March 28, 2024

The Power Hour

Knowledge is Power

Today’s News: September 20, 2022

WORLD NEWS

United Nations 2.0: A Whole-Of-World Technocracy

Civic participation is seen as an important component in fulfilling the UN agenda. Citizens must be made more involved. It all sounds wonderful. But when looking closer, it seems to be mostly about legitimising UNs own agenda and fostering more obedient citizens. The UN only listens to the citizens and groups that say what they want to hear. Criticism and opinions that do not support the UN climate action, migration policy, or health mandates are generally disregarded, dismissed, ridiculed, and thrown in the bin.

The eighth commitment involves the appointment of a High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilaterism , chaired by former heads of state and government, and is focused on improved governance of “our global commons”. It also includes the re-establishment of the Secretary-General’s Scientific Council and the UN taking part in more listening, participation, and consultation (including digitally) from the public. Secretary-General António Guterres calls for a “Quintet of Change” for an upgraded UN 2.0: Innovation, Data, Strategic foresight, Results orientation, and Behavioural science.

According to Guterres, the United Nations needs to be adapted for the digital era. The High-Level Advisory Board – which I described in the introductory post Multilateralism with teeth – will develop proposals for the following:

  1. Improving the governance of global public goods and other areas
  2. Anticipate how sustainable development and climate measures will be handled after 2030
  3. Peace and security, for the new peace agenda
  4. Digital technology, for the Global Digital Compact
  5. Outer space, seek consensus on the sustainable and peaceful use of outer space, move towards a global regime to coordinate space traffic and agree on principles for the future governance of outer space
  6. Global major risks and agreement on a Global Emergency Platform
  7. Subsequent generations, for possible agreement on a declaration of future generations.

The United Nations intends to upgrade the global governance of the world. This includes “listening” to the citizens.

To make the United Nations more effective, we will develop new capabilities that promote agility, integration and cohesion across the system. This will be part of a wider transformation towards a United Nations “2.0”, a new version that is able to offer relevant and system-wide solutions to the challenges of the twenty-first century.

The basis for everything is data. According to the Secretary-General’s data strategy, UN Secretary-General’s Data Strategy 2020-22, this should permeate everything and lead us through the Great Transformation. This data strategy means the upgrading and digitisation of the United Nations. It outlines how to use all the data that is collected (Big Data, sensors/IoT, sound, image, text, etc.).[1] The global sustainable development goals (SDGs) of Agenda 2030 are to be reached with the help of digital technology. This includes areas such as climate change, gender equality, human rights, peace and security, governance as well as future ethics, data protection, and privacy.

Making better use of data – with approaches grounded in UN values and human rights – is integral to our future and service. Recognizing that we have not fully unlocked our data and analytics potential, this Strategy will guide us through a long-term transformation: So that everyone, everywhere nurtures data as a strategic asset for insight, impact and integrity – to better deliver on our mandates for people & planet.

No Chance of UK-U.S. Trade Deal with ‘Irish’ Biden Anytime Soon, Truss Admits

There is little to no chance of the UK signing a post-Brexit trade deal with the United States anytime soon, Prime Minister Liz Truss has admitted amid rocky relations between the two powers.

Britain’s newly appointed Prime Minister, Liz Truss, has now publicly admitted that there is little chance of a UK-U.S. trade deal being signed anytime soon.

Hundreds Stranded in Collapsed Buildings as Powerful Earthquake Hits Taiwan

An earthquake of at least magnitude 6.8 struck Taiwan on Sunday, derailing trains and causing buildings to collapse.

Hundreds of tourists were reportedly trapped in a mountain resort by a landslide, while rescue workers were able to extract several families from the ruins of a three-story building.

U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT

Key Steele Dossier Source Confirms He Was Paid by FBI for Years

A key source for the anti-Donald Trump dossier paid for by Democrats has confirmed that he was on the FBI’s payroll for years.

