1535: Podspeeding

@adam Thanks for opening my eyes to the podfasting side effects, My podfasting usecase was this, I try to listen to the show live on podverse on Thursday and Sunday evening (here in Germany) but my wife wouldnt let me listen to the whole show, so next morning I would 1.25 it to re-listen to the bits I heard live and catch up on the missed out sections. This ofcourse means I am fidgety on Fridays and Mondays! Now I know why and wont do it again!! Thanks and an anonymous donation s headed your way

Hi Adam,

The discussion about audio playback speed has given me much to contemplate about my blind parents.

Allow me to explain.

My dad lost his eye sight entirely when he was 12. In his adult life, he listened to thousands of hours of audiobooks, most of which he checked out for free from the National Library for the Blind. At the time, NLB provided cassette players with playback speed control. In later years, he listened to digital audiobooks. Regardless of the format, my dad routinely listened to audiobooks, and eventually podcasts, on playback greater than 1X.

My dad died in 2019. He was diagnosed with frontal temporal lobe dementia days prior to his death. He struggled often with anxiety and depression in his later years.

My mom has been blind since birth. She was a medical transcriptionist for nearly 50 years. For decades, her words per minute was 120+. She often listened to dictation at speeds greater than 1X.

For the last two years, my siblings and I have observed what we fear are signs of decline in her cognitive ability.

Your point about resonance makes me wonder if long term exposure to unnatural resonance can be a factor in cognitive decline.

I’ve consumed a lot of podcasts and audiobooks in recent years. Other producers have noted playback speed was based on the presenters/narrators, and I agree; some have slow cadence! I’ve never listened to NA Show or Mo Facts with Adam Curry at a speed greater than 1X; normal rate is perfect, and, in fact, off-putting to me at higher playback speeds.

Thank you for reading.

As always, I am truly grateful for what you and John, and you and Moe do. The value is real.

Sir Scovee, Earl of the Piedmont

Erythritol has been made hugely popular by adherents of keto and similar low carb diets (carnivore, etc.); just google “erythritol keto”.

These diets are heavy on meats, eggs, and other low-carb, fatty, natural ingredients.

They can’t have that because they want people consuming high carb fake dairy and fake meat made from pea puree, soy, and bugs.

Ergo they needed a backdoor to smear keto, which they got with erythritol.

With no end in sight to the year-old Ukraine war, defense headlines remain largely, and understandably, focused on Russia’s invasion of Europe’s frontier. But back home, the Biden administration, military leaders, Congressional partisans, and the U.S. security apparatus appear far more concerned about China. The services are shifting their plans, people, and weapons to deter Beijing from military conflict, to be better positioned to respond, and to have a better chance to survive.

What’s changed is that where military leaders used to avoid saying “China” when talking publicly about their Pacific worries, it’s now all out in the open. Army commanders in the Indo-Pacific region, for example, have always tried to declare the land service’s relevance in that vast and mostly air- and sea-covered side of the Earth. This year, it’s genuine. U.S. Army Gen. Charles Flynn, of U.S. Army Pacific Command, expects 2023 to be one of the business and most consequential ever.

The goal? Beat China to their punch, which they’ve forecast could come as early as 2027.

The problem? Convincing Americans to join in the fight.

“Today’s young Americans appear to be less interested in enlisting in the Army than they’ve been at almost any point in the last 50 years,” writes Defense One’s Ben Watson in his State of the Army 2023.

Link

In December 2020, the exchanges show concern that London Mayor Sadiq Khan could follow the example of Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, who had clashed with the Government over the decision to impose stringent lockdown restrictions on the region.

Mr Hancock's adviser said: 'Rather than doing too much forward signalling, we can roll pitch with the new strain.'

'We frighten the pants of everyone with the new strain,' the then Health Secretary responded.

'But the complication with that Brexit is taking the top line,' he said, in an apparent reference to media coverage of the UK's EU exit.

'Yep that's what will get proper behaviour change,' the adviser said.

'When do we deploy the new variant,' Mr Hancock said.

The conversation, on December 13, came amid concerns about the rapid spread of the virus in south-east England.

Mr Hancock announced that a new Covid-19 variant had been identified in the UK on December 14.

London and south-east England were to enter a new Tier 4 alert level, it was announced on December 19, when then prime minister Boris Johnson also cancelled a promised Christmas 'bubbles' policy allowing families to meet.

The entirety of England entered the third national lockdown on January 6 2021.

Messages from January 10 show Mr Hancock and the Cabinet Secretary discussing ways to ensure compliance.

'More mask-wearing might be the only thing to consider.

'Effectively free and has a very visible impact? Wear masks in all settings outside home and in more workplaces?

'Am not sure that got us much further, did it? Basically, we need to get compliance up.'

Link

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 18:40

Bill History Date Chamber Action 2/28/2023 Senate ' Filed Related Bills No Related Bills Available Bill Text Version Posted Format S 1316 Filed 2/28/2023 5:06 PM Web Page | PDF Committee Amendments No Committee Amendments Available

Floor Amendments No Floor Amendments Available

Bill Analyses No Bill Analyses Available Vote History - Committee No Committee Vote History Available Vote History - Floor No Vote History Available Citations - Statutes (3) Citation Catchline Location in Bill Location In Bill Help 45.031 Judicial sales procedure. Page 2 (pdf) 50.0311 Publication of advertisements and public notices on a publicly accessible website and governmental access channels. Page 3 (pdf) 286.31 Page 5 (pdf) Citations - Constitution (0)No Constitutional citations.

Citations - Chapter Law (0)No Chapter Law citations.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 18:38

Novak Djokovic's request to enter the United States unvaccinated to play the prestigious tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami has reportedly been denied, Florida Senator Rick Scott shared on Friday night.

The American politician noted that Homeland Security turned down the No. 1 ranked tennis player's vaccine waiver request and is now requesting that President Joe Biden intervenes in the situation.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said in a press conference last week that he applied for a special permit to access the states so we could compete in the Indian Wells Masters and Miami Open. However, there is a ban on unvaccinated travelers from entering the country until May 11.

Djokovic has been unable to play the back-to-back tournaments -- dubbed the "Sunshine Double" -- since 2019. He also missed two Grand Slams and four Masters 1000 events in 2022.

Despite his unstable tournament schedule, Djokovic set the record for most time spent at the world No. 1 ranking on Feb. 27 for a total of 378 weeks.

The Indian Wells Masters is set to run from March 6 through 19 with the Miami Open following from March 19-April 2.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 18:23

Read all the way through to catch that chunk

by Jon Rappoport

(To join our email list, click here .)

Continuing my ''greatest COVID hits'' articles. To read my introduction to this ongoing series, go here . To support my work and get value for value, order My Matrix Collections here and subscribe to my substack here .

March 11, 2020

What do most people say, if you raise questions about the reality of the ''epidemic,'' or even hint that the facts might be in doubt?

Two responses high on the list: ''but people are dying''; and ''the experts wouldn't lie.''

So, in this episode of virus fakery and apocalypse on rye with mustard, I present a tale I like to call: THE PROPAGANDA MASTER COMES TO TOWN.

This character is a wisdom figure and a teacher. He's an old pro. He makes sure the lies are being told well and often. He reminds his troops of their mission. Pardon his language, but he has a very low opinion of humanity.

Here he is now, getting out of his limo and walking into a five-star hotel.

Conference room. A security team has checked the space for bugs and other electronic snooping. The shades are drawn. A dozen propaganda ops specialists are sitting at the long table.

The maestro walks into the room, stands at one end of the table, and without formalities, begins talking:

'--I only have a few minutes. I'm on my way to Rome to brief the Pope. So here it is. We put messages into the heads of the great unwashed masses, so they'll pass those messages to others. Get it? THAT'S the real contagion factor. Never forget it. We're Info Central for the rubes and yokels and idiots, including high IQ idiots who think their college degree means they're educated in science.

'--We work with death. People all over the world are dying all the time, every day. The public doesn't want to think about that. Good. That's good for us. Our job is to convince the yokels that the ''new'' dying which is happening now comes from a special virus. We do that by equating DEATH and CORONAVIRUS. Get it? Never forget it. ''People are dying, it must be the virus.'' That's our ticket.

'--Our medical brethren in this great con have already done a terrific job carving up death into various categories. But now they can make ordinary pneumonia into coronavirus pneumonia at the drop of a hat. They can make flu into corona. They can make a man falling down stairs a victim of the virus. A flying saucer crashes in a field? If that happened, a CDC official with a straight face could tell the yokels and idiots that the alien pilot of the craft was struck down by the virus and that's why he lost control of the saucer.

'--So we can't let our medical friends down. We have to ramp up the intensity of the message. I want more predictions from Harvard and Yale big shots. You know, millions are going to die. Half the world's population is going to be infected.

'--Some of the idiots and loons we target are politicians. They ''believe in science.'' We want these pols to lock down cities. Cut off transportation. Make people feel the sting. The sting and the crisis and the quarantine equal THE VIRUS. We own the virus. It's our psy-weapon. It's an idea, a notion, a ghost, a terrorist, a monster, and only the medical experts can control it, if people follow all their orders. Keep pounding that message.

'--Now, just between us, did they ever find a brand new virus in China to begin with? Who cares? Are the diagnostic tests for the virus inadequate and useless and worthless and deceiving? Of course. Is the ''virus epidemic'' a gold-plated fake? Sure. Are all sorts of people being diagnosed with corona who have no disease at all? You bet. Are people who are sick for all sorts of reasons being told they're corona cases? Yeah. That's our bread and butter. Some poor bastard gets off a plane and he has a slight fever from the bad air in the cabin and he's whisked to a military base for quarantine. Play it up. ''The virus can get you anytime, anywhere.'' In a city, the ICU ward in a hospital is overflowing with sick people? Of course it is. People are sick all the time. But now, with the wave of a magic wand, they're put in the ICU because they must be corona. Good. I want more pictures of that ICU. I want video on the news. More of it. Get busy. Don't slack off. This is a circus. There are rules for a circus. The main rule is, people get bored quickly, so you need lots of acts and tricks and animals and side shows and candy to keep the audience occupied. An ICU here, an ICU there. A mother crying. Who cares why? It must be the virus. I don't want to hear about all the other reasons people are sick. I just want to hear VIRUS.

'--Never forget how easily you can fool the yokels. Yesterday, a guy living in an apartment house had the flu. No big deal. But today, same guy? Corona. Nothing changed except the news. All his neighbors in the building forget that yesterday this guy had ordinary flu. It's a beautiful thing. Use it. I want to see more funerals on the news. Get busy. Show me more sporting events happening in empty stadiums.

'--Our holy grail, our perfect ideal, which is unattainable, would be: every death in the world for the next six months or a year is called coronavirus. But we can strive toward that ideal. We must.

'--There are two echelons. There is WE. And there is THEY-THEM. WE keep THEM in their limited minds. We bolster those limited minds with our messages. Keep them yammering, ''But people are dying, it must be the virus!'' It's pure gold. Keep mining that gold.

Back in his limo, the maestro puts in a call to his contact at the CDC. ''Listen up,'' he says, ''you people over there are starting to wobble. I'm talking about the diagnostic test for the virus. First, your test kits were bad, they didn't work. Now you don't have enough of them to satisfy needs. Plus the word is starting to leak out that the tests are inherently unreliable and no one should believe them. This crap must stop now. Shore up your troops. Get them in line. I want healthy people and sick people and old people and young people and all people to be diagnosed with corona, and I don't want any uncertainties. You and I know the test is a joke, it doesn't work, but nobody else can find that out. Got it? People over there at the CDC can be replaced. They can find themselves out on the street. What's in charge of this operation is propaganda, not science. YOU back US up. That's the hierarchy. I want FEAR raging through the population. If you can't hold up your end, you're going to find all the quotes about the epidemic in the press are suddenly coming from the World Health Organization, not the CDC. I'll make sure you're shoved into the background. The World Health people are professional. They know how to deliver a unified con job. Those two idiots, the governor of New York and the mayor of New York, are doing more to hype this fake epidemic than all the employees of the CDC put together. Get your house in order. Fast.''

He closes his phone and puts it in his pocket. On the way to the airport, he hums a little tune. He looks out the window. He thinks to himself, if we can stretch this out far enough, we can force a cancelation of the Olympics. Maybe we can even stage a presidential election in America on the Internet. No one votes in a booth. Can't risk transmission of the virus. He chuckles. His phone vibrates. He takes it out.

''Yes, sir?'' he says. He listens. Nods. ''Yes, sir, I know you're going to address the nation on the pandemic in a few minutes. Well, sir, this is a squeeze play. You're in the middle. I know you understand that. If you go too far in minimizing the risk of the epidemic, you're going to get hit hard from all sides. Mayors, governors, scientists, doctors, public health officials, members of Congress, big tech, the media'--they're all going to carve you into a grinning pumpkin. To say nothing of what's been happening to the stock market. If you try minimize the ''epidemic,'' the whole economic picture is going to go upside down. Even Goldman Sachs won't be able to protect you. Look around you. That schmuck mayor of New York is making noises about shutting down the whole Subway system. My advice is, let this operation run its course. Read the tea leaves of history. Many presidents have trouble at the end of a term. The coronavirus fakery is your trouble. Ride it out. If you can't beat Joe Biden in November, you should go back to building golf courses. He's hanging on by a thread. I don't think the doctors can pump him up with enough drugs to keep his brain functioning during a debate. You might stagger into office on a low for your second term, but the epidemic op will fade out, the economy will come back, and you'll'--don't be angry, sir, your enemies have been looking for an Achilles heel since you started campaigning back in 2015. They tried this, they tried that, it didn't really work. But this medical op works. Are you really going to say the medical experts are all liars and fake news? Are you contemplating that? Take it from me, it won't fly. You know I'm right. The medical propaganda of the past hundred years is a winner. How can you buck it, especially in the middle of this current shit storm? If I cared about the truth, I'd be in a dither. Fortunately, I'm above the fray. Listen to your wise old uncle. Take the bitter with the sweet. You're a pro in your field. The art of the deal. In this instance, the deal is live to fight another day. You painted your picture of ''the grand economic recovery'', and now they're spraying all over it with graffiti. That's what enemies do. I have some interesting material on Biden and Bernie, if you'd like me to'--''

The maestro looks at his phone. ''He hung up,'' he says to his driver.

''He's a quick study,'' the driver says.

They laugh.

''What are you going to say to the Pope?'' the driver asks.

''I'm going to tell him to keep his big mouth shut. And if he can't do that, and he wants to bring God into it, we'll work on the statement. Change it to Nature. That's softer. Nature has its ways. It must be respected. God gave us the intelligence to work with Nature, and the means to develop medical science. Doctors are healers. Follow their recommendations. Something like that. On the way over in the plane, I'll come up with some quotes. Stay by my side. You're packing heat. They'll ask for your weapon before they let us in the Vatican. Give it to them. Keep your eyes trained straight ahead. Don't look past any open doors. Who knows what you'd see? I don't want anyone to call us as witnesses in a future court case'...''

''You're careful as always,'' the driver says.

''Careful in the details, absolutely reckless when it comes to the overall plan. Tell a lie so outrageous, no one can believe it's a lie.''

At the White House, the president steps to the podium and looks at the camera. He thinks, I wonder what would happen if I went off script and said, you know, there must be ten thousand people in Washington who know there's something weird about this coronavirus situation. There's the whole flu thing. The CDC says thirty thousand people in the US die from ordinary flu every single year, like clockwork, and there are millions of flu cases every year'--but nobody's calling THAT an epidemic. The stock market isn't crashing because of THAT. Nobody's getting quarantined because of THAT. They aren't going to play the whole NCAA March Madness tournament in empty arenas because of THAT. What the hell's going on?

The president starts to speak to the nation'...

These ''Greatest COVID Hits'' Series Of Articles are archived under the category Covid Revisited

These articles '-- at the time of original publication '-- are archived under the category Covid

(Episode 38 of Rappoport Podcasts'--''The Wizards of Is: The titanic operation to bury the creative impulse forever and never let it out into the light of day. You may think this has nothing to do with you, but you would be wrong. The entire history of traditional Western philosophy makes no mention of individual creativity'--this is called a CLUE'''--is now posted on my substack. It's a blockbuster. To listen, click here . To learn more about This Episode of Rappoport Podcasts, click here .)

(To read about Jon's mega-collection, The Matrix Revealed, click here .)

To read Jon's articles on Substack, click here .

Jon Rappoport

The author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED , EXIT FROM THE MATRIX , and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX , Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free NoMoreFakeNews emails here or his free OutsideTheRealityMachine emails here .

by Jon Rappoport

(To join our email list, click here .)

Continuing my ''greatest COVID hits'' articles. To read my introduction to this ongoing series, go here . To support my work and get value for value, order My Matrix Collections here and subscribe to my substack here .

March 11, 2020

As always, I suggest new readers go back and acquaint themselves with all my articles on the coronavirus situation ( archive here ). I can't possible recapitulate the full scope of details, evidence, and analysis each time I write a piece.

In today's episode of virus fakery and population mind control, I examine the one important difference between this phony epidemic and its predecessors'--West Nile, SARS, MERS, Swine Flu, Ebola, Zika.

Size matters. That's the difference.

By which I mean, the size of the lie.

In previous incarnations of ''raging outbreaks,'' the people controlling the operation (CDC, WHO, etc.) were content to let their propaganda fade out after a short time. And as quickly as the false threat was invented, it began to dissolve.

This time, however, the controllers feel sufficiently emboldened to pour fuel on the fire of the lie and build it into an illusion of conflagration.

That's the long and the short of this story.

In all other respects, the 2020 ''epidemic'' is identical to the previous duds: farcical announcement of an outbreak; miraculously quick and dubious ''discovery'' of a virus; deployment of diagnostic tests that don't work; deceptive inflation of case numbers; ludicrous claim of global spread; where actual illness is occurring, a cover-up of the true reasons, which have nothing to do with a virus.

But since the total tonnage of fear porn propaganda is much larger this time around, mass quarantines are possible. These quarantines, for the dim and uninformed, appear to prove (but don't) that the virus is highly volatile and dangerous.

In turn, the quarantines, and an accompanying urge for ''self-isolation,'' torpedo trade and industries and markets.

The world population, one more time, is tuned up to accept any and all medical dictates.

To put it another way, the current coronavirus fantasy could have been floated with the half-hearted intensity of prior epidemic duds. However, for no other reason than the desire to tighten the screws of control, the choice was made to shove more counterfeit chips across the table this time.

For that purpose, China was an ideal starting point. The government wouldn't hesitate to lock down 100 million citizens'--thus ramping up the ''seriousness of the matter'' from the get-go'--kicking off a worldwide dither. China was the model. As I predicted, other nations would pick up the cue and feel comfortable about following suit. A deranged Italian politician has now quarantined a quarter of the country's population.

On the bright side, the controllers are overplaying their hand. How could they not, given their front men fatuously predicting 40 to 70 percent of the world population will become ''infected,'' and millions will die. When that doesn't happen, a good many people will remember those bloated projections. The boy-who-cried-wolf factor will kick in, regardless of how many social media platforms try to erase the past through censorship.

Here is an informal list of current predictions, from various sources. I suggest you keep it, in order to remember what to remind doomsayers of, when the dust clears: containment won't work; the virus will spread unchecked all over the globe; the rate of transmission of the virus and the death rate will escalate; the virus is actually a devastating bioweapon, against which the human immune system has no defense; the virus' genetic makeup, containing elements of the deadliest virus ever discovered, HIV, will wreak unprecedented havoc. You can add other world-ending predictions as you find them.

Oh, there is one other difference between this phony epidemic and previous incarnations: the recent gigantic expansion of YouTube and other social media. And given the degree of censorship that now prevails on social media'--particularly the lunatic prohibition against ''treating tragedies as hoaxes'''--billions of tidbits of epidemic fear porn have the upper hand.

It's almost as if, once social media had their censors firmly in place, the green light, signaling ''coast clear to launch the 2020 epidemic fairy tale,'' flashed on.

These ''Greatest COVID Hits'' Series Of Articles are archived under the category Covid Revisited

These articles '-- at the time of original publication '-- are archived under the category Covid

(Episode 38 of Rappoport Podcasts'--''The Wizards of Is: The titanic operation to bury the creative impulse forever and never let it out into the light of day. You may think this has nothing to do with you, but you would be wrong. The entire history of traditional Western philosophy makes no mention of individual creativity'--this is called a CLUE'''--is now posted on my substack. It's a blockbuster. To listen, click here . To learn more about This Episode of Rappoport Podcasts, click here .)

(To read about Jon's mega-collection, Exit From The Matrix, click here .)

To read Jon's articles on Substack, click here .

Jon Rappoport

The author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED , EXIT FROM THE MATRIX , and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX , Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free NoMoreFakeNews emails here or his free OutsideTheRealityMachine emails here .

by Jon Rappoport

(To join our email list, click here .)

Continuing my ''greatest COVID hits'' articles. To read my introduction to this ongoing series, go here . To support my work and get value for value, order My Matrix Collections here and subscribe to my substack here .

March 10, 2020

This is one of the most important articles I've written on the current ''epidemic.'' ( full archive here )

When you look at the justification for all the lunatic measures being taken to ''stem the tide'' of the coronavirus, you come to the simplicity of CASES.

How many cases are there? How many people are ''infected?''

And the answer to that comes from what?

From tests. From diagnostic tests.

Of course, some people are ridiculously labeled ''cases'' without tests. I've explained that nonsense in other articles.

Outside of China, the most widely used test is called the PCR. It must be done with tremendous care, because contamination with irrelevant microbes and cellular material can yield a misleading and absurd result.

The PCR, it is claimed, can take a tiny, tiny bit of material from a patient and blow it up many times, so it can be identified. ''This is the coronavirus. This patient is infected.''

Not only that, the test's proponents assert that, quite easily, the PCR can also determine the AMOUNT of virus in the patient's body. Why is that vitally important? Because, to even begin talking about the patient ever getting sick, he must have millions and millions of coronavirus actively replicating in his body.

There are people (and I'm one of them) who challenge the claim that the PCR can show how much virus is in the patient's body. The experts try to brush us off'--we don't understand the intricacies of the test, it's highly technical, we're not qualified to make a judgment, etc.

I've been searching for a way around this futile argument. In the process, I've discovered something important about the PCR. I SEE NO EVIDENCE THAT THE ACCURACY OF THE TEST HAS EVER BEEN PROVEN.

Let me explain. You bring your car to a good repair shop. The mechanics hook it up to a device and run a test to diagnose what's causing the car to stall. Who says their tests are accurate? At some point in the past, these diagnostic procedures have been vetted, to make sure they work properly.

And sure enough, when the mechanics say, ''We've found the problem,'' and when they correct that problem, you drive the car and it doesn't stall anymore. This is called a real-life result.

This is not the situation re the PCR. Its proponents claim it can count how much virus is in a patient's body'--how much of a particular virus. But where is the proof, in real-life terms, that the PCR can do that? How was that proof ever established?

When I say proof, I don't mean technical mumbo-jumbo. I'm not referring to the highly dense language these scientists use among themselves. I'm talking about real live human patients, and results.

After all, if the PCR is being used to diagnose people, and if the results are being used to count the number of coronavirus cases in various countries, and if the number of cases forms the basis for, say, locking down the whole of Italy in a mass quarantine'...THE TEST IS IMPORTANT, WOULDN'T YOU SAY?

I have seen no wide-ranging proof that the PCR was ever checked properly, when it was first introduced, to show it could do what researchers say it can do.

WHO TESTED THE TEST?

I have come up with a process'--a simple process'--which will check the veracity of the PCR. It should have been carried out decades ago. The fact that it wasn't is an enormous scandal.

Here it is.

From a hundred patients, very small tissue samples are taken. The PCR lab people don't take the samples. They don't ever see the patients or know who they are.

The lab professionals run these hundred samples through the PCR, obtain results, and then report: what virus did they find in each case, and how much of that virus did they find?

Let's say, in six instances, the lab techs claim they found a great amount of virus in the patients.

Well, those patients should be sick.

Are they? ARE THEY?

''We've determined that patients 4, 9, 32, 54, 65, and 86 all have a huge amount of virus in their bodies.''

''Interesting. Thanks. Let's see. Hmm. Turns out these people are fit as a fiddle. Not sick. I guess your test didn't work. It's a flop.''

Or maybe the test does work. The six patients are sick. LET'S FIND OUT. IN THE WORLD, NOT IN JOURNALS.

That's what I mean by real-life results. No jive, no tap dancing.

There is more. This experiment with the hundred patients? It should be done, not just once, but many times. A hundred patients here at this facility, a hundred patients there at that facility. Thirty or forty different facilities, and thirty or forty different sets of a hundred patients. It should be done by independent scientists without conflicts of interest.

It should have been done decades ago. I see no evidence that it was.

THE TEST WAS NEVER PROPERLY TESTED. A GIANT SCANDAL.

Think about what that means.

Think it through.

Trace all the implications.

For example, imagine you're the political leader of a country, with 100 ''reported cases of the coronavirus.'' Are you going to lock it down? Are you?

Think about everything that's happening now in the world. Use your intelligence.

THINK IT THROUGH.

Don't jump on the fear bandwagon. Don't jump on the ''scientific'' b.s. bandwagon.

Use your mind.

You're interested in scandals? I've just presented one. It's blaring with a thousand trumpets, right out in the open.

These ''Greatest COVID Hits'' Series Of Articles are archived under the category Covid Revisited

These articles '-- at the time of original publication '-- are archived under the category Covid

(Episode 37 of Rappoport Podcasts'--''THE OHIO TRAIN DISASTER: I've dug up many vital facts and I'll lay them out for you'''--is now posted on my substack. It's a blockbuster. To listen, click here .)

(To read about Jon's mega-collection, The Matrix Revealed, click here .)

To read Jon's articles on Substack, click here .

Jon Rappoport

The author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED , EXIT FROM THE MATRIX , and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX , Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free NoMoreFakeNews emails here or his free OutsideTheRealityMachine emails here .

''But'...but'...this time it's different. This one is different'...''

''Yes, well'...West Nile, SARS, Swine Flu, Ebola, Zika, MERS'...every time one of these phonies reared its head, it was going to be different. Quantitatively and qualitatively different. And it wasn't.''

by Jon Rappoport

(To join our email list, click here .)

Continuing my ''greatest COVID hits'' articles. To read my introduction to this ongoing series, go here . To support my work and get value for value, order My Matrix Collections here and subscribe to my substack here .

March 9, 2020

Let's go to NBC News for the word on what's happening in Italy. March 8, 2020, ''Coronavirus updates live: Million quarantined in Italy, as D.C. reports first case''. (see also this from Wall Street Journal)

Let's all try fear as a lifestyle. How about an unproven virus blowing around the world? It could be a kick. Just turn on your TV.

The news is a huge deli.

Authoritative and supreme baloney sellers are cutting extra-thick slices for the public.

Zero Hedge: 3/8, ''An infectious diseases expert at the forefront of the search for a coronavirus vaccine said on Friday that it was the most 'frightening disease' he's ever encountered, and that 'war is an appropriate analogy' for what the country is facing, as '50 '' 70 percent of the global population' may become infected.''

''Dr. Richard Hatchett, who sat on the White House Homeland Security Council in 2005 '' 2006 and was a principal author of the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Implementation Plan, and currently heads the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, told the UK's Channel-4:''

''This is the most frightening disease I've ever encountered in my career, and that includes Ebola, it includes MERS, it includes SARS. And it's frightening because of the combination of infectiousness and a lethality that appears to be manyfold higher than flu'.''

Let's look at these ''frightening diseases'' Dr. Hatchett has encountered. Out of a population of seven BILLION people'...

Ebola (2014-16): 11,325 deaths.

SARS (2003): 800 deaths.

MERS (2012-2020): 866 deaths.

These are official figures. In my articles on past ''epidemics,'' I've presented evidence that factors having nothing to do with viruses caused illness and death; and the tests for diagnosing cases are wholly inadequate and unreliable. ( archive here )

Dr. Hatchett also did work on the Swine Flu ''pandemic'' (2009). I've covered that fraud extensively. In the summer of 2009, while the CDC was claiming there were thousands of cases in America, star investigative CBS reporter, Sharyl Attkisson, discovered the CDC had secretly stopped counting cases. Why? Because the overwhelming percentage of samples taken from the most likely Swine Flu patients, sent to labs, were coming back with: no sign of Swine Flu or any other kind of flu. About a month after Attkisson's investigation was shut down at CBS, the CDC estimated there were, yes, 22 MILLION CASES of Swine Flu in America.

Another expert is currently weighing in on the coronavirus: Harvard epidemiologist, Marc Lipsitch. He told CBS reporter Jim Axelrod that he predicts 40 to 70 percent of the world's population may become ''infected'' with the virus, and millions of people will die.

This prediction, of course, is based on a computer model. What could possibly go awry? We should all step up to the counter and buy more baloney. The same brand the CDC was selling when they proclaimed there were 22 million cases of Swine Flu in America. Funny thing'--every computer model I've ever bumped into always seemed to predict MORE. More of whatever it was calculating. I've never met a computer model that stated: ''there will only be three of these, instead of 40 million.'' ''The projections of five years of drought have been downgraded to six days.''

There was an oddity in this CBS interview with the Harvard epidemiologist, Marc Lipsitch. It's what both the reporter, Jim Axelrod, and Lipsitch didn't ask or say. After all, when an expert tells you millions are going to die, you want to know more, right? Here is my proposed continuation of the conversation. It might go this way:

Axelrod: When you make a computer model, I assume it yields specifics, correct?

Lipsitch: Well, yes. That's why we do models.

Axelrod: In this case, how many deaths'--how many millions of deaths'-- from the coronavirus did your model predict?

Lipsitch: There is a range of numbers.

Axelrod: I understand. But you should understand that when you sit here and tell our audience that millions are going to die, there are further questions.

Lipsitch: The model adjusts the range, as we gather more information.

Axelrod: How many people will die? Our viewers, I believe, know there would be a difference between, say, two million, ten million, and a hundred million. When you just say millions, it leaves a hole'...

And then, Axelrod would keep on going and find out how many millions of people Lipsitch thinks are going to die, based on the computer model.

In other words, let's get the number or the range of numbers on the record. Let's have the Harvard expert go all the way.

But for some reason, Axelrod and Lipsitch were satisfied to avoid doing it. Perhaps it was a case of ''don't frighten the children.'' Unfortunately, too late for that. I prefer to think CBS and Lipsitch didn't want to lift some very visible and specific roll of baloney and slice it thickly in front of the viewing audience. A year from now'--speaking of millions'--a whole lot of people might repost that interview and say: CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS? AND YOU TRUST CBS AND HARVARD? LOOK AT THE BALONEY.

The current soft meme, a white-collar corporate and government virus, spreading rapidly, is: ''social distancing.'' Also known, in a slightly harder version, as ''self-isolation.'' If you think you might sneeze in the next four months, work from home. Stay at home.

I thought we were already in the middle of a social distancing pandemic, judging from how many people walk down streets and sit in restaurants, heads bowed, looking at their cell phones and exercising their thumbs.

But if people listen to the experts, they'll undoubtedly shrink and contract even further. They'll live in kitchens and bathrooms, shut down the rest of their homes, and only venture out to buy food and toilet paper.

The intrepid hero of our time will be the pizza delivery Magellan, circumnavigating empty neighborhoods, braving the night air.

''Do you guys make baloney deep dish? I'll take six.''

These ''Greatest COVID Hits'' Series Of Articles are archived under the category Covid Revisited

These articles '-- at the time of original publication '-- are archived under the category Covid

(Episode 37 of Rappoport Podcasts'--''THE OHIO TRAIN DISASTER: I've dug up many vital facts and I'll lay them out for you'''--is now posted on my substack. It's a blockbuster. To listen, click here .)

(To read about Jon's collection, Power Outside The Matrix, click here .)

To read Jon's articles on Substack, click here .

Jon Rappoport

The author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED , EXIT FROM THE MATRIX , and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX , Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free NoMoreFakeNews emails here or his free OutsideTheRealityMachine emails here .

by Jon Rappoport

(To join our email list, click here .)

Continuing my ''greatest COVID hits'' articles. To read my introduction to this ongoing series, go here . To support my work and get value for value, order My Matrix Collections here and subscribe to my substack here .

March 8, 2020

Let's go to NBC News for the word on what's happening in Italy. March 8, 2020, ''Coronavirus updates live: Million quarantined in Italy, as D.C. reports first case''. (see also this from Wall Street Journal)

This NBC piece, as so many others do, mixes and matches reports. Millions quarantined there, first case here. The tactic is meant to build up details of an overwhelming cascade of ''proof'': the threat is real, the storm clouds have opened and the rain is falling.

NBC: ''Italy's government has placed more than 16 million people '-- a quarter of the population '-- under lockdown, in a drastic bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus.''

''The Lombardy region, including the city of Milan has been quarantined, as have other cities including Venice, Parma and Modena.''

''Meanwhile in the U.S., the first case has been confirmed in the capital Washington D.C. and hundreds of other cases have been reported around the country.''

At the time of the announced quarantine in Italy, the official death toll in that country was 233.

OK, here are the official ''effects of the coronavirus'': around 5800 cases, 233 deaths, 16 million people quarantined. Therefore'...

The cause'--the virus'--must be real and very dangerous.

Wrong.

If Lee Oswald is arrested and charged in the murder of JFK (effect), does that automatically means he committed the crime (cause)?

If a man, crossing the street against a red light, is run down by a car (effect), does that mean a self-proclaimed witch, who stared at the man for three seconds before he stepped off the curb, put a curse on him (cause)?

The effect does not prove the cause. It never did. It never will. Aristotle figured this out 2300 years ago.

''But'...but'...why would they announce a huge quarantine in Italy, unless the virus were a tremendous threat?''

I've published a number of articles explaining reasons for governments acting the way they do. None of those reasons has anything to do with a virus. ( archive here )

''But I FEEL like the virus is deadly'...''

I feel like the moon is made of cheese, when there is no cheese in the refrigerator. It's a quirk. I manage to control it.

''I BELIEVE the virus is dangerous.''

On that basis, consider starting a church.

There is a condition called pellagra. In the early 20th century, several million people in the American South suffered from it. That was the effect. Public health officials thought the cause was a germ (or a corn toxin). After all, a disease must have a germ behind it, right? Wrong. About 30 years later, after fighting an uphill battle, a few researchers correctly convinced the medical world that pellagra was the result of a niacin deficiency.

The effect does not prove the cause.

If you were a) demented, and b) the ruler of a nation, and you suddenly decided to lock down 20 million people, would that prove you had a good reason for your action? Your followers might think so. The press might pretend to think so, in order to improve their bottom line. But in truth, you just did what you did. Or you were coerced into it, by more powerful persons.

Finally, exactly how were these 5800 ''coronavirus cases'' determined in Italy? How many people were labeled ''presumptive cases'' simply because they were in the proximity of people who had tested positive for the virus'--tested by lab procedures which, actually, say nothing about how much virus is actively replicating in the body? The tests, as it turns out, are a piece of theatrical stage magic, and nowhere near as convincing as a man pulling a rabbit out of a hat. If you're going to say a test reveals actual disease, at the very least you must show that millions of virus are replicating in the body. And the test, called PCR, as I've described in past articles, isn't capable of confirming that.

Of course, proponents of the test claim it CAN confirm how much virus is replicating in the human body. I would ask them, since they're so certain, to prove it.

I propose a simple trial. From a hundred people, tiny samples of tissue will be removed'--the standard first step. Without knowing who these patients are, or whether they are ill, the test professionals will run the samples through their PCR, and then, with the results in hand, they will report a) which viruses they found, and b) how much virus. In those instances where they found a large amount of virus, the patients should be ill. Are they?

Let's find out.

Let's find out what ''a case of coronavirus'' really means or doesn't mean.

The burden of proving the test is reliable falls on the people who are using it, reporting case numbers based on it, and changing the shape of society as a result of it. They should have performed the experiment I propose decades ago. Ten times. Fifty times. A hundred times.

I see no evidence that they have.

Therefore, the test falls into the realm of SUPERSTITION.

And the quarantining of 16 million people in Italy proves that 16 million people have been quarantined. Nothing else.

These ''Greatest COVID Hits'' Series Of Articles are archived under the category Covid Revisited

These articles '-- at the time of original publication '-- are archived under the category Covid

(Episode 36 of Rappoport Podcasts'--''DARPA/Pentagon research projects to create future humans: Nanoparticles go into the brain; Mad scientists at work; How we got here; The end of history'''--is now posted on my substack. It's a blockbuster. To listen, click here . To learn more about This Episode of Rappoport Podcasts, click here .)

(To read about Jon's mega-collection, The Matrix Revealed, click here .)

To read Jon's articles on Substack, click here .

