1610: p-doom

RS VIRUS Boots on the ground

ITM

Family physician from Netherlands

Just out of Pfizer lunch on winter respiratory infections.

Does seem they are lining up medical professionals for more “awareness “ on RS , e.i. try to scare them.

Have to disagree with JCD, RSV has been a very common respiratory infection in children up to 1 year, has no specific treatment but is a common reason for hospitalization for support/oxygen when they present wlth an asthma like attack.

Both Pfizer and GSK have an RSV vaccin in the pipelines.

About 70 pregnant mothers need to take the vaccin to prevent 1 hospitalization of their children.

The GSK trial has problems with higher rates of preterm birth and even death.

It probably is a minor problem in adults compared to flu, covid and pneucoccal pneumonia.

RSV was found in 5.7% of around 2000 elderly in a Dutch study, median age of 75. None were hospitalized!

NAT POPS BOTG

Hello Adam,

Long time listener. Started listening during Covid.

I have a "boots on the ground report" when it comes to the explosions you guys always make fun of when listening to a news package.

NAT POPs are natural sounds (e.g, guns firing, explosions, jets zooming by) that are used to break up reporter track in a news package. It's a strategy we use to bring the viewer into the story. In real life, our world is full of NAT POPs. It's supposed to draw the viewer in. At least that's the theory. It's a lot less boring than just hearing a reporter track (voice) all throughout the package.

Anybody who works editing video in news knows this strategy and the bosses are always making sure we use these NAT POPs in our storytelling. Video editors who don't use this strategy are usually the suckier ones.

Also, in my humble opinion, (and everyone else who edits video) NAT POPs separate bad or "ok" stories from great stories. (i.e from an audio/visual aspect)

For anyone wondering, I'm a photojournalist for a news company in Phoenix and shoot, edit, and even write stories. I work in tandem with reporters and news producers daily.

Considering NA is a show about media deconstruction, and being that I work for the media, I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about the news industry. And yes, they're mostly hypocrites....

Florida school district is transformed after banning students from using phones for ENTIRE DAY: Bullying drops, student engagement in class rises - and kids saying they're enjoying face-to-face interaction | Daily Mail Online

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Thu, 23 Nov 2023 16:59

Florida school district faculty are praising a new cellphone ban on its nearly 200,000 students - one markedly more severe than what's required by the state.

The ban went into effect in September, and has prohibited pupils in Orlando's Orange County public schools system from using their devices since.

The district, the fourth-largest in the state, has 264 schools, and made the move after Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law this past May barring kids from using their phones during class.

The guidance from Orange County Public Schools, however, took that a step further, disallowing students from using their phones during breaks, while requiring them to keep them in their backpacks instead of pockets.

In a series of interviews, teachers, parents, and even students spoke about how the new stipulation has already brought about benefits. Citing drops in bullying and a rise in student engagement, one principal lauded the new law.

Scroll down for video:

'We saw a lot of bullying,' Timber Creek High School's Marc Wasko said told The New York Times Tuesday of his district's spin on the statewide law. 'We had a lot of issues with students posting, or trying to record, things that went on during school time'

Last month, he said, when the ban first took effect, school officials confiscated more than 100 phones from students. He is one of several faculty praising the daylong ban - one markedly more severe than what's required by the state

The ban went into effect in September, and has prohibited pupils in Orlando's Orange County public schools system from using their cellular devices - even in-between periods - since

'We saw a lot of bullying,' Timber Creek High School's Marc Wasko, who has served as the school's principal for years, told The New York Times Tuesday.

'We had a lot of issues with students posting, or trying to record, things that went on during school time,' he added of his roughly 3,600-strong student body.

Speaking to the paper, Wasko explained how students now make eye contact and respond when he greets them thanks to his new policy - something he said had not been the case beforehand.

He also recalled how several teachers have also told him students seem more engaged - with one instructor, government teacher Nikita McCaskill, telling the publication how it has injected some newfound life into her classroom.

'Oh, I love it,' gushed McCaskill, who has worked within the school system since 1997 and has witnessed firsthand the rapidly transforming landscape surrounding cellphones in school.

She added how 'students are [now] more talkative and more collaborative,' and said the district's take on the statewide ban made the atmosphere at Timber Creek better overall.

Somewhat surprisingly, some students who spoke to the Times said much of the same - claiming that the lack of smartphones in their school lives has improved interpersonal relations throughout the student body.

Timber Creek 12th grader Peyton Stanley said: 'Now people can't really be like: "Oh, look at me on Instagram. This is who I am."'

District 2 board member Maria Salamanca in August agreed with the changes, at the time stating: 'I have always been very strongly against pockets. 'As a former student, it's really easy to just zip it in there, go to the bathroom and use your cellphone and go around the corner'

The guidance from Orange County Public Schools, which includes Orlando's Timber Creek High, took a new law that barred phones during class a step further, disallowing students from using their phones during breaks, and requiring them to keep them in their backpacks

Citing the ever-present social media culture that's become so prevalent in schools across the country, the teen added: 'It has helped people be who they are - instead of who they are online.'

Dozens of other Timber Creek students who spoke to the newspaper said they also supported the no-phone rule - but only during class.

Several criticized their district's daylong ban - which applies to recess and in between periods as well - as going too far, with some likening their school to a prison.

'They expect us to take responsibility for our own choices,' said senior Sophia Ferrara, who explained how she uses her mobile device during free periods to take online college classes.

'Then they are taking away the ability for us to make a choice and to learn responsibility,' she added.

Stanley, meanwhile, added how she found parts of the district ban troublesome - citing safety concerns since she is now unable to carry her cellphone in her pocket.

This part of the arrangement, she said, at times leaves her feeling at risk - due to her now being unable to text her mother immediately if needed.

The district, the fourth-largest in the state, has 264 schools, and made the move after Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law this past May barring kids from using their phones during class time

The board voted unanimously to adopt the cellphone ban back in August, after it was signed into law the month before

The Times reported that roughly a dozen Orange County parents and students had the same point of view - one not shared by Orange County educators like Lisa Rodriguez-Davis, who makes TikToks showing how fed-up she's become with students' use of their phones during class.

'It was getting out of hand,' the middle school teacher told the Times, recounting how students would text each other during class to arrange meetings in the bathroom in between periods to film their own social media snippets.

'I call them "Toilet TikToks,''' the aspiring influencer said, before showing the paper her own TikToks parodying her plight with students and their phones.

Figures like Wasko, meanwhile, offered statistics to support their claims that their extreme version of the ban was for the best.

Last month, he explained, when the ban at Timber Creek first took effect, school officials confiscated more than 100 phones from students - and almost immediately afterwards, the confiscations dropped, he said

Incidents of phone-related bullying - often beginning online - have also decreased, he claimed.

Enforcing the ban - similar to one seen at Hillsborough County Public Schools in Tampa - is Timber Creek's resident security officer Lyle Lake, who on school days patrols the campus on a golf cart, looking for potential violators.

Other Orange County educators like Lisa Rodriguez-Davis, who makes TikToks showing how fed-up she's become with students' use of their phones during class, also praised the district's unique take on the DeSantis-era law

'It was getting out of hand,' the middle school teacher told the Times, recounting how students would text each other during class to arrange meetings in the bathroom in between periods to film their own social media snippets

'I usually end up with a cart full of students,' Lake said, describing how he drives uncooperative students to the school's front office after confiscating their devices 'because I pick up more on the way to the office.'

Lake also revealed how he monitors school security cameras to catch using students in the act, before revealing how repeat violators can be suspended.

The almost militaristic culture comes as part of a greater statewide crackdown led by DeSantis - one billed over the summer by a state Republican who sponsored the bill as 'one step to help protect our youth and our kids from the grips of social media.'

Said by State Representative Brad Yeager over the summer as the law went into effect, he added: 'It's also going to create a less distracted classroom and a better learning environment.'

Within a month, The Orange County School Board voted on approving their own stricter twist on the guidance, deciding that students could not use the phones even while not in class, while keeping them in a backpack or purse.

Enforcing the ban - similar to one seen at Hillsborough County Public Schools in Tampa - is Timber Creek's resident security officer, who on school days patrols the campus on a golf cart, looking for potential violators. He also analyzes school surveillance cameras to spot students

District 2 board member Maria Salamanca agreed with the changes, at the time stating: 'I have always been very strongly against pockets.

'As a former student, it's really easy to just zip it in there, go to the bathroom and use your cellphone and go around the corner.'

Else where in Florida, a similar policy at Hillsborough County Public Schools warns students: 'We See It - We Take It.'

Meanwhile, Statistics from the U.S. Department of Education from 2021 reported that roughly 77 percent of schools prohibited nonacademic cellphone use during school hours.

Florida is the only state to engage in a statewide ban.

Europe Plunges Into Chaos After Germany Freezes Public Spending Following Shock Top Court Decision | ZeroHedge

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Thu, 23 Nov 2023 16:59

Europe, already sliding into a stagflationary recession, is about to unleash the same crushing austerity that brought the continent to the verge of collapse over a decade ago.

One day after the German constitutional court ruled a decision to move '‚¬60BN from unused pandemic funds in 2021 into the Energy and Climate Fund, later renamed the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF), was unconstitutional and void, the German government froze public spending for the rest of the year, dealing a blow to Europe's recovery and efforts to beef up Zelensky's offshore bank accounts Ukraine's military and reduce carbon emissions.

The court decision, details of which are laid out below courtesy of SocGen, will widen the economic speed gap between Europe, whose economy has stagnated for over a year, and the US, which grew at an annualized 5% in the three months through September, turbocharged by massive fiscal stimulus which led to a crisis era-like $2 trillion budget deficit in 2023.

Germany's economy, Europe's largest, is contracting as surging energy prices and trade tensions cast doubt on its export-oriented business model. Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government had been counting on that old virtue signaling switcheroo - a flood of spending on "green-energy projects and technology", from chips to batteries, to revive the old model. That way, if anyone asks why Germany is deficit-spending its way to mercantilist utopia, Berlin could always lie and say it was doing the right thing for the world and wasn't interested in a debt-funded stimulus. Alas, now the "Cardinals of Karlsruhe" have made this impossible.

German constitutional court judges in their native plumage.And without a new spending stimulus, Germany may be doomed: as the WSJ notes, energy prices are expected to remain permanently above pre-Ukraine war levels (much to the benefit of US LNG exporters and the Biden regime which directly benefits from monopolizing the trade route that previously was dominated by Moscow) which will squeeze out energy-intensive manufacturing, while an aging population and a labor force that is projected to shrink will likely constrain potential growth.

Berlin's decision to freeze all federal spending for the rest of the year came after the court defunded the government's '‚¬60 billion '--the equivalent of more than $65 billion'--green-transition project. The court said Berlin couldn't repurpose unspent credits originally earmarked to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic to fund environmental and energy projects. It said Berlin was bound by the country's constitutionally enshrined fiscal rules that limit budget deficits to 0.35% of gross domestic product in normal times.

Berlin now faces a choice of finding equivalent budget cuts or raising taxes'--or both'--if it wants to go ahead with the plan, which includes, among other items, multibillion-euro subsidies to build chip-making plants.