Igor Danchenko, who provided information to the dossier’s author, Christopher Steele, “was a vital source of information to the U.S. government during the course of his cooperation and was relied upon to build other cases and open other investigations,” lawyers for Danchenko said in a filing lodged in federal court in Virginia.

Special counsel John Durham recently disclosed that Danchenko was a confidential human informant for the FBI from March 2017 to October 2020.

Danchenko was later charged with five counts of lying to the government in interviews about his role as a collector of information that was put forth in the dossier, which was funded by the campaign of Hillary Clinton—Trump and Clinton faced off in the 2016 presidential election—and the Democratic National Committee.

Danchenko allegedly lied about not sourcing information from Charles Dolan, a longtime Clinton associate, and sourcing information from Sergei Millian, a businessman and supporter of Trump.

Some have alleged that the FBI paid Danchenko in an effort to conceal the fabrications. The FBI has declined comment on the allegation, referring The Epoch Times to the Department of Justice, which didn’t respond to a request for comment by press time.

Trump Returns to Mar-a-Lago, Reveals ‘Place Will Never Be the Same’ After Raid

Former President Donald Trump revealed Monday that he returned to his Mar-a-Lago property while decrying the FBI’s raid targeting the resort last month.

“Arrived in Florida last night and had a long and detailed chance to check out the scene of yet another government ‘crime,’ the FBI’s Raid and Break-In of my home, Mar-a-Lago,” he wrote on Truth Social. “I guess they don’t think there is a Fourth Amendment anymore, and to them, there isn’t. In any event, after what they have done, the place will never be the same.”

Trump said the residence “was ‘ransacked,’ and in far different condition than the way I left it,” adding that FBI agents “didn’t even take off their shoes in my bedroom.”

Members of Trump’s family and his lawyers have indicated that the 45th president was not there when the FBI agents targeted his Palm Beach, Florida, residence. When the agents searched his home, Trump and family members watched them via CCTV cameras from New York, his lawyers have said.

The Epoch Times has contacted the FBI for comment.

1 in 5 Californians Have Been Sexually or Physically Assaulted in Past Year: University Study

Violence in California reached “epidemic proportions” during the pandemic, although most victims didn’t report it, according to a new study from the University of San Diego.

The 2022 California Study on Violence Experiences Across the Lifespan (CalVEX) traced rising violence in the Golden State to growing economic insecurity, unemployment, and social inequality.

According to the 33-page survey report, the CalVEX study is the nation’s only statewide assessment of physical and sexual violence, providing investigators with a “unique opportunity” to understand and hopefully reduce violent crimes.

It said the need for more study “cannot be understated,” given the report’s findings that 1 in 5 Californians (18 percent) experienced physical or sexual violence within the past year.

“Californians are experiencing violence at epidemic proportions,” said Dr. Anita Raj, professor at UC San Diego’s School of Medicine and Division of Social Sciences and the study’s lead researcher.

“Current violence prevention efforts are clearly woefully inadequate and often ignore the gendered nature of violence, its intersections with other socioeconomic vulnerabilities, and its disproportionate effects on marginalized populations.”

EV Folly In North Leads To Ecological Pillaging In South

In Chile’s Salar de Atacama, locals watch helplessly as their ancestral lands wither and die, their precious water resources evaporating in briny salars.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, hope for a better life dissolves as well-funded Ugandan-led extremist groups force children as young as 6 to work in cobalt mines.

Closer to home, Nevada’s Fort McDermitt Tribe and local ranchers fight to protect a sacred burial site and agricultural lands set to be sacrificed by Lithium Nevada, a mining company, in the coming days.

Meanwhile, in California and other states, politicians such as Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) pat themselves on the back for their “aggressive” environmental stance and boast that their gas-powered vehicle bans are leading “the revolution towards our zero-emission transportation future.”

The Hidden Costs

According to politicians like Newsom and President Joe Biden, electric vehicles (EV) are “zero-emission” because they use lithium-ion batteries—consisting of lithium, cobalt, graphite, and other materials—instead of gas.