Jon Rappoport

The author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED , EXIT FROM THE MATRIX , and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX , Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free NoMoreFakeNews emails here or his free OutsideTheRealityMachine emails here .

by Jon Rappoport

(To join our email list, click here .)

Continuing my ''greatest COVID hits'' articles. To read my introduction to this ongoing series, go here . To support my work and get value for value, order My Matrix Collections here and subscribe to my substack here .

March 6, 2020

We all understand that governments can invent money out of thin air. However, inventing a reason out of thin air to invent the money sometimes takes a little more ingenuity.

Enter THE VIRUS. The medical version of Satan.

To new readers: to fully understand the next paragraph, you'll need to read my previous articles on the ''China epidemic'' con job ( archive here ).

'--A virus whose very existence is in doubt; the diagnostic tests for the virus are entirely inadequate and useless and misleading; therefore, the case numbers are meaningless; the virus' supposed origin (Wuhan) is a place where highly dangerous and unprecedented air pollution can account for the all the effects of the so-called virus'--and now one prediction on steroids is pegging the eventual global case numbers at 15 million, and the cost of containing the virus at $2.4 trillion. The elite players are visiting their tailors and having their deep pockets deepened further to absorb this (planned) windfall.

Let's go local to grasp how a city government can scoop up a small piece of the action: Los Angeles.

Mayor Eric Garcetti has released this statement, explaining his declaration of a state of emergency:

''This morning, I joined our County leaders to provide the public with an update on everything we are doing to prevent the spread of coronavirus and protect public health. I have signed a declaration of local emergency for the City of Los Angeles.''

''While there are only a few known COVID-19 cases in the region, the declaration [of emergency] helps us access state and federal funding to strengthen and support our efforts to prepare our region and prevent the spread of COVID-19.''

If I were the mayor of LA, I would have phrased my statement this way: ''Groveling on the steps of the US Treasury building, I implored the feds to drop bags of cash on my head. I understand the game. Go along with the charade, pretend we're in the middle of a vast crisis, follow all the CDC guidelines, pronounce the magic word EMERGENCY, and good fortune will follow. Resist, defect from the artificial consensus, and earn the status of vile outcast. Weighing these two options'--only a fool would refuse the federal gifts. I'm sure LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ALL ACROSS THIS GREAT LAND ARE LICKING THEIR CHOPS AND SIGNING ON TO THE OFFICIAL AGENDA. IT'S THE MONEY, HONEY.''

Here is an example of what the great mayor of the great city of Los Angeles is commanding, to stem the tide of the evil virus:

''LAX [airport] is following the guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'...installing more than 250 additional hand sanitizer stations and using virus and bacteria-killing disinfectants throughout the airport. We're cleaning public areas and restrooms at least once every hour, and increasing deep cleaning '-- focusing on high touch areas like handrails, escalators, elevator buttons, and restroom doors'...''

What, no spittoons? No plastic baggies to wear over shoes? No hazmat hoods with visors? No ray guns to kill the virus as it floats through the air? No oxygen tanks and masks to offset the toxic effects of the disinfectants?

Ahem. Is anyone still interested in the system of Federalism, and the principle by which the individual states and the federal government maintain their separate powers? Ha-ha. Just kidding. The federal government, with its ability to conjure money out of nowhere, can offer the states (and even cities) cash to surrender and accept federal policies and edicts.

''You want me to stand on my head? You'll pay me to do it? I'm in.''

A ''virus emergency'' is just another scheme to expand federal powers. It's a lot more than that, as I've explained in articles going back 20 years, but here I'm focusing on one element of Scam-Land.

Analogy: You could call the US education system another kind of virus'--a social germ. ''We're the feds. Listen up, States. Accept our newest version of No Child Left Behind With A Mind of His/Her Own, and we'll push money your way. Turn out clueless students without an original thought in their heads, without the ability to read a full paragraph of coherent prose, much less think in logical terms, and we'll reward you handsomely. We have a whole lineup of programs and plans for the future, and they're so outrageous we must have millions of dumb-as-wood people who will shrug and buy into them'...''

One such outrageous program: a story about a biological virus, a fairy tale for the ages. As with all such jive, a happy ending is there, but only after much misery and fear.

Footnote: As if to prove the corona baloney is real, certain peripheral operations must be launched. An all-time favorite: torpedo the stock market. Ah yes. Top tier investment funds give the market a gentle but firm head-butt, and overnight, individual investors start dumping their shares in this, that, and the other. Headlines scream. Therefore, what more evidence do you need? The virus is coming, the virus is coming. Head for the hills. Pack up the kids. Live in the forest. Dig for roots and tubers. Survive away from the CONTAGION.

''I thought I was healthy. I was drinking fresh juice every morning and running in the park. I'm not even in favor of vaccines. But now I don't know. I sneezed twice yesterday. For a moment, while I was watching the news, I felt what might have been a hot flash. Better call my doctor and get tested. What? He's booked up solid for three months? Screw it, I'm going to talk to my boss and see if I can work from home. Who's that drug dealer friend of your cousin, honey? Maybe he's selling antivirals.''

Footnote #2: Forget food labels that announce ORGANIC or GMO FREE. When are we going to see stickers on apples that claim: NO CORONAVIRUS. For that matter, when will people starting wearing those stickers on their foreheads?

As I've been saying for 30 years, the most important long-term cartel of Globalism is MEDICAL. It flies no partisan banners. It proclaims its political neutrality. It expresses no interest beyond healing.

It thus exemplifies a fabulous cover story for its covert operations. It employs armies of true believers, who will tell you they are SCIENTISTS. The problem is, they've undergone massive mind control. It's called medical school.

They've never met a virus they don't love. Even if that virus turns out to be nothing more than a theoretical artifact, a fabricated construct, a cartoon, a fairy tale spun out on the evening news'...

Update: The US Congress has just approved $8.3 billion for 'fighting the coronavirus.' Talk about a money pot. Major fingers in that pot, including, no doubt, vaccine companies.

These ''Greatest COVID Hits'' Series Of Articles are archived under the category Covid Revisited

These articles '-- at the time of original publication '-- are archived under the category Covid

(Episode 36 of Rappoport Podcasts'--''DARPA/Pentagon research projects to create future humans: Nanoparticles go into the brain; Mad scientists at work; How we got here; The end of history'''--is now posted on my substack. It's a blockbuster. To listen, click here . To learn more about This Episode of Rappoport Podcasts, click here .)

(To read about Jon's mega-collection, The Matrix Revealed, click here .)

To read Jon's articles on Substack, click here .

Jon Rappoport

The author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED , EXIT FROM THE MATRIX , and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX , Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free NoMoreFakeNews emails here or his free OutsideTheRealityMachine emails here .

by Jon Rappoport

(To join our email list, click here .)

Continuing my ''greatest COVID hits'' articles. To read my introduction to this ongoing series, go here . To support my work and get value for value, order My Matrix Collections here and subscribe to my substack here .

March 5, 2020

Buckle up. We're not riding on a smooth superhighway. These roads are extremely bumpy and rough.

Public health agencies and the press are casting out a blizzard of confusing terms:

presumptive cases, infected persons, asymptomatic persons, confirmed cases, containment measures, persons connected to persons who are infected'...

It is my understanding that, now, the CDC is lumping together presumptive cases and confirmed cases, and calling them: CASES.

Certainly, that strategy would immediately multiply the total number of CASES and also multiply fear among the uninformed population.

A presumptive case would be a person who has not been tested for the coronavirus; or he has been tested, but the results are not yet in.

Why is he a presumptive case in the first place? There could be several reasons. He has ordinary flu-like symptoms, and his doctor suspects he might be infected by the coronavirus, for no particular reason. He might have come in contact with a person who has been diagnosed as an epidemic case. He might have recently traveled to China'--and has or doesn't have flu-like symptoms. Maybe he has a slight cough'...

You can see that ''presumptive'' is a quite shaky status. It means next to nothing. Nevertheless, in order to ''contain the spread of the virus,'' he is pinned with that label'--and added to the total of CASES.

The press, looking for the next piece of click-bait, sees that, in a particular state or city, there are ''25 CASES.'' A reporter writes an article. The public is led to sense that, in that locale, a ''spread'' is occurring. No distinction is made between confirmed case and presumptive case.

Suppose, in a nursing home, where a hundred residents have all sorts of long-term health problems'--including flu-like symptoms and respiratory difficulties'--two people have been labeled ''presumptive cases,'' because they were visited by a person who recently returned from China. Now, there is an opportunity to label more residents of the nursing home ''presumptive,'' because they're in daily contact with the two ''presumptive residents.'' Result? There are 13 ''presumptive cases,'' and when the press discovers this, they characterize the 13 as CASES.

But it gets a lot worse than that. As I've been detailing in these pages, the basic test for the coronavirus is called the PCR. A positive result is taken to mean the patient ''has the virus.'' He is now a confirmed case. However, the PCR has many problems.

The procedure itself is tricky, and unless done perfectly, with great care to avoid contamination, the result is useless. But even when the test is perfect, it says nothing about whether the patient is ill or will ever become ill. Why? Because the PCR never comes to a valid conclusion about how much virus is in the patient's body actively replicating. And in order to start talking about illness and disease, millions and millions of virus must be at work replicating inside the patient.

Going even further down the rabbit hole, how was the PCR test for the coronavirus developed in the first place? We seem to have an answer from the CDC, offered up to reporters in a February 28 press briefing. A Dr. Messonnier, representing the CDC, said this in reply to a question:

'''...please remember that our laboratories developed this [PCR] test kit before there were US cases. We developed it based on the posted genetic sequencing, and it was this test kit that allowed us, to identify the first cases in the United States.''

What does this mean? It seems to means that the CDC accepted the genetic sequence of the ''new virus'' without having an actual isolated specimen of the virus itself. Is that a problem?

If the police receive a description of a car wreck on a local highway (the sequence), should they travel to the scene and actually look at the wreck (obtain an isolated specimen of the virus)? Should they decide who was at fault (diagnose the first US cases) without investigating (having the actual virus itself in their possession)?

Researchers claiming they've laid out the genetic sequence of a virus, and passing the information along to colleagues, is not what you would call proof of anything. Those original researchers could have sequenced another virus. They could have made mistakes. Did THEY ever have an isolated specimen of the virus?

Developing and using a diagnostic PCR test on humans, and then telling them whether they are ''victims of the epidemic,'' based on received genetic sequences alone, is more than irresponsible. It's entirely reckless.

If you've come this far in the article, and you're beginning to feel that the whole system of diagnosing people with THE VIRUS is madness, I would agree with you.

Categories of cases are being deceptively juggled and merged, in order to inflate numbers.

The ''gold standard'' diagnostic test is fraught with difficulties, and is inherently useless.

And lurking behind all this is the question: who discovered the coronavirus in the first place, and did they ever have an actual specimen of it, a biological reality; or, working from indirect ''markers,'' were THEY the PRESUMPTIVES, blithely assuming their genetic sequences pointed to an entity that actually exists?

If you think a fraud on this level has never occurred before, read my piece on the 2009 Swine Flu ''epidemic,'' and consider its potential implications.

These ''Greatest COVID Hits'' Series Of Articles are archived under the category Covid Revisited

These articles '-- at the time of original publication '-- are archived under the category Covid

(Episode 35 of Rappoport Podcasts'--''Organic Meat and Vaccines; Government rules; Culling herds; Corruption of the food supply; Nanoparticles in meat; Smoking guns'''--is now posted on my substack. It's a blockbuster. To listen, click here . To learn more about This Episode of Rappoport Podcasts, click here .)

(To read about Jon's mega-collection, The Matrix Revealed, click here .)

To read Jon's articles on Substack, click here .

Jon Rappoport

The author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED , EXIT FROM THE MATRIX , and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX , Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free NoMoreFakeNews emails here or his free OutsideTheRealityMachine emails here .

by Jon Rappoport

(To join our email list, click here .)

Continuing my ''greatest COVID hits'' articles. To read my introduction to this ongoing series, go here . To support my work and get value for value, order My Matrix Collections here and subscribe to my substack here .

March 4, 2020

I'm not going to keep reporting on the deaths of so-called coronavirus patients'--there will be too many stories emerging.

This article will briefly analyze the media coverage of nine deaths in Washington state. That coverage is typical.

First, let's get one thing straight. Death by itself does not equal coronavirus.

'''...approximately 7,452 people die every day in the United States. In other words, a person dies in the US approximately every 12 seconds.'' (indexmundi.com)

Understood? The psy-op is: put death and coronavirus in the same sentence. People will unthinkingly buy it.

CBS News, March 4: ''The number of coronavirus deaths in the U.S. rose to nine on Tuesday, according to health officials. All of the deaths occurred in Washington state.''

That paragraph convinces most people the state of Washington is experiencing an outbreak. What else could it be? Answer: it could be anything. It could be several anythings.

Kuow.org: March 3: ''Health officials on Tuesday announced three more presumed coronavirus deaths in the Seattle area, bringing the Washington state death toll to nine.''

The key word in that paragraph is ''presumed.'' No test results are in yet. And even when they do come in'--as I've been detailing in these pages'--the tests are inadequate and worthless for diagnosing illness and disease.

Kuow: ''A woman in her 80s also died on February 26 from the virus. She was in her 80s and did not go to the hospital.''

I see. In her 80s. ''From the virus.'' Couldn't have been sick at home from other causes. No. Of course not. Couldn't have been treated with a whole array of toxic pharmaceuticals for a long time.

Kuow: ''Many of the [coronavirus] affected individuals have ties to the Life Care Center, a long-term care facility in Kirkland. Reported cases include residents, their family members, and employees.''

Long-term care facility. The people there, who are ill, long term, certainly couldn't be suffering for reasons other than THE VIRUS. Right? And the employees'--what, they ''tested positive'' for THE VIRUS, and so they are ''affected?''

Were any of the ''presumptive'' people in the state of Washington treated with highly toxic antiviral drugs? Of course, no one is looking into it.

How many of the people who died had prior lung conditions, long before ''the new coronavirus emerged?''

You'll undoubtedly hear a term in the next days or weeks: ''previously healthy.'' This will be used to describe people who died'--as a way of claiming the coronavirus just came on and couldn't be stopped.

I know the term ''previously healthy'' quite well. In 1987, while I was writing my first book, AIDS INC., I looked into the so-called first five cases of AIDS, who were characterized with that phrase. The obvious inferences from the data told a different story'--particularly when you considered what drugs these men had most likely been treated with for their ''healthy conditions,'' and added in probable street drug use.

Kuow: ''Health officials in North Carolina reported a presumed coronavirus case connected [to] a resident's recent travel to Washington state and exposure to the Life Care Center.''

''Presumed case.'' The wholly inadequate and useless tests are not in yet.

Speaking of which, Politico is reporting on a fire fight between FDA and CDC officials. Seems that, a while back, an FDA official was denied entry to the CDC and had to wait overnight for ''clearance to come through.''

He, or another FDA person, found contamination in the CDC lab where techs were preparing coronavirus test kits for use.

These kits were undoubtedly PCR tests. I've reported on that wholly useless test for diagnosing disease. But you can add another layer of uselessness, because contamination of the PCR means the procedure will quite possibly focus on an entirely irrelevant virus and yield results based on it.

''Sir, I want to tell you that the inherently worthless PCR we just ran on you was also contaminated with who knows how many meaningless germs, and there is a hundred percent chance that, when I tell you now you are a coronavirus case, I haven't the slightest idea in the world what I'm talking about. However, we are going to hospitalize you and give you very toxic and dangerous antiviral drugs.''

When someone at the Post or the Times runs THAT paragraph as the lead in a front page story, or when an editor at CBS or NBC leads with it on the evening news, I might begin to pay attention to major media coverage of the ''coronavirus crisis.''

Meanwhile, they're selling death because they're selling ads.

These ''Greatest COVID Hits'' Series Of Articles are archived under the category Covid Revisited

These articles '-- at the time of original publication '-- are archived under the category Covid

(Episode 35 of Rappoport Podcasts'--''Organic Meat and Vaccines; Government rules; Culling herds; Corruption of the food supply; Nanoparticles in meat; Smoking guns'''--is now posted on my substack. It's a blockbuster. To listen, click here . To learn more about This Episode of Rappoport Podcasts, click here .)

(To read about Jon's mega-collection, The Matrix Revealed, click here .)

To read Jon's articles on Substack, click here .

Jon Rappoport

The author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED , EXIT FROM THE MATRIX , and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX , Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free NoMoreFakeNews emails here or his free OutsideTheRealityMachine emails here .

by Jon Rappoport

(To join our email list, click here .)

Continuing my ''greatest COVID hits'' articles. To read my introduction to this ongoing series, go here . To support my work and get value for value, order My Matrix Collections here and subscribe to my substack here .

March 3, 2020

''Give us your huddled masses, yearning to be vaccinated. We'll find a virus and say a vaccine must be produced.''

One research-estimate suggests there are 320,000 viruses on Earth that infect mammals.

This means: types of viruses. For each type, I suppose you could say there are at least trillions of individual viruses.

So we should all be dead. Long gone. But we aren't.

First of all, there are what's called endogenous viruses. They live in the human body and they watch television and they lie around and don't cause illness. On sophisticated tests, they can show up, and researchers will mistakenly assume they're doing damage. They're doing nothing.

Then there are exogenous viruses. They come in from the outside, enter the body, and look for cells in which they can take up residence and multiply. The immune system notices, and either ignores them as trifling or mounts a defense to defeat them. These viruses can also show up on sophisticated tests. Researchers tend to (falsely) believe the mere presence of the viruses signals trouble (illness).

This is a massive mistake. So-called viral infection, if it means anything significant at all, amounts to much more than mere presence. A few particles of virus showing up on a test says nothing about actual illness. There must be millions and millions of a virus actively replicating in the body to cause disease.

And even then, a healthy and strong immune system could ultimately defeat this bunch of little doofuses.

That leaves who knows how many other viruses out there, never living in or entering the human body at all. They're playing music or their version of baseball or finding warm condos in cows or sheep or moose.

Now we come to what-if type speculations. Suppose dangerous viruses are flying in from planets far away? Suppose they're combining in caves and then crawling into the bodies of rock climbers? Suppose biowar labs are fiddling and diddling and cooking up altered versions of several viruses that will kill millions of people? CAN YOU PROVE THIS ISN'T SO?

No I can't, just as I can't prove that a purple and white snake in the Orion Belt isn't building a radio.

But I can say this. Doing research on biowar germs isn't the same thing as doing successful research on them. Assuming these scientists are actually developing biowar germs that work'...well, in a recent article titled ''People dying equals coronavirus?'', I posted several old dire warnings about past viral epidemics: SARS was weaponized. So was Zika. So was Swine Flu. So was Ebola. And yet'...these epidemics were duds.

But you see, the people issuing those dire warnings back then didn't care, and don't care now, that their predictions never materialized. They don't care. Every time a new epidemic is announced by some public health agency, they state brand new warnings.

We humans may routinely be able to fend off and defeat, naturally, 100 trillion trillion viruses in the environment, but this weaponized virus is going to kill us all. Soon.

In the current ''coronavirus epic,'' there is one new feature the prophets of doom can exploit: after the word comes down that it's over and done, they can say, ''Well, you see, actually more than two million people in China died from the virus. The government there is covering it up. It WAS a bioweapon. PROVE THAT IT WASN'T.''

There is one more category of virus I should mention. I have detailed it in past articles. It's the virus that isn't there at all (see here and here ). It's a beauty. Researchers perform various procedures aimed at detecting it, but these scientists invent MARKERS they CLAIM are indirect evidence of a virus they can't directly pinpoint. From such lunatic procedures, a whole story and tale and legend about the virus they never found is created. The pros can even report this never-discovered virus is causing a global epidemic. It's a marvel.

They might go on to develop a vaccine against the never-detected virus. A toxic vaccine.

Or they can say, ''All our efforts to produce an effective vaccine against virus X have so far fallen short.'' Meaning: ''How could we make a vaccine against a virus we never found?''

Just wait a while. Eventually, they'll figure out a way.

''After, ahem, synthesizing a gene from a specimen of the neuro-electric imprint of the shadow of the recalcitrant cave-hiding virus, we were able to inject the gene in volunteers and reduce the presence of indirect marker CR65-35 by 27.243 percent. We're confident a vaccine derived from the gene will prove effective in 74.2657843265 percent of healthy individuals. If they get sick, don't blame us. Blame the virus. We sure as hell will.''

These ''Greatest COVID Hits'' Series Of Articles are archived under the category Covid Revisited

These articles '-- at the time of original publication '-- are archived under the category Covid

(Episode 34 of Rappoport Podcasts'--''We Are Living In the Era of Nanotechnology, Science Beyond Our Control; A Clear and Present Danger'''--is now posted on my substack. It's a blockbuster. To listen, click here . To learn more about This Episode of Rappoport Podcasts, click here .)

(To read about Jon's mega-collection, The Matrix Revealed, click here .)

To read Jon's articles on Substack, click here .

Jon Rappoport

The author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED , EXIT FROM THE MATRIX , and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX , Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free NoMoreFakeNews emails here or his free OutsideTheRealityMachine emails here .

by Jon Rappoport

(To join our email list, click here .)

Continuing my ''greatest COVID hits'' articles. To read my introduction to this ongoing series, go here . To support my work and get value for value, order My Matrix Collections here and subscribe to my substack here .

March 3, 2020

First, I want to mention 5G technology, which, according to reports, has been widely deployed in Wuhan, ''the epicenter of the China epidemic.'' Readers have sent me links to articles and videos that highlight human damage caused by 5G.

I'm aware of this damage. I've written about it before, and, I revisited it in a piece I wrote a few days ago titled 5G and the China epidemic . What is creating illness and death in China is not an either-or situation. In my past research on epidemics, I've found several causes of disease in every ''epidemic'''--causes which have nothing to do with a virus.

In Wuhan, in addition to air pollution , we could certainly be looking at 5G, and other situations of damage'--for example, water pollution, heavy chemical spraying.

I've also received communications asking about ''all the other cases of the coronavirus'' occurring in countries where air pollution is not a significant factor. To answer these questions, I urge reading all my articles on the so-called ''China epidemic'' ( archive here ). I've covered how ''cases of the disease'' are ''discovered'''--through entirely misleading and worthless diagnostic tests. It's always been easy to invent case numbers using these tests.

All right. A reader has sent me a significant piece published, in 2005, in the British medical journal, The Lancet. It emphasizes the destructive nature of air pollution in Chinese cities. Here are several excerpts.

The Lancet, November 19, 2005; CHINA: THE AIR POLLUTION CAPITAL OF THE WORLD , by Jonathan Watt:

''Over 400,000 premature deaths a year in China are blamed on air pollution levels'...''

''According to the European Space Agency, Beijing and its neighbouring north-east Chinese provinces have the world's worst levels of nitrogen dioxide, which can cause fatal damage to the lungs.'' [The so-called ''coronavirus disease'' is pneumonia.]

''At a recent seminar, Zhang Lijun, deputy director of the environmental protection agency, said that pollution levels could more than quadruple within 15 years unless the country slows the rise in energy consumption and car use.'' [15 years later, it's a ''coronavirus epidemic.'' How convenient.]

''A recently published study, conducted by the Chinese Academy on Environmental Planning, found that a third of China's urban residents were exposed to harmful levels of pollution. More than 100 million people live in cities where the air reaches levels considered 'very dangerous'.''

''The academy blamed air pollution for 411,000 [yearly] premature deaths'--mostly from lung and heart-related diseases.''

'''It's a conservative figure. The real figure could be higher', Wang Jin'nan, a chief engineer of the academy, told the AFP news agency. 'These figures all exist, but the local governments do not want us to reveal them.' Asked for an interview with The Lancet, academy officials declined, saying the matter was 'too sensitive'.''

''The political implications of worsening pollution are becoming more apparent. Although it does not publish figures on the link between pollution and health, the [Chinese] government admits that respiratory diseases are the leading cause of death in China'...'' [Pneumonia is called THE ''coronavirus'' disease.]

''Such health concerns, particularly regarding cancer and birth defects thought to be caused by chemical factories, have been a major factor in a recent wave of protests. Among the latest was the demonstration last month by hundreds of people living in a Beijing suburb against plans to build a factory in their neighbourhood. But similar outbreaks [protests] are occurring nationwide on an almost weekly basis.'' [All the protests are gone now; key cities are locked down.]

''This situation is not unique to Beijing. Frequent dirty grey skies are taken for granted in Shanghai, Wuhan, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong'...Water has suffered the same fate as air. Increasingly likely to be exploited for dams and dumpsites, it is estimated that three-quarters of the rivers running through Chinese cities are so polluted that they cannot be used for drinking or fishing.''

''In 2008, it is quite possible that this authoritarian government will restrict traffic and close factories to ensure blue skies for the month of the Olympics. But it will only be a temporary fix. Unless more drastic measures are taken soon, the health costs of pollution will be paid in China for generations to come.''

I can think of a more drastic measure. Claim a new virus is killing people, lock down cities and quarantine 100 million people, and shove all the news about deadly pollution far, far into the background.

These ''Greatest COVID Hits'' Series Of Articles are archived under the category Covid Revisited

These articles '-- at the time of original publication '-- are archived under the category Covid

(Episode 34 of Rappoport Podcasts'--''We Are Living In the Era of Nanotechnology, Science Beyond Our Control; A Clear and Present Danger'''--is now posted on my substack. It's a blockbuster. To listen, click here . To learn more about This Episode of Rappoport Podcasts, click here .)

(To read about Jon's collection, Power Outside The Matrix, click here .)

To read Jon's articles on Substack, click here .

Jon Rappoport

The author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED , EXIT FROM THE MATRIX , and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX , Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free NoMoreFakeNews emails here or his free OutsideTheRealityMachine emails here .

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 18:23

A lack of machine tools is constraining the United State's ability to ramp up ammunition transfers to Ukraine, the Army's top weapons buyer said March 3.

The timeline for acquiring new machine tools ''are often the long poles in the tent on getting capacity increased,'' said Douglas Bush, assistant Army secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology. ''These machines are the size of buildings. You don't just go buy it from a parking lot somewhere.''

U.S. and allied production of artillery ammunition has emerged as a key problem in supplying Ukraine, which burns through thousands of shells a day fighting Russia's invasion. Ukraine may lose the war if it doesn't receive enough supplies, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrel said Feb. 20.

Obtaining the raw materials might be a problem eventually, but not yet, Bush said at an event held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The U.S. already maintains large stockpiles of some key raw materials, such as the precursor chemicals for explosives, Bush said. But how much of other raw materials the U.S. should keep in reserve is an open question. ''The issue is really stockpiling, Bush said, ''It's really a question of how much you can afford to do.''

The U.S. has no shortage of raw materials used for artillery shell manufacture, Bush added, citing more than adequate supplies of steel.

Bush also pointed to allied production capabilities as potentially taking the stress off of U.S. manufacturing, noting Polish interest in manufacturing the Javelin'--an anti-tank guided missile'--and Australian interest in manufacturing precision-guided munitions.

The U.S. has already supplied large amounts of artillery ammunition to Ukraine, sending more than a million 155mm rounds, according to research by Mark Cancian, a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The ammunition feeds artillery pieces donated to Ukraine by the U.S. and NATO allies. On Friday, the Department of Defense announced another tranche of military aid to Ukraine that includes 155mm artillery rounds.

U.S. officials said in April 2022 that they were ramping up production of 155mm shells, the most common caliber of the U.S. and NATO-ally artillery guns sent to Ukraine. Production is set to rise to 20,000 shells per month by spring 2023, and 40,000 per month by 2025, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said.

Even that rate, though, may not be enough to support Ukraine and keep U.S. inventories prepped for other wars across the globe. ''This could become a crisis,'' Cancian wrote.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 18:08

To help clear up London's air, the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year, except Christmas Day (25 December). The zone currently covers all areas within the North and South Circular Roads. The North Circular (A406) and South Circular (A205) roads are not in the zone.

If your vehicle doesn't meet the ULEZ emission standards and isn't exempt, you need to pay a £12.50 daily charge to drive inside the zone. This applies to:

Cars, motorcycles, vans and specialist vehicles (up to and including 3.5 tonnes) and minibuses (up to and including 5 tonnes)Lorries, vans or specialist heavy vehicles (all over 3.5 tonnes) and buses, minibuses and coaches (all over 5 tonnes) do not need to pay the ULEZ charge. They will need to pay the LEZ charge if they do not meet the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) emissions standard.

The ULEZ is expanding from 29 August 2023 across all London boroughs. Find out more.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 17:26

Comrade 'crackers', there were moments in the before time when many people, most believing the narrative engineering from the professional political media, thought Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be a voice for freedom and democracy. However, those thoughts dispatched quickly when the actions of the former comedic actor showed a deep red totalitarian underbelly and opposition parties were made illegal, the state took control over all media and even religion was deemed adverse to the interests of the state.

History indeed rhyming, as the 'new Ukranian democratic norms' merged with the totalitarian fiats and timing around the pandemic.

Perhaps we should not have been surprised given that Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the entire European Union were quick to exploit the opportunity COVID-19 created.

Essential citizen definitions quickly promoted, digital identifiers manifested, vaccine passports rushed to assembly, bar and QR code scans for human activity created gateways for permission granted by the state. Meanwhile unregistered movement was restricted, quarantine camps set up and mandatory vaccine compliance was the law.

So, we travel 5,000 miles west from Ukraine, arrive in the sunshine state of Florida circa 2022/2023 and watch as State government takes control over private industry, new laws dictate rules upon local school boards, proposed laws now discussed to ban opposition parties, state officials inserted into newly created government agencies as monitors to regulate commercial activity, and then suddenly something within the latest development under Governor Ron DeSantis starts to rhyme with Ukraine.

FLORIDA '' ['...] Senate Bill 1316: Information Dissemination, would require any blogger writing about government officials to register with the Florida Office of Legislative Services or the Commission on Ethics.Yes comrade crackers, the skin of the state is so thin to criticism that words create harm against public officials and must be regulated. Permission to criticize must now be requested and registered with the state government or face financial penalties.

['...] In the bill, Brodeur wrote that those who write ''an article, a story, or a series of stories,'' about ''the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a Cabinet officer, or any member of the Legislature,'' and receives or will receive payment for doing so, must register with state offices within five days after the publication of an article that mentions an elected state official.

If another blog post is added to a blog, the blogger would then be required to submit monthly reports on the 10th of each month with the appropriate state office. They would not have to submit a report on months when no content is published.

For blog posts that ''concern an elected member of the legislature'' or ''an officer of the executive branch,'' monthly reports must disclose the amount of compensation received for the coverage, rounded to the nearest $10 value.

Failure to file these disclosures or register with state officials, if the bill passes, would lead to daily fines for the bloggers, with a maximum amount per report, not per writer, of $2,500. The per-day fine is $25 per report for each day it's late.

The bill also requires that bloggers file notices of failure to file a timely report the same way that lobbyists file their disclosures and reports on assessed fines. Fines must be paid within 30 days of payment notice, unless an appeal is filed with the appropriate office. Fine payments must be deposited into the Legislative Lobbyist Registration Trust Fund if it concerns an elected member of the legislature.

['...] Explicitly, the blogger rule would not apply to newspapers or similar publications, under Brodeur's proposed legislation. ['...] Should the bill pass, it would take effect immediately upon approval. (read more)

Why would I provide the context of Ukraine for an outline highlighting the totalitarian mindset that is sweeping through Florida?

The answer is a very simple and visible connective tissue, a connection born from within the schools funded by George Soros, linking both the installation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the branding, management and handling of a notoriously thin-skinned Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

.

Hate speech laws about to be passed in Florida under FAUX conservative governor Ron Desantis.

Penalty for having the ''wrong'' opinion? 3rd degree felony and 5 years in jail! pic.twitter.com/Bi3ThOOwB7

'-- Stew Peters (@realstewpeters) March 2, 2023

.

RELATED '' ['...] Despite the seemingly cordial tone of the interview, Mr. DeSantis at one point became irritated with his interlocutor.

Mr. Charter writes that when he asked Mr. DeSantis how he would handle American relations with Ukraine, the governor referred ''to Biden being 'weak on the world stage' and failing at deterrence.''

Mr. Charter pressed for more detail: How would a President DeSantis handle the conflict in Ukraine?

''Perhaps you should cover some other ground?'' the governor replied. ''I think I've said enough.'' (link)

Posted in 1st Amendment,

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Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 16:42

US Army Secretary Christine Wormuth has laid out her country's key strategies in a potential future war with China.

Speaking at the American Enterprise Institute earlier this week, Wormuth said that she does not think an amphibious invasion of Taiwan is imminent.

Beijing has long maintained that the island nation is part of its territory, and that they should be reunited by force, if necessary.

Wormuth stressed that the US must still prepare to fight and win if a Chinese invasion occurs.

She emphasized the importance of building a coalition with international allies to ''complicate'' President Xi Jinping 's decision-making.

Additionally, the US Army must establish ''theater distribution centers'' in the Asia Pacific region to stockpile needed supplies and fuel for armored vehicles and warships.

Among the strategic locations mentioned were Australia, Japan, Singapore, and the Philippines.

Deployment of 'Combat-Credible' Forces Wormuth said one of the most important elements is to place more troops in Asia and arm them with modern equipment to deter possible Chinese aggression.

Combat-credible forces should be deployed in the Indo-Pacific at least eight months per year.

In addition, ship-to-shore vessels and hypersonic weapons must be pre-positioned to act as the country's first line of defense.

''Our goal is to avoid fighting a land war in Asia,'' she explained. ''I think the best way to avoid fighting that war is by showing China and countries in that region we can actually win that war.''

'Core' Tasks Wormuth revealed that if the US fails to completely deter China, the military has several ''core'' tasks to perform.

The first is to protect naval bases with the help of integrated air and missile defense capabilities.

The service must also sustain the joint force by setting up munition stockpiles and forward air refueling points.

Another key task is to update the US Army arsenal and develop other capabilities not normally associated with a land-based force.

''We've actually got our first battery of long-range hypersonic weapons,'' she said.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 15:25

Ohio residents were ordered to shelter in place Saturday after another Norfolk Southern train ran off the tracks.

The 212-car train derailed at Ohio 41 near the Prime Ohio Business Park in Springfield around 5 p.m., the Clark County Emergency Management said.

About 20 of the train's box cars toppled off the tracks while it was traveling through the city.

The Saturday crash took place roughly 300 miles southeast of East Palestine, where residents are growing sick from toxins spilled last month.

A spokesperson confirmed with The Post that Norfolk Southern '-- the same railway company involved in the tragic East Palestine derailment that contaminated 1.1 million gallons of water and 15,000 pounds of soil '-- was operating the derailed train.

A Northern Suffolk train derailed in Springfield, Ohio Saturday. WHIO TV 7''No hazardous materials are involved and there have been no reported injuries,'' the company said.

Hazmat crews at the scene identified four tankers containing non-hazardous materials; two had residual amounts of diesel exhaust fluid, and two had residual amounts of polyacrylamide water solution, WHIO-TV reported Sunday.

Officials determined there was no public health risk and said the drinking water near the site was safe to drink, although the scene remained ''active,'' according to the report.

Clark County lifted the shelter-in-place order early Sunday.

Residents within 1,000 feet of the derailment had been asked to remain indoors ''out of an abundance of caution.''

Hazmat crews reportedly arrived at the scene as no injuries were reported in the crash. WHIO TV 7Officials reported multiple downed power lines, leaving as many as 1,500 Springfield customers without power.

Multiple roadways near the accident were shut down.

Shawn Heaton told the Springfield News-Sun that he was in his car waiting for the train to pass when he watched one of the box cars slip off the track, leading the following cars to plunge into one another in a massive pile-up '-- a moment he caught on camera.

''I was right there and I was playing on my phone and then I heard a loud bang. And when I heard the loud bang, I started recording,'' Heaton said.

''When I heard the bang, there was all kinds of debris and metal shoot out from under the cars and that's when I started recording and you could see them start jumping off the tracks.''

The derailment is Norfolk Southern's fourth within Ohio over the last five months, Sen. Sherrod Brown pointed out.

Another of the company's trains carrying hazardous materials derailed in Detroit, Migican just days after the East Palestine crash.

''This is unacceptable,'' he said.

Clark County did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 14:47

Last Updated on March 2, 2023

Hunter Biden was instrumental in funding and assisting a company responsible for Ukraine biolabs. The Metabiota company, headed by a Ghislaine Maxwell partner named Nathan Wolfe, was in charge of setting up biolabs in Ukraine. The biolabs have sparked concern that dangerous materials could be used to fuel bioterrorism in Ukraine and around the world.Hunter Biden's firm Rosemont Seneca invested a staggering $500,000 in Metabiota, a company that set up Ukrainian biolabs. Hunter Biden acted as an unofficial lobbyist and fundraiser for Metabiota, reportedly finding millions of dollars for the company that engaged in pathogen experiments in the period when Hunter Biden's father Joe was the vice president and the globalist West built up a belligerent stance against Russia. Hunter even linked Metabiota up with the company Burisma, which Hunter was on the board of, for work related to Ukraine biolabs. Metabiota became a U.S. Department of Defense contractor during the Obama-Biden administration.