The judgment also raises questions about the use of off-budget special funds to finance public investments, including a '‚¬100 billion plan to revamp Germany's underfunded military that was announced after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

In short, not only Germany's economy is about to get crushed, Zelensky's visions of a comfortable retirement in some Polynesian island followed suit.

While some German economists welcomed the ruling, which they said would impose much-needed fiscal discipline at a time of high interest rates, others think it could prevent Scholz and his successors from retooling an economy that has been losing competitiveness.

More importantly, in the short term, the government must decide which policy areas'--from boosting Europe's collective defenses to supporting Ukraine or cushioning the impact of surging energy prices and inflation on businesses and households'--it should give priority to. Berlin must also review all debt-financed expenditures in the last eight years to ensure it was compliant with the new ruling (spoiler alert: it wasn't).

German officials in Brussels told European Union counterparts Friday that they would continue supporting a '‚¬50 billion four-year EU budget package for Ukraine, which is supposed to take effect next year, according to two people briefed on discussions. However, Berlin made it clear it wouldn't back an additional '‚¬50 billion spending request from the European Commission on migration and other Brussels priorities. Germany pays for around a quarter of EU spending.

And with that, following the recent decision by the House majority to effectively stop the Zelensky money train, Ukraine's money has dried out.

Meanwhile, things for Germany's establishment are going from bad to worse: the emergency belt-tightening comes amid growing political fragmentation and accumulated crises that have eroded the ratings of Germany's three-party coalition. The antiestablishment opposition party Alternative for Germany, or AfD, is now polling at 22%, making it the first far-right group to obtain such support since the 1930s. The party opposes German military spending in Ukraine and generous outlays on refugees.

''The verdict will have profound effects on the practice of statecraft,'' Finance Minister Christian Lindner said.

Following the Ukraine war, Germany embarked on a spending spree to support Kyiv, fortify its own defenses and cut its dependence on Russian natural gas and oil. It also pledged to fund a shift to a zero-emissions economy by supporting consumers and businesses at home and in the EU, and it expanded Germany's already generous welfare state to keep voters on board.

All these projects are now frozen.

According to the WSJ, lawyers and government officials said Germany's Constitutional Court ruling last week offered the strictest legal interpretation to date of the country's fiscal rules'--themselves among the toughest in Europe. They said it could severely constrain any future government's fiscal margin of maneuver unless it can raise more taxes'--an unlikely prospect given that Germany already has the second-highest taxes on labor among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries.

Senior government officials said one option under consideration would be to retroactively declare a state of budgetary emergency for 2023, invoking a clause in the fiscal rules that allows for a suspension of the spending limits in exceptional circumstances. Previous governments invoked the exception during the pandemic.

Unfortunately, for Germany's stimmy-starved politicians, the plan is fraught with legal difficulties, in part because the constitutional court prepared for just this eventuality when it raised the bar for declaring such emergencies, according to Lars Feld, an economist who advises the government.

Strengthening resilience and transforming the economy amid geopolitical crises and climate change was seen as a necessity that required taking on debt, but the court ruling has challenged those assumptions, Feld wrote in the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper.

Hilariously, the court said that unlike war and natural disasters, climate change was a foreseeable crisis that had been long in the making and could no longer justify emergency spending. Which, however, means that all Germany will have to do is politely request that the CIA start a new war... or that Fauci mail orders a new virus from Wuhan.

Germany's fiscal rules were enshrined in the constitution under former Chancellor Angela Merkel. They affect both the federal and state governments and are more constraining than the EU's own fiscal rules. The cap was one reason Germany didn't raise borrowing, kept taxes high and faced a shortfall in public investment in transport, education, defense and other critical areas during the years of low interest rates.

It's not just Germany. European finance ministers are expected to agree next month on new rules to tighten their purse strings after years of heavy spending during the pandemic. At that point Europe's descent into another austerity-driven sovereign debt crisis will be complete, and central banks - their infllation fighting days long forgotten - will be pumping out new digital currencies by the quadrillions.

Appendix - details on the German Constitutional Court decision below, courtesy of SocGen:

Background:

On 15 November, the German constitutional court ruled a decision to move '‚¬60bn from unused pandemic funds in 2021 into the Energy and Climate Fund, later renamed the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF), unconstitutional and void. Germany has a long habit of squirreling money into off-budget reserve funds (there are some 30 of them totalling around '‚¬870bn). While this has earmarked money for specific purposes, e.g. '‚¬100bn for defence spending following the start of the Ukraine war, it has also made the fiscal stance less transparent with question marks over how consistent the practice is with the constitutionally protected debt-brake and EU fiscal rules. The debt brake rule, limiting the structural budget deficit to 0.35% of GDP, was suspended from 2020 to 2023 due to the pandemic, with the intention of returning to it next year. This allowed the government to issue much more debt, incidentally also at a time of exceptionally low interest rates. In 2021, as it became clear that the additional '‚¬60bn would not be needed, it was transferred to the KTF, boosting it from '‚¬42.6bn to '‚¬102.6bn and making it possible to use the funds in subsequent years. However, the transfers were made retroactively in 2022 for the 2021 budget, while allowing it to be used for other objectives than the pandemic. There have been further top-ups of the fund, most recently in August this year by '‚¬30bn to about '‚¬212bn.

Court ruling:

In its judgement, the Constitutional court ruled that the supplementary 2021 budget, which retroactively amended the 2021 budget, is incompatible with the Basic Law and is void. The court's decision was based on the following: 1) the government failed to sufficiently demonstrate the necessary connection between the emergency (the pandemic) and the measures taken in response. 2) decoupling the declaration of an emergency from the actual use of the borrowing is incompatible with the constitutional principles of budgeting. The use of emergency borrowing authorisations in subsequent fiscal years without counting them towards the 'debt brake' rule for those years (and instead counting them as 'debt' for the 2021 fiscal year) is therefore not allowed. Third, the adoption of the supplementary Budget Act 2021 after the end of the 2021 fiscal year violates the principle that the budget must be determined in advance. The court's decision thus directly means that the volume of the KTF is reduced by '‚¬60 billion.

Implications:

The Constitutional court's decision is a major blow to the German government, at a time when tension within the coalition over the direction of fiscal policy is already increasing. Germany has been one of the few countries with fiscal room to address the pandemic and the war in Ukraine with fiscal policy, raising public debt by some 10% of GDP to 69% in 2021, while arguably still having policy room for further action. However, the debt-brake rule limits the rise in debt by limiting the annual deficits. With a shortfall of '‚¬60bn in the KTF, the decision is thus to either cut spending, raise taxes or prolong the suspension of the debt brake rule. The government could also draw on other reserve funds but with unclear legal consequences. Suspending the debt brake for another years seems implausible as it has been ruled out by the opposition CDU party (which brought the court case in the first place). That leaves spending cuts and possibly tax increases, with the latter ruled out by the Free Democrats (FDP).

1) 2024 budget

While there is still much uncertainty as regards the full implications of the ruling and possible solutions, especially to what extent it impacts on other reserve funds (raised during the pandemic or before), the 2024 budget will need to be amended. Around '‚¬40bn of funding had originally been planned from the KTF but according to some media reports, the shortfall for 2024 could be lower, around '‚¬24bn if other available funds are taken into account. This is still a significant amount (0.6% of GDP) and will require some drastic, pro-cyclical, measures in key spending areas like climate, welfare and housing, and industry support. Recently, there has been much debate on supporting ailing industries, suffering from higher energy prices. Measures have included a corporate tax relief (around '‚¬7bn over four years) and an electricity tax relief amounting to '‚¬12bn in 2024. Such measures have also drawn the ire of the European Commission, for providing state support to businesses that could distort the Single Market. Plugging the funding needs might thus affect these measures and thus go to the core of the differences between the coalition parties (Greens, Social and Free democrats). Most likely, compromises will need to be made by all parties, possibly even including tax increases, and ultimately the question will be if there is the will, especially for the FDP, to remain in the coalition or break out, also in view of elections awaiting in September 2025. While lawyers will need some time to go through the ruling and the impact on budgets beyond 2024, in an optimistic scenario, the government has only lost '‚¬60bn of funding (which should improve the debt ratio by about 1.4% of GDP) while becoming more contained to the annual budgets for its spending plans. However, our reading of the ruling suggests that more funds will be affected.

2) What to do about the debt brake rule and the green transition?

There has already been much debate about the wisdom of having a deficit-limiting fiscal rule at a time when German industry is facing significant structural change (see Germany: cyclically okay, but facing massive structural headwinds). Introduced in 2009 as a way of securing that debt trended back to 60% in normal times, it requires a 2/3 majority in parliament to be changed (the creation of a '‚¬100bn fund for defence spending following the Russian invasion of Ukraine should not be affected by the court's decision as it was done by an amendment of the law with 2/3 majority). The ruling by the Constitutional court clearly highlights the limitations of any progressive government to fundamentally change and adjust the economy to new realities, be it regarding energy sources, climate transition, supporting traditional industries or social reform. Supply side reform and tax increases may thus again come into focus until there is sufficient agreement, if at all, in parliament and a 2/3 majority to amend or abolish the debt brake rule. We expect this to be a key topic in the 2025 election campaign and see many reasons why there should be more flexibility to face multi-year but transitory challenges. Options include harmonising the German fiscal target (0.35% of GDP) with the EU one which is slightly less ambitious (of 0.5% of GDP) and introducing an investment (golden) rule.

3) Fiscal policy in Germany and EU

Given the relative strength of German public finances and the challenges ahead, we still expect Germany to pursue ambitious fiscal reforms in the coming years, albeit with a more limited ability to use dedicated reserve funds. With much less flexibility due to its domestic fiscal target, it is also possible the Germany will be less inclined to accept additional flexibility in the EU fiscal rules framework. This is currently under discussions, but given Germany's domestic position, it is hard to see Germany willingly accepting much less ambitious fiscal policy in other EU countries. Next year will thus be very interesting in terms of countries formulating 2025 budgets against a background of much lower inflation and likely a still weak growth outlook.

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Mysterious pneumonia ripping through Chinese schools sparks fears among scientists of a Covid repeat | Daily Mail Online

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Thu, 23 Nov 2023 16:00

Scientists today called for vigilance and transparency from China amid reports of a mystery cluster of pneumonia which has eerie similarities to the early Covid outbreak.

Hospitals in Beijing and 500 miles northeast in Liaoning are 'overwhelmed with sick children' with unusual symptoms that include inflammation in the lungs and a high fever but no cough, according to local news reports.

Dr Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist and director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health, told DailyMail.com the news was 'alarming'.

She said we should 'hold all countries to that same standard', referencing China's history of covering up new outbreaks, which happened in 2003 with the original SARS and in 2019 with Covid.

A news clip taken from FTV News appears to show a busy hospital waiting room in China with children receiving intravenous drips

Dr Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious disease physician who is part of the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, said testing and making those results public was crucial, adding in a post on X that the illness 'could be anything'.

Dr Neil Stone, an infectious diseases specialist doctor at the University College Hospital in

London, wrote on the platform formerly known as Twitter: 'The last time I saw reports of an outbreak of undiagnosed pneumonia in China thought, naa...no big deal. [It] won't amount to much.

'That was in December 2019. Not making that same mistake again.'

The alert around China was issued late on Tuesday via ProMed - a large, publicly available global surveillance system that monitors infectious diseases.

