michele Burton who stated the alleged crimes took place over the course of hours — an assessment Plowman called “entirely inaccurate.”

Rather, Plowman wrote, Valle is accused of “a possible 12 burglary crime spree spanning four counties over ten days.”

According to the order, the Loudoun offenses took place May 18, 2021, but Valle is accused of three burglaries on the same day in neighboring Fairfax County, two burglaries in neighboring Fauquier County, and four burglaries in neighboring Prince William County. In addition, the defendant has been named as being part of another Loudoun County burglary on May 8.

Plowman said the prosecutor’s office presented “an overt misrepresentation by omission” to the court.

“The explanation highlights a lack of knowledge of the facts of the case or the ability to apply basic legal principles,” Plowman wrote, slamming Biberaj’s office further.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS 

Illegal Aliens Stealing Our Jobs, Food, Housing, Water, Clogging the Courts & Health Care System

Commentary by Devvy Kidd

How many decades have we heard there’s 11 million illegal aliens in this country?  The more realistic number is 35-40 million.  Illegal aliens are called undocumented migrants by the prostitute media.  Federal agencies are no longer allowed to use the words illegal aliens.

Both sets of my grand parents came through Ellis Island legally.  There was no UNCONSTITUTIONAL federal welfare.  You worked or you didn’t eat.  Simple as that.  You came here AFTER passing a test in the country you were leaving demonstrating you could speak at least some English and had a doctor’s letter dated less than 30 days prior to getting on the ship you did not have TB (tuberculosis).Illegals invasion: Outbreaks include TB, measles, scabies, lice, dengue fever, leprosy  //  ICE Agent Blows the Whistle: Illegals Receiving Costly, Taxpayer-Funded Medical Treatments – Nothing has changed over the past three decades except YOU paying more and more taxes for these freeloaders – most illiterate and will remain on the dole from YOUR paycheck while working underground for cash.  ALL borrowed debt from the “FED”.

It does NOT matter if the illegal is from Mexico, South America, Ireland, Iraq, Canada, China or where ever – illegal means just that.  If you enter this country without permission, you have NO right to be on U.S. soil.  Period.  It has nothing to do with the worn-out racism charges against anyone who believes our immigration laws matter.

More Than 3000 U.S. Flights Canceled Thursday into Friday Evening

More than 1750 domestic or international flights departing from or arriving in the United States were canceled Thursday, causing travel chaos that spilled into Friday with over 1300 cancellations as of late afternoon.

Thursday saw 1759 canceled flights with an additional 8,833 delays, data from flight-tracking website Flight Aware shows. The brunt of the travel nightmare impacted those at east coast airports, with 40 percent of flights being nixed at New York’s Laguardia Airport and another 40 percent being delayed. Newark Liberty International in New Jersey experienced comparable interruptions, with 40 percent of flights being delayed and another 28 percent canceled. Another 41 percent of flights departed following delays at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina.

KENS5  journalist Natassia Henry said in a tweet that there was a “crazy scene at LaGuardia” Thursday.

“Never made it out LaGuardia …. After being in the airport for almost 8 hours my flight was canceled,” one traveler tweeted. “I feel so bad that I couldn’t go visit my mom.”

Biden Bashes Oil Companies for Going Along With His Plan to ‘End Fossil Fuel’

Refineries suggest a different path for Biden administration to boost production

American fossil fuel companies responded on Wednesday to President Joe Biden’s June 14 letter that accused them of profiteering and driving up gas prices during a “time of war.”

Biden’s letter blamed gas prices, which have skyrocketed from $2.53 per gallon when he took office to $5.00 today, on “Putin’s war of aggression” and greedy corporations, ignoring his own efforts to suppress American fossil fuel production. Since taking power in January 2021, the Biden administration has worked relentlessly across multiple agencies to carry out his campaign pledge in which he stated, “I guarantee you we are going to end fossil fuel.”

Biden’s note to energy executives put the blame for today’s surging gas prices on refineries and the “high profit margins for refining oil into gasoline,” stating that when crude oil was $120 per barrel in March, similar to today’s prices, “the price of gas at the pump was $4.25 per gallon. Today, gas prices are 75 cents higher.” The difference, he claimed, was due to refiners’ profit margins, which have tripled since then. Simultaneously, White House Spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre slammed U.S. oil companies for failing to do their “patriotic duty.”

Responding to Biden’s letter, the American Petroleum Institute and the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers stated (pdf) that U.S. refineries are currently operating at 94 percent capacity, among the highest utilization rates in the world, and that prices for oil products are set on world markets based on global supply and demand, not by American companies. According to the Energy Information Administration, refining costs made up 14 percent of the total price of gasoline in 2021. The remainder includes 54 percent for crude oil, 16 percent for distribution, and 16 percent for taxes. Escalating prices have driven up the share of crude oil to 60 percent of the total this month.

Regarding Biden’s complaint that U.S. refineries had pushed gas prices higher by reducing their capacity by 800,000 barrels a day, industry representatives responded that half of the refineries that have shut did so because they are being converted to renewable fuel production. “These investments cannot be easily or quickly undone,” they stated.

The fossil fuel industry, its consumers, and its investors have responded to administration policies designed to reduce production and capacity. This includes federal incentives to replace gasoline-powered cars and trucks with electric vehicles (EVs), cancellation of oil leases in Alaska, canceling new lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, and canceling the $9 billion Keystone Pipeline, for which construction was already underway.

On March 11, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reinstated California’s authority to enforce its own emissions standards for cars and trucks, “which other states can also adopt and enforce,” according to an official statement. “With this authority restored, the EPA will continue partnering with states to advance the next generation of clean vehicle technologies.”

Kathleen Sgama, President of the Western Energy Alliance, stated in a June 16 Fox News interview that “we keep hearing that he’s working like the devil to bring down energy prices and that is anything but the truth.” She noted that there are about 5,900 development leases and 3,000 permits that are currently being held up by environmental litigation.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced the creation of its Office of Environmental Justice, which “will engage all Justice Department bureaus, components and offices in the collective pursuit of environmental justice.” In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a ruling on March 21 that all listed companies must issue audited reports on their greenhouse gas emissions including that of their suppliers.

The SEC action underscored the administration’s alignment with progressive investment managers, pension funds, banks, insurers, and finance ministers who joined together in global clubs like Climate Action 100+, the Global Investors Statement to Governments on Climate Change, the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. Members of these clubs have signed joint pledges to reduce or eliminate financing for the fossil fuel industry.

The sum effect of these policies has been a chilling effect on fossil fuel investment. The last major refinery built in America was in 1977, long before the current administration, but Chevron CEO Mike Wirth stated that he does not expect any new refineries will be built in the United States for economic and political reasons.

“We’ve seen refineries closed,” Wirth stated. “We’ve seen refineries being repurposed to become bio refineries. And we live in a world where the policy, the stated policy of the U.S. government is to reduce demand for the products that refiners produce.” Currently, the United States has 129 operable refineries.

