Stuart Jeanne Bramhall's Blog: The Most Revolutionary Act , page 574

DOJ Appeals Court Decision Lifting Mask Mandate, Experts Say Move Could Backfire

By Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D.

The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday appealed Monday’s ruling by a federal judge in Florida that struck down the Biden administration’s mask mandate for public transport. Legal experts say the move could backfire if the case goes to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday appealed Monday’s ruling by a federal judge in Florida that struck down the Biden administration’s mask mandate for public transit.

The news followed a statement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issued at the DOJ’s request, recommending the continued use of masks on planes, trains and other public transportation.

The CDC said:

“It is CDC’s continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health. CDC will continue to monitor public health conditions to determine whether such an order remains necessary. CDC believes this is a lawful order, well within CDC’s legal authority to protect public health.”

The DOJ filed the appeal in the U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, and said it may ask the court to stay the judge’s injunction while the case proceeds.

For now, the Florida ruling vacating the mandate stands.

Prior to filing the appeal, the federal government sent mixed signals regarding its willingness to appeal the April 18 decision of U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa, Politico reported.

In her ruling, Judge Mizelle stated the CDC failed to justify its decision to impose the mandate and failed to follow proper rulemaking procedures for implementing it.

The nonprofit Health Freedom Defense Fund filed the lawsuit that prompted Monday’s ruling against the mandate.

The DOJ on Tuesday announced it would appeal the Florida ruling only if the CDC deemed the mandate necessary for safeguarding public health:

“The Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) disagree with the district court’s decision and will appeal, subject to CDC’s conclusion that the order remains necessary for public health.

“The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health. That is an important authority the Department will continue to work to preserve.

“If CDC concludes that a mandatory order remains necessary for the public’s health after that assessment, the Department of Justice will appeal the district court’s decision.”

The DOJ statement came after significant debate within the Biden administration, Politico reported:

“The Justice Department’s announcement comes after hours of deliberation, with some Biden administration officials insisting that an appeal is essential to preserve the government’s public health authorities while others argued a fight would have relatively little political benefit or practical effect for the broader Covid response.

“Detractors also expressed concerns about the fallout if the government were to lose an appeal.”

Politico characterized the DOJ statement as suggesting the agency was divided about whether to continue the mask mandate, stating the DOJ announcement “ultimately leaves next steps in the hands of the CDC, where there have been divides over how to proceed on a mandate that was already set to expire in early May.”

There is “growing consensus” among White House and public health officials that an appeal would be “impractical,” two people with knowledge of the deliberations told Politico.

President Biden, after the Florida ruling, said it’s “up to them” — meaning individuals — whether to wear masks when traveling.

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki later “clarified” Biden’s remark, stating, “The president was answering the question quite literally, which means … we are not implementing the mask mandate because of the court order.”

Psaki added, “We want to preserve that authority for the CDC to have in the future. Our focus here was seeing what power we had to preserve.”

The “growing consensus” within the White House and federal government may also be indicative of a growing push, encouraged by polling firms and advisers close to the Biden administration, to declare a political “victory” over the virus by lifting highly restrictive COVID-related measures and mandates.

[…]

Via https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/doj-appeals-court-mask-mandate/

Florida Senate Passes Bill Stripping Disney World of Special Status

Truth Press

Florida’s Senate passed a bill on Wednesday during a special session that would dissolve the special tax district that has allowed Walt Disney World to enjoy autonomy since 1967 as the showdown between the Walt Disney Company and Florida’s leaders over a new parental rights law continues.

The Florida Senate’s 23-16 vote comes after Republican Governor Ron DeSantis called for the Florida legislature to expand its special session to review the privileges granted to Disney World, and the measure now heads to the Florida House which is also led by Republicans. If passed in the lower chamber of Florida’s legislature, DeSantis is expected to sign the bill to eliminate Disney World’s special tax and operational status.

#BREAKING The Florida Senate passed the bill that would dismantle the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which gives Disney self-governing powers. It passed 23-16 and now moves to the Florida House.

— Lydia Nusbaum (@LydiaNusbaum) April 20, 2022

On Tuesday this week, Governor DeSantis issued a special proclamation to amend the special session of the Florida legislature to consider “legislation relating to independent special districts” and emphasizing the need to review Disney World’s special status:

HEREAS, the Florida Constitution of 1885 did not prohibit special laws granting privileges to private corporations; and

WHEREAS, the Florida Constitution was revised by the Florida electorate on November 5, 1968; and

WHEREAS the Florida Constitution of 1968 generally disfavors special laws as opposed to general laws, but permits the creation of independent special districts that appropriately serve the public interest; and

WHEREAS, Article III, Section 11(a)(12) of the Florida Constitution of 1968 prohibits special laws granting privileges to private corporations; and

WHEREAS, independent special districts exist that were established prior to November 5, 1968, and that have not been re-established, ratified, or otherwise reconstituted by a special act or general law after November 5, 1968; and

Governor DeSantis’ proclamation highlights the fact that Disney’s status is unique among private Florida companies — and even among the state’s theme parks.