It was a ProMed notification back in December 2019 that brought Covid to the attention of the world.

Taiwanese outlet FTV News reported that hospitals were being 'overwhelmed' with sick children in the latest outbreak.

It added that 'parents questioned whether the authorities were covering up the epidemic.'

But there is a suspicion the new outbreak could be related to mycoplasma pneumoniae, also known as walking pneumonia, which is reportedly growing in China as the country goes into its first winter without strict Covid lockdowns in place.

The US and UK also saw spikes in infections like RSV and flu after pandemic rules lifted.

Hospitals in Beijing and almost 500 miles northeast in Liaoning are among those 'overwhelmed with sick children,' according to local news reports.

Dr Nuzzo told DailyMail.com: 'Seeing an increased number of people presenting at any hospital is, of course, alarming.

'It may not be out of the ordinary, we do tend to see [increases] seasonally, so it's really too early to say.

'But any time we see people going to the hospital, we have reason to be concerned about it.'

State-run media outlet Sixth Tone reported that one-tenth of patients are coming from out of town because they cannot access bronchoscopies in their hometown.

The Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that more than 3,500 cases of 'respiratory infection' had been admitted to the Beijing Children's Hospital at the start of October, Radio Free Asia reported.

A staff member at the Beijing Friendship Hospital pediatrics department said there is a 24-hour wait for emergency cases to be seen.

'They're still dealing with calls we took yesterday,' the worker said. 'They haven't even started on today's calls yet '' there are at least 1,000 people waiting in the queue ahead of you.

'The calls coming in today won't get seen until tomorrow... We're taking more than 1,000 calls a day.'

According to state-run Haibao News, the Children's Hospital of Capital Institute of Pediatrics had so many patients on Tuesday that the outpatient desk stopped accepting new patients by the afternoon.

At that point, 628 people were waiting in line to see a doctor at the emergency department.

Elsewhere, FTV News said: 'The situation in Liaoning Province is also grim.'

The lobby of Dalian Children's Hospital is reportedly full of sick children receiving intravenous drips.

There are also long queues of patients at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital and the Central Hospital.

A staff member of Dalian Central Hospital said: 'Patients have to wait in line for two hours, and we are all in the emergency department and there are no general outpatient clinics.'

Some school classes have been canceled altogether. Not only are all students sick, but teachers are also infected with pneumonia.

Mr Wei, a Beijing citizen, told FTV News: 'Many, many are hospitalized. They don't cough and have no symptoms. They just have a high temperature (fever) and many develop pulmonary nodules.'

An editor's note by ProMed said: 'This report suggests a widespread outbreak of an undiagnosed respiratory illness... It is not at all clear when this outbreak started, as it would be unusual for so many children to be affected so quickly.

'The report does not say that any adults were affected, suggesting some exposure at the schools.

'ProMed awaits more definitive information about the etiology and scope of this concerning illness in China.'

Pneumonia is an infection that affects one of both lungs, which can be deadly. The air sacs in the lungs may fill with fluid or pus.

Generally, pneumonia is not contagious, but the respiratory viruses and bacteria that lead to it are.

Walking pneumonia, which typically affects younger children, causes a sore throat, tiredness and a cough that can last up to months. It is called walking pneumonia as symptoms are usually mild enough for patients to continue walking around.

In serious cases, the illness can become pneumonia.

On Friday evening, Sun Rui rushed her three-year-old daughter, who had a temperature of 103 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius), to the Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital in Tongzhou District, Beijing, state-run media outlet Sixth Tone reported.

She was forced to wait alongside 'hundreds' of other parents for 13 hours to be seen by a physician, who diagnosed her daughter with mycoplasma pneumonia.

Local media outlets reported last month that hospitals across China were seeing skyrocketing infections.

Zhou Huixia, director of the children's medical center at the Seventh Medical Center of the Chinese PLA General Hospital, told China Daily: 'It is the first wave of mycoplasma pneumoniae infections since most Covid-19 containment measures were lifted at the beginning of this year.

'The wave has appeared particularly ferocious since the National Day holiday in early October. Compared to previous years, we found more patients with mixed infections, drug resistance and lobar pneumonia.'

Lobar pneumonia affects one or more sections - lobes - of the lungs.

Infection numbers are due to peak in November, but concerns about antibiotic resistance are growing.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is becoming more and more resistant to macrolides, a class of drugs commonly used to treat pneumonia.

A study published in February last year found that macrolide resistance was seen in more than 80 percent of mycoplasma pneumoniae in children hospitalized by the bacteria in China.

So far, very few children have died from walking pneumonia.

Dr Hua Shaodong, a paediatrician at the Beijing Children's Hospital, told China Daily:

'There is a steady number of patients developing severe cases, but there are very few critical cases, and there are no related deaths so far.

'The average days in [the] hospital for hospitalized patients is around seven to 14 days.'

Wang Quanyi, deputy director of the Beijing CDC and chief epidemiologist, said that influenza, adenovirus and RSV are the top three respiratory infectious diseases in children at the moment.

On December 30, 2019, a ProMed 'RFI' (request for information) post - the same type as the pneumonia alert - was the initial warning of the Covid outbreak in Wuhan, China.

Most of Microsoft's $10bn investment in OpenAI has gone on cloud | TechRadar

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Wed, 22 Nov 2023 18:25

Much of Microsoft's $10 billion investment in OpenAI is actually tied up in cloud compute, according to Semafor, citing people familiar with the agreement.

Redmond's famous multibillion-dollar investment was confirmed in January, barely a couple of months after the startup unleashed the public preview of ChatGPT.

Now, it has been rumored that OpenAI received just a fraction of this heavy investment as usable cash.

Does Microsoft influence OpenAI?While the division of Microsoft's funding remains unclear, the truth is that the $10 billion investment has awarded Microsoft with a considerable (yet unconfirmed) say in how OpenAI may operate.

Semafor notes that, as part of an ongoing agreement, Redmond has some rights to OpenAI's IP, which means it would still be able to use models like GPT-4 on its own servers in the event of a relationship breakdown.

As the world prepared for a weekend of relaxing, OpenAI's board late last week revealed that CEO Sam Altman would be fired. Subsequently, co-founder Greg Brockman also resigned.

It is believed that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has suggested that Altman's firing was mishandled. Nadella has since confirmed on X that ''Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, together with colleagues, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team.''

Nadella also noted: ''We remain committed to our partnership with OpenAI.'' Still, with Redmond's acquisition of two of the startup's co-founders and ongoing queries about the board's decision, not only is the future of the partnership and investment being questioned but also the stability and security of OpenAI more generally.

Neither Microsoft nor OpenAI has responded to TechRadar Pro's request to confirm or provide more context about the report on the split of the $10 billion investment - any comments will be added here.

More from TechRadar Pro OpenAI and Sam Altman turmoil will define the future of your AI and ChatGPT experienceWe've rounded up some of the best AI tools available online right nowCheck out the best cloud hosting providers and best cloud storageVia Semafor

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How ChatGPT Kicked Off an A.I. Arms Race - The New York Times

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Archived Version

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 17:16

One day in mid-November, workers at OpenAI got an unexpected assignment: Release a chatbot, fast.

The chatbot, an executive announced, would be known as ''Chat with GPT-3.5,'' and it would be made available free to the public. In two weeks.

The announcement confused some OpenAI employees. All year, the San Francisco artificial intelligence company had been working toward the release of GPT-4, a new A.I. model that was stunningly good at writing essays, solving complex coding problems and more. After months of testing and fine-tuning, GPT-4 was nearly ready. The plan was to release the model in early 2023, along with a few chatbots that would allow users to try it for themselves, according to three people with knowledge of the inner workings of OpenAI.

But OpenAI's top executives had changed their minds. Some were worried that rival companies might upstage them by releasing their own A.I. chatbots before GPT-4, according to the people with knowledge of OpenAI. And putting something out quickly using an old model, they reasoned, could help them collect feedback to improve the new one.

So they decided to dust off and update an unreleased chatbot that used a souped-up version of GPT-3, the company's previous language model, which came out in 2020.

Thirteen days later, ChatGPT was born.

In the months since its debut, ChatGPT (the name was, mercifully, shortened) has become a global phenomenon. Millions of people have used it to write poetry, build apps and conduct makeshift therapy sessions. It has been embraced (with mixed results) by news publishers, marketing firms and business leaders. And it has set off a feeding frenzy of investors trying to get in on the next wave of the A.I. boom.

It has also caused controversy. Users have complained that ChatGPT is prone to giving biased or incorrect answers. Some A.I. researchers have accused OpenAI of recklessness. And school districts around the country, including New York City's, have banned ChatGPT to try to prevent a flood of A.I.-generated homework.

Yet little has been said about ChatGPT's origins, or the strategy behind it. Inside the company, ChatGPT has been an earthshaking surprise '-- an overnight sensation whose success has created both opportunities and headaches, according to several current and former OpenAI employees, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

An OpenAI spokesman, Niko Felix, declined to comment for this column, and the company also declined to make any employees available for interviews.

Before ChatGPT's launch, some OpenAI employees were skeptical that the project would succeed. An A.I. chatbot that Meta had released months earlier, BlenderBot, had flopped, and another Meta A.I. project, Galactica, was pulled down after just three days. Some employees, desensitized by daily exposure to state-of-the-art A.I. systems, thought that a chatbot built on a two-year-old A.I. model might seem boring.

But two months after its debut, ChatGPT has more than 30 million users and gets roughly five million visits a day, two people with knowledge of the figures said. That makes it one of the fastest-growing software products in memory. (Instagram, by contrast, took nearly a year to get its first 10 million users.)

The growth has brought challenges. ChatGPT has had frequent outages as it runs out of processing power, and users have found ways around some of the bot's safety features. The hype surrounding ChatGPT has also annoyed some rivals at bigger tech firms, who have pointed out that its underlying technology isn't, strictly speaking, all that new.

ChatGPT is also, for now, a money pit. There are no ads, and the average conversation costs the company ''single-digit cents'' in processing power, according to a post on Twitter by Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, likely amounting to millions of dollars a week. To offset the costs, the company announced this week that it would begin selling a $20 monthly subscription, known as ChatGPT Plus.

Despite its limitations, ChatGPT's success has vaulted OpenAI into the ranks of Silicon Valley power players. The company recently reached a $10 billion deal with Microsoft, which plans to incorporate the start-up's technology into its Bing search engine and other products. Google declared a ''code red'' in response to ChatGPT, fast-tracking many of its own A.I. products in an attempt to catch up.

Mr. Altman has said his goal at OpenAI is to create what is known as ''artificial general intelligence,'' or A.G.I., an artificial intelligence that matches human intellect. He has been an outspoken champion of A.I., saying in a recent interview that its benefits for humankind could be ''so unbelievably good that it's hard for me to even imagine.'' (He has also said that in a worst-case scenario, A.I. could kill us all.)

As ChatGPT has captured the world's imagination, Mr. Altman has been put in the rare position of trying to downplay a hit product. He is worried that too much hype for ChatGPT could provoke a regulatory backlash or create inflated expectations for future releases, two people familiar with his views said. On Twitter, he has tried to tamp down excitement, calling ChatGPT ''incredibly limited'' and warning users that ''it's a mistake to be relying on it for anything important right now.''