The company Metabiota was founded by San Francisco-based virologist Nathan Wolfe, according to Wolfe's LinkedIn page. Until recently, Nathan Wolfe served as Metabiota's chairman and chief executive officer. The so-called ''virus hunter'' Nathan Wolfe actually announced the TerraMar Project, a project that was reportedly Ghislaine Maxwell's idea, and thus Nathan Wolfe was partnering with Ghislaine Maxwell on the project from the start, records reveal. The project was supposedly about saving the oceans, though the oceans were littered with over a billion Coronavirus facemasks in the year 2020 alone during the Scamdemic that the globalists pushed. The Huffington Post gave Ghislaine Maxwell a glowing profile about the project in 2014.

Ghislaine Maxwell, Nathan Wolfe==TIME 100 GALA: TIME'S 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD==Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYC==April 24, 2012==(C)Patrick McMullan==Photo '' PATRICK MCMULLAN/PatrickMcMullan.com====Nathan Wolfe, Ghislaine Maxwell, JB Miller==TIME 100 GALA: TIME'S 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD==Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYC==April 24, 2012==(C)Patrick McMullan==Photo '' CLINT SPAULDING/PatrickMcMullan.com====NATIONAL FILE recently reported on ''SOROS'' and then-Senator Obama funding records for the Mechnikoff Institute in Odessa, at the site of a former Soviet bioweapons factory that has sparked mainstream fear that it could result in a bioterrorism outbreak.

The Maxwell family is integrally involved in geopolitics. As NATIONAL FILE reported, at least two of Ghislaine Maxwell's nephews worked for the Obama-Biden administration including a nephew at Hillary Clinton's State Department and a nephew in the Obama-Biden White House. Ghislaine Maxwell's associate, accused human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, broke into the globalist establishment in the 1970's managing money at Bear Stearns for Edgar Bronfman, the father of heiresses Clare and Sara Bronfman, who oversaw the NXIVM human trafficking cult. Sara Bronfman almost became the First Lady of Libya after Hillary Clinton's overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, while Ghislaine Maxwell's nephew worked on the Libya issue for Hillary Clinton in her Benghazi-tainted term at the State Department.

The United States government admitted to the existence of U.S. Department of Defense-funded biolabs in Ukraine. The Russian government has made stirring allegations regarding the contents of U.S.-funded Ukrainian labs, suggesting that the labs are home to bioweapons research that could be used against enemies of the globalist Western regime. Meanwhile, the Department of Defense has used a base in San Antonio to study human tissue and RNA material exclusively from Caucasian Russians.

U.S. State Department records show that in 2005 the U.S. Department of Defense made an agreement with Ukraine to fund biolabs to conduct research supposedly to stop the construction of bioweapons. The agreement states: ''In order to assist Ukraine in preventing the proliferation of technology, pathogens, and expertise that are located at the Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Hygiene (Lviv), the Ukrainian Scientific Research Anti-Plague Institute (Odessa), the Central Sanitary Epidemiological Station (Kyiv), and other facilities in Ukraine identified by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, and that could be used in the development of biological weapons, the U.S. Department of Defense shall provide assistance to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine at no cost, subject to the availability of funds appropriated for this purpose, in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.''

On April 22, 2020, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine acknowledged that the U.S. Department of Defense ''works with the Ukrainian Government to consolidate and secure pathogens and toxins of security concern in Ukrainian government facilities, while allowing for peaceful research and vaccine development.'' The U.S. Embassy stated: ''The U.S. Embassy would like to set the record straight regarding disinformation spreading in some circles in Ukraine that mirrors Russian disinformation regarding the strong U.S.-Ukrainian partnership to reduce biological threats. Here in Ukraine, the U.S. Department of Defense's Biological Threat Reduction Program works with the Ukrainian Government to consolidate and secure pathogens and toxins of security concern in Ukrainian government facilities, while allowing for peaceful research and vaccine development. We also work with our Ukrainian partners to ensure Ukraine can detect and report outbreaks caused by dangerous pathogens before they pose security or stability threats. Our joint efforts help to ensure that dangerous pathogens do not fall into the wrong hands. We're proud to partner with the Ministry of Health, State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, National Academy of Agrarian Sciences, and the Ministry of Defense to make us all safer.''

Here is a list of Archived U.S. State Department records obtained by NATIONAL FILE that show the U.S. Department of Defense funding Ukrainian labs (the article continues below after the list of links):

https://web.archive.org/web/20170130193016/https://photos.state.gov/libraries/ukraine/895/pdf/dtro-kharkiv-eng.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20210511164310/https://photos.state.gov/libraries/ukraine/895/pdf/dtro-luhansk-eng.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20170221125752/https://photos.state.gov/libraries/ukraine/895/pdf/dtro-dnipropetrovsk-eng.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20210506053014/https://photos.state.gov/libraries/ukraine/895/pdf/dtro-vinnitsa-eng.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20170221125752/https://photos.state.gov/libraries/ukraine/895/pdf/dtro-dnipropetrovsk-eng.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20170207122550/https://photos.state.gov/libraries/ukraine/895/pdf/dtro-kherson-fact-sheet-eng.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20170223011502/https://photos.state.gov/libraries/ukraine/895/pdf/dtro-ternopil-fact-sheet-eng.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20170208032526/https://photos.state.gov/libraries/ukraine/895/pdf/dtro-zakarpatska-fact-sheet-eng.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20170208032526/https://photos.state.gov/libraries/ukraine/895/pdf/dtro-zakarpatska-fact-sheet-eng.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20170202040923/https://photos.state.gov/libraries/ukraine/895/pdf/dtro-lviv-dl-eng.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20170201004446/https://photos.state.gov/libraries/ukraine/895/pdf/dtro-lviv-rdvl-eng.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20161230143004/https://photos.state.gov/libraries/ukraine/895/pdf/dtro-eidss.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20210506212717/https://photos.state.gov/libraries/ukraine/895/pdf/dtro-pathogen-asset-control.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20170207153023/https://photos.state.gov/libraries/ukraine/895/pdf/dtro-dnipropetrovsk-rdvl_eng.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20170211022339/https://photos.state.gov/libraries/ukraine/895/pdf/kiev-ivm-fact-sheet-eng.pdf

Biden administration Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland told the U.S. Senate: ''Ukraine has biological research facilities which in fact we are now quite concerned Russian troops, Russian forces may be seeking to gain control of, so we are working with the Ukrainians on how they can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces should they approach.'' Nuland then claimed without evidence that Russia would be responsible for any release of biological weapons stemming from the biolabs. But evidence shows that the United States government is actually funding the biolabs.

The Ukrainian fighters have been accused in independent social media of barbaric practices, and stunning videos have emerged regarding Ukrainian treatment of Russian prisoners of war.

AFU degeneracy knows no bounds '' A video of a Ukrainian workshop that makes hallmarks in the form of a trident, which is sent to the front so they can be used as branding irons on captured Russian "orcs". pic.twitter.com/8HCFZ4PDrs

'-- Blackrussian (@Blackrussiantv) February 14, 2023

Extensive footage has emerged of Ukrainian fighters seizing young men and taking them to the war through forced abductions.

Voluntary recruitment proceeds smoothly in #Ukronazi paradise'... What could possibly go wrong?#Ukrainian militants dragging men off the streets and sending them to the front.#ZelenskyWarCriminal @ZelenskyyUa #UkraineRussiaWar #NATORUSSIAWAR #Ukraine #UkraineWar pic.twitter.com/2xKGg3hMmt

'-- Mariusz Lombok (@MariuLombo) February 19, 2023

Israel and Pfizer

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Sun, 05 Mar 2023 14:44

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Sun, 05 Mar 2023 14:42

By Matt Agorist

Homerville, GA '-- This month, without warning, the taxpayers of Homerville found out that the police department they have been paying for ''protection'' no longer wished to serve them. The entire department, including staff and every single officer on the force, turned in their resignation letters and abandoned their positions.

The move caught the entire town by surprise and comes after its former police chief, Dearin ''Mack'' Drury was fired after being charged. Drury, 40, turned himself in last week and now faces charges of violation of oath of office, with theft by taking, possession of marijuana, and false statements and writings.

GBI gave few details on the violation of oath of office other than there was ''improper evidence handling,'' according to WALB. Nevertheless, the officers in the department did not agree with the charges.

Not only did they all quit in a synchronized temper tantrum, but they did their best to leave the department in ruins on their way out '-- including committing crimes.

On Saturday, James Herndon was appointed interim Homerville police chief and he inherited a veritable sh*t show. The crimes committed by the officers on their way out left the department in shambles and may lead to its permanent closure, according to Herndon.

''They locked the keys in the car. They turned the keys halfway on, the radios on and made the batteries go dead in all the cars. They broke into my office and stole the evidence room keys I have yet to locate. They took the drug dog, unfortunately, from where I sit. That's theft by conversion and that's a felony. I would make a recommendation if it's worth salvaging money-wise and what's best for the community and hire new officers, or we just shut it down, but either way that's a decision for the council,'' Herndon said.

Conversely, Clinch County Sheriff Stephen Tinsley said he supports the police officers who quit.

While the town struggles to fill positions of their police force or decides whether or not they will shut down, it is important to point out that people aren't going around breaking the law without cops to stop them '-- thus highlighting the revenue collection mission of police.

''I feel safe, the only thing, nothing gone happen because we don't really have no police because they weren't really doing nothing no way.'' an anonymous resident said.

Activist Post is Google-FreeSupport us for just $1 per month at Patreon or SubscribeStar''Why wear a badge when you know you're not going to do the right thing for your city or country whatsoever? Everything is going slow and steady, but once we get the right person in the seat, I feel like everything will be better, way better.'' resident Frankie Swinson said.

Seems like many of these residents get the fact that the idea that police protect you is a misconception, as they will seldom prevent violence. They normally show up after the violence or crime has been committed and then try and find a culprit, or not.

The average response time to a 9-1-1 call is 10 minutes nationwide; for poor areas, that time quadruples. In some cases, the dispatchers do not take the caller seriously, and the victim ends up dead when a crime could have actually been prevented.

The reality is that police act as revenue collectors for the state and solely exist to enforce the law only.

In a perfect world, police would show up prior to a crime and stop it, or at least during a crime, but this is simply not a reality.

Police in America also do not ''protect and serve.'' If you doubt this claim simply refer to Warren v. District of Columbia, in which the Supreme Court ruled that the police do not have a constitutional duty to protect a person from harm. We saw an example of this tragically unfold in Uvalde, Texas as cops cowardly waited in the hallway as a mass murderer slaughtered children in a classroom.

Imagine a police force that acted more like firefighters or EMTs. Firefighters don't have to go door to door looking for fires, in order to be effective. EMTs, just like firefighters wait for a call before reacting and their services are oft proven invaluable contrary to that of police work. Perhaps this recent mass resignation can be used to channel this notion to the forefront and completely revamp the idea of policing in the land of the free. Perhaps.

Source: The Free Thought Project

Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project. Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter, Steemit, and now on Minds.

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Sun, 05 Mar 2023 14:40

By Tyler Durden

Now that soaring rates have burst the commercial real estate bubble, the carnage is coming fast and furious.

This morning Bloomberg reports that Wall Street's largest commercial real-estate landlord, private-equity giant Blackstone, has defaulted on a '‚¬531 million ($562 million) bond backed by a portfolio of offices and stores owned by Sponda Oy, a Finnish landlord it acquired in 2018.

While the PE firm had sought an extension from holders of the securitized notes to allow time to dispose of assets and repay the debt, the surge in market volatility triggered by the war in Ukraine and rising interest rates interrupted the sales process and bondholders voted against a further extension, the Bloomberg sources said.

And since the security has now matured and has not been repaid, loan servicer Mount Street has determined that an event of default has occurred, according to a statement Thursday. The loan will now be transferred to a special servicer.

''This debt relates to a small portion of the Sponda portfolio,'' a Blackstone representative said in an emailed statement. ''We are disappointed that the servicer has not advanced our proposal, which reflects our best efforts and we believe would deliver the best outcome for note holders. We continue to have full confidence in the core Sponda portfolio and its management team, whose priority remains delivering high-quality retail and office assets.''

And while Blackstone is understandably trying to minimize the news, the PE firm clearly continues to scramble to stabilize the bleeding in its massive real estate portfolio and on Wednesday it said that it had blocked investors from cashing out their investments at its $71 billion real estate income trust (BREIT), as the private equity firm continues to grapple with a flurry of redemption requests.

BREIT said it fulfilled redemption requests of $1.4 billion in February, which represents only 35% of the approximately $3.9 billion in total withdrawal requests for the month, the firm said in a letter to investors as Reuters first reported.

Easiest way to get your first Bitcoin (Ad)The silver lining is that the total BREIT redemption requests in February were 26% lower than the approximately $5.3 billion reached in January, the firm said. However, should rates keep rising it is likely that the March redemption flood will be higher again.

''While gross redemptions for February are consistent with prior management commentary, the overarching data continue to align with our view around decelerating retail-oriented product organic growth broadly,'' Credit Suisse analysts, led by Bill Katz, said in a note to investors. As we previously reported, Blackstone has been exercising its right to block investors' withdrawals since November last year after requests hit a preset 5% net asset value of BREIT, which is marketed to mostly high net worth individuals.

Credit Suisse downgraded its rating of Blackstone's stock to underperform in November partly because of the rise in investor redemptions from BREIT. Blackstone's shares were down 0.25% at $90.57 per share in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The stock lost 43% of its value last year.

Source: ZeroHedge

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Sun, 05 Mar 2023 14:38

By B.N. Frank

Decades of research has already revealed that exposure to wireless radiation (see 1, 2, 3) including from mobile phones (cell and cordless) is biologically harmful. In fact, some government agencies do warn the public about exposure risks but obviously not all of them.

From Environmental Health Trust:

Who is entitled to interpret the risks of mobile phone radiation?

New diagnose:funk publication: Who is entitled to interpret the risks of mobile phone radiation? About campaigns by a cartel of industry, Federal Office for Radiation Protection and ICNIRP

Dear Collegues,

in 2022, there were four media campaigns in Germany with the message: mobile phone radiation is no health risk for children and adults. diagnose:funk proves in the magazine 'Brennpunkt' (Focus) that the population was disinformed with these campaigns and reveals the tactics of manipulation.

Whether mobile phone radiation is harmful to health is not only the subject of a debate about the results of research. It is also a debate about product marketing, in this case the multi-billion-dollar business of a key industry. The Brennpunkt on the sovereignty of interpretation of the risks of mobile phone radiation documents in five analyses how research results are manipulated for product marketing and instrumentalised for the disinformation of the population:

the devaluation of the results of the STOA studythe misinterpretation of the results of the of the MOBI Kids Studythe misinterpretation of the UK-Million Women studythe disinformation of the medical profession in the 5G article by the ICNIRP representative Prof. M. R¶¶sli in the journal Aktuelle Kardiologiethe tactics of industry propagandaOn our homepage you will find three more detailed articles on these misinterpretations and background information: www.diagnose-funk.org/1951

>> A workshop/presentation for MEPs, the EU- Commission, and stakeholders was held at the European Parliament on 7 February 2023 from 18:30-21:00. The workshop was organised by MEP Michele Rivasi and addressed the dangers of modern wireless communication technologies. Look at the Videos (English) on our Homepage: https://www.diagnose-funk.org/1950

With best regards

Peter Hensinger, M.A.Zweiter Vorsitzender

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Activist Post reports regularly about exposure risks from mobile phones and other wireless sources. For more information, visit our archives and the following links:

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Sun, 05 Mar 2023 14:37

Based on the results of their landmark review of the latest science, four of the world's top experts in environmental health called for prevention and precaution when it comes to public exposure to radiofrequency radiation.

Miss a day, miss a lot. Subscribe to The Defender's Top News of the Day. It's free.

Four of the world's top experts in environmental health are calling for prevention and precaution when it comes to public exposure to radiofrequency (RF) radiation.

The scientists '-- including the former director of the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) '-- last month published a preprint review of the most recent studies on the effects of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) and RF radiation on different life forms and humans, and the epidemiological evidence for cancer due to RF radiation from cellphone use.

The authors concluded there is ''substantial scientific evidence'' that ''RF radiation causes cancer, endocrinological, neurological and other adverse health effects'' '-- and that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has failed to protect public health.

They accused the FCC of ignoring the ''Precautionary Principle,'' commonly used in toxicology, and also the Bradford Hill criteria, a set of principles commonly used in epidemiology for establishing a causal relationship, in evaluating the risks of RF radiation.

''This article is a clarion call for prevention and precaution,'' said Devra Davis, Ph.D., M.P.H., a toxicologist and epidemiologist who co-authored the paper.

''We know enough now to take steps to reduce exposure to this. '... It's time,'' said Davis, who also is founder and president of the Environmental Health Trust, and founding director of the Center for Environmental Oncology and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

The paper's other authors are:

Paul Ben Ishai, Ph.D., a physicist at Ariel University in Israel.Hugh Taylor, M.D., a professor and department chair of Obstetrics Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine.Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., a toxicologist and former director of the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the NTP.Birnbaum and Taylor are members of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, the nation's premier association of distinguished researchers.

Davis was founding director of the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology of the U.S. National Research Council for the National Academy of Sciences, a private society of distinguished scholars.

Cumulatively, the four authors have published more than 1,600 peer-reviewed articles.

Davis told The Defender there is a ''plethora'' of experimental and epidemiological evidence that establishes a causal relationship between EMR-RF and cancer.

Studies also have shown that EMR/RF can cause DNA damage, and that it can adversely affect fetal development and the endocrine system.

''EMF/RF functions like a classic endocrine disruptor by impairing both male and female reproductive functions,'' the authors said.

They pointed out that senior advisers to the World Health Organization, including Dr. Lennart Hardell, have said that if RF radiation were evaluated based on more current studies, it would likely be upgraded to a probable '-- if not confirmed '-- human carcinogen.

Davis said the paper is a ''landmark'' article '-- ''but the landmark is built on the shoulders of a number of others,'' she added.

Many researchers '-- including James Lin, Ph.D., Louis Slesin, Ph.D., Joel Moskowitz, Ph.D., Lennart Hardell, M.D., Ph.D., Cindy Sage, M.A. and Dr. David Carpenter '-- have worked ''relentlessly'' on the issue of RF radiation, she said.

'Industry-affiliated scientists' distort public discourse on RF radiation

According to the authors, the public discourse around RF radiation has been distorted by some ''fundamentally flawed'' yet widely publicized reports '-- written by ''industry-affiliated scientists'' '-- purporting to show ''no health risk.''

The paper evolved from the authors' discussions of ''several peer-reviewed papers that provided biased analysis, most notably the 2021 review by David Robert Grimes, Ph.D. published in JAMA Oncology,'' Davis told Microwave News.

''It is imperative to insist on a complete picture of the evidence and not the whitewashed or distorted version currently promoted,'' the authors said.

More independent research on RF radiation '-- free from bias by the telecom industry '-- is required. Without this, the authors said, ''We are effectively conducting an uncontrolled experiment on ourselves, our families, and our children.''

The authors also criticized the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for dismissing many of the studies that have shown adverse effects from RF radiation, including the $30 million NTP study done in 2018, which showed ''clear evidence'' that electromagnetic radiation is associated with cancer and DNA damage.

According to Davis, the FDA's rejection of the NTP study was ''deeply flawed'' and ''deeply hypocritical.''

The FDA in 1999 requested the NTP study cellphone radiation, she said. FDA officials were intimately involved in reviewing the study design plans.

''Then when the results came out and some people didn't like it, the FDA began to trash talk their own study,'' Davis said.

Davis said the scientific and regulatory battle around RF radiation today reminded her and her co-authors of the earlier battle around tobacco.

''We were there in the early days when '-- believe it or not '-- 70% of surgeons smoked. And in the 1970s and 1980s, the tobacco industry gave the National Cancer Institute $11 million to study how to make a safe cigarette,'' Davis said.

There was a scientific debate ''that went on for years longer than it should have'' about whether or not tobacco was safe for the environments of children.

''In 1983, when I was the executive director for the National Academy of Sciences Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, we put together a committee to answer the question of whether it was okay to have smoking on airplanes,'' Davis said.

At the time, that was a scientific question, she said, adding that the committee '-- after reviewing the research '-- became the first in the world to issue a ban on smoking in airplanes.

Davis said scientists and the public realized the studies suggesting tobacco was safe were ''manufactured'' by the tobacco industry '-- and the same thing is happening now with RF radiation and the telecom industry, she added.

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Sun, 05 Mar 2023 14:36

Breaking News A shocking report secretly released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has revealed that COVID-19 vaccines, touted as the solution to the alleged SARS-CoV-2 virus, may actually be causing more harm than good to children and young adults in the United States.

Let's not lose touch'...Your Government and Big Tech are actively trying to censor the information reported by The Expos(C) to serve their own needs. Subscribe now to make sure you receive the latest uncensored news in your inbox'...

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) , a staggering 535,000 children and young adults have died since the FDA gave emergency use authorization for the COVID vaccines to be administered to the American public.

This represents a 50% increase in excess deaths among the age group compared to 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the U.S. is not the only country facing this issue.

According to an official report published by the UK Government's Office for National Statistics, Covid-19 vaccinated children are a staggering 4423% or 45 times more likely to die of any cause than unvaccinated children, and 13,633% or 137 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than unvaccinated children.

These findings are nothing short of alarming and have raised serious concerns about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccinations.

Despite these shocking statistics, both the U.S. and UK government have continued to push for more vaccinations, going as far as to extend the emergency use authorisation of the COVID-19 vaccine to children as young as 5 years old in the UK, and as young as 6 months old in the USA.

While the vaccines were allegedly designed to protect everyone from the alleged COVID-19 disease, the data suggests that the vaccines themselves may be responsible for the alarming increase in excess deaths.

In the wake of the recent report by the UK Government's Office for National Statistics on the alarming increase in deaths among vaccinated children, many are left wondering what could be causing this phenomenon.

Neither reports delve into specific causes of death, but there are several possible explanations that have been put forward by medical experts.

One of the most concerning potential causes is the adverse effect that the COVID-19 vaccine may have on the heart. Recent studies have shown that the Covid-19 vaccines can cause inflammation of the heart, a condition known as myocarditis, particularly in young people.

Myocarditis causes inflammation of the heart muscle, which can then cause the heart to become weakened and unable to function properly. Symptoms of myocarditis can include chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, and rapid or irregular heartbeat.

In severe cases, myocarditis can lead to heart failure, cardiac arrest, or even death.

While the exact cause of myocarditis after vaccination is not yet fully understood, some experts believe it may be due to an immune response triggered by the vaccine that mistakenly attacks the heart tissue.

Another possible explanation for the increase in deaths among vaccinated children is the emergence of a strange and rare type of blood clotting disorder known as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS).

This disorder has been observed in many people who have received the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, and it is thought to be caused by an immune response to the vaccine.

But data published by both the U.S. CDC and the UK's MHRA confirm both Pfizer and Moderna's mRNA gene therapy injections are causing the same conditions.

Some medical experts have also raised concerns about the potential long-term effects of the COVID-19 vaccines, particularly on the developing bodies and immune systems of children. It is possible that the vaccines could have unforeseen consequences on children's health that have not yet been fully understood or studied.

Despite these potential risks and concerns, many Governments and pharmaceutical companies continue to push for widespread vaccination, arguing that the benefits outweigh the risks.

However, the recent findings from the UK Office for National Statistics and the CDC in the United States suggest that this simply isn't the case, particularly for children.

In light of these findings, many experts are now calling for a re-evaluation of the risks and benefits of COVID-19 vaccination for children. The risks of serious adverse events must be weighed carefully against the potential benefits of vaccination, particularly in light of the low risk that COVID-19 poses to children.

Despite the mounting evidence against the safety of COVID-19 vaccination, pharmaceutical companies and governments continue to push for more vaccinations, claiming that they are safe and effective. However, many experts are now calling for a re-evaluation of the risks and benefits of these vaccinations, especially for children.

The data coming out of both the UK and the USA is sure to ignite a heated debate among healthcare professionals and the public alike, as the question of the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccinations continues to be a hot-button issue.

Only time will tell what the future holds for the millions of children and young adults who have received these vaccinations, but for now, the shocking truth has been revealed.

Covid-19 vaccination is doing far more harm than good.

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Sun, 05 Mar 2023 14:33

Matt Hancock told aides he wanted to 'frighten the pants off everyone' to ensure compliance with Covid-19 restrictions, leaked messages reveal, as it emerges he told top London lawyers he should be immune from prosecution just days before the WhatsApp scandal broke.

In an online Q&A with law firm Mishcon de Reya, Matt Hancock accused those prosecuting Secretaries of State as 'chasing tabloid headlines' just 12 days ago, The Mirror reports.

It comes as a new swathe of messages from Mr Hancock's WhatsApp account were revealed today, involving discussions over how to scare the public to limit the spread of coronavirus, and when to 'deploy' details of a new strain.

The latest set of WhatsApp exchanges show Mr Hancock and others discussed how to use an announcement about the Kent variant of the virus to scare the public into changing their behaviour.

The messages, among more than 100,000 WhatsApps passed to the Telegraph by journalist Isabel Oakeshott, show that Cabinet Secretary Simon Case suggested in January 2021 that the 'fear' factor would be 'vital' in stopping the spread of the virus.

The latest set of WhatsApp exchanges show Mr Hancock and others discussed how to use an announcement about the Kent variant of the virus to scare the public into changing their behaviour

The discussion took place in December, just three weeks before the whole of the country was placed back under lockdown rules

In December 2020, the exchanges show concern that London Mayor Sadiq Khan could follow the example of Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, who had clashed with the Government over the decision to impose stringent lockdown restrictions on the region.

Mr Hancock's adviser said: 'Rather than doing too much forward signalling, we can roll pitch with the new strain.'

'We frighten the pants of everyone with the new strain,' the then Health Secretary responded.

'But the complication with that Brexit is taking the top line,' he said, in an apparent reference to media coverage of the UK's EU exit.

'Yep that's what will get proper behaviour change,' the adviser said.

'When do we deploy the new variant,' Mr Hancock said.

The conversation, on December 13, came amid concerns about the rapid spread of the virus in south-east England.

Mr Hancock announced that a new Covid-19 variant had been identified in the UK on December 14.

London and south-east England were to enter a new Tier 4 alert level, it was announced on December 19, when then prime minister Boris Johnson also cancelled a promised Christmas 'bubbles' policy allowing families to meet.

The entirety of England entered the third national lockdown on January 6 2021.

Messages from January 10 show Mr Hancock and the Cabinet Secretary discussing ways to ensure compliance.

'More mask-wearing might be the only thing to consider.

'Effectively free and has a very visible impact? Wear masks in all settings outside home and in more workplaces?

'Am not sure that got us much further, did it? Basically, we need to get compliance up.'

The conversation, on December 13, came amid concerns about the rapid spread of the virus in south-east England

Matt Hancock speaks at a coronavirus briefing in Downing Street on April 28, 2021

Mr Hancock tells him, after a brief discussion on angling, that he 'honestly wouldn't move on any small things unless we move on a lot'.

Mr Case agrees: 'I think that is exactly right. Small stuff looks ridiculous. Ramping up messaging - the fear/guilt factor vital.

'I suspect London Nightingale coming into use will feel like a big public moment.

'Especially as I guess it will be full with a couple of days (based on current data).'

The leak has already revealed Rishi Sunak and Mr Hancock complaining about Dominic Cummings' 'nightmare' tenure in Downing Street, as well as the then health secretary's repeated concerns that the then chancellor's signature Eat Out To Help Out initiative was contributing to the spread of Covid-19.

It has also shown Mr Hancock's desperate 41-hour scramble to try and save his career after The Sun was handed photos revealing his affair with Gina Coladangelo, featuring the pair kissing in breach of his own social distancing rules.

As revelations continue to emerge, it has been reported that just days before the first WhatsApp messages were made public Mr Hancock told a top law firm he should not be personally prosecuted over failures by his department such as the failure to protect care homes.

Among the first set of exchanges to be made public appeared to show Mr Hancock ignoring expert medical advise on the need to test all residents entering care homes for Covid-19 - not just those coming from hospital.

The former Health Secretary denied this was the case and accused The Telegraph of leaving out vital context from the conversation.

Sir Chris Whitty told him there should be Covid testing for 'all going into care homes'.

But Mr Hancock's WhatsApp messages revealed he did not follow the guidance, instead telling advisers it 'muddies the waters'.

He told Sir Chris: 'I do not think the community commitment adds anything and it muddies the waters.'

Speaking online to Mishcon de Reya almost two weeks ago, Mr Hancock is said to have called for the whole government to be prosecuted and held accountable in the case of government failings, not just one department and therefore one Secretary of State.

Mr Hancock said: 'I don't think it's an appropriate use of the courts to essentially go chasing tabloid headlines. You know, "Hancock broke the law" '' I didn't break the law.'

His insistence that he did not break the law echoes messages sent as he, girlfriend Gina and special advisor Simon Poole discussed how to manage the publication of photos revealing his affair.

While discussing strategies, Mr Hancock said: 'WE DIDN'T BREAK THE F***ING LAW OK.'

Mr Hancock sent a series of messages to his top team and girlfriend in an effort to save his career - in which his media advisor described the photos as 'a snog and heavy petting'

In the Q&A he also claimed to have banned alcohol in his department, The Mirror reports. But messages revealed this week showed this ban was not instated until nine months into the pandemic in January 2021.

Ms Oakeshott was originally given the material by Mr Hancock while they were collaborating on his memoir of his time in government during the pandemic.

He has condemned the leak as a 'massive betrayal' designed to support an 'anti-lockdown agenda'.

In a statement this week, Mr Hancock said that all the materials for his book have been made available to the official Covid-19 inquiry.

Ms Oakeshott has said the disclosures are in the public interest.

Some of the messages also offered an insight into Boris Johnson's thinking at various stages of the pandemic.

For instance in August 2020, he warned that government messaging was becoming 'mangled', referencing 'private focus groups'.

'Folks my private focus groups telling me our messaging now so mangled as to be totally incomprehensible.

'We need big reset and simple themes pumped over the airwaves especially on social distancing and how many people you can have in your house etc,' he wrote.

A spokesman for the former prime minister said: 'It is not appropriate to comment on these leaks.

'The public inquiry provides the right process for these issues to be examined.'

Representatives for Matt Hancock have been approached for comment.

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Sun, 05 Mar 2023 14:06

Removing Paywall

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Archived Version

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 13:49

With no end in sight to the year-old Ukraine war, defense headlines remain largely, and understandably, focused on Russia's invasion of Europe's frontier. But back home, the Biden administration, military leaders, Congressional partisans, and the U.S. security apparatus appear far more concerned about China. The services are shifting their plans, people, and weapons to deter Beijing from military conflict, to be better positioned to respond, and to have a better chance to survive.

What's changed is that where military leaders used to avoid saying ''China'' when talking publicly about their Pacific worries, it's now all out in the open. Army commanders in the Indo-Pacific region, for example, have always tried to declare the land service's relevance in that vast and mostly air- and sea-covered side of the Earth. This year, it's genuine. U.S. Army Gen. Charles Flynn, of U.S. Army Pacific Command, expects 2023 to be one of the business and most consequential ever.

The goal? Beat China to their punch, which they've forecast could come as early as 2027.

The problem? Convincing Americans to join in the fight.

''Today's young Americans appear to be less interested in enlisting in the Army than they've been at almost any point in the last 50 years,'' writes Defense One's Ben Watson in his State of the Army 2023.

Meanwhile, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger is reshaping his service along Force Design 2030, which has drawn criticism from retired brass. In an interview with Defense One's Caitlin Kenney, Berger said the Marines have finished divesting old gear and he is directing the service to immediately update its stocks and move them into the field: ''not in five years or seven years'--now.''

Berger also is on record with warnings that the Navy's amphibious fleet cannot dip below 31 ships, but with the old caveat that the capability and type of ships matters more than the number. Read more on that in Kenney's State of the Marines 2023.

The Navy is hoping that after several years in which its shipbuilding plans were thrown back in its face by lawmakers and the Trump administration, it finally has a map to follow for at least a few years. Still, debates over the future of the amphibious force and the place of drones and autonomous platforms continue to roil service planning. Read about it in Bradley Peniston's State of the Navy 2023.

The Air Force's future will not resemble even its recent past. That worries Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, who notes, among other changes, that while in the Middle East war years the Air Force was able to fly into large and secure air bases, that will not be guaranteed in any conflict with China or Russia. He wants the service to have more options and quicker decision making. Jen Hlad writes, ''As for the 2024 budget, expect another significant funding bump as the service plans to launch several new programs.'' Highlights will include more drones and, yet again, new aerial refueling capabilities.

Meanwhile at Space Force, newly launched chief of operations Gen. Saltzman says now that much of the organization and personnel are in place, Guardians need to practice their operational skills and do so with intelligence. ''The personnel have to be trained. We have to have operational concepts. We have to have tactics that are validated. The operators have to practice those tactics.'' That means asking Congress for more simulators, ranges, testing equipment, digital engineering, and more, Hlad reports. Read more on what the future holds at State of the Air Force and Space Force.

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Sun, 05 Mar 2023 13:45

Authored by Jamie Joseph via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The historic storm that swept through California over the last week'--prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency March 1'--has passed.

A vehicle is partially covered in snow, in the San Gabriel Mountains in San Bernardino County near Los Angeles County, in Mount Baldy, Calif., on Feb. 24, 2023. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)But for residents living in San Bernardino Mountain communities, the nightmare has only just begun, as many remain snowed in rationing food, medications, water, and heat.

''I can't even walk 50 feet because it's up to my shoulders,'' Lake Arrowhead resident Becky Gardner told The Epoch Times.

A collage of screenshots taken on March 3, 2023 of Lake Arrowhead resident Becky Gardner's backyard before and after a major storm swept across Southern California. (Courtesy of Becky Gardner)Gardner said she panicked when she saw pictures on social media of some locals spending hours digging out snow from on-top gas meters to prevent gas leaks. Melting snow, experts say, can block a vent on a meter's regulator disrupting gas pressure which could lead to a fire or explosion.

The San Bernardino County Fire Department advised residents to do so if they can get to their meters safely, according to a March 2 post on Twitter.

Gardner said she is concerned for her elderly neighbors, who have also been stuck inside for over a week. With uncertainty of when roads will be cleared, she said she is preparing to save her last logs of wood for her fireplace.

Like Gardner, anxiety and frustration have been mounting for some residents who remain trapped.

''It's been about 10 days,'' Lake Arrowhead resident Casey McLelland told The Epoch Times.

McLelland said the family has lived in the area since the 1970s and they say they've never seen anything like this.

''This is truly, truly one of a kind,'' she said.

Some residents contemplate blowing through roadblocks (ZH: Screenshot)She said her 90-year-old grandmother, who lives across town by herself, is out of medication for her arthritis and has been without heat since last night.

She said she is losing hope and has lost track of time.

''If you have a life or death emergency right now, more than likely you're going to die,'' she said. ''I'm not trying to be dire or dramatic, but that's kind of where it's at this moment, because even if a fire department gets the call, they can't get to you,'' she said.

According to the National Weather Service, Lake Arrowhead received more than 8 feet of snow over the last week. Normally, the region accumulates around 13 feet of snow each year.

Since the most recent storm, San Bernardino County crews have been working to clear roads as fast as possible and deliver much-needed essentials to desperately trapped residents and visitors.

''They're all doing the same mission,'' San Bernardino Cal Fire spokesperson Allison Hester Lee Told The Epoch Times.

According to Lee, crews are prioritizing locations to clear first based on callers who are without food or water, or have a life-threatening emergency.

Nearby Twin Peaks was hit the hardest. According to county officials, they received nearly 800 calls for help during the storm and now in its aftermath'--the most for the entire San Bernardino mountain region.

Read more here...

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Archived Version

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 13:41

For the latest evidence that woke academia is dragging Western society into madness, we present Southern Illinois University Edwardsville professor Angel Jones, who argues that black university professors and staff should be allowed bereavement leave whenever any black person is victimized...anywhere.

Angel Jones discusses her book, Street Scholar (Chloe Wolfe via The Alestle)Writing at Times Higher Education, Jones accuses American colleges and universities of disregarding Black faculty and staff's mental and emotional well-being in the aftermath of "societal events" involving a black person. Contrasting against the "bare minimum" response that's offered to black students, Jones asks:

"Where is the acknowledgment of our pain? Where are our counselling services? Where is our grace for missed meetings and deadlines while we mourn?"