Thus, starting in 2035, California will ban gas-powered vehicle sales, while several other states plan to follow suit, citing that as a goal and “critical milestone in our climate fight,” on Twitter.

Additionally, according to a statement from Biden, banning gas-powered vehicles will “save consumers money, cut pollution, boost public health, advance environmental justice, and tackle the climate crisis.”

John Hadder, director of the Great Basin Resource Watch, disagrees, pointing out to The Epoch Times that “industrial” nations might benefit from the transition to EVs, but it’s at the expense of others.

“This expansion of [lithium] mining will have immediate consequences for front-line communities that are taking the ‘hit.’”

For example, Copiapó, the capital of Chile’s Atacama region, is the location of one of the world’s largest known lithium reserves.

“We used to have a river before, that now doesn’t exist. There isn’t a drop of water,” Elena Rivera Cardoso, president of the Indigenous Colla community of the Copiapó commune, told the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

She added that all of Chile’s water is disappearing because of the local lithium mine.

“In all of Chile, there are rivers and lakes that have disappeared—all because a company has a lot more right to water than we do as human beings or citizens of Chile.”

n collaboration with Cardosa’s statement, the Institute for Energy Research reports that 65 percent of the area’s limited water resources are consumed by mining activities.

That’s displacing indigenous communities who have called Atacama home for more than 6,000 years, because farmers and ranchers have cracked, dry soil, and no choice but to abandon their ancestral settlements, according to the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Texas High School Teacher Fired After Defending Pedophiles

A Texas teacher in El Paso was fired after telling high school students not to judge pedophiles for wanting to have sex with kindergarten-age children.

In a special meeting Sept. 6, the El Paso ISD school board voted unanimously to terminate the teacher who taught English at Franklin High School.

She was terminated after a video of her defending pedophiles went viral.

“Stop calling them that. You’re not allowed to label people like that. Stop it, Diego,” the teacher can be heard saying on the video, while students are protesting with “What?” and “No.”

“We’re going to call them MAPs: Minor Attracted Persons. So don’t judge people just because they want to have sex with a 5-year-old.”

The video on the school’s Facebook page drew scores of comments from outraged and disgusted parents.

“This is pure evil. In the past, teachers would never dream of saying this,” Andrew Ethan Pilat wrote.

“Fire that insane liberal teacher literally defending pedos. School boards have been the enemy for decades and are indoctrinating our children,” wrote Gojo Satoru.

One woman commented she was glad she had pulled her children out of public schools, while another called for parents to stage a walkout until the teacher was removed.

However, one student in the English class told a local news outlet she believed the teacher’s words were taken out of context.

“She was expressing how it was ridiculous how we [society] might not be able to call people pedophiles. That we will probably have to start calling them MAPs because it can be offensive to them. The class agreed,” Ryann Ruvalcaba, a junior at Franklin High School, told KFOXTV.

Last year, Allyn Walker, a transgender assistant professor at Old Dominion University, resigned in May after using the term “minor-attracted person” instead of the word pedophile in research, which led to an outcry on campus and social media.

“My scholarship aims to prevent child sexual abuse,” Walker said in a news release. “That research was mischaracterized by some in the media and online, partly on the basis of my trans identity.”

Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore recently hired Walker to work as a postdoctoral fellow at a center to prevent child sexual abuse.

Study: Americans Own More Than 415 Million Firearms

Americans now own more than 415 million firearms, according to Georgetown professor William English.

This was a key finding of the National Firearms Survey that was conducted last year by Denver-based research firm Centiment at the request of English, a professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. English is a political economist interested in ethics, education, and public policy. The survey, which is part of a larger book project, is reportedly the largest ever undertaken regarding U.S. gun owners.

The survey was administered to about 54,000 U.S. residents aged 18 and older, focusing on 16,708 gun owners who were provided with in-depth questions about their ownership and use of firearms, including defensive uses.

