WORLD NEWS
Taiwanese military expert: CCP hires Western military aviators to prepare for war with Taiwan!
The Five Eyes alliance announced steps earlier in June to prevent Western military aviators from training Beijing’s military and naval aviators, capabilities that military experts say are key for Beijing to be able to attack Taiwan.
On June 5th, the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC), representing the FVEY (the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand), issued a joint bulletin warning evolving the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) efforts to recruit current and retired Western service members to train its military.
Actions by the United States and its Western partners to counter this threat include commercial restrictions on the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA), Beijing China Aviation Technology Co. (BCAT), Stratos, and other PLA providers exploiting Western and NATO personnel, as well as legal and regulatory changes to prohibit former military members from engaging in post-service employment with China.
Tony Xia, a military expert and commentator, noted that pilots with real combat experience are rare in China, stating that it takes at least 5 years to train a fighter pilot and once trained, that pilot is required to fly for the rest of his or her service life.
He added that the main reason for the CCP to hire experienced aviators from Western militaries is to plagiarize Western training systems, methods, and experience.
“In the past few decades, China’s fourth-generation fighters have hardly experienced any real-world combat experience,” he said.
Zhang Yanting, the former deputy commander of Taiwan’s Air Force and currently a professor at the Political Warfare College of Taiwan’s National Defense University, believes that these CCP actions are preparation for a real war in the Taiwan Strait.
Retired pilots bring combat experience, which the PLA lacks. They can pass on to the CCP military their valuable experience of the whole real-world combat scenario, threats, and how to give full play to their combat power.
Moreover, each of them has different expertise: some of them fly fighter planes, some fly anti- submarine warfare aircraft, and some fly carrier planes.
Bolivian president denounces apparent military coup attempt …
Yesterday afternoon, an army vehicle and several dozen soldiers forced their way into Bolivia’s presidential residence in Plaza Murillo in La Paz, allegedly at the behest of former Gen. Juan Jose Zuniga.
The general confronted President Luis Arce, who has faced increased scrutiny in recent months amid ongoing fuel and U.S. dollar shortages, according to local media.
After entering Palacio Quemado, Gen. Zuniga told local reporters: “We want to recover the true democracy. We want to free all political prisoners.”
The move sent shockwaves throughout the country, prompting residents to immediately flock to grocery stores and gas stations in preparation for a possible military coup d’etat.
President Arce is the current head of the Movement for Socialism party, known locally as the MAS, which has been in power since 2006.
After speaking with Gen. Zuniga, President Arce called a press conference.
“The military is shaming their uniforms … Bolivian people love their democracy,” President Arce said, adding the military was “damaging” the international reputation of Bolivia.
President Arce then announced that Mr. Zuniga was removed from his post and that Wilson Sanchez Velasquez was the new chief commander of Bolivia’s army.
The former military commander and his armed supporters promptly withdrew their forces from Plaza Murillo outside the presidential palace shortly after the meeting.
Bolivian police arrest leader of apparent coup attempt
Bolivian police have arrested the leader of an apparent attempted coup, hours after the presidential palace in La Paz was stormed by soldiers.
Hundreds of troops and armoured vehicles had taken up position on Murillo Square where key government buildings are located. One armoured vehicle attempted to smash down the entrance to the presidential palace. Soldiers later withdrew from the South American city.
The military leader in charge, Gen Juan José Zúñiga, had said he wanted to “restructure democracy” and that while he respected President Luis Arce “for now”, there would be a change of government.
He was later arrested, seconds after telling reporters the military had staged the intervention at the president’s request.
European nation becomes 1st country to offer bird flu vaccine
Only 11 people contracted it in the entire WORLD
On Wednesday, Finland announced that it is going to become the world’s first country to offer bird flu vaccinations. The preemptive vaccine will begin being rolled out next week and will initially go to those who work with animals. The move comes as the H5N1 strain, also known as the bird flu, has killed millions of poultry and birds and has started spreading to other animals such as cows, especially here in the United States. A look into the details, however, shows something peculiar – there are hardly any bird flu cases whatsoever in humans.
In fact, only 11 people contracted it in the entire WORLD – including 5 in Cambodia alone. The United States has had 3 positive cases – believed to have been from direct contact with an infected cow.
Even the World Health Organization can’t cover up just how rare the bird flu is, reportiing that from January 2003 to May 2024 there have been only 889 cases of human infection with the bird flu.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Biden, Trump and the moderators face off in first debate; age, fitness in focus …
Democratic President Joe Biden and his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, square off tonight at 9 p.m., Eastern time at a highly anticipated televised debate, offering voters a rare side-by-side look at the two oldest candidates ever to seek the country’s highest office, the first between a sitting president and a former one, will air at 9 p.m. ET on CNN and is expected to draw a huge audience. Ooh, that would be 2 weeks past Joe’s bedtime!
A record 84 million watched Trump’s first debate in 2016 against Hillary Clinton.
Both men enter the debate in Atlanta with political vulnerabilities that present a mix of risk and opportunity. The clash also arrives at a moment of profound polarization and deep-seated anxiety among voters about the state of American politics.