Underscoring the broad range of qualifying events, Jones spotlights the example of Tyre Nichols, the black man savagely beaten to death in January by...five other black men with Memphis police badges.

Jones, whose work is "grounded in Critical Race Theory and Critical Race Feminism," ridicules the notion that, as a black woman, she would be "expected to return to 'business as usual' on Monday after seeing a member of my community murdered on Friday." The SIU-E campus is more than 300 miles from Memphis, and Jones gives no indication of any personal relationship with Nichols.

Returning to ''business as usual'' is a while privilege. Black people are in mourning after seeing ANOTHER member of our community brutally beaten and killed by the police. Expecting us to return to work/school unscathed is insensitive and unrealistic (1/9)

'-- Angel Jones, PhD (@AngelJonesPhD) January 30, 2023In a fleeting moment of clarity, Jones recognizes that "some may have thought I was joking when I mentioned Black bereavement leave, but I wasn't."

As for how much of a free pass black faculty and staff should receive after a black person is victimized anywhere within range of the internet, Jones calls for "flexibility":

"Some may need a day off while others may just need to be able to work from home. Some may need a small extension on a deadline while others may need to have something removed from their plate completely."

Jones university biography reads something like the profile pages of woke-parody Twitter accounts:

Expertise: "racial microaggressions, Racial Battle Fatigue, and gendered-racism"

Research focus: "The impact of racism on the mental health of Black students at historically White institutions"

Recent study: "How Black graduate women respond to and cope with gendered-racial microaggression"

Next study: "Exploring the experiences of Afro-Latina students with Racial Battle Fatigue"

Pronouns: "she/her/ella"

Jones and critical race scholars like her all across Western academia foster black fragility and interracial tension...but, hey, it's a living, and one that's divorced from rational market forces.

Black women are often underpaid and undervalued, so receiving a message like this really made my heart smile. It is a beautiful reminder that WE get to determine our worth, not anyone else. pic.twitter.com/GG33TlzoGi

'-- Angel Jones, PhD (@AngelJonesPhD) February 24, 2023Loading...

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Archived Version

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 13:15

Washington CNN '--

The head of the US government watchdog for the war in Afghanistan said Tuesday that while there are a number of things the US could learn from the nearly 20-year conflict in Afghanistan and apply to the war in Ukraine, he's not optimistic that officials will actually do so.

''I'm not super optimistic that we are going to learn our lessons '... learning lessons is not in our DNA in the United States, unfortunately,'' John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, told reporters at a Defense Writers Group event on Tuesday.

Sopko spoke with reporters the day after a SIGAR report was published outlining why Afghan security forces collapsed as the Taliban swept through the country in 2021, after years of the US focusing on equipping and training them.

The report comes as lawmakers in Congress have made clear they plan to hold additional hearings and further investigate the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Sopko emphasized on Tuesday that Ukraine and Afghanistan are totally different countries and cultures. He added, however, that there are multiple opportunities for the US to apply lessons learned from Afghanistan to the war in Ukraine as the US continues assisting the country's stand against Russia.

One of those is to establish oversight early, which appears to already be happening. The Pentagon's inspector general told lawmakers on Tuesday that the Defense Department inspector general has completed five Ukraine-related oversight projects since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began, and some 20 more audits are either planned or currently ongoing.

Officials also need to learn how to coordinate the different countries and agencies operating in Ukraine more effectively than they did in Afghanistan, Sopko said, and ensure that they don't have unrealistic timelines. Ultimately, he said officials need to really understand the country they're working in and their needs.

''Early on, we realized that we were building things in Afghanistan that the Afghans didn't need, didn't want, didn't even know they were getting and couldn't sustain,'' Sopko said. ''We have to make certain we go into Ukraine and listen to the Ukrainians on what they need, what they want, what they can sustain.''

But Sopko added that while he and his team have been approached by other countries to speak to them about their reports, and are aware of European countries doing their own studies, they have ''not been approached by DoD, State, or USAID at a high level or official level to talk about any of these lessons we've learned.''

''How many people want to talk about Afghanistan at the Pentagon? How many people want to talk about Afghanistan at State, or AID? Not many,'' he said. ''And you know this report, with its companion report, is the only official US government report that's public '... on the 20 years spent in Afghanistan. To me, I'm very glad that we were able to do this, but I'm an inspector general. You would think the Department of Defense or Department of State or USAID or the National Security Council would have come out with something official on the 20 years there.''

He added that the Pentagon said it is working on an internal report regarding Afghanistan, but ''how many years are we going to wait for that? I think the American people and Congress at least have a right to know what happened.''

The report said that while SIGAR issued an interim version of the same report in May 2022, the Defense and State departments ''declined to review that interim draft, denied us access to their staff, and mostly declined to answer requests for information.''

Included in Mondays' report is a letter from a defense official earlier this month which says the Pentagon disagreed with SIGAR's ''suggestion that the United States did not adequately communicate to the Afghan Government its plans regarding the withdrawal of US forces.'' The letter signed by Rebecca Zimmerman, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia, also says that her staff met with SIGAR after the interim report was published and offered ''to continue to meet regularly '... but the author did not follow up.''

But on Tuesday, Sopko doubled down, telling reporters that lawmakers were ''outraged'' over Defense and State's lack of cooperation.

''When we talk about the lack of cooperation by DoD, we've got emails, and we've got memo traffic to support everything we said about their lack of cooperation,'' Sopko said. ''I know one nameless, faceless bureaucrat in the Pentagon said, 'Oh, well, somebody came over once.' No, no, we have the paperwork.''

The report released this week also provided an itemized list of the $7.2 billion worth of equipment that US forces left behind in the withdrawal, including Humvees, armored combat vehicles, drones, machine guns, sniper rifles, night vision devices and more.

At least some of that was destroyed or rendered unusable by US forces, Sopko said, but ''a lot of it wasn't.''

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Archived Version

Sat, 04 Mar 2023 22:29

In a recent Foreign Affairs essay co-authored with MIT economist Simon Johnson, I argued that it was essential for the G-7 and allied states to deploy a far-reaching strategy of Ukrainian reconstruction, tied to the ongoing process of EU accession for Ukraine, and funded in part by frozen Russian state and state-related assets.

The legal issue related to frozen Russian assets is important and contested. At an April 28 hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Tom Malinowski, who has been leading the legislative push to address Russian assets, asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken if he was looking beyond the issue of oligarch assets to address frozen Russian central bank assets to help rebuild Ukraine. Secretary Blinken said he agreed with this goal. The State Department was, he said, in the process of examining what could be done to utilize these assets, and how. On May 8, Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign affairs leader, told the Financial Times that he was ''very much in favour'' of using these funds to rebuild Ukraine, given ''the incredible amount of money'' involved. ''This is one of the most important political questions on the table,'' he said. ''Who is going to pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine.''

Paul Stephan has critiqued the legality of trying to seize or sell off Russian assets. But much of his fire was directed at a different approach that had been suggested in a New York Times op-ed by Laurence Tribe and Jeremy Lewin. Picking up on Stephan's well-publicized critique, Roll Call wrote that Biden's plan to use Russian money ''would take an act of Congress and poses some risk to US taxpayers.'' If the plan is designed carefully, neither of these statements needs to be true. Here is how, legally, the United States and allied governments might implement the approach I advocated with Johnson.

The approach uses established international law on state countermeasures for wrongful state action, including the precedent of internationally imposed compensation after the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. These precedents must be adapted to the circumstances of this major war, which is not likely to end soon. This approach is not meant to coerce Russian behavior, though the procedures should give Russia more chances to meet its international obligations or make a deal with Ukraine. Nor is this approach about punishing Russia. It is about how to compensate, and save, Ukraine.

To start, it is important to clear up two crucial legal points.

Much of the press and public commentary about asset seizures, accompanying the House passage of H.R. 6930 , has focused on oligarchs and their allegedly ill-gotten gains. I offer no view about the forfeiture arguments. The only factor of interest for the analysis here is whether the private assets can be treated legally as Russian state assets. To treat nominally private assets as Russian state assets would probably require a judicial determination of some kind that the affected individuals could contest.

But oligarch property is not the main issue. In scale of funds, the frozen central bank assets are probably at least 10 times larger in value and far more liquid than the miscellaneous assets of various oligarchs. The estimated scale of frozen central bank assets is about $300 billion; the estimated scale of frozen oligarch assets is about $30 billion. Russian central bank assets are usually held in marketable securities, cash or gold. Megayachts or mansions aren't as immediately liquid because they must be sold.

In addition, much of the commentary, even some legal commentary, regards the U.S. or allied government interest in these assets as essentially punitive. A punitive focus on how to hurt Russia, however understandable, misses the main issue. The main issue is to help save Ukraine. Some leaders may not yet fully comprehend the financial requirements to rescue the Ukrainian economy.

Russia's economy may contract this year by about 10-15 percent . That is an important decline. Ukraine's economy is likely to contract this year by 40-50 percent . That is the brink of utter economic collapse.

Press and commentary naturally focus on Russia's troubles in the fighting on the ground. But tragically, by contrast, Russia's military-economic war has been going relatively well. It is gradually destroying Ukraine's solvency as an independent state and the hope of its people in an independent future. Russia has effectively run a naval blockade to stop all of Ukraine's maritime commerce, which are lifelines for Ukraine's economy. Russia has badly damaged Ukraine's air and ground transportation infrastructure, energy facilities, farming, and manufacturing, aside from all the damage to the cities and displacement of a large fraction of the population. As Ukraine's economy unravels, its society and governance will also start to disintegrate. This result will probably happen in months, not years. I believe the Russian leadership understands this perfectly well.

A counteroffensive to rebuild Ukraine will require at least $500 billion over a number of years. A promising outline of such a program design, '' A Blueprint for the Reconstruction of Ukraine , '' has been offered by a group of outstanding economists including my co-author of the Foreign Affairs piece, Simon Johnson, working with the London-based Centre for Economic Policy Research. As that report points out, there are precedents for reconstruction assistance on such a scale, but they are indeed extraordinary.

The kind of civilian aid the Biden administration and the international financial institutions are now putting in motion may seem large'--billions per month. Yet the economic side of this is still mainly just budget and humanitarian support to keep Ukraine's government afloat . As Borrell pointed out to the Financial Times, current aid plans ''were just a drop in the bucket'' compared to what was needed. The much-publicized recent aid proposals do not yet come with enough money to counter the Russian war on Ukraine's economy or offset the coming economic collapse and erosion of hope.

This is a massive amount of money needed to address a massive need. That is the context for studying how to redeploy the reported $300 billion or more in Russian central bank and other state assets currently frozen by the U.S. and allied governments. These sums do not yet include any of the energy-related accounts currently exempt from sanctions.

International Law and State Countermeasures

Stephan was rightly concerned not to set a precedent of ''self-judging'' in which the U.S., for example, unilaterally finds that Russia's current war is a serious breach of international law. It wouldn't just be the U.S., however, making determinations about the impropriety of Russia's conduct. The U.N. General Assembly on March 2 overwhelmingly adopted an emergency resolution condemning Russia's war, finding that Russia's government had committed international aggression in violation of the U.N. Charter and demanding that Russia immediately stop and withdraw.

Also important is Russia's defiance of the provisional orders issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on March 16 in the case of Ukraine v. Russian Federation . By a vote of 13-2 (the Russian and Chinese judges dissenting), the ICJ ordered that the ''Russian Federation shall immediately suspend the military operations that it commenced on 24 February 2022 in the territory of Ukraine.'' As others have pointed out , although the ruling had focused on whether the Genocide Convention could justify Russia's war, the ICJ's provisional measures used ''all-encompassing language'' that ''would apply to Russia regardless of their objection and stated justification,'' including Russia's spurious self-defense claim.

Stephan was troubled that the ICJ proceeding was only preliminary. On that point, the ICJ explicitly reaffirmed, citing its own precedents, that, though its orders in this case were provisional, they do have binding effect. As the court held, the orders ''thus create international legal obligations'' for Russia. By continuing its military operations for the past two months, Russia has obviously defied those obligations.

States are therefore entitled, legally, to take countermeasures to bring Russia into compliance with its obligations. Traditionally, such state countermeasures were often referred to as authorized ''reprisals.'' The current formulations of customary international law try to be more constructive. Russia's compliance now includes an obligation to compensate Ukraine, and possibly other countries, for damage done.

A basic statement of the relevant international law is in the International Law Commission's Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (ARSIWA). The statement is valuable because it is a reasonable summary of long-standing customary international law and provides a common basis for discussion with allied governments around the world. The U.N. General Assembly first welcomed the preparation of the articles in 2002, in Res. 56/83 , and has continued to review them periodically. The General Assembly acknowledged in 2019, for example, ''that a growing number of decisions of international courts, tribunals and other bodies refer'' to these articles. Governments still disagree about whether the articles ought to be codified into a formal treaty or are already serving their purpose well enough by clarifying well-established customary international law.

The main principles from ARSIWA relevant here could be applied to Russia as follows:

As a state responsible for internationally wrongful acts, Russia is ''under an obligation to compensate for the damage caused thereby, insofar as such damage is not made good by restitution.'' (Article 36) As this is a ''serious breach,'' a ''gross or systematic failure,'' no state shall recognize a situation caused by Russia's war as lawful or assist in maintaining this situation. (Articles 40-41) As the obligation breached is owed to a group of states and the international community, in their collective interest, any affected state can invoke Russia's responsibility as if it were an injured state. (Articles 42, 48) Thus any of these states may insist that Russia perform its obligation to compensate Ukraine or other beneficiaries. (Article 48(2)(b)) States making claims against Russia, including states other than Ukraine, as mentioned above, should give notice and invoke Russia's responsibility for its wrongful conduct and offer to negotiate Russian compliance. (Articles 43, 52) To induce Russia to stop its aggression and compensate Ukraine and other damaged states, all those states can take countermeasures. Such countermeasures can include non-performance for the time being of international obligations of the State taking the measures towards'' Russia, as long as they continue to comply with law on the use of force, humanitarian rights, and other peremptory norms of international law, including diplomatic and consular privileges. (Article 50) In other words, states that unlawfully attack, destroy, and steal the property of others can limit their rights to demand that their own usual international property rights are entitled to respect.

Design of the State Countermeasures for Compensation

Commenting on my and Johnson's argument, Stephan correctly pointed out that the law of countermeasures ''imposes procedural and substantive requirements, which, depending on how it is implemented, their proposal may not satisfy.'' The path presented here can chart such a path, giving notice and focusing on compensation.

My approach is a novel use of state countermeasures that may seem unfamiliar. Normally, international lawyers are accustomed to a sanctions construct with a strategy of coercive diplomacy, to induce a state to reverse its behavior, at which point the sanctions are lifted.

This major war is not that kind of situation. Coercive diplomacy is not a promising strategy. Nor are state countermeasures meant to be used in a purely punitive way.

The appropriate strategy, consistent with international law, is compensatory. Yet the strategy should also give Russia a plain chance and incentive to make a deal. That kind of strategy gives full weight to the international law that obliges Russia to compensate a directly injured state like Ukraine.

Nor is this a situation in which discussion of postwar reparations precedents is very interesting or helpful. Months into this war, Russia is looting and wrecking Ukraine on a colossal scale. Meanwhile, just in 2022, Russia is on track to earn at least $200 to $300 billion (or more) from energy sales, with its earnings greatly enlarged by its illegal war. If, on top of that, Russia's frozen assets are merely locked up instead of put to use compensating Ukraine and other injured states, and if Russia also gets a veto power over performance of the obligation to compensate, then the whole point of the international legal obligations will become perverted'--such an interpretation of international law would work to the advantage of the outlaw aggressor, destroying the rights of the injured state, which the law is supposed to serve.

Thus, in this case, the state countermeasure should be designed as a kind of equitable remedy to enforce performance of the Russian obligation to compensate. Rough analogies, in domestic law, are to involuntary trusts or conservatorships, created to transfer property where there has been a wrongful act or created to perform obligations by property holders who are unable to perform those obligations, unable to pay their debts.

In 1991, the U.N. Security Council set up the U.N. Compensation Commission for Iraq . In a series of Security Council resolutions, the compensation obligation was imposed on a defeated Iraq as a condition of ceasing military operations, administered by a newly created U.N. Compensation Commission, and funded by forcing all Iraqi oil revenue into a U.N. escrow account, from which a portion was allocated for compensation. Just this year, 2022, the commission made its final payment , having disbursed more than $50 billion. As Bernhard Graefrath and Manfred Mohr commented , ''[I]n cases of aggression (international crimes) '... the [compensation] obligation is not open to negotiation, it has to be accepted by the aggressor State.'' In that case, the U.N. Security Council set up the enforcement procedures for payment, and ''the whole economy of the country concerned may be subjected to international control.'' No court decisions were required.

In this case, the Russian aggression is established by a resolution of the General Assembly utilizing its power to meet in an emergency special session ''if the Security Council, because of lack of unanimity of the permanent members, fails to exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.'' It is also established by Russian defiance of the unequivocal order of the ICJ.

The compensation obligation should be enforced immediately. It cannot wait for a postwar treaty or resolution because it is unrealistic to plan for a compensation fund to be imposed on a defeated Russia and it may be gravely unwise to insist on such ambitious war aims. And, by the time there is a ''postwar,'' Ukraine's economy may have entirely collapsed.

States can act now to enforce Russia's obligations either based on the current General Assembly resolution and ICJ ruling, or with a further General Assembly resolution passed in emergency special session, though I am not sure a further resolution is necessary. After due notice to Russia, giving Russia a chance to negotiate compliance with its obligations, states could transfer Russian state assets to an internationally supervised trust fund established to help compensate and rebuild Ukraine. On March 24-25, the European Union agreed to establish a suitable fund, the Ukraine Solidarity Trust Fund. Since the reconstruction plans should deeply involve the EU, this structure is superior to one created in the U.N. system.

One option is for states to transfer, or vest, title of the Russian assets to the compensation fund. In the U.S. case, that might require new legislation to provide the authority to do this. If new language is needed, it can be written narrowly to empower transfer for compensation in a case like this, not a general right of seizure.

My preference is a model in which the assets remain delineated as Russian property, not commingled with other non-Russian funds, where the transferring states empower the compensation fund to use these assets to perform Russia's compensation obligation. Since the point of the program would be to enforce Russia's obligation to compensate, it may help legally to use funds traceable to the Russian state. Such funds, or what remains of them, could then still be returned to Russia if the countermeasures are terminated.

In this plan, the countermeasures could be terminated, and remaining Russian funds returned to effective Russian control, once Russia either complies with its international obligations, including compensation (Article 53), or Russia and Ukraine authorize ''a court or tribunal'' to resolve outstanding issues ''with authority to make decisions binding on the parties,'' parties who would comply ''in good faith.'' (Article 52). Thus, beyond the original notice to Russia and opportunity to negotiate, this plan would give Russia a continuing inducement to comply with its obligations or reach an agreement with Ukraine, to regain control over remaining funds or participate in an agreed process to dispose of them (Article 49).

Russian consent to the imposition of such a compensation fund is not required by the international law of state countermeasures, or by traditional understandings of lawful reprisals. And as a policy matter, requiring Russian consent while safeguarding Russian assets from being put at risk would reward Russia's aggression, by granting Russia a right simply to wait until Ukraine is defeated or its economy is destroyed. In such a situation, the claim of compensation might also be defeated rather than addressed, as more people's lives, property, business activities and public infrastructure become irrevocably damaged.

The state countermeasures proposed here to help compensate Ukraine and other injured states are proportionate to the injury Russia has inflicted. This is just as international law requires. Such countermeasures are indeed ''taking into account the gravity of the internationally wrongful act and the rights in question'' (Article 51).

Some Policy Concerns

Some colleagues have argued to me that transfer of Russian assets will discourage future reliance on dollars and euros as reserve currencies. States around the world have already crossed that Rubicon with their massive freezing of Russia's funds. Firms or governments managing foreign exchange accounts are already incorporating these political risks into their calculations. And as long as the dollar and the euro remain politically coordinated, linked politically and with swap lines to other currencies, asset holders will continue to rely on dollar or euro accounts.

Russia could retaliate against foreign assets held inside Russia, but that is already happening . Russia is already nationalizing some of these assets as the owners withdraw from operations in Russia and taking other actions against foreign investors. If those asset owners believe Russia's actions are unlawful, they can file their own claims, targeting Russian assets around the world.

Also, Russia still has a large incentive to negotiate in order to protect other gigantic worldwide assets that remain at risk. Russia may have written off the already-frozen assets as gone. But Russia has definitely not written off its hundreds of billions of dollars and euros in ongoing energy revenue. These earnings are mostly deposited in banks that operate in Europe and the United States. Those accounts are still exempt from sanctions, though that could change. Over time, states and private actors could more aggressively target these and other Russian assets, including Russia's commercial ships and oil cargoes. If it wants to prevent hundreds of billions of dollars in further losses, or draw a line to limit postwar claims, Russia will need plenty of diplomacy.

But even if transferring Russian assets did make diplomacy more difficult, the allied states should still proceed. Ukraine's economy and society are at risk of disintegrating, and the West must soon deploy a strategy of hope if it wants to counter Russia's strategy of despair. Only a joint effort on an epic scale can do that, one that displays positive resolve comparable to the destructive impulse animating Moscow's war. It is also difficult to think of any better scenario for eventually disposing of Russia's frozen assets. Returning them to Putin seems unlikely and unwise, and European, Japanese, and American taxpayers may be unlikely to support funding Ukraine's reconstruction so long as Russia's assets are not being utilized.

Domestic Legal Issues

The U.S. government will be able to make a reasonable argument about its authority to ''transfer'' the Russian funds. In Dames & Moore v. Regan , the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the president's authority under International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) Section 1702(a)(1)(B) to ''transfer'' certain Iranian assets back to Iran, via the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The petitioner in the case argued that IEEPA gave authority only for a freeze, not a transfer.

''We do not agree,'' the Supreme Court held, ''and refuse to read out of § 1702 all meaning to the words 'transfer,' 'compel,' or 'nullify.''' Orders under this statute are meant '''to put control of foreign assets in the hands of the President,''' for use as a bargaining chip with foreign countries, for example. If the Biden administration feels it needs more authority to transfer Russian assets to an international compensation fund, Congress is likely to supply the desired language. The same is true in allied governments and their domestic laws.

In considering U.S. domestic and constitutional law, it is useful to distinguish the legal problem of oligarch assets. These assets are claimed as private property. To use these assets to help Ukraine, I believe the U.S. and allied governments have two options. They can use forfeiture proceedings, if they can associate the assets with unlawful conduct as required by their forfeiture laws . Then the new asset holder, like the U.S. government, can liquidate or transfer the property in any lawful manner. Or, second, if they have sufficient evidence, they can use legal proceedings to determine that the property should, in fact, be regarded as property of the Russian state. Then, in that second case, the Russian state assets can be transferred for performance of Russia's obligations.

Stephan makes a reasonable argument that the Russian state might well have a right to sue to contest the seizure of its assets. ''When bringing a suit,'' he acknowledged, Russia ''necessarily would have to waive [its] immunity from U.S. judicial process.'' The safest legal approach for the U.S. might be one that transfers traceable Russian state assets to the international compensation fund, not to the U.S. Treasury Department. It is not clear that the Russian state would be successful in U.S. court in an attempt to challenge a U.S. state countermeasure, valid under international law, as a violation of the Russian government's supposed U.S. constitutional rights under the Fifth and 14th Amendments.

If such a challenge was heard on the merits in a U.S. court, then I believe the U.S. position could rely on the due process required in international relations by international law, in other words, the notice and opportunity to negotiate (Articles 43 and 52, mentioned above). Russia would also have the option to seek redress in the ICJ. Russia could even ask for provisional orders delaying the asset transfers or disbursements by the compensation fund. The ICJ would probably await, with great anticipation, such a rediscovered Russian interest in the ICJ's provisional orders.

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Archived Version

Sat, 04 Mar 2023 17:32

Inclusivity shouldn't just be present in the workplace '-- it should be practiced during the hiring process as well. But unfortunately, nonbinary job seekers are facing clear biases during their job search.

According to a new report from Business.com, a business resource platform, over 80% of nonbinary people believe that identifying as nonbinary would hurt their job search. Similarly, 51% believe their gender identity has affected their workplace experience "very or somewhat negatively."

Ryan McGonagill, director of industry research at Business.com and author of the report, says these statistics show just how much work there is to do around diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in the workplace.

"We clearly have more work to do on several fronts. Over the past 10 years, DEIB efforts have been prioritized by many companies; however, the results of this study and past research show that teams in most industries aren't proportionately representative of the U.S. population," McGonagill tells CNBC Make It. "And worse, many people (like the nonbinary individuals we spoke with in our research) feel like they don't belong."

"Companies should have clearly-outlined initiatives and timelines for improving diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. On top of that, they should measure their employees' sense of belonging. Investing in these efforts can only be positive for companies and team members alike."

'Phantom' resume test exposes biasBusiness.com also went a step further by sending two identical phantom resumes to "180 unique job postings that were explicitly open to entry-level candidates" in an effort to test "whether or not the inclusion of gender-neutral pronouns impacts how employers perceive resumes."

"Both featured a gender-ambiguous name, 'Taylor Williams.' The only difference between the test and control resumes was the presence of gender pronouns on the test version," McGonagill said in the report. "The test resume included "they/them" pronouns under the name in the header." She/her and he/him pronouns were not tested.

The phantom resume including pronouns received 8% less interest than the one without, and fewer interview and phone screening invitations.

According to the report, over 64% of the companies that received these resumes were Equal Opportunity Employers, something that made the results even more "worrisome."

"The law makes it clear that you cannot base any employment decision (hiring, terminating, or otherwise) based on their gender identity," McGonagill says. "It's incredibly disappointing and unethical that many of the hiring managers in our study would disqualify a candidate for being authentic."

'Check yourself and hold your team accountable'Zelna McGee, senior director of learning and development at Centerfield Media, Business.com's holding company, says that inclusive hiring practices and workplaces have to be intentional about minimizing bias.

"When you're determining your hiring process, think about how bias could be introduced and how to mitigate it," McGee explains. "For example, your interview panel should be diverse in order to hold each other accountable and bring awareness to blind spots. The same can be said for filtering resumes or any other part of the hiring process."

"If someone is new to hiring, have them partner with someone more experienced that could bring these biases to light. We all have biases, even if we don't want to or don't believe that we do. Put strategies in place to check yourself and hold your team accountable."

For nonbinary individuals struggling to feel accepted as their authentic selves in the workplace, McGee urges them to speak out about their experiences.

"If you have a DEIB leader in your organization, reach out to them. It's their job to prevent and have a deep understanding of bias in the workplace. If you work for a smaller company without that function, speak with someone you can trust," McGee says. "What have you experienced? What's been said to make you feel othered? Make your voice heard '-- you deserve that, and you do not deserve to feel unaccepted."

"Company leaders should also be proactive in preventing these situations through employee education and conversation. Help your team members understand what it means to truly be inclusive and consider different perspectives."

Check out:

10 corporate buzzwords that show up in job listings the most'--and how to use them to land a role

Want to sound smarter at work? Avoid these 10 pretentious phrases

80% of workers who quit in the 'great resignation' have regrets, according to a new survey

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Sat, 04 Mar 2023 17:11

Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă surprised his Cabinet on Wednesday by introducing them to a new member '-- run completely on artificial intelligence.

Ciucă introduced the new "honorary adviser" called Ion to the rest of his ministers in a demonstration, with a face and words appearing on a digital screen, responding to the prime minister's prompts along with a computerized voice.

Ion was developed by Romanian researchers and will use artificial intelligence to "quickly and automatically capture the opinions and desires" submitted by Romanian citizens, Ciucă said.

"We are talking about the first government adviser to use artificial intelligence," both nationally and internationally, he said.

Romanians will be able to send their ideas through an accompanying website (ion.gov.ro) as well as on social media and some in-person locations. Ion will then synthesize their contributions for the government to consider, according to the coordinator of the research team, Nicu Sebe. Users won't, however, receive a response from Ion itself.

Instead, Research and Innovation Minister Sebastian Burduja, whose office is overseeing the project, explained that Ion will analyze the information it receives and draw up reports about Romanians' priorities.

Ciucă urged citizens and the government to view participation in the project not as an option, but as an "obligation" to ensure "close and timely" communication.

But Kris Shrishak, a technology fellow at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, said this technology should be used with caution, raising questions about how Ion will choose what it considers to be a priority from the messages it receives.

"This should be explained to the public," Shrishak said.

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Sat, 04 Mar 2023 17:09

DARPAThe U.S. government wants to help special operations forces by building a new type of high-speed aircraft that doesn't need a runway.

The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced on Wednesday that it's working with the Special Operations Command on the Speed and Runway Independent Technologies, or SPRINT, program. The project could meet a growing demand for aircraft that can land on unprepared surfaces.

DARPA director Stefanie Tompkins said the new aircraft could be used for combat medical evacuations or aid soldiers trying to get into remote locations. The details of the program are hazy, as you'd expect from a secrecy-shrouded agency like DARPA. Still, a rendering of the proposed mysterious aircraft lacks helicopter rotors, and the emphasis is on speed.

More From Popular Mechanics

Joining the VTOL CrowdIf the DARPA project succeeds, the new craft could join the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey as a solution for troops trying to get into rugged terrain quickly. The Osprey, a tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities, has become the vehicle of choice for many U.S. special operators and regular forces.

But the Osprey has had a troubled service record. First flown in 1989, the V-22 has had 13 hull loss accidents, resulting in 51 fatalities. Recently, the Osprey fleet was grounded due to issues with the aircraft's clutch, which has been found to occasionally disengage during landing, leading to the potential for accidents.

Despite its problems, the V-22 has filled a critical niche. Using its prop rotor blades, the Osprey can take off and land in tight spaces or without a runway like a helicopter. Once off the ground, the rotors can rotate forward for horizontal flight, converting the V-22 to a more fuel-efficient, higher-speed turboprop aircraft.

No Runway NecessaryDrones could be part of the solution to finding landing spots without runways. BAE Systems recently showed off its new unmanned VTOL. The Strix can fit in a standard shipping container and carry various weapons, including the AGM-114 Hellfire.

Future wars might demand more aircraft that can land in places that don't have runways. A RAND Corporation report predicted that if China attacked Taiwan, the conflict could begin with the destruction of airfields.

Taiwan might already be battle-testing its own VTOL drones. The country's Revolver 860 VTOL drones were reportedly sold to Poland and transferred to Ukraine. A recent social media post showed the Revolver dropping mortar shells on Russian troops.

Science and Technology Journalist

Sascha Brodsky, a freelance journalist based in New York City and a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, writes about many aspects of technology including personal technology, AI, and virtual reality. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, and many other publications. In his spare time, he enjoys cycling and hiking.

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Sat, 04 Mar 2023 16:58

Beginning in April 2023, Discover will become the first credit card issuer to track gun purchases made by their cardholders.

On September 11, 2022, Breitbart News noted that Visa caved to pressure from gun control groups and New York Democrats, agreeing to flag gun and ammo purchases via a new sales categorization. The Associated Press observed that Mastercard and other major credit cards also agreed to flag gun sales.

On March 2, 2023, the Independent Journal Review (IJR) reported that Discover will be first among credit card companies to track gun sales, inasmuch as the company will begin doing so in April.

IJR explained, ''Anyone using a Discover card to make a purchase in a gun store will have that purchase tracked, beginning in April.''

There are over 55 million Discover cards in usage, so a lot of information on gun purchases can be gathered via that one company.

Reuters pointed out Discover Financial Services was ahead of Visa and Mastercard in February 2023, noting that Discover would ''allow its network to track purchases at gun retailers come April, making it the first among its peers to publicly give a date for moving ahead with the initiative, which is aimed at helping authorities probe gun-related crimes.''

Discover told Reuters, ''We remain focused on continuing to protect and support lawful purchases on our network while protecting the privacy of cardholders.''

The code for tracking gun purchases was approved by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in September 2022, and an ISO representative indicated, ''The decision to use the new merchant category code is eventually left up to the users in the industry.''

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. AWR Hawkins holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.

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Sat, 04 Mar 2023 16:43

Washington '-- The Biden administration official with direct responsibility for the U.S. Army laid out in surprising detail this week a multi-pronged strategy for deterring, and if necessary, prevailing in any future war with China.

''I personally am not of the view that an amphibious invasion of Taiwan is imminent,'' U.S. Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth told an audience at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) on Monday. ''But we obviously have to prepare, to be prepared to fight and win that war.''

Elements of the plan include placing more troops in Asia and arming them with upgraded equipment, including ship-to-shore vessels and hypersonic weapons, much of which will be pre-positioned in the region.

''Our goal is to avoid fighting a land war in Asia,'' Wormuth said. ''I think the best way to avoid fighting that war is by showing China and countries in that region we can actually win that war.''

Key components of 'campaigning'

Wormuth laid out three key components of what she called ''campaigning'' by the U.S. Army to deter such a war, beginning with coalition building with foreign allies and partners to ''complicate'' the Chinese leadership's decision-making.

Secondly, she said, the Army is looking at building ''theater distribution centers'' in the region to stockpile supplies and fuel, ''starting, potentially, with Australia.'' Wormuth also named Japan as a potential site, and she suggested that non-lethal equipment might be stored in the Philippines and Singapore.

The third element of the deterrence campaign is to place visible, combat-credible, forces in the region, Wormuth said. ''Our goal is to have Army forces in the Indo-Pacific seven to eight months out of the year.''

Should deterrence fail, Wormuth told the AEI audience, the U.S. Army, which she calls ''the linchpin force,'' has five core tasks.

First of all, ''it's going to be our job to establish, then build up, then secure and protect, staging bases for the Navy, for the Marines, for the Air Force, and that's why we're really building out integrated air and missile defense capabilities, for example, to be able to protect those kinds of staging bases that are going to be key,'' she said.

The second core task is sustaining the joint force, ''and that's where those theater distribution centers come into play. We offer the opportunity to provide secure communications to the broader force, to again provide intra-theater sustainment, to set up munition stockpiles, setting up forward air refueling points, protecting them.''

All of the above is going to be critically important, she said, ''given the vast distances we're looking at.''

Wormuth said the Army is also expanding its fleet of watercraft, noting a watercraft company will be established in Japan. A company-sized military unit could have anywhere from a few dozen to 200 soldiers.

The Army currently reports having a fleet of 132 such watercraft, suitable for ferrying troops and equipment from deep-water vessels to beaches and shorelines, as well as conducting towing and salvage operations.

Wormuth said the Army's fourth key task, already underway, is to update its arsenal and develop other capabilities traditionally not normally associated with a land-based force.

''We've actually got our first battery of long-range hypersonic weapons,'' she said, adding she expects this battery to be in service by autumn and become part of ''the Army's first multi-domain task force.''

''And the last thing we do, of course, is to provide counter-attack forces if they're needed,'' she said. ''There's a lot of discussion on how that would work in which different scenarios.''

Wormuth pointed out another critical role for the Army should a conflict break out with China '-- that of defending the American homeland.

''If we got into a major war with China, the United States homeland would be at risk as well, with both kinetic attacks and non-kinetic attacks,'' she said. ''Whether it's cyberattacks on the power grids, or on pipelines, the United States Army, I have no doubt, will be called to provide defense support to civil authorities.''

This critical function of the Army, Wormuth said, is often ''put as an asterisk,'' that is as an afterthought, which is a mistake, she said.

The Chinese military ''are going to go after the will of the United States public, they're going to try to erode support for a conflict,'' she said. ''I think the Army will play a role here at home.''

Asked by VOA whether she believes Americans are prepared to sustain the level of casualties that could be expected in a war with China, she said she believes they are willing to fight for their homeland and ideals if and when it becomes necessary, ''like we did in World War II.''

Ultimately, she said, ''land power is staying power, that's what we're about.''

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Sat, 04 Mar 2023 16:41

Novak Djokovic's request to enter the United States unvaccinated to play the prestigious tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami has reportedly been denied, Florida Senator Rick Scott shared on Friday night.

The American politician noted that Homeland Security turned down the No. 1 ranked tennis player's vaccine waiver request and is now requesting that President Joe Biden intervenes in the situation.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said in a press conference last week that he applied for a special permit to access the states so we could compete in the Indian Wells Masters and Miami Open. However, there is a ban on unvaccinated travelers from entering the country until May 11.

Djokovic has been unable to play the back-to-back tournaments -- dubbed the "Sunshine Double" -- since 2019. He also missed two Grand Slams and four Masters 1000 events in 2022.

Despite his unstable tournament schedule, Djokovic set the record for most time spent at the world No. 1 ranking on Feb. 27 for a total of 378 weeks.

The Indian Wells Masters is set to run from March 6 through 19 with the Miami Open following from March 19-April 2.