The purpose of the survey was to “shed some light from a social-scientific view on the reality of how guns are used and owned in America today,” English said during a Sept. 11 podcast produced by The Reload, a publication focused on the policies and politics surrounding firearms.

“And the attempt was to make it the largest survey of gun owners yet done, particularly so that we can get statistically informative information in all 50 states. Probably the last survey of this scope was done back in 1994 … but it’s now more than a quarter century old,” he said.

English teased the findings of the survey in a May 18 summary on an academic website called Social Science Research Network but updated the summary on Sept. 13 to add the 415 million figure for gun ownership.

Because the U.S. Census Bureau now estimates the U.S. population to be 333 million people, the 415 million figure means that there are now about 1.25 firearms for every person living in the United States.

Of those 415 million firearms, Americans own about 171 million handguns, 146 million rifles, and 98 million shotguns, according to the update. About 39 million individuals, or 48 percent of gun owners, have owned magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds. Some jurisdictions regulate magazine capacity.

The newly released information helps to put facts that English previously released from the study into a broader context.

Female Smugglers Set Free as Border Town Lacks Jail Space for Women

Women who are caught smuggling illegal aliens through Texas’ Kinney County are essentially being given a long-term get-out-of jail-free card since the county jail can’t house women.

And many of those caught smuggling know that.

The sheriff’s deputies say female drivers they catch will tell them: “You can’t arrest me, you don’t have space for females.”

Recently, as space allows, a few have been transported to Kerr County, but it takes deputies two hours to drive one way.

“When we do find jail space, they cry all the way to Kerrville,” Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe said. “They say: ‘You’re not supposed to put me in jail. They told me I wouldn’t go to jail.’”

Coe said after female smugglers started to be released on personal recognizance bonds, the smuggling networks began using female drivers more often.

“Now, once we’ve started to find a place to put them, we’re catching 17-year-olds again,” Coe said, highlighting another jail space challenge. In Texas, a 17-year-old is considered an adult with regard to crimes, but the nearby overflow detention facilities will only take those aged 18 years and older.

Whistleblower Alleges FBI Schemed to Distort January 6 Cases into Nationwide ‘Domestic Violent Extremism’ Epidemic

A whistleblower has accused the FBI’s Washington Field Office of using cases related to the January 6 U.S. Capitol riot to “overstate” the threat of “domestic violent extremism” in America, according to Judiciary Committee ranking member Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH).

The whistleblower alleged the FBI office did not follow standard investigative practices for the January 6 cases when it moved the cases to various local Field Offices around the country based on where the case subjects were from, Jordan revealed in a letter addressed to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Monday.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS 

Federal Trade Commission Warns of Sophisticated ‘Dark Patterns’ Used to Trick Consumers

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a report Thursday about how companies deploy “dark patterns” in advertising for enticing potential customers, manipulating them into making purchases and giving up their privacy in the process.

“Our report shows how more and more companies are using digital dark patterns to trick people into buying products and giving away their personal information,” said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “This report—and our cases—send a clear message that these traps will not be tolerated.”

Dark patterns include many oft-used marketing techniques such as ads posing as independent content, burying key terms in corporate jargon, tricking customers or website visitors into giving up personal data, making use of deceptive colors, pre-checked consent boxes, language and emotion to coerce customers into making purchases, deceptively signing up for content, tricking customers into recurring charges, and making it extremely difficult to unsubscribe.

The greater use of e-commerce in recent years has made it easier for companies to target consumers with a variety of tactics.

The FTC report, titled “Bringing Dark Patterns to Light” (pdf), examined how these tactics can obscure, subvert, or impair consumer choice, and may be violating consumer protection laws. According to the report, the FTC has sued companies making use of such tactics to deceive customers.

HEALTH

Preliminary Study Finds Coffee Consumption Boosts Survival in Men With Prostate Cancer

or some men battling prostate cancer, drinking coffee may offer not just a quick pick-me-up but longer survival.

Research is still in the early phases, but a new study finds an association between a genotype that metabolizes caffeine quickly and longer survival from prostate cancer. That genotype is called CYP1A2 AA.