COMMENTARY ON REUTERS NEWS REPORTS: Two-thirds of voters said in a May Reuters/Ipsos poll that they were concerned violence could follow the election, and Reuters was quick to mention J-6. The bigger problem here is that Biden was probably given all of the questions in advance so his team would have time to dope him up and drill the answers into his head. Biden is anticipated to take every opportunity to call Trump a “convicted felon”. The bigger question is: Will Trump rise to the occasion and call Biden a “treasoner” and “pedophile” for accounts allegedly written and publicly disclosed in his daughter Ashley’s diary about what inappropriate things Uncle Joe did to her in the shower? Is this going to be a productive debate or mudslinging between Trump, Biden and the two Trump-hating CNN moderators? This debate should be entertaining at best, because the entire country is in financial and political turmoil and it’s likely these two will bring their bragging rights to the stage and blame each other for their foibles while in office and viewers will be looking for gaffes, stutters and mumbling from Cornpop Joe!
14 House Republicans help Democrats fund Joe Biden’s executive amnesty for illegal aliens!
More than a dozen House Republicans helped Democrats fund President Joe Biden’s executive amnesty for up to a million illegal aliens, ensuring they can remain in the United States without being eligible for deportation.
The executive amnesty, announced this month, will allow at least 550,000 illegal alien spouses and children of American citizens to secure green cards and, eventually, naturalized American citizenship.
In addition, the amnesty will open work visas to those illegal aliens who have graduated from an American university.
Yesterday, Rep. Chip Roy’s (R-TX) plan to ban Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funds from being used to carry out the amnesty failed after 14 House Republicans joined 202 House Democrats to block the measure.
The 14 Republicans are:
Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR)
Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL)
Rep. John Duarte (R-CA)
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA)
Rep. Carlos Giménez (R-FL)
Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR)
Rep. David Joyce (R-OH)
Rep. Thomas Kean (R-NJ)
Rep. Young Kim (R-CA)
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY)
Rep. Amata Radewagen (R-AS)
Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL)
Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA)
Rep. David Valadao (R-CA)
“Biden’s latest mass amnesty order circumvents the law and Congress to reward illegal aliens at the expense of American taxpayers,” Ryan Walker with Heritage Action wrote on X. “It’s extremely disappointing to see 14 Republicans vote with the Left to save Biden’s open borders Executive Order. Americans should take note.”
Rep. Mark Green (R-TN), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has said the amnesty is effectively a “welcome mat” to the world’s migrants looking to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Biden’s ‘parole-in-place’ amnesty amounts to an industrial scale abuse of narrow emergency authority without the consent of Congress,” RJ Hauman with the National Immigration Center for Enforcement said.
“It’s truly baffling to see 14 Republicans give his lawlessness a thumbs up,” Hauman said. “If they did so out of political fear, amnesty being the magic key to unlocking the Latino vote was rejected a long time ago. Voters want an end to illegal immigration once and for all — both traditional illegal border crossings and illegal entry under the guise of legality.”
The Supreme Court inadvertently releases an opinion … then retracts it!
The Supreme Court released an opinion in an abortion case yesterday but quickly unpublished the ruling, in what a spokesperson described as a mistake.
The opinion involves a case against an Idaho law that bans most abortions.
“[The opinion] has not been released,” Patricia McCabe, a spokesperson for the Supreme Court, told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.
“The court’s publications unit inadvertently and briefly uploaded a document to the court’s website.”
She noted that the opinion will be published “in due course.”
The nation’s top court had an opinion release day on June 26 and is scheduled to publish additional opinions today and tomorrow.
The Idaho case deals with a law that prohibits doctors from performing abortions, with exceptions in any trimester if a doctor believes an abortion is necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman. The law also contains exceptions during the first trimester for women who were the victims of rape or incest.
The law enables felony charges to be brought against doctors who violate the statute.
Before the Idaho law took effect in August 2022, however, it was blocked by a federal judge. Judge Lynn Winmill said the state law clashed with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), a federal law that requires emergency room doctors at hospitals that receive Medicare funds to offer treatments to stabilize patients who arrive with emergency conditions.
Supreme Court rejects challenge to Connecticut vaccine law that eliminated religious exemptions!
U.S. Supreme Court justices have rebuffed a challenge to a Connecticut
law that revoked religious exemptions to school vaccine requirements.
The nation’s top court declined an appeal to consider overturning a split lower court ruling that found that the law was constitutional. The justices didn’t comment on the rejection.
The law, enacted in 2021, ended the decades-old religious exemptions to vaccine requirements for schoolchildren and kids in day care. The only exception is for children who had already been granted religious exemptions. Medical exemptions are still available.
Parents sued soon after, alleging the law violated their constitutional rights, including the right to free exercise of religion outlined in the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.
U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton tossed the lawsuit in 2022, finding that vaccine requirements to attend school, under Supreme Court precedent, don’t violate the free exercise right.
A panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in a 2–1 ruling in 2023, upheld Judge Arterton’s decision.