VIDEO: What Banks, Governments and federal Law Firms Hope You Never Discover Mortgage Fraud Scam Exposed

VIDEO EXPLANATION: 

WHEN YOU WERE BORN, THE GOVERNMENT USED YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE TO CREATE A FICTITIOUS PERSON WITH A PAPER ACCOUNT THAT IS USED IN TRADING.

YOUR ACCOUNT HAS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN IT.

WHEN YOU GO FOR A LOAN FROM A BANK, THE PART THEY DON’T TELL YOU IS THAT YOUR ACCOUNT (CALLED A CESTIV QUE VIE ACCOUNT) PROVIDES THE MONEY FOR YOUR LOAN. WHEN YOU SIGN YOUR PROMISSORY NOTE, YOU ARE CONSENTING FOR THE FUNDS TO BE TAKEN FROM YOUR TRUST TO PAY FOR WHATEVER YOU ARE PURCHASING. WHEN YOU GIVE THE SIGNED PROMISSORY NOTE TO THE BANK, THEY JUST GOT PAID BY YOU FOR THE MONEY THAT YOU THINK YOU NEED. THE BANK THEN LENDS YOU THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF THE PURCHASE BACK TO YOU AND CHARGES YOU INTEREST TO PAY BACK YOUR OWN MONEY.

THE BANK, HOWEVER, NEVER PAYS TAXES ON THE MONEY THAT THEY RECEIVED FROM YOUR TRUST BECAUSE OF THE CORRUPT SCAM THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS ARRANGED TO ROB YOU OF YOUR MONEY (TWICE) PLUS INTEREST

THIS VIDEO IS THE BOMB!

THIS GUY NAILED THIS BANKER TO THE WALL!

THEY CANNOT TAKE YOUR HOME OR PROPERTY BECAUSE YOU PAID FOR IT UP FRONT WHEN YOU WERE FOOLED INTO THINKING YOU DIDN’T HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY FOR IT.

Supply Chain Woes Hitting American Families: ‘It Is Very Hard’

U.S. families are struggling to make ends meet as multiple supply chain issues continue to affect many aspects of their lives amid record high gas prices and 41-year-high inflation.

Online news outlet the 19th highlighted one such case this week as an Indianapolis mother, Diamond Cotton, has struggled to find basic products she needs for her family. She has been forced to go from store to store to find tampons for her daughters, “who have both started menstruating and would need tampons to go swimming this summer,” according to the outlet.

At the same time, she is 15 weeks pregnant, and has to think about where the baby formula crisis will be months down the road, as her youngest son, now 4, was a premature baby and needed infant formula because she “couldn’t produce enough breastmilk to feed him then.”

“It is very hard — I am going to need formula, and when I come out of the hospital, I’m going to need more menstrual products,” Cotton told the outlet, as she also is struggling to find help with child care, partially due to high demand and limited staff. This is a serious concern for Cotton, as if she cannot find child care, she said, she will lose her job and with it the ability to provide for her children.

According to the outlet:

She’s managing all of that as she’s watching gas prices shoot up and purchasing groceries for her family from a list that each week grows more limited. Women, particularly those who are sole heads of households, are affected more than men by food inflation. Last month, the cost of groceries rose nearly 12 percent since May 2021 — the largest increase since 1979.

The takeaway for Cotton is pretty clear: “For women and children, there is not enough support,” she said.

Cotton is not the only mother facing these issues, as many of these concerns jumped to the forefront at the height of the baby formula crisis earlier this year, as mothers swapped stories of going from store to store in a desperate search to find nourishment for their infants.

“I have enough formula for two babies for 14 days,” Kayla Zurenko, a mom of four, told Fox News Digital in May. “Where am I going to find formula after that?”

Zurenko’s worries came as the Abbott Nutritional plant in Sturgis, Michigan, remained shut down due to concerns over a bacterial outbreak, though reportedly no links were found between the formula and sick infants. As a result, the plant finally reopened in June, only to shut down again this week due to flooding in the area. As a result, it will “likely delay production and distribution” of new products, the plant announced.

But now other product shortages are hitting the shelves, as Procter & Gamble confirmed this week that it is facing issues as well.

“The Tampax team is producing tampons 24/7 to meet the increased demand for our products,” the company said in a statement, adding, “We are working with our retail partners to maximize availability, which has significantly increased over the last several months.”

All of this — Americans dealing with supply chain shortages, rising gas prices, and 41-year high inflation, with no relief in sight in President Biden’s America — comes as the midterm elections loom.

Transportation Secretary Warns US May Act Against Airlines Over Cancellations

The U.S. government may take action against airlines on consumers’ behalf amid numerous flight cancellations in recent weeks, including more than 2,000 that were canceled on June 18 and early on June 19, according to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

“That is happening to a lot of people, and that is exactly why we are paying close attention here to what can be done and how to make sure that the airlines are delivering,” Buttigieg said on June 18, saying that he had met with airline industry leaders a day earlier.

Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, stated that his office would first determine how airlines handle increased travel associated with the Fourth of July holiday before the federal government takes any action. He also didn’t elaborate on what his agency might do.

“Now we’re going to see how those steps measure up,” Buttigieg said.

Some 2,700 flights were canceled on Memorial Day weekend, according to data from FlightAware. FlightAware also said about 700 U.S. flights were scrapped as of early on June 19, after about 1,300 flights were canceled a day earlier.

Major airline companies have already signaled that they have cut numerous flights through Labor Day weekend over worker shortages.

Southwest Airlines has canceled over 20,000 flights this season, and Delta Air Lines has cut over 700 flights since late last month, saying it expects to cancel 100 flights per day between July 1 and Aug. 7 across North and South America.

A letter posted by Delta pilots on June 16 said they had been flying a “record amount of overtime” hours amid cancellations.

“At the current rate, by this fall, our pilots will have flown more overtime in 2022 than in the entirety of 2018 and 2019 combined, our busiest years to date,” the pilots said in their letter. “We empathize and share in your frustration over the delays, cancellations, and disrupted travel plans you’ve experienced. We agree; it is unacceptable.”

While weather is always a wild card when it comes to summer travel, airlines have also acknowledged staffing shortages as the industry roared back faster than expected from pandemic lows. Airlines are scrambling to hire pilots and other workers to replace employees whom they encouraged to quit after the pandemic hit and as airline companies fired thousands of workers for not complying with their COVID-19 vaccine mandates in 2021.

It takes months to hire and train a pilot to meet federal safety standards, although the Department of Transportation sees no reason the airlines can’t immediately add customer service representatives to help passengers rebook if a flight is canceled. The government has its own staffing challenges.

“The pilot shortage for the industry is real, and most airlines are simply not going to be able to realize their capacity plans because there simply aren’t enough pilots, at least not for the next five-plus years,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said several months ago on a call.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 

Fauci Won’t Commit to ‘Stop Funding Chinese’ Research With US Tax Dollars

‘China is the drug he just can’t quit’: GOP senator slams NIAID head’s remarks

Dr. Anthony Fauci said he’s unable to commit to stopping federal funding from going to Chinese scientific research, even as the U.S. intelligence community assesses the Chinese regime as America’s top adversary.

Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), made the remarks on June 16 during an exchange with Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) while appearing virtually at a Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee hearing.