As NBC8 explained, “Unlike other theme parks in the state, when Disney wants to build a building, fill in a lake, or pave a road on their property, they don’t have to seek permits or approval.” The special status for Disney is not enjoyed by other Orlando attractions, either.

“Other developers have to play by different rules, Universal Studios has to play by different rules and so Disney really does have an unfair business advantage,” Rollins College Professor Emeritus Richard Foglesong told the NBC affiliate.

The liberal media, as usual, continues to read the situation entirely wrong as seen Wednesday from MSNBC’s Symone Sanders who just recently was a senior communications staffer in the office of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Sanders said “my money is on the Disney lobbyists, honey” on Meet the Press Daily. “Do you think those state legislators down in Florida are going to bend to the will of the governor? No,” she said confidently.

Host Chuck Todd then pointed out that Florida’s Senate “just passed this bill.”

She was literally proven wrong live on TV. https://t.co/x7rw86iKqF

— Storm Paglia (@storm_paglia) April 20, 2022

[…]

Via https://truthpress.news/news/florida-senate-passes-bill-stripping-disney-world-of-special-status/

Why Is Russia Still Collaborating With Countries That Are Actively Working to Destroy It?

By Edward Slavsquat | Anti-Empire | April 20, 2022

Close your eyes and imagine you’re Russia.

You’re scrambling to create an alternative financial system in order to bypass 100 gazillion sanctions.

At the same time, you’re formulating “global health” policies with the same countries that are actively trying to destroy your economy.

Something doesn’t quite add up here.

Imagine being Russia and implementing “health recommendations” from an organization funded by Germany, Bill Gates, the UK and the USA. And yet…

There is endless excitement about Russia’s imminent “economic sovereignty,” but what about Russia’s medical sovereignty? Does it matter if Russia adopts the golden petro-yuan (or whatever) if it continues to copy-paste “health measures” drafted by an organization that gets most of its funding from NATO states and Bill Gates?

It’s a serious question, especially because the WHO is forging ahead with its so-called “global pandemic treaty.” Slated for completion in 2024, the agreement will give the World Health Organization unprecedented powers to combat new outbreaks of positive PCR tests.

Does Russia really need this? After two years of the WHO’s non-stop virus scamming, maybe it’s time to pull the plug?

Thankfully, a grassroots campaign (aided by lawmakers) seeks Russia’s immediate withdrawal from the WHO. This is an excellent idea—but is it possible?

Russia’s unrepentant WHO-love

It’s fun to fantasize about loading Dr. Tedros into a Novichok cannon and launching him into outer space, but it’s not so simple. The World Health Organization has friends in high places. Some prominent WHO-lovers in the Russian government include:

Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council: This guy is completely smitten with global “health” tyranny. In November, Medvedev whined about how the WHO lacked “the leverage to force states to pursue a single, coordinated policy at all levels” during a declared worldwide health emergency. Thankfully he offered a solution to this terrible conundrum:

It is necessary to think about giving WHO the authority to make significant mobilization decisions in the interests of the entire world community in an emergency situation (for example, during a pandemic). It is likely that in order for the WHO to obtain such authority, it will be necessary for the UN members to adopt an international convention on cooperation in this area.

There you have it: Medvedev has fully endorsed the idea of a pandemic treaty and wants Russia to submit to the WHO whenever there are too many positive PCR tests or other existential threats to public health. (It’s charming how over the last two months, Medvedev has endeavored to rebrand himself as a mighty crusader against the depraved West. Yes, he’s a true patriot.)

Mikhail Murashko, Health Minister: Okay, maybe Medvedev is an insufferable WHO groupie, but so what? He’s not in charge of health policy. That’s Murashko’s job:

Yikes.

Russia has agreed to participate in the creation of a pandemic treaty, but with the stipulation that any new agreement should not “duplicate” previous accords.

What does this mean, exactly? It’s open to interpretation and gives Russia room to maneuver. [It sounds to me like it means the new agreement should go beyond existing agreements.] That being said, Murashko can hardly be described as hostile to the WHO; on the contrary, he’s worked tirelessly to make Russia WHO-friendly. Unsurprisingly, Murashko is also an unapologetic advocate for digital cattle tags.