Supreme Court wipes out anti-corruption law that bars officials from taking gifts for past favors
The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down part of a federal anti-corruption law that makes it a crime for state and local officials to take gifts valued at more than $5,000 from a donor who had previously been awarded lucrative contracts or other government benefits thanks to the efforts of the official.
By a 6-3 vote, the justices overturned the conviction of a former Indiana mayor who asked for and took a $13,000 payment from the owners of a local truck dealership after he helped them win $1.1 million in city contracts for the purchase of garbage trucks.
In ruling for the former mayor, the justices drew a distinction between bribery, which requires proof of an illegal deal, and a gratuity that can be a gift or a reward for a past favor. They said the officials may be charged and prosecuted for bribery, but not for taking money for past favors if there was no proof of an illicit deal.
“The question in this case is whether [the federal law] also makes it a crime for state and local officials to accept gratuities — for example, gift cards, lunches, plaques, books, framed photos or the like — that may be given as a token of appreciation after the official act. The answer is no,” said Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, writing for the majority.
Despite his reference to token gifts such as lunches and framed photos, the federal law was triggered only by payments of more than $5,000.
But the court’s conservative majority said the law in question was a “bribery statute, not a gratuities law.” Kavanaugh said federal law “leaves it to state and local governments to regulate gratuities to state and local officials.”
Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
“Officials who use their public positions for private gain threaten the integrity of our most important institutions,” Jackson wrote in dissent.
She said the mayor’s “absurd and atextual reading of the statute is one only today’s court could love.”
The law as written “poses no genuine threat to common gift giving,” she said, but it “clearly covers the kind of corrupt (albeit perhaps non-quid pro quo) payment [the mayor] solicited after steering the city contracts to the dealership.”
The ruling could have a broad impact. About 20 million local and state officials are covered by the federal anti-corruption law, including officials at hospitals and universities that receive federal funds.
North Carolina facility that was supposed to house migrant children’s remains, remains empty
The U.S. government has allocated $387 million since 2022 to care for unaccompanied migrant children at a North Carolina school campus that has yet to house a single child.
Illegal immigrant children entering the United States without a parent or guardian have never been placed at the Greensboro campus, which remains unoccupied but operational, according to a government fact sheet updated June 14 and a former employee interviewed by The Epoch Times.
The former employee didn’t want to be named over concerns that it could hurt her future job prospects if identified.
Money spent on the empty facility includes no-bid contracts awarded to Deployed Services Inc., a frequent government contractor, costing $235.6 million since 2022. Another $103 million for facility management was awarded to the company through competitive bids since June 2023.
The contracts were for “direct care and supervision services” at the facility for unaccompanied minors.
The federal government signed a $50 million lease in 2022 with the American Hebrew Academy, a business which, in turn, was indebted to Beijing-based Puxin Ltd., according to county documents. The lease was for five years and eligible for a five-year renewal option.
Although the 100-acre Greensboro facility is empty of children, hundreds of employees worked 24 hours, seven days a week training and preparing to receive children this spring, the former employee said. The facility includes 31 buildings, an $18 million athletic center, a natatorium, and a 22-acre lake.
Two other influx care centers are in Texas: Pecos Children’s Center and Dimmit County Children’s Center.
None of the Texas facilities currently have children either, according to ORR, which recently closed a fourth facility at Fort Bliss, Texas.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Arkansas sues Chinese-owned Temu for alleged deceptive practices!
Arkansas has filed a lawsuit against Temu, one of the most popular online shopping apps in the United States, accusing the Chinese-owned platform of violating state privacy laws and engaging in deceptive trade practices. The lawsuit, filed on June 25, cites breaches of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Arkansas Personal Information Protection Act.
Temu uses low-cost Chinese-made goods to lure users into unknowingly providing “near- limitless access to their personally identifiable information,” according to the lawsuit.
The complaint further alleges that the platform is “purposefully designed” to gain unrestricted access to the phone’s operating system, including the camera, location, contacts, text messages, documents, and other applications.
“Temu is designed to make this expansive access undetected, even by sophisticated users,” the complaint reads. “Once installed, Temu can recompile itself and change properties, including overriding the data privacy settings users believe they have in place.”
The lawsuit claims that Temu “monetizes this unauthorized collection of data by selling it to third parties, profiting at the direct expense of Arkansans’ privacy rights.”
The lawsuit, filed in the Circuit Court of Cleburne County by state Attorney General Tim Griffin, lists Temu’s parent company, PDD Holdings Inc., and WhaleCo Inc., a subsidiary of PDD Holdings, as defendants.
A spokesperson for Temu told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that the allegations in the lawsuit are “based on misinformation circulated online, primarily from a short-seller, and are totally unfounded.”
“We categorically deny the allegations and will vigorously defend ourselves,” the spokesperson said.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to impose civil penalties on Temu, including $10,000 per violation of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and for the retailer to provide “all other monetary and equitable relief to which the state is entitled.”
Temu’s shopping app, which sells heavily discounted consumer goods, was introduced in 2022 and has since become one of the most downloaded apps in the United States.
However, the company has been plagued with criticism over alleged security and privacy concerns.
HEALTH
Large study links daily multivitamin use to increased mortality risk!