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Sat, 04 Mar 2023 16:33

Chanel Robbins has been riding horses most of her life, ever since her grandmother traded a cow from their family's farm in Ontario for a pony when she was 7.

Galloping through the fields on her pony, Star, offered an escape from thoughts that weighed on her '-- that she didn't have a relationship with her biological parents, for instance, or that she was the only Black girl in the neighborhood, aside from her sister.

About eight years ago, she reconnected with her father, a native of Jamaica. As the two grew closer, Ms. Robbins decided to style her hair in locs, like her dad. But there was a problem: Her riding helmet no longer fit, and she couldn't find one that did.

''I finally freaking feel like myself, and now society is asking me to change,'' Ms. Robbins, 27, of Alliston, Ontario, said as she choked back tears. ''I just want to be able to ride.''

Black equestrians have long felt virtually invisible in a sport that remains overwhelmingly white. For those with natural hair, which for many is a declaration of pride and Black identity, finding a helmet that fits properly can be nearly impossible, creating yet another barrier to full inclusion. Some are now lobbying for change, mindful that horseback riding is among the leading causes of sports-related traumatic brain injury. The helmet companies say there isn't a simple fix.

Image Ms. Robbins, 27, changed her hair after reconnecting with her biological father, a native of Jamaica who wears his hair in locs. ''I finally freaking feel like myself and now society is asking me to change,'' she said. Credit... May Truong for The New York Times Among those raising awareness on social media is Caitlin Gooch, who grew up riding horses on her family's farm in Wendell, N.C. For Ms. Gooch, 30, who wears her hair in locs that fall to her mid-back, safety has been of paramount concern because her father injured his neck in a fall from a horse when he was not wearing a helmet. When she has her hair redone, about once every two months, she brings her riding helmet with her to ensure it will still fit.

Around 2015, when she started teaching riding lessons, she found herself having to tell children they couldn't ride if there was no helmet that properly fit them. In 2021, she started a hashtag, #saddleuphelmeton, to call attention to the problem.

Trying to stuff a head into a helmet that doesn't fit presents a safety risk, not unlike ''trying to fit a baby into a car seat that doesn't fit them,'' Ms. Gooch said. ''The helmet just would not do what it was supposed to do.''

'People Are Different, Hair Is Different'Several prominent equestrian helmet manufacturers contacted by The New York Times said they were not aware that many Black riders struggled with helmet fit. Others said they recognized that it was an issue and were working to address it, while cautioning that bringing a new helmet to market is a costly undertaking that can take years.

The Times spoke with nearly a dozen Black riders, several of whom described searches for properly fitting helmets that dragged on for months or even years. Some said they had been turned away from equestrian stores by employees who said they couldn't help them. A few said they had manipulated helmets by stuffing them or cutting the lining.

Clockwise from top left: Caitlin Gooch on her farm in Wendell, N.C.; a mentor with CREW Urban Youth Equestrians works with one of the group's horses in Hastings, Minn.; Aderes James, 10, who follows a two-hour routine to get her Dutch braids to fit under her riding helmet; and Isabella Tillman at a hunter competition. Credit... Caitlin Gooch, CREW Urban Youth Equestrians, Rena Baxter James, Isabella Tillman. Isabella Tillman, who wears her hair in natural, buoyant curls in the summer and straightens it in the winter, is horrified when she thinks about the helmets she has used in 20 years of riding.

One sat atop her head like a traffic cone, she said. Another was so small it gave her headaches. And one was so big, she had to stuff it with maxi pads.

''There is nothing out there in the industry that is addressing these needs,'' said Ms. Tillman, 29, of Detroit, who is working toward becoming an equine veterinarian. ''People are different, hair is different and heads are different.''

'A Big Issue for a Small Amount of People'It is not clear exactly how many riders are affected. The United States Equestrian Federation, one of the major governing bodies overseeing competitive horse sports, does not require its 447,000 members to disclose their race, and only about half do so. Of those, nearly 92 percent are white, with Black riders making up only 0.5 percent.

Helmet inclusivity is important, Black equestrians said, because it could mean the difference between life and death. A 2019 study published in the journal Sports Medicine found that 70 percent of reported equestrian falls caused a head injury. Wearing a properly fitting helmet helped prevent more serious injuries, such as skull fractures, the study found.

Dr. Thomas A. Connor, an engineer who has researched equestrian helmet safety and was a co-author of the study, said that the difficulty many Black riders had in finding helmets was ''a big issue for a small amount of people.''

''There's a real need to address it and absolutely zero desire to do it,'' he said. ''If you owned a helmet company you could decide to solve this problem tomorrow.''

Companies that make equipment used in other sports have taken steps to adapt helmets and other gear to accommodate Black athletes' natural hair.

Riddell, one of the leading manufacturers of helmets used by N.F.L. players, has developed a helmet with customized ''precision-fit'' padding, ensuring that any hairstyle will fit. And last year, the International Swimming Federation approved the Soul Cap, which accommodates thicker, curlier hair, for use in major competitions.

No Quick FixEquestrian helmet manufacturers say it is not as simple for them because the safety standards and certification-testing requirements are vastly different from other sports.

Image A discouraging exchange with an executive of a helmet company left Ms. Robbins in tears, wondering if it was time to find a new sport. Credit... May Truong for The New York Times Laura Qusen, chief operating officer at Tipperary Equestrian, said she was not aware of the challenges Black riders faced in finding helmets until Ms. Robbins, the rider from Ontario, wrote to the company in January.

In an interview, Ms. Qusen acknowledged that it was ''clearly not a one-person problem'' and committed to investigating it further. But she worried that developing a new helmet would require new safety standards, potentially driving up the cost of a product for which there might not be much demand.

''If it's truly a manufacturing problem, anything is possible, but we're talking years of development,'' Ms. Qusen said.

The exchange with Ms. Qusen left Ms. Robbins in tears. She wondered if it was time to find a new sport, one that would make her feel like she mattered.

Charles Owen, a popular helmet company that sponsors Olympic athletes, is working on ''several solutions'' to help customers whose hairstyles often change and expects to introduce them sometime this year, Alex Burek, the company's marketing director, said. She declined to comment further.

But the riders' concerns have yet to reach Back on Track, a market leader that makes equestrian products, including helmets in a variety of shapes and sizes, with removable liners. In an interview, James Ruder, the chief executive, said the company's helmets can accommodate most riders. He added that he had ''never once heard'' about a Black rider struggling with helmet fit.

''If you have an 'oddity' '-- and I don't mean to be disrespectful to the people who have weird hairstyles '-- but if you have a hairstyle that impacts the functionality of the helmet, you might just have to change it,'' Mr. Ruder said.

In a follow-up interview, Mr. Ruder stood by his view that riders need to be aware that their hairstyle choices can affect helmet safety, and added that he intended no offense with his comments. ''I'm bald, and some people find that weird,'' he said. ''It's all relative.''

'This Sport Isn't Designed for Us.'Black riders say the manufacturers' responses demonstrate what they're up against.

''Sports were only developed for white people and they continue to keep white people protected,'' Ms. Robbins said. ''People need to realize diversity and inclusion belongs anywhere, especially in sports.''

A new helmet can't come fast enough for Aderes James, 10, of Bethesda, Md.

On competition mornings, the other girls on her hunter show team tuck their hair into their helmets to create a clean look that will impress the judges. Aderes follows a two-hour routine the night before with conditioners and detangler spray. Her mother then plaits her thick hair into two Dutch braids that fit under her helmet for the show ring.

''It makes me feel a little left out,'' Aderes said. ''But it's the cost of healthy, curly hair.''

Her mother, Rena Baxter James, said she and her husband made it a priority for Aderes to embrace her natural hair, but it often felt like an obstacle.

''You're asking people to change the texture of their hair instead of learning how to offer a proper fit,'' she said, adding that ''mostly everything in this sport isn't designed for us.''

Image For Ms. Robbins, riding offered an escape from thoughts that weighed on her as she was growing up, including that she was the only Black girl in the neighborhood, aside from her sister. Credit... May Truong for The New York Times 'Like Reopening a Wound Every Time'Chauntel Smith and Jenny Benton have become quite adept at manipulating young riders' heads into helmets.

The two co-founded a Minnesota nonprofit, CREW Urban Youth Equestrians, in 2021 to provide opportunities for Black youth and other children of color to learn about horses while developing tools to manage their emotions. Getting a helmet to work is often a time-consuming task that can take away from saddle time, they said.

''It's like reopening a wound every time,'' Ms. Smith, who is Black, said. ''And it's so counterproductive to the purpose of why they are out here at the barn, to have a safe space.''

Ms. Tillman, the aspiring equine veterinarian from Detroit, eventually replaced the helmet she'd stuffed with maxi pads with a new one, cutting pieces of the lining out until it nestled comfortably on her head. But now she worries.

''It makes me feel less comfortable about the safety of a helmet that I'm just doing this myself,'' she said. ''It certainly doesn't make me feel included or that people with hair textures like mine are important.''

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Sat, 04 Mar 2023 16:33

The editors who spent months neutering the works of famed children's author Roald Dahl were led on their mission to not offend by an individual who describes herself as a 'non-binary, asexual, polyamorous relationship anarchist who is on the autism spectrum.'

The bowdlerization of Dahl's books, which broadly included eliminating language deemed 'insensitive' and 'non-inclusive,' was done largely by a UK-based group of consultants from Inclusive Minds.

The organization is charged by their mission of making mainstream books 'represent every child.'

They do this by enlisting 'sensitivity readers' and 'inclusion ambassadors' to suggest edits to books that would scrub them of derogatory language, and harmful assumptions about race, class, creed, and so on.

In the case of the Roald Dahl debacle, which has been lambasted across a number of countries by readers and publications alike, Jo Ross-Barrett was at the head of the project.

Jo Ross-Barrett, who recently departed Inclusive Minds to become a full time DEI professional, describes herself as a 'non-binary, asexual, polyamorous relationship anarchist who is on the autism spectrum

A UK-based consultant company called Inclusive Minds was put in charge of a project the goal of which was to sanitize the writing of any words, phrases or descriptions that might offend

Ross-Barrett, who recently departed Inclusive Minds to become a full time DEI professional, describes herself as a 'non-binary, asexual, polyamorous relationship anarchist who is on the autism spectrum.'

A former project manager at the woke firm, National Review reported that Ross-Barrett posted on LinkedIn in 2022 that she was working on a secret project involving the work of a well-known children's author.

In a profile of Barrett that remains on the Inclusive Minds sight, 'they/them' is described as a 'writer and editor with a passion for championing inclusive content and policies.'

Barrett's previously work has been published in Bi-ible, an anthology about bisexuality and related identifies, and AZE Journal, an online magazine for 'aromantic-spectrum, asexual-spectrum and agender people.'

The profile continues: 'Jo is an autistic, non-binary, asexual, polyamorous relationship anarchist.

'They work with Inclusive Minds to help authors and publishers make their books more authentically representative of marginalized groups, and have provided workshops and talks at A Place at the Table 2020 and the UK Asexuality Conference 2019.'

A group of inclusivity ambassadors and sensitivity readers - aged eight to 30 -reported to Ross-Barrett as the team worked to cleanse the collective works of Dahl.

A former project manager at the woke firm, Ross-Barrett reportedly posted on LinkedIn in 2022 that she was working on a secret project involving the work of a well-known children's author

Passages have been put into some of the texts that were not even written by Dahl, who died in 1990

Publishers Puffin and the Roald Dahl Story Company have changed how Gloop (pictured far left in 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory) is described, with the character no longer called fat in new versions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

In The Witches (pictured), 'old hag' has been changed to 'old crow', while 'you must be mad, woman' is now 'you must be out of your mind'

How editors changed Roald Dahl's stories CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

2001 - Mrs Salt was a great fat creature with short legs, and she was blowing like a rhinoceros

2022 - Mrs Salt was so out of breath, she was blowing like a rhinoceros

THE TWITS

2001 - Mrs Twit may have been ugly and she may have been beastly, but she was not stupid

2022 - Mrs Twit may have been beastly, but she was not stupid.

MATILDA

2001 - Get your mother or father

2022 - Get your family

THE BFG

2001 - 'BFG,' she said, 'would you please tell these rather dim-witted characters exactly what to do.'

2022 - 'BFG,' she said, 'would you please tell them exactly what to do'.

THE ENORMOUS CROCODILE

2001 - We eat little boys and girls

2022 - We eat little children

ESIO TROT

2001 - 'I beg you to tell me Mr Hoppy! I'll be your slave for life.'

2022 - 'I beg you to tell me Mr Hoppy! You'll be my hero for life.'

FANTASTIC MR FOX

2001 - Bunce, the little pot-bellied dwarf, looked up at Bean'...

2022 - Bunce looked up at Bean'...

JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH

2001 - They were like a couple of hunters who had just shot an elephant

2022 - They were like a couple of hunters who had just shot their prey

The team together dismantled many of the colorful phrases and names that Dahl employed in his writing.

In The Twits, descriptions of appearances have been pared back. Mrs. Twit's 'fearful ugliness' has been cut to 'ugliness' and Mrs. Hoppy in Esio Trot is not an 'attractive middle-aged lady' but a 'kind middle-aged lady'.

Passages not written by Dahl, who died in 1990, have also been added by the publisher.

In The Witches, a paragraph describing them as bald under their wigs is followed shortly by a new line: 'There are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.'

Puffin said in a statement last week that they will release two versions of each book - the original and the newer edited ones.

Francesca Dow, managing director of Penguin Random House Children's, said: 'At Puffin we have proudly published Roald Dahl's stories for more than 40 years in partnership with the Roald Dahl Story Company.

'Their mischievous spirit and his unique storytelling genius have delighted the imaginations of readers across many generations.

'We've listened to the debate over the past week which has reaffirmed the extraordinary power of Roald Dahl's books and the very real questions around how stories from another era can be kept relevant for each new generation.

'As a children's publisher, our role is to share the magic of stories with children with the greatest thought and care. Roald Dahl's fantastic books are often the first stories young children will read independently, and taking care for the imaginations and fast-developing minds of young readers is both a privilege and a responsibility.

'We also recognise the importance of keeping Dahl's classic texts in print. By making both Puffin and Penguin versions available, we are offering readers the choice to decide how they experience Roald Dahl's magical, marvellous stories.'

She added: 'Roald Dahl once said, 'If my books can help children become readers, then I feel I have accomplished something important.' At Puffin, we'll keep pursuing that ambition for as long as we make books.'

For example, a former ambassador named Habeeba helped author Robin Stevens ''ensure authentically inclusive characters'' in her books The Guggenheim Mystery and Mistletoe and Murder.

The organization also works with publishers to modify existing works for re-publication, but Dahl's case marks the first time the group has gotten their hands on the treasured collection of a world-famous, deceased author.

Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Inclusive Minds stressed that ambassadors are not mainly responsible for suggesting changes to existing works '-- a task reserved for sensitivity readers '-- but did acknowledge that they are occasionally involved in providing feedback.

''We do think those with lived experience can provide valuable input when it comes to reviewing language that can be damaging and perpetuate harmful stereotypes,'' the spokesperson said, adding that ultimately publishers decide what to include in the final published text.

Publishers and authors pay various fees per ambassador for review services on new manuscripts and illustrations. It's unclear exactly how much Puffin paid Inclusive Minds to soften Dahl's prose.

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Archived Version

Sat, 04 Mar 2023 16:16

A Florida lawmaker has proposed a bill that would require bloggers who write about Governor Ron DeSantis or other elected officials to register with the state or face fines.

The legislation, proposed by State Sen. Jason Brodeur, a Republican, also would require that the bloggers disclose how much they are being paid for their posts.

Brodeur did not immediately return a request for comment.

Under the terms of the bill '-- read it here '-- ''if a blogger posts to a blog about an elected state officer and receives, or will receive, compensation for that post, the blogger must register with the appropriate office'' within ''5 days after the first post by the blogger which mentions an elected state officer.''

It also requires that bloggers file monthly reports if a post is added to the blog. The reports must disclose the ''individual or entity'' that provided compensation for the blog post, the amount of compensation, the date of blog posts, and the website and website address. Fines are set at $25 per day per report for each day late, not to exceed $2,500.

The bill applies to bloggers who write about the governor, lieutenant governor, a cabinet officer or any member of the state legislature.

The bill defines a blogger as ''a website or webpage that hosts any blogger and is frequently updated with opinion, commentary, or business content.'' It excludes ''the website of a newspaper or any similar publication.'' Registration would have to be made to the Department of Legislative Services or the Commission on Ethics.

Brodeur also has proposed legislation to make it easier for plaintiffs to sue for defamation. Under the proposal, public figures in many cases would be able to prove defamation by showing negligence, rather than the current higher threshold of showing that a publication acted in malice or reckless disregard for the truth. Under the bill, anonymous sourced material would largely be presumed to be false. DeSantis held a roundtable last month in which he attacked the news media, while he reportedly is championing efforts to weaken journalists' protections. Any of the new laws would likely face a First Amendment challenge, but the idea would be to get a case to the Supreme Court and ultimately overturn nearly 60 years of precedent.

Bobby Block, executive director of the First Amendment Foundation, said about the defamation bill, ''Fox, Newsmax, conservative talk radio stations will all feel the sting of this new law as public figures across the political spectrum look to exact their vengeance against inconvenient news coverage and commentary. The fallout would just as likely crush Fox's Tucker Carlson as it would the NYT's Paul Krugman.''

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Sat, 04 Mar 2023 05:21

Simon Ateba : Today is a dark day for freedom of the press in the United States of America. The forces of evil who felt belittled'... https://t.co/6sCa9iKgeT

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Andrew Wong 🇺🇸 : @simonateba @tamarakeithNPR So going by the woke playbook, a privileged white woman denied a black man a place at t'... https://t.co/3lA1SjsxtN

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Steven Haroldt Eissler : @simonateba @tamarakeithNPR Terrible day for free speech

Sat Mar 04 05:17:17 +0000 2023

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Fri, 03 Mar 2023 22:02

The defunded Austin, Texas, police department launched a new non-emergency online reporting system on Thursday that is operated with artificial intelligence, or AI.

In an announcement on Thursday, the Austin Police Department (APD) said it partnered with Versaterm Public Safety's Case Service to launch the new reporting software that communicates with the community through voice, mobile, web and text messaging, instantaneously.

AUSTIN, TX - JULY 29: A member of the Austin, Texas police department stands watch during the Gold Cup semifinal match between the United States and Qatar on Thursday July 29th, 2021 at Q2 stadium in Austin,TX. ((Photo by Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images))

As it communicates with the public, the AI asks questions and fills out a report that provides "key information" to the department within hours, like an officer wrote it up.

SEVERELY UNDERSTAFFED, DEFUNDED AUSTIN PD ON VERGE OF RETIREMENT WAVE AFTER CITY COUNCIL 'PULLS RUG OUT' AGAIN

Some of the types of reports the interface accepts include minor assaults, threats other than domestic violence, burglary not involving arson, theft unless it involves prescriptions, firearms, explosives, vehicle license plates and vehicles, and lost or missing property.

The AI can also file reports on fraud, harassment, damaged property, graffiti, identity theft, child custody issues, trespassing, shoplifting reports, forgery and counterfeiting.

Primarily, the new program can file a report unless the person reporting it is under 17 years of age, the suspect is no longer on the scene, and there is no immediate danger.

TEXAS SALON OWNERS CONSIDER CLOSING SHOP AFTER CRIME CRISIS LEAVES THEM WAITING UP 'TO AN HOUR' FOR POLICE

"This platform reduces wait times for community members and speeds up the investigation process," the department said in the online announcement.

After a file is submitted, a case number is assigned to the person who made the report.

Reports can be taken in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Hindi, Korean, Traditional Chinese, and Vietnamese, and several other languages.

"We are confident this technology will streamline the reporting process, alleviate the current backlog for APD non-emergency requests submitted via 3-1-1, and provide community members personalized attention to their incidents," the release read. "Upon successful deployment of this first phase, APD plans to expand the use of Case Service further."

The deployment of the AI-based software comes as the City of Austin faces serious staffing issues with its police department.

AUSTIN POLICE SEIZE DRUGS, GUNS IN STREET TAKEOVER AFTERMATH AS CHIEF SAYS FORCE IS UNDERSTAFFED EVERY NIGHT

Last week, it was reported that 40 officers filed retirement papers after a 9-2 city council vote a few weeks ago to scrap a four-year contract that the city agreed to. But instead, the city council pursued a 1-year contract that the police union rejected.

The move from the city is believed by many to be because of intense pressure from anti-police activists in Austin who are looking to put a hold on a long-term deal until after voters decide on competing ballot initiatives dealing with police oversight, which will be voted on in May.

Budget cuts by the city council during the George Floyd unrest in 2020 slashed police cadet classes and sent staffing in a downward spiral that could take more than 10 years to recover from, according to police sources, if the ship were righted immediately.

The department also eliminated some task forces because of staffing issues, which left some types of crime ignored, and forced police to stop responding to non-emergencies.

As a result, the city set an all-time record for homicides in 2021 and morale within the department caved in.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Andrew Mark Miller of Fox News contributed to this report.

Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.

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Archived Version

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 18:04

Just weeks after news broke that tech site CNET was quietly using artificial intelligence to produce articles, the company is doing extensive layoffs that include several longtime employees, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation. The layoffs total around a dozen people, a CNET staffer says, or about 10 percent of the public masthead.

CNET editor in chief Connie Guglielmo will also step down from her role and become the senior vice president of AI content strategy and editor-at-large, according to a draft blog post circulated internally and obtained by The Verge. She will be replaced by Adam Auriemma, former editor in chief of another Red Ventures-owned outlet, NextAdvisor. NextAdvisor appears to have shut down; it hasn't tweeted since January, its website now redirects to CNET, and it no longer appears on Red Ventures' list of brands.

The layoffs began Thursday morning and were announced internally via email by Red Ventures, the private equity-backed marketing-turned-media company that bought CNET in 2020. In the email, a Red Ventures executive suggested the cuts were made to focus CNET on areas where the site can succeed at bringing in traffic on Google search '-- a top priority for the company.

''To prepare ourselves for a strong future, we will need to focus on how we simplify our operations and our tech stack, and also on how we invest our time and energy,'' wrote Carlos Angrisano, president of financial services and the CNET Group at Red Ventures.

CNET will focus on ''authority,'' a metric Google considers in search rankings

Angrisano says implicitly what Red Ventures' '-- and CNET's '-- focus will be going forward: coverage areas where the company has ''a high degree of authority, relevance, differentiation'' and can ''make a large difference in the lives'' of audiences. ''Authority'' is among the metrics that Google stresses to websites as it decides what content ranks highly in search.

Under Red Ventures, former CNET employees say the venerated publication's focus increasingly became winning Google searches by prioritizing SEO. On these highly trafficked articles, the company crams in lucrative affiliate marketing ads for things like loans or credit cards, cashing in every time a reader signs up.

In the email, Angrisano said CNET would focus on consumer technology, home and wellness, energy, broadband, and personal finance '-- the sections Red Ventures could best monetize, a current staffer says.

''But those sections are shadows of what they once were, particularly home,'' the staffer says. ''If you want to do that section the right way, you don't sell off your Smart Home, get rid of its video team and cripple your editorial staff.''

In January, Futurism reported that CNET had published dozens of articles since last November that were generated using AI tools, much to the surprise of readers '-- the outlet hadn't formally announced it was doing so. Other Red Ventures-owned properties, Bankrate and CreditCards.com, had also been publishing similar pieces. The company paused the practice after public outcry and factual errors in stories and promised to do an audit of all articles using AI systems. On CNET, more than half of the articles eventually had corrections made to them.

Though the AI-generated stories were put on pause in January, Red Ventures is preparing to deploy the tool again soon, according to an internal meeting held in late February, first reported by Futurism and confirmed by The Verge. In her new role, Guglielmo will work on machine learning strategies across Red Ventures, according to the memo circulated today. The news is expected to be announced tomorrow.

Are you a former or current CNET / Red Ventures employee? I'd love to hear from you. Contact me at mia@theverge.com, and I'll share my Signal.

Even beyond the shift to affiliate marketing, former CNET staff told The Verge that working conditions under Red Ventures deteriorated since the acquisition. Former staff recounted multiple instances in which CNET employees were pressured to change their coverage of companies that advertised with Red Ventures '-- a flagrant violation of journalistic ethics that put CNET's editorial independence at serious risk.

Ivey O'Neal, senior communications manager for CNET, confirmed the layoffs in an email to The Verge. ''Today, the CNET Group implemented a reorganization of the team, which unfortunately meant saying goodbye to a number of colleagues,'' O'Neal writes. ''While it was a difficult decision to let employees go, we believe this is critical for the longevity and future growth of the business.''

Update March 2nd, 3:15PM ET: This story has been updated with comment from Red Ventures.

Update March 2nd, 5:40PM ET: This story has been updated to include news that Connie Guglielmo will step down as editor-in-chief and take on an AI strategy role.

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Archived Version

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 16:10

01 May 2022 - 00:00

Lack of infrastructure maintenance; corruption in which dodgy black empowerment companies gifted tenders build flimsy infrastructure; and cadre deployees without technical skills who failed to maintain public assets, have now snowballed into the failure of the entire public infrastructure of SA. It means the country will see a rapid, further collapse of infrastructure; damage from disasters will be multiplied and the cost of repairs will exceed that of building new infrastructure...

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Archived Version

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 16:07

As part of its ongoing emergency special session on Ukraine, the General Assembly today recommended Member States create an international register of damage to serve as a record of evidence and claims information.

By the terms of the text, titled ''Furtherance of remedy and reparation for aggression against Ukraine'' '-- adopted by a recorded vote of 94 in favour to 14 against, with 73 abstentions '-- the Assembly recognized that the Russian Federation must be held to account for any violations of international law, international humanitarian law and international human rights law in or against Ukraine. The Assembly further recognized the need for the establishment of an international mechanism for reparation for damage, loss or injury arising from the Russian Federation's internationally wrongful acts.

The Assembly also reaffirmed its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine and demanded that the Russian Federation immediately cease its use of force and completely and unconditionally withdraw all its military forces from that country's territory.

Many delegates expressed their support for the establishment of a registry while others voiced their concern over the resolution's divisiveness and dangerous precedent in allowing the establishment of a mechanism that is not accountable to the Assembly. Several delegations spotlighted the hypocrisy and double standards of the resolution's sponsors.

Introducing the text (document A/ES-11/L.6), the representative of Ukraine noted that the Soviet Union demanded and received reparations 77 years ago as the moral right of a country which has suffered war and occupation. Ukraine's recovery will never be complete without a sense of justice for the victims of the Russian Federation's war, he underscored while emphasizing that the resolution is concerned with ensuring an appropriate response that averts any aggressor's temptation to start a war. A vote against this proposal will be a vote in favour of impunity and lawlessness, he cautioned.

As an important step towards peace and post-conflict recovery, the text is very carefully drafted and does not exceed the Assembly's authority, Guatemala's minister noted.

It is very straightforward, Albania's speaker explained: aggression has happened; extensive damage has been inflicted; and it must be documented for the purposes of reparation and accountability.

''It is not enough if the perpetrators only admit their wrongdoings. It is not enough if they express remorse. Moral gestures are welcome but never enough. It is material compensation which is needed to rebuild damages caused by wars,'' Poland's speaker stressed.

''The flawed nature of this initiative is obvious,'' the Russian Federation's delegate countered, noting that the United Nations would have no role in the establishment of a mechanism created by a group of States which will decide its functioning. The West is attempting to use the Assembly as a smokescreen to conceal an act of open robbery intended to draw out the conflict. He went on to say that most developing countries probably think it is ludicrous or insulting for Western countries to demand reparations.

Elaborating on the text's flaws, the speaker for China noted that the invoked articles on the responsibility of States for internationally wrongful acts have no legally binding status as the research products of the International Law Commission. The Assembly is not a judicial body, he stressed, while his colleague from Eritrea agreed on behalf of a group of like-minded countries. Its resolutions cannot go beyond its mandate and responsibilities to serve as the legal basis for defining internationally wrongful acts, she emphasized. States suffering from foreign interference, colonialism, slavery, oppression, unilateral coercive measures, illegal blockades and other internationally wrongful acts also deserve the right for remedy, reparation and justice, she added.

Will Cuba be compensated for the damage accumulated over six '¯decades of an economic, commercial and financial blockade; the lives lost; and the illegal occupation of its national territory?, that country's speaker asked. What about Mexico, Viet '¯Nam, the Pacific Islands, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria and the State of Palestine? he continued. Creating a reparation mechanism for one specific conflict while ignoring many other historical, legitimate and well-documented demands is unjust, morally unacceptable and damaging to the Assembly's credibility, he emphasized.

Echoing the concern over the ''message of exceptionalism'', the representative for South Africa pointed out the lack of clarity on the mechanism's composition and eventual legal status.

Also speaking today were the representatives of Latvia (on behalf of Nordic-Baltic countries), Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia (on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council), United Kingdom, Japan, New Zealand, Viet Nam, Australia, Canada, Slovakia, Italy, Ireland, Syria, Nicaragua, Romania, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, France, Netherlands, Belarus, Iran, the United States and the European Union, in its capacity as observer.

An observer for the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance also spoke.

The representatives of the Bahamas (on behalf of the Caribbean Community), Mexico, Venezuela, Egypt, Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, India, Singapore, Pakistan, Kenya, Brunei Darussalam, Argentina, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Bahrain spoke in explanation of vote.

The Assembly will meet again at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 15 November, to consider the election of members to the Committee for Programme and Coordination and appointment of members of the Committee on Conferences, the United Nations Appeals Tribunal, the United Nations Dispute Tribunal and the Joint Inspection Unit. The Assembly will also take up the related reports of those bodies and the reports of its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary).

Introduction of Draft Resolution

SERGIY KYSLYTSYA (Ukraine), introducing the draft resolution titled ''Furtherance of remedy and reparation for aggression against Ukraine'' (document A/ES-11/L.6), noted that the Soviet Union demanded and received reparations 77 years ago as the moral right of a country which has suffered war and occupation. Today, the Russian Federation is doing everything it can to avoid paying the price for its own war and occupation, he said, before referencing that country's words and stance on the creation of the United Nations Compensation Commission for any damage, loss or injury arising out of Iraq's unlawful invasion and occupation of Kuwait. From day one of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Federation has thrown bombs, missiles and shells at Ukrainian cities and villages; destroyed roads, bridges and railways; demolished almost half of Ukraine's power grid and utilities; and committed murder, rape, torture, forced deportation and looting. Ukraine's recovery will never be complete without a sense of justice for the victims of the Russian Federation's war, he said, while urging the Assembly to hold that country accountable. The Russian Federation prefers impunity to accountability and knows only two things '-- lies and veto '-- when it comes to the Security Council's processes, he said.

The proposed resolution, he noted, calls for Member States to build the legitimate international infrastructure which addresses the consequences of the Russian Federation's aggression against his country, records evidence of atrocities and preserves the hope for justice for millions whose lives have been forever changed. It is about an appropriate response which averts the temptation of any aggressor in starting a war, he emphasized. He then reaffirmed his country's commitment to a transparent, impartial and objective process managed and overseen by the international community and expressed his hope for cooperation from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in assessing damages. A vote against this proposal will be a vote in favour of impunity and lawlessness, he cautioned.

MARIO ADOLFO BšCARO FLORES, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, said that, as a country that in its own history has experienced a lot of conflict, Guatemala acknowledges the importance of peace and respect for human rights. The draft resolution is a step towards reconciliation among the parties. Considering that the text includes civilian claims, it is an important step towards peace and post-conflict recovery. As a country that strongly believes in multilateralism, Guatemala is convinced that the Assembly has the mandate and authority to adopt the draft, as set out in Chapter Four of the United Nations Charter. The language of the text is very carefully drafted and does not exceed the authority of the General Assembly. He called on all Member States to support the initiative, because ''it is the right thing to do''. The Assembly cannot remain paralyzed or inactive.

VASSILY A. NEBENZIA (Russian Federation), offering to correct gaffes in Ukraine's statement, called the draft resolution a classic example of a rules-based order in which a narrow group of States attempts to consecrate something that is illegal while also positioning the Assembly as a judicial body, which it is not. ''The flawed nature of this initiative is obvious,'' he said, emphasizing that the draft resolution tries to legalize something which, from the point of view of international law, cannot be legalized. Moreover, if adopted, the text will have consequences for the co-sponsors which, like a boomerang, will go back on them. The ''so-called international mechanism'' would be created by a group of States that will decide its functioning and designate the guilty parties and the amount of reparations. The United Nations will play no role in that process, there will be no accountability to the Assembly and most Member States will have no right to any control over the mechanism, he added.

The Russian Federation has no doubt that the funds for damage compensation will be drawn from frozen, or rather stolen, Russian assets worth billions of dollars, he said, adding that the West is attempting to use the Assembly as a smokescreen to conceal an act of open robbery that is intended to draw out the conflict. This will increase global tensions and instability, but the beneficiaries will be Western military corporations that have already made billions of dollars from the supply of weapons to Ukraine. Neither the Assembly nor any other mechanism can annul sovereignty immunity, which States assets have under international law, he emphasized. Those delegations which support the draft resolution will be implicated in the illegal expropriation of sovereignty assets. He went on to say that most developing countries probably think it is ludicrous or insulting for Western countries to demand reparations, as the draft resolution is being put forward by States with a rich record of looting the rest of the world through colonialism, slavery and the exploitation of natural resources. The countries of the West never considered reparations as a way of atoning for their own sins, he said, adding that if adopted, the draft resolution will have systemic consequences for the Organization.

OLOF SKOOG, Head of Delegation of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, recalled how, on 2 March, the General Assembly with an overwhelming majority confirmed that the Russian Federation committed an aggression against Ukraine in violation of Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter. ''Damage inflicted on Ukraine is huge,'' he said. Under international law, the responsible State is under an obligation to make full reparation for the injury caused by its wrongful act. The draft resolution recommends the creation by Member States and Ukraine of a register of damage. That register will serve as a repository of evidence of all types of damage.

The resolution also recognizes the need for the establishment of an international claims mechanism for reparation for damage as a second step, he continued. Rather than charging the domestic legal system of Ukraine and other States with a potentially very high number of individual litigations, a centralized and specialized system would be more appropriate. ''Russia must be held to account for its wrongful acts and wanton destruction,'' he stressed. Every country enjoys the right to document crimes committed against its population, territory or cultural property in order to secure a proper investigation.

SOPHIA TESFAMARIAM (Eritrea), speaking on behalf of a Group of Like-Minded Countries, stressed that the Assembly is not a judicial body. Its resolutions represent the political will of States and can in no way serve as the legal basis for defining internationally wrongful acts as such an action would go beyond its mandate and responsibilities, she said. As such, the draft resolution does not have sufficient legal basis, is not in line with the established practice and would only promote a divisive agenda within the Assembly. The text's adoption, she warned, would set a dangerous precedent that would allow for the Assembly's ''blessing'' to establish a remedy and reparation mechanism that is neither managed nor accountable to the organ responsible for creating it. States suffering from foreign interference, colonialism, slavery, oppression, unilateral coercive measures, illegal blockades and other internationally wrongful acts also deserve the right for remedy, reparation and justice, she noted.

As national positions must be respected, the Assembly must play a positive role in ensuring the conflict in Ukraine is resolved through diplomatic efforts and means while avoiding any initiative that might further aggravate the situation on the ground and escalate tensions, she emphasized. Sovereign States must not be forced to take specific sides in the conflict. Any attempt to entrench a cold war'‘era mentality and block politics based on confrontation, deepening divisions and the imposition of disparate visions and agendas must be rejected by all, she urged.

ANDREJS PILDEGOVIČS (Latvia), speaking on behalf of the eight Nordic'‘Baltic countries, recalled that the Russian Federation's brutal invasion has created Europe's largest humanitarian tragedy since World War II. More than 17 million people have been displaced, while three million must get by without water, electricity, sanitation and heating. Russian armed forces have deliberately attacked critical infrastructure, including energy grids, power interconnectors and water stations. Collecting and preserving evidence is important because the Russian Federation must be held accountable for its internationally wrongful acts against Ukraine and its people, he emphasized.

He quoted the President of Ukraine as having told journalists a few hours earlier that investigators had uncovered more than 400 war crimes in the Kherson area after it was abandoned by Russian forces. There must be no impunity for these crimes and perpetrators must be held to account. Reiterating the Nordic'‘Baltic countries' firm support for Ukraine, he urged the Russian Federation to abide by international law and uphold its international commitments. He also called for the Secretary'‘General and the United Nations to continue efforts to restore respect for Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.