Tatyana Golikova, Deputy Prime Minister: Russia’s former health minister (2007-2012) is True Believer who has been heaping praise on the WHO for more than a decade. Over the past two years she’s been instrumental in ensuring Russia’s adoption of WHO-endorsed anti-health measures.

But there’s also been some finger-wagging. In May 2021, Golikova told the WHO it needed to “speed up” its procedure for approving new vaccines. Because of public health.

Sergey Sobyanin, Mayor of Moscow: In September 2020, Sobyanin thanked the WHO for inspiring him to impose a lockdown on Russia’s capital.

[…]

Nine months later, Sobyanin became a trailblazer for compulsory vaccination and QR codes in Russia.

[…]

Cool WHO flag, bro.

Anna Popova, head of the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor): As Russia’s chief sanitary doctor, Popova has taken on the role of National COVID Nanny. Her penchant for arbitrary and useless “epidemiological” measures can be attributed in part to her devotion to the WHO.

In October, Popova supervised a WHO exercise held in Kazan that simulated the outbreak of an infectious disease.

Popova oversaw WHO-sponsored Virus Games in Kazan (source)

The Rospotrebnadzor chief said the simulation would be used to develop international standards for rapid response to “epidemiological threats” around the world.

Ungrateful Kazan residents protested against the WHO-sponsored Virus Games, apparently because they felt they were being used as guinea pigs (ridiculous!).

[…]

The fellowship of anti-WHO Duma deputies

Russia’s parliamentarians are starting to ask: “Hey, why are we part of an organization that is almost entirely funded by hostile NATO members/Bill Gates?” Good question.

Pyotr Tolstoy, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma: Tolstoy has called for Russia to withdraw from the WHO as well as the World Trade Organization and UNESCO. According to the senior lawmaker, it was idiotic of Russia to join these esteemed US-dominated global bodies in the first place.

Yana Lantratova, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education: Lantratova believes Russia should suspend its cooperation with the WHO due to the organization’s links to biological laboratories in Ukraine.

[…]

Sergey Leonov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection: Although he opposes leaving the WHO, Leonov thinks Russia should stop paying membership fees.

“It is not entirely clear what benefit this organization brings to us,” the deputy said on March 30.

Sergei Mironov, parliamentary leader of A Just Russia — For Truth: Mironov and other members of his party recently introduced a draft resolution to the State Duma calling for Russia to suspend its membership with the WHO.

The proposed legislation would halt cooperation with the organization pending the results of a parliamentary investigation into the WHO’s dealings in Ukraine.

While lawmakers are focusing their rage on Ukraine-related WHO shenanigans, Russian activists have taken a more “big picture” stance: The World Health Organizations is actively destroying our health, and that’s bad.

Via https://alethonews.com/2022/04/20/why-is-russia-still-collaborating-with-countries-that-are-actively-working-to-destroy-it/

 

CIA Coup in Pakistan?

Nauman Sadiq

Veterans Today

Days before Imran Khan’s ouster on April 10 as prime minister in a no-trust motion in the parliament orchestrated by foreign powers, two impersonators were arrested in Washington for posing as US federal security officials and cultivating access to the Secret Service, which protects President Joe Biden, one of whom claimed ties to Pakistani intelligence.

Justice department assistant attorney Joshua Rothstein asked a judge not to release Arian Taherzadeh and Haider Ali, the men arrested on April 6 for posing as Department of Homeland Security investigators for two years before the arrest, the Guardian reported on April 8.

The men also stand accused of providing lucrative favors to members of the Secret Service, including one agent on the security detail of the first lady, Jill Biden. Prosecutors said in court filings they seized a cache of weapons from multiple DC apartments tied to the defendants.

Federal prosecutor Rothstein alleged one of the suspects, Haider Ali, “made claims to witnesses that he had connections to the ISI, Pakistan’s military intelligence service.”

The Department of Justice (DoJ) is treating the case as a criminal matter and not a national security issue. But the Secret Service suspended four agents over their involvement with the suspects.

“All personnel involved in this matter are on administrative leave and are restricted from accessing Secret Service facilities, equipment, and systems,” the Secret Service said in a statement.

Clearly, planning and preparations were underway to declare Pakistan a rogue actor sponsoring acts of subversion against the United States.Soon after the US-led “regime change” in Pakistan and the formation of government by imperialist stooges, however, the tone of the judge and prosecutors changed.

The defendants were released on bail and placed in home detention, though they will not be allowed to go to airports or foreign embassies or to talk to any of the federal agents they allegedly duped.