A comprehensive study of healthy U.S. adults reveals that daily multivitamin use does not promote a longer life and is linked to a 4 percent higher risk of mortality.
Researchers from the National Cancer Institute conducted the study, published today in JAMA Network Open. The study challenges the common perception that multivitamins improve health and longevity. The findings come as nearly one in three U.S. adults regularly takes multivitamins, often expecting to prevent chronic diseases and extend life.
The data did not support a mortality benefit for multivitamin users. Instead, the results indicated a slight increase in mortality risk. The study states, “Daily MV use was associated with a 4% higher mortality risk” compared to non-users. This increased risk, though small, suggests multivitamins may not provide the expected health benefits.
The researchers accounted for other health habits like diet, exercise, and smoking. They found that multivitamin users were generally more health-conscious, often eating healthier and exercising more. However, this “healthy user effect” did not translate into a longer lifespan.
The study’s extended follow-up period allowed for a robust analysis of long-term multivitamin use. Over the study period, 164,762 participants died, providing a substantial dataset to evaluate mortality trends. The consistency of the findings across different cohorts and follow-up periods strengthened the conclusion that MV use does not significantly impact mortality rates.
Selenium counters thyroid and intestinal disease, Alzheimer’s and cancer!
Selenium plays a pivotal role in countless metabolic processes. This micronutrient protects the body from environmental pollutants, oxidative stress, and the unwanted side effects of drugs. In fact, the immune system leans on dietary selenium for adequate responses to outside intruders.
Low selenium levels cause our physiological systems to suffer. Tissues in the brain and the endocrine system utilize the mineral for proper function. All of us wish for cognitive and hormonal health, pain reduction, and physical improvements—therefore, it is important to understand the effects selenium has on our general well-being.
As one of the essential trace elements, selenium stabilizes hormonal imbalances, which frequently impact fertility. Unfortunately, the mineral is rarely studied in connection with the endocrine system and infertility—a critique that researchers pose in a 2021 review. They emphasize the importance of making exactly that connection, as selenium deficiency can lead to several thyroid disorders, including problems with reproduction.
Power Mall Product of Interest: Selenium, Iodine, and B-12 Re-Natured® – specifically formulated to support healthy thyroid function
Many older adults are still taking daily aspirin despite recent warnings not to, study finds!
A new study found that a significant number of older Americans continue to use small doses of aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease despite two major heart associations having reversed their guidance on the practice.
In a paper released on June 24 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, some 18.5 million adults aged 60 and older who have no cardiovascular disease reported taking a preventative aspirin in 2021. About 3.3 million of those individuals were taking daily aspirin without a doctor’s recommendation, it said.
For decades, a daily dose of 81 milligrams of aspirin was recommended by heart associations and physicians to reduce the chance of developing a heart attack, stroke, or another cardiovascular problem.
But in 2019, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association changed their guidelines on daily aspirin usage, saying that it should only be taken infrequently because older adults can see an increased risk of developing internal bleeding. The daily aspirin practice is still recommended for individuals who have a high risk of a heart attack or stroke.
An independent panel of health officials known as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force made a similar recommendation in 2022, coming after they suggested daily aspirin usage to combat a heart attack or stroke.
Older adults without heart disease shouldn’t take daily low-dose aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke, the group said at the time. Bleeding risks for adults in their 60s and up who haven’t had a heart attack or stroke outweigh any potential benefits from aspirin, it said.
Silicone Surprise: The Unexpected Link Between Chick-fil-A and Breast Implants
That classic Chick-fil-A taste you crave comes with a side of 55 ingredients, many unpronounceable and even more mysterious. A recent investigation by food activist Vani Hari, better known as Food Babe, reveals there’s a lot more than just chicken tucked between those buttered buns – including dimethylpolysiloxane, a silicone-based chemical more commonly associated with breast implants than fast food.1
The Chick-fil-A Sandwich Ingredient Exposé: What Are You Really Eating?
Chick-fil-A has been satisfying America’s chicken sandwich obsession since 1964, becoming the 3rd largest restaurant chain in the nation.2 Known for its simple menu, consistent quality, and friendly service, Chick-fil-A has garnered a devoted fan following. But have you ever stopped and wondered, in between those greedy bites of your favorite sandwich, just what exactly is in it?
Hari’s investigation uncovered a whopping 55 ingredients packed into the seemingly straightforward Chick-fil-A classic sandwich.1 Some are what you’d expect – chicken, bun, pickle. But many others sound straight from a chemistry lab rather than grandma’s kitchen. Let’s break it down:
The Dimethylpolysiloxane Dilemma
Perhaps the most shocking find was the presence of dimethylpolysiloxane, an anti-foaming agent used in the fully refined peanut oil Chick-fil-A uses for pressure cooking their coated chicken. This silicone-based chemical is more widely known as a component of breast implants and Silly Putty.1
While the FDA has approved dimethylpolysiloxane for use in food in small quantities,3 its presence in a chicken sandwich still raises eyebrows. Hari questions the necessity and safety of this unexpected additive.