“The NIH [National Institutes of Health] is still funding research in China, at least $8 million since 2020,” Marshall said during the hearing. “In the Intelligence Community’s 2022 Annual Threat Assessment, the Chinese Communist Party is presented as one of the top threats to the United States, along with Russia, Iran, Syria, and North Korea. To my knowledge, only China is receiving U.S. research dollars.”

Since 2020, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a total of $8.3 million in grants to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and its National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention division, along with five top public universities in mainland China and Hong Kong, according to the NIH website. The NIAID is a component institute of NIH.

That amount doesn’t capture dollars later funneled to a Chinese institution through a U.S.-based organization, such as New York-based EcoHealth Alliance, which had partnered with the Wuhan Institute of Virology to perform coronavirus-related experiments that some experts said fit the definition of gain-of-function research, that is, experiments that increase the pathogenicity or transmissibility of a virus.

Marshall asked Fauci, “When will you as director of NIAID stop funding research in China?”

In response, Fauci said that U.S. federal agencies “had very productive peer-reviewed highly regarded research projects with our Chinese colleagues that have led to some major advances in biomedical research.”

“So I don’t think I’d be able to tell you that we are going to stop funding the Chinese,” he said.

“We obviously need to be careful and make sure that when we do fund them we have the proper peer review and we go through all the established guidelines,” he added, saying that “grants that go to foreign countries, including China, have State Department clearance.”

“Dr. Fauci’s remarks prove that China is the drug he just can’t quit,” Marshall told The Epoch Times about the NIAID head’s response.

“Dr. Fauci told the truth for once, after years of repeated dishonesty that has eroded Americans’ trust in our public health institutions. In the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, our government should know it’s dangerous and wrong to continue funding research projects supported by the Chinese Communist Party.”

Marshall followed up by asking Fauci if he agrees that the U.S. public lacks records and studies from EcoHealth Alliance’s research.

Fauci’s answer was evasive.

“We have access to an extraordinary amount of information that has gone there,” he said, arguing that the publicly available information in the scientific journals is sufficient.

“Obviously none of us know everything that’s going on in China, but if the question at hand is the rather small … peer-reviewed high-priority grant that was given from Eco[Health] to China in a sub-award, we have a lot of good information that’s in the publishing.”

The NIH gave a total of $3.1 million in grants to EcoHealth over the five years from 2014 to 2019. Almost a fifth of that, $599,000, went to the Wuhan lab, in part for identifying and altering bat coronaviruses deemed likely to infect humans, documents obtained by The Intercept show.

Fauci last week tested positive for COVID-19 and joined the June 16 Senate hearing remotely. His response to Marshall omitted any reference to EcoHealth’s lack of disclosure over some of its research activities, which would have prompted an NIH review over biosafety measures.


HEALTH

The Latest Tragedy: Sudden Adult Death Syndrome

In recent weeks, media outlets around the world have started highlighting a medical phenomenon called “sudden adult death syndrome,” or SADS, in what appears to be a clear effort to obscure the reality of COVID jab deaths. Sad on steroids indeed

Underlying factors for SADS include undiagnosed myocarditis, inflammatory conditions and other conditions that cause irregularities in the electrical system of the heart, thereby triggering cardiac arrest

While SADS has been known to occur previously, what’s new is the prevalence of this previously rare event. In Australia, the Melbourne Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute is setting up a new SADS registry “to gain more information” about the phenomenon

Data compiled by the International Olympic Committee show 1,101 sudden deaths in athletes under age 35 between 1966 and 2004, giving us an average annual rate of 29, across all sports. Meanwhile, between March 2021 and March 2022 alone — a single year — at least 769 athletes have suffered cardiac arrest, collapse, and/or have died on the field, worldwide

Among EU FIFA (football/soccer ball) athletes, sudden death increased by 420% in 2021. Historically, about five soccer players have died while playing the game each year. Between January and mid-November 2021, 21 FIFA players died from sudden death

The Latest Tragedy: Sudden Adult Death Syndrome

In recent weeks, media outlets around the world have started highlighting a medical phenomenon called “sudden adult death syndrome,” or SADS, in what appears to be a clear effort to obscure the reality of COVID jab deaths. Sad on steroids indeed

Underlying factors for SADS include undiagnosed myocarditis, inflammatory conditions and other conditions that cause irregularities in the electrical system of the heart, thereby triggering cardiac arrest

While SADS has been known to occur previously, what’s new is the prevalence of this previously rare event. In Australia, the Melbourne Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute is setting up a new SADS registry “to gain more information” about the phenomenon

Data compiled by the International Olympic Committee show 1,101 sudden deaths in athletes under age 35 between 1966 and 2004, giving us an average annual rate of 29, across all sports. Meanwhile, between March 2021 and March 2022 alone — a single year — at least 769 athletes have suffered cardiac arrest, collapse, and/or have died on the field, worldwide

Among EU FIFA (football/soccer ball) athletes, sudden death increased by 420% in 2021. Historically, about five soccer players have died while playing the game each year. Between January and mid-November 2021, 21 FIFA players died from sudden death

The Latest Tragedy: Sudden Adult Death Syndrome

In recent weeks, media outlets around the world have started highlighting a medical phenomenon called “sudden adult death syndrome,” or SADS, in what appears to be a clear effort to obscure the reality of COVID jab deaths. Sad on steroids indeed

Underlying factors for SADS include undiagnosed myocarditis, inflammatory conditions and other conditions that cause irregularities in the electrical system of the heart, thereby triggering cardiac arrest

While SADS has been known to occur previously, what’s new is the prevalence of this previously rare event. In Australia, the Melbourne Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute is setting up a new SADS registry “to gain more information” about the phenomenon

Data compiled by the International Olympic Committee show 1,101 sudden deaths in athletes under age 35 between 1966 and 2004, giving us an average annual rate of 29, across all sports. Meanwhile, between March 2021 and March 2022 alone — a single year — at least 769 athletes have suffered cardiac arrest, collapse, and/or have died on the field, worldwide

Among EU FIFA (football/soccer ball) athletes, sudden death increased by 420% in 2021. Historically, about five soccer players have died while playing the game each year. Between January and mid-November 2021, 21 FIFA players died from sudden death

Wild Alaskan Salmon Is a Powerhouse of Nutrition

Research suggests that eating oily fish once or twice a week may increase your lifespan by more than two years, and reduce your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 35%

Compared to those in the lowest percentiles, those with omega-3 blood levels in the highest 20% were 27% less likely to die of any cause; 40% less likely to die of coronary heart disease, and 48% less likely to die of an arrhythmia

If you want to maximize health benefits from fish, steer clear of farmed fish, particularly farmed salmon, and even more specifically, genetically engineered farmed salmon, which may end up being approved within the next two years — especially if you’re seeking to improve your omega-3 to omega-6 ratio

The ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fat of wild salmon is far superior to farmed. Whereas farmed salmon has a 1-to-1 ratio of omega-3s and omega-6s (due to its “junk food” diet), the ratio for wild sockeye salmon is between 6- and 9-to-1, which is a more ideal ratio

Avoid Atlantic salmon, as salmon labeled “Atlantic Salmon” typically comes from fish farms. Look for “Alaskan salmon,” and “sockeye salmon,” as Alaskan sockeye is not allowed to be farmed and is therefore bound to be wild

Contagious Vaccines: A Warning

Commentary

For two decades scientists have been quietly developing self-spreading contagious vaccines. The NIH funded this research, in which either DNA from a deadly pathogen is packaged in a contagious but less harmful virus, or the deadly virus’s lethality is weakened by engineering it in a lab.