During his hourlong ruling, Magistrate Judge Michael Harvey lambasted the Justice Department’s claims that the men were dangerous, were trying to compromise agents and were tied to a foreign government, the CNN reported on April 13.

Before his ouster as prime minister in a no-trust motion in the parliament on April 10, Imran Khan claimed that Pakistan’s Ambassador to US, Asad Majeed, was warned by Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu that Khan’s continuation in office would have repercussions for bilateral ties between the two nations.

Shireen Mazari, a Pakistani politician who served as the Federal Minister for Human Rights under the Imran Khan government, quoted Donald Lu as saying: “If Prime Minister Imran Khan remained in office, then Pakistan will be isolated from the United States and we will take the issue head on; but if the vote of no-confidence succeeds, all will be forgiven.”

During Imran Khan’s historic two-day official visit to Moscow on the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, besides signing several bilateral contracts in agricultural and energy sectors, President Putin reportedly offered Imran Khan S-300 air defense system, Sukhoi aircraft as replacement for the Pakistan Air Force’s dependence on American F-16s and an array of advanced Russian military equipment on the condition that Pakistan abandons its traditional alliance with Washington and forge defense ties with Russia, according to two government officials who accompanied Imran Khan on the Moscow visit.

Alongside China, India and Iran, Pakistan under the leadership of Imran Khan was one of the few countries that adopted a non-aligned stance and refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, despite diplomatic pressure from Washington.

After the United States “nation-building project” failed in Afghanistan during its two-decade occupation of the embattled country from Oct. 2001 to August 2021, it accused regional powers of lending covert support to Afghan insurgents battling the occupation forces.

The occupation and Washington’s customary blame game accusing “malign regional forces” of insidiously destabilizing Afghanistan and undermining US-led “benevolent imperialism” instead of accepting responsibility for its botched invasion and occupation of Afghanistan brought Pakistan and Russia closer against a common adversary in their backyard, and the two countries even managed to forge defense ties, particularly during the four years of the Imran Khan government from July 2018 to April 2022.

Since the announcement of a peace deal with the Taliban by the Trump administration in Feb. 2020, regional powers, China and Russia in particular, hosted international conferences and invited the representatives of the US-backed Afghanistan government and the Taliban for peace negotiations.

[…]

Imran Khan fell from the grace of the Biden administration, whose record-breaking popularity ratings plummeted after the precipitous fall of Kabul last August, reminiscent of the Fall of Saigon in April 1975, with Chinook helicopters hovering over US embassy evacuating diplomatic staff to the airport, and Washington accused Pakistan for the debacle.

[…]

Imran Khan is an educated and charismatic leader. Being an Oxford graduate, he is much better informed than most Pakistani politicians. And he is a liberal at heart. Most readers might disagree with the assertion due to his fierce anti-imperialism and West-bashing demagoguery, but allow me to explain.

[…]

His relentless anti-imperialism as a political stance should be viewed in the backdrop of Western military interventions in the Islamic countries. The conflagration that neocolonial powers have caused in the Middle East evokes strong feelings of resentment among Muslims all over the world. Moreover, Imran Khan also uses anti-America rhetoric as an electoral strategy to attract conservative masses, particularly the impressionable youth.

[…]

Imran Khan’s ouster from power for daring to stand up to the United States harks back to the toppling and subsequent assassination of Pakistan’s first elected prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, in April 1979 by the martial law regime of Gen. Zia-ul-Haq.

The United States not only turned a blind eye but tacitly approved the elimination of Bhutto from Pakistan’s political scene because, being a socialist, Bhutto not only nurtured cordial ties with communist China but was also courting Washington’s arch-rival, the former Soviet Union.

[…]

Via https://www.veteranstoday.com/2022/04/18/pakistans-pivot-to-russia-and-ouster-of-imran-khan/

‘Toxic and Obsessive’: Young People Bailing on Social Media

Image Source/Getty Images By   Joseph Curl

Daily Wire

There was a time when Facebook was for old people, Instagram and TikTok were for young people, and Twitter was for, well, boring people.

But more and more young people are deciding that all of social media is a huge time suck, pointless — perhaps even detrimental — and bailing altogether.

“Zoomers are known for being glued to their phones, but some twenty-somethings are taking a stand against all-consuming apps such as TikTok and Instagram,” the New York Post reported. “Calling them ‘toxic’ and ‘obsessive,’ these young people say they’re regaining control of their time by stepping away from the scroll.”