The Chicken Puzzle
According to Hari, even the chicken itself contains 6 ingredients before breading:1
- Chicken
2. Salt
3. MSG
4. Sugar
5. Spices (identified by Chick-fil-A as black pepper, paprika & mustard)
6. Paprika
The chicken then gets a coating that includes an additional 11 ingredients such as:
– Sodium aluminum phosphate (linked to neurological problems)4
– More sugar
– More MSG
The most problematic ingredient above is MSG, which has been linked to over 50 different negative health outcomes, as evidenced by the Greenmedinfo.com database. But it gets worse…
A Complicated Bun
The bun ramps up the ingredient count considerably with items like:
– Enriched wheat flour (refined, bleached flour)
– DATEM (a dough conditioner and potential source of trans fat)
– Monoglycerides (also a possible trans fat source)
– Calcium propionate (linked to ADHD symptoms)5
– Calcium sulfate (a.k.a. Plaster of Paris)
The bun gets a final topping of liquid margarine made from more soy lecithin and artificial flavors.
Problematic Pickles
The pickle chips aren’t just cucumbers and brine. Their 10 ingredients include:
– Yellow #5 (linked to hyperactivity and allergies)
– Blue #1 (a potential neurotoxin)
– Polysorbate 80 (associated with weight gain and digestive issues)6
So is it a sandwich or a science project? Hari contends many of these complex additives, including the baffling use of dimethylpolysiloxane, are used to cut costs, preserve freshness, and keep us craving more, all at the expense of our health.
Of course, occasional consumption unlikely causes harm. But for devoted fans frequently enjoying these sandwiches, the ingredient list gives pause.
Chick-fil-A Responds
To their credit, Chick-fil-A has made some positive changes since Hari first critiqued their ingredients in 2012. They’ve eliminated TBHQ, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial dyes from their buns and sauces, although the pickle still contains Yellow #5 and Blue #1.1
Most significantly, Chick-fil-A phased out chicken raised with antibiotics in 2019, a major win for public health.1 However, they reversed this pledge in 2023 citing supply challenges.7
Chick-fil-A states their ingredients, including dimethylpolysiloxane, are commonly used across the industry and safe according to the FDA.1 They also offer grilled options with simpler ingredient lists.
The Bottom Line
While Chick-fil-A has taken some steps in the right direction, their classic sandwich remains an ultra-processed product containing many industrial additives, some as surprising as dimethylpolysiloxane. Treating it as an occasional indulgence rather than a dietary staple is advisable.
Hari’s investigation reminds us to look beyond the marketing and scrutinize what we put into our bodies. While navigating modern food choices can feel daunting, awareness is the first step towards making more wholesome decisions for our health. Next time you’re tempted by that classic chicken sandwich, remember, it’s not just a simple blend of chicken, pickle and bun – there’s a whole lot of chemistry in there too, dimethylpolysiloxane included.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Chinese Communist-linked Huawei built a secret alliance with top U.S. scientific group!
Bloomberg News on Tuesday published an exposé on the relationship between China’s Huawei telecom giant and Optica, a nonprofit scientific foundation based in Washington, DC.
According to documents reviewed by Bloomberg, Huawei and Optica had much deeper and stronger ties than either was willing to acknowledge in public.
Tuesday’s report was a follow-up to Bloomberg’s report in May that revealed Huawei has been “secretly funding cutting-edge research at American universities” through Optica. The Chinese Communist- linked firm turned out to be the sole funder for an annual research competition administered by Optica, a fact that was not disclosed to entrants in the competition.
Several major U.S. universities said they would not have participated in the research competition if they had known it was financed by Huawei. After the report prompted a congressional investigation, Optica returned Huawei’s funding and removed representatives of the company from the panel of judges for its research competition.
On Tuesday, Bloomberg cited “internal Optica corporate records” that said the group was far more closely linked to Huawei than previously revealed. Among other details, a whistleblower inside the company revealed that Optica CEO Elizabeth Rogan paid a visit to Huawei headquarters in April that she did not disclose, even though her trip to China that month was public knowledge and she was chronicling her journey in real-time on social media.
The same whistleblower expressed concerns that the Chinese company was using its relationship with Optica to compromise sensitive projects funded by the U.S. government, including the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Contrary to earlier denials by Huawei and Optica, the documents viewed by Bloomberg indicated that Huawei did have a role in choosing the winners of the research competition, and it used the contest as an opportunity to develop contractual relationships with the participants. Optica representatives said Bloomberg’s analysts were misinterpreting these documents and exaggerating the role Huawei played in choosing the winners.
Bloomberg pointed to circumstantial evidence that China has used its pipeline to the American scientific community to acquire banned technology, such as Huawei cheekily rolling out “a new smartphone featuring a 7-nanometer chip whose development U.S. export controls were supposed to foil” while Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was visiting China last August.
Tuesday’s report uncovered another program that did not disclose its sponsorship by Huawei, the Global Environmental Measurement and Monitoring Initiative (GEMM). The co-chair of this program was a “U.S. government chemist with the National Institute of Standards and Technology.”