The resultant “vaccines” spread from one person to the next just like a contagious respiratory virus. Only five percent of regional populations would need to be immunized; the other ninety-five percent would “catch” the vaccine as it spread person-to-person through community transmission.

This technology bypasses the inconvenience of recalcitrant citizens who may refuse to give consent. Its advocates highlight that a mass vaccination campaign that would ordinarily take months of expensive effort to immunize everyone could be shortened to only a few weeks.

Scientists have already shown proof of concept in animal populations: in 2000, Spanish researchers injected seventy rabbits with a transmissible vaccine and returned them to the wild, where they quickly passed the vaccine on to hundreds more, reportedly stopping a viral outbreak. European countries are now testing the technology on pigs.

In the wake of the covid pandemic, about a dozen research institutions in the United States, Europe, and Australia are investigating the potential human uses for self-spreading vaccines. The federal Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), for example, is examining this technology for U.S. military to protect against the West Africa lassa fever, a virus spread by rats to humans. This project, it should be noted, does not require the consent of our military service men and women.

In 2019 the UK government began exploring this technology to address the seasonal flu. A research paper from Britain’s Department of Health and Social Care advised that university students could be an obvious target group:

They do not work so [vaccinating them] will not cause much economic disruption and most have second homes to go to, thereby spreading the vaccine.

Researchers admitted a contagious vaccine for an attenuated flu virus would cause some deaths but estimated these would be less than the original influenza virus. As the UK government report described:

Self-spreading vaccines are less lethal but not non-lethal: they can still kill. Some people will die who would otherwise have lived, though fewer people die overall.

As the saying goes, you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. Or in Lenin’s formulation, if you are going to chop down a forest then wood chips will fly. Contagious vaccines are in our future, their champions claim, and are no different than putting fluoride in drinking water. Plus, for those who find jabs unpleasant there are fewer needles required.

Government-funded research of lab-engineered viruses to create contagious self-spreading vaccines that bypass the consent of citizens. What could go wrong?

From the Brownstone Institute

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

Energy Crisis: Germany to Ration Use of Gas for Electricity Production, Increase Coal Burning

Germany’s economy minister said Sunday that the country will limit the use of gas for electricity production amid concerns about possible shortages caused by a reduction in supplies from Russia.

Germany has been trying to fill its gas storage facilities to capacity ahead of the winter months, when gas is more urgently needed as a heating fuel.

Economy Minister Robert Habeck said that Germany will try to compensate for the move by increasing the burning of coal, a more polluting fossil fuel.

“That’s bitter, but it’s simply necessary in this situation to lower gas usage,” he said.

While the situation on the gas markets has become more acute in recent days, storage facilities are still able to make up the shortfall from Russia with purchases from elsewhere.

Still, Habeck said the situation was serious.

Russian gas company Gazprom announced last week that it was reducing supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline for technical reasons.

Habeck said he believed the move was politically motivated.

Establishment Media Slam Joe Biden for War on American Oil 

The establishment media this week slammed President Joe Biden for his war on American oil amid gas prices upwards of $5.00 per gallon.

“American energy is suffering from a lack of longterm investment, which temporary fixes cannot alleviate,” Jeff Currie, global head of commodities at Goldman Sachs, said Thursday. The Wall Street Journal, writing about the lack of U.S. refining capability, stated President Biden’s overbearing energy policy is to blame for the lack of American energy investment.

“A major culprit is U.S. government policy. Some older refineries have closed because companies couldn’t justify spending on upgrades as government forces a shift from fossil fuels,” the Journal wrote. “They also have to account for the Environmental Protection Agency’s tighter permitting requirements—the agency recently challenged a permit for an Indiana refinery—and steeper biofuel mandates.”

“The U.S. has lost about one million barrels a day of refining capacity in the pandemic. Some new refineries have opened in Asia, but the International Energy Agency recently reported that global capacity last year fell by 730,000 barrels a day,” the Journal continued.

The New York Times admitted the “United States has lost 5.9 percent of its refining capacity since 2019, as refineries have reconfigured to produce new products or closed because their expenses outstripped revenues.”

Biden’s war on energy, which includes driving up private and public financing costs of oil drilling, halting drilling on public lands, and canceling the Keystone pipeline, has driven smaller refineries out of business. According to the Journal, Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been a part of restricting oil refining.

“Increasing credit prices have driven some small, independent refineries out of business. Small refineries can seek a temporary exemption from the mandates if they show a ‘disproportionate economic hardship.’ But the biofuels lobby opposes these exemptions, and the EPA just denied 69 waiver requests,” the Journal wrote.

GOP Rep. Westerman: Biden Would Rather Emit Greenhouse Gases to Go to Saudi Arabia for Dirtier Oil Instead of Promoting U.S. Energy

On Friday’s broadcast of “Fox Business Tonight,” Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) criticized President Joe Biden for criticizing the oil industry while he’s “going to fly to Saudi Arabia, emitting all kinds of greenhouse gas emissions” when he could look at American oil.

Westerman said, [relevant remarks begin around 2:10] “We should be focusing on things like the bills that the Ranking Member on the Energy and Commerce Committee, Cathy McMorris Rodgers and I put out, the American Energy Independence from Russia Act, which would require the administration to do an energy plan. Let’s open up pipelines and build more pipelines. Let’s start issuing leases onshore and offshore and really empowering those American workers to fix this problem. Because that’s what’s going to fix it. Attacking the oil industry is not going to solve anything. And in the meantime, Joe Biden’s going to fly to Saudi Arabia, emitting all kinds of greenhouse gas emissions, when he should be going to say, Texas, Louisiana, or maybe get in the car and drive back to Pennsylvania and look at the gas there in the Marcellus Shale. We have the resources and the solutions here. We just have to utilize them.”

He added, “[W]e have the resources. That’s the part — and we do it cleaner, safer, more efficiently than anybody else in the world.”

GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING

Planning a Summer Kitchen: 17 Design Considerations

When planning a summer kitchen, think about function, efficiency, and comfort. What do you need now and what can come later?

An efficient summer kitchen space could be as simple as you want it to be or as elaborate. Oh, and that pizza oven you want: is it a necessity or is it a luxury?