The Post piece cites a recent survey of 10,000 teens commissioned by investment bank Piper Sandler that found “only 22% of respondents between the ages of 7 and 22 named Meta’s popular photo-sharing platform as their favorite app, down from 31% in spring 2020.”

“When you delete it you realize you don’t need it,” Gabriella Steinerman, 20, told the Post. “The economics major dumped both Instagram and TikTok back in 2019, and said the relief she felt after unplugging was almost immediate.”

In an even more extensive study of more than 84,000 young people released last month, researchers found that use of social media is linked to poor mental health for adolescents and teenagers, especially around puberty.

The study found young people who spend a lot of time on social media can have poor body image and low self-esteem.

“Narrowing in on adolescents, the team found that for people in the 16- to 21-year-old age range, both very low and very high social media use were both linked with lower life satisfaction,” The Verge reported, citing the study. “In 10- to 15-year-olds, there wasn’t much difference in life satisfaction between kids reporting low and high social media use. But in that group, girls with high social media use had lower life satisfaction than boys.”

n another study, this one in March 2020, researchers found that 32% of young, female Instagram subscribers were harmed by the platform, according to the Wall Street Journal. “They found it exacerbates negative body image, low self-esteem, anxiety, depression and, in extreme cases, suicidal thoughts,” the Post reported at the time.

And a December survey from Tallo found that 56% of members of Generation Z said “social media has led them to feel left out by their peers.”

According to the Tallo poll, 75% of young women using social media platforms were prompted “to compare themselves to peers.”

“82% of Gen Zers said that social media had proven to be a distraction to them while doing schoolwork,” Tallo wrote. “It was also revealed that 3 in 4 female respondents said that social media has caused them to compare themselves to peers, while only 56% of males said the same and more than half of all respondents (56%) indicated that social media has led them to feel left out by their peers.”

Better Ventilation Can Prevent Covid Spread. But Are Companies Paying Attention?

(KHN illustration; iStock/Getty Images)

By Liz Szabo

Kaiser Health Network

Americans are abandoning their masks. They’re done with physical distancing. And, let’s face it, some people are just never going to get vaccinated.

Yet a lot can still be done to prevent covid infections and curb the pandemic.

A growing coalition of epidemiologists and aerosol scientists say that improved ventilation could be a powerful tool against the coronavirus — if businesses are willing to invest the money.

“The science is airtight,” said Joseph Allen, director of the Healthy Buildings program at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “The evidence is overwhelming.”

Although scientists have known for years that good ventilation can reduce the spread of respiratory diseases such as influenza and measles, the notion of improved ventilation as a front-line weapon in stemming the spread of covid-19 received little attention until March. That’s when the White House launched a voluntary initiative encouraging schools and work sites to assess and improve their ventilation.

The federal American Rescue Plan Act provides $122 billion for ventilation inspections and upgrades in schools, as well as $350 billion to state and local governments for a range of community-level pandemic recovery efforts, including ventilation and filtration. The White House is also encouraging private employers to voluntarily improve their indoor air quality and has provided guidelines on best practices.

The White House initiative comes as many employees are returning to the office after two years of remote work and while the highly contagious BA.2 omicron subvariant gains ground. If broadly embraced, experts say, the attention to indoor air quality will provide gains against covid and beyond, quelling the spread of other diseases and cutting incidents of asthma and allergy attacks.The pandemic has revealed the dangerous consequences of poor ventilation, as well as the potential for improvement. Dutch researchers, for example, linked a 2020 covid outbreak at a nursing home to inadequate ventilation. A choir rehearsal in Skagit Valley, Washington, early in the pandemic became a superspreader event after a sick person infected 52 of the 60 other singers.

Ventilation upgrades have been associated with lower infection rates in Georgia elementary schools, among other sites. A simulation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that combining mask-wearing and the use of portable air cleaners with high-efficiency particulate air filters, or HEPA filters, could reduce coronavirus transmission by 90%.

Scientists stress that ventilation should be viewed as one strategy in a three-pronged assault on covid, along with vaccination, which provides the best protection against infection, and high-quality, well-fitted masks, which can reduce a person’s exposure to viral particles by 95%. Improved airflow provides an additional layer of protection — and can be a vital tool for people who have not been fully vaccinated, people with weakened immune systems, and children too young to be immunized.

One of the most effective ways to curb disease transmission indoors is to swap out most of the air in a room — replacing the stale, potentially germy air with fresh air from outside or running it through high-efficiency filters — as often as possible. Without that exchange, “if you have someone in the room who’s sick, the viral particles are going to build up,” said Linsey Marr, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech.