KRZYSZTOF SZCZERSKI (Poland) underscored the need for an unambiguous and comprehensive response from the international community. As accountability must remain the priority as the war continues, the Russian Federation must be held responsible for the consequences of all its violations, including reparations for the injury and damage caused by its glaring and large'‘scale violation of its international obligations, he stressed. Poland supports the creation of an international register of damage, he said while calling for all damages to be always and appropriately compensated. ''It is not enough if the perpetrators only admit their wrongdoings. It is not enough if they express remorse. Moral gestures are welcome but never enough. It is material compensation which is needed to rebuild damages caused by wars'', he stressed. The proposed register, he continued, will not only assist Ukraine in rebuilding itself but will also bring justice to the victims of the Russian Federation's barbaric acts.

MOHAN MAITHRI PIERIS (Sri Lanka), noting that the most urgent step is to engage in talks for a ceasefire, stressed that an attempt to provide justification through a General Assembly resolution to seizure sovereign assets of one party would amount to an overreach of the application of the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations. Further pointing out that the Assembly is a political body for deliberation, he underscored that it cannot determine State responsibility or usurp the sovereign immunity of State property under international law. Highlighting that the register initiative creates a dangerous precedent, he emphasized that it may result in compelling the parties to resort to a more lethal and sophisticated method of engaging in the conflict.

ABDULAZIZ M. ALWASIL (Saudi Arabia), speaking on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council, said the Council is very concerned with the crisis in Ukraine and its humanitarian, economic and political consequences. The Council aligns itself with the fundamental principles of respect for international law and the United Nations Charter that govern relations between countries, he said, urging all parties to respect their obligations under international law. The best course is to reach a settlement by diplomatic means that serves the interests of all parties. The draft resolution is based on the main principles and guidelines of redress adopted by the Assembly in its resolution 147/60 in 2005, he noted, adding that any mechanism must be based on procedures and standards that are internally accepted and under the auspices of the United Nations, to provide redress and reparations in a fair manner. He expressed the Council's hope of finding a satisfactory solution and supported all humanitarian initiatives that achieve this purpose and bring peace to the region.

BARBARA WOODWARD (United Kingdom) spotlighted the continued damage and loss to Ukraine and its people caused by the Russian Federation's unprovoked and illegal invasion. The scenes of relief and joy as Ukrainian civilians in Kherson greet Ukraine's liberating armed forces, she noted, should leave the international community with no doubt about the cruel and destructive nature of the Russian Federation's invasion. It will take a broad international effort to support Ukraine's recovery and construction in order to build a safe and prosperous future for its people, she continued. Only one country is responsible for the damage to Ukraine, must pay for that damage and must be held to account for actions that are in clear violation of international law, she said before expressing her support for establishing a register of damage as an important first step towards justice.

ISHIKANE KIMIHIRO (Japan) recalled that indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilian populations constitute a war crime and that responsibility for these actions must be held. ''Unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force must not occur in any corner of the globe,'' he said, adding that the draft resolution, if adopted, should contribute to reparations for the serious violations of the principles of the United Nations Charter. The Russian Federation must immediately stop its war of aggression, withdraw all its troops and military equipment from Ukraine, and respect Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, he added.

CAROLYN SCHWALGER (New Zealand) said that it is the General Assembly's responsibility ''to do all we can'' to avoid the deadly consequences of war. ''We see accountability and reparation processes as an important element in avoiding and forestalling further perpetuation of grave atrocities,'' she added. New Zealand is strongly committed to supporting international mechanisms that seek accountability for the Russian Federation's clear breaches of international law. In addition to mechanisms that seek accountability, New Zealand believes that future reparation processes can play a critical role in the rebuilding of communities, he said. Those that are responsible for causing damage and injury by breaching international law must make full reparations for rebuilding and compensating Ukraine. ''The principles at stake in Ukraine are deeply significant to New Zealand as a small State acting in the world,'' she said, urging the Russian Federation to commit to dialogue and act in the interests of peace.

DANG HOANG GIANG (Viet Nam) expressed concern over recent developments in the situation in Ukraine, with few prospects for an early resolution. ''We cannot let cooperation and dialogue take the back seat,'' he emphasized. While noting the importance of resolving the ''war legacies'' for reconstruction, maintenance of peace, stability and prosperity for the livelihoods of the people of Ukraine, he stressed that the immediate task is to respond adequately to the urgent humanitarian needs of those impacted by hostilities in the country. He further pointed out that the international community should refrain from actions that may drive the parties further apart and delay the prospects of a peaceful settlement.

MITCHELL FIFIELD (Australia), emphasizing that ''we will not be fooled by Russia's misinformation and obfuscation,'' said the draft resolution does not overstep the Assembly's powers in any way. Rather, it simply recognizes fundamental principles of international law by which all States, including the Russian Federation, must abide. A register of damage and a reparations mechanism, appropriately constructed, will be an important component of a fair, impartial and just framework for determining the reparations that the Russian Federation must make to ensure lasting peace. He urged all Member States to continue to support this and all other efforts to ensure that the Russian Federation ends its war of aggression against Ukraine and to make reparations for the injury and damage it has caused.

FERIT HOXHA (Albania) spotlighted the Russian Federation's footprint of destruction. While the United Nations and other organizations have reported continuously on the significant and widespread damages caused by the Russian Federation's aggression, there is a need to have a detailed map of what has happened to have a full picture of this man-made catastrophe, he emphasized. In expressing his support for the resolution, he called on all Member States to vote in favour as an act of justice and dignity. It is very straightforward, he explained: aggression has happened; extensive damage has been inflicted; and it must be documented for the purposes of reparation and accountability. The Russian Federation must silence the guns, withdraw completely and unconditionally from Ukraine and engage in negotiations. ''Ukraine is home to Ukrainians. It does not have to become the graveyard of Russian soldiers,'' he said.

ROBERT KEITH RAE (Canada) said the resolution is not about seizing assets or dealing with State sovereignty; rather, it is about saying there must be a registry for there to be an eventual reckoning for the damage and destruction that has been caused. When one country attacks another country, it is a breach of the law, and it is against the rules. The Russian Federation has prevented the Security Council from functioning and has tried to tie up the General Assembly and the Council in knots because it cannot bring itself to admit that its Special Military Operation is not that at all but rather a systematic attack on Ukraine. The Russian Federation is attempting to freeze and starve the people of Ukraine. ''Of course, we need to find peace,'' he said, but the one and only country that can secure peace refuses to accept responsibility for its own aggression. The Assembly is not being asked to perform the function of judge or jury or to go too far, it is simply saying there should be a registry and Ukraine and other countries should be allowed to support that registry.

MICHAL MLYNR (Slovakia), associating himself with the European Union, and recalling the Assembly's demand for the Russian Federation to cease its aggression against Ukraine and to withdraw from its internationally recognized borders, said today is an opportunity to address Moscow's second obligation under customary international law. He asked delegates to imagine that their countries' neighbour had launched a brutal and illegitimate military aggression that resulted in enormous damage against them. Would they not want the international community to hold the aggressor to account with an obligation to pay reparations, he wondered. ''I believe the answer is clear,'' he said, urging delegates to vote in favour of the draft resolution.

MAURIZIO MASSARI (Italy), associating himself with the statement delivered by the European Union delegation, said that, despite strong condemnations, the Russian Federation's violent actions continue to cause suffering and destruction in Ukraine. ''The picture that is emerging after Russia's recent withdrawal from Kherson is once again one of destruction and pain inflicted on the local population,'' he said. The draft resolution does not establish any standing United Nations reparation or compensation mechanism. It is instead aimed at providing global legitimacy by recommending to Member States the creation of an international register of damage. Such register will coordinate and organize evidence'‘gathering efforts, including those carried out in the context of various investigations by United Nations bodies. ''Ukraine needs reparations to have the possibility of rebuilding itself after the war '‘ housing for its people, schools, hospitals, roads, railways and bridges, as well as its industry and power grid '‘ all that was destroyed by Russia during its invasion and occupation,'' he added.

FERGAL MYTHEN (Ireland), associating himself with the European Union, said that the Russian Federation faces legal consequences arising from its continued breaches of international law. Explaining that the draft resolution recognizes and affirms Moscow's clear obligation to cease its wrongful acts and to make reparations, he said that an international register of damage would not only preserve evidence of damage, loss and injury but also shed light on atrocities committed against the Ukrainian people. It would be an important first step towards accountability, he said, adding that reparations will alleviate some of the long'‘term consequences of this horrific war.

BASSAM SABBAGH (Syria), aligning himself with the Group of Like'‘Minded Countries, pointed out that ''Western countries'' are promoting political polarization within the United Nations to deepen the divide among its Member States. He stressed that the organ should avoid any initiative which exacerbates the conflict and prevents its peaceful resolution. Noting that the draft resolution is part of a series of ''unbalanced bias and provocative resolutions'' pushed by the United States and its Western partners, he stated that its real objective is to pay for the increasing purchases of weapons by Ukraine. In this regard he asked the Assembly: ''Who will compensate my country for the destruction of the Syrian infrastructure by the so'‘called international coalition?''

JASSER JIM‰NEZ (Nicaragua), echoing the statement of the Group of Like-Minded Countries, said the resolution is an example of the hypocrisy and double standards of certain countries. Nicaragua supports a robust multilateralism and a new international order with a deep transformation between countries, he said, calling for an end to double standards and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. This resolution shamelessly seeks to politicize the Organization by setting up an international mechanism that is not administered by the body that established it, he said. This is a mechanism for a single case and ignores the painful history that imperialist countries have left behind. It does not recognize the genocide against the original peoples of countries. He supported his brethren in the Caribbean and Africa that are seeking reparations for these losses. Sanctions are direct aggressions against people, and during the pandemic, they have become crimes against humanity, he said, calling for reparations for damage caused by Western countries. He said that in 1986 the International Court of Justice condemned the United States for hostilities against Nicaragua and ordered $17 billion in compensation. It is a decision that the United States has not complied with. Developing countries have been demanding a reparation mechanism for the damage created by climate change. The resolution is a divisive act in the Assembly and does not promote dialogue. It sets a dangerous precedent as it is not administered by the Assembly and his delegation will vote against it.

CORNEL FERUȚĂ (Romania), aligning himself with the European Union, said the resolution is an additional step towards accountability for the Russian Federation's blatant violations of international law. Its provisions, he noted, complement existing international efforts concerning individual criminal responsibility by adding the missing dimension of the State's responsibility for its internationally wrongful acts. Ukraine's case for reparations, he continued, is a moral and legal imperative which constitutes an important deterrent to the benefit of the entire community. If the aggressor is left unsanctioned, this could lead to an irreversible decay of the international order which generations have strived to build in the aftermath of the world wars, he warned. As its provisions do not establish any new entities, the resolution undertakes a modest and principled step by recognizing the need for an international mechanism for reparation and recommending the creation of an international register of damage, he emphasized.

SONG KIM (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) stressed that the draft resolution is ''nothing more than a politically motivated document'' to shift all responsibilities of the crisis in Ukraine to the Russian Federation. Pointing out that the text is inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations, he further noted that the Assembly is not a judicial organ and has no mandate to judge the internationally wrongful acts and to provide the legal ground for remedy and reparations. Voicing concern over the possibility of abusing this draft resolution as a basis to illegally seize property and assets of a sovereign State, he opposed the text as a ''product of a unilateral and double standard practice.''

GENG SHUANG (China) said that the draft resolution contains obvious flaws and loopholes. Elaborating, he said that the Assembly is not an international judicial body, and therefore it cannot define or hold accountable international wrongful acts. Moreover, the draft resolution aims to invoke articles on the responsibility of States for internationally wrongful acts, but these articles are only the research products of the International Law Commission, an expert body, and they are not legally binding. In addition, creating a register of damage outside the framework of the United Nations is a diversion from past practice that makes no sense and has no precedent. Such draft resolutions should be subjected to full consultations with a view to achieving a consensus that can stand the test of history. Regrettably, the co-sponsors of this text did not organize consultations in earnest, pushing instead for the Assembly to take unconstructive, hasty action. Declaring that China will vote against the draft resolution, he called on the parties to the crisis to return to dialogue and negotiation, with the Assembly working actively towards that end instead of aggravating divisions.

NATHALIE BROADHURST ESTIVAL (France), associating herself with the European Union, reiterated her country's commitment to Ukraine and its people in ensuring justice for all victims of the Russian Federation's illegal war. Victims must be respected in terms of their dignity and rights, she emphasized while spotlighting her country's support for Ukraine legal actions and to the international efforts of the Human Rights Council and the International Criminal Court. As the Russian Federation must be held responsible for its crimes, its flagrant violations of international law and the legal consequences of its wrongful actions, she called on the Assembly to support the draft resolution.

MATHU JOYINI (South Africa) said that the impact of the war in Ukraine is being felt all over the world. South Africa reiterates that the territorial integrity of all States, including that of Ukraine, must be respected and rejects all actions that undermine principles laid out in the United Nations Charter. The Security Council should play a constructive role in resolving this conflict, she added, expressing regret that the Council continues to fail the people of Ukraine. The General Assembly, for its part, should create conditions conducive to dialogue, mediation and diplomacy. That, after all, is the only path to peace. The United Nations should do more to devote equal time to the resolution of all conflict situations that threaten international peace and security. She expressed concern that the General Assembly was ''sending a message of exceptionalism'' and that reparations matter in some situations but not others. Member States must refrain from double standards. The draft resolution places the United Nations in uncharted waters. The General Assembly is being asked to grant its authority to the setting up of a reparations mechanism, but there is no clarity on what the mechanism will look like or what its eventual legal status will be. ''We are uncomfortable'' with the draft text, she said, noting that South Africa will abstain from today's vote.

YOKA BRANDT (Netherlands), aligning herself with the European Union, stressed that the evidence of damages caused by the Russian Federation might disappear or get lost under the fog of war, therefore pointing to the need for a registry as outlined in the draft resolution. The text establishes that the aggressor is liable for the damages, she added, which must be documented in a register to allow for compensations. Recalling that the Assembly has established a register for damages in the past, she underscored that it is within its competence to recommend establishing one for this case. She called on Member States to ''vote for justice for all those who have suffered damages in the unprovoked conflict''.

VALENTIN RYBAKOV (Belarus), aligning himself with the Group of Like-Minded Countries, said the draft resolution introduced today once again shows that Western States have given up on principles of multilateralism and cooperation with the United Nations. Through the Minsk agreements, his delegation did all it could to organize negotiations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Yet the Western States, the guarantors, did not really want to have the situation resolved, he said. Instead, they endorsed the fomenting escalation in the Donbas region in 2014, supported Ukraine and pumped weapons into it, creating the pre-conditions for today's situation, in which both countries have become an existential threat to each other. The draft does not stand up to the cross-scrutiny of international law. It does not mention the crimes of imperialists and the consequences of slavery, he said, pointing out that no one has paid reparations for these types of damages, which are not even possible to assess. The draft does not mention the economic terrorism of sanctions that suffocate whole peoples. The war in Ukraine is one of 30 armed conflicts in the world. The Assembly should not make an exemption for one country, he stressed. The text will not bring the situation one step closer to peace; it will just polarize the Assembly. As such, his delegation will vote against it, he said.

PEDRO LUIS PEDROSO CUESTA (Cuba), calling on all parties to protect civilians, their property and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, rejected the double standards, partiality, discriminatory selectivity and opportunistic approaches before the Assembly. Spotlighting the hypocrisy of its main promoters, he urged States to listen and address the compensation claims of Caribbean Community (CARICOM), developing countries and small island developing States among others. The Assembly, he noted, has never established a reparations mechanism for Member States suffering from unilateral coercive measures. Will Cuba be compensated for the damage accumulated over six decades of an economic, commercial and financial blockade; the lives lost; and the illegal occupation of its national territory, he asked before turning his attention to Mexico, Viet Nam, the Pacific Islands, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria and the State of Palestine. To limit and accelerate the creation of a reparation mechanism for one specific conflict while ignoring many other historical, legitimate and well'‘documented demands is unjust and morally unacceptable, he said. It also severely damages the Assembly's credibility, he added.

AMIR SAEID JALIL IRAVANI (Iran), aligning himself with the Group of Like-Minded Countries, noted that the draft resolution contains language outside of the Assembly's purview. If agreed upon, the proposed mechanism would have no actual contribution to the peaceful resolution of the conflict and would only serve as a political tool, he cautioned. The main sponsors of the draft resolution, he explained, apply different criteria in other conflicts in a blatant double standard. If an international mechanism is to be established, then it must have a broad mandate that could address any international wrongdoing, including military aggressions, looting, blockades, unilateral sanctions, occupation and the provision of weapons of mass destruction, he contended. Objecting to any mechanism which undermines international law, he pointed out that any acts or decisions of the mechanism in operative paragraphs 3 or 4 would have no legal status and thus be null and void.

RICHARD M. MILLS, JR. (United States) said that it is clear what the issue is before the Assembly, namely that the international community must hold the Russian Federation to account for its violations of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and for the ensuing damage and abuses. ''This resolution represents a critical step towards accountability,'' he said, describing as tremendous the mounting cost of the Russian Federation's unprovoked and unlawful invasion of its neighbour and fellow United Nations member. Pointing to Chapter IV of the United Nations Charter, he said that it is well within the Assembly's authority to adopt the draft resolution and create a damages register that will be an important first step towards a claims adjudication mechanism. This is a matter of justice, not geopolitical competition, and by adopting the text, the Assembly will send a strong message to would-be aggressors worldwide that violations of international law, including the Charter, will have consequences. A vote in favour of the draft resolution is a vote for accountability and for the defence of the Charter, he said, emphasizing that Member States cannot sit on the sidelines when fundamental principles of international law are at stake.

SILVA LEANDER, representative of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, in its capacity as observer, pointed out that Ukraine will require assistance for further strengthening its democratic institutions, which will be essential for successfully countering corruption and achieving its reconstruction. Noting that the Russian Federation has targeted not only strategic military infrastructure but also civilian targets, public services, supply networks and sectors, she stressed the need to include political and civil society institutions and actors at the local level in Ukraine as ''critical infrastructure''. Emphasizing that the coming process of reconstitution and recovery needs to place democracy at its centre, she deemed it vital to allocate resources to support the reconstruction and improvement of the country's democratic institutions.

Action

The representative of Bahamas, speaking on behalf of CARICOM in explanation of vote before the vote, said CARICOM subscribes to the principle that for every wrong, there is a remedy. This is a fundamental principle of law and equity and an equally fundamental principle of international law. Ukraine has experienced injury and the burden of compensation should be imposed on the perpetrator. CARICOM recognizes that the United Nations is vital to resolving international matters. While supporting Ukraine's legitimate claims for reparations, he said such a process must be pursued through an appropriate mechanism. The proposal in the resolution contemplates that the Assembly should endorse a process over which it would have no control, oversight or any role. As drafted, the resolution asks Member States to give approval and then trust the process will be continued fairly and objectively.

Referring to language in operative paragraphs 3 and 4 of the resolution, he said CARICOM will abstain from a vote. Yet the Russian Federation must bear the legal consequences of all its wrongful acts for any violations of international law and/or for any violations of international humanitarian law in or against Ukraine. He reiterated his strong support for the principle that Member States have a legitimate right to claim reparations and compensation for injury, loss and damage caused by the wrongful actions of other Member States. This principle is to be applied in the present case as well as other similar cases worldwide. CARICOM has made this broader point regarding several issues before the international community, including climate action and reparations in connection with the transatlantic slave trade and native genocide. ''There will always exist a moral and/or legal obligation to correct injustice including the legacy of past injustice,'' he said.

The representative of Mexico, reiterating his country's defence of Ukraine's sovereignty, national unity, independence and territorial integrity, noted the ongoing judicial processes which could lead to the establishment of reparation mechanisms. The reparations stage is still far away, he pointed out, since the conflict is ongoing and in a state of flux. Nevertheless, he said he will vote in favour of the resolution since the resolution limits itself to recommending the creation of a register of damages.

JOAQUN P‰REZ (Venezuela), aligning himself with the Group of Like-Minded Countries, rejected attempts to impose a draft resolution that does not receive any consultations or take into account the views of all States involved. Such a methodology will not bring the international community closer to its goal of achieving peace. Rather, it will bring the Assembly closer to a point of no return. The draft resolution represents double standards and is not a peaceful solution. It attempts to use the Assembly to confiscate the properties and assets of other States and advances dubious aims. He said his country knows first-hand the looting of its sovereign resources. The text does not include measures for accountability, and there are no details on how it would be implemented. It does not follow a rules-based order. The proponents of the draft are shamelessly ignoring the crimes committed by colonial powers. The same members taking the lead on the resolution ignore the developing world's demand for reparations. ''It is moral amnesia,'' he said. He appealed to other delegations to vote against the text, which would create a serious precedent for the Assembly.

The Assembly then adopted the draft resolution by a recorded vote of 94 in favour to 14 against, with 73 abstentions.

The representative of Egypt, in explanation of vote after the vote, noted that he abstained from the vote since the proposal sets a dangerous precedent in asking for the development of a mechanism outside the institutional framework of the United Nations without clarifying the mechanism's rules, working methods or subsequent measures. The role of the Organization and the Assembly has unprecedentedly not been specified, he added. He then turned his attention to the divergent views on the International Law Commission's draft articles. This topic should not have been considered before the achievement of consensus in the Sixth Committee(Legal), he emphasized. In noting the double standard approach of certain States, he expressed his preference for the Assembly to abstain. The Assembly, he cautioned, must undertake a coherent approach going forward on its practices, ability and willingness to create similar reparation mechanisms for other countries.

The representative of Brazil said he abstained since the resolution does not foster constructive dialogue nor recognize the central role of the United Nations in the process. The text brings a high level of uncertainty regarding the legal parameters of such a register to be created outside the framework of the United Nations and without its supervision, he noted. In recommending the creation of such a mechanism without a specified scope, the Assembly is encouraging the fragmentation of its collective responsibility in promoting peace. It undermines the United Nations and ignores the efforts of the Human Rights Council and the International Criminal Court, he emphasized before voicing his regret over the insufficient time for discussion. The emergency special session must be capable of acting in a more transparent and democratic fashion, he urged while referencing the deadlock in the Security Council.

The representative of Chile said her country's vote in favour of the resolution is representative of its respect for human rights. She also expressed concern that some delegations in the Sixth Committee (Legal) have been unwilling to negotiate a convention on a binding framework to provide legal certainty regarding the international responsibility of States. Chile calls on those delegations to modify their position. Chile also recognizes that Assembly resolutions have a non-binding character. Further, she said she hopes a reparations fund will be established for relatives of victims of femicide and other violent deaths of women. Chile calls on all parties to continue negotiations and find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

The representative of Indonesia called the resolution ''divisive'', while also recognizing the efforts of the facilitators to provide room for some consultation. The underlying message of the resolution should have been that war must stop and that sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected. On the recommendation to establish a registry of damage and a reparations mechanism, he highlighted that such mechanisms must be built upon a foundation of due process. ''The General Assembly resolution at this stage may lead us to a slippery slope,'' he warned. For these reasons, Indonesia abstained from the resolution.

The representative of India, emphasizing the conflict's impact on the Global South, said delegations need to consider whether a reparation process, initiated through the Assembly, will contribute to resolving the conflict. Such a mechanism must not be established without adequate legal vetting, she said, adding that Member States must avoid steps that might preclude or endanger the possibility of dialogue and negotiations which could bring the conflict to an end. For that reason, India decided to abstain, she said.

The representative of Singapore said his delegation supported the resolution on the understanding that it is without prejudice to, nor does it seek to undermine or prejudge, the outcomes of ongoing judicial and investigative processes related to the war in Ukraine. Moreover, in Singapore's view, the approach contained in the resolution is not automatically applicable to other conflicts, as every situation should be considered on a case-by-case basis, taking the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law into account, he added.

The representative of Pakistan, noting that while his country supports the establishment of a claims commission, stressed that any such mechanism must be based on sound legal foundations. Double standards in the application of international law are counterproductive, he emphasized, underscoring that it would be unprecedented to establish a remedy and reparation mechanism that is neither managed by nor accountable to any of the United Nations principal organs, including the Assembly. Irrespective of the origin of the conflict, he added, the highest priority at this moment is immediate cessation of hostilities and dialogue for peace.

The representative of Kenya stated that, while Ukraine has a sovereign right to make claims for damages and losses caused by the current conflict, so do all peoples and countries that have sought reparations for colonial violence, slavery and other acts of aggression. Noting that this text will pave the way for more concrete discussions, decisions and resolutions on reparation, he emphasized that all Member States should be ready to hear other countries' calls for accountability for historical injustices.

The representative of Brunei Darussalam condemned violations of the sovereignty or territorial integrity of any country and firmly upheld the principles for the respect of international law. Regarding the establishment of a register of damage, she said similar mechanisms have been established under the ambit of the United Nations. Any such independent mechanism should be established according to due process and consultations. She reiterated the importance of diplomacy and called on all parties directly involved to de'‘escalate and resolve the situation by peaceful means, stressing the need to refrain from force and maintain international peace and stability.

The representative of Argentina said her delegation's clear and consistent position has been to defend territorial integrity as a fundamental principle of international law. Any damages must be subject to reparations under international law. She supported the draft resolution as it would achieve accountability for wrongful acts that violate the Charter. She stressed the importance of indicating the damages for such wrongful acts and discussing appropriate means for accountability, bearing in mind that accountability for unlawful acts must apply to all acts that need reparations, without prejudice. For this reason, her delegation voted in favour of the draft resolution.

The representative of Qatar, in calling on parties to show restraint and stop the war, said he voted in favour of the resolution since it is in line with his country's position on the protection of civilians and the provision of reparations for material and psychological damages. Reparations and the mechanisms to implement them, however, must be conducted in accordance with the principles of international law and established international precedents, he stressed.

The representative of the United Arab Emirates, associating himself with the Gulf Cooperation Council, said he abstained due to the text's unclear and imprecise nature. The resolution offers the Assembly's support for reparations and evidentiary processes that have yet to be defined by a group of Member States still to be determined, he pointed out while expressing his concern over the resolution's implications for sovereign equality and sovereign immunity.

The representative of Nigeria called on all parties to the conflict to end hostilities and begin negotiations. Nigeria is committed to the principles of the United Nations and calls on all countries to refrain from actions that will worsen the conflict. Current efforts should focus on resuming peace. Nigeria is open to working with all countries on these goals, he said, adding that for such reasons Nigeria abstained from the vote.

The representative of Sierra Leone reiterated grave concern about the conflict in Ukraine, which has had widespread repercussions all over the world. Sierra Leone is committed to the United Nations Charter and its principles, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence, he said. Noting that his delegation's prior votes on the issue of Ukraine have been based on the Charter principles, he said today Sierra Leone abstained from the resolution and was guided by its belief in the Charter and the consistent application of international law. The General Assembly is not an adjudicative body and cannot set out legal consequences; it must recognize all victims of historical injustices, including racism, colonialism and slavery. ''Reparations concern both the past and the present,'' he added.

The representative of Bahrain, renewing support for all efforts to use diplomatic means to de-escalate tensions and conflicts, reiterated that any mechanisms for settling disputes should follow the rules of the United Nations and the multilateral system. Hopefully, work will continue towards a peaceful settlement that meets the needs of all parties and avoids further repercussions, he added.

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November 15, 2022 02:35 PM

A newly passed resolution demanding Russia pay reparations for the war in Ukraine threatens the existence of the United Nations, according to a top Kremlin official.

"It looks like the beginning of the United Nations agony as a key international institution for reconciliation," Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, who held the presidency for a term, wrote on social media. "The end will be painful for the entire international community. We will do without such a 'united nations' organization."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the U.N. General Assembly's support for ''establishing an international mechanism for compensation for damage'' as a step toward fulfilling one of the pillars of Zelensky's preferred ''peace formula.'' Russian officials have dismissed Zelensky's demands as ''unrealistic,'' but Kremlin officials fear that Western powers will invoke the U.N. resolution as a basis for giving frozen Russian Central Bank reserves to Ukraine.

"Naturally, the organizers of this process are trying to complete the robbery of our gold and foreign exchange reserves, which were completely illegally blocked,'' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday. ''This is a formalization of this robbery using the United Nations platform.''

UKRAINE: 'RUSSIA WANTS A PAUSE TO REPLENISH ITS FORCES'

Russia lost access to about $300 billion in foreign currency reserves, about half of the Russian Central Bank's stockpile, in February, when the United States and allied governments froze the bank's overseas assets in retaliation for Russian President Vladimir Putin's attempt to overthrow the Zelensky government.

''The creation of an international compensation mechanism '... will make it possible to compensate all the losses caused by the Russian war, moreover at the expense of Russian assets,'' Zelensky said Monday evening without explicit reference to the Russian Central Bank reserves. ''The reparations that Russia will have to pay for what it has committed are now part of the international legal reality.''

The reparations resolution passed with 94 votes in favor. Russia mustered just 14 votes against the proposal, and another 73 countries abstained. Ukrainian officials emphasized that Moscow has backed multiple reparations initiatives, including after Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait and following World War II.

''Seventy-seven years ago, the Soviet Union demanded and received reparations, calling it a moral right of a country that has suffered war and occupation,'' he said. ''Today, Russia, who claims to be the successor of the 20th century's tyranny, is doing everything it can to avoid paying the price for its own war and occupation, trying to escape accountability for the crimes it is committing.''

Russian Ambassador to the U.N. Vassily Nebenzia maintained that the reparations resolution was just a maneuver to use Russian government funds to pay for Western military aid to Ukraine.

''We underscore that neither the General Assembly nor any 'mechanism' can 'cancel' the sovereign immunity of state assets, which is granted by international law,'' Nebenzia said. "Those states who will support this decision by the [General Assembly] will become complicit in the illegal expropriation of a third country's sovereign assets and another act of abuse of UNGA powers in the interests of the West.''

Nebenzia continued by accusing Western powers of hypocrisy on the grounds that ''Western states never considered 'reparations' as a means to atone for their own sins'' '-- a barb that continued a Russian pattern of invoking ''the centuries of slavery and oppression, colonialism, and neocolonial domination, military aggression, and interventions'' to dissuade countries in Africa and Latin America from aligning behind Ukraine.

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The Russian envoy had some success with that argument when South Africa's representative decried the ''message of exceptionalism'' sent by the resolution, although South Africa and dozens of other countries merely abstained from the vote rather than taking a side. Yet some developing countries defended both the General Assembly's authority to take up the matter and the proposal at stake in the debate.

''It is the right thing to do,'' Guatemalan Foreign Minister Mario Bucaro said.

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Nearly 50 nations co-sponsored the resolution on establishing an international mechanism for compensation for damage, loss and injury, as well as a register to document evidence and claims.

The General Assembly is the UN's most representative body, comprising all 193 Member States.

Ninety-four countries voted in favour of the resolution, and 14 against, while 73 abstained.

The vote took place in the morning, and countries returned in the afternoon to explain their decisions.

Ukraine: Hold Russia accountable In presenting the resolution, Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya used the biblical adage that ''there is nothing new under the sun'' as a motif throughout his remarks.

He insisted that Russia must be held accountable for its violations of international law.

''Seventy-seven years ago, the Soviet Union demanded and received reparations, calling it a moral right of a country that has suffered war and occupation,'' he said.

''Today, Russia, who claims to be the successor of the 20th century's tyranny, is doing everything it can to avoid paying the price for its own war and occupation, trying to escape accountability for the crimes it is committing.''

Carnage and compensation Mr. Kyslytsya pointed out that Russia also supported the creation of the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC), established in 1991 following Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait.

The Commission completed its mandate in February, he reported, having paid out over $52 billion in reparations to victims.

The Ambassador outlined the impact of the Russian war on his country, including bombings targeting residential buildings and infrastructure, the demolition of nearly half of the power grid and utilities, massive displacement, and atrocities such as murder, rape, torture and forced deportations.

''This proposal is not about Russia alone. It will work for the benefit of all those who are being threatened now or might be threatened later by use of force,'' he said.

Russia criticizes draft Speaking before the vote, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya characterized the draft resolution as ''a classic example'' of a narrow group of States acting not on the basis of international law, but rather trying to consecrate something that is illegal.

He said countries backing the resolution were attempting to position the General Assembly as a judicial body, which it is not.

''These countries boast about how committed they are to the rule of law, but at the same time, they are flouting its very semblance,'' he added, speaking in Russian.

No role for the UN Mr. Nebenzya said the proposed reparations mechanism will be created by a group of countries that will decide how it functions.

''The UN will play no role in this process because the proposed mechanism is suggested to be created outside of the UN, and no one has any plans to account to the General Assembly for its activity,'' he continued.

Furthermore, he had ''no doubt'' that the funding will come from frozen Russian assets, which total billions.

Western countries have long wanted to unfreeze these assets, he said, not to return them to their owner, or to spend them on helping Ukraine, ''but rather so as to fund their own constantly growing weapons supplies to Kyiv, and covering the debts for the weapons already supplied.''

About the emergency special session The General Assembly emergency special session began on 28 February, or just days after the start of the war in Ukraine.

This marks only the 11th time such a meeting has been held since 1950, in line with a resolution widely known as 'Uniting for Peace'.

Resolution 377A(V) gives the General Assembly power to take up matters of international peace and security when the Security Council is unable to act due to unanimity among its five permanent members '' China, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Russia '' who have the power of veto.

The current special session was convened after the Council voted in favour of the General Assembly meeting following Russia's veto of a resolution that would have deplored the assault on Ukraine.'¯

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Fri, 03 Mar 2023 15:56

Updated

November 16, 2022 at 1:15 PM

Published

November 16, 2022 at 8:49 AM

NUSA DUA '' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday called on the Group of 20 (G-20) major economies meeting in Indonesia to step up their leadership and stop Russia's war in his country under a peace plan he has proposed.

''We will not allow Russia to wait it out, build up its forces, and then start a new series of terror and global destabilisation,'' he said via videolink to the summit on the Indonesian island of Bali. ''I am convinced now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped.''

Here are excerpts from the 10-point peace formula that Mr Zelensky outlined in his speech at the summit.

1. Radiation and nuclear safetyRussia must immediately withdraw all its militants from the territory of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The station must be immediately transferred to the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency and Ukrainian personnel. The normal connection of the station to the power grid must be restored immediately so that nothing threatens the stability of the reactors.

The same goes for the crazy threats of nuclear weapons that Russian officials resort to. There are and cannot be any excuses for nuclear blackmail.

2. Food securityWe have already launched the initiative, Grain From Ukraine... Ukraine can export 45 million tonnes of food this year. And let a significant part of it be directed to those who suffer the most.

Each country can join with a specific contribution and become a co-creator of the victory over hunger and the food crisis.

3. Energy securityAbout 40 per cent of our energy infrastructure were destroyed by the strikes of Russian missiles and Iranian drones used by the occupiers.

A related goal of this terror is to prevent the export of our electricity to neighbouring countries, which could significantly help them stabilise the energy situation and reduce prices for consumers.

I thank all our partners who have already helped Ukraine with the supply of air defence and missile defence systems. This allows us to shoot down some of the Russian missiles and Iranian drones... I ask you to increase respective assistance.

Price restrictions on Russian energy resources should be introduced. If Russia is trying to deprive Ukraine, Europe and all energy consumers in the world of predictability and price stability, the answer to this should be a forced limitation of export prices for Russia.

4. Prisoners and deporteesThousands of our people '' military and civilians '' are in the Russian captivity. They are subjected to brutal torture.

In addition, we know by name 11,000 children who were forcibly deported to Russia. They are separated from their parents in full knowledge that they have families.

Add to that hundreds of thousands of deported adults... and political prisoners '' Ukrainian citizens who are held in Russia and in the temporarily occupied territory, in particular in Crimea.

We must release all these people.

5. United Nations Charter and Ukraine's territorial integrityWe must restore the validity of international law '' and without any compromises with the aggressor. Because the UN Charter cannot be applied partially, selectively or at will.

Russia must reaffirm the territorial integrity of Ukraine within the framework of the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the applicable international legally binding documents. It is not up to negotiations.

6. Russian troops and hostilitiesRussia must withdraw all its troops and armed formations from the territory of Ukraine. Ukraine's control over all sections of our state border with Russia must be restored. This will result in a real and complete cessation of hostilities.

7. JusticeThe world should endorse establishment of the Special Tribunal regarding the crime of Russia's aggression against Ukraine and the creation of an international mechanism to compensate for all the damages caused by this war. Compensation at the expense of Russian assets, because it is the aggressor who must do everything to restore the justice violated by it.

We have already proposed a resolution of the UN General Assembly regarding an international compensation mechanism for damages caused by the Russian war. It is endorsed. We ask you to implement it.

We are also preparing the second resolution '' on the Special Tribunal. Please join and support it.

8. Immediate protection of the environmentMillions of hectares of forest were burned by shelling. Almost 200,000ha of our land are contaminated with unexploded mines and shells.

I thank all the countries that are already helping us with demining. There is an urgent need for an increased number of equipment and experts for these operations.

Funds and technologies are also needed for the restoration of water treatment facilities.