Optica’s alliance with Huawei appears to date back to at least 2007, five years before the House Intelligence Committee released a landmark report that identified the Chinese company as a national security threat. Some of the U.S. scientists profiled in the report also had sponsorship deals with Huawei that predated the company’s classification as a national security threat.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Technocracy News: Climate change is a $100-million wealth transfer from the poor to the rich!
Climate Change is a complex financial mechanism which under the guise of “saving the planet”, is meant to save the predator class, which is not only morally bankrupt, but is dealing with a level of government and corporate debt that they know they cannot sustain. In the healthiest economy in the world, the US, all profits now are coming from either some mechanism of government subsidy – the $6 Trillion of the Covid catastrophe – or Collateralized Default Obligations. For instance right now Penguin is in court attempting to buy Random House. Why? Because they can borrow money to do that, buy back some of their stock and pay their shareholders. It will mean middle managers will lose their jobs, and marginal books will not be published, but the ravening maw of Jamie Dimon and Larry Fink will be satiated. For the moment. There is no other reason. Growth, real growth has stalled in every single enterprise.
Our government, the trust, had proposed the use of accessory buildings, brought up to code, for long-term rentals.
The extreme form of land conservation we practice has meant that housing prices have skyrocketed, so only the rich and the well-pensioned can afford to live here. A thousand or so working age people manage to make a living, generally via remote work. We have no staff for the schools, hospitals, businesses, restaurants. They cannot afford to live here.
About 200 people on our islands, mostly in their 70s and 80s, tightly aligned with the hysterical wing of the environmental movement work the process to stop any growth. Every new resident who pulls a permit is visited and threatened by a by-law officer. The woman who instigated this specific weapon, a former enviro bureaucrat from LA, demanded full time by-law officers for years until she won, after which she fought for aggressive enforcement.
Every farm, every ranch, every rural business, every logging operation, every developer, every contractor and builder, every grocery chain, every surprisingly successful business has an activist cadre assigned to it. All that activist does is strategize on how to destroy that business. And they are paid, through environmental organizations funded by BlackRock.
This is how they operate. Find the most successful in any sector or sub-sector, attack and destroy. No one must accrete enough financial or community-based power to fight back.
FOOD, PREPPING, GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
USDA rules leave U.S. organics disadvantaged against imports, alleges watchdog!
A Wisconsin-based organic industry watchdog group warns that United States Department of Agriculture rules are leaving American farmers at a major disadvantage compared to imported foods that can claim organic status with less oversight and fewer requirements. The group has requested the U.S. Inspector General conduct a formal investigation into correct implementations of organic food regulations.
The group, OrganicEye, has accused the USDA of betraying “its commitment — and the legal requirement — that all organic food come from independently certified and inspected farms.”
The result is cheaper imports that have less oversight and can out- price American-grown produce. OrganicEye says this is due to five key factors:
- Under U.S. federal law and congressional mandate, organic farms are subject to an annual inspection of their operations.
This includes, but is not limited to, the examination of the growing and harvesting process, handling and packaging management of the produce, and inspection of the farm’s facilities.
U.S. organic farmers invest considerable time and money to fulfill these stipulations and receive the organic certification label thereby ensuring an organic product grown according to the guidelines.
Imported food often bypasses these procedures when it is either wildcrafted (foraged from natural habitats) in areas that have no parameters at all or grown on farms that do not adhere to these regulations because they are operated by micro-farm-units (often families) and centralized through an international “grower group.”
- The National Organic Standards Board adopted recommendations for the certification of “grower groups” in 2002.
These group certifications were primarily intended for imported crops, such as coffee, tea, spices, cocoa, and tropical fruit not produced in the United States.
Annually, only around 2 percent of all farms consolidated under a “grower groups umbrella” are inspected by an independent entity, Mark Kastel, executive director of OrganicEye told The Epoch Times in an interview.
This allows for imported produce to carry the organic label and fill supermarket shelves without having ever been subject to the rigorous monitoring that U.S.-grown produce is subjected to.
- Umbrella-certifiers, such as French-based Ecocert, manage and market uniformed small-scale farms or family units in developing countries.
Ecocert USA operates as a for-profit organization overseeing agribusiness clients in more than 130 countries, employing more than 800 “organic experts,” and servicing upwards of 65,000 clients.
Certifiers can come from within the organization’s grower groups, which therefore removes independent outside control.
- It appears that these “grower groups” are not linked by location, community, or cooperative, and instead “constitute nothing more than a list of suppliers to a specific processor/marketer,” said Mr. Kastel.
Consequently, the initial idea of supporting small family units and farming communities in developing nations has taken a back seat.
“Instead of community elders acting as liaisons in the group certification process, we have agribusiness employees conducting up to 98 percent of inspections,” said Mr. Kastel. “The buyers of these commodities have an economic interest and are anything but independent. And they are certainly not an accredited certification agency, as is required by law.”
- These points stand in distinct contrast to the regulations U.S. organic farmers must adhere to on their home turf, according to Mr. Kastel. Organic produce reaches the U.S. market below production costs for American organic growers.
This leads to a die-off of American organic farms, which is detrimental given the fact that the demand for organic food continues to rise in the United States, said Mr. Kastel.