Exchanging the air five times an hour cuts the risk of coronavirus transmission in half, according to research cited by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Yet most buildings today exchange the air only once or twice an hour.

That’s partly because industry ventilation standards, written by a professional group called the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, or ASHRAE, are voluntary. Ventilation standards have generally been written to limit odors and dust, not control viruses, though the society in 2020 released new ventilation guidelines for reducing exposure to the coronavirus.

But that doesn’t mean building managers will adopt them. ASHRAE has no power to enforce its standards. And although many cities and states incorporate them into local building codes for new construction, older structures are usually not held to the same standards.

Federal agencies have little authority over indoor ventilation. The Environmental Protection Agency regulates standards for outdoor air quality, while the Occupational Safety and Health Administration enforces indoor-air-quality requirements only in health care facilities.

David Michaels, an epidemiologist and a professor at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, said that he’d like to see a strong federal standard for indoor air quality but that such calls inevitably raise objections from the business community.

Two years into the pandemic, it’s unclear how many office buildings, warehouses, and other places of work have been retooled to meet ASHRAE’s recommended upgrades. No official body has conducted a national survey. But as facilities managers grapple with ways to bring employees back safely, advocates say ventilation is increasingly part of the conversation.

“In the first year of the pandemic, it felt like we were the only ones talking about ventilation, and it was falling on deaf ears,” said Allen, with Harvard’s Healthy Buildings program. “But there are definitely, without a doubt, many companies that have taken airborne spread seriously. It’s no longer just a handful of people.”

A group of Head Start centers in Vancouver, Washington, offers an example of the kinds of upgrades that can have impact. Ventilation systems now pump only outdoor air into buildings, rather than mixing fresh and recirculated air together, said R. Brent Ward, the facilities and maintenance operations manager for 33 of the federally funded early childhood education programs. Ward said the upgrades cost $30,000, which he funded using the centers’ regular federal Head Start operating grant.

[…]

Via https://khn.org/news/article/ventilation-covid-prevention-indoor-air-quality-businesses-invest/

Are vaccines killing “people of color” at twice the rate of whites?

Dr Eddy Betterman

The head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Joe Biden has claimed that vaccines are killing people with dark skin at a much higher rate than people with light skin.

Speaking at a digital “White House Convening on Equity” seminar on April 14, Xavier Becerra casually blurted out that he thinks non-whites are suffering from more deadly vaccine side effects than white people.

“By the way, we know that vaccines are killing people of color – blacks, Latinos, indigenous people – at about two times the rate of white Americans,” Becerra said.

He then went on to talk about how the government needs to “work” much harder to get more people injected, even though the numbers are way up compared to last year.

“So, on vaccines last year, we saw that about two-thirds of white American adults had received at least one shot of vaccine,” Becerra continued. “That was just barely over 50 percent for black Americans and Latinos at that particular time. So, again, we’ve got to work.”

“Today, a year later, over 80 percent of white American adults have received at least one shot. Over 80% of black American adults have received at least one shot. Over 80 percent of Latino Americans have received at least one vaccine shot.”

You can watch a clip of the White House Convening on Equity seminar below:

https://www.brighteon.com/904795b1-67dd-4410-8996-7d60d3cd4bf4

Remember when Dr. William Thompson exposed MMR for causing autism in babies?

As you may recall from our earlier coverage, there have been concerns for many years now about how vaccines affect people differently based on their ethnicity.

While Becerra’s recent talk referred specifically to Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) “vaccines,” there are disparities in side effects from other vaccines as well, including the MMR for measles, mumps, and rubella.

Based on the data, black babies suffer much worse outcomes, on average, after getting jabbed with MMR – though, just to be clear, all children are harmed by these and other injections.

A whistleblower from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) blew the lid on MMR back in 2015, drawing much ire from the government and the press over this “anti-vax” claim.

Dr. William Thompson, who used to work as a top-level scientist at the CDC, revealed that the United States government also covered up data showing that MMR is, in fact, linked to autism.

This largely vindicated the science put together by Dr. Andrew Wakefield, a world-renowned gastroenterologist who observed gut problems forming in children following injection with MMR.

The fake news media misconstrued Wakefield’s findings, as you may recall, saying that he falsely linked the shots to autism when all he really did was point out what he was observing in his practice among children who had received the injections.

Like mRNA (messenger RNA) Wuhan Flu shots, the MMR vaccine comes in a series of two injections, and even a third “booster.” MMR has long been on the health community’s radar for causing serious health problems in children, just like covid injections now are.