“I’m very excited about this work because each time we’re digging in deeper. I think it has some really interesting findings that say, ‘Hey, there may be something here.’ We need to look more into what could be going on in terms of coffee and impact on people’s lives, and especially those who are diagnosed with cancer,” said lead study author Dr. Justin Gregg. He is a urologic oncologist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston

Nearly 1 in 10 Americans Have Depression

Nearly 10% of Americans suffer from depression, with the mood disorder increasing fastest among teens and young adults, a new study finds.

Between 2015 and 2020, incidence of depression reached 9% among Americans 12 and older. Among teens and young adults, the depression rate stood at 17% in 2020, the researchers found.

“Depression is extremely common in the U.S. and has reached epidemic levels,” said lead researcher Renee Goodwin, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy.

→ Power Mall Product Recommendation: Lithium Balance

The trace mineral organic lithium, paired with organic orotate, creates a safe potential mood stabilizer and possible healthy alternative to anti-depressants, which many professionals have used naturally for many years. Lithium Balance is 100% natural and completely safe to use. It does not lower your energy level and has no harmful side effects.

  • Lithium Support Healthy Brain Chemical Responses
  • A Balanced Mood
  • Important Nutrition For The Brain
  • 100% Natural, Safe & Effective

White Pepper Versus Black Pepper: Which Is Better?

Both white and black pepper are made from peppercorns of the piper nigrum plant

Black peppercorns are made using the unripe berries, which are then cooked and dried; white peppercorns begin similarly, but are picked fully ripe, soaked to soften and the outer skin is removed, leaving the white seed behind

Both white and black pepper contain similar amounts of piperine, the substance responsible for their pungency and heat, as well as many of their health benefits

Some recipes call for white pepper in lieu of black simply to keep a light-colored appearance in the final dish for purposes of visual appeal

There are subtle differences in flavor among the different colored peppercorns, with black being the most pungent and white having an earthier flavor

As for which is better, that’s a personal choice, as both black and white pepper have great value in your diet

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

Europe’s Energy Nightmare Exposes Parallel Renewable Energy Problem for US

Early this month, an estimated 70,000 protesters gathered in Prague to call for the Czech government to do more about spiraling energy prices.

At the same time in Germany, traditionally opposed political groups put aside their differences to threaten weekly protests against the rising costs of food, gas, and energy.

In Naples, Italy, citizens torched their expensive energy bills in the streets, while in Sweden, Norway, and the United Kingdom, unrest reached a fever pitch.

The citizens of these countries are far from alone in their discontent.

GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING

PDF: Companion Planting Guide

COVID RELATED NEWS

Biden Says COVID-19 Pandemic ‘Is Over’

President Joe Biden said in a new interview that the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, stoking criticism from some critics over his administration’s continued use of emergency policies.

“The pandemic is over,” Biden told CBS’ “60 Minutes” in an interview that aired on Sept. 18.

“We still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lot of work on it. But the pandemic is over. If you notice, no one’s wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape,” the Democrat added.

Biden was speaking at the Detroit Auto Show, the first time the event was held since the pandemic started.

The World Health Organization, part of the United Nations, declares pandemics. The agency has not said the pandemic is over.

COVID-19 metrics, though, have plunged across the world since peaking in late 2021 and early 2022. Additionally, the newer variants of the COVID-19 virus have proven less virulent than earlier strains, though vaccines and prior infection don’t protect as well against them.

Unvaccinated Air Force Officers Grounded Despite Court Order: Former Space Force Lt. Colonel

Members of the Air Force have been grounded for refusing to take a COVID-19 shot even after a court order ruling against such actions said a former space force commander on Sept. 15, adding that it is “not the time to be tampering with our readiness.”

Roughly two months back, a federal court in Ohio stated that the Air Force is not legally justified in taking punitive action against service members who do not take the COVID-19 vaccine, Matt Lohmeier, former Space Force Lieutenant Colonel, said in an interview with “Capitol Report” on NTD News.