He has also discouraged employees from boasting about ChatGPT's success. In December, days after the company announced that more than a million people had signed up for the service, Greg Brockman, OpenAI's president, tweeted that it had reached two million users. Mr. Altman asked him to delete the tweet, telling him that advertising such rapid growth was unwise, two people who saw the exchange said.

OpenAI is an unusual company, by Silicon Valley standards. Started in 2015 as a nonprofit research lab by a group of tech leaders including Mr. Altman, Peter Thiel, Reid Hoffman and Elon Musk, it created a for-profit subsidiary in 2019 and struck a $1 billion deal with Microsoft. It has since grown to around 375 employees, according to Mr. Altman '-- not counting the contractors it pays to train and test its A.I. models in regions like Eastern Europe and Latin America.

From the start, OpenAI has billed itself as a mission-driven organization that wants to ensure that advanced A.I. will be safe and aligned with human values. But in recent years, the company has embraced a more competitive spirit '-- one that some critics say has come at the expense of its original aims.

Those concerns grew last summer when OpenAI released its DALL-E 2 image-generating software, which turns text prompts into works of digital art. The app was a hit with consumers, but it raised thorny questions about how such powerful tools could be used to cause harm. If creating hyper-realistic images was as simple as typing in a few words, critics asked, wouldn't pornographers and propagandists have a field day with the technology?

Image Both of these images were created by OpenAI's DALL-E 2 image-generating software. Credit... DALL-E 2. Image The release of DALL-E 2 raised questions about how the software might be abused. Credit... DALL-E 2. To allay these fears, OpenAI outfitted DALL-E 2 with numerous safeguards and blocked certain words and phrases, such as those related to graphic violence or nudity. It also taught the bot to neutralize certain biases in its training data '-- such as making sure that when a user asked for a photo of a C.E.O., the results included images of women.

These interventions prevented trouble, but they struck some OpenAI executives as heavy-handed and paternalistic, according to three people with knowledge of their positions. One of them was Mr. Altman, who has said he believes that A.I. chatbots should be personalized to the tastes of the people using them '-- one user could opt for a stricter, more family-friendly model, while another could choose a looser, edgier version.

OpenAI has taken a less restrictive approach with ChatGPT, giving the bot more license to weigh in on sensitive subjects like politics, sex and religion. Even so, some right-wing conservatives have accused the company of overstepping. ''ChatGPT Goes Woke,'' read the headline of a National Review article last month, which argued that ChatGPT gave left-wing responses to questions about topics such as drag queens and the 2020 election. (Democrats have also complained about ChatGPT '-- mainly because they think A.I. should be regulated more heavily.)

As regulators swirl, Mr. Altman is trying to keep ChatGPT above the fray. He flew to Washington last week to meet with lawmakers, explaining the tool's strengths and weaknesses and clearing up misconceptions about how it works.

Back in Silicon Valley, he is navigating a frenzy of new attention. In addition to the $10 billion Microsoft deal, Mr. Altman has met with top executives at Apple and Google in recent weeks, two people with knowledge of the meetings said. OpenAI also inked a deal with BuzzFeed to use its technology to create A.I.-generated lists and quizzes. (The announcement more than doubled BuzzFeed's stock price.)

The race is heating up. Baidu, the Chinese tech giant, is preparing to introduce a chatbot similar to ChatGPT in March, according to Reuters. Anthropic, an A.I. company started by former OpenAI employees, is reportedly in talks to raise $300 million in new funding. And Google is racing ahead with more than a dozen A.I. tools.

Then there's GPT-4, which is still scheduled to come out this year. When it does, its abilities may make ChatGPT look quaint. Or maybe, now that we're adjusting to a powerful new A.I. tool in our midst, the next one won't seem so shocking.

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The Australian altruist at the heart of the OpenAI imbroglio

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Archived Version

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 16:47

The news: OpenAI's board, which includes the company's chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, Quora chief executive Adam D'Angelo, entrepreneur Tasha McCauley and Toner, decided to oust Altman at the weekend. They said he had not been ''consistently candid''. Company chairman and Altman backer Greg Brockman was not involved in the discussions. He was demoted and then resigned. Sutskever, an OpenAI co-founder who fronted the push to oust Altman, then apologised. Altman appeared likely to return with the backing of investors but the board instead chose the co-founder of video streaming platform Twitch, Emmett Shear, as chief executive. Microsoft hired Altman and Brockman. Almost all OpenAI staff signed a letter threatening to defect to Microsoft unless the board resigned. Chaos reigned.

Who is Toner? Toner graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2014, where peers remembered her as smart and principled. She was ''not a dud'', one said, which is a compliment in the language of people who were involved with Toner at UN Youth, an organisation where nerdy students play-act as countries at international forums. Another said she was just part of the crowd of the organisation, where most are high-achievers.

By the time Toner graduated she was already firmly enmeshed in Australia's effective altruism scene. At its simplest, the movement is about ensuring individuals or charities do the most good with limited resources, by investing in antimalarial mosquito nets, for example.

Others, such as the FTX crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, can use it to rationalise or provide cover for doing immoral things or working immoral jobs in service of a noble goal. But there is another strand in the movement, which is popular with technology workers: preventing AI domination and using it for good. It's that broad strand that Toner worked in.

After graduating Toner worked at effective altruist organisations GiveWell and Open Philanthropy '' a project from Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and his wife '' before moving to China to study that country's AI industry. Then she joined the Georgetown Centre for Security and Emerging Technology as a director of strategy, working on AI safety. In late 2021, Toner joined the AI board.

''I strongly believe in the organisation's aim of building AI for the benefit of all, and am honoured to have this opportunity to contribute to that mission,'' she said at the time.

Our take: OpenAI is a strangely structured company with a flawed mission. It started out as a charity and is still overseen by the non-profit board that counts Toner among its members. That structure allowed the directors to blindside investors like Microsoft. It is clearly an unstable way of running a start-up, but investors knew that when they put money in. Sympathy for them should be low, especially given Microsoft is on the cusp of playing a blinder and recruiting hundreds of talented AI workers.

The same goes for OpenAI itself. Its approach to building a very powerful AI for good is too similar to those who insist the best approach to gun violence is to equip more ''good people'' with firearms.

As for Toner and her fellow board members, they appear to have been the rare directors to oust a powerful chief executive without the threat of public anger to compel them. In Silicon Valley especially, that could prove costly.

EU's Digital Identity Wallet Is An Electronic Leash With Which Brussels Wants To Control Its Citizens - Activist Post

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Wed, 22 Nov 2023 16:17

By Darius Matuszak

There is a danger that the new Polish government may just waive through this oppression policy'...

The agreement between the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on the EU Digital Identity Wallet is open to abuse and gives Brussels the ability to deny people rights and control them.

According to the new European legislation, the wallets, which are to be voluntary for the time being, will include digital versions of all ID cards, driving licenses, degree certificates, and medical documentation.

The European Commission insists that the system will be secure, and the current Spanish presidency of the EU is saying that this will make the EU a digital leader at a global level in protecting democratic values, but what has digitalization got to do with European values?

On the contrary, the move actually threatens European values as argued by 504 academics and experts from 39 countries who have signed an open letter warning of the dangers to people's online security and freedom.

The pandemic moved us in this direction when the Covid-19 vaccine passports were introduced and limited the right to travel. The new wallet will move us much further in the direction of oppression.

Having all documents in one place means that they can be confiscated in one click. This was done by the Trudeau administration in Canada when, during Covid, it denied vaccine-refusers access to their accounts and later removed insurance rights from drivers participating in the protest blockade of the capital, Ottawa.

'...

Activist Post is Google-Free '-- We Need Your SupportContribute Just $1 Per Month at Patreon or SubscribeStarThe head of Poland's central bank Adam GlapiÅski, says consumers do not want their bank to know about all their transactions and full digital centralization of transactions removes that right to anonymity.

This latest EU move is also tied to the proposed treaty changes, which include the phasing out of all national currencies in favor of the euro. Not only would Poland be denied the right to conduct its own monetary policy, but the EU would also control the wallets of Polish citizens.

Banks in Canada and Australia have already begun to count the carbon footprints of their clients' purchases. This is just one step away from stopping them from making some transactions if certain limits are exceeded.

'...

There can be little doubt that Eurocrats want to create a liberal regime in which citizens are increasingly controlled by the authorities based in Brussels.

'...

Read more here at Remix News'...

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New obesity and weight-loss medications like Wegovy, Ozempic change how users think of Thanksgiving meals | AP News

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Archived Version

Tue, 21 Nov 2023 13:40

For most of her life, Claudia Stearns dreaded Thanksgiving. As a person who struggled with obesity since childhood, Stearns hated the annual turmoil of obsessing about what she ate '-- and the guilt of overindulging on a holiday built around food.

Now, after losing nearly 100 pounds using medications including Wegovy, a powerful new anti-obesity drug, Stearns says the ''food noise'' in her head has gone very, very quiet.

''Last year, it felt so lovely to just be able to enjoy my meal, to focus on being with friends and family, to focus on the joy of the day,'' says Stearns, 65, of Somerville, Massachusetts. ''That was a whole new experience.''

As millions of Americans struggling with obesity gain access to a new generation of weight-loss drugs, Stearns' experience is becoming more common '-- and more noticeable at the times of year when cooking, eating and a sense of abundance can define and heighten gatherings of loved ones and friends. Medical experts and consumers say the drugs are shifting not only what users eat, but also the way they think about food.

For some, it means greater mental control over their meals. Others say it saps the enjoyment from social situations, including traditionally food-centric holidays like Thanksgiving, Passover and Christmas.

''It's something that really changes a lot of things in their life,'' says Dr. Daniel Bessesen, chief of endocrinology at Denver Health, who treats patients with obesity. ''They go from food being a central focus to it's just not.''

UNDERMINING THE FESTIVITIES? The new obesity drugs, originally designed to treat diabetes, include semaglutide, used in Ozempic and Wegovy, and tirzepatide, used in Mounjaro and recently approved as Zepbound . Now aimed at weight loss, too, the drugs delivered as weekly injections work far differently than any diet. They mimic powerful hormones that kick in after people eat to regulate appetite and the feeling of fullness communicated between the gut and the brain. Users can lose as much as 15% to 25% of their body weight, studies show.

''That's how it works '-- it reduces the rewarding aspects of food,'' explains Dr. Michael Schwartz, an expert in metabolism, diabetes and obesity at the University of Washington in Seattle.

For Stearns, who started treatment in 2020, using the weight-loss medications means she can take a few bites of her favorite Thanksgiving pies '-- and then stop.

''I would not feel full,'' she says, ''but I would feel satisfied.''

Yet such a shift can have broader implications, both religious and cultural, because it alters the experience of festive and religious holidays that are often built around interactions with food '-- and lots of it.

''I'm Italian. For us, it's like going to church, going to a table,'' says Joe Sapone, 64, a retiree from Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, who lost about 100 pounds with dieting and Mounjaro. He no longer needs what he called ''the food orgy'' of a holiday, but he acknowledges it was an adjustment.

''Part of succeeding at this is disconnecting a good time with what you eat,'' he says. ''Am I still going to have fun if I don't eat that much?''