[…]

Via https://dreddymd.com/2022/04/21/vaccines-killing-people-color-twice-rate-of-whites/

 

COVID vaccines cause 16,633% more miscarriages than flu vaccines

Dr Eddy Betterman

There had been an increase in the number of women who have lost their unborn or newly born children in the United States following their Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination. The number has now surpassed 4,000, just 16 months after the first COVID vaccine was given emergency use authorization.

By comparison, only 565 women have lost their children following flu vaccinations since 1990. By comparing the flu shots for the previous 30 years to the COVID-19 shots in the past 16 months, you can get an average of 1.5 fetal deaths per month following the flu shots and an average of 251 fetal deaths a month following the COVID-19 vaccines. That is a 16,633 percent increase in fetal deaths following COVID-19 vaccines compared to flu vaccines.

While that number is already alarming, it is actually much worse that because there had been more flu jabs administered during pregnancy over a period of 30 years.

During the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) update on April 8, over 100 cases were added where an unborn child died after the mother received a COVID-19 vaccine, bringing the total number of fetal deaths to 4,023.

To put that in perspective, there had only been 2,238 recorded deaths of unborn babies in VAERS over the 30 years following the administration of all other FDA-approved vaccines combined prior to the emergency use authorization of the COVID-19 vaccines in December 2020.

In data pulled from VAERS, the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has caused more fetal deaths after being injected into pregnant women than any other vaccine in the history of the United States.

For the previous 30 years before the vaccines were given emergency use authorization, Merck’s Gardasil vaccine, which was approved by the FDA in 2006, had the most recorded fetal deaths with a record of 563 in 14 years.

Still, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continue to recommend the COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women. The FDA is said to be planning on modeling the COVID-19 vaccines after the flu vaccines to keep injecting people every year with the shots.

Pfizer vaccines resulted in spontaneous abortions and ectopic pregnancies

In a Pfizer study, 23 of 32 expectant mothers who received Pfizer’s COVID vaccines resulted in “spontaneous abortions” or miscarriages. It was also found that there had been over 50 times increase in ectopic pregnancies, which result in fetal death.

Experts have long warned expectant mothers against getting the mRNA vaccines, including vaccine expert Pamela Acker and former Pfizer executive Michael Yeadon, who both said that women of childbearing age should reject getting the vaccine entirely. Yeadon stressed that inadequately tested medicines and medicinal products should not be tested on pregnant women.

Despite evidence showing the dangers of the mRNA shots to unborn children, the CDC maintains that people aged 18 to 49 with certain medical conditions, including pregnancy, should be inoculated – including a booster dose.

[…]

Via https://dreddymd.com/2022/04/20/covid-vaccines-cause-16633percent-more-miscarriages/

Mesopotamia and the Birth of Modern Diplomacy

Episode 16: Princes Hadu-Hepa, Diplomacy and Marriage

Ancient Mesopotamia: Life in the Cradle of Civilization

Dr Amanda H Podany

Film Review

This lecture is devoted to the intricate system of Near East diplomatic relations in the second millenium BC. The major kingdoms Podany discusses includes Mittani kingdom (in Syria), the Hatti Kingdom (home to the Hittites), Babylonia, Assyria and Egypt.

From 1550-1100 BC, Egypt occupied the Levant. When they began a military campaign against Mittani in the 14th century BC, the latter allied with Assyria, Hatti, and and Babylon in trying to draw Egypt into a regional peace treaty by showering the pharaoh with lavish gifts. Although Egypt war more powerful than the other four kingdoms, he eventually agreed to the treaty and the raids into Mittani ceased.

The pharaohs began sending messages written in Akkadian*, exchanging lavish gifts** with the Mesopotamian kingdoms, and even accepting Mesopotamian princesses as wives. Pharaoh Akhenaten (1372-1335 BC) archived numerous Akkadian clay tablets in Armana, much to the surprise of the nineteenth century archeologists who first uncovered them.

Thanks to this elaborate diplomatic system, the period 1500-1300 BC was one of unprecedented peace.

Podany gives special emphasis to the correspondence of king Tushratta of Mittani (died 1340 BC) and pharaoh Amenhautep III. Tushratta’s daughter Tadu-Hepe was engaged to marry the pharaoh (who already had numerous wives, including Tushratta’s sister). One letter Podany reads out chides the pharaoh for embarrassing Tushratta in front of foreign guests for sending an inferior gift consisting of worked gold (gold vessels and jewelry) rather than the gold bars he needed for a building project.

*Akkadian was the official language of all four Mesopotamian kingdoms.

**Egypt’s best gifts were gold, Babylon sent horses and lapus lazuli, Mittani glass and textiles, and the Hatti silver. All of them also sent jewelry, luxury clothing, furniture and tapestries as gifts.