A preliminary injunction was also issued. Lohmeier gave an example of a Squadron Leader in a fighter squadron at the Air Force who had been grounded and removed from his post following his decision not to take a COVID-19 shot.

Fibrous Clots, Foreign Matter in Blood After COVID Jabs: Is There a Way to Detox?

Recently unusual blood clots as well as metal-like foreign objects found in the vessels of COVID-19 jab recipients have been reported across the country. Both types of substances are unusual and are likely to be harmful to our bodies. What are the potential causes and ramifications of these substances, and is there any chance of reversing the mysterious condition?

The Korea Veritas Doctors (KoVeDocs) for COVID-19 previously found certain foreign materials and moving parasite-like entities in the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines as those vaccines were warmed to near room temperature.

Subsequently, on March 11 2022, three Korean doctors, Young Mi Lee, Sunyoung Park, and Ki-Yeob Jeon, published findings of similar foreign materials in samples of blood from COVID-19 jab recipients in a paper titled “Foreign Materials in Blood Samples of Recipients of COVID-19 Vaccines” in the International Journal of Vaccine Theory, Practice, and Research.

​​WEF: Lessons Learned In COVID Lockdowns Will Be Applied To Carbon

An opinion piece published by the World Economic Forum lauds how “billions” of people complied with “restrictions” imposed as a result of lockdown, suggesting they would do the same under the guise of reducing carbon emissions.

The article is titled ‘My Carbon’: An approach for inclusive and sustainable cities’ and was written by Mridul Kaushik, Mission Director, Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs of India.

The subject of the piece is how to convince people to adopt “personal carbon allowance programs” given that such schemes have so far been largely unsuccessful.

However, Kaushik notes that improvements in tracking and surveillance technology are helping to overcome “political resistance” against such programs.

Writing that “COVID-19 was the test of social responsibility,” Kaushik commends how, “A huge number of unimaginable restrictions for public health were adopted by billions of citizens across the world.”

“There were numerous examples globally of maintaining social distancing, wearing masks, mass vaccinations and acceptance of contact-tracing applications for public health, which demonstrated the core of individual social responsibility,” he adds.

Latest COVID Shots Sold as Genetic Software Update

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is now advertising the new COVID booster as an “antibody update” to “recharge your immunity” — as if your immune system were a battery that needs recharging, or your immunity a software system that requires gene therapy “updates.” This is transhumanist lingo that has no bearing on real-world biology or physiology, and proves the FDA is onboard with the transhumanist ideas of technocracy pushed by the globalist cabal

According to a risk-benefit analysis looking at the impact of booster mandates for university students, between 22,000 and 30,000 previously uninfected adults (aged 18 to 29) must be boosted with an mRNA vaccine to prevent one COVID-19 hospitalization

For each hospitalization prevented, the jab will cause 18 to 98 serious adverse events, including 1.7 to three booster-associated myocarditis cases in males

A small observational study led by neurology researchers at the National Institutes of Health found “a variety of neuropathic symptoms” occurring within three to four weeks of COVID injection

Naturopath Henry Ealy and two Oregon state senators, Kim Thatcher and Dennis Linthicum, are trying to compel the state court in Oregon to order the impaneling of a special grand jury to investigate criminal data fraud by the CDC

Dr. Robert Malone Sues Washington Post

Dr. Robert Malone has unintentionally become a public figure for speaking out about the risks and ineffectiveness of COVID-19 shots; he’s subsequently become the target of media attacks

Malone’s attorneys sent cease-and-desist letters to the corporate media outlets that were most egregious in their attacks against him; this included The Washington Post, The New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, Rolling Stone and The Scientist

Even after the cease-and-desist letter, The Washington Post put out another attack article repeating the same defamatory statements against Malone

Now Malone is fighting back, as he’s filed a $50 million lawsuit against The Washington Post

Social Share Buttons and Icons powered by Ultimatelysocial