9. Prevention of escalationUkraine is not a member of any alliances. And Russia was able to start this war precisely because Ukraine remained in the grey zone '' between the Euro-Atlantic world and the Russian imperialism.

We should hold an international conference to cement the key elements of the post-war security architecture in the Euro-Atlantic space, including guarantees for Ukraine. The main outcome of the conference should be the signing of the Kyiv Security Compact. (The nine-page Kyiv Security Compact published in September calls for Western countries to provide ''political, financial, military and diplomatic resources'' to boost Kyiv's ability to defend itself.)

10. Confirmation of the end of the warWhen all the anti-war measures are implemented, when security and justice begin to be restored, a document confirming the end of the war should be signed by the parties.

States ready to take the lead in this or that decision can become parties to the arrangement.

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

American politician

Jason T. Brodeur was born in Daytona Beach, Florida and is a Republican Florida State Senator representing the 10th district, which consists of Seminole and a small part of Orange County. Before the redistricting that took effect with the 2022 election, he represented the old 9th district. Brodeur also serves as the President and CEO of the Seminole County Chamber, which advocates for pro-business practices in Seminole County and across the State of Florida.[1] He previously served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018. From 2010-2012, he represented the 33rd District. During his final six years in the Florida House, Brodeur represented the 28th District, which consists of eastern Seminole County.

In March 2023, Brodeur introduced a bill requiring bloggers who write about Florida government officials to register with the state.

History [ edit ] Brodeur attended the University of Florida, where he graduated with a degree in food and resource economics in 1997 and a Masters of Business Administration in 2003 before attending Dartmouth College, where he is a Masters of Public Health candidate.[2] During college, Brodeur distinguished himself as a leader in several student organizations and was a proud member of Florida Blue Key.[3] Following graduation, he worked for Procter & Gamble for several years before starting his own health care consulting company. Brodeur later served as the Chairman of the Seminole County Republican Party. Even before assuming office, Jason proved to be an active member of the community, receiving gubernatorial appointments and serving on the Medicaid Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics Committee, the 18th Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission, and the Citizen's Safety Task Force.[3]

Florida House of Representatives [ edit ] When incumbent State Representative Sandy Adams opted to run for Congress in 2010, Brodeur ran in the Republican primary to succeed her from the 33rd District, which included parts of Orange, Seminole, and Volusia Counties. In the primary, he defeated Alice Sterling and James DeCocq by a solid margin, winning 51% of the vote to Sterling's 37% and DeCocq's 11%. Brodeur advanced to the general election, where he faced Democratic nominee Leo Cruz and Libertarian Franklin Perez. Brodeur overwhelmingly defeated Cruz and Perez, winning nearly 60% of the vote.

In 2012, the Florida House districts were redrawn, and Brodeur opted to run for re-election in the 28th District. He was challenged in the Republican primary by former Winter Springs Mayor John F. Bush. Bush ran against Brodeur due to his opposition to an amendment that Brodeur wrote "blocking Seminole [County] from cutting programs or closing schools, and forcing administrators making over $100,000 to take steep pay cuts."[4] Ultimately, Brodeur comfortably defeated Bush, winning 61% of the vote. Brodeur again faced Perez in the general election, whom he defeated in a landslide with 66% of the vote.

Throughout his time in the House of Representatives, Brodeur lead numerous key legislative committees such as the Government Operations Subcommittee, the Health and Human Services Committee and the Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee.[3]

As a State Representative, Brodeur received numerous honors from several state advocacy groups. The Florida Chamber of Commerce named him a distinguished advocate and as a member of their honor roll. He has been named a ''Friend of Enterprise'' on two occasions by The Associated Builders and Contractors. In 2015, Brodeur was named the 2015 Florida Legislator of the Year by the Florida Coalition for Children. He was also named legislator of the year in 2012 by both Seminole County Bar Association and the Legal Aid Society.[3]

Florida Senate [ edit ] When the incumbent, Senator David Simmons, was term-limited in 2020,[5] Brodeur ran in the Republican Primary to succeed him from Senate District 9. Brodeur ran unopposed and was selected as the Republican nominee.[6]

In his bid for the Senate, Brodeur was endorsed by key state leaders and organizations such as Governor Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody,[7] and the Florida Chamber of Commerce.[8]

In the General Election, Brodeur faced Democrat Patricia Sigman. Brodeur won the election with 50% of the vote compared to Sigman's 48%.[6] The contentious election also featured a ghost progressive candidate, Jestine Iannotti. Brodeur's Chamber of Commerce colleague Ben Paris was sentenced to a year of probation and $42,000 restitution for his role in the vote-siphoning scheme.[9]

In the 2021 Legislative Session, Brodeur introduced and co-introduced 41 total bills.[2] Brodeur introduced SB 80, which established detailed case sheets for children in foster care.[10] This bill was passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate.[11] Brodeur also introduced SB 88 that provided farmers with protection from frivolous lawsuits.[12] During the 2021 Session, Brodeur prioritized environmental protection[13] and introduced two bills, SB 896 and SB 976 that expanded renewable energy resources and protected ecological systems, respectively. Both of these bills passed the House and the Senate.[14][15]

Brodeur is A-Rated by Florida Chamber of Commerce with a score of 100%.[16]

In March 2023, Brodeur introduced a bill requiring bloggers who write about Florida government officials for pay to register with the Florida Office of Legislative Services or the Commission on Ethics.[17]

Personal life [ edit ] Brodeur is married to Christy Daly Brodeur,[2] and they live in Sanford, Florida.[3]

References [ edit ] External links [ edit ] https://jasonbrodeur.com/https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/s9

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A Republican state senator in Florida has introduced a bill that, if passed, would require bloggers who write about Gov. Ron DeSantis, his Cabinet or state legislators to register with the state.

Sen. Jason Brodeur's bill, titled "Information Dissemination," would also require bloggers to disclose who's paying them for their posts about certain elected officials and how much.

"If a blogger posts to a blog about an elected state officer and receives, or will receive, compensation for that post, the blogger must register" with the appropriate office within five days of the post, the legislation says.

It defines "elected state officer" as "the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a Cabinet officer, or any member of the Legislature."

Failing to register would result in a fine of $25 a day, and the penalty would be capped at $2,500 per posting, NBC affiliate WFLA of Tampa reported.

The bill says the bloggers' reports to the state "must include" the "individual or entity that compensated the blogger for the blog post, and "the amount of compensation received from the individual or entity."

The bill defines a blog as "a website or webpage that hosts any blogger and is frequently updated with opinion, commentary, or business content," but it says the "term does not include the website of a newspaper or other similar publication."

DeSantis' office did not respond to a request for comment late Thursday for his position on the bill.

Brodeur did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Thursday. He told the website Florida Politics, which first reported on the bill: ''Paid bloggers are lobbyists who write instead of talk. They both are professional electioneers. If lobbyists have to register and report, why shouldn't paid bloggers?''

Ron Kuby, a First Amendment lawyer in New York, said the law would not survive a court challenge if it is passed.

"It's hard to imagine a proposal that would be more violative of the First Amendment," Kuby said. "We don't register journalists. People who write cannot be forced to register."

Dareh Gregorian Dareh Gregorian is a politics reporter for NBC News.

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Fri, 03 Mar 2023 14:55

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) '-- Florida Sen. Jason Brodeur (R-Lake Mary) wants bloggers who write about Gov. Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody, and other members of the Florida executive cabinet or legislature to register with the state or face fines.

Brodeur's proposal, Senate Bill 1316: Information Dissemination, would require any blogger writing about government officials to register with the Florida Office of Legislative Services or the Commission on Ethics.

In the bill, Brodeur wrote that those who write ''an article, a story, or a series of stories,'' about ''the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a Cabinet officer, or any member of the Legislature,'' and receives or will receive payment for doing so, must register with state offices within five days after the publication of an article that mentions an elected state official.

If another blog post is added to a blog, the blogger would then be required to submit monthly reports on the 10th of each month with the appropriate state office. They would not have to submit a report on months when no content is published.

For blog posts that ''concern an elected member of the legislature'' or ''an officer of the executive branch,'' monthly reports must disclose the amount of compensation received for the coverage, rounded to the nearest $10 value.

If compensation is paid for a series of posts or for a specific amount of time, the blogger would be required to disclose the total amount to be received, upon publication of the first post in said series or timeframe.

Additional compensation must be disclosed later on.

Failure to file these disclosures or register with state officials, if the bill passes, would lead to daily fines for the bloggers, with a maximum amount per report, not per writer, of $2,500. The per-day fine is $25 per report for each day it's late.

The bill also requires that bloggers file notices of failure to file a timely report the same way that lobbyists file their disclosures and reports on assessed fines. Fines must be paid within 30 days of payment notice, unless an appeal is filed with the appropriate office. Fine payments must be deposited into the Legislative Lobbyist Registration Trust Fund if it concerns an elected member of the legislature.

For writing about members of the executive branch, fines would be made payable to the Executive Branch Lobby Registration Trust Fund or, if it concerns both groups, the fine may be paid to both related trust funds in equal amounts.

Explicitly, the blogger rule would not apply to newspapers or similar publications, under Brodeur's proposed legislation.

In addition to the blogger regulations, the bill also removes provisions of state statutes to require judicial notices of sales to be published on publicly accessible websites, and specifies that a government agency can publish legally required advertisements and public notices on county sites if the cost is not paid by or recovered from an individual.

Should the bill pass, it would take effect immediately upon approval.

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Fri, 03 Mar 2023 14:35

German Bundeswehr soldiers of the NATO. AP.

Berlin: German army is not capable of protecting the country against any offensive, said Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. He further alleged that the Bundeswehr is understaffed and under-equipped after being left neglected from the federal government for decades.

''We have no armed forces that are capable of defending [Germany] that is, capable of defending [it] against an offensive, brutally waged aggressive war,'' German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said during a meeting with fellow members of the Social Democratic Party.

Germany should invest more in its military

The minister claimed that the German army is understaffed and does not have adequate equipment as it has been neglected from the federal government for decades.

He said Germany will have to increase its investment in its military in order to be up to NATO standards.

Last week, Lieutenant General Alfons Mais, the commander and highest ranking officer of the German army, said the 100 billion euro previously promised by Chancellor Olaf Scholz would not be enough to make the country's armed forces battle ready.

''The army that I have the duty to lead is more or less bare,'' a report by press agency DPA quoted Mais saying.

Pistorius' remark came within hours after chairman of German Armed Forces Association, Colonel Andre Wustner, in an interview to Bild claimed that only 30 per cent of approximately 300 Leopard 2 tanks in Germany's stock are currently operational.

Despite a worrisome state of defence at home, Germany has been providing extensive assistance to war-torn Ukraine as it fights against Russian invasion for over a year now.

The German government has transferred two state-of-the-art air defence systems to Ukraine that were meant to protect Berlin, said CEO of Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger, to Pioneer podcast on Tuesday.

For the unversed, Rheinmetall in Germany's top military contractor.

Germany sending weapons to Ukraine have been facing criticism and protests. On Saturday, Die Linke (Left Party in Germany) organised a rally calling Chancellor Olaf Scholz to restrict supplying arms to Kyiv.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Alleged medical symptoms of unknown cause

Medical condition

Havana syndrome is an alleged set of medical symptoms with unknown causes experienced mostly abroad by U.S. government officials and military personnel. The symptoms range in severity from pain and ringing in the ears to cognitive difficulties[2][6] and were first reported in 2016 by U.S. and Canadian embassy staff in Havana, Cuba. Beginning in 2017, more people, including U.S. intelligence and military personnel and their families, reported having these symptoms in other places, such as China, New Delhi, India,[7] Europe, and Washington, D.C.[8] The cause and validity of the illness have yet to be determined.[9][10]

The U.S. Department of State, Department of Defense, and other federal entities have referred to the events as "Anomalous Health Incidents" (AHI),[11][12] while Central Intelligence Agency director William J. Burns has publicly called them attacks.[13] While there is no expert consensus on the syndrome's cause,[14] an expert committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concluded in December 2020 that microwave energy (specifically, directed pulsed RF energy[2]) "appears to be the most plausible mechanism in explaining these cases among those that the committee considered",[15] but that "each possible cause remains speculative".[16][17][18] Other potential causes that have been proposed have included ultrasound,[19] pesticides,[20] or mass psychogenic illness.[21]

Prior to March 2023, U.S. intelligence services had not reached a consensus on, or a formal determination of, the cause of Havana syndrome, though U.S. intelligence and government officials expressed suspicions to the press that Russian military intelligence is responsible.[22][23][24] In January 2022, the Central Intelligence Agency issued an interim assessment concluding that the syndrome is not the result of "a sustained global campaign by a hostile power". Foreign involvement was ruled out in 976 cases of the 1,000 reviewed.[25][26] In February 2022, a panel of experts assembled by the Biden administration released an executive summary stating that stress or psychosomatic reactions could not explain some of the incidents of Havana syndrome it had reviewed, and that radio waves could have caused some of the injuries of the CIA officers and diplomats.[27] At roughly the same time, the State Department commissioned the JASON Advisory Group to investigate the cause. In February 2022, the State Department released the JASON report, which stated that it was unlikely that a directed energy attack had caused the health incidents.[28]

In March 2023, seven U.S. intelligence agencies completed a review of the proposed cases of Havana Syndrome and released an unclassified report with the consensus that "available intelligence consistently points against the involvement of US adversaries in causing the reported incidents" and that the involvement of a foreign adversary was "very unlikely".[3][4]

Cuba [ edit ] In August 2017, reports began surfacing that American and Canadian[29] diplomatic personnel in Cuba had experienced unusual, unexplained health problems dating to late 2016.[30][31] As of June 2018, the number of American citizens experiencing symptoms was 26.[32]

Events [ edit ] The original 21 events in Cuba were characterized as starting with strange grating noises coming from a specific direction. Some people experienced pressure, vibration, or a sensation comparable to driving a car with the window partly rolled down. These noises lasted from 20 seconds to 30 minutes and happened while the diplomats were either at home or in hotel rooms. Other people nearby (including family members and guests in neighboring rooms) did not experience the same symptoms.[33]

Impact on American diplomats [ edit ] Some U.S. embassy workers have experienced lasting health problems, including an unidentified diplomat who now needs a hearing aid.[34] The U.S. State Department declared that the health problems were either the result of an attack or due to exposure to an unknown device[35] and declared that it was not blaming the Cuban government and would not say who was to blame.[36] Affected people described symptoms such as hearing loss, memory loss, and nausea.[35] Speculation centered around a sonic weapon,[37] with some researchers pointing to infrasound as a possible cause.[38]

In August 2017, the United States expelled two Cuban diplomats in retaliation for perceived Cuban responsibility.[30] The next month, the U.S. State Department stated that it was removing non-essential staff from the U.S. embassy and warned U.S. citizens not to travel to Cuba.[39] In October 2017, President Donald Trump said he believed that Cuba was responsible for the occurrences,[40] calling them a "very unusual attack".[41]

In response to the incidents, the U.S. State Department announced in March 2018 that it would continue to staff its embassy in Havana at the minimum level required to perform "core diplomatic and consular functions"; the embassy had been operating under "ordered departure status" since September 2017, but the status was set to expire. This announcement served to extend the staff reductions indefinitely.[42]

U.S. government investigations [ edit ] In January 2018, the Associated Press reported that a non-public FBI report found no evidence of an intentional sonic attack.[43] A November 2018 report in the New Yorker found that the FBI's investigation into the incidents was stymied by conflict with the CIA and the State Department; the CIA was reluctant to reveal, even to other U.S. government agencies, the identities of affected officers because of concern about possible leaks. Federal rules on the privacy of employee medical records also hindered the investigation.[44]

In January 2018, at the direction of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the State Department convened an accountability review board,[45] which is "an internal State Department mechanism to review security incidents involving diplomatic personnel."[46] Retired United States Ambassador to Libya Peter Bodde was chosen to lead the board.[46]

Impact on Canadian diplomats [ edit ] In March 2018, MRI scans and other tests taken by a chief neurologist in Pittsburgh on an unspecified number of Canadian diplomats showed evidence of brain damage that mirrored the injuries some of their American counterparts had faced. In early 2018, Global Affairs Canada ended family postings to Cuba and withdrew all staff with families. Several of the Canadians who were affected in 2017 were reported to still be unable to resume their work due to the severity of their ailments. The lack of knowledge of the cause of Havana syndrome, as of February 2019[update], had made it challenging for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to investigate.[47]

In 2019, the Canadian government announced that it was reducing its embassy staff in Havana after a 14th Canadian diplomat reported symptoms of Havana syndrome in late December 2018.[48] In February 2019, several Canadian diplomats sued the Canadian government, arguing that it failed to protect them or promptly address serious health concerns.[49][50] The government has sought to dismiss the suit, arguing in November 2019 that it was not negligent and did not breach its duties to its employees. In court filings, the government acknowledged that several of the 14 plaintiffs in the suit had concussion-like symptoms but said that no definitive cause or medical diagnosis had been ascertained.[51] In a November 2019 statement, Global Affairs Canada said, "We continue to investigate the potential causes of the unusual health symptoms."[51]

[ edit ] After the incident was made public, the Cuban foreign minister accused the U.S. of lying about the incident and denied Cuban involvement in or knowledge of the cause of the health problems the diplomats experienced.[52][53]

The Cuban government offered to cooperate with the U.S. in an investigation of the incidents.[54] It employed about 2,000 scientists and law enforcement officers who interviewed 300 neighbors of diplomats, examined two hotels, and medically examined non-diplomats who could have been exposed. NBC reported that Cuban officials stated that they analyzed air and soil samples and considered a range of toxic chemicals. They also examined the possibility that electromagnetic waves were to blame, and even looked into whether insects could be the culprit, but found nothing they could link to the claimed medical symptoms. The FBI and Cuban authorities met to discuss the situation; the Cubans stated that the U.S. neither agreed to share the diplomats' medical records with Cuban authorities nor allowed Cuban investigators access to U.S. diplomats' homes to conduct tests.[55] In 2021, a panel of 16 scientists affiliated with the Cuban Academy of Sciences and convened by the Cuban government reported that "the narrative of the 'mysterious syndrome' is not scientifically acceptable in any of its components." The panel addressed the microwave hypothesis directly, writing, "No known form of energy can selectively cause brain damage (with laser-like spatial accuracy) under the conditions described for the alleged incidents in Havana."[56]

Studies [ edit ] At the request of the U.S. government, University of Pennsylvania researchers examined 21 affected diplomats posted to Cuba, and the preliminary results were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in March 2018. The researchers found "no evidence of white matter tract abnormalities" in affected diplomats beyond what might be seen in a control group of the same age and described "a new syndrome in the diplomats that resembles persistent concussion."[57][58] While some of those affected recovered swiftly, others had symptoms for months. The study concluded that "the diplomats appear to have sustained injury to widespread brain networks."[57][58]

The editorial board of the journal Cortex published an editorial referring to the JAMA research's "gross methodological flaws" and registering concern that it had been published. In the board's view, "Allowing such confused and conflicting explanations of methodology and analysis to pass unchallenged is a slippery path for science, and dangerous for society at large".[59]

In response to a December 2017 State Department request, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a "Cuba Unexplained Events Investigation."[60][61] The two-year investigation of the medical records of 95 U.S. diplomats and family members in Havana who reported symptoms resulted in a final report, marked for official use only, dated December 2019.[62]

In January 2021, both BuzzFeed News and George Washington University's National Security Archive obtained the report, pursuant to Freedom of Information Act requests. (Some material in the released report was redacted for medical privacy reasons.)[60][62] The CDC developed a "case definition" of the Havana syndrome, consisting of a biphasic (two-stage) syndrome.[61][62] The first phase of symptoms (sometimes closely after an auditory or sensory event) consisted of one or more of the following symptoms: head pressure, disorientation, nausea or headache, vestibular disturbance, or auditory or visual syndromes.[61] The second phase of symptoms, occurring sometime later, consisted of cognitive deficits, vestibular disturbances, or both.[61][62] The report concluded, "Of the 95 persons whose medical records CDC evaluated, 15 had illnesses that met the criteria for a presumptive case definition. CDC classified 31 others as possible cases and the remaining 49 as not likely to be a case."[61] Two years later, six of the subjects in the CDC investigation were still being rehabilitated for their injuries, and four were still unable to return to work.[60] The CDC decided not to conduct a retrospective case''control study because of the length of time between the event and the onset of symptoms, which could lead to recall and selection biases that "could generate misleading or obscured findings."[60]

The CDC concluded, "The evaluations conducted thus far have not identified a mechanism of injury, process of exposure, effective treatment, or mitigating factor for the unexplained cluster of symptoms experienced by those stationed in Havana."[61]

Theories regarding cause [ edit ] Pulsed electromagnetic energy and ultrasound [ edit ] On February 1, 2022, a declassified US intelligence report (IC Experts Panel on Anomalous Health Incidents) called pulsed electromagnetic energy and ultrasound plausible causes and said that concealable devices exist that could produce the observed symptoms.[63]

Microwaves [ edit ] In 2018, Douglas H. Smith, the lead author of a University of Pennsylvania study of 21 affected diplomats in Havana published in JAMA , said in an interview that microwaves were "considered a main suspect" underlying the phenomenon.[64] A 2018 study published in the journal Neural Computation by Beatrice Alexandra Golomb rejected the idea that a sonic attack was the source of the symptoms and concluded that the facts were consistent with pulsed radiofrequency[2]/microwave radiation (RF/MW) exposure. Golomb wrote that (1) the nature of the noises the diplomats reported was consistent with sounds caused by pulsed RF/MW via the Frey effect; (2) the signs and symptoms the diplomats reported matched symptoms from RF/MW exposure (problems with sleep, cognition, vision, balance, speech; headaches; sensations of pressure or vibration; nosebleeds; brain injury and brain swelling); (3) "oxidative stress provides a documented mechanism of RF/MW injury compatible with reported signs and symptoms"; and (4) in the past, the U.S. embassy in Moscow was subject to a microwave beam called the Moscow Signal.[65] The Moscow Signal was inferred to be a Soviet espionage technique that might have also had health effects.[66] Neuroscientist Allan H. Frey, for whom the Frey effect is named, considers the microwave theory viable.[64]

In December 2020, a study by an expert committee of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, commissioned by the State Department, released its report, concluding, "Overall, directed pulsed RF energy ... appears to be the most plausible mechanism in explaining these cases among those that the committee considered"[15] but that "each possible cause remains speculative" and that "the report should not be viewed as conclusive".[2][18][16][17] Chaired by David Relman, the committee included Linda Birnbaum, Ronald Brookmeyer, Caroline Buckee, Joseph Fins, David A. Whelan, and others.[17] The panel stated that a lack of information and direct evidence (such as medical testing data about affected persons) limited what it could conclude about explanations of the phenomenon.[17][67][68] In a 2021 interview with NPR's Sarah McCammon, Relman said that the committee identified "microwave radiation that occurs in a pulsed or intermittent form" as "the most plausible" mechanism for the injuries, but that it could not confidently identify any cause given the lack of "direct evidence that this could explain the entire story for sure or even parts of it."[68] Relman said the committee lacked information to assess "what the various sources of such pulsed microwave energy might be" but that the facts left the committee "with this very sort of disconcerting notion that it had been produced deliberately by other actors whose purposes we really weren't in a position to fathom."[68] Relman said that "the bottom line is that this is still a perplexing story that still needs further investigation."[68]

Multiple anecdotes from various Western diplomats stationed overseas, including in Russia, describe mysterious ailments during past decades that might be due to microwave devices.[69][66] In 2014, an unclassified NSA report indicated a hostile country in the 1990s possessed a "high powered microwave system weapon that may have the ability to weaken, intimidate or kill an enemy over time and without leaving evidence."[66]

Some scientists, including physicist Peter Zimmerman, bioengineers Kenneth R. Foster and Andrei G. Pakhomov, and UCLA neurologist Robert Baloh, consider the microwave hypothesis implausible; Baloh called the National Academies conclusion "science fiction".[70][67][71] Cheryl Rofer, a former chemist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, said that there were no microwave experts on the NAS committee and that "No evidence has been offered that such a weapon has been developed by any nation." Rofer also cited a 1978 study that found no adverse health effects from the Moscow Signal.[72]

In 2021, a panel of 16 scientists affiliated with the Cuban Academy of Sciences and convened by the Cuban government addressed the microwave hypothesis, writing that "No known form of energy can selectively cause brain damage (with laser-like spatial accuracy) under the conditions described for the alleged incidents in Havana."[56]

Ultrasound [ edit ] In March 2018, Kevin Fu and a team of computer scientists at the University of Michigan reported in a study that ultrasound'--specifically, intermodulation distortion from multiple inaudible ultrasonic signals'--from malfunctioning or improperly placed Cuban surveillance equipment could have been the origin of the reported sounds.[73][74][75]

Cricket noises [ edit ] In 2017, some U.S. personnel in Havana made audio recordings during incidents associated with Havana syndrome, one of which was obtained by the Associated Press.[76] In January 2019, biologists Alexander L. Stubbs of the University of California, Berkeley and Fernando Montealegre-Z of the University of Lincoln analyzed the recordings and concluded that the sound was caused by the calling song of the Indies short-tailed cricket (Anurogryllus celerinictus) rather than a technological device. Stubbs and Montealegre-Z matched the song's "pulse repetition rate, power spectrum, pulse rate stability, and oscillations per pulse" to the recording.[77][78] Stubbs and Montealegre wrote, "the causes of the health problems reported by embassy personnel are beyond the scope of this paper" and called for "more rigorous research into the source of these ailments, including the potential psychogenic effects, as well as possible physiological explanations unrelated to sonic attacks."[78] This conclusion was comparable to a 2017 hypothesis from Cuban scientists that the sound on the same recording is from Jamaican field crickets.[77][79][80][81]

In 2018, JASON, a group of physicists and scientists who advise the U.S. government, analyzed audio recordings from eight of the original 21 incidents of Havana syndrome and two cellphone videos taken by one patient from Cuba. It concluded that the sounds in the eight recordings were "most likely" caused by insects and that it was "highly unlikely" that microwaves or ultrasound beams were involved, because "No plausible single source of energy (neither radio/microwaves nor sonic) can produce both the recorded audio/video signals and the reported medical effects."[82] The group determined with "high confidence" that the two videos were sounds from the Indies short-tailed cricket, and also noted a "low confidence" hypothesis that the noises may have been from a concrete vibrating machine with worn bearings.[82] The report's findings were first reported by Reuters in July 2019.[83] Parts of JASON's report were declassified in September 2021.[82] While biomedical engineer Kenneth Foster (an opponent of the microwave theory) cited the findings as evidence against the theory, biomedical engineer James Lin (a proponent of the microwave theory) said that the recordings the JASON report analyzed could not represent actual cases of Havana syndrome, since typical sound recorders cannot record microwaves.[82] The JASON report also concluded, "It cannot be ruled out that while the perceived sounds, while not harmful, are introduced by an adversary as deception so as to mask an entirely unrelated mode of causing illness."[82]

Pesticides or infectious agents [ edit ] A 2019 study commissioned by Global Affairs Canada of 23 exposed Canadian diplomats, completed in May 2019, found "clinical, imaging, and biochemical evidence consistent with the hypothesis" of overexposure to cholinesterase inhibitors (a class of neurotoxic pesticide) such as organophosphates (OPs) as a cause of brain injury; the embassies and other places in Cuba had been sprayed frequently as an anti-Zika virus mosquito control measure.[84][85][86] The study concluded that other possible causes could not be ruled out.[84]

The 2020 National Academies study found that it was unlikely that "acute high-level exposure to OPs and/or pyrethroids contributed" to the illnesses, due to a lack of evidence of exposures to those pesticides or clinical histories consistent with such exposure,[17]:'Š23'Š but the study committee "could not rule out the possibility, although slight, that exposure to insecticides, particularly OPs, increased susceptibility to the triggering factor(s) that caused the Embassy personnel cases."[17]:'Š23'Š The National Academies study committee also found it "highly unlikely" that an infectious disease (such as Zika virus, which was an epidemic in Cuba in 2016''17) caused the illnesses.[17]:'Š23''24'Š

Psychogenic origin [ edit ] After the initial reports of the incidents in Havana, the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit visited the city and came to the assessment that the individuals were experiencing a mass psychogenic illness.[87] The Behavioral Analysis Unit profilers did not speak to any of the affected people directly, instead relying on transcripts of previous interviews that the FBI had conducted with patients.[87] The unit reviewed the patient histories compiled by the patients' neuropsychologists and other physicians, who had already ruled out mass psychogenic illness, noting that "many of the victims didn't know about the other people who were sick, and their bodies couldn't have feigned some of the symptoms they were exhibiting."[87] In November 2018, a previously classified State Department report by the JASON advisory group concluded that while the cause of the condition was unknown, "psychogenic effects may serve to explain important components of the reported injuries."[21]

Ragini Verma, the lead author of a University of Pennsylvania study published in JAMA in 2019 that found brain differences in diplomats, concluded that based on its findings, "a wholly psychogenic or psychosomatic cause was very unlikely." Verma added that she was unable to identify a cause based on brain imaging alone.[88]

A March 2018 editorial in JAMA by two neurologists argued that a functional disorder such as persistent postural-perceptual dizziness ("a syndrome characterized primarily by chronic symptoms of dizziness and perceived unsteadiness, often triggered by acute or chronic vestibular disease, neurological or medical illness or psychological distress") could explain some of the symptoms the diplomats in Cuba experienced.[89]

In a 2019 paper, Robert Bartholomew and Robert Baloh propose that the syndrome represents mass psychogenic illness rather than a "novel clinical entity".[10] They cite the vagueness and inconsistency of symptoms as well as the circumstances they developed in (affected staff would have been under significant stress as the U.S. had just reopened its embassy in Cuba) as a cause.[10][9] Bartholomew and Baloh co-authored a book, Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria (2020), arguing in support of their hypothesis.[5]

The 2020 National Academies analysis appeared to show that psychological issues were not the likely cause of the injuries,[90] but the different ways people were affected left open the possible influence of psychological and social factors.[91] The report reads, "the likelihood of mass psychogenic illness as an explanation for patients' symptoms had to be established from sufficient evidence" and "could not be inferred merely by the absence of other causal mechanisms or the lack of definitive structural injuries".[17]:'Š26'Š In its assessment of potential social and psychological causes, the committee notes the possibility of stress-based psychological responses, and that these were more likely to be triggered by potential threats attributed to human sources than other stressors. It concludes that these could not have caused the acute "audio-vestibular" symptoms some patients experienced, such as sudden unexplained sounds.[17]:'Š25'Š The scope of the provided data limited the committee's ability to investigate psychological and social factors.[17]:'Š26''27'Š

Reports outside Cuba [ edit ] Beginning in late 2017, suspected attacks targeting U.S. intelligence personnel were reported in an expanding set of locations around the world,[8] including Moscow, Russia; Tbilisi, Georgia; Poland; Taiwan; and Australia.[92] Other reports came from Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Austria,[24] among other countries.[24][44][93][14][94][95][96]

The U.S. government has not released the number of affected persons, but media reporting indicated a total of 130 possible cases by the end of May 2021,[24] rising to more than 200 possible cases by mid-September 2021.[22] The cases variously affected CIA, U.S. military, and State Department personnel and their family members.[24] Some reports, after investigation, were determined to be possibly related to Havana syndrome, while others were determined to be unrelated; BBC News reported in 2021 that "One former official reckons around half the cases reported by US officials are possibly linked to attacks by an adversary."[69]

Guangzhou, China [ edit ] Starting in early 2018, U.S. diplomats in China began reporting symptoms consistent with Havana syndrome. The first such incident was reported by an American diplomat in China in April 2018 at the Guangzhou consulate, the largest U.S. consulate in China. The employee reported that he had been experiencing symptoms since late 2017. Several individuals were taken to the U.S. for medical examination.[97][98][99] A USAID employee at the U.S. embassy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, reported a different incident in September 2017; the employee's report was discounted by the U.S. State Department.[100]

Answering questions from the House Foreign Affairs Committee in May 2018, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testified that U.S. diplomatic staff in Guangzhou had reported symptoms "very similar" to, and "entirely consistent" with, those reported from Cuba.[101][102] On June 6, 2018, The New York Times reported that at least two additional U.S. diplomats stationed at the Guangzhou consulate had been evacuated from China and reported that "it remains unclear whether the illnesses are the result of attacks at all. Other theories have included toxins, listening devices that accidentally emitted harmful sounds, or even mass hysteria."[98] In June 2018, the State Department announced that a task force had been assembled to investigate the reports[103] and expanded their health warning to all of mainland China amid reports some US diplomats outside of Guangzhou had experienced the same symptoms resembling a brain injury.[104] The warning told anyone who experienced "unusual acute auditory or sensory phenomena accompanied by unusual sounds or piercing noises" to "not attempt to locate their source."[105]

Washington, D.C., area [ edit ] In 2019, a White House official reported experiencing debilitating symptoms while walking her dog in a Virginia suburb of Washington; the incident was publicly reported in 2020.[14] In November 2020, a similar incident was reported on The Ellipse, a lawn adjacent to the south side of the White House.[14][106] Both incidents were similar to those that were reported to have struck dozens of U.S. personnel overseas, including CIA and State Department personnel.[14] Federal agencies investigated the incident at The Ellipse, and Defense Department officials briefed members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and House Armed Services Committee in April 2021.[14] Investigators told members of Congress that they had not been able to determine the cause of the events or who was responsible.[14]

Elsewhere in Asia [ edit ] In August 2021, it was reported that two American diplomats were evacuated from the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam, after incidents of Havana syndrome were reported.[107] These reported cases also delayed Vice President Kamala Harris's visit to Vietnam.[108]

In September 2021, a CIA aide-de-camp of chief William J. Burns reported symptoms consistent with those of Havana syndrome on a diplomatic visit to India.[96]

Europe [ edit ] In 2021, dozens of U.S. personnel stationed in Vienna, including diplomats, intelligence officials, and some children of U.S. employees, had Havana syndrome-like symptoms.[13] The State Department confirmed in July 2021 that it was investigating the reports.[109] The Austrian foreign ministry stated it was collaborating with American investigators. Aside from Havana, Vienna has reported the most incidents. While no suspects were named for the Vienna cases, it has been noted that Vienna was hosting indirect talks between the United States and Iran on reviving the 2015 Iran deal.[110] In September 2021, the CIA station chief in Vienna (the top U.S. intelligence officer in the country) was recalled over concerns over his management; he had been criticized for not taking quicker action in response to the Havana syndrome cases at his post.[22][13]

In the months preceding August 2021, cases of Havana syndrome were reported at the U.S. embassy in Berlin, Germany, including from two U.S. officials who sought medical treatment.[111] Several new cases were reported at the embassy in October 2021.[112]

In 2021, the CIA evacuated an intelligence officer serving in Serbia suspected of being a victim of the neurological attack.[8]

Three White House staffers reported symptoms at the InterContinental London Park Lane in late May 2019.[24]

Elsewhere [ edit ] One of the CIA officials with symptoms in Australia and Taiwan was one of the agency's top five-ranking officials.[92] The Russian embassy in Australia dismissed reports of Russian operatives targeting CIA personnel in Australia.[113]

In October 2021, it was reported that U.S. embassy personnel and their families in Bogota, Colombia, had developed symptoms consistent with Havana syndrome.[114][6]

U.S. government investigation [ edit ] The U.S. State Department said in February 2021 that its ongoing investigation was "a high priority" for the department.[115] Citing unnamed intelligence and government officials, The New York Times reported in July 2021 that the National Security Council, Central Intelligence Agency, and Director of National Intelligence established two outside panels, one to investigate potential causes and the other to develop defensive countermeasures for personnel protection; cleared external scientists will be permitted to view relevant classified intelligence in their investigations.[116] In January 2022, the CIA issued a report on the interim findings of a comprehensive study of 1,000 cases. The report concludes that the majority of cases can be attributed to environmental causes, undiagnosed medical conditions or stress rather than a persistent global campaign by a foreign power. The CIA is still investigating two dozen cases that remain unexplained.[25]

Russian responsibility hypothesis [ edit ] Many current and former U.S. officials think Russia was likely responsible for the alleged attacks,[115] a suspicion shared by both Trump and Biden administration officials.[24] This view was shared by CIA analysts on Russia, State Department officials, outside science experts, and several of the alleged victims.[117] Russia has a history of researching, developing, and using weapons that cause brain injuries, such as the Cold War-era "Moscow Signal" targeting the American embassy in Moscow.[117][118] A 2014 NSA report raised suspicions that Russia used a microwave weapon to target a person's living quarters, causing nervous system damage; and Russia has an interest in disrupting cooperation among the U.S., China, and Cuba.[117] The U.S. diplomats stationed in China and Cuba who reported ailments were working to increase cooperation with those countries, and some CIA analysts voiced suspicion Russia thus sought to derail their work.[117]