CHANGES IN ENJOYMENTMany users welcome what they say is greater control over what they eat, even during the emotionally charged holiday season.

''I may be more selective of the items I put on my plate,'' says Tara Rothenhoefer, 48, of Trinity, Florida. She lost more than 200 pounds after joining a clinical trial testing Mounjaro for weight loss in 2020. ''I don't care about the bread as much. I still eat what I enjoy.''

But others on the drugs lose their appetites entirely or suffer side effects '-- nausea, vomiting, diarrhea '-- that undermine the pleasure of any food.

''I've had a handful of patients over the years who were really miserable because they didn't enjoy food in the same way,'' says Dr. Katherine Saunders, an obesity expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of Intellihealth, a clinical and software company that focuses on obesity treatment.

But, she added, most people who have turned to weight-loss medications have spent years struggling with the physical and mental burdens of chronic obesity and are relieved to discover a decreased desire for food '-- and grateful to shed pounds.

When people stop taking the drugs, their appetites return and they regain weight, often faster than they lost it, studies show. One early analysis found that two-thirds of patients who started taking weight-loss drugs were no longer using them a year later.

Part of that may be due to high cost and ongoing supply shortages. But the larger question of what it means to alter a basic human drive like appetite needs to be considered as well, says Dr. Jens Juul Holst of the University of Copenhagen. He is one of the researchers who first identified the gut hormone GLP-1, or glucagon-like peptide 1, which eventually led to the new class of obesity drugs.

Speaking at an international diabetes conference this fall, Holst offered a philosophical critique of the new medications' real-world impact.

''Why is it that you've lost weight? That's because you've lost your appetite. That's because you've lost the pleasure of eating and the reward of having a beautiful meal,'' Holst told his colleagues. ''And how long can you stand that? That is the real, real question.''

___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

JoNel is a national reporter covering food and nutrition.

'New Years' Nightmare': IRS Targets Gig Workers, Sends 30 Million New Tax Forms | The Epoch Times

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Archived Version

Tue, 21 Nov 2023 13:12

The agency is charging new taxes on Americans who make a side income of more than $600 from activities like online selling or freelance work.

A new IRS tax on gig workers would result in additional documentation that will create confusion among individual taxpayers as the agency does not have ''centralized leadership'' to deal with the expansion, according to a watchdog.

Starting this year, a new IRS rule required that third-party payment networks like PayPal, Venmo, Amazon, and Square issue Form 1099-K when a user receives more than $600 in gross sales from goods and services transactions in a single year. Earlier, the threshold of gross sales was over $20,000.

As a result, many taxpayers who never received Form 1099-Ks in the past will receive them this year, according to a Nov. 15 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). This could ''exacerbate confusion among some taxpayers, such as gig workers, who may not understand the taxability of their payments and taxes owed.''

''For example, some of these taxpayers may not know how to calculate profit or loss and may not understand the information reported on the form. This puts them at risk of inaccurately reporting their incomes to IRS or not meeting their tax obligations.''

The IRS calculated that the new rule would result in 44 million Form 1099-Ks being filed in 2024, which is an increase of roughly 30 million. The tax agency ''does not have a plan'' to analyze these data to support its enforcement and outreach activities. ''This limits its understanding of changes in taxpayer burden,'' GAO said.

GAO also pointed to challenges facing the IRS with regard to its handling of ''information returns.''

Information returns are filed by third parties like employers, businesses, banks and include Form W-2 for employee wages and Form 1099-K filed by payment networks. IRS compliance programs use these information returns to identify potential fraud and noncompliance among taxpayers.

However, ''IRS lacks centralized leadership to make strategic decisions related to the use of information returns across the agency,'' the GAO report stated.

''For example, IRS has not analyzed information returns comprehensively to determine if the returns' characteristics (e.g., deadlines) meet IRS's needs. While information returns support multiple IRS compliance programs, no office is responsible for coordinating these efforts.''Burdensome for AmericansCommenting on the GAO report, the House Ways and Means Committee criticized Democrats for burdening everyday Americans with the new tax rule.

''Thanks to Democrats, more Americans who mow lawns or sell concert tickets and used couches through Venmo or PayPal will have those transactions scrutinized by the IRS starting in January 2024 thanks to a lower reporting threshold for IRS form 1099-K,'' said a Nov. 16 press release from the committee.

The GAO report ''shows that the IRS will send at least 30 million new 1099-K tax forms to Americans' mailboxes come January, even though the agency has no plan on what to do with the new information'--and it is unlikely most Americans will understand how to fill them out.''

Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) called the additional tax forms ''a new years' nightmare for millions of Americans and a mess for the IRS.''

The 1099-K form applies to people who are engaged in activities like

gig work and casual sales who make side or extra income via selling their services or goods. 1099-K is an ''information return'' form submitted by third parties like PayPal. Individual taxpayers can use these returns to complete their tax filings. The IRS uses 1099-K to verify income and taxes reported by taxpayers.

The policy to reduce the gross sales threshold from $20,000 to just $600 was included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The rule was initially supposed to

come into effect during tax year 2022. However, the IRS postponed it to the 2023 tax year.

''The Biden Administration itself had to deploy a legally dubious delay of this policy for a year precisely because it is unworkable. The whole plan is just another effort by Washington Democrats to use the IRS to target working families,'' Mr. Smith said.

''According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, over 90 percent of this new tax burden will fall on middle-class families and gig workers who will be caught in the crosshairs of the Democrats' tax scheme.''

In the report, GAO recommended that the IRS develop a plan to systematically evaluate information returns to improve compliance and minimize fraud and reporting burden.

It also asked the tax agency to determine the ''most appropriate thresholds for payment information reporting'' like Form 1099-K.

The report ''shows the IRS is ill-equipped to handle the implementation of this new policy while at the same time it does not even know if it will help the agency carry out its responsibilities,'' Mr. Smith said.

''Like with so much of the Democrats' tax policies, this is a solution in search of a problem'--one that will confuse Americans and put them in danger of inaccurately assessing their own tax liabilities.''Taxing Americans' Side IncomesThe Coalition for 1099-K Fairness, whose members include the likes of PayPal, Airbnb, Etsy, and eBay, said that millions of Americans and micro-businesses will receive 1099-Ks ''often in instances where there is no tax liability whatsoever, causing fear, confusion, frustration, and overreporting of taxable income.''

The PayPal app logo seen on a mobile phone in this illustration photo on Oct. 16, 2017. (Thomas White/Illustration/Reuters)A February 2022

survey by the coalition found that most casual sellers are only conducting small amounts worth of sales transactions online. It pointed out that 86 percent of them made less than $5,000 in gross revenues from items sold online in 2021.

For 89 percent of survey respondents, selling was not their primary source of income. And 47 percent of people were unaware of the new IRS reporting requirements.

People who engage in such side income activities have to provide personal information, including Social Security number or employer identification number (EIN) to the third-party app through which they conduct transactions.

Once the transactions hit the $600 threshold limit, the third party will send a 1099-K to the individual. In case the person did not provide their personal information and the transaction hit the $600 limit, the third party will withhold 24 percent of the payments collected via the app.

This amount will be sent to the IRS and will not be returned to the individual. However, the amount can be reported on the person's tax returns.

How Andy Levin's defeat in Michigan was '-- and wasn't '-- all about AIPAC '' The Forward

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Archived Version

Tue, 21 Nov 2023 12:08

Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., center, campaigns for Michigan Democratic Rep. Andy Levin, right, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, left, at a rally on July 29, 2022. Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

By Jacob Kornbluh August 3, 2022

An hour after polls closed in Michigan Tuesday, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee sent out a press release celebrating the defeat of Jewish Rep. Andy Levin, who lost to fellow Democrat Rep. Haley Stevens by 20 points in a rare incumbent-vs.-incumbent primary.

''Democratic voters have sent the unambiguous message that being pro-Israel is both sound policy and smart politics,'' read the statement. It was followed by an email to supporters that touted a ''monumental victory'' for the pro-Israel community.

AIPAC was a major player in the contest, donating $4.2 million to boost Stevens in recent weeks. Her win capped a successful multi-million dollar national campaign by AIPAC this election season to defeat progressives in Democratic primaries.

Levin, who is Jewish, had displeased AIPAC by introducing a bill last year that, while supporting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, would also have restricted Israel from using U.S. taxpayer dollars to expand or annex settlements in the occupied West Bank. He also defended Reps. Rashida Tlaib from Michigan and Ilhan Omar from Minnesota, who have been accused of antisemitism and openly support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel.

But chalking up Levin's defeat to the pro-Israel lobby's investment in Stevens ignores several other key factors in his loss. The money certainly helped, but it wasn't all that propelled her to victory.

Consider the newly-drawn 11th District . It includes Detroit's northwest suburbs within Oakland County, which Levin lived in for most of his life, but includes only 25% of the district Levin has represented in Congress since 2019. The new lines worked in Stevens' favor. Though she moved to the district last November, it includes 40% of the district that she was elected to represent in 2018. Levin had been criticized by some Democrats for refusing to run in what they deemed a winnable race in the adjacent 10th District '-- which includes most of the neighborhoods he currently represents '-- instead of taking on a fellow Democrat.

Also relevant when weighing AIPAC's influence over the outcome of the race is the fact that Stevens was perceived as the frontrunner as soon as she entered it. Then, endorsement followed endorsement from pro-Israel groups. She garnered the backing of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, the Democratic Majority for Israel and Pro-Israel America. She was also endorsed by AIPAC's PAC, which sent more than $600,000 in earmarked contributions to her campaign.

Despite these advantages, internal polls conducted by both campaigns in April projected a close contest, with Stevens holding a slight edge. AIPAC waited before making its move in the race. Its super PAC, United Democracy Project, didn't start spending on it until the end of June.

By the time a July 21 poll showed Stevens leading Levin by 27 points , AIPAC had already spent $3.3 million, mostly on television ads and mailers in support of Stevens. Only a sliver of that '-- $174,436 '-- paid for ads opposing Levin. In total, 92% of the $4.2 million was aimed at boosting Stevens. J Street, AIPAC's liberal rival on the Hill, spent $700,000 on television ads for Levin through its super PAC, Action Fund, and its donors contributed some $300,000 directly to the campaign.

The final results Wednesday morning showed Stevens with 60% of the vote and Levin with 40%, nine points higher than the 31% he received in the poll taken last month.

Few would doubt that AIPAC's $4.2 million helped her.

But the wide margin victory also raises a question about whether AIPAC needed to spend as much as it did. Did AIPAC help assure her victory, or rather, just give her a more decisive one?

AIPAC loses next door in Michigan, but racks up wins elsewhere The results of a neighboring Michigan House race disappointed AIPAC.

The group spent nearly as much '-- $4.1 million '-- as it did in the Levin-Stevens race in a district that includes the heavily Arab city of Dearborn Heights. There AIPAC-backed State Sen. Adam Hollier trailed State Rep. Shri Thanedar by five percentage points Wednesday morning, with 95% of the votes counted. In this race, 34% of AIPAC's spending '-- $1.4 million '-- paid for attack ads against Thanedar, who sponsored legislation last year calling Israel an apartheid state and urging Congress to halt military aid.