According to the Organic Trade Association, organic food sales broke a record of $60 billion in 2022. Nevertheless, organic farm acreage “was still less than 1 percent of U.S. farmland. Retail has shifted and big food stores, such as conventional supermarkets, club stores, and supercenters gain shares of the organic food market.
This leads away from local and domestically-grown produce, causing a move toward large international companies dominating the organic food market.
20 Homemade Mouse Poison Recipes That Work
Oh, mice. They sure are cute. At least when they are scampering around out in the field somewhere nibbling on sunflower seeds.
They aren’t cute when they are in your home pooping everywhere and scaring the daylights out of you in the middle of the night. Or when they’re contaminating bags of feed you had stored outside.
Mice might seem harmless, but like all rodents, they’re highly destructive and harbingers of disease. An infestation is a major problem, and even a few mice hanging around can be a big deal.
If you want to get rid of them cheaply and quickly, you can use DIY poison for the job, most of them using common foods that either attract or kill mice. I’ll tell you about some good recipes in this article.
COVID RELATED NEWS
CDC: Data show 39 U.S. states are seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases!
Recent data show that COVID-19 cases are on the rise in several dozen U.S. states, although the CDC has said there’s no sign that the variants driving that increase lead to more severe symptoms.
The latest data collected by the CDC show that 39 states and territories have seen a growth in COVID-19 infections, while the virus is “declining or likely declining in [zero] states.” Cases are either at a stable level or the status is unclear in remaining states, the CDC said.
More general data for the week ending on June 24 provided by the CDC show that cases have increased by 1.2 percent.
It comes as other CDC data show that a newly discovered COVID-19 variant, KP.3, is the most dominant strain, accounting for an estimated 22 percent to 46 percent of all cases.
Several CDC officials didn’t respond to requests for comment by press time.
“There is currently no evidence that KP.3 or LB.1 cause more severe disease” and the agency continues “to track SARS-CoV-2 variants and is working to better understand the potential impact on public health,” David Daigle, a spokesman for the agency, told CBS News on June 25. SARS-CoV-2 refers to the virus that causes COVID-19.
As compared with previous increases in COVID-19—which some media outlets have described as “surges”—deaths from the virus appear to be at an all-time low, according to a graph provided by the federal health agency. Virus-linked hospitalizations are also at what appears to be their lowest point since the pandemic started in March 2020, the data show.
“Most key COVID-19 indicators are showing low levels of activity nationally, therefore, the total number of infections this lineage may be causing is likely low,” a CDC spokesperson said in a statement earlier this month, while adding the variant will become the “most common lineage” around the United States.
Andy Pekosz, a molecular microbiology professor at Johns Hopkins University, said that the KP.3 variant also doesn’t appear to cause more severe symptoms, adding that antibodies provided through prior infection or vaccines have led to better outcomes in recent months.
“After exposure, it may take five or more days before you develop symptoms, though symptoms may appear sooner,” he said in a question and answer session published on the Johns Hopkins website earlier this month.
“You are contagious one to two days before you experience symptoms and a few days after symptoms subside. And as with previous variants, some people may have detectable live virus for up to a week after their symptoms begin, and some may experience rebound symptoms,” Mr. Pekosz said.
In May, the CDC announced that hospitals are no longer mandated to report COVID-19 hospital admissions, capacity, or other COVID-19 information. The old “data will be archived as of May 10, 2024, and available at United States COVID-19 Hospitalization Metrics by Jurisdiction, Timeseries,” according to a statement posted on the CDC website last month.
This month, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel suggested that vaccine manufacturers such as Pfizer and Moderna target COVID-19 strains derived from JN.1, which include KP.2, KP.3, and LB.1.
CANCEL CULTURE
WNBA changes policy rules; two players may be held exempt from pre-game interviews!
The WNBA changed its media policy to allow teams to exempt players from media availability in certain situations.
All players were previously obligated to speak with journalists after morning shootaround sessions several hours before their game. However, it has been reported that teams are now allowed to exempt two players from media availability at that time.
Chicago sports reporter Josh Frydman noted on X that WNBA team Chicago Sky noted that they would immediately use the new rule to exempt star rookie Angel Reese along with Brazilian Kamilla Cardoso.
“The Sky weekly media availability comes with this note: ‘Per a change in the WNBA Media Season Access policy, two players from each team can be exempt from all shootaround media availabilities. Angel Reese & Kamilla Cardoso are exempt.'”
Frydman later clarified that the players are still available before the game.
“Reese and Cardoso are exempt from game day shootaround interviews, but can still be made available pregame on the court (usually 90 minutes before tip).”
Reese was fined in early June 2024 for breaking media availability rules. She was supposed to be available to in-person media outside the locker room, according to CBS, and was likely avoiding questions surrounding her team’s aggressive play toward the league’s new superstar Caitlin Clark.
Fellow Sky player Chennedy Carter was also being asked repeatedly about a flagrant foul she committed on Clark:
“It happened … it’s over with, I don’t know why we’re dragging it,” Carter said at a June 3 press conference.
That foul was seen as heinous by fans, even resulting in Republican Congressman Jim Banks sending a letter to the commissioner of the WNBA asking what steps the league was taking to curb “excessive physical targeting” of players.