The film can be viewed free with a library card on Kanopy.

https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/video/5754238/5754272

How Regenerative Farming Could Save the World

By Dr. Joseph Mercola

The globalization of food production has led us to the brink of disaster. The answer is to return to foods grown locally, without chemicals.

Story at a glance:

Food shortages and skyrocketing food prices now appear inevitable. The global food price index hit its highest recorded level in March, rising 12.6% in a single month. On average, food prices were one-third higher than in March 2021. In the U.S., food prices rose 9% in 2021, and are predicted to rise another 4.5% to 5% in the next 12 months.Inflation was already ramping up well before Russia went into Ukraine, thanks to the uncontrolled printing of fiat currencies that occurred in response to the COVID pandemic. Governments’ COVID responses have also wreaked havoc with global supply chains, causing disruptions that continue to this day.Ukraine has ceased exports of wheat, oats, millet, buckwheat and cattle, and Russia has banned exports of fertilizer.Together, Russia and Belarus provide nearly 40% of the global exports of potash, a key fertilizer ingredient. Russia also exports 48% of the global ammonium nitrate, and combined with Ukraine, they export 28% of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. Experts are now predicting fertilizer prices may double as a result of Russia’s ban on fertilizer exports.The long-term answer lies in regenerative biodynamic farming, which does not use any chemical inputs.

In the featured video, “Breaking Points” co-hosts Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti discuss one of the greatest threats currently facing the people of the world, namely food shortages and skyrocketing food prices.

According to a recent NPR report, the global food price index hit its highest recorded level in March, rising 12.6% in a single month. On average, food prices were one-third higher than in March 2021. In the U.S., food prices rose 9% in 2021, and are predicted to rise another 4.5% to 5% in the next 12 months.

But while the Ukraine conflict is cited as the primary cause, it’s not the sole reason. Price inflation was already ramping up well before Russia went into Ukraine, thanks to the uncontrolled printing of fiat currencies that occurred in response to the COVID pandemic.

Governments’ COVID responses have also wreaked havoc with global supply chains, causing disruptions that continue to this day.

The climate has also been uncooperative, causing poor harvests around the world. China, for example, has reported it expects the lowest harvest yields in history this year, thanks to serious flooding of its farmland in the fall of 2021.

Compounding crises threaten global food productivity

That said, the Russia-Ukraine conflict is certainly making a bad problem worse. Ukraine is known as “the breadbasket” of Europe, responsible for producing and exporting 12% of all food calories traded on the international market.

Russia is also a major exporter of food, and together with Ukraine, the two countries account for nearly 30% of global wheat exports, nearly 20% of the world’s corn and more than 80% of the sunflower oil.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s projections, wheat exports from Russia and Ukraine will be reduced by more than 7 million metric tons in 2022.

At the same time, the Ukrainian government has decided to ban all export of wheat, oats, millet, buckwheat and cattle, to ensure food safety for its own people, while Russia has banned exports of fertilizer.

As reported by Wired, the current food crisis in Ukraine is made up of several components, and the effects will have a worldwide rippling effect, thanks to our dependence on global trade:

“Goods that have already been harvested — last autumn’s corn, for instance — can’t be transported out of the country; ports and shipping routes are closed down, and international trading companies have ceased operations for safety. (Plus, while those crops sit in bins, destruction of the country’s power grid takes out the temperature controls and ventilation that keep them from spoiling.)

“This year’s wheat, which will be ready in July, can’t be harvested if there’s no fuel for combines and no labor to run them. Farmers are struggling over whether to plant for next season — if they can even obtain seeds and fertilizer, for which supplies look uncertain …

“Analysts worry that the countries that buy the most wheat from Ukraine — predominantly in Africa and the Middle East — will have the hardest time paying as prices rise.”

Scott Irwin, Ph.D., an agricultural economist and professor in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois, told Wired:

“This crisis is beyond the normal ability to shuffle supplies around. We’ve exploded that system, and the cost is going to be extreme economic pain.”

Serious fertilizer shortage looms

Together, Russia and Belarus provide nearly 40% of the global exports of potash, a key fertilizer ingredient. Russia also exports 48% of the global ammonium nitrate, and combined with Ukraine, they export 28% of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers.

Experts are now predicting fertilizer prices may double as a result of Russia’s ban on fertilizer exports. For some farmers, that will be a death knell that causes them to go out of business. The rest will be forced to charge more for their commodities, resulting in skyrocketing food prices.

[…]

Via https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/regenerative-farming-could-save-world/