Here are some questions to ask yourself when planning a summer kitchen:

  1. Do you want it to be seasonal or permanent?
  2. Does it need to be enclosed, partially enclosed, or open to the elements?
  3. Does it need shade?
  4. Do you need seating? A table?
  5. What will you need to store? Food? Spices? Cutting boards? Silverware? Plates & Bowls? Cookware?
  6. Is there a nearby herb or veggie garden?
  7. Do you need running water?
  8. What about a greywater catchment system?
  9. Is a compost pile nearby?
  10. What will you cook on?
  11. Do you need an oven? A SUN OVEN? A dehydrator?
  12. Is the ground level where you want to put the kitchen?
  13. Do you need refrigeration?
  14. What will you do when it rains? When it’s windy? When it’s blistering hot?
  15. Who will be using the kitchen?
  16. Who will be in the kitchen, particularly at the same time?
  17. How do you spend your time in the kitchen? Cooking or baking? Entertaining? Dishes? 
COVID RELATED NEWS

Limited Hangout: Bill Gates And The Frame Game

A few weeks back, at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Bill Gates said some surprising things. In the course of a 56-minute panel discussion the vaccine pusher extraordinaire admitted (starting at the 18:22 mark) that the Covid vaccines do not block infection and that the duration of whatever protection they bring to the table is extremely short.

He later talked (starting at 51:00 mark) of the absurdity of implementing any Covid passport program—and one can logically deduce any other measure to segregate the vaccinated from the unvaccinated—when the injections have shown no ability to do the least that one should expect from a vaccine: prevent infection and transmission.

These admissions violently kick the stool out from under the arguments made in favor of the more assaultive and damaging Covid “containment measures” taken in the past two years, many of which are still being pursued with pitiless vigor by public officials, CEOs, and educational “leaders” all around the world.

Are we to believe that Bill Gates had a sudden impulse to undermine all that he used his billions to mercilessly promote over the last two years? And that he was giving all those currently carrying out those plans permission to stand down?

It’s a nice thought. But I don’t believe it to be the case.

No. Bill was simply engaging in one of the more tried and true techniques of elite information management, the limited hangout, or what I prefer to call a drive to “save the frame” of an argument that is quickly taking on water.

Since Bill and many of the people he has paired up with to force the experimental and often harmful vaccines upon the world, effectively own or have donated untold amounts of money to many of the world’s more important media outlets, he knew beforehand that he did not have to worry much about his words being widely circulated.

And so it was. Only relatively small independent news gatherers took any note of what he said.

So who was he addressing his words to and why?

He was speaking to the fellow true believers and providing them with a rhetorical model for handling the loss of faith some among their ranks are having in the face of the vaccines’ abject failure.

The key to understanding the frame game here is the clause Gates uttered right before the “but” with which he introduced his truthful words about the “vaccines” pitiful infection-blocking capabilities and short duration of effectiveness: “The vaccines have saved millions of lives.”

Those familiar with the work of cognitive linguist George Lakoff, or the activities of pollster and so-called political wordsmith Frank Luntz will know what I’m talking about.

What these two men have in common—despite their divergent political allegiances—is their belief in the extraordinary power of rhetorical framing; that is, the tendency of the human brain to subordinate the careful analysis of empirically proven details to the embrace of an overarching cognitive metaphor that appeals to their deeper, if often unstated, cultural and emotional values.

It’s the difference between, for example: “The US invaded Iraq on false pretenses and destroyed it, killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people.” and “In its efforts to bring democracy to Iraq, the US made a number of tragic mistakes.”

The first states a bald empirical truth. The second obfuscates that crude reality and subordinates it to the noble vision, so cherished by Americans when contemplating their role in the world, of a country that is constantly helping people around the world to better their lives.

And with widespread imposition of mental frames like this through the media, “poof!” go all the gory, on-the-ground details, and with them more importantly, the need to actually interrogate what we did and how we might seek to repair the lives we broke.

Going back to Davos, Bill was effectively saying to his minions, “You are on a great moral crusade. We’ve had some small problems along the way, but don’t give up, because the world needs us to continue to be heroic and save more lives.”

And with that cognitive frame in place, any creeping doubts those in the audience might have about what they have done, and their future mission, disappear just like that.

We see the same gambit used when the US government inevitably links the apparent waning of the pandemic to the use of vaccines. Here, for example, is what the CDC said to CNN shortly after lifting requirement that US citizens be tested before returning home from foreign travels:

“The Covid-19 pandemic has now shifted to a new phase, due to the widespread uptake of highly effective Covid-19 vaccines, the availability of effective therapeutics, and the accrual of high rates of vaccine-and infection-induced immunity at the population level in the United States. Each of these measures has contributed to lower risk of severe disease and death across the United States.”

It’s no accident that the first factor adduced to explain the onset of happier days, the one that sets the frame for all that follows, is the “widespread uptake of highly effective Covid-19 vaccines.”

The goal here— as it was in the case of Gates at Davos—is to preserve, in the face of abundant empirical evidence to the contrary, the frame that presents the forced administration of vaccines as the great slayer of the pandemic and gifter of our vanquished freedoms, and to turn that suggestion into an established fact through constant repetition.

Studies Suggest Possible Link of Neuromyelitis Optica Diagnosis After COVID-19 Vaccination

Emergent peer-reviewed studies have highlighted the occurrence of neuromyelitis optica after COVID-19 vaccinations, suggesting that the autoimmune disease may be occurring as a vaccine adverse event.

The studies’ general findings indicate an occurrence of neuromyelitis optica (NMO) in healthy individuals within around two weeks after Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca vaccines. In patients already affected by the disease or a similar neurological autoimmune disease such as multiple sclerosis, an exacerbation of symptoms or relapse was observed.

So far, at least six cases of NMO occurring after COVID-19 vaccination have been reported in case studies around the world. Though some individuals made a full recovery, some were discharged with long-term medications or unresolved symptoms.

Neuromyelitis optica is a rare autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the spinal cord and the nerves in the eyes. Though there is no cure, treatment can prevent future relapses that will do further damage to nerves.

While the cause of the disease is unknown, it is usually triggered by an infection or another autoimmune disease. It can affect anyone at any age, though it is more common in women than in men.

The 5-year survival rate for single attack NMO is 90 percent if treated, and for relapsing (more than one attack) NMO, it is nearly 70 percent.

Symptoms include pain in the eyes, loss of vision, paralysis, weakness or pain in the arms and legs, bladder and bowel problems as well as uncontrollable vomiting and hiccups.

Adverse events are medical occurrences, generally developing within 28 days after vaccination. According to the World Health Organization, “any untoward medical occurrence which follows immunization,” even one not caused by the vaccine, would be considered an adverse event.

Neuromyelitis Optica Occurring After Pfizer Vaccines

Two studies, one in Turkey and one in Germany suggested that the Pfizer vaccination may have been the trigger for the NMO disorder. The two women affected developed NMO symptoms within 24 hours and 23 days, respectively, after getting the vaccine.

In the Turkish study, a 43-year-old, previously healthy woman developed impaired vision 24 hours after the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

A month after treatment she experienced a second attack, with pain, increased sensation, and tingling on the right side of her body, muscle weakness, and urinary retention.

The doctors diagnosed her with NMO “possibly triggered by the administration of the COVID-19 mRNA-BNT162b2 vaccine.” She made a near-complete recovery and was put on long-term monoclonal antibody treatment.

The German study examined a 68-year-old woman, who had lived with suspected multiple sclerosis for many years, the primary symptom being mild leg paralysis. After earlier receiving tetanus and pneumococcal vaccines, she had suffered a loss of mobility in her legs, which was treated successfully. However, 23 days after receiving the first Pfizer dose in May 2021, her symptoms were severely exacerbated. She lost the ability to walk and experienced a lack of bladder and bowel control.