Later that same month, Reese told media members that she didn’t trust reporters.
“I know how y’all like to twist my words, so I’m just keeping it short and sweet,” Reese said, according to Outkick. “I can’t trust any of y’all, so I’m just letting you know — short and sweet,” she added..
Clark has faced consistent pushes from media members during shootaround to condemn racism and misogyny, and she simply stated that she didn’t like the idea of anyone using her name to push narratives.
Other players have theorized that young white women in the league receive more positive attention because they are more “feminine.”
The Mirror noted that while a WNBA official confirmed “pregame and postgame media availability stays the same,” the pregame interviews are usually in group situations as opposed to one-on-one.
The outlet also reported that it has experienced inconsistent implementation of pregame media accessibility guidelines when players who were allegedly set to appear for media questions did not show up.
Police: Gamer flew from NJ to FL to attack online rival with a hammer; now in custody!
A 20-year-old man from New Jersey allegedly flew to Florida to physically assault his online gaming rival, in a case of an online deathmatch entering the real world. Perplexed by the case, Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper commented, “This is a weird one. Some things make you say hmm.”
CBS12 reports that Edward Kang, a 20-year-old man from New Jersey, was arrested on Sunday after authorities say he traveled across the country to attack a fellow player of the online multiplayer game ArcheAge. The incident, which took place in Fernandina Beach, Florida, has shocked local authorities and raised concerns about the escalation of online disputes into real-world violence.
Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper, visibly perplexed by the case, stated during a Monday briefing, “This is a weird one. Some things make you say hmm.” The sheriff’s office revealed that Kang had meticulously planned his attack, booking a flight from Newark Liberty International Airport to Jacksonville International Airport and reserving a hotel room in Florida.
According to authorities, Kang’s journey began when he became enraged at the victim during an online gaming session. Under the guise of visiting a friend, he informed his mother of his travel plans and proceeded to Florida. Upon arrival, Kang checked into his hotel around 2:00 a.m. on Friday and, in a chilling move, visited an Ace Hardware store the following day to purchase a hammer and flashlight.
The attack unfolded in the early hours of Sunday morning when Kang, dressed entirely in black and wearing gloves and a mask, allegedly broke into the victim’s home. Sheriff Leeper reported that Kang assaulted the victim with the hammer, causing severe head wounds. The victim’s stepfather, awakened by screams for help, discovered the struggle and, together with the victim, managed to restrain Kang until law enforcement arrived.
Fortunately, despite the severity of the attack, the victim’s injuries were deemed non-life-threatening. Kang was subsequently booked into the Nassau County Jail on charges of burglary and attempted murder.
The incident has left both law enforcement and the gaming community stunned. It serves as a stark reminder of how online interactions can sometimes spill over into the real world with potentially devastating consequences. Sheriff Leeper noted Kang’s lack of cooperation with the investigation, adding an air of mystery to the already bizarre case.
In a particularly telling moment, Sheriff Leeper recounted Kang’s interaction with deputies following his arrest. “When the suspect was asked why he did what he did, the suspect stated that he is a bad person online, talking about the victim,” Leeper said. “In addition, the suspect asked our deputy how much time in jail do you get for breaking and entering and assault. I would say, Mr. Kang, it’s gonna be a long time before you play video games again.”
GOOD NEWS
The Texas Homeschooling Convention: CLICK FOR DETAILS!
Don’t miss the Great Homeschool Convention, coming to Round Rock, Texas, July 11–13! Meet homeschool families from your area; find resources for your own family’s journey; and gain insights from speaking sessions with leaders in the larger homeschool movement.
Whether you’re homeschooling with Classical Conversations® or just curious about our Christian, community-based programs, we’d love to meet you. Stop by the Classical Conversations convention booth; share your family’s homeschool story with us; and discover all you need to know about our upcoming classical math curriculum, The Math Map, which returns to the way we naturally learn.
ICYMI
Supreme Court throws out challenge to government’s censoring of free speech!
The Supreme Court threw out a challenge on June 26 to the federal government’s actions when it communicated with social media platforms about public health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The justices voted 6–3, finding that two Republican-led states and several individuals challenging the government lacked legal standing to do so because they couldn’t show they were directly harmed by the government’s efforts to communicate with the platforms. Standing refers to the right of someone to sue in court. The parties must show a strong enough connection to the law or action complained of to justify their participation in the lawsuit.
The states had argued that the federal government strong-armed social media companies into censoring disfavored views on important public issues, such as side effects related to COVID-19 vaccines and the pandemic lockdowns. Applying this kind of pressure violates the First Amendment, the states said.
Conservatives and others have complained that social media platforms censor information about transgender issues, COVID- 19, and the 2020 election. They were particularly concerned about coverage of Hunter Biden’s laptop computer that contained information they say might have harmed President Joe Biden’s 2020 election campaign had it been allowed to circulate freely.
Some on the left say removing posts on social media is necessary to prevent the spread of misinformation, and some have complained that social media platforms don’t do enough to combat falsehoods.
The case is Murthy v. Missouri. The majority opinion was written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
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