In May 2021, Politico reported that three current and former U.S. officials "with direct knowledge of the discussions" said that the U.S. government suspected that Russia's military intelligence agency, GRU, was behind alleged attacks, although the U.S. Intelligence Community have not "reached a consensus or made a formal determination."[23] In May 2021, The New Yorker reported that the U.S. government's "working hypothesis" was that GRU agents "have been aiming microwave-radiation devices at U.S. officials to collect intelligence from their computers and cell phones, and that these devices can cause serious harm to the people they target."[24] The U.S. government has not publicly accused Russia; U.S. intelligence officials privately call the events "attacks" but publicly call them "anomalous health incidents."[24] According to two officials interviewed by Politico, "While investigators have not determined definitively that these incidents are caused by a specific weapon, some believe any such device would be primarily transported by vehicle", and "Some could be small enough to fit into a large backpack, and an individual can be targeted from 500 to 1,000 yards away."[23] James Lin of the University of Illinois, an expert on the biological effects of microwave energy, agreed that a Havana syndrome attack could be caused by a small apparatus that could fit in a van or SUV.[118]

Within the U.S. government, analysts debated whether the alleged attacks reflected a deliberate attempt to cause injury or whether the reported symptoms were "a consequence of a high-tech attempt to steal classified information from phones and computers of U.S. officials."[22]

A 2021 report in the New Yorker cited a number of incidents recounted by Mark Vandroff, who served as the senior director for defense policy at the National Security Council: "One of the most dramatic episodes involved a U.S. military officer stationed in a country with a large Russian presence. As the officer pulled his car into a busy intersection, he suddenly felt as though his head were going to explode. His two-year-old son, in a car seat in the back, started screaming. As the officer sped out of the intersection, the pressure in his head ceased, and his son went quiet. A remarkably similar incident was reported by a CIA officer who was stationed in the same city, and who had no connection to the military officer."[24]

Trump administration and lapses in initial investigation [ edit ] In October 2020, the New York Times reported that U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers, including senior leaders, had clashed with Trump administration appointees, including CIA director Gina Haspel and State Department leaders, over the nature and causes of the suspected attacks.[117] A Times investigation found that the State Department had "produced inconsistent assessments of patients and events, ignored outside medical diagnoses and withheld basic information from Congress."[117] Despite the general view within the U.S. government that Russia was responsible, two U.S. officials told the Times that Haspel was not convinced of Russia's responsibility, or even whether an attack occurred.[117]

A 2018 State Department report was declassified, and posted on the George Washington University's National Security Archive, after Freedom of Information Act litigation brought by the James Madison Project. The documents indicate that the State Department botched the handling of the initial reports. Peter Kornbluh of the National Security Archive noted that the 2018 report concluded that the department's "initial investigation assessment of what was going on" was marred by chaos, disorganization, and excessive secrecy.[117] In 2021, sources familiar with the various ongoing investigations told CNN that a primary obstacle to progress by the U.S. government in investigating the syndrome was a lack of interagency coordination between the CIA, FBI, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and State Department, which conducted separate and "largely siloed" investigations.[115] The limited coordination among the varying agencies was based in part on "the highly classified nature of some details and the privacy restrictions of health records, and that has hampered progress."[115]

A U.S. Office of Special Counsel investigation resulted in an April 2020 determination that there was "a substantial likelihood of wrongdoing" by State Department leadership.[117] Mark Lenzi, who was a State Department diplomatic security officer stationed in Guangzhou, accused the department of a "deliberate, high-level cover-up" and of failing to protect their employees.[117] Marc Polymeropoulos, a 26-year CIA veteran, who retired in 2019, similarly felt betrayed by CIA leadership, accusing the agency of failing to respond appropriately to a vertigo-inducing incident in Moscow in December 2017 (Polymeropoulos said the event was an attack and "the most terrifying experience of my life", worse than experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan).[115] Polymeropoulos fought with the CIA for years to obtain specialized medical treatment, after the agency cast doubt on the similarities between the symptoms he experienced and those experienced by the diplomats in Havana.[115] Polymeropoulos was ultimately diagnosed at the U.S. government's Walter Reed Medical Center with traumatic brain injury; attorney Mark Zaid, who represented almost a dozen clients who had also become ill under similar circumstances, said that Polymeropoulos was the only one of his clients who had received treatment at Walter Reed, with others obtaining treatment only from personal doctors or academic medical centers.[115]

Defense Department, State Department, and CIA task forces [ edit ] Near the end of the Trump administration, the Defense Department established a task force to investigate reports of attacks on DoD personnel abroad.[14] The DoD established the task force partly due to frustration over what DoD officials considered to be a sluggish and lackluster response by the CIA and Department of State.[14] Christopher C. Miller, who was acting defense secretary at the time, said in 2021 that, "I knew CIA and Department of State were not taking this shit seriously and we wanted to shame them into it by establishing our task force."[14] Miller said that he began to consider the reports of mysterious symptoms to be a high priority in December 2020, after he conducted an interview with a person with major combat experience who detailed symptoms.[14]

In December 2020, the CIA established a task force to investigate.[14][115] The agency set up the task force after continued reports of debilitating attacks against CIA officers in various places around the world.[115] The CIA expanded its investigation under Director William J. Burns, who took office in 2021;[14] Burns appointed a senior CIA officer who had previously led the manhunt for Osama bin Laden to lead the agency's investigation.[22]

In March 2021, the State Department appointed Ambassador Pamela L. Spratlen, a career foreign service officer, to oversee the department task force charged with responding to the incidents.[14][119] Six months later, Spratlen left her position as coordinator of the task force because she "reached the threshold of hours of labor" that she could perform as a retiree. Spratlen's resignation had been demanded by people angered by her handling of a conference call with affected employees. During the call with employees (in which Secretary of State Antony Blinken also took part), Spratlen did not take a position on whether the psychogenic causes were the cause of the syndrome, a response that affected diplomats called "invalidating".[13][120] In November 2021, Blinken appointed two senior U.S. diplomats to oversee the department's internal Health Incident Response Task Force: career foreign service officer Ambassador Jonathan Moore, as overall coordinator[121] and retired Ambassador Margaret Uyehara.[122][123]

The Senate Intelligence Committee leadership (chairman Mark Warner and vice chairman Marco Rubio) said in 2021 that it was working with Burns and the CIA on connection with the investigation, saying, "We have already held fact finding hearings on these debilitating attacks, many of which result in medically confirmed cases of Traumatic Brain Injury, and will do more."[124] In May 2021, Politico reported that intelligence officials had recently told Congress that the investigation had expanded to include all 18 federal intelligence agencies and had focused "on the potential involvement of GRU, the Russian spy agency".[23]

In September 2021, CIA Deputy Director David S. Cohen said that the investigation had "gotten closer" to making a determination, "but not close enough to make the analytic judgment that people are waiting for."[22]

The BBC wrote the syndrome has "a'¯real impact on the country's ability to operate overseas", reporting that one official called the deciphering of the cause "the most difficult intelligence challenge they have ever faced."[69]

After the reports of the incident at The Ellipse nearby the White House in Washington, Defense Department investigators briefed members of Congress, even though it occurred within the U.S.; this was because the DoD investigation was more advanced than the FBI or the intelligence community investigations.[14]

In January 2022, the Central Intelligence Agency issued an interim assessment concluding that the syndrome is not the result of "a sustained global campaign by a hostile power" and that the majority of cases could be explained by natural causes, although it couldn't rule out foreign involvement in approximately 24 cases, many of those from Havana.[26][125]

JASON Report [ edit ] In 2021, the State Department commissioned the JASON Advisory Group, an outside panel, to perform a comprehensive investigation. It tasked JASON to consider all available data and evaluate mechanisms' ability to produce the reported effects. The State Department released unclassified portions of the JASON report in February 2022.[28]

The report examined two broad questions:

Are the events known as Anomalous Health Incidents (AHI) truly anomalous? In other words, is there a unique cluster of symptoms that exceed their prevalence in a comparable background population?Regardless of the answer to the first question, how consistent are the events with a directed energy attack or other physical mechanism? In other words, is it possible for there to be a single underlying cause that can be physiologically linked to the reported symptoms and physically linked to the incident reports?On the first question, the report found that 80-90% of the incidents could be easily explained by everyday occurrences or other unrelated factors. For the 10-20% that could not be easily explained, JASON was not able to perform a statistical analysis due to lack of data on a comparable background population, small numbers, and generally low data quality.

On the second question, the report examined mechanisms related to electromagnetic energy (all frequencies, from RF to ionizing) and acoustic energy (infrasound, audible, and ultrasound). Ionizing radiation and acoustic energy were easily ruled out, as was RF energy at frequencies less than 500 MHZ or greater than 30 GHz. This left the region of RF energy in the 500 MHz to 3 GHz range, which was not easily ruled out.

Within this range, the report examined several factors derived from the incident reports as a whole, but focusing on the 10-20% of the incidents not easily explainable by everyday causes. These factors include the ability to create an RF beam that can: be focused to a degree consistent with the incident reports; penetrate a building; physiologically affect a human (to include the Frey effect); deliver sufficient power; and be transmitted from an antenna that would not be easily noticed. Considering all these factors, the report concluded that RF energy between 500 MHz and 30 GHz cannot be conclusively ruled out, but is "highly unlikely" to be the cause of the incidents.

Intelligence agencies review [ edit ] Seven U.S. intelligence agencies headed by a "senior CIA officer" spent years reviewing thousands of possible cases of Havana Syndrome. An unclassified version of their report was released by the House Intelligence Committee on March 1, 2023. Five of the seven agencies concluded that "available intelligence consistently points against the involvement of US adversaries in causing the reported incidents" and that the involvement of a foreign adversary was "very unlikely". One of the agencies, Director of National Intelligence, considered foreign involvement in Anomalous Health Incidents "unlikely" and one agency declined to make a finding.[126][3][4]

Legislative responses [ edit ] In response to Havana syndrome, U.S. Senator Susan Collins introduced a bill (S. 1828), co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of nine other senators, that would close a loophole in the Federal Employees' Compensation Act that would normally not cover damage to organs such as the brain and heart. The Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks (HAVANA) Act authorized the CIA Director and the Secretary of State to provide financial support for personnel with brain injuries. The bill passed the House on a 427''0 vote, passed the Senate by unanimous consent, and was signed into law by President Joe Biden on October 8, 2021, becoming Public Law No. 117-46.[127][128][129] An appropriation for the funding authorized by the HAVANA Act has not been passed,[130] but has been included in drafts of a Defense Department appropriations bill.[131]

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, passed by Congress in December 2021, included a section directing the president to designate a senior official as "anomalous health incidents interagency coordinator" to oversee efforts across the federal government and to coordinate with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; required relevant federal agencies to designate a specific high-level "anomalous health incident agency coordination lead"; and directed agencies to develop guidance to employees considered to be at risk of exposure.[132]

Criticism of media coverage [ edit ] Media coverage of Havana syndrome has been criticized for what some allege is a conspiratorial tone or journalists' unwillingness to question official explanations. In Jacobin Magazine, Branko Marcetic wrote, "anti-Cuban hawks, using the establishment press as their megaphone, have baselessly and incessantly claimed that the illness was actually the result of 'attacks' carried out by Washington's geopolitical adversaries, and using a mysterious, never invented microwave weapon".[133] In January 2022, Ryan Cooper wrote in The Week that there is "shame on the great many journalists and members of Congress who stoked inflammatory, implausible claims about magic Russian ray guns".[134] Robert Bartholomew, a medical sociologist specializing in mass psychogenic illness, has dismissed 60 Minutes reports of a "smoking gun" connecting Havana syndrome to a foreign power or technology: "there is only smoke and mirrors generated by bad science and poor journalism".[135] In an interview with NPR, The New Republic ' s Natalie Shure said it was a "red flag" as to its credibility that "this story was being almost exclusively pushed by national security reporters and not by people who report on health topics".[136]

See also [ edit ] Brown noteCuba''United States relationsDirected-energy weaponElectronic harassmentMoscow SignalRussia''United States relationsReferences [ edit ] ^ "Cuba Travel Advisory". Travel.state.gov. Department of State. January 10, 2018. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018 . Retrieved June 22, 2018 . ^ a b c d e Nelson R (December 2021). "Havana syndrome might be the result of energy pulses". Lancet. 396 (10267): 1954. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32711-2. PMID 33341130. S2CID 229306878. ^ a b c Wong, Julia Carrie (March 1, 2023). " 'Havana syndrome' not caused by foreign adversary, US intelligence says". The Guardian . Retrieved March 2, 2023 . ^ a b c Harris, Shane; John, Hudson (March 1, 2023). " 'Havana syndrome' not caused by energy weapon or foreign adversary, intelligence review finds". Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023 . Retrieved March 2, 2023 . ^ a b Baloh, Robert W.; Bartholomew, Robert E. (2020). Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria. Springer International. ISBN 9783030407469. ^ a b "The world this week, Oct 16th 2021 edition '' Politics". The Economist . Retrieved October 15, 2021 . ^ "Explained: CIA officer on India trip reports Havana Syndrome; what is known about its symptoms and causes so far". September 24, 2021. ^ a b c Strobel, Warren P. (September 28, 2021). "Havana Syndrome Attacks Widen With CIA Officer's Evacuation From Serbia". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660 . Retrieved September 28, 2021 . ^ a b Gaffney, Adam (November 8, 2021). "The Big Misunderstanding About Havana Syndrome High-level diplomats are as prone to sociogenic illness as anyone else". nymag.com. NY Magazine. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021 . Retrieved November 8, 2021 . ^ a b c Bartholomew, Robert E; Baloh, Robert W (January 1, 2020). "Challenging the diagnosis of 'Havana Syndrome' as a novel clinical entity". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 113 (1): 7''11. doi:10.1177/0141076819877553. ISSN 0141-0768. PMC 6961165 . PMID 31672089. ^ "Anomalous Health Incidents and the Health Incident Response Task Force". state.gov. United States Department of State. November 5, 2022 . Retrieved December 11, 2022 . {{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) ^ "FY2022 NDAA: Care for Anomalous Health Incident Victims". crsreports.congress.gov. Congressional Research Service. February 7, 2022 . Retrieved December 12, 2022 . {{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) ^ a b c d John Hudson & Shane Harris, CIA station chief in Vienna recalled amid criticism of management and handling of mysterious 'Havana Syndrome' incidents, Washington Post (September 23, 2021). ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Katie Bo Williams & Jeremy Herb, US investigating possible mysterious directed energy attack near White House Archived April 29, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, CNN (April 29, 2021). ^ a b Relman, David A.; Pavlin, Julie A., eds. (December 5, 2020). An Assessment of Illness in U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies. National Academies of Sciences. ISBN 978-0-309-68137-7 . Retrieved March 3, 2023 . ^ a b " 'Havana syndrome' likely caused by directed microwaves - US report". BBC News. December 6, 2020. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022 . Retrieved September 28, 2022 . ^ a b c d e f g h i j National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences; Standing Committee to Advise the Department of State on Unexplained Health Effects on U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies (2020). Relman, David A.; Pavlin, Julie A. (eds.). Consensus Study Report: An Assessment of Illness in U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/25889. ISBN 978-0-309-68137-7. PMID 33411434. S2CID 230639099. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020 . Retrieved May 7, 2022 . {{cite book}}: CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link) "New Report Assesses Illnesses Among U.S. Government Personnel and Their Families at Overseas Embassies". News Release. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. December 5, 2020 . Retrieved May 7, 2022 . Hubler, Graham K.; Hoffman, Stuart W.; Andreadis, Tim D.; DePalma, Ralph G. (August 4, 2020). "Pulsed Microwave Energy Transduction of Acoustic Phonon Related Brain Injury". Frontiers in Neurology. 11: 753. doi:10.3389/fneur.2020.00753 . PMC 7417645 . PMID 32849213. Teschler, Leland (June 14, 2021). "Microwaves and the Havana Syndrome". EE World Online . Retrieved May 7, 2022 . ^ a b Breslauer, Brenda; Dilanian, Ken; Lederman, Josh (December 5, 2020). " 'Havana Syndrome' likely caused by pulsed microwave energy, government study finds". NBC News. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021 . Retrieved February 27, 2021 . ^ Torres, Nora Gmez (March 2, 2018). "Computer scientists may have solved the mystery behind the 'sonic attacks' in Cuba". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on April 22, 2018 . Retrieved April 22, 2018 . ^ Luc Chartrand, Martin Movilla and Lisa Ellenwood (September 19, 2019). "Havana syndrome: Exposure to neurotoxin may have been cause, study suggests". Archived from the original on September 20, 2019 . Retrieved September 20, 2019 . ^ a b Vergano, Dan (September 30, 2021). "A Declassified State Department Report Says Microwaves Didn't Cause "Havana Syndrome" ". BuzzFeed News . Retrieved September 30, 2021 . ^ a b c d e f Greg Myre, CIA Recalls Vienna Station Chief In Move Related to Handling of 'Havana Syndrome', NPR (September 24, 2021). ^ a b c d Seligman, Lara; Desiderio, Andrew (May 10, 2021). "Russian spy unit suspected of directed-energy attacks on U.S. personnel". Politico. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Adam Entous (May 31, 2021). "Are U.S. Officials Under Silent Attack?". New Yorker. Top officials in both the Trump and the Biden Administrations privately suspect that Russia is responsible for the Havana Syndrome. 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Dozens of students hospitalised in Hamedan, Zanjan, West Azerbaijan, Fars and Alborz provinces, according to local media reports.

Published On 4 Mar 2023 4 Mar 2023

Dozens of Iranian schoolgirls across five provinces have been admitted to hospital in a suspected new wave of poisoning attacks, local media has reported.

Hundreds of cases of respiratory distress have been reported in recent months among schoolgirls around the country, mainly in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, with some needing hospitalisation.

The illnesses remain unexplained and Iranian officials believe the girls may have been poisoned and have blamed Tehran's enemies.

The Tasnim and Mehr news agencies on Saturday reported the latest incidents in western Hamedan province, as well as Zanjan and West Azerbaijan in Iran's northwest, Fars in the south and Alborz province in the north.

Dozens of students were transferred to local hospitals for treatment, the reports said.

The Reuters news agency reported that sickness affected more than 30 schools in at least 10 of Iran's 31 provinces on Saturday.

Videos posted on social media showed parents gathered at schools to take their children home and some students being taken to hospitals by ambulance or buses.

On Friday, President Ebrahim Raisi said the suspected poisoning cases were ''the enemy's conspiracy to create fear and despair in the people''.

Iran's interior minister on Saturday said investigators had found ''suspicious samples'' that were being studied.

''In field studies, suspicious samples have been found, which are being investigated '... to identify the causes of the students' illness, and the results will be published, as soon as possible,'' the minister, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, said in a statement carried by the official news agency IRNA.

On Wednesday, at least 10 girls' schools were targeted in suspected poisoning attacks, seven in the northwestern city of Ardabil and three in the capital Tehran, according to local media reports.

Last week, Iran's deputy health minister, Younes Panahi, said the attacks were aimed at shutting down education for girls.

Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Tehran, said many parents have said that they will keep their daughters at home ''until there is some answer provided by officials,'' Jabbari said.

''We know that most [government schools] have security cameras outside and inside the institutions. The question now is why the officials haven't been able to find any leads in these cases.

''This is alarming in a country where women have one of the highest literacy rates in the Middle East. Over 95 percent of women in Iran are educated and this certainly is a new phenomenon.''

The United Nations human rights office in Geneva called on Friday for a transparent investigation into the suspected attacks and countries including Germany and the United States have voiced concern.

The string of suspected poisonings came more than five months into nationwide protests following the death in custody of Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini, 22, who had been arrested for an alleged breach of strict dress rules for women.

Tehran says hundreds of people have been killed and thousands arrested in connection with the protests, which the authorities generally describe as ''riots''.

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Chief Nerd : Fmr. Houston Methodist Reg. Nurse Jennifer Bridges Exposes the Hospital's Appalling Behavior "I've seen text mess'... https://t.co/kHwDYoSPJ5

Thu Mar 02 15:33:54 +0000 2023

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(C) Provided by Delishably The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website.

You may have seen the movie ''Supersize Me'' before and wondered if you could ever pull it off. TikTok content creator @bigmaccoaching is taking a different approach, but it doesn't appear to be much easier. We don't think we could do it for even 10 days.

It sounds pretty good at first, but this is a long time to only eat McDonald's! Just wait until you hear more about his journey to lose weight eating only fast-food.

Click here to watch the video.

This is going to be a long hundred days. He tells us that instead of doing super-size me, he's doing half-size me. For the next hundred days, he will only eat food that comes from McDonald's. And he will cut everything he orders in half. He's only four days in and he tells us he's down 8 pounds already. Wow! That's a pretty impressive total for only eating at the golden arches. But as long as he stays in a calorie deficit, he should lose weight. We'd be very curious to see his labs at the end. Can you imagine if his blood work looks the same or better than it did before he started this diet?

The audience was skeptical. Viewer @joegreen479 commented, ''I would be curious to know what your blood glucose is while doing this.'' And @bigmaccoaching replied, "Had echo and ultrasound on arteries before, will do again after! Also bloodwork. Follow along for the train wreck, or can I make the finish?'' Viewer @Mark0909 said, ''I would actually watch this if it was a movie!!! Love the idea!! Stay strong!'' We would watch it too! Viewer @Laura Szanyi asked, ''Are you keeping track of how much this costs you a day?'' And @bigmaccoaching replied, ''About $5 a meal unless I do the dollar menu! So $15 a day or less.'' That's not too bad.

We wish him luck on his extended journey! We can't wait to see where he ends up when he's done.

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TODAY Duration: 04:27 2 days ago

Viral TikToker Kevin Maginnis talks about embarking on a journey to lose weight by eating only McDonald's for 100 straight days -- but cutting every meal in half.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV/Gray News) '' The last two Walmart stores within Portland's city limits will be closing later this month, the company announced.

The locations, at 1123 North Hayden Meadows Drive and at 4200 Southeast 82nd Avenue at the Eastport Plaza, will both close March 24.

Walmart said they are closing the stores because they were not meeting financial expectations.

''The decision to close these stores was made after a careful review of their overall performance,'' a Walmart spokesperson said. ''We consider many factors, including current and projected financial performance, location, population, customer needs, and the proximity of other nearby stores when making these difficult decisions. After we decide to move forward, our focus is on our associates and their transition, which is the case here.''

People who live near the stores that are closing say the closure is going to have a big impact on low-income shoppers.

''Safeway is the go-to-store if I have to, but that's three times the price I would spend here,'' Walmart shopper Amanda Pahl said. ''What are we going to do? You've got to go further then you have to spend gas money. Might as well pay for it at Safeway at this point.''

According to a Walmart spokesperson, pharmacy staff will work with customers to transfer their prescriptions to other locations before the store closing date.

All employees at the two locations will have the option to transfer to other, nearby locations.

There will still be more than a dozen Walmart stores in the Portland metro area, outside of Portland's city limits.

Copyright 2023 KPTV via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Sat, 04 Mar 2023 16:47

Posted by Richard Willett - Memes and headline comments by David Icke Posted on 4 March 2023

On Tuesday 28th February, the public united against the proposed plans of a 20 minute neighbourhood, set out by the Breckland District and Norfolk District Councils. Thetford Town Council also plays a part in this as various councilors sit on the board of the aforementioned. There was so much interest regarding this that the meeting went from taking place at the Kings House to the Thomas Paine Hotel, where the landlord kindly allowed us to utilize their wonderful dining area. There was a great deal of passion contained within that room; and with good reason, if you know anything about agenda 2030 and what it stands for. Even the councilors aren't fully aware of what they're voting in

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Sat, 04 Mar 2023 16:34

A scion of a famous political family spoke about the environment, COVID-19 vaccines and the possibility of running for president during an appearance Friday in New Hampshire.Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held his American Stage event at St. Anselm College's New Hampshire Institute of Politics.The environmental lawyer began with the long history of his work with the Waterkeeper Alliance in New York. ''To choose between economic prosperity on the one hand and environmental protection on the other is not true,'' Kennedy said. ''Good environmental policy 100% of the time is identical to good economic policy.''The focus on such issues gave insight into Kennedy's vision for community building and the national problems he wishes to solve. Kennedy dedicated a significant portion of his speech to the COVID-19 vaccine and the threat he said it poses to Americans. ''We know that there is some environmental exposure that is causing these ," he said. "I suspect that vaccines are the biggest cause.'' In the post-pandemic world, he called out Dr. Anthony Fauci in his book "The Real Anthony Fauci." When Kennedy mentioned his book, there were a few in the crowd who brought their copy and held it up in solidarity.The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, along with other health organizations and experts, describes the COVID-19 vaccines as "safe and effective."Though there were positive reactions to Kennedy's COVID-19 message, many students said it was intriguing but not what they were expecting. ''I thought this event was going to be more about the first-in-the-nation primary," said St. Anselm College student Ellie Duffin. "It's important to keep New Hampshire first."Duffin said she didn't agree with Kennedy's views on vaccines. ''I personally do not agree; however, it was informative to hear about the other side," she said. "I knew a little bit about his background, but I knew more about his environmentalism-- I do agree with that side of his views."Kennedy acknowledged the New Hampshire primary, but very briefly, saying he disagreed with the changes to the primary calendar approved by the Democratic National Committee. ''The primary has been held here, and (the changes are) just wrong,'' Kennedy said. Another college student, Jacob Akey, had a broader view of the event.''He gave a very strong speech. It was packed with emotion and just the right mixture of nostalgia for the Kennedy family's history in New Hampshire,'' Akey said. ''He did a really phenomenal job of connecting his environmental advocacy and support for the continued New Hampshire primary."After Kennedy's remarks, the audience had the opportunity to ask questions. One man asked about a potential run for president in 2024, which garnered applause. ''I'm thinking about it," Kennedy said. "You know, I passed the biggest hurdle, which is that my wife has greenlighted it.''With a campaign potentially on the horizon, he would face greater hurdles, especially his controversial take on vaccines. WMUR political director Adam Sexton asked how Kennedy would approach an individual skeptical of his vaccine activism. In response, Kennedy said: ''Show me where I got it wrong."

MANCHESTER, N.H. '--A scion of a famous political family spoke about the environment, COVID-19 vaccines and the possibility of running for president during an appearance Friday in New Hampshire.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held his American Stage event at St. Anselm College's New Hampshire Institute of Politics.

The environmental lawyer began with the long history of his work with the Waterkeeper Alliance in New York.

''To choose between economic prosperity on the one hand and environmental protection on the other is not true,'' Kennedy said. ''Good environmental policy 100% of the time is identical to good economic policy.''

The focus on such issues gave insight into Kennedy's vision for community building and the national problems he wishes to solve.

Kennedy dedicated a significant portion of his speech to the COVID-19 vaccine and the threat he said it poses to Americans.

''We know that there is some environmental exposure that is causing these [pandemics]," he said. "I suspect that vaccines are the biggest cause.''

In the post-pandemic world, he called out Dr. Anthony Fauci in his book "The Real Anthony Fauci." When Kennedy mentioned his book, there were a few in the crowd who brought their copy and held it up in solidarity.

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, along with other health organizations and experts, describes the COVID-19 vaccines as "safe and effective."

Though there were positive reactions to Kennedy's COVID-19 message, many students said it was intriguing but not what they were expecting.

''I thought this event was going to be more about the first-in-the-nation primary," said St. Anselm College student Ellie Duffin. "It's important to keep New Hampshire first."

Duffin said she didn't agree with Kennedy's views on vaccines.

''I personally do not agree; however, it was informative to hear about the other side," she said. "I knew a little bit about his background, but I knew more about his environmentalism-- I do agree with that side of his views."

Kennedy acknowledged the New Hampshire primary, but very briefly, saying he disagreed with the changes to the primary calendar approved by the Democratic National Committee.

''The primary has been held here, and (the changes are) just wrong,'' Kennedy said.

Another college student, Jacob Akey, had a broader view of the event.

''He gave a very strong speech. It was packed with emotion and just the right mixture of nostalgia for the Kennedy family's history in New Hampshire,'' Akey said. ''He did a really phenomenal job of connecting his environmental advocacy and support for the continued New Hampshire primary."

After Kennedy's remarks, the audience had the opportunity to ask questions. One man asked about a potential run for president in 2024, which garnered applause.

''I'm thinking about it," Kennedy said. "You know, I passed the biggest hurdle, which is that my wife has greenlighted it.''

With a campaign potentially on the horizon, he would face greater hurdles, especially his controversial take on vaccines.

WMUR political director Adam Sexton asked how Kennedy would approach an individual skeptical of his vaccine activism. In response, Kennedy said: ''Show me where I got it wrong."

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Sat, 04 Mar 2023 16:15

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Fri, 03 Mar 2023 17:57

In the most embarrassing Biden nominee hearing to date, Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration nominee Phillip Washington was unable to answer a single question when questioned by Republican North Carolina Senator Ted Budd.

Watch below:

Also this week, Colleen Joy Shogan, who is Biden's nominee to serve as archivist of the United States, appeared to have been caught lying under oath about politically charged posts on her social media during an exchange with Sen. Josh Hawley. When confronted on the contradiction, she refused to engage directly.

And just last week, Marian F. Gaston, nominee for United States District Judge for the Southern District of California, refused to answer if they support sex offender registries, which you'd really think would be among the easiest questions to answer.

Matt Palumbo is the author of Fact-Checking the Fact-Checkers: How the Left Hijacked and Weaponized the Fact-Checking Industry and The Man Behind the Curtain: Inside the Secret Network of George Soros

Don't miss the Dan Bongino Show

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Fri, 03 Mar 2023 15:02

Comrade 'crackers', there were moments in the before time when many people, most believing the narrative engineering from the professional political media, thought Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be a voice for freedom and democracy. However, those thoughts dispatched quickly when the actions of the former comedic actor showed a deep red totalitarian underbelly and opposition parties were made illegal, the state took control over all media and even religion was deemed adverse to the interests of the state.

History indeed rhyming, as the 'new Ukranian democratic norms' merged with the totalitarian fiats and timing around the pandemic.

Perhaps we should not have been surprised given that Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the entire European Union were quick to exploit the opportunity COVID-19 created.

Essential citizen definitions quickly promoted, digital identifies manifest, vaccine passports rushed to assembly, bar and QR code scans for human activity created gateways for permission granted by the state. Meanwhile unregistered movement was restricted, quarantine camps set up and mandatory vaccine compliance was the law.

So, we travel 5,000 miles west from Ukraine, arrive in the sunshine state of Florida circa 2022/2023 and watch as State government takes control over private industry, new laws dictate rules upon local school boards, proposed laws now discussed to ban opposition parties, state officials inserted into newly created government agencies as monitors to regulate commercial activity, and then suddenly something within the latest development under Governor Ron DeSantis starts to rhyme with Ukraine.

FLORIDA '' ['...] Senate Bill 1316: Information Dissemination, would require any blogger writing about government officials to register with the Florida Office of Legislative Services or the Commission on Ethics.Yes comrade crackers, the skin of the state is so thin to criticism that words create harm against public officials and must be regulated. Permission to criticize must now be requested and registered with the state government or face financial penalties.

['...] In the bill, Brodeur wrote that those who write ''an article, a story, or a series of stories,'' about ''the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a Cabinet officer, or any member of the Legislature,'' and receives or will receive payment for doing so, must register with state offices within five days after the publication of an article that mentions an elected state official.

If another blog post is added to a blog, the blogger would then be required to submit monthly reports on the 10th of each month with the appropriate state office. They would not have to submit a report on months when no content is published.

For blog posts that ''concern an elected member of the legislature'' or ''an officer of the executive branch,'' monthly reports must disclose the amount of compensation received for the coverage, rounded to the nearest $10 value.

Failure to file these disclosures or register with state officials, if the bill passes, would lead to daily fines for the bloggers, with a maximum amount per report, not per writer, of $2,500. The per-day fine is $25 per report for each day it's late.

The bill also requires that bloggers file notices of failure to file a timely report the same way that lobbyists file their disclosures and reports on assessed fines. Fines must be paid within 30 days of payment notice, unless an appeal is filed with the appropriate office. Fine payments must be deposited into the Legislative Lobbyist Registration Trust Fund if it concerns an elected member of the legislature.

['...] Explicitly, the blogger rule would not apply to newspapers or similar publications, under Brodeur's proposed legislation. ['...] Should the bill pass, it would take effect immediately upon approval. (read more)

Why would I provide the context of Ukraine for an outline highlighting the totalitarian mindset that is sweeping through Florida?

The answer is a very simple and visible connective tissue, a connection born from within the schools funded by George Soros, linking both the installation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the branding, management and handling of a notoriously thin-skinned Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

.

Hate speech laws about to be passed in Florida under FAUX conservative governor Ron Desantis.

Penalty for having the ''wrong'' opinion? 3rd degree felony and 5 years in jail! pic.twitter.com/Bi3ThOOwB7

'-- Stew Peters (@realstewpeters) March 2, 2023

.

RELATED '' ['...] Despite the seemingly cordial tone of the interview, Mr. DeSantis at one point became irritated with his interlocutor.

Mr. Charter writes that when he asked Mr. DeSantis how he would handle American relations with Ukraine, the governor referred ''to Biden being 'weak on the world stage' and failing at deterrence.''

Mr. Charter pressed for more detail: How would a President DeSantis handle the conflict in Ukraine?

''Perhaps you should cover some other ground?'' the governor replied. ''I think I've said enough.'' (link)

Posted in 1st Amendment,

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Big Stupid Government,

Conspiracy ?,

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Fri, 03 Mar 2023 14:33

Mainstream media correspondents for major US networks rarely, if ever, report from inside Crimea and certainly are nowhere near Russian-held territory in eastern Ukraine. However, this week NBC News chief international correspondent Keir Simmons went to Sevastopol, surrounded by a significant Russian military presence given it is home to the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet, and in a live segment admitted that it's not at all realistic Zelensky and Ukrainian forces can ever hope to take Crimea.

This is especially as the "the people there... view themselves as Russian." Simmons noted that "This is the closest that any US news crew has got to the Russian Black Sea Fleet in many many years." He explained that "Vladimir Putin will be determined to defend that port - to not have it take it away from him - he may well do pretty much anything to try to achieve that."

BREAKING: NBC News / MSNBC concedes that Zelensky's goal of retaking Crimea is unrealistic and dangerous.pic.twitter.com/fb2RCRBHOn

'-- David Sacks (@DavidSacks) March 1, 2023"It is a very, very dangerous standoff.. it's hard to see how you reach a negotiation over that. There's military absolutely everywhere, it is a military town," he continued, before saying...

"When for example Victoria Nuland talks about that at the very least we [the US] want Crimea to be demilitarized, I find myself standing there and wondering, how on earth does that happen?"

Ukrainian officials and pro-Kyiv media pundits are said to be outraged at the segment, given it repeatedly and bluntly referenced that Crimeans see themselves as Russians. Even a separate write-up filed days earlier from inside Crimea and posted to NBC's website included the following:

This is not Russia, according to Kyiv, its Western allies and the United Nations. It was annexed by the Kremlin in 2014, with the U.N. calling on Russia to return to its "internationally recognized borders." And following Moscow's broader invasion launched a year ago, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed Ukraine will take Crimea back.

But Praskovya Baranova, 73, speaks Russian, feels Russian and lives here.

But it appears that the NBC correspondent, once he was on the ground in a place that few Western reporters ever venture, couldn't deny the plain truth he was seeing all around him.

NBC told Americans the truth about Crimea for the first time and its reporter wound up on the Ukrainian government's kill list alongside several other US citizens, journos, clergy and even children.Will NBC now report on this list? Will ''press freedom'' groups denounce it? https://t.co/rHLxjYdqos

'-- Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) March 2, 2023David Sacks comments of the refreshingly truthful segment, "Not long ago, these were denounced as Putin talking points."

Sacks also says regarding NBC clearly conceding that Zelensky's goal of retaking Crimea remains unrealistic and dangerous...

This is a huge admission because it means that Biden's policy of "only the Ukrainians can decide" the objectives of the war makes no sense. We're effectively delegating our foreign policy to Zelensky, who is pursuing objectives that we don't agree with.

"At the same time that MSNBC is suddenly airing the truth about Crimea, its chief Ukraine pundit is lobbying for an all-out attack," Sacks also observes of the timing of the mid-week report.

"It's getting easier to see who are the real fanatics in this war," Sacks concluded.

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Fri, 03 Mar 2023 05:55

David Wolfe : https://t.co/r2YTMb0dM6

Thu Mar 02 07:43:02 +0000 2023

Viralintube : @DavidWolfe @ezdubs_bot English Portuguese

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Jered Gelok 🇨ðŸ‡... : @DavidWolfe Interesting 🤨

Fri Mar 03 05:41:06 +0000 2023