In both Michigan House primaries, the candidates seized on AIPAC's investment to grab the attention of national media and rally their bases '-- whether AIPAC worked for or against them. On eve of the primary, Levin's campaign acknowledged that in spite of the negative ads, donors had contributed a healthy $300,000 to his campaign in July.

Nationally in the primaries, AIPAC mostly backed the winners.

Since it was launched last December , its United Democracy Project has spent $26 million on television ads and mailers in nine highly competitive races. AIPAC aligned with the victor of seven of those races '-- 78% of the battles they picked. The group suffered a loss, though, in the most high-profile of those contests, in Pennsylvania's 12th District, which includes Pittsburgh. There AIPAC boasted that the candidate they backed '-- Steve Irwin, who lost to Summer Lee '-- closed a 25-point deficit in the polls.

Pleased with its record in the primaries, AIPAC seemed to take pride in progressives' criticism of their effectiveness, including Sen. Bernie Sanders' declaration of ''war'' on the group for defeating candidates he had endorsed. In a July 5 email to supporters, AIPAC highlighted a Forward article about their political battle headlined '' Bernie Sanders went to 'war' with AIPAC. Now the pro-Israel lobby is pushing back '' '-- and encouraged them ''to read and share it widely.''

AIPAC's significant expenditures have not always paid off for the group.

In 2015, AIPAC spent nearly $30 million to defeat the Iran nuclear deal former President Barack Obama negotiated only to see the Senate approve the deal.

This year, a different approach worked: support moderate Democrats in tight primaries against progressives who have voiced criticism of Israel. AIPAC didn't back candidates running against Israel critics Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan or Ilhan Omar of Minnesota in the primaries '-- Tlaib won her primary by a comfortable margin and Omar is favored to win a third term.

AIPAC aims to send a clear message that they still control the pro-Israel agenda on Capitol Hill. Its United Democracy Project said in a statement Tuesday night that it ''will continue to engage in elections where there is an unambiguous choice between a pro-Israel candidate and a detractor of the U.S.-Israel relationship.''

An AIPAC spokesperson said the group has 1.8 million members ''and growing.''

'‹'‹

Jacob Kornbluh is the Forward's senior political reporter. Follow him on Twitter @jacobkornbluh or email [email protected] .

Dutch Central Bank Admits It Has Prepared For A New Gold Standard | ZeroHedge

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Mon, 20 Nov 2023 16:08

By Jan Nieuwenhuijs, of Gainesville Coins

In a recent interview the Dutch central bank (DNB) shares it has equalized its gold reserves, relative to GDP, to other countries in the eurozone and outside of Europe. This has been a political decision. If there is a financial crisis the gold price will skyrocket, and official gold reserves can be used to underpin a new gold standard, according to DNB. These statements confirm what I have been writing for the past years about central banks having prepared for a new international gold standard.

Wouldn't a central bank that has one primary objective'--maintaining price stability'--serve its mandate best by communicating the currency it issues can be relied upon in all circumstances? By saying gold will be the safe haven of choice during a financial collapse, DNB confesses its own currency (the euro) does not weather all storms. Indirectly, DNB encourages people to own gold to be protected from financial shocks, making the transition towards a gold based monetary system more likely.

Old gold vault of DNB in AmsterdamHow to Prepare for a Gold StandardIn my latest article on this subject'--''Europe Has Been Preparing a Global Gold Standard Since the 1970s. Part 2'''--I have demonstrated that central banks of medium and large economies in the eurozone have balanced their official gold reserves, proportionally to GDP, to prepare for a gold standard (/gold price targeting system). My analysis was pieced together by scarce quotes from central banks and data of European gold and foreign exchange holdings. My conclusion was that several medium-size economies in Europe (the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and Portugal) sold large amounts of gold from the early 1990s to 2008 to come on par with France, Germany, and Italy. I wrote:

Seemingly there are guidelines in the eurozone for national central banks to hold an appropriate amount of gold relative to GDP.

In another article, I revealed that in the early 1990s the People's Bank of China (PBoC) was buying the gold DNB was selling. By selling gold Europe was allowing developing countries to buy gold and come on par with the West. China too has expressed its desire to bring its gold holdings more in line with the size of its economy, just like the Europeans, and thus to international averages. From Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad in 1993:

China announced that it is working to build up its [gold] reserves in order to bring it more in line with the size of Chinese GDP.

The above, and DNB's most recent confirmation of leveling reserves, implies there are international agreements on the distribution of gold holdings.

Evenly spread gold reserves internationally are a prerequisite for a smooth transition to a gold standard. If some countries own too much and others too little, as was the case in the 1970s, a newly implemented gold standard would prove to be deflationary because the ones with too little gold would have to buy in, pushing up the real price of gold. As long as official gold reserves are evenly spread the nominal gold price can be increased to what is suited for all countries, before introducing a new system.

Another sign of Europe having prepared for a new gold arrangement are the repatriations by several countries. In the eurozone Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Austria repatriated (and redistributed) bullion for security reasons, while keeping a substantial share of their assets in liquid markets such as London. Additionally, Germany, France, and Sweden, that we know of, have upgraded gold bars that didn't adhere to current wholesale industry standards so now all their metal can be traded instantly.

Last but not least, European central banks' communication about gold has become unequivocally clear and candid. Stating ''gold is the bedrock of stability for the international monetary system'' (Germany), ''gold is an excellent hedge against adversity'' (Italy), ''gold is '... considered to be the ultimate store of value'' (France), and gold ''may play a stabilising role '... in times of structural changes in the international financial system or deep geopolitical crises'' (Hungary). Remarkable statements from entities tasked with guaranteeing financial stability.

Dutch Central Bank Comes Clean on Gold StrategyWhen I asked European central banks about a legal requirement to equalize their gold reserves, two of them replied there is no such obligation. Which is strange given the obvious aligning of reserves over the past decades, illustrated in the charts below, and the new comments by DNB.

International gold reserves as a percentage of GDP in the eurozone, 1970''date.Monetary gold reserves and gold sales relative to GDP in the eurozoneDNB provides an explanation in the aforementioned interview by revealing that their gold policy is set in consultation with its shareholder, the Ministry of Finance of the Netherlands. The idea of balancing gold reserves was first conceived in the 1970s and then executed from the early 1990s until 2008. With no legal requirements for European central banks to balance reserves, the seeds of their actions could be found at their respective governments.

My Freedom of Information (FOI) requests about this subject submitted at DNB have never yielded results because DNB is exempt from such inquiries. This week I have sent FOIs to the Dutch Ministry of Finance to find out what gold policy agreements governments have made internationally. To be continued.

Interview TranscriptThe interview with Aerdt Houben, Director of Financial Markets for DNB, was conducted by Anna Dijkman from Het Financieele Dagblad. The following is a translation of the most important part of the conversation (in the first segment we hear Dijkman make a few comments for the listener in between Houben's talk):

HOUBEN: 612 tonnes of gold. That's our total holdings. It's worth about '‚¬35 billion euros at the moment and we have diversified it around the world, as a good investor should. We've spread it over four locations, with about 30% in the Netherlands, just over 30% in New York at the Federal Reserve, over 20% in Canada and 18% in London.

The gold really goes way back. At the end of the nineteenth century DNB started accumulating gold, which was important to establish confidence in our currency.

DIJKMAN (narrator): The Netherlands was on the gold standard at that time. That means money was backed by gold at the central bank. People could always exchange their banknotes for gold. That lasted until 1936. After World War II, another monetary system based on gold was introduced: Bretton Woods. More than 40 countries agreed with each other that their currencies had a fixed exchange rate against the dollar. The dollar, in turn, could be exchanged for gold at a fixed price.

HOUBEN: The Dutch guilder was actually stable to gold via the dollar. We received dollars when we had surpluses and we lost dollars when we had deficits. And the dollars were redeemable in gold.

DIJKMAN (narrator): Those surpluses and deficits Houben talks about have to do with international trade. The Netherlands, as well as other countries, exported more than it imported and therefore we had a surplus.

HOUBEN: As a result of the surplus our gold reserves increased, or we got more dollars that we converted into gold. We kept asking the Americans, can you convert our dollars into gold? We became owners of gold that was at the Federal Reserve in New York, and it's still there.

The Americans made losses from their trade relationships. Eventually it was unsustainable for them to lose more and more gold reserves. In 1971, President Nixon announced America's departure from Bretton Woods. But by then we had over 1,700 tonnes of gold. Yes, we did very well then.

DIJKMAN (narrator): Since the 1970s, gold had no role in the monetary system. But we and other countries had substantial reserves.

HOUBEN: The beauty of gold is that it's stable in value, it retains its value. That's one of the reasons why central banks hold gold. Gold has intrinsic value unlike a dollar or any other currency, let alone Bitcoin. Gold has value on its own. It's a fungible product. It's a liquid product, you can buy and sell it almost anywhere in the world. So, it's really an outstanding commodity to base an exchange rate system [gold standard] on.

DIJKMAN: Yet we sold quite a bit of our gold starting in the 1990s. Why?

HOUBEN: Well, I think once you let go of tying your exchange rate to gold, then one of the main reasons for holding that gold is gone. Then you might ask, why are we still holding that gold? Why gold and not a portfolio of stocks or bonds or something else? There are a number of things that make gold very attractive to central banks. Gold is like solidified confidence for the central bank. It's something that has historically fulfilled that role. If we ever unexpectedly have to create a new currency or a systemic risk arises, the public can have confidence in DNB because whatever money we issue, we can back it with the same value in gold [gold standard].

In the 1970s, and we did that exercise again in the 1980s and 1990s, we looked at how much gold we have and whether that was still in proportion. It's a kind of an insurance against systemic risk, and the question was to what extent should we continue to insure against this kind of systemic risk? And then we looked at what globally, what other major central banks were doing. We concluded that we owned too much gold. Our stock of gold was then reduced to about the average of the larger gold holding countries in Europe.

DIJKMAN: We do still rank in the top ten, I think globally.

HOUBEN: We are number seven. Yes, in terms of our GDP. Yes, that's a fine position.

DIJKMAN: So how do you determine what is an appropriate amount then? Because that '‚¬35 billion, that doesn't quite relate to our GDP, does it?

HOUBEN: We have about 4% of our GDP in our gold reserves. And that's comparable to France, Germany, and Italy.

DIJKMAN: Is that the rule of thumb roughly?

HOUBEN: I think to be very honest there is no optimum, so you can't determine objectively what is the optimal level of gold reserves. Just like with insurance, because you don't know when and to what extent a fire is going to occur, and so on. Of course, it also has to do with the shocks of the future, with all kinds of uncertain factors. I think it's just that we as Dutch people want to be a little bit careful. We think it's good to have a certain basis of solvency at the central bank invested in gold.

DIJKMAN: Because you could also say if it's a kind of insurance, for example if the financial system collapses or whatever, shouldn't you have a lot more?

HOUBEN: You could think that. I think it's more than enough, because if everything collapses, then the value of those gold reserves shoots up, it skyrockets. Secondly, you don't have to fully cover it. That's what experience shows, full coverage is only necessary in a country where there are no other mechanisms to support confidence in the central bank.

DIJKMAN: For example, a country like Canada. I think it has sold all gold. Why did they make that choice?

HOUBEN: Why did Norway put all their oil and gas revenue into a fund and not run it into the government's budget like the Netherlands did? Those are choices that were made politically. I do think that is an important point to make here. This is not a choice that DNB makes alone. This is in consultation with our shareholder. And that is of course the Ministry of Finance, with whom we are in close consultation about our balance sheet and the risks we bear. And also the gold reserves, which are part of that.

Read more about the international gold market from the author:

Estimated World Official Gold Holdings Reach Record HighHow Central Banks Can Use Gold Revaluation Accounts in Times of Financial StressZoltan Pozsar, the Four Prices of Money, and the Coming Gold Bull MarketPBoC in a Hurry to Buy Gold: Covertly Bought 593t of Gold YTDEstimated Chinese Official Gold Reserves Cross 5,000 TonnesThe Shanghai International Gold Exchange and Its Role in De-DollarizationLoading...

"Tranhausen By Proxy?" Parents' Personality Disorders Driving Surge In Trans Kids: Psychiatrists | ZeroHedge

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Mon, 20 Nov 2023 15:17

Authored by Darlene McCormick Sanchez via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

(Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock, Freepik)Playing a role in the sudden rise of transgender children may be "transhausen by proxy," a term coined for narcissistic parents who push so-called "gender transitioning" on their children, some experts say.

Celebrities are increasingly in the limelight with announcements about their children who come out as transgender or nonbinary. Nonbinary individuals identify as neither male nor female.

"Transhausen by proxy" isn't an officially recognized psychological condition. It's a play on an official condition known as Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSBP). MSBP is a mental illness that's also sometimes called medical child abuse or factitious disorder imposed on others. It's exhibited mostly by women seeking attention by exaggerating or making up an illness of children or others in their care.

Transhausen by proxy has very real effects on society, experts told The Epoch Times.

They point to headlines like the one on Pride.com in May, which gushes: "15 Celebs Who Are Out & Proud of Their Trans & Nonbinary Kids." The article praises stars such as Cher, Sade, Jennifer Lopez, and Charlize Theron for supporting their children who reject their biological sex.

A young girl at the annual New York City Pride March in New York City on June 25, 2023. Some psychiatrists say parents are to blame in some cases of gender dysphoria. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)Another article by Pink News details how United Kingdom television stars Carrie and David Grant claim three of their four children are transgender or nonbinary.

Ms. Grant is a singer and voice coach. Her husband was part of the '80s band Linx and worked with groups such as the Spice Girls. The couple told the publication they had discussed alternate gender identities before their children "came out."

They're currently pitching their book, "A Very Modern Family," on the topic of "understanding queer and neurodivergent children."

But celebrities aren't the only ones heralding transgender and nonbinary children.

Parents routinely post on social media cheering their children's transition or advocating for "transgender rights." Some parents have been featured in news articles for fleeing red states that block transgender procedures for children and moving to blue states where "gender-affirming care" is allowed.

The increase in cases of gender dysphoria and families with multiple transgender children have led some medical and mental health professionals to suspect psychological illness, such as narcissistic personality disorder, is involved.

A Parent-Fueled Condition?Dr. Erica Li is a pediatrician in Spokane, Washington, who considers herself an old-school liberal. She's not necessarily against gender transitioning. Early in her career, she considered becoming a pediatrician specializing in gender dysphoria.

However, she began to question why doctors were advocating for medical procedures to transition children without solid scientific evidence that the procedures came with an overwhelming benefit for their young patients, she told The Epoch Times.

If the cause of gender dysphoria is unknown in a patient and the prognosis of treatment is uncertain, then radical treatment with morbid side effects isn't justified, she said.

Dr. Li believes contemporary gender medicine is no longer based on reality. Now, she said, it's more about ideology. And the outcomes and long-term side effects of treating gender dysphoria are "murky."

Until recently, gender dysphoria was rare and occurred mainly in young males. Left untreated, the condition often resolves naturally after puberty. In some cases, children struggling with gender dysphoria turned out to be gay, according to studies.

But in recent years, many in favor of "gender-affirming care" argue that medical interventions save lives by reducing suicidal tendencies in youth. They assert that it's a human right for people to be able to identify as the opposite sex and that society must be accepting.

Dr. Li now, in some cases, sees another force at work'--parents with personality disorders.

Narcissism, which has similarities to MSBP, may contribute to the proliferation of gender dysphoria claims and shouldn't be ignored, she said.

Some experts believe narcissist parents are playing a part in the upward trend of gender dysphoria among children. Children attend a New York City Pride March in New York City on June 25, 2023. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)"The narcissism of some of these mothers has to be exposed," she said.

Mothers, in particular, may use the attention from having a transgender child to climb the social hierarchy, she said. She's not the only medical professional to feel this way. MSBP in parents has been described by insiders working in gender clinics in the United States and abroad, Dr. Li said. The condition is associated with what's known in personality research as the "Dark Triad," she said.

Those exhibiting the Dark Triad express Machiavellianism, which uses deception to win power. They also express underlying psychopathy, such as amoral behavior. And they express narcissism, which is the need for admiration coupled with an absence of empathy for others.

'Transhausen by Proxy'In February, Jamie Reed, a former case manager at the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital, exposed practices at the clinic and described parents who were adamant about transitioning their children.

Her revelations became the catalyst for Missouri lawmakers to draft a law barring hormone therapy for minors.

In a July article appearing in LGBT Courage Coalition, Ms. Reed wrote about how children at the clinic were the victims of "one parent's own psychological needs."

"As horrible as this is to say, I did see parents (primarily moms) who showed signs of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy," Ms. Reed wrote.

Ms. Reed, a lesbian and mother of five, described how the center tore families apart when both parents didn't agree to putting their children on hormones.

Fathers often attempted to stop the medical transitioning of their children, she wrote. And staff, she wrote, often referred to those fathers as "idiots" or said they had "patriarchal issues."

"Often the dads were fighting for the most reasonable things'--more time in therapy, therapy with a provider who would actually explore where his child's desire to escape his or her own body was coming from, time to allow mental health professionals to do proper psychotherapy."

Ms. Reed wrote that she no longer trusts "affirming" doctors because they are "blinded by ideology."

Likewise, in the United Kingdom, the Tavistock and Portman gender clinics accepted about 30 children under the age of 5 in the two-year period ending in 2022, according to National Health Service data. About half were younger than 4.

Dr. Az Hakeem , a psychiatrist who worked at the Portman Clinic until 2012, was quoted by The Telegraph and the Daily Mail as saying he was concerned with cases that smacked of "transhausen by proxy."

Dr. Hakeem told the news outlets he saw a significant number of grieving parents who had lost a child and eventually had another baby. Some parents wanted to transition the later-born child to the sex of the child who died.

Activist Chris Elston, known as Billboard Chris (2nd L), embraces a supporter as he demonstrates against ''gender-affirming'' treatments and surgeries on minors, outside of Boston Children's Hospital in Massachusetts on September 18, 2022. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)Loading...

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VIDEO - 'Dutch Trump' wins big in Netherlands general election: Far-Right firebrand Geert Wilders who was banned from Britain for being too extreme is set to sweep into power in Holland | Daily Mail Online

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The far-right firebrand politician who was banned from Britain for being too extreme is set to sweep into power in Holland.

Geert Wilders, known as the 'Dutch Trump', is projected to be the shock winner of the Dutch general election, exit polls suggested on Wednesday - paving the way for a political earthquake that will be felt far beyond the country's borders.

His PVV (Freedom Party) won 35 seats in parliament, according to the Ipsos exit poll, comfortably winning the election, with the centre-right bloc on 23 seats and a left-wing bloc on 26.

If confirmed in the final results, Wilders' victory marks a sharp lurch to the right that will be viewed with trepidation in Brussels - the PVV has promised a referendum on Dutch membership of the European Union.

Wilders has built a career from his self-appointed mission to stop an 'Islamic invasion' of the west, but during his campaign sought to tone down his message, saying he could put some of his more strident views on Islam 'in the freezer'.

PVV leader Geert Wilders is seen casting his vote in the Dutch General Elections on November 22, 2023 in The Hague, Netherlands. Voters go to the polls in a snap general election called two years early.

If confirmed in the final results, Geert Wilders' victory marks a sharp lurch to the right that will be viewed with trepidation in Brussels - the PVV has promised a referendum on Dutch membership of the European Union (File Photo)

He stressed he would be prime minister for everyone 'regardless of their religion, background, sex or whatever', and insisted the ongoing cost-of-living crisis was a bigger priority. But his opponents allege his PVV manifesto tells a different story.

Wilders is known as the 'Dutch Trump', partly for his swept-back dyed hairstyle that resembles the former US president, but also for his rants against immigrants and Muslims.

From calling Moroccans 'scum' to holding competitions for cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, Wilders has built a career from his self-appointed mission to stop an 'Islamic invasion' of the West.

With hallmark Wilders rhetoric, the PVV manifesto says: 'Asylum-seekers feast on delightful free cruise-ship buffets while Dutch families have to cut back on groceries.'

The programme proposes a ban on Islamic school, Korans and mosques. Headscarves would be banned from government buildings. 'The Netherlands is not an Islamic country,' it adds.

A 'binding referendum' would be held on a 'Nexit' - the idea of the Netherlands leaving the EU. The PVV also calls for an 'immediate halt' to development aid.

On foreign policy, the parallels to Trump are clear. 'Netherlands first,' trumpets the manifesto.

The PVV would move the Dutch embassy to Jerusalem to support Israel, a 'close friend and the one true democracy in the Middle East'.

Wilders has remained defiant despite brushes with the law and death threats that have meant he has been under constant police protection since 2004.

'I don't regret fighting for freedom,' Wilders told AFP in an interview ahead of elections in 2021. 'Of course I take a stand. I am under attack, my country is under attack.'

He was found guilty of discrimination in 2016 over comments he made against Moroccans living in the Netherlands and has previously likened the Koran to Adolf Hitler's 'Mein Kampf', saying both books should be banned.

General election in the Netherlands in a historic moment citizens vote for the next government. Dutch voters go the polls, they line up to cast their ballots in Eindhoven on November 22,

General election in the Netherlands in a historic moment citizens vote for the next government. Dutch voters go the polls, they line up to cast their ballots in Eindhoven on November 2

Supporters of Dutch far-right politician and leader of the PVV party Geert Wilders react to the exit poll and early results in the Dutch parliamentary elections, in The Hague, Netherlands November 22, 2023

Supporters of Dutch far-right politician and leader of the PVV party Geert Wilders react to the exit poll and early results in the Dutch parliamentary elections, in The Hague, Netherlands November 22, 2023

Although Wilders appeared to have triumphed in the polls on Wednesday, it is not clear he will be able to garner the necessary support for a broad enough coalition to form a workable government.

All the leaders of the three other top parties have said they would not serve in a PVV-led coalition.

'I call on the parties. Until now, we were in a campaign. Now the campaign is over and the voters have spoken. Now we will have to look for agreements with each other,' said Wilders.

'With a wonderful position of 35 seats, the PVV can no longer be ignored,' he said.

Immigration was the key topic of the campaign and his hardline stance, including closing the borders and deporting illegal immigrants, seemed to have resonated with Dutch voters.

'The Dutch hope that the people can get their country back and that we will ensure that the tsunami of asylum-seekers and immigration is reduced,' Wilders said.

Kate Parker, from the Economist Intelligence Unit, said it would lead to 'constitutional stalemate' in the EU's fifth-largest economy.

But Wilders, as he voted, told reporters: 'It might not be what other parties in Europe or in other countries strive for but, hey, that's democracy.'

Dutch far-right politician and leader of the PVV party, Geert Wilders votes during the Dutch parliamentary elections, in The Hague, Netherlands November 22, 2023

PVV leader Geert Wilders is seen casting his vote in the Dutch General Elections on November 22, 2023 in The Hague, Netherlands

Dutch far-right politician and leader of the PVV party, Geert Wilders votes at a polling station during the Dutch parliamentary elections, in The Hague, Netherlands November 22, 2023

Wilders was forced to shelve plans for a cartoon competition of the Prophet Mohammed in 2018 after receiving death threats.

He was competing in his sixth election, having come close to pulling off a stunning upset more than once.

'When I left my old party (the VVD)... I said one day we will become the biggest party,' Wilders told reporters while casting his vote.

If the exit polls are confirmed, his decades-old prediction looks to have come true.

Born in 1963 in southern Venlo, close to the German border, Wilders grew up in a Catholic family with his brother and two sisters.

His mother was half-Indonesian, a fact Wilders rarely mentions.

He developed an interest in politics in the 1980s, his older brother Paul told Der Spiegel magazine.

'He was neither clearly on the left or the right at the time, nor was he xenophobic. But he was fascinated by the political game, the struggle for power and influence,' Paul Wilders said.

PVV leader Geert Wilders is seen casting his vote in the Dutch General Elections on November 22, 2023 in The Hague, Netherlands

Geert Wilders gets into a car outside a polling station on the day he votes during the Dutch parliamentary elections, in The Hague, Netherlands November 22, 2023

His hatred of Islam appeared to have developed slowly. He spent time in Israel on a kibbutz, witnessing first-hand tensions with the Palestinians.

He was also shocked by the assassinations of far-right leader Pim Fortuyn in 2002 and the radical anti-Islam filmmaker Theo van Gogh in 2004.

'I remember my legs were shaking with shock and indignation,' he wrote in a 2012 book discussing when he heard the news of Van Gogh's murder. 'I can honestly say that I felt anger, not fear.'

Wilders entered politics in 1998 in the Liberal VVD party. During his early days in politics he started dying his brown hair blonde and learned his media-savvy ways, even as his views became increasingly silenced.

Over the years he vowed not to be silenced, despite being convicted of insulting Moroccan-Dutch citizens.

Indeed, that high-profile trial boosted his visibility only months after Brexit and just as Donald Trump won the US presidential race.

In 2006 he quit the VVD to found his own party and in 2017 it became the second largest in parliament, falling back to third largest in 2021.

By tapping into a seam of Dutch discontent Wilders also managed to push the political discourse in the Netherlands to the right.

But Wilders also cut an isolated figure. He was married to a Hungarian woman, but they had no children. When not posting anti-Islamic invective on his one social media account, he posted pictures of their cats on another.

His party consisted of just one person: himself. And his security meant he had little contact with the outside world.

'Geert's world has become very small,' his brother told Der Spiegel. 'It consists of the parliament, public events and his apartment. He can hardly go anywhere else.'

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Construction continues at possible second Chicago tent camp for migrants

Construction continues at possible second Chicago tent camp for migrants 02:29 CHICAGO (CBS) -- On Tuesday, crews were on the ground getting ready for a second migrant tent base camp at 115th and Halsted.

CBS 2's Sabrina Franza had the latest on the site's progress while also digging deeper into city data to figure out where new arrivals are ending up before those camps can open.

CBS 2 got a look at the construction at 115th and Halsted to possibly make way for a migrant tent base camp. The fence was up. Crews were on the ground, and equipment was on site. and after multiple complaints about a lack of transparency, CBS 2 is also hearing from the local alderman.

The cement was churning. The entrance was closed.

The big question was still when the lot might be open to migrants.

Sources told CBS 2 that at least at the 115th and Halsted location, it could be weeks or a month. That would depend, just like it did at 38th and California in Brighton Park, on an environmental assessment, which was underway.

At 38th and California, it's been over a month, and protesters were still outside rallying against the plans. Nevertheless, construction continued.

"Everybody takes a turn," said one resident, who asked his name not be revealed. "They can stop in the morning. I was supposed to be at work today, but I saw less people so I came to help them out."

The neighbor said his biggest complaint is also transparency.

CBS 2 asked for more clarity on where migrants were going. City data show that as of Nov. 9, there were 2,537 migrants staying in police stations and 12,063 in shelters.

A few days later, on Nov. 13, 737 fewer people were at police stations, but there was only about 200 more people at shelters.

On Monday, the number showed even fewer people at police stations, a few more were in shelters, but overall, over 700 people were unaccounted for. The city said Chicago might not be their final destination.

The mayor's office said the number of people at police districts has decreased because of placement in shelters, out migration, resettlement and other factors.

As far as the Morgan Park Commons goes, the housing, retail, and park space that's supposed to come to the 115th and Halsted site after the possible tent base camp is taken down.

CBS 2 was told the work that's going on currently is supposed to make it cheaper and easier for the Commons to move in once crews break ground in 2024.

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VIDEO - Where did San Francisco's homeless go during APEC? Here's what we uncovered - YouTube

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VIDEO - Crews clear out homeless people ahead of APEC summit in San Francisco '' NBC Bay Area

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VIDEO - How weight-loss drugs could transform holiday dinners - Good Morning America

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wellness November 21, 2023 With many taking medications for weight loss, some are shifting their habits during Thanksgiving and other holiday meals.

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VIDEO - MSNBC - Morning Joe - Richard Haas - Time for deal on Ukraine

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VIDEO - Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says OpenAI governance needs to change

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Tue, 21 Nov 2023 00:47

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told CNBC's Jon Fortt on Monday that the governance structure of OpenAI needs to change, three days after the sudden firing CEO Sam Altman.

"At this point, I think it's very clear that something has to change around the governance," Nadella said. He added that Microsoft would have "a good dialogue with their board on that."

In his first press interview since Altman's ouster, Nadella dismissed concerns of long-term damage at OpenAI and said that the critical artificial intelligence research continues as does the partnership with Microsoft. But his comments didn't clear up confusion surrounding where Altman and fellow OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, who was the company's chairman, will ultimately end up.

Early Monday morning Nadella said that Altman, Brockman and their colleagues would join Microsoft as part of a new AI research group. That post followed news that ex-Twitch CEO Emmett Shear had been named OpenAI interim head as Altman looked to depart. Over the course of Monday, it became less evident that Altman and Brockman would actually be joining Microsoft.

Hundreds of OpenAI employees signed a letter to the company's board demanding that they resign or else the staffers may choose to leave and join their former boss at Microsoft.

Nadella said it's the choice of OpenAI employees whether they stay in their current roles or move to Microsoft, adding that his company has what it needs to keep innovating on its own.

"I'm open to both options," he said.

The rapid reinstatement of Altman began to look like a possibility on Saturday as news surfaced that a group of prominent investors, including Microsoft, Tiger Global, Thrive Capital and Sequoia Capital were working to reverse the board's decision from a day earlier. None of those firms had board seats, and they were caught unaware by the decision.

In a post on X late Saturday night, Altman wrote, "i love the openai team so much." Brockman, who quit the company after the board removed him as chairman alongside the ouster of Altman, reposted the comment with a heart symbol. Other OpenAI employees did the same.

Nadella told Fortt that Microsoft respects OpenAI's nonprofit roots and shares its belief that AI needs to be developed and rolled out in a safe manner.

"We want to make sure that we're dealing with not only the benefits of technology, but the unintended consequences of the technology from day one, as opposed to waiting for things to happen," Nadella said.

WATCH: A timeline of the drama between Sam Altman, OpenAI and Microsoft

VIDEO - (2)Jordan Peterson #Usa #America #conservative #fyp #fyp #polytricks #jor... | jordan peterson maher | TikTok

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VIDEO - Scientist Explains How Climate Crisis Would Be Averted If Greta Thunberg Just Tried A Little Harder - YouTube

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VIDEO - Lafayette College students speak out after DoE announces investigation of school | Lehigh Valley Regional News | wfmz.com

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EASTON, Pa. - It's the weekend of the yearly rivalry between Lafayette College and Lehigh University.

While students on College Hill are preparing for the big game, news that Lafayette is among seven schools being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education for complaints of antisemitism and Islamophobia is filtering through campus.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona says the complaints arose following the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

"The level of intensity is really high and I think we need to match it with a level of response that meets the moment. We need to be listening to our students," said Cardona.

The investigation is focused on whether the schools violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act that mandates schools provide an environment free from discrimination.

The DOE did not specify what might have spurred the Lafayette complaint.

In a letter on the college's website, College President Nicole Hurd said, "The OCR letter states, 'The Complainant alleges that the College discriminated against students on the basis of national origin (shared Jewish ancestry) by failing to respond to incidents of harassment in October 2023.' There was a problematic poster at a peaceful event on Oct. 25 that was quickly addressed."

"We find any OCR complaint concerning and are fully cooperating with their review," Hurd said.

"At the same time, we have not seen incidents like those that have occurred at other campuses. To the contrary, as recently as last week, students of differing views shared a peaceful gathering on campus to honor all those who have died in the recent violence in the Middle East. This event was typical of how our campus community has acted during this time."

But an Oct. 27 article from Lafayette's newspaper reported on a peaceful protest on campus that sparked controversy when one student held a sign that said "From the River to the Sea," a phrase considered antisemitic.

In a statement earlier Friday, Lafayette officials say they do not know why they were included in the investigation, and that the school maintains a firm stance against antisemitism, Islamophobia and hate speech of any kind.

Students on campus say they were surprised to hear about the allegations, but that the Israel-Hamas war has been a topic of interest on campus.

"I think that there have definitely been a lot of different, like scholarly talks that have happened on campus, I think on social media, that's when we see the biggest amount of polarized opinions and people speaking out," said student Alex Thurtle.

"My professors have asked if people need anything during this time, they need any resources or support really," said student Gracie Gibson.

The other schools on the list are Cornell, Columbia, Wellsley, Cooper Union, University of Pennsylvania, an unidentified K-12, and a school district in Kansas.

DOE officials say just because a school is on the list does not mean it has violated the law.

But if the allegations have merit, it could impact funding.

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VIDEO - Open Forum, Part 1 | November 19, 2023 | C-SPAN.org

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November 19, 2023 | Part Of Washington Journal 11/19/2023 Washington Journal2023-11-19T07:00:07-05:00 https://ximage.c-spanvideo.org/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwaWN0dXJlcy5jLXNwYW52aWRlby5vcmciLCJrZXkiOiJGaWxlc1wvZTI1XC8wMDFcLzE3MDAzOTU2NzdfMDAxLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJmaXQiOiJjb3ZlciIsImhlaWdodCI6NTA2fX19 Viewers commented on House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) statement on a cable news show that many Americans misunderstand separation of church and state, that it is a ''misnomer.''Viewers commented on House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) statement on a cable news show that many Americans misunderstand separation of church and state, that it is a ''misnomer.''

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