July 28th • 3h 16m
Shownotes
Every new episode of No Agenda is accompanied by a comprehensive list of shownotes curated by Adam while preparing for the show. Clips played by the hosts during the show can also be found here.
Biden
Can't have Joe step down and put Kamala in charge, or she will be blamed for everything. But this Daddy Long Legs is a visual problem
LEAVING LAS VEGAS - Seymour Hersh
By Saturday, July 20, former President Barack Obama was deeply involved, and there was talk that he would place a call to Biden. It was not clear whether Biden had been examined or just what happened to him in Las Vegas. “The Big Three,” the official said, referring to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, continued to be directly involved. “On Sunday morning,” the official told me, with the approval of Pelosi and Schumer, “Obama called Biden after breakfast and said, ‘Here’s the deal. We have Kamala’s approval to invoke the 25th Amendment.” The amendment provides that when the president is determined by the vice president and others to be unfit to carry out the powers and duties of his office, the vice president shall assume those duties.
“It was clear at this point,” the official said, “that she would get the nod”—that is, the support to run for the presidency in the November election. “But Obama also made it clear,” the official said, “that he was not going to immediately endorse her. But the group had decided that her work as a prosecutor would help her deal with Trump in a debate.”
Biden's bruises, possibly hospital CPAP mask
I'm not sure we'll ever know for certain, but the placement of the
bruises is consistent with where a hospital CPAP would be. The nurses
are supposed to take it off every few hours and change the padding so it
doesn't cause pressure sores or skin break down.
It looks like somebody either left the CPAP mask on too long, or jammed
it onto his face forcefully during a desaturation event.
3 EOs in July. Is Bid3n in control of anything
Olympics
Olympics ceremony different take
But the official X account for the Olympic Games shared photos of the moment and referenced the Greek god Dionysus, not “The Last Supper.”
“The interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings
Christian Nationalism
Transmaoism
ATC DEI BOTG
Responding to your discussion about hiring air traffic controllers… in 2023, there were over 12,000 applicants and only 1,500 applicants were selected. At first glance this may seem like the FAA has a highly selective process but you’d be wrong to assume that. The generation that is joining the workforce is the generation of children who have been on ADHD medication since they were in preschool. As you’re aware but others may not be, you can‘t control airplanes if you’ve ever been on or are currently on SSRI’s without a medical waiver, which takes years to get from a flight surgeon and would never happen for a new hire. So 20 something’s are now feeling one of the many very real consequences of their parents allowing over zealous doctors to indiscriminately prescribe adderall and antidepressants to them as children. Along with that, yes, you and John were correct in your assessment that they are probably doing a lot of DEI hiring. Sort of. That’s been happening for about 10 years and failing miserably so now we’re seeing an influx of boring white men come through the door because who would’ve guessed it, the people who dominated the career field before DEI are the same people who are good at the job. I can say this because I’m not a white man. And while I’ve got your ear, let me complain that DEI has actually caused pilots to question me and doubt me because they hear my voice and assume I’m a DEI hire instead of a competent controller who has been doing this job for a total of 15 years including military time. DEI erodes all good things.
Big Pharma
Leaked documents: German gov't lied about shots preventing COVID, knew lockdowns did more harm than good - LifeSite
Leaked documents from a top German health agency show that politicians knew the experimental COVID shots did not prevent the transmission of the virus but advocated for jab mandates anyway.
On July 23, independent journalist Aya Velázquez published the un-redacted miutes of the German Robert Koch Institut (RKI, comparable to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) from its meetings regarding the COVID crisis between 2020 and 2023. Velázquez said she received the un-redacted documents from a whistleblower who used to work for the RKI. Parts of the so-called “RKI files” had already been published in March this year, after the RKI was forced to publish them due to a lawsuit. However, many key parts of the files had been redacted.
Velázquez wrote that the now fully un-redacted files show “that the RKI unfortunately spoke out in favor of both facility-based and general compulsory vaccination despite the knowledge of the lack of protection from transmission and serious side effects.”
The minutes from an RKI meeting on November 5, 2021, demonstrate that the idea of a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” that was propagated by politicians and mainstream media members was made up and not based on any facts.
“The media are talking about a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” the minutes state. “From a factual point of view this is not correct, the entire population is contributing. Should this be taken up in communication?”
Boeing vs Airbus
Kamala
Indian Paranoia BOTG
I don't know what you and John have been seeing this past election cycle but all I've been seeing is Indians, Indians, Indians. Indians everywhere! You got Vivek. You got your Nimrata, I mean, Nikki Haley. Sanjay Gupta has been a "playa in the game". "Don't forget about me" says Dinesh D'Souza. Where is Bobby Jindal? He was great. He had that "southern fried" Carter thing.
Bring back Jindal!
But it's OK because now we have JD Vance's wife; Usha Chilukuri Vance.
I think there' something at play with India.
I think the Republicans wanted an Indian in the White House.
I think Usha is an important chess piece.
After all Melania is Slavic; I think this counts for something in a "post imperial" USA world. I'm sure the Major Players behind Trump consider this an added bonus.
Does this tie into the deportation issue? How about the tech sector?
Here's an NPR blurb from 2015 about Modi, the prime minister of India, being irked about the "brain drain" of Indians going to the US.
[https://www.npr.org/2015/09/28/444236937/indias-prime-minister-urges-indians-to-stay-in-their-country](https://www.npr.org/2015/09/28/444236937/indias-prime-minister-urges-indians-to-stay-in-their-country)
I posted these articles on our NA telegram 2 years ago just because it was so fascinating. The world of Indians in Silicon Valley is a world we just don't know much about..
[https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-09-06/hindu-nationalism-grows-in-the-united-states](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-09-06/hindu-nationalism-grows-in-the-united-states)
"At Google this year, [a talk about caste equity was canceled](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/02/google-caste-equality-labs-tanuja-gupta/) after some employees accused the speaker of being anti-Hindu"
My Favorite. It's an Indian on Indian hate crime at Taco Bell! Taco Bell; a great member of the No Agenda mythos.
[https://www.yahoo.com/news/indian-american-charged-hate-crime-214807280.html](https://www.yahoo.com/news/indian-american-charged-hate-crime-214807280.html)
“F*ck Indira Gandhi, n*gga,” Tejinder can be heard saying at one point in the video
I'm really wondering what John thinks of all this drama with Indians and Silicon Valley.. It seems newer but maybe he has some stories.
On a BOTG level. In Indianapolis on one of the main drags where all the restaurants and shopping are there are several new Indian establishments. And they are for Indians. I go into a snack shop and I am the only white dude there. But I keep my head down and stay polite because I am a foodie. But everything I've ever ordered has been way too spicy. There are a few remaining Indian restaurants that have been around for years that do the "easier/less spicy" cuisine. But all these new guys are South Indian and they dont mess around. I got up to use the bathroom at a South Indian style buffet and they cleaned off my table and sat someone else because "they thought I was done." My most recent and probably last visit they asked me mid-meal if I could move to another table so they could use my table to make a big table for a party.
I will miss those strange South Indian flavors.
Thanks for listening,
Nick
P.S. Vivek is a Brahmin.
Border Czar HR RES 253
Big Tech AI and Socials
STORIES
Von der Leyen promises 'European Democracy Shield' to combat foreign interference at EU level '' Euractiv
Sun, 28 Jul 2024 17:14
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has promised to build up new capabilities and 'structures' at the EU level to battle foreign interference as part of her reelection campaign, while EU countries seek to review existing tools to maximise their effectiveness.
While visiting Copenhagen on Tuesday (14 May) as a part of her reelection campaign trail, she named the initiative the 'European Democracy Shield' and vowed, if reelected, to make it one of her priorities to ''create new common capabilities at the European level'' similar to France's agency against online foreign interference, VIGINUM.
''This should be an ambitious European project that focuses on the biggest threats from foreign interference and manipulation,'' she said.
This announcement comes as EU institutions face increased pressure to shield the bloc's continent-wide elections from foreign interference and espionage from Russia and China involving European politicians.
''I believe Europe now needs its own dedicated structure for countering foreign interference. It will pool the necessary expertise and link up and coordinate with existing national agencies,'' she added.
Von der Leyen wants to boost foreign malign content detection and dismantle capabilities at the EU level.
She also wants to build on existing frameworks, such as the enforcement of the Digital Services Act '' the EU's online platform's conduct rulebook, which includes rules to address disinformation '' and a follow-up to the AI Act to battle the spread of deep fakes which, von der Leyen said, ''can have a very destabilising role in electoral campaigns.''
EU countries keen to assess current tools It is unclear what shape these new ''structures'' will take and to what extent countries are ready to bring up to the EU-level intelligence and operative power currently handled nationally.
Pressed to react following new foreign interference allegations, leaders launched in mid-April a temporary crisis task force to centralise monitoring and sharing of information on Russia's attempts to interfere in June's European elections.
A permanent system will be considered after that, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, whose country currently holds the EU Council presidency, said.
He also seeks to expand the EU's public prosecutor mandate to include foreign interference threats.
However, according to the final draft of the EU Council conclusions on democratic resilience, obtained by Euractiv, country leaders are poised to take a more pragmatic approach than von der Leyen's campaign promises, instead focusing on the existing instruments available.
It is expected to be formally adopted in the coming days.
Existing structures After June's EU elections, the EU Council is expected to ask EU top diplomat Josep Borrell and the Commission to audit the effectiveness of existing mechanisms and tools and ''report on any issues and gaps identified ('...) so that they can be rectified.''
As one concrete measure, the EU countries plan to ask them ''to move swiftly with the establishment'' of the Hybrid Rapid Response Teams, whose goal is to counter ''hybrid threats'', including foreign manipulation of information and interference (FIMI).
Otherwise, the draft text encourages member states and EU institutions to ''swiftly and comprehensively use'' the large array of tools handled by the EU's diplomatic service (EEAS) to identify and prevent FIMI actions.
The EU diplomatic arm gathers and provides threat assessments based on its own contributions to share with the EU countries and provides a coordination framework in the Council.
The EU Hybrid, FIMI, and Cyber Diplomacy Toolboxes '' among others '' list every way the EU countries and institutions shall work against FIMI.
Taking action, however, has always remained difficult, as identifying the person and the group behind it can complicate the attribution of wrongdoing and, therefore, any sanctions.
Read more with Euractiv Anti-LGBTQ violence hits 'new high': EU reportViolence and harassment against LGBTQ people in Europe have reached a "new high" in the past few years, according to a survey published Tuesday (14 May) by the European Union's rights agency.
(4) LEAVING LAS VEGAS - Seymour Hersh
Sun, 28 Jul 2024 16:01
President Joe Biden pauses while speaking at the 115th NAACP National Convention at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on July 16 in Las Vegas. / Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.In late 1967, as the Vietnam War was raging and President Lyndon B. Johnson was becoming increasingly unpopular, I was recruited to handle the press and write speeches for Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, the only Democrat gutsy enough to run against the Democratic president.
Months later, working round the clock in a cluttered suite in a New Hampshire motel, I was curious about a courier from New York City who flew up most nights on the last Eastern Airlines flight. The courier would dash to the suite with a canvas bag attached to his wrist and turn it over to one of the campaign's richest and most enthusiastic benefactors. The guy was a multi-millionaire who ran a major stock market fund but was happy to sit in the suite I was then sharing with Richard Goodwin, a real political pro'--unlike me and the college brats on the campaign'--and just watch and do the various errands that needed doing.
One night I asked the millionaire what was in the bag. He threw it to me, with a key. I unlocked it and found myself staring at dozens of shiny packages of 100 dollar bills. I had no idea then or now whether the funds were properly reported and did not ask. So that's how it works, I thought, and I tossed the bag back. I knew then I was not long for the world of presidential politics.
It's not surprising that the long overdue unraveling of President Joe Biden's re-election campaign happened when it became impossible to keep his increasing impairment covered up. It was the big-time money backers of the Democratic Party who called off the game of see no evil, hear no evil, after Biden's shocking performance in his June debate with Donald Trump. They balked at continuing to give millions of dollars to the party now that there was evidence that the president is not always there.
Memorandum on the Delegation of Certain Functions and Authorities Under the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act | The White House
Sun, 28 Jul 2024 15:59
MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE
THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
SUBJECT: Delegation of Certain Functions and Authorities Under the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby order as follows:
Section 1. (a) I hereby delegate to the Secretary of the Treasury the functions and authorities vested in the President by sections 104(a)(1) and 104(a)(2)(A) of the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act (Division F of Public Law 118-50) (the ''Act'').
(b) I hereby delegate to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the functions and authorities vested in the President by sections 104(g), 104(i), 105(c), 105(e), and 105(g) of the Act.
Sec. 2. The delegations in this memorandum shall apply to any provisions of any future public laws that are the same or substantially the same as those provisions referenced in this memorandum.
Sec. 3. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
Memorandum on Delegation of Functions and Authorities Under Section 9902(a)(3)(B) of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 | The White House
Sun, 28 Jul 2024 15:58
MEMORANDUM FOR THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
SUBJECT: Delegation of Functions and Authorities Under Section 9902(a)(3)(B) of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby delegate to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget the functions and authorities vested in the President by section 9902(a)(3)(B) of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-283) with respect to the certification and reporting requirements regarding Federal investments in individual projects exceeding $3 billion.
You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
Memorandum on Delegation of Functions and Authorities Under Sections 1333, 1342, 1352, and 1353 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 | The White House
Sun, 28 Jul 2024 15:58
Next Post: Joint Statement on Strengthening Ukraine's Air Defenses by U.S. President Joseph R. Biden, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Joint Statement on Strengthening Ukraine's Air Defenses by U.S. President Joseph R. Biden, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr ZelenskyyJuly 09, 2024 ' Statements and Releases
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Power Outage In Paris? Videos Emerge Amid Olympic Events | Times Now
Sun, 28 Jul 2024 12:09
Representative Image: Power Outage
Photo : iStock
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Unconfirmed reports indicate power outages across several districts of ParisVideos circulating on social media show parts of Paris in complete darknessThe Olympic events are currently underway in ParisUnconfirmed reports indicate power outages across several districts of Paris during the ongoing Olympics. Videos circulating on social media show parts of Paris in complete darkness. However, these reports remain unverified at this time, and Times Now cannot confirm the authenticity of the videos.
This comes two days after an arson attack on France's high-speed rail network paralyzed train travel to Paris, affecting some 800,000 people across Europe. Authorities described the incident as a "coordinated sabotage" aimed at disrupting travel ahead of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
The French state railway company SNCF announced on X that ''a large number of trains were diverted or canceled,'' and asked ''all travelers who can to postpone their trip and not go to the station.''
No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks yet. No arrests have been made, and suspects have not been identified.
A source told CNN that French intelligence services are "fully mobilized" to find those responsible. The source mentioned that "these methods have been used by the far-left in the past" but "there is no evidence to tie today's actions to them."
Meanwhile, the Paris Olympics opening ceremony faced significant backlash, particularly due to the recreation of the "Last Supper," which many perceived as a "mockery of Christianity." Enraged viewers took to X, where #boycottOlympics and #boycottParis2024 started trending.
"Why on earth would anyone push so much to offend as many Christians as possible? It's insane that this kind of "show" even passed proposal stage. #BoycottOlympics," one person wrote on X.
Another wrote, "What a disgraceful opening to the 2024 Olympics #BoycottOlympics."
Olympic flag raised upside down at end of rain-soaked opening ceremony | The Independent
Sun, 28 Jul 2024 11:57
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The Olympic flag was raised upside down in an embarrassing moment at the very start of Paris 2024, following a spectacular, rain-soaked opening ceremony on the River Seine.
Images of the Olympic flag appeared to show that the five coloured rings of the iconic emblem were in the wrong positions and had been hoisted incorrectly.
The opening ceremony was a three-and-a-half hour spectacle on the River Seine, which saw 85 boats carry almost 7,000 athletes from 205 countries.
The flag was carried into Trocadero by a cloaked rider, who earlier galloped down the Seine on a metal horse draped in a cape emblazoned with the Olympic rings.
The rider, Floriane Issert, then concluded her ride at the closing point of the ceremony before handing it over to be hoisted, as is tradition before the Games are declared open.
At the end of the ceremony, a sparkling performance from the returning Celine Dion lit up the soaked Paris streets after a day of heavy rain threatened to dampen the show.
French three-time Olympic gold medallists Marie-Jose Perec and Teddy Riner lit the Paris 2024 Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony, where it is to burn while the Games are under way in the French capital.
(Getty Images)A dazzling laser show that lit up the Eiffel Tower did its best to pierce the leaden skies over Paris but two hours of unrelenting rain ensured a sodden start for an Olympic opening ceremony like no other.
Meanwhile, a sodden-looking Tom Daley and Helen Glover held the Union flag aloft in front of the 37 other hardy GB athletes willing to expose themselves to the dismal conditions.
Elsewhere, wwo masked figures featured in the opening ceremony, first as a mysterious torchbearer ran across rooftops before a caped rider galloped down the Seine on a metal horse to deliver the Olympic flag.
The rider, a non-commissioned officer in the Gendarmerie Nationale clad in silver armour, concluded her ride at the Trocadero, giving the Olympic flag a majestic entrance before it was hoisted - although the wrong way round.
Earlier, a figure wearing a black cloak, white hood and with their face covered by a dark fencing mask was heavily featured in the three--and-a-half-hour ceremony.
Produced by director Thomas Jolly, the show included appearances from Lady Gaga, Zinedine Zidane and, for some reason, The Minions, before finishing with Dion's return.
(Getty)The 56-year-old singer said in late 2022 that she had been diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called stiff-person syndrome that causes muscle spasms.
The syndrome causes muscle rigidity and increased sensitivity to sound, touch and emotional stimuli that can trigger spasms. The condition led the multiple Grammy winner to cancel all of her tour dates for 2023 and 2024.
The Canadian singer, who started her career singing in French, has not performed live since March 2020, when she appeared in New Jersey.
Dion made a comeback to the live stage on Friday singing Edith Piaf's classic ''L'Hymne A l'Amour'' to close the opening ceremony.
Elon Musk says he's a 'cultural Christian' '' why some leading thinkers are embracing Christianity
Sun, 28 Jul 2024 11:53
The world's richest person, Elon Musk, just announced that he's a ''big believer in the principles of Christianity'' and ''a cultural Christian''. Musk's reasons are moral and political '' he believes Christianity can boost both happiness and birthrates.
Musk joins many western conservative thinkers troubled by a rapidly changing world. Some of these thinkers have embraced Christianity to combat these changes. Yet they often struggle to accept Christianity's central supernatural claims, like Christ's resurrection.
Adopting Christianity at least partly as a way to achieve political ends could backfire. However, such thinkers may have another option. If we can have coffee without caffeine and beer without alcohol, why not Christianity without miracles? Could conservative thinkers embrace ''Christianity-lite'' and still achieve their aims? As an academic who has examined the meeting point between religion and psychology, I find this an intriguing question.
In conservative intellectual circles, the receding tide of Christianity is turning. For some, the appeal is aesthetic. The prominent atheist, Richard Dawkins, calls Christianity's core claims ''obvious nonsense'', but he still identifies as a ''cultural Christian'' because he enjoys hymns and cathedrals.
Others see moral value in Christianity. The British conservative commentator Douglas Murray calls himself a ''Christian atheist'', rejecting key Christian beliefs, but valuing its moral ideas like the ''sanctity of the individual''. US psychologist and media personality Jordan Peterson acts ''as if'' God exists because for him, it provides meaning, purpose and order.
Some see political value in Christianity. Dawkins values it as ''a bulwark against Islam''. Musk thinks it can increase birthrates and prevent population collapse.
When writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali converted to Christianity, she cited political reasons, claiming Christianity was the only way the west could combat ''wokeness'', Islam and authoritarian regimes. She later clarified: ''I choose to believe that Jesus rose from the dead'', yet added, ''what is even more real for me is the wisdom in that story, the morality''.
The evidence for the benefits these thinkers perceive in Christianity is complicated. Researchers argue religion does not create morality, but orientates it towards issues.
Religious people are more likely to hold moral values that maintain social order. These include loyalty, conformity and respect for tradition and authority. They are also more likely to have moral values that promote self-control.
So, conservative thinkers might be right in believing Christianity can support the social order they feel is threatened. But this is not a new idea. Egyptian pharaohs used religion to aid social stability. Today, in China, President Xi Jinping uses Confucianism for such purposes.
Yet, many conservative intellectuals struggle to believe Christianity's core supernatural elements. Re-enchanting the world is difficult. So, can the benefits of Christianity be retained without believing such claims?
The shadow of a corpseSome conservative intellectuals think the west has already adopted Christianity-lite. Many point to the book Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind (2019), by historian Tom Holland.
Holland argues that despite declining religious belief, Christian ideas remain central to western civilisation. He views liberalism '' our dominant political philosophy '' as secularised Christianity. For him, core western ideas, like universal human rights, equality and dignity, stem from Christianity.
In this view, our moral values are the vapour trails of a vanishing Christianity or, as Holland puts it, ''the shadow of a corpse''. This causes some to worry that these values may lack vigorous defenders and be unable to bind society together.
There may be some truth here. Research into ''sacred values'' shows some people have values they'll defend, regardless of cost. When people violate our sacred values, parts of our brain that weigh up costs and benefits of our actions shut down.
A godless morality may lack the sacredness needed to promote the actions conservatives hope for. This might lead intellectuals to feign belief in Christianity or to find a way to believe.
Christian disinformationPublic intellectuals might promote Christianity for perceived benefits while feigning belief. For them, Christianity would become a ''noble lie'' '' a falsehood knowingly professed by elites to ensure social stability. Today, we call such falsehoods disinformation.
In addition to ethical concerns, this approach would likely fail. You can accept a myth because you think it works to your advantage. But using sacred values for self-interested purposes makes them feel less sacred and diminishes their power.
Those playing with holy fire also risk being biblically burned. Adopting Christianity as a noble lie would support those who want to abandon the separation between church and state. This includes US Catholic integralists who want their government to promote Catholic values. Using Christianity to fight authoritarian regimes abroad could create religious authoritarianism at home.
What would it take for sceptical conservative thinkers to believe in Christianity? The philosopher Giambattista Vico (1668''1744) suggested that our age of reason and self-interest might need society to collapse into ''primitive simplicity'' for faith to arise again.
A recent study examined non-believers within the Protestant clergy. imageBROKER.com GmbH & Co. KG / AlamyA less apocalyptic solution is to realise that many Christians already subscribe to Christianity-lite. A quarter of self-identified British Christians don't believe Jesus was resurrected.
Such doubts are not limited to congregations. Some clergy feel the same way. A study led by the famous philosopher and atheist Daniel Dennett in 2010 interviewed clergy who doubted or disbelieved.
One pastor explained there were many clergy who, ''if you were to list the five things that you think may be the most central beliefs of Christianity, they would reject every one of them''. Another minister rejected the virgin birth and Jesus' divinity, yet still believed in God.
This shows that some people are comfortable rejecting central claims of Christianity, while still sensing a God-shaped hole in the world and identifying as Christian. But, when push comes to shove, will such beliefs act as sacred values and generate the societal benefits conservatives hope for? God knows.
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Official video of Paris 2024 opening ceremony 'is deleted from Olympics account' as viewers' backlash grows - and fans flock to praise London 2012 showcase which remains online | Daily Mail Online
Sun, 28 Jul 2024 11:52
The official video of the Paris 2024 opening ceremony appears to have been deleted from the Olympics account as viewers' backlash grows - with fans flocking to praise the London 2012 showcase, which remains online.
Social media users shared a screenshot of the organisation's footage, which showed a blank screen with the caption 'this video is not available'.
Meanwhile, the show also does not appear to be on their YouTube channel - despite there being coverage of the games both before and after the ceremony.
And full-length versions of the ceremonies for London 2012, Rio 2016, Beijing 2022 and even Nagano 1998 are all available.
Neither the Olympics nor the Paris games have given any reason for this apparent omission. Both have been contacted for comment.
It comes after the event was dubbed the 'worst ever' and sparked backlash as it was carried out amid appalling weather.
Among the various artistic tableaus, named after French values such as freedom, fraternity and equality, it was the last supper-style performance in 'festivit(C)' - or party - scene which caused the most controversy.
Social media users shared a screenshot of the organisation's footage, which showed a blank screen with the caption 'this video is not available'
It comes after the event was dubbed the 'worst ever' and sparked backlash as it was carried out amid appalling weather
Meanwhile, the show also does not appear to be on their YouTube channel - despite there being coverage of the games both before and after the ceremony
Full-length versions of the ceremonies for London 2012, Rio 2016, Beijing 2022 and even Nagano 1998 are all available
Online users posted snapshots of the official Paris 2024 opening ceremony full video showing as unavailable on Youtube
Complete with models, dancers, fashion icons and drag queens from the host nation, the performance took place on a bridge over the capital's river around a table, which also doubled as a catwalk.
At the centre was a woman in front of DJ equipment with a golden halo-style crown, surrounded by several drag queens and dozens of dancers and performers.
A fashion show which showcased clothing designed by some of France's most promising young designers took centre stage, as those seated on either side performed slick choreography.
Among those present was Drag Race icon Nicky Doll, who has appeared on the French franchise, RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs The World and now hosts France's own version.
Although also hampered by hard-to-hear music, many young people and fans of the popular TV show took to social media to praise the tableau, which aimed to echo the atmosphere of a nightclub and featured dancing and lip-syncing on the soaking-wet stage.
But others were less impressed, accusing organisers of creating a 'woke' parody of the Last Supper - a painting by Leonardo da Vinci depicting Jesus' last meal with his disciples.
The curtain-raiser was also blighted by several gaffes, including issues with country names and the Olympic flag accidentally raised upside down.
Tesla and SpaceX owner Elon Musk, who has come under criticism for his conservative beliefs, including towards his own daughter, wrote on X - formerly Twitter - claimed the performance was 'extremely disrespectful to Christians'.
He added: 'Christianity has become toothless.'
French actor and singer Phillippe Katerine was playing the role of the Greek god of wine Dionysus in a recreation of the famous biblical scene of Jesus Christ and his twelve apostles sharing a last meal before crucifixion
The artistic imitation of the Last Supper, which also included a group of drag queens and a transgender model, has caused offence among some Christians for making a 'gross mockery' of the religion
Leonardo da Vinci's depiction of the last supper, with Jesus in the centre surrounded by his disciples
Friday night was saved by the return to the stage of Celine Dion, who performed beneath the Eiffel Tower and the Olympic rings
An online user reacts to the decision to remove the full video of the opening ceremony from social media channels
Reacting to the event, Catholic Bishop Robert Barron, from the US, posted a video online and said: 'I love the Olympics, so I turn on the opening ceremony of the Olympics. And what do I see now? It's in Paris, France, a city I love, I spent three years as a doctoral student there.
'I see this gross mockery of the last supper and I won't describe it any further.'
Later in the show, the most bizarre moment of the night saw a giant platter bedecked in fake fruits and other foods - with a 'smurf' resting among them.
The man, dressed in a skintight blue bodysuit that left very little to the imagination, was dressed as the Greek God of wine, festivity and theatre, Dionysus, who was later unveiled to be French actor and singer Phillippe Katerine.
Today, he laughed off the criticism, telling BFM TV: 'It wouldn't be fun if there were no controversy. Wouldn't it be boring if everyone agreed on this planet?'
Viewers reported poor audio caused by the near-torrential rain and even joked online that organisers needed to 'stop the boats'.
Fans online were left unimpressed by the unique approach to the opening ceremony, with one writing: 'I'm sorry but this is the worst Olympic opening ceremony in memory.
'It's an interesting idea bringing the athletes in on boats but it looks rubbish and misses the roar of the crowd. Sorry but not for me.'
Hundreds of thousands of spectators watched as 6,800 athletes covered in plastic ponchos attempted to keep their spirits high as they travelled down the river Seine in a huge flotilla of 85 boats.
Performances from Lady Gaga and approximately 3,000 dancers, acrobats and actors were hard to hear over the sound of rain, with viewers slamming it as 'the worst Olympic opening ceremony in memory'.
The show garnered a mixed reception from the UK and foreign press.
The New York Times scathingly called it a 'bloated made-for-TV spectacle', with the New York Post labelling it 'boring, ill-conceived and choppy'.
Even within France the reception was muted, with Le Figaro saying the show was 'great but some of it was just too much'.
'The Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony was a boring, soaking-wet mess,' declared the New York Post's Johnny Olesksinski
'Opening Ceremony Misses the Boat' headlined the New York Times's television review
The Olympic cauldron is seen after being lit during the opening ceremony
Elon Musk took to X to reveal his displeasure with last night's ceremony
Elsewhere US Catholic Bishop Robert Barron slammed the opening ceremony for making a 'gross mockery' of Christianity
Torrential rain in Paris marred the opening ceremony with many spectators seen wearing ponchos and holding umbrellas - with one paper calling it a 'sunless spectacle'
Members of the Chinese delegation are seen during the opening ceremony in Paris
Gaffes with country names, the mounting of the Olympic flag and bizarre scenes which saw as headless Marie Antoinette singing peppered the display last night as sport begins in earnest this morning.
At one point, as the long line of boats filled with athletes made its way down the Seine, an embarrassing moment saw South Korea labelled North Korea by the announcers.
As the South Korean delegation sailed down the Seine River, they were introduced with the official name for North Korea: 'Republique populaire democratique de Coree' in French, then 'Democratic People's Republic of Korea' in English.
The IOC said in a post on its official Korean-language X account: 'We deeply apologise for the mistake that occurred when introducing the South Korean team during the broadcast of the opening ceremony.'
The Paris Olympics have been contacted for comment.
FBI confirms Donald Trump was struck by bullet during July 13 assassination attempt | AP News
Sun, 28 Jul 2024 11:51
WASHINGTON (AP) '-- Nearly two weeks after Donald Trump's near assassination , the FBI confirmed Friday that it was indeed a bullet that struck the former president's ear, moving to clear up conflicting accounts about what caused the former president's injuries after a gunman opened fire at a Pennsylvania rally.
''What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject's rifle,'' the agency said in a statement.
The one-sentence statement from the FBI marked the most definitive law enforcement account of Trump's injuries and followed ambiguous comments earlier in the week from Director Christopher Wray that appeared to cast doubt on whether Trump had actually been hit by a bullet.
The comment drew fury from Trump and his allies and further stoked conspiracy theories that have flourished on both sides of the political aisle amid a dearth of information following the July 13 attack.
Up until now, federal law enforcement agents involved in the investigation, including the FBI and Secret Service, had refused to provide information about what caused Trump's injuries. Trump's campaign has also declined to release medical records from the hospital where he was first treated or to make the doctors there available for questions.
Updates have instead come either from Trump himself or from Trump's former White House doctor, Ronny Jackson , a staunch ally who now represents Texas in Congress. Though Jackson has been treating Trump since the night of the attack, he has come under considerable scrutiny and is not Trump's primary care physician.
The FBI's apparent reluctance to immediately vouch for the former president's version of events has also raised fresh tension between the Republican nominee and the nation's premier federal law enforcement agency, which he could soon exert control over once again. Trump and his supporters have for years accused federal law enforcement of being weaponized against him, something Wray has consistently denied.
Speaking at an event later Friday in West Palm Beach Florida, Trump drew boos from the crowd when he described the suggestion that he may have been struck by glass or shrapnel instead of a bullet.
''Did you see the FBI today apologized?'' he asked. ''It just never ends with these people. ... We accept their apology.''
Trump appeared Friday for the first time without a bandage on his right ear. Photographs and video showed no sign of continued bleeding, and no distinct holes or gashes.
What to know about the 2024 Election
Democracy: American democracy has overcome big stress tests since 2020. More challenges lie ahead in 2024. AP's Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more. Stay informed. Keep your pulse on the news with breaking news email alerts. Sign up here .Questions about the extent and nature of Trump's wound began immediately after the attack, as his campaign and law enforcement officials declined to answer questions about his condition or the treatment he received after Trump narrowly escaped death in an attempted assassination by a gunman with a high-powered rifle.
Those questions have persisted despite photographs showing the trace of a projectile speeding past Trump's head as well as Trump's teleprompter glass intact after the shooting, and the account Trump himself gave in a Truth Social post within hours of the shooting that he had been ''shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.''
''I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,'' he wrote.
Days later, in a speech accepting the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Trump recounted the scene in detail, while wearing a large gauze bandage over his right ear.
''I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard, on my right ear. I said to myself, 'Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet,''' he said.
''If I had not moved my head at that very last instant,'' Trump said, ''the assassin's bullet would have perfectly hit its mark, and I would not be here tonight.''
But the first medical account of Trump's condition didn't come until a full week after the shooting, when Jackson released his first letter last Saturday evening. In it, he said the bullet that struck Trump had ''produced a 2 cm wide wound that extended down to the cartilaginous surface of the ear.'' He also revealed Trump had received a CT scan at the hospital.
Federal law enforcement involved in the investigation, including the FBI and Secret Service, had declined to confirm that account. And Wray's testimony offered apparently conflicting answers on the issue.
''There's some question about whether or not it's a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,'' Wray said, before he seemed to suggest it was indeed a bullet.
''I don't know whether that bullet, in addition to causing the grazing, could have also landed somewhere else,'' he said.
On Thursday, the FBI sought to clarify matters with a statement affirming that the shooting was an ''attempted assassination of former President Trump which resulted in his injury, as well as the death of a heroic father and the injuries of several other victims.'' The FBI also said Thursday that its Shooting Reconstruction Team continues to examine bullet fragments and other evidence from the scene.
Jackson, who has been treating the former president since the night of the July 13 shooting, told The Associated Press on Thursday that any suggestion Trump's ear was bloodied by anything other than a bullet was reckless.
''It was a bullet wound,'' said Jackson. ''You can't make statements like that. It leads to all these conspiracy theories.''
In his letter Friday, Jackson insisted ''there is absolutely no evidence'' Trump was struck by anything other than a bullet and said it was ''wrong and inappropriate to suggest anything else.''
He wrote that at Butler Memorial Hospital, where the GOP nominee was rushed after the shooting, he was evaluated and treated for a ''Gunshot Wound to the Right Ear.''
''Having served as an Emergency Medicine physician for over 20 years in the United States Navy, including as a combat physician on the battlefield in Iraq,'' he wrote, ''I have treated many gunshot wounds in my career. Based on my direct observations of the injury, my relevant clinical background, and my significant experience evaluating and treating patients with similar wounds, I completely concur with the initial assessment and treatment provided by the doctors at nurses at Butler Memorial Hospital on the day of the shooting.''
The FBI declined to comment on the Jackson letters.
Asked if the campaign would release those hospital records, or allow the doctors who treated him there to speak, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung blasted the media for asking.
''The media has no shame in engaging in disgusting conspiracy theories,'' he said. ''The facts are the facts, and to question an abhorrent assassination attempt that ultimately cost a life and injured two others is beyond the pale.''
In emails last week, he told the AP that ''medical readouts'' had already been provided.
''It's sad some people still don't believe a shooting happened,'' Cheung said, ''even after one person was killed and others were injured.''
Anyone who believes the conspiracies, he added, ''is either mentally deficient or willfully peddling falsehoods for political reasons.''
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a close Trump ally, also urged Wray to correct his testimony in a letter Friday , saying the fact Trump had been hit by a bullet ''was made clear in briefings my office received and should not be a point of contention.''
''As head of the FBI, you should not be creating confusion about such matters, as it further undercuts the agency's credibility with millions of Americans,'' he wrote.
Trump also lashed out at Wray in a post on his Truth Social network, saying it was ''No wonder the once storied FBI has lost the confidence of America!''
''No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. There was no glass, there was no shrapnel,'' he wrote.
On Friday, he called Wray's comments ''so damaging to the Great People that work in the FBI.''
Jackson has encountered significant scrutiny over the years.
After administering a physical to Trump in 2018, he drew headlines for suggesting that ''if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years, he might live to be 200 years old.''
He was reportedly demoted by the Navy after the Department of Defense inspector general released a scathing report on his conduct as a top White House physician that found Jackson had made ''sexual and denigrating'' comments about a female subordinates and took prescription-strength sleeping medication that prompted worries from his colleagues about his ability to provide proper medical care.
Trump appointed Wray as FBI director in 2017 to replace the fired James Comey. But the then-president swiftly soured on his hire as the bureau continued its investigation into the Russian election interference.
Trump flirted openly with the idea of firing Wray as his term drew to a close, and he lashed out anew after the FBI executed a search warrant at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida to recover boxes of classified documents from his presidency.
___ Colvin reported from New York.
Colvin is an Associated Press national political reporter covering the 2024 presidential campaign. She is based in New York.
Tucker covers national security in Washington for The Associated Press, with a focus on the FBI and Justice Department and the special counsel cases against former President Donald Trump.
Condon is an Associated Press investigative reporter covering breaking news. He has written about the Maui fire, the Afghanistan withdrawal, gun laws, Chinese loans in Africa and Trump's business.
Mustian is an Associated Press investigative reporter for breaking news.
Many tickets for 2024 Paris Olympics still unsold a day before the Games - CBS News
Sun, 28 Jul 2024 11:36
Athletes excited for post-pandemic Olympics
Athletes excited for post-pandemic Olympics in Paris 04:24 Paris '-- Just one day before the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony, more than a million tickets to Olympic events were still unsold, including many for Friday's first-of-its-kind outdoor ceremony on the Seine river itself. Olympic organizers had set lofty ticket sale ambitions, and they have met some of them.
Tony Estanguet, a three-time French Olympic canoeing champion and president of the Paris 2024 Olympic Organizing Committee, touted the record-breaking sale of 8.8 million tickets during a news conference on Sunday.
But there are many, many more left on offer, and still more being put up for sale every day even as many current ticket holders struggle to offload seats they no longer want.
How to watch the 2024 Paris Olympics In an attempt to ramp up sales, new tickets are being added daily to the official Paris 2024 ticketing app and website.
General view inside the Stade de Lyon stadium, with Team France flags placed on the seats, prior to the Women's group A match between France and Colombia during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, July 25, 2024 in Lyon, France. Claudio Villa/Getty Many people purchased tickets early, but found their plans had changed as the Games grew closer.
For some it was the disappointment of finding they'd been allocated tickets for events or to watch teams that they didn't have enough interested in. For some locals who purchased tickets, it was the frustration of all the disruption caused by the construction and security around their city that has driven them away.
See the schedule for the 2024 Paris Olympics In an attempt to recoup costs, many of those people have turned to the official ticket app '-- the only authorized resale market for Olympic event tickets. According to an analysis of the platform conducted by the Financial Times, active resale listings shot up from 180,000 to 270,000 over the past month alone.
Resellers may have expected Olympics fans to quickly snatch up their unwanted tickets, but they've been struggling to sell them at all.
The app prohibits ticket holders from setting their own resale prices, including at lower rates, and new tickets offered on the official ticketing website for the same events can be less expensive than resale offerings.
With no way to incentivize buyers, resellers on the official site have been left in a frustrating state of limbo, and with just a day to go and a glut of tickets still available, it's raised some concern about the prospect of Olympians looking up to see empty seats.
2024 Summer Olympics in Paris More More In: Paris Olympics France
Bell to remove Spirit AeroSystems as FLRAA fuselage maker due to proposed Boeing acquisition - Breaking Defense
Sun, 28 Jul 2024 02:20
Bell's V-280 Valor tiltrotor won the US Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) competition. (Bell)
FARNBOROUGH 2024 '-- Bell intends to step away from Spirit AeroSystems as the fuselage provider for the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft after Boeing's acquisition of Spirit is finalized, Breaking Defense has learned.
The shakeup would force Bell to either find a new producer for the composite-skinned aluminum fuselage or to bring work in house, and strip Spirit of work on hundreds of tiltrotor aircraft. Aviation Week first reported Bell's plans, which were confirmed by a source to Breaking Defense.
''Spirit has had a successful ten-year partnership with Bell on this program and we will continue to work with them to deliver on our joint commitments,'' Spirit AeroSystems spokesman Joe Buccino said.
A Bell spokesperson declined to comment on supplier relationships. Boeing declined to comment.
Earlier this month, Boeing finalized terms to reacquire Spirit AeroSystems in a $8.3 billion deal that would give the plane maker work on a slate of key defense programs from its main competitors, including Bell's V-280 tiltrotor for the FLRAA program, Northrop Grumman's B-21 and Lockheed Martin's CH-53K.
During a briefing at Farnborough Airshow this week, Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., told reporters that he wanted to ensure Spirit's aerospace work stayed in Kansas, where the aerostructures producer is currently based. Moran had previously raised concerns about the proposed acquisition before it was formally announced.
''I particularly want to make certain that we do not do anything in this acquisition that diminishes the capability of meeting our defense needs nationwide, or globally, by any kind of pause, any kind of disruption in the supply chain,'' he said. ''I want to make certain that companies who do defense work with Spirit have a place to do that work, either with Spirit in the future or with Kansas otherwise.''
Bell won the FLRAA contract in 2022, in a deal Army officials said then was worth up to $1.3 billion but could end up being in the range of $70 billion if contract options and export opportunities emerge.
Recommended
(3) Bird flu vaccines are fast approaching - by Meryl Nass
Sun, 28 Jul 2024 02:11
This is what happened yesterday. A PREP Act declaration, which allows the FDA Commissioner to simply decide ( with or without data ) that the benefit of a bird flu vaccine, drug, test or medical device is likely greater than the risk, and thereby issue an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the product. Without a license, without standard testing (and possibly with no human testing) an EUA can be issued. It gives the manufacturer, the government, the doctor, the clinic, the shipper'--everyone'--a waiver of liability for the product.
And the American Medical Association issued a set of CPT codes for doctors to use when administering a CSL Sequirus bird flu shot, last Friday.
CSL Sequirus made the H5N8 bird flu vaccine being used in Finland right now, where the first humans are receiving an MF59-containing bird flu vaccine grown in chicken eggs (and not made in the US). Fifteen EU countries have together ordered 665,000 doses with an option for 40 million total. There is no bird flu in chickens, cows or humans in Finland now. In fact, Finland has only identified one wild bird all this year that tested positive for bird flu.
The US government has ordered 4.8 million doses of bird flu vaccine from CSL Sequirus, grown in MDCK dog kidney cells in a factory in Holly Springs, North Carolina with a troubled past. And it contains the same harmful adjuvant, MF59, that is added to the Sequirus vaccine going to the EU.
This factory was supposed to be a big deal. $500 million dollars from the USG and $500-700 million from Novartis were used to create a more rapid way of making vaccines for pandemics. The strategy was discussed during the GWB administration, but ground was broken for the factory in 2009 , and Obama's DHHS Sec Sibelius attended.
Using MDCK cells to make vaccines was a new idea. But something happened. It did not work out well. FDA wouldn't approve the plant.
Finally they got an FDA approval in 2014, and then the plant was immediately sold for $275 million to Sequirus'--around a quarter of what it was supposed to be worth. Perhaps a reader can tell me what the problem(s) were.
Subsequently there were yet additional delays , but in 2022 Sequirus announced they were approved to produce 150 million doses of seasonal or pandemic flu vaccines for the US government. What took so long?
And why is this troubled plant the one that will be making bird flu vaccines for the American people? Low bid?
https://www.cslseqirus.us/news/seqirus-holly-springs-manufacturing-facility-designated-by-us-government-as-pandemic-ready
Summit, NJ, USA 02 Jun 2022
Seqirus, a global leader in influenza prevention and a business of CSL Limited (ASX:CSL), today announced that the company's manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina, has successfully achieved all criteria required to establish domestic manufacturing capability for cell-based seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccines as outlined by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a division of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). 1 With this recognition, the U.S. government confirms that Seqirus has established and will maintain the required pandemic readiness to deliver 150 million doses of cell-based pandemic influenza vaccine within six months of an influenza pandemic declaration in the U.S.
That could be the declaration published in the Federal Register yesterday'--Nass
Seqirus has taken numerous steps toward achieving this status , further proving itself capable of delivering innovative pandemic solutions at industrial scale and speed. Seqirus developed the first and only adjuvanted , cell-based influenza A(H5N1) monovalent pandemic vaccine, which was originally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2020 in a single dose, prefilled syringe and subsequently approved in 2021 in a multi-dose vial formulation.
That was the Sequirus vaccine whose brand name is Audenz, also adjuvanted with MF59, for which the mortality rate in its clinical trial was 0.5% in the vaccinated group and 0.1% in the placebo group. Newsguard fact-checked me on this'--but I was quoting from the label:
As if that isn't bad enough, Sequirus is experimenting with a self-amplifying mRNA (sa-mRNA) vaccine for bird flu or seasonal flu in Holly Springs, in addition to its canine kidney bird flu vaccine:
Here is a list of the vaccines I know about for bird flu, but it is not a complete list. Pfizer is making an mRNA vaccine too, and presumably lots of companies want to cash in. Moderna's stock price soared 40% after it was announced that bird flu was infecting cows. Moderna has already enrolled 1504 subjects who received different bird flu candidate vaccines in a trial due to end tomorrow .
All 3 vaccines that received FDA licenses for bird flu had very concerning safety profiles in clinical trials. I discussed the clinical trials in a CHD-TV show with Brian Hooker that was released July 26.
Watch out! The Bird Flu vaccines are coming!
And the only justification to vaccinate humans en masse would be a release of a new bird flu strain that has gained two functions simultaneously: virulence for humans, and transmissibility. Gaining both functions at once only happens in labs.
Will they do it again?
Leaked documents: German gov't lied about shots preventing COVID, knew lockdowns did more harm than good - LifeSite
Sun, 28 Jul 2024 02:01
Wed Jul 24, 2024 - 4:59 pm EDTThu Jul 25, 2024 - 10:22 am EDT
U.S. citizens: Demand Congress investigate soaring excess death rates
(LifeSiteNews) '-- Leaked documents from a top German health agency show that politicians knew the experimental COVID shots did not prevent the transmission of the virus but advocated for jab mandates anyway.
On July 23, independent journalist Aya Velzquez published the un-redacted miutes of the German Robert Koch Institut (RKI, comparable to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) from its meetings regarding the COVID crisis between 2020 and 2023. Velzquez said she received the un-redacted documents from a whistleblower who used to work for the RKI. Parts of the so-called ''RKI files'' had already been published in March this year, after the RKI was forced to publish them due to a lawsuit. However, many key parts of the files had been redacted.
Velzquez wrote that the now fully un-redacted files show ''that the RKI unfortunately spoke out in favor of both facility-based and general compulsory vaccination despite the knowledge of the lack of protection from transmission and serious side effects.''
The minutes from an RKI meeting on November 5, 2021, demonstrate that the idea of a ''pandemic of the unvaccinated'' that was propagated by politicians and mainstream media members was made up and not based on any facts.
''The media are talking about a pandemic of the unvaccinated,'' the minutes state. ''From a factual point of view this is not correct, the entire population is contributing. Should this be taken up in communication?''
The document noted that this phrase, although factually incorrect, ''serves as an appeal to all those who have not been vaccinated to get vaccinated.''
It furthermore states that the minister of health ''says it at press conference, presumably deliberately, cannot be corrected.''
During the fall and winter months of 2021 and early 2022, German politicians repeatedly used the term ''pandemic of the unvaccinated'' to blame those who refused the experimental COVID jabs for ''the pandemic'' and all COVID-related measures. The government also used this line of reasoning to ban the unjabbed from participating in many parts of society, including having certain jobs, attending restaurants, shopping at stores, and many other areas.
German radiologist and chairman of the World Medical Association Frank Ulrich Montgomery even spoke of a ''tyranny of the unvaccinated,'' a statement that he doubled down on a year later.
Epoch Times Deutsch said that during this time, the unvaxxed faced ''a level of exclusionary pressure that is unprecedented in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany.''
During the press conference held by the team around the journalist Aya Velzquez, Professor Stefan Homburg said an entry in the documents from March 19, 2021, showed that the RKI already knew that the AstraZeneca COVID shot had caused several cases of sinus vein thrombosis, barely 11 weeks into the ''vaccination'' campaign.
Homburg is an emeritus professor of economics who was the head of the public finance department of the Leibniz University in Hannover and who became one of the most well-known and formidable critics of the COVID tyranny in Germany.
Homburg furthermore said that the RKI files showed that the RKI and the Paul Ehrlich Institut (PEI) deliberately gave false testimony in court, for instance, in regard to protecting German soldiers against transmission of the virus. ''In this respect, they could now be charged in court for unsworn testimony with reference to these minutes,'' said Homburg.
According to the available data, Homburg said that the overall situation can be described as a ''deception of the public.''
He told the Epoch Times that ''the authorities deliberately deceived the public for years at the behest of politicians.''
Journalist Bastian Barucker told the Epoch Times that the documents showed that when Health Minister Jens Spahn announced school closures in November 2021, the RKI ''had long known that this was not correct.''
In parts of the RKI files that were already released in March, the minutes of a meeting from January 11, 2023, show that the RKI knew that lockdowns cause more harm than good. ''The consequences of the lockdown are sometimes more severe than Covid itself,'' the document stated.
At the conclusion of the press conference, Velzquez said, ''The RKI protocols prove it: Our corona policy was not based on rational, scientific considerations.''
''Numerous political decisions, such as 2G [full participation in society only given to vaxxed or recovered individuals], the facility-based and planned general vaccination mandate, or the vaccination of children, were purely political decisions for which the RKI, as an authority bound by instructions, provided an alleged scientific legitimation,'' the journalist said.
U.S. citizens: Demand Congress investigate soaring excess death rates
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VIDEO - Gov. Gavin Newsom issues executive order for removal of homeless encampments in California | CNN
Sun, 28 Jul 2024 01:43
CNN '--
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, buoyed by a recent US Supreme Court decision, issued an executive order Thursday calling on state officials to begin taking down homeless encampments.
The move to begin dismantling thousands of encampments throughout California comes after the high court ruled last month in favor of an Oregon city that ticketed homeless people for sleeping outside. The ruling rejected arguments that such ''anti-camping'' ordinances violated the Constitution's ban on ''cruel and unusual'' punishment.
''This executive order directs state agencies to move urgently to address dangerous encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them '-- and provides guidance for cities and counties to do the same,'' Newson said in a statement. ''There are simply no more excuses. It's time for everyone to do their part.''
The order calls on state officials ''to adopt humane and dignified policies to urgently address encampments on state property.''
California has the largest homeless population '' more than 180,000 people '' in the nation, according to a 2023 homelessness assessment report to Congress from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
An estimated 653,100 people were experiencing homelessness nationwide '' a jump of around 12% since 2022, according to the report.
California's policies following the Supreme Court decision are being closely watched by other cities and states, and Newsom's order has drawn the ire of some homeless advocates and elected officials.
''Newsom could have issued this order before the (Supreme Court) decision. The only difference now is that states and localities are free to confine and arrest people even when there is no shelter available,'' said Chris Herring, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of California Los Angeles.
''So before the Supreme Court ruling cities were in the position where they would have to provide shelter offers before removing encampments. Now '... they will be able to carry out these encampment sweeps with the very real threat of issuing people incredibly expensive fines of which people cannot pay and often results in a warrant or an arrest or can result in incarceration.''
Herring said the timing of the order wasn't surprising as Newsom seeks to ''politically clear his name of the homeless crisis, especially as he's in the national spotlight right now amid the presidential election.''
Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the parent organization of the Housing is a Human Right initiative, accused Newsom of ''criminalizing poverty'' and ''doubling down on failed policies.''
''Governor Newsom, where do you expect people to go? This is a shameful moment in California history,'' Weinstein said in a statement Thursday.
In San Francisco, a spokesperson for Mayor London Breed said the city had already started to take action.
''Our city encampment teams and street outreach staff have been going out every day to bring people indoors, and to clean and clear encampments,'' spokesperson Parisa Safarzadeh told CNN in a statement. ''This is why we are seeing a five year low in the City's tent count on our streets.''
But Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness in San Francisco, called Newsom's executive order ''a punch in the gut.''
She said there are already thousands of people on a waitlist for housing, and all shelter beds in San Francisco are already full.
''They want to basically crack down on folks who have no other choice,'' she said.
Late last month, the results of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority's point-in-time count '' conducted in January '' showed the homeless population in Los Angeles had dropped for the first time in six years. It showed overall homelessness and in particular unsheltered homelessness was down in both Los Angeles County and the city. According to the count, homelessness was down 2.2% in the Los Angeles and 0.27% in the county.
There were still 45,253 homeless people counted in the city and 75,312 people unhoused in the county, the authority reported.
''For the first time in years, unsheltered homelessness has decreased in Los Angeles because of a comprehensive approach that leads with housing and services, not criminalization,'' Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Thursday.
''Strategies that just move people along from one neighborhood to the next or give citations instead of housing do not work.''
In fact, a new study by the Rand Corp's Center on Housing and Homelessness found encampment clearing efforts in Los Angeles had no long-term effect on the number of people on the streets.
The researchers looked at encampment cleanups in Venice, Hollywood and Skid Row in Los Angeles and ''observed temporary declines in the unsheltered population that lasted two to three months on average'' before returning to previous levels, according to the study.
In Venice, for instance, encampment removals meant ''the share of unhoused people living literally unsheltered (e.g., without a tent) increased from 20 percent to 46 percent,'' the study said.
Newsom last month praised the high court's ruling, saying it ''provides state and local officials the definitive authority to implement and enforce policies to clear unsafe encampments from our streets.''
''This decision removes the legal ambiguities that have tied the hands of local officials for years and limited their ability to deliver on common-sense measures to protect the safety and well-being of our communities,'' Newsom added.
The case was the most significant appeal involving unhoused Americans to reach the Supreme Court in decades.
LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said Newsom ''rightfully points out that local government remains at the helm of homeless encampment removals.''
''Cities have an obligation to develop housing and shelter solutions in tandem with support services provided by County government,'' Barger said in a statement. ''This formula, which is largely based on partnerships, is how we can deliver permanent results. No single entity can achieve that.''
This story has been updated with additional information.
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VIDEO - Harris on Israel Gaza war, Palestinian suffering I will not be silent
Fri, 26 Jul 2024 00:09
Vice President Kamala Harris said "Israel has a right to defend itself ... and how it does so matters." Harris' remarks followed a meeting she held with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington Thursday.
"It is time for this war to end and end in a way where Israel is secure, all the hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity and self determination," said Harris.
Since Harris launched her campaign on Sunday, the de facto Democratic presidential nominee has been under pressure to further define her position on the Israeli war with Hamas in Gaza, now in its tenth month.
Harris said her conversation with Netanyahu was "frank," and she pressed him to continue making headway on a multi-stage plan to scale back the warfare in densely populated Gaza, to release hostages and to permit Palestinians in Gaza to resume their daily lives.
"There has been hopeful movement and the talks to secure an agreement on this deal," she said. "And as I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done."
"So to everyone who has been calling for a ceasefire. And to everyone who yearns for peace. I see you and I hear you....Let's bring the hostages home. And let's provide much needed relief to the Palestinian people."
The meeting came amid a polarizing visit to Washington by Netanyahu and the Israeli delegation.
While Netanyahu spoke to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the U.S. Capitol to protest his visit and America's support for Israel. The protesters vandalized statues and burned American flags, replacing them with Palestinian flags.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House grounds, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 25, 2024.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
"I condemn any individuals associating with the brutal terrorist organization Hamas, which has vowed to annihilate the State of Israel and kill Jews," Harris said in a statement on the protests earlier Thursday. "Pro-Hamas graffiti and rhetoric is abhorrent and we must not tolerate it in our nation."
"Let us all condemn terrorism and violence," Harris said after meeting with Netanyahu Thursday. "Let us all do what we can to prevent the suffering of innocent civilians. And let us condemn anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and hate of any kind. And let us work to unite our country."
Biden and Netanyahu held a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office earlier in the day, after which the two heads of state met with the families of American hostages.
"We feel probably more optimistic than we have since the first round of releases in late November, early December, where a little over 100 of Israel's hostages were released," Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagui is currently being held hostage in Gaza, said.
Read more CNBC politics coverage"We got absolute commitment from the Biden administration and from Prime Minister Netanyahu that they understand the urgency of this moment now, to waste no time, and to complete this deal as it currently stands."
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, the number of Palestinians reported killed since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel is more than 39,000. In addition to reported fatalities, roughly 90,000 Palestinians have been reported injured.
Approximately 1,800 people were killed in Hamas' brutal surprise attack on Israel Oct. 7, 2023, triggering the Israeli military incursion.
"What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating," said Harris. "We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering. And I will not be silent."