The woman declined the second dose of the vaccine and there was no relapse of symptoms.

Neuromyelitis Optica Occurring After Moderna Vaccines

The two Moderna studies both conducted in the United States also involved women. The first patient was a healthy 19 year old; the second was 46 years old with a medical history of vitamin B deficiency. Both showed symptoms within 15 and 2 days of getting the first dose of the vaccine respectively.

The 19-year-old woman had severe weakness in her arms and legs and urinary incontinence after receiving the Moderna vaccine.

After receiving the first dose of the vaccine, the 46-year-old woman suffered weakness in her upper and lower extremities, urinary retention, and decreased sensation, as well as “constant, shooting, 10 out of 10 upper back pain.” Though her lower limb weakness and urinary retention were resolved, the report indicated that the decreased sensation may have persisted.

Neuromyelitis Optica Occurring After AstraZeneca Vaccines

In Thailand and Brazil, studies detailed adverse reactions after the AstraZeneca vaccines. The Thailand study found a previously healthy 46-year-old woman developed right leg weakness and loss of sensation in her right side ten days after the first dose. Though her leg weakness improved, abnormal sensations persisted.

The latter study examined a 62-year-old woman, with stable NMO for 8 years, who saw a relapse 7 days after her first dose, experiencing a loss of vision in the left eye. Her vision recovered in 3 weeks.

The case studies mentioned above are not exhaustive. Studies also cited the Sinovac® and Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines in NMO cases occurring after vaccine administration.

The authors of the studies highlighted a need for future research and a “high degree of suspicion” in diagnosis and intervention. As NMO is a rapidly-progressive disease, if untreated, consequences can be severe, with possibilities of disability and death.

AstraZeneca spokesperson told the Epoch Times that “cases of neuromyelitis have been reported rarely following vaccination,” with no confirmed causal relationship between the vaccination and this “extremely rare event.”

“We continue to work with regulators around the world to closely monitor safety information from all available sources as part of our routine surveillance,” the spokesperson wrote in an email on June 16.

While not all of the cases have concluded a positive link, the findings suggest a possible connection between NMO and COVID-19 vaccination.

The Latest Tragedy: Sudden Adult Death Syndrome

In recent weeks, media outlets around the world have started highlighting a medical phenomenon called “sudden adult death syndrome,” or SADS, in what appears to be a clear effort to obscure the reality of COVID jab deaths. Sad on steroids indeed

Underlying factors for SADS include undiagnosed myocarditis, inflammatory conditions and other conditions that cause irregularities in the electrical system of the heart, thereby triggering cardiac arrest

While SADS has been known to occur previously, what’s new is the prevalence of this previously rare event. In Australia, the Melbourne Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute is setting up a new SADS registry “to gain more information” about the phenomenon

Data compiled by the International Olympic Committee show 1,101 sudden deaths in athletes under age 35 between 1966 and 2004, giving us an average annual rate of 29, across all sports. Meanwhile, between March 2021 and March 2022 alone — a single year — at least 769 athletes have suffered cardiac arrest, collapse, and/or have died on the field, worldwide

Among EU FIFA (football/soccer ball) athletes, sudden death increased by 420% in 2021. Historically, about five soccer players have died while playing the game each year. Between January and mid-November 2021, 21 FIFA players died from sudden death

The Psychology of Totalitarianism

Mass formation is a form of mass hypnosis that emerges when specific conditions are met, and almost always precede the rise of totalitarian systems

Four central conditions that need to exist in order for mass formation to arise are widespread loneliness and lack of social bonding, which leads to experiencing life as meaningless, which leads to widespread free-floating anxiety and discontent, which leads to widespread free-floating frustration and aggression, which results in feeling out of control

Under mass formation, a population enters a hypnotic-type trance that makes them willing to sacrifice anything, including their lives and their freedom

Key strategies to disrupt the mass formation process are to speak out against it and to practice nonviolent resistance. Dissenting voices keep totalitarian systems from deteriorating into abject inhumanity where people are willing to commit heinous atrocities

Ultimately, “totalitarianism” refers to the ambition of the system. It wants to eliminate the ability of individual choice, and in so doing, it destroys the core of what it is to be human. The quicker a system destroys the individual, the sooner the system collapses

CANCEL CULTURE

YouTube Censors Jan. 6 Committee over ‘Misinformation’ for Including Clip of Donald Trump

YouTube has censored a video of testimony from the January 6 kangaroo court, claiming that the video promoted election misinformation. The Google-owned platform was apparently upset that the Democrat-led committee played a clip of former President Donald Trump.

The New York Post reports that YouTube has censored a video of testimony from the January 6 kangaroo court. The clip was uploaded on Tuesday by the Democrat-led committee and was removed by YouTube for “misinformation” as the clip featured footage of former President Donald Trump telling the Fox Business Network that the election was stolen.

YouTube claimed that the video, which included testimony from former Attorney General William Barr, violated its terms of service relating to misinformation. A YouTube spokesperson commented on the decision, stating:

Our election integrity policy prohibits content advancing false claims that widespread fraud, errors or glitches changed the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, if it does not provide sufficient context.

We enforce our policies equally for everyone, and have removed the video uploaded by the Jan. 6 committee channel.

YouTube’s latest censorship comes shortly after the platform chose to remove the New York Post’s interview with January 6 rioter Aaron Mostofsky, claiming that he was also spreading “misinformation.” The interview with Mostofsky, who is the son of Brooklyn Judge Steven Mostofsky, was also removed from the personal YouTube channel of the NYP reporter who conducted the interview.

Despite the clip of Mostofsky being used by federal prosecutors to convict him, YouTube claimed that the video spread misinformation, as Mostofsky stated in the video that people stormed the Capitol building because the election was “stolen.”

YouTube attempted to justify the removal of the video, claiming that it did not contain enough “context” to explain that the stolen election claims made by Mostofsky were false.

Elon Musk Calls Out TikTok Over ‘Civilization’ Risk

Elon Musk recently questioned whether the short video app TikTok is leading to the collapse of civilization, following a new report that alleged the China-owned platform had obtained private U.S. user data.

“Is TikTok destroying civilization?” the billionaire said on June 17 via Twitter. “Some people think so,” his post reads, offering no further explanation.

The remarks came after leaked audio from more than 80 internal meetings showed employees of TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company ByteDance have “repeatedly accessed nonpublic data about U.S. TikTok users” in China, according to Buzzfeed. It said the recordings include 14 statements from nine employees who indicated engineers had access to U.S. user data “at the very least” for five months between September 2021 and January 2022.

Although the company has also previously claimed that it does not share user information with Beijing, and has a “world-renowned U.S.-based security team” to ​​decide who can access this data, evidence shows employees had to turn to colleagues in China to decide how user data would flow.

“U.S. staff did not have permission or knowledge of how to access the data on their own,” the Buzzfeed report reads, citing tape recordings. It was hours before TikTok announced it had completed migrating its American user data to U.S.-based servers at Oracle, a move that could address U.S. regulatory concerns over data integrity on the popular short video app.

Counting the United States as its largest market, TikTok has more than 1 billion active users globally. Washington has been scrutinizing app developers over the personal data they handle, especially when it involves U.S. military or intelligence personnel.

PETS

Study Finds 2,500 Pets Died After Using EPA-Approved Flea Collars, With Almost 100,000 Incidents

The use of Seresto flea and tick collars was linked to the deaths of thousands of pets, according to findings in a recent report from the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy.

Seresto collar, launched in 2013, offered eight months of flea and tick protection for dogs and cats for under $70. This attracted considerable interest from pet owners, with almost 34 million Seresto collars sold in the United States by Bayer Animal Health, the original owner and manufacturer of the collar, and Elanco Animal Health, the company which bought Bayer in 2020.

According to the report published June 15 (pdf), the Seresto collar was linked to more than 75,000 incidents involving “unexpected effects from the use of a pesticide” and 1,700 pet deaths, based on a March 2021 report from USA Today. The reported numbers have since increased to “more than 98,000 incidents and 2,500 pet deaths.”

The report blamed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to take action against the collar despite being aware of the dangers posed by the product for several years.

A 2015 EPA study found that the Seresto collar had three times the rate of total incidents and almost five times the rate of “Death” or “Major” incidents as the second-most dangerous flea and tick product.

“Canada’s PMRA (Pest Management Regulatory Agency) reviewed 251 pet deaths linked to the Seresto collar and found that the collar probably or possibly caused 33 percent of those deaths. EPA independently reviewed the same 251 pet deaths and concluded that the collar probably or possibly caused 45 percent of those deaths. Yet EPA let the Seresto collar remain on the market—even after high incident numbers continued in recent years,” the report said.

In 2016, an EPA risk manager wrote that the agency had “rushed” the registration of Seresto’s collar so that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) could use the product in one of their studies.

In March 2021, USA Today published an investigative report detailing the dangers posed by the collar. Following the report, a scientist from the EPA said that the substance of the agency’s response would depend on “if you want the real answer or some talking points to cover our ass for doing nothing.”

Another official from the agency said that they hoped “someone can blow the lid off this travesty” this time, the report states.

“EPA should initiate a Notice of Intent to Cancel proceedings, which will ensure that a comprehensive review of Seresto and its risks is undertaken. In the meantime, to protect pets from further harm, Elanco should institute a voluntary recall of the Seresto collar until comprehensive safety testing can be completed,” the report recommends.

GOOD NEWS

Multi-Millionaire Teen Still Inspiring Others with Her Lemonade Company: ‘More Than 10 Years in Buzzness!’

A girl who became the boss of her own multi-million dollar business when she was just 11 years old is still inspiring others with hard work and determination.

Texas resident Mikaila Ulmer stirred up her unique brand of lemonade and won an $11 million deal with Whole Foods in 2016, the Sun reported Sunday.

“I really love my new label,” Ulmer said when referring to her bottle’s branding in 2016. “It actually has my face on it, so it makes me feel really special.”

The now 17-year-old got the idea for her company when she was four years old after her great-grandmother gave her an old cookbook that contained a recipe for flaxseed lemonade.

She began selling the sweet concoction to thirsty customers at a stand outside her home. The special ingredient? Honey.

The idea was sparked after being stung twice by bees, which left her frightened of the insects. But thanks to some research about bees, she realized how important they were to the ecosystem.

“So then I thought, what if I make something that helps honeybees and uses my Great Granny Helen’s lemonade recipe?” she wrote on her website:

I decided to give her beloved lemonade a new twist by adding honey from bees, instead of only sugar. That’s how Be Sweet Lemonade was born! However, we had to change the name due to a copyright issue so we decided to call it Me & the Bees Lemonade because we give a percentage of sales to help save the bees. We are now celebrating more than 10 years in “buzzness!”

The sweet beverage is available in numerous stores such as Whole Foods Market, HEB stores, and Kroger.

The young woman also travels to speaking events and leads workshops on how to save bees, yet still works hard to be a good student.

ICYMI

Mom, Daughter Sue School District in Alleged Transgender ‘Coaching’ Case

A lawsuit has been filed against a California school district and staff accused of coaching a middle school student into thinking she was transgender and secretly changing her name and pronouns at school.

The lawsuit alleges school staff manipulated the sixth-grade student into “believing she was bisexual and that her gender did not match her biological sex” and instructed her “not to tell her [mother] about the new gender identity and expression.”

Harmeet Dhillon, CEO of the Center for American Liberty, which is representing the minor student and her mother, told The Epoch Times the case could be the first of many exposing the consequences of transgender activism in schools.

The lawsuit, filed on June 14, names Spreckels Union School District, Katelyn Pagaran, the principal at Buena Vista Middle School in Salinas, Calif., and two teachers: Lori Caldeira and Kelly Baraki as defendants.

Jessica Konen, the child’s mother, came forward after a leaked audio recording revealed Caldeira and Baraki telling other teachers about how they secretly recruited students into the school’s LGBT club.

The teachers bragged about spying on students’ online searches and activity as well as eavesdropping on their conversations to identify and recruit sixth-grade students into the LGBT clubs whose membership rolls were kept hidden from parents.

“We totally stalked what they were doing on Google,” Baraki said in the recording.

The duo led a workshop called “How We Run a ‘GSA’ in Conservative Communities” at a California Teachers Association (CTA) conference billed as the “2021 LGBTQ+ Issues Conference, Beyond the Binary: Identity & Imagining Possibilities” in Palm Springs last October. They described the hurdles they encountered as teachers to conceal the activities of the GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) “Equality Club” from parents.

New details have surfaced in the case now that Konen’s daughter, who is protected under the pseudonym “A.G.” in the lawsuit because she is a minor, is actively participating in the case, Dhillon said.

The lawsuit alleges that the teachers acted with principal Pagaran’s knowledge.

“Pagaran was aware of the Equality Club and Caldeira’s and Baraki’s tactics … and approved of them. In fact, Pagaran frequently attended Equality Club meetings,” the lawsuit states.

It also alleges that Baraki and Caldeira tried to push identities on students that they resisted.

Near the beginning of the 2018 school year, when the student was 11 years old, she was invited by a friend to attend an Equality Club meeting but was not interested in the discussion and decided not to return, according to the lawsuit.

About two weeks later, Caldeira approached Konen’s daughter and asked her to come back to the club, saying that she “fit in perfectly,” and the child obliged, the lawsuit alleges.

In the spring of 2019, Konen’s daughter told a school counselor she was depressed and began attending weekly counseling sessions, after which “Caldeira and Pagaran would often have follow-up meetings with [her] and the school counselor,” the lawsuit states. “During those meetings, the counselor and Caldeira informed [the child] that the feelings she was having were because she was ‘not being who she was’ and that if she became her ‘true self,’ her depression and stress would be better (or words to that effect).”

Caldeira encouraged Konen’s daughter to change her name to a boy’s name, and she began wearing boy’s clothing, the lawsuit further alleges.

“Sometimes, Caldeira and Baraki would introduce and push identities on students, and the students resisted,” states the lawsuit.

Before attending a school board meeting in mid-December to expose the alleged manipulation her daughter had endured, Konen went public with her story and accused school staff, including the two teachers, of “coaching” her daughter.

The Center for American Liberty filed a notice of claim under the Government Claims Act, a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit against the California government, on Jan. 19. The state had 60 days to respond, but did not do so.

“For me, as a civil rights lawyer, I think adults should be allowed to do whatever they want, and if they want to express themselves that way after full information, then that’s their right. But, people are not getting the full information about this radical transgender agenda,” Dhillon said.

Two NY Federal Judges Consecutively Step Down From Vaccine Mandate Lawsuits Over Ownership of Pfizer Stock

A third judge was also asked to step down

An Obama-appointed federal judge in New York who owns between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of Pfizer stock has recused herself to avoid the possible appearance of bias or prejudice since she was overseeing a case of NYC teachers trying to get exemptions to the COVID vaccines.

Recusal, in legal terms, means that a judge excuses him or herself because of a potential conflict of interest.

Valerie Caproni is a United States District Court for the Southern District of New York who was overseeing two cases that could potentially have a conflict of interest.

“Plaintiffs argue that the Undersigned’s ownership of stock in Pfizer Inc. ‘constitutes a direct financial conflict of interest in the outcome of this case,’” reads the order granting recusal (pdf) of Caproni—the first judge—which was filed on June 11.

Att. Sujata Gibson, who represents one of the lawsuits, Kane et al. v. de Blasio, told The Epoch Times: “Federal law prohibits federal judges from taking part in a case in which they have any financial interest, no matter how small. Pfizer stocks have been impacted by court injunctions against COVID vaccine mandates, and ownership of this stock, therefore, constitutes a conflict of interest. We are glad that Judge Caproni is stepping down after improperly overseeing this case for eight months.”

The second appointed judge also stepped down for similar reasons.

On the morning of June 14, plaintiffs filed a motion to disqualify Judge Edgardo Ramos, who was initially assigned and has agreed to step down due to his investments in Pfizer and other COVID vaccine stocks.

According to a Wall Street Journal article, Edgardo Ramos and other 130 federal judges broke the law by overseeing court cases where they or their families owned stock in the company or companies involved.

According to the outlet, Ramos handled a lawsuit between TIG Insurance Co. and Exxon Mobil Corp. unit related to pollution allegations while owning up to $50,000 of Exxon stock.

A third judge, who also appeared to own Pfizer and J&J stocks, was asked to step down but denied the request.

“Application denied. The application is based on outdated information,” Judge Naomi Buchwald responded on June 14.

Gibson’s team requested updated financial disclosures.

“The court has now twice reassigned the case to other members of the judiciary with even worse financial conflicts of interest,” Gibson said. “We were alerted that the case was reassigned to the Hon. Naomi Reice Buchwald, who owned up to a quarter of a million dollars in Pfizer stock, and up to $100,000 in Johnson and Johnson stock as of 2020. We have three times now asked that the Court appoint a judge without financial conflicts of interest.”

Children’s Health Defense, a non-profit organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is sponsoring the two cases in NYC, representing workers that were fired for rejecting the jabs.

On Nov. 13, 2021, some NYC teachers were granted a right to reapply for their religious exemptions, overturning Caproni’s original denial of relief.

Main plaintiff Michael Kane told The Epoch Times: “Judge Caproni presided over my case for more than 8 months knowing the entire time she had a conflict of interest in owning Pfizer stock. I can’t help but think of all the teachers and New Yorkers who are now on welfare, losing their homes, can barely feed their children, and wonder if it would have been different for them if only we had an impartial judge before us.”

In March, NYC Mayor Eric Adams granted vaccination exemption for the city’s athletes and performers and later denied accusations of being lobbied by economic groups to nullify the requirement.

“What our economic team has been doing is stating, ‘How do we turn around our economy?’” Adams said during an appearance on FOX5 in March.

Dr. Simone Gold Sentenced to Two Months in Prison

A California doctor has been sentenced to two months in prison for being involved in the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol and stepping inside the restricted premises along with her co-defendant John Strand.

Dr. Simone Melissa Gold was initially charged with entering a restricted building or grounds, violent entry, and disorderly conduct, and arrested on Jan. 18, 2021. She spent two days in custody. On March 3, 2022, she pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of illegally entering the restricted building. Gold was sentenced June 16 to serve 60 days in jail, one year of supervised release, pay a $9,500 fine, and $500 restitution.

Gold is the founder of America’s Frontline Doctors (AFLDS), a nonprofit that has spoken out against the emergency use authorization of COVID-19 vaccines and promoted the use of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine during the initial days of the pandemic.

While inside the building, Gold delivered a speech through a megaphone to a crowd gathered in Statuary Hall, where she stated her opposition to the COVID-19 vaccine mandates and government-imposed lockdowns.

Gold expressed regret for entry into the Capitol building in a Jan. 12 interview with The Washington Post. “During the same interview Strand stated that he was also inside the U.S. Capitol with Gold and was there to protect Gold,” according to an official statement.

“I was misguided. I should not have entered,” Gold said. “Everything I did on January 6, misguided or not, was consistent with my effort to do my best for people.” She sounded emotional when she told Cooper that she was “shocked” the prosecutors believed she was not remorseful and did not intend to take part “in a situation that was so destructive to our nation.”

Strand—the communication director at AFLDS and Gold’s boyfriend—has been charged along with Gold. He has pleaded not guilty and rejected an offer for a plea agreement. Strand’s trial is scheduled for July 18.

Regarding Gold’s sentencing, an AFLDS press release on Thursday said, “Like most January 6 defendants, she is a victim of selective prosecution—the defining feature of corrupted governments.”

Stephen Colbert Staffers Arrested at US Capitol

Staffers from “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” were arrested and charged by U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) after they were found unescorted in a U.S. House of Representatives building after hours on the evening of June 16, CBS has confirmed.

Staffers were conducting interviews on Wednesday and Thursday for a comedy segment with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, a CBS spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email. The interviews were allegedly pre-arranged with congressional aides.

“After leaving the members’ offices on their last interview of the day, the production team stayed to film stand-ups and other final comedy elements in the halls when they were detained by Capitol Police,” the spokesperson said.

Triumph is a puppet operated by Robert Smigel, who was reportedly with the group.

The Twitter account for Triumph was posting pictures from inside the Capitol on June 16.

The USCP received a call at around 8:30 p.m. on Thursday night about a disturbance in the Longworth House Office Building, the law enforcement agency said in a statement.

The Longworth House Office Building is an office building used by members of Congress.

“Responding officers observed seven individuals, unescorted and without Congressional ID, in a sixth-floor hallway. The building was closed to visitors, and these individuals were determined to be a part of a group that had been directed by the USCP to leave the building earlier in the day,” the USCP said.

People in the group were charged with unlawful entry, according to the Capitol Police.

The agency did not identify any of the people who were charged.

“This is an active criminal investigation, and may result in additional criminal charges after consultation with the U.S. Attorney,” the agency